As much as I love PC's running Windows 7, or even XP, I found Windows 8 to be completely frustrating to use. I'll keep Windows 7 on my machine.
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Mac vs PC
- Thread starter Cyborg21
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As much as I love PC's running Windows 7, or even XP, I found Windows 8 to be completely frustrating to use. I'll keep Windows 7 on my machine.
There are plenty of youtube videos detailing how to do it. It's not ideal because quite often the graphics won't be fully supported and depending on your PC specs the VM can get quite jittery if used as a main computer. As I mentioned, I only used it for a week or so and switched back to windows for anything that wasn't running smooth. If you're going to try it, I had an easy time installing an iAtkos ML2 build in VMWare workstation. I can't remember the exact site/video I used but there are many out there.
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I decided to try and update my Windows 8 to 8.1 but couldn't access the Store which contains the update. After hours trying the various fixes recommended on numerous forums I finally had to backup and reinstall a fresh copy of Windows 8, then install the 100 or so updates necessary to reveal the 8.1 update and the. Re-install all of my apps and software. All in all it's consumed my weekend and I've still got a ton of docs and setting to replace. Frustrating.
So far however, the tweaks in 8.1 are welcome and making it more bearable than before. Still plenty of room for improvements though.
If you put 2 total computer newbies in front of a Macbook, and a Win 8 laptop, I'll bet they'll be equally confused with both.
OSX is easier to people used to it.
Windows is easier to people used to it.
In the end its just a pc to get work done, use whatever you like, there's no reason to get defensive. OSX has steadily over the years also become more bloated, there are plenty of threads about how its not always faster, better or easier.
Is a MBP/iMac a better value? A lot of people say that due to resale value. However you could buy a Windows laptop on drastic sales (often 40-50% off or more) and this lets you update your machine more often too.
Win 8/8.1 is not the right direction, its too soon/too fast to introduce touch to a desktop pc. However I at least admire MS's vision. It will be interesting to see how Apple tackles the problem. The signs are there - OSX is eventually going to merge with iOS, and not in the way most people want - it will drop most power user features and behave more like a mobile OS.
I admire Apple for providing an alternative. The best way to make a decision is to try out both, keep an open mind and make an informed decision.
OSX is easier to people used to it.
Windows is easier to people used to it.
In the end its just a pc to get work done, use whatever you like, there's no reason to get defensive. OSX has steadily over the years also become more bloated, there are plenty of threads about how its not always faster, better or easier.
Is a MBP/iMac a better value? A lot of people say that due to resale value. However you could buy a Windows laptop on drastic sales (often 40-50% off or more) and this lets you update your machine more often too.
Win 8/8.1 is not the right direction, its too soon/too fast to introduce touch to a desktop pc. However I at least admire MS's vision. It will be interesting to see how Apple tackles the problem. The signs are there - OSX is eventually going to merge with iOS, and not in the way most people want - it will drop most power user features and behave more like a mobile OS.
I admire Apple for providing an alternative. The best way to make a decision is to try out both, keep an open mind and make an informed decision.
Sometimes it comes down to what one intends to use it for. Both cannot do everything and some do the same thing however one will be better than the other.
I just switched back to PC after using Mac for a year (before that years and years of PC lovin'). I think you should rent for a while before committing to buy. The Mac OS X is extremely poor when it comes to file management, creation, and Office-type work. Office for Mac is horrible.
I'm no Mac-hater but I would never use Mac again because my productivity declined by 1000 fold, even though I learned all the shortcuts and swipes and time-saving features such as Hot Corners. The OS X is clumsily designed and not optimised for the 'windows' context, which applies to both PCs and Macs. Also, I found no difference in stability between PCs and Macs. In fact, my brand new MacBook Pro had this black-out thing (usually after I put it into sleep mode and moved it around before turning it back on) that had to be fixed in store.
I love Macs for the hardware. An ideal machine would include:
- Windows OS
- Windows Keyboard + touchscreen
- Mac screen and sleek body with touchpad.
I find stories like this hilarious. Win7 can't even work with Office 2013 the same way for 10 minutes in a row. Alt-Tab, clicking on windows, clicking on Taskbar buttons to switch between apps....they all change randomly throughout the day. App windows submarine behind others when Win thinks they are in front, now you have to click about 3 more times just to see the damn window you wanted. Excel 2013 is now supposedly a new Win process for each open file, but it only works like that about 90% of the time, leaving me frustrated for the other 10% of commands. (like switching between those open files, which also doesn't work the same way every time) I could go on, don't get me started on scrolling or multiple monitor setups.
What can you possibly think is worse in OSX for basic productivity? If you don't like Office 2011, you can run multiple Win apps in virtual machines within OSX with better control than Win7 can muster on its own. At least every time I choose to press Command-Tab, it does the same thing.
I've never had a problem with alt tab, the keyboard shortcuts in windows are awesome. This is one of my big concerns in switching to mac. I just hope I can learn the mac shortcuts and switch between mac and PC shortcuts easily when I move from work to home.
This is one of the first posts I have seen about someone reverting back. I guess it is all subjective at the end of the day.
Asking the question on a Mac related forum is likely to get you slightly skewed results..
Most will obviously say Mac as I would. They are better made, hold their resale value way better than PC's and have OSX instead of Windows which requires constant maintenance, AV and AM software etc Having said all that, you can buy a pretty decent spec PC for way less than a Mac...In the end, the decision is your's, nobody can make it for you.
I think the transition from osx to windows would be worse than windows to osx.
Setting up your own shortcuts and gestures is easy enough. Every time I have to use a pc laptop I find myself trying to scroll with the trackpad lol. OSX comes with a lot of useful tools that windows doesn't. It empowers you to create. I'm still learning new stuff about osx but I think I had a better handle on osx in a weekend than windows through out my lifespan. The thing I like about osx is I don't feel the need to have super hierarchical folder structures. For my purposes for instance in documents I have personal, school, and pharmacy. I use tags to differentiate file types inside folders.
Mac OS X is for the common user.
Mac OS X is utterly superior, in my opinion, to the PC's.
If you're the common user, a Mac is such a better option. The software really runs a lot smoother. And doing things like web browsing, document writing, and all those everyday things are mad to work seamlessly with your Mac. Not to mention your Mac and all your other Apple devices work hand-in-hand, with features like maps, mail, calendar. It's truly a lot better for someone looking to do everyday things without problems.
Or you could kill 2 birds with one stone with buying a Mac, and either using Windows through boot camp or a desktop emulator like Parallels or VirtualBox. (I prefer boot camp)
Like they say, "Once you go Mac, you never go back." And I actually find that to be true.
Mac OS X is utterly superior, in my opinion, to the PC's.
If you're the common user, a Mac is such a better option. The software really runs a lot smoother. And doing things like web browsing, document writing, and all those everyday things are mad to work seamlessly with your Mac. Not to mention your Mac and all your other Apple devices work hand-in-hand, with features like maps, mail, calendar. It's truly a lot better for someone looking to do everyday things without problems.
Or you could kill 2 birds with one stone with buying a Mac, and either using Windows through boot camp or a desktop emulator like Parallels or VirtualBox. (I prefer boot camp)
Like they say, "Once you go Mac, you never go back." And I actually find that to be true.
I think this is one of the most attractive features of Macs. OS X is really good for daily tasks, entertainment, browsing web etc. but when it comes to gaming and working (I used iWork in a Tech Store and I think iWork is better than MS Office but less people using Macs and Office for mac and iWork is not fully compataible with other PCs) windows is better. So I can get the best of both worlds by using bootcamp or parallels.
I suppose I should try Win-Tab, but mostly I use spreadsheets and they are hard to differentiate in that 3D interface. I don't have a 30" monitor.
Mostly what I see is people ignoring the fact that they have to do many commands twice because it didn't always work. I watch it every time I'm at someone else's desk. *Click* -nada- *Click* -hey, it worked- It's no wonder people click 100 times when the computer does freeze up, they think that's the solution instead of the author just making damn commands work the first time. I guess I'm in the minority thinking this is annoying, though.
What would people think if every 5th person who shook their hand, that person missed and accidentally hit them in the arm instead? Would you keep shaking hands? Consistency is the biggest usability problem.
One of my favorite websites used to be mackido.com, although he got sick of it (or something) when OSX came out, so it hasn't been updated in 15 years or so. Went into details about usability comparisons between OSes. Example: I don't remember if he mentioned this, probably, but one of the stupidest things is Windows purposely put the modifier keys far away from the other keys. CTRL is the main modifier for Win, and almost no one can do very many shortcuts with one hand, CTRL-Z is about it. By the time you hunt and peck with 2 hands to hit CTRL + whatever, you may as well have just used the mouse to find the command in a menu. How is that a 'shortcut'? The Cmd key on Mac is 2" closer to everything else than CTRL. When most people's hands are 4" across or less, 2" is a pretty big difference.
I can hit Left-Control+P one handed without much issue though never do as i'd have to move the other hand out of the way. The main shortcuts I use (cut, copy, paste, close window, save, open, desktop... must be more) are habitual and never even a stretch.
I'm probably so used to not getting a response that I don't even notice.
I hope I can switch between the two comfortably, will probably be like switching from an auto gearbox to a manual twice a day.... yuck.
Exactly
Now your Mac can do it all with the feature of boot camp parallels! Cheers mate