Making a complete jump from Windows To Mac

You've already made the best first move--lurking MR!

After over thirty years with Apple, best advice I can give is just to dive in with both feet. Chances are, you're younger & smarter than I am, and if I can accomodate several OS's (Win/Mac/Unix/Linux/Novell), I'm positive you can!

Look at it as an adventure, but with a happy ending.

 

All I can recommend is viewing the tons of information on Apple's site. You will not be disappointed in the iMac. After just two weeks with it, you will never want to touch a Windows machine again.

 

Look at the Apple website - they have a lot of information about crossing over from PC to Mac
There are several books legitimately and less legitimately available on the net.
there are plenty of other forums and site if you google for them, and i'd imagine there is a lot on this site too, including suggestions from everyone here

 

Here is a good read with a few other links at the bottom of this story. I suggest reading those too.

http://ptech.allthingsd.com/20080702/some-general-tips-for-switch-to-mac-from-windows/?sr=hotnews

 

Some resources that may be helpful (if you've already seen them, ignore):

Mac 101
MRoogle for searching MacRumors: Forums with Google (always a great idea before starting new threads)
MacRumors FAQ
MacRumors Rules
MacRumors Guides
Apple Find Out How
Essential Applications
More Essential Applications

 

iv always liked this artical

http://www.kenrockwell.com/apple/why-pros-use-mac.htm

 

http://www.apple.com/getamac/
http://www.apple.com/support/mac101/
http://www.apple.com/support/switch101/

Once you've worked out about the apple key, command key etc, and have a two button mouse, you're laughing.

 

If you're interested in a book...

I haven't read it myself, but I've seen a LOT of recommendations for the author David Pogue. His Mac guides are said to be good.

Switching to the Mac on amazon.

 

That guy and this guy's blog. Start at the beginning:
www.davidalison.com/

 

This looks like information overload. Nature of the beast I guess, but that is what you asked for.

I just wanted to say, I've been in the "business" with Microsoft OS's all my life. I just switched about 4 months ago and never looked back. I didn't read any literature, I just jumped in with both feet.

This forum has been a huge resource for me. But you will pick it up quickly, and the transition should not be a difficult one at all. On the contrary, I think you will find it enjoyable and exhilarating. Enjoy your new adventure.

 

Agree with red. I just read MR and bought my Macbook, and haven't used any guides or anything. Things come pretty natural most of the time, and it's a very pleasant OS to use.

 

Awesome. Welcome to the "Apple/Mac Family"!

Don't forget to use your student discount on all purchases. Also, until Sept. 15, you can get up to a $299 rebate on an iPod with a Mac. I'd recommend an iPod touch.

http://www.apple.com/backtoschool/in...20080530-IWCCT

http://images.apple.com/promo/pdf/BTS08_TCS.pdf

 

Mighty mouse is 2 button W/ heat sensors.

 

since you referred to yourself as a heavy/power user I would recommend reading up on unix commands to use in the terminal. They are very powerful and can be very useful depending on what you want to do. They can also be very dangerous if you are not careful.

This page has a good list of some of the most commonly used ones.
http://www.petefreitag.com/item/426.cfm

grep and regular expressions can be extremely handy, everyone should brush up on this one.

 

Thank you! I'm going to jump right into that one.

 

Congrats on seeing the light, Lament. Like you, I was a longtime power Windows user that just got fed up with M$ and the associated headaches. I purchased a MacBook for use at school (I commute as well), and other than a few small 'nuances' between the two platforms, it has been headache free and my only regret is not doing it sooner. As a matter of fact, as I type this, I am also texting my wife, discussing our next Mac purchase as our only remaining PC (self built) is having all sorts of issues and I'm sick of fixing problems that are caused solely because of the OS the computer is running.

I second David Pogue. Good writer, gives things straight and succinctly.

 

Ever since i purchased my iPhone ive been looking more and more at iMacs! Id love to make the switch, but im just worried that a Mac would have too many missing features for me to get used it. My main concern would be games really. I dont own a games console, so I use my PC as a games machine too, but I dont see many people "gaming" on their macs. Can someone give me a lowdown on how the gaming industry views macs and if most games are compatible?

 

I myself took the plunge about 8 months ago. Unbelievably happy since. I do enjoy gaming as a couple of you mentioned. I have the 2.4g 24" iMac w/ 4gigs ram. I currently play;

Wow, bf2142 and Xplane flight sim all on OS X versions.

I also use bootcamp to load up windoze and play;
Rome Total War, bf vietnam, MS flight sim and Age of Conan.

Everything works like a champ. Great graphics. Only thing Is I may have to have a second mouse for the total war games due to the rapid amount of left/right clicking needed. I've lost a few armies turning there backs on the enemy because I tried to right click to fast.

All in all though, everything works/plays fantastic. Even the Crysis demo looked and played great.

 

iMacs are constructed largely using notebook parts. I'm not sure how much heat they give out, but it will be a lot less than a regular desktop. The maximum power draw for a 24" iMac is 280W, and since it has all of the notebook power regulation chippery, the average draw will be a fair amount less than that.