My Parents are Switching from Windows to Mac - and they would like an intro in Book Form please

[ResolutionNZ]

My mother made the transition at age 63 and it has generally gone well. There's a lot less troubleshooting than there was with Windows and she has even started searching for solutions to problems herself.

Apple used to provide downloadable guides for each generation of iOS and some Mac devices, but these haven't been added to for a while. A quick search found the following:

• MacOS Tahoe for Seniors and Beginners (e-book or paperback)
• macOS Tahoe 26 User Guide – Seniors Edition (ebook via apple books store)
• macOS 26 Tahoe User Guide A Complete Manual to the New Mac Experience with AI and Live Activities for Beginners (ebook via Apple Books Store)

Do your parents a favour and make sure they have an external mouse with left and right click and two side buttons and program the size buttons for app expose and mission control. It'll make the transition much easier. Also, get mac Mouse Fix if it's a logitech mouse as logi options+ is a memory sucking privacy nightmare. The free ethernet status app can also be helpful given apple doesn't provide a quick way of seeing this and they're getting a desktop.

Also, bring as much of their familiar software over with them. It'll make the transition much easier.

 

[ResolutionNZ]

I really don't agree with that. They want to make the break. So Safari is a no brainer as well as arguably being the best all round browser on a Mac.

It isn't a no-brainer unless they already use safari on iOS. They're moving to Mac out of rage. Think about that for a moment. Any loving child would want to absolutely minimise opportunities for anger. A Mac Mini is much easier to throw than most PCs.

 

[Ben J.]

The big one is going to be email; they had an older version of Outlook up and running and while it is available on Mac it looks and functions differently from what they are used to.

I switched to using a tab in my browser for email. I have just one google mail account, and I go to google web site when I want to check my mail. My main reason to do this instead of using the Mail app was the flexibility that it gave in content resizing that Mail doesn't have, but there are a few other pluses also. I don't miss Mail app at all. One app less to manage.

On another note: when the time is right, show them how to use spaces and mission control.

 

[splitpea]

The big one is going to be email; they had an older version of Outlook up and running and while it is available on Mac it looks and functions differently from what they are used to.

Whatever you do, do NOT try to set them up with Outlook for Mac. Just don’t. We have to use it at work, and it’s buggy and broken to the point of unusability. It alone makes me sometimes want to throw that laptop out of the house.

Help them learn Mail.app instead, or transition to another free client like Thunderbird.

 

[Gregg2]

The big one is going to be email; they had an older version of Outlook up and running and while it is available on Mac it looks and functions differently from what they are used to.

The default e-mail app invoked from a website's "send e-mail" button will be Mail. Always.

They can deal with that frustration, or bite the bullet and learn how to use Mail.

 

[Ben J.]

The default e-mail app invoked from a website's "send e-mail" button will be Mail. Always.

Not always, it seems to me:

https://support.apple.com/102362

 

[splitpea]

The default e-mail app invoked from a website's "send e-mail" button will be Mail. Always.

They can deal with that frustration, or bite the bullet and learn how to use Mail.

That was the case for far too long, but they added customization around a decade ago IIRC.

 

[ignatius345]

After almost 40 years of near-pure Windows computing

That’s a lot of muscle memory! As intuitive as macOS is, this will have some road bumps, I predict.

Years ago I had to work on a PC at a job after a long time on the Mac, and was constantly hitting Alt instead of Command (CTRL on a PC), and that bloody Windows key instead of Option, so I know it can be painful to override muscle memory.

If the placement of those keys drives them nuts, you can swap locations in Settings > Keyboard > Keyboard Shortcuts > Reset modifier keys to make it easier.

 

[Gregg2]

That was the case for far too long, but they added customization around a decade ago IIRC.

It is still the case that Mail is the default, out of the box, factory settings. The potential new users here are probably not going to muck around too much changing things.

 

[splitpea]

It is still the case that Mail is the default, out of the box, factory settings. The potential new users here are probably not going to muck around too much changing things.

Yes, it’s still the default. Same as Safari is the default browser. But it’s no longer the case that you can’t change which app gets opened by mail to links.

 

[blufrog]

What I did with my father [though admittedly, he is very technically inclined], was I simply told him there are only a few real differences between Windows and Mac in terms of getting around. I started by showing him the menu bar at the top and how it replaces menus in individual programs with a common bar that is context-sensitive, where to find settings, and that all the "Start Menu" stuff is under the Apple logo.

I showed him where all the apps are, the dock, the launcher, how to access them, and where apps are really stored on the disk.

I showed him Safari, Mail, Notes, Pages, Numbers, and the App Store. I explained that unlike Windows, *nix is a truly multi-user OS, and that all his "stuff" is under his Home directory. I explained the basic layout and where his documents, downloads, and other stuff is stored.

It also allowed him to ask questions, and I could show him things as we went.

I explained that things like PDF viewing are built-in, that he can easily create PDF files from pretty much any program by going to export, and that he can easily annotate them.

I helped him to migrate his data, and set up a backup disk.

After a couple of weeks, he was up to speed and liked it a lot more than Windows.

 

[Fishrrman]

OP:

Did your parents get their new Mac yet...??

 

[Droid13]

OP:

Did your parents get their new Mac yet...??

I set it up for them this morning.

 

[Fishrrman]

OP wrote:
"I set it up for them this morning."

Well, tell us what you got for them...?

 

[Droid13]

OP wrote:
"I set it up for them this morning."

Well, tell us what you got for them...?

They didn't seem happy when I suggested that the entry level Mac mini was an amazing machine and would last them many years; they were almost offended. They have a Mini with M4 Pro (14-core CPU, 20-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine) with 24GB unified memory and 1TB SSD storage; I was never going to win this battle.

They also have a new monitor (they were still on VGA) a new keyboard (Cherry), new speakers and a new USB-C hub. Software included Office 2024 as a one-off purchase (one look at Pages told them they really wanted Word; I steered them away from Outlook), Sophos Home, iStat and Little Snitch.

They had read the first few chapters of the "for Dummies" book and watched a few YouTube clips by way of preparation.

Mail wasn't too tricky for them to get a hang of and Safari came very naturally. They enrolled the machine into AppleCare+ solo and printed off the receipt via their Canon printer without any input from me.

It's been a good day. I'm sat here with a fair amount of cold beer and they're familiarising themselves with the setup with reference to the 'for Dummies" book from to time.

Thank you all for your help and guidance.

 

[Pjrufus]

Happy that it’s going well for the parents, and you!

 

[Gregg2]

Great! I'm glad the "for Dummies" "manual" is helpful. Way to go!

 

[mpetrides]

The Take Control series of books are well respected and long established. Each book is clearly written and free of technical jargon. I highly recommend them.

Take Control Books – Expert Advice from Leading Tech Authors

Take Control Books - Expert Advice from Leading Tech Authors

www.takecontrolbooks.com

I was going to make this suggestion myself. I completely agree. I own almost all of their books and have for years and I always pre-order their books in anticipation of an OS upgrade (both MacOS and iOS/iPad OS); they come out on the day the new OS is released, which is not true of any other book I've seen. They are awesome.

The only downside is that they are not available in hardcopy, so your parents would have to print the PDF out if they want hardcopy. During the transition to Apple Silicon, I did this with a couple of their books concerning Apple Silicon and found them REALLY helpful. The information was dense enough that I really wanted to be able to highlight and write marginal notes. I bound those books using a spiral binding device I have. I'm not sure if you could get a printing place to print and bind the contents of the Take Control PDF for you. If you do, please post the details here, since I still really prefer hardcopy manuals (yes, I am a dinosaur!).

 

[webbga]

I know you're asking for printed matter, but I must insist that they check out Macmost.com on Youtube. Tons of clear, no-nonsense videos on everything mac related. Most any topic covered, including videos on windows-to-mac transition.

Btw, when I got my first job involving the use of macs in the late eighties, first thing I did was to get a 'macintosh for dummies' book and read it cover-to-cover before even touching a mac. Great way to get started.

macmostvideo

Subscribe to MacMost to watch daily video tutorials about how to get the most from your Mac, iPad and iPhone! This show focuses on the "how to." You'll learn how to use macOS and the apps that come with your Mac. MacMost also features news, commentary reviews geared toward the casual personal...

www.youtube.com

macmostvideo

Subscribe to MacMost to watch daily video tutorials about how to get the most from your Mac, iPad and iPhone! This show focuses on the "how to." You'll learn how to use macOS and the apps that come with your Mac. MacMost also features news, commentary reviews geared toward the casual personal...

www.youtube.com

I strongly second the "Macmost" video series. There is a ton of basic and solid information in these videos that help in the day to day operation and understanding of the Mac.

 

[Droid13]

The only downside is that they are not available in hardcopy, so your parents would have to print the PDF out if they want hardcopy.

I have made them aware of the link; in the run up to the first switch on they didn't have means to print and they prefer to work with paper when it comes to manuals etc

 

[mpetrides]

I have made them aware of the link; in the run up to the first switch on they didn't have means to print and they prefer to work with paper when it comes to manuals etc

So do I. Your post made me start to look into the alternatives I have to get the PDFs of my Take Control books on OS 27 (when released) printed.