New Mac user - Returning

[bluespark]

Thanks for the thoughtful response!!

What is the instant space bar preview you mentioned??

Btw In Windows 10 you can save anything as a pdf too now.

Is Better touch tool an app?

Tap the space bar on the icon for nearly any document in the Finder and you get an instant preview. With some types of documents, such as PDFs, this even comes with instant annotating tools. It's really nice, and can be a huge time-saver if you have to quickly look through lots of documents, photos, etc., outside of an app.

Yes, Better Touch Tool is an app that is very popular among Mac users. It lets you configure shortcuts and custom gestures for all sorts of things, but it's particularly useful for Touch Bar customization. Here's the website: https://folivora.ai

 

[Jmgilliam18]

Ok, one week in. Getting used to stuff. Forcing myself to use Safari and it's not bad utilizing the Touch Bar to go "back" and open up new tabs vs having to mouse it. That's nice over chrome. And chrome eats memory up using some chrome helper (renderer) in activity monitor. So going 100% safari for a few days. Just going to use chrome to test sites using facebook pixel helper when needed.

Things I love: FaceTime on Mac. Being able to answer phone calls, not FaceTime, but actual phone calls on my MacBook (how the hell does it do that) - makes me very productive. Super fast. Fan never runs. I like the dock and being able to hide it to give more room. I like hot corners. Again, very efficient. And for whatever reason I love the keyboard...

Things not impressed with: Battery life. I was expecting 10 hours like they say. Not getting anywhere near that. Will keep testing now that using safari.

Figured out copy and paste with Command lol. Also how to use option key to "move" when copy something (essentially paste) in the Finder.

I had mentioned I got a Dell XPS to run beside it. It's fast too. Maybe faster. But about 20 minutes into browsing web and doing some basic stuff, the fan kicks on and starts screaming... Not good. And the keyboard, that people say is better, is like trying to hammer keys down vs the Mac.

So, Ive got till September 30 to return so I'm continuing to learn. Thanks for all your help.

 

[cynics]

Years ago I switched to Mac and I hated it. The problem was I was trying to force my windows way of thinking on a different OS.

Once I took the time to learn I began to get it. After enough time I really began to appreciate it. And something I can't believe I had been missing it. Also it really opened up Linux usage and understanding to me.

I can understand how its not for everyone however I feel any new OS comes with a learning curve. This applies to all OS's for all systems.

 

[Tenashus1]

The Mac OS always wins the day for me. It's the kicker that keeps me from ever buying a windows laptop.

 

[duervo]

I used an AIX workstation (RS/6000) everyday, with a heavily customized CDE environment, for 2 years after I finished college. After getting used to that, switching to Windows in my next job was a huge headache, so I sympathize with this type of change, regardless of which way the change goes. However, even today, with Linux becoming much more popular since then, I still like to use macOS, as I have the same sort of familiar feeling I had back in my RS/6000 days. There’s a lot of good in using a UNIX-based device that has an integrated hardware/software deployment.

Windows 10 is coming a lot closer to that as well these days, wrt Windows Terminal and Linux image support.

 

[Jmgilliam18]

Some other things I've discovered that are great are - the 4 finger swipe up to see all windows/apps open... love it and the 3 finger drag... that in itself is almost enough lol.

Duervo - I have no idea what you said lol -

 

[swamprock]

Duervo - I have no idea what you said lol -

With apologies to @duervo -

Translation- "Coming from an environment where I used (and got used to) a certain operating system, getting used to Windows was a pain, so I sympathize with this change. With open source operating systems (i.e. Linux) becoming more popular as of late, I like to use macOS since it's somewhat similar to Linux, and the (Unix-based) operating system that I used in those two years. Since the hardware and software are so integrated, it's a pleasure working on a Mac, since it shares many of the same attributes as Unix. Windows 10 is adopting similar attributes to that operating system these days as well."

...or something like that...

 

[NJRonbo]

I'm a brand new mac user. Always been PC. Got a macbook pro Monday and have been trying to love this thing ever since. I wanted the cool laptop lol. I will have to say the design is great. Very solidly built and cool looking. But it is heavy. Like really heavy compared to others. And not very crazy about the thicker front edge, macbook air much sleeker for sure. I heard a lot about the keyboard and I agree its not great. Keys don't seem like they go down very much and very loud. I can't imagine what last few years were like if this is upgraded.

I will say this thing is fast. I got 16 gb ram and 256ssd. One thing that kind of threw me was the look of the screen. I didn't realize it was 13, not 13.3. Not a big difference, but it has a more square tall look than an air or other 13.3 laptop. I do a lot of web work, lots of tabs, windows, bouncing around bookmarks and tabs all day and I was looking forward to the touch bar also, but am disappointed it only works for those functions in Safari. I need to use Chrome and its just basic functions on the bar in that.

I knew the OS would be clunky to work in to start and was prepared, but I really wasn't. We use Google Drive for everything and the stream interface is terrible.

AND, I paid almost $2k for this, over $2k with tax and shipping. Maybe i expected too much, but I think I am going to return it and go with a higher spec'd Dell xps 13 for about $700 less. I think it looks better, is sleeker and is really fast also. The monitor on it looks wider, but its just 13.3 so not sure, maybe its the bezel or lack of design. Right now, I'd have to say if I tried again, I'd go with an Air.

Thanks to those who helped me when I asked stuff before buying.

Talk me down lol.

JM,

Your post caught me by surprise and I read with interest.

Don't give up on the Mac!

I used to be a PC user and switched over to Mac about 15 years ago when Apple products weren't even popular. At that time, if you switched to Mac it was known as going over to "the dark side."

Today, Macs are just as popular (or more) then Windows computers. Of course, you pay an arm and leg for the hardware but there is nothing like an Apple product when done right. Their 13" MBPs are sensational. I just bought one last week.

I have been using Apple products ever since and have never looked back.

OS X takes about a day to get used to. Really, it's exactly like Windows but just a few things done differently.

I think in a very short time you are going to realize you made the right choice.

I am going to continue looking at this thread to check up on you.