Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

How true is "Once you go Mac, you never go back?"

  • Very often true

    Votes: 149 81.9%
  • Sometimes true

    Votes: 17 9.3%
  • Eh, sometimes true, sometimes false, 50/50

    Votes: 12 6.6%
  • Very often false

    Votes: 4 2.2%

  • Total voters
    182
The concept of 'committing' to a platform is kind of weird.

I prefer Mac OS X as my primary workstation operating system, but Windows and *nix certainly have their place in my life.
 
Nothing is 100%, and obviously things could change, but in my experience I've seen almost no "reverse-switchers" to date.

I know of one Mac user (not a switcher) who switched to Windows, but that was entirely because he's a gamer. I also worked with one business that used to be Mac-only and switched to mostly Windows when they expanded--they needed a combination of high-end CAD (SolidWorks) and there are no good MRP systems for the Mac in their range. Not so sure businesses count, though.

Other than that, I can't think of any Mac users who went Win, and of the roughly dozen people I've helped switch to using Macs I don't know of any who have gone back to Windows.

So, in my experience, outside of gaming and some business things (which were NEVER done right on the MacOS), my experience is largely with very happy switchers.
 
The question is a tad flawed. There are many users who may or may not *want* to "go back," but that they are forced to go back because of program needs, or for particular hardware needs. The question ought to be, for those who spend time with OS X, how many decide that all other things being equal, they would go back to Windows?
 
The question is a tad flawed. There are many users who may or may not *want* to "go back," but that they are forced to go back because of program needs, or for particular hardware needs. The question ought to be, for those who spend time with OS X, how many decide that all other things being equal, they would go back to Windows?

I would never consider switching to Windows as my primary operating system of choice. I like Windows and *do* use it on a fairly regular basis (XP at least). It's certainly matured as an operating system, but for my needs I vastly prefer a *nix-related system.

I've been primarily a Mac user for all my computing life (since Mac OS 7.1 on my Performa 550), and I am currently enjoying Leopard, but I've lately been somewhat considering moving to linux as a workstation. The main reason? Customization. Mac OS X can't even come close to the degree of personalization I can get under a linux-based system.

In all likeliness, I will stick with Mac OS X for a while to come. I'm in no position right now to make a major change.
 
Switched to Mac... Dabbling with going back

I've been a Mac user through and through since July, complete with evangelism and such. Considering I have ADD when it comes to computers (need to trade every 2 weeks), loyalty for 5 months is considerable, I suppose. However, even with a gig o' RAM in it, my trusty last revision iBook G4 is getting sluggish...

Throughout all this, I have had a strange infatuation with Thinkpads... Maybe I'll get one and play with it for a bit. My sister is constantly whining about having to look at ponies on a Mac (perish the thought;)), and my Mom wants me to get a PC so sis'll be happy... so ...

I hope I can get my hands on an Intel Mac pretty soon!
 
I went back . . . for a while

I went back to windows . . . for a while, but unwillingly. Let me explain. About a year ago, I switched jobs. I was required to have a laptop that ran windows (the proprietary software runs only on windows). At the time, I didn't have the money for a laptop, so I had to sell my iMac to get the money. I also bought a cheap windows model to save some money. After about eight months, I had saved enough money that I bought a MBP and just use VMWare Fusion when I need to run windows, which is only for an hour or less a day.

So, I went mac, went back, and went back to mac.
 
i bought my blackbook back in june and have been loving every minute of it. but when i get home i still use my pc(win2000) for everything and have my blackbook setup next to it for browsing while i game. i use my blackbook everyday at work and im always surrounded with broken pcs (i work in IT).

I cannot fully switch to mac unless they make comparable software that i use everyday or that works with crossover well. Mostly the new games are whats holding me back, that and not being able to choose my video card.
 
I'm a year in to my switch and I would never go back to Windows full time. I have a 10Gb partition to play games on XP via bootcamp, but I love OSX way too much to even consider going back.
 
Honestly, I don't understand this whole thing about "switching" Why not just own both?

I work with both pcs and macs. They all have their strengths and weaknesses and at this moment I can't see myself abandoning either of these platforms.
 
lol

why not use both?

because when i'm at uni using windows, my mouse is always flicking to the corners, in my computer i'm always pressing the space bar to try and open documents, my mouse sometimes flicks to the bottom of the screen to find a dock, i press command+spacebar so much that windows has disabled those keys

not to mention that it's a much more polished OS inside and out...windows always strikes me as win95, wether it win98 or vista ultimate


i've seen many people switch to mac, but i've also seen people buy a mac and only use the bootcamp partition, or use the OS X side without a clue as to what they were doing.
 
My friend just switched to Mac, and this is her new phrase. However, I know of a few people that "went back" to Windows. Anecdotally, how true do you find this to be?

What about migrating to another OS all together? Anecdotally, I've known a lot of people who used Mac OS X to jump into the world of *nix, ended up installing Linux and never looked back.

Flipping back to Windows? I dunno; most of the switchers I've known generally switch to OS X out of some predisposed angst toward Windows. Seeing as that's the case, I've not known a lot of people going back to Windows.
 
Once you go mac you don't go back?

Bit like Pringles - "Once you pop you just cant stop"
 
What about migrating to another OS all together? Anecdotally, I've known a lot of people who used Mac OS X to jump into the world of *nix, ended up installing Linux and never looked back.

Flipping back to Windows? I dunno; most of the switchers I've known generally switch to OS X out of some predisposed angst toward Windows. Seeing as that's the case, I've not known a lot of people going back to Windows.

I've seen a few people flip flop back and forth not being able to make up their mind.
 
well...for me I think there won't be no PC anymore...
with the possibility of running windows via bootcamp or virtualization there really is no need to have a pc around....
at least for me.
 
The funny thing about this is that I was just thinking that yesterday. I work on windows at work and can't wait to get back to my mac once I get home.
Others in the family has their own computers but still get on my mac.
My hubby told me the other day that he may give his new laptop to our son who wants a new computer and get himself a macbook. (like he should have done in the first place, but was in too much of a hurry to get one. his words and not mine!)
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.