Would it be considered switching if I bought the mini? I"ll still have a few laptops which I'll be using with XP, but then again; I can just VNC to the OSX mac mini
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SWITCHERS ONLY: What might we NOT like about switching?
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seriously, stop spreading crap like this. You make it plainly obvious that you have never actually used a mac. Or, that you're a 20-something kid who values your precious soul-sucking video games above all else.
I'm sorry if YOU can't see any value in a mac - you aren't looking very hard. Try loading OSX on your pc. Go ahead. I'll wait. Oh, make sure it is full functionality too. I want gestures, I want full printing and network support, everything. You say you have it? Prove it. Give me screen shots, video with audio, etc.
I'm sorry, but I loathe posts like yours. If you are so anti-mac, then good for you. Enjoy your world, but stay the hell out of ours.
Many of us maintain multiple machines or run Windows as well as OS X.
I think you can define a switcher as someone who, given the choice of performing a task either on one platform or the other that either could do, will more often than not pick the Mac using OS X.
B
I miss wasting most of my time waiting for windows to start up / shut down / update / virus scan / defrag / pop up warnings / etc. 
i miss wasting most of my time waiting for windows to start up / shut down / update / virus scan / defrag / pop up warnings / etc.
+999
The biggest hassle was keyboard differences for me. Some keys I use quite often like "home" and "end" are missing. Command, which fills in for control in most cases, isn't in the "corners" (first and last keys in the bottom row) so instead of using my pinky + index finger for things like copy/paste, I had to get used to using thumb + index finger.
That being said, once you get used to it, it's not a problem. Like many others, I use winXP at work and OSX at home. You would think it would be confusing, but muscle memory is an amazing thing. Your hands eventually know which keys to use based on the environment you're using. You become almost ambidextrous in that sense.
That being said, once you get used to it, it's not a problem. Like many others, I use winXP at work and OSX at home. You would think it would be confusing, but muscle memory is an amazing thing. Your hands eventually know which keys to use based on the environment you're using. You become almost ambidextrous in that sense.
Aside from the part about installing Mac OS on the pc, which isn't THAT far off if you have the right hardware, nothing else that he said is really that inaccurate.
Did you not read the thread title? The op was specifically asking for people's opinions and what they don't like. And that's exactly what he stated.
Good grief, he didn't attack your mom. Your statement here, and really the entire post is uncalled for. He is well within the subject of the thread. If you don't believe so, report him and move on. If you don't like his reasoning, perhaps you are far to pro-Mac to be able to know the difference. Chill.
Less tech savvy now i have switched
Well i actually became less tech savvy after switching to Mac. I just re-read this post before submitting and it is a bit fanboyish and doesn't really answer the OP but may help some other posters.
With my PC i always had to worry about drivers and folder structure and everytime i installed a program i would lose some performance. Setting up networks was a night mare not to mention 24hr virus lookout.
I have had my powerbook since 06 and i cannot imagine a life with PC now. First things i was amazed with were expose and spotlight. For any switcher learn to use
key-space (which opens Spotlight in the top corner) and you will start to rely much less heavily on your mouse ie hit key-space type skyp and hits will automatically start to load, once skype appears hit enter and , bang, its open.
Secondily iLife. It always blows me away that its free and included, such a more polished set of programs than what windows has. The integration of these programs is amazing and one more reason why you become less tech savvy because you stop having learn how to circumnavigate problems because they are more rare.
For those wanting open source programs, a quick look at Macupdate or version tracker can give lots of open source programs. I rarely pay for programs. Don't want to pay for Pages or Office, try openoffice? Can't afford Photoshop, try Gimp app.
For those nervous about the need to just drag and drop applications to delete them, it is just a emotion you have bought with you from your window days.
One thing windows does not have also is Genius Bar. Apple is about experience, and their customer service and backup are a strong component.
could go on, but those apple tutorial videos are handy so i suggest watch them, if you want a more simpler computing existence, switch to mac.
Well i actually became less tech savvy after switching to Mac. I just re-read this post before submitting and it is a bit fanboyish and doesn't really answer the OP but may help some other posters.
With my PC i always had to worry about drivers and folder structure and everytime i installed a program i would lose some performance. Setting up networks was a night mare not to mention 24hr virus lookout.
I have had my powerbook since 06 and i cannot imagine a life with PC now. First things i was amazed with were expose and spotlight. For any switcher learn to use
key-space (which opens Spotlight in the top corner) and you will start to rely much less heavily on your mouse ie hit key-space type skyp and hits will automatically start to load, once skype appears hit enter and , bang, its open.Secondily iLife. It always blows me away that its free and included, such a more polished set of programs than what windows has. The integration of these programs is amazing and one more reason why you become less tech savvy because you stop having learn how to circumnavigate problems because they are more rare.
For those wanting open source programs, a quick look at Macupdate or version tracker can give lots of open source programs. I rarely pay for programs. Don't want to pay for Pages or Office, try openoffice? Can't afford Photoshop, try Gimp app.
For those nervous about the need to just drag and drop applications to delete them, it is just a emotion you have bought with you from your window days.
One thing windows does not have also is Genius Bar. Apple is about experience, and their customer service and backup are a strong component.
could go on, but those apple tutorial videos are handy so i suggest watch them, if you want a more simpler computing existence, switch to mac.
If you felt confortable with Linux and its command line, Mac OS X should be no real change for you. Its command line interface is no different. If I remember right, Mac OS X's standard Shell is in bash, but you can change it to the many other popular shells that are used with Unix and linux and even install your own.
Once you are using the shell program in OS X, you will find the not much has changed UNIX wise but remember that OS X is based on BSD and not linux so I guess there are some small (very small) differences.
My Mac keyboard has "home" and "end" keys. They function differently in basic use from Windows though. If you are talking about being able to jump to the beginning and end of a line of text (like in Word) then the Mac shortcut is command + Left or Right Arrow depending on whether you are going to the beginning or end of the line.
Actually, I do think this would bug me. I love that I have all of my most used programs (Word, Excel, Photoshop, Lightroom, Notepad, etc, plus one particular folder) right there for easy access with 1 click of the Start button -- yet hidden away completely out of sight (until I click on Start). I also love having quick access to my "Recent Items" list, to quickly open a file I was recently working on.
How are the above 2 things done on a Mac?
eek... I use "alt-tab" and "copy & paste" A LOT!
Doesn't Mac have these things too?
Actually the mac dock id essential the same as the windows start menu. The difference is you can put it essentially anywhere on the screen (use an app called deeper to help with this) and you can have as many apps as your heart desires. Folders and stacks as well. AND, you say out of site? Hide the dock. Easy.
Mac OS also has the recent items and "alt" tab and such. Command usually takes place of alt and/or control in mac os however. Or the apple key on older keyboards. Cheers.
I don't care for the difficulty involved in sharing files across OS X/Windows/Linux, but that's hardly the fault of the Mac.
Other nags:
-Requiring 3rd-party software to stay awake when closed
-The terrible built-in webcam (at least where Photo Booth is concerned, I've actually been pretty satisfied with iChat)
The hilarious hillarious way that iTunes and iPhones work. It's the same way on Windows, but I think they sacrificed function for increased integration.
Other nags:
-Requiring 3rd-party software to stay awake when closed
-The terrible built-in webcam (at least where Photo Booth is concerned, I've actually been pretty satisfied with iChat)
The hilarious hillarious way that iTunes and iPhones work. It's the same way on Windows, but I think they sacrificed function for increased integration.
THIS. You can legally run both (assuming you have a copy of Windows to install) and you can both learn the Mac AND have Windows as your safety net. With Bootcamp, Windows runs natively, fully utilizing the hardware, its graphics, etc.
Stick shared files on a NAS or in the cloud. Problem solved.
My last PC laptop decided not to go to sleep one one trip, I put it away in my backpack and when I took it out the battery was drained and the sleeve was discolored by the heat.
Plus, I just love trying to shut down or log off and be told that Windows needs to install updates. Right now? WTF! If I need to shut you down it's because I need to go. Now.
This is really better?
Here I'm with you. I keep hoping that Apple will return to their senses and split iTunes up into iMusic, iVideo, iBooks, iApps, iSync etc... Maybe they will with a fully Cocoafied iTunes replacement in Lion.
B
May not be exactly what you want, but you can also cycle through open windows of the same app using command+~
Crazy pills
Boy, I've read the first few pages of this thread and have come to the overwhelming conclusion that most people posting differences on here between Windows/OSX simply don't know how or haven't learned yet how to fully use OS X. The majority of complaints seem to simply be people who don't know the key commands to do what they're blaming OS X for lacking. If something is that disruptive to your workflow why aren't you guys doing the minimal amount of research it would take to solve the issue?
Boy, I've read the first few pages of this thread and have come to the overwhelming conclusion that most people posting differences on here between Windows/OSX simply don't know how or haven't learned yet how to fully use OS X. The majority of complaints seem to simply be people who don't know the key commands to do what they're blaming OS X for lacking. If something is that disruptive to your workflow why aren't you guys doing the minimal amount of research it would take to solve the issue?
There are only minor annoyances and differences. Chances are you don't sit down and use the OS for 8 hours, you use other programs. While those are active, your OS will disappear.
I never like the functionality of the green button at the top of mac windows. It's almost useless and inconsistent and best.
In adobe products, I tended to lose palettes off the edge of the screen more often on the mac with no way to reach them (have to reset a workspace to get it back). That's probably due to adobe being idiotic, though.
I never like the functionality of the green button at the top of mac windows. It's almost useless and inconsistent and best.
In adobe products, I tended to lose palettes off the edge of the screen more often on the mac with no way to reach them (have to reset a workspace to get it back). That's probably due to adobe being idiotic, though.
I agree completely. I went from Windows to Linux to OS X. Well not quite... I went from
Windows
to
Windows + Linux
to
Windows + Linux + OS X
to
OS X + Linux.*
(* with windows banished from the home network and only used on the stone knives and bearskins issued to (inflicted upon) me by my employer)
During this time I found Linux and OS X to be similar and I don't bother thinking about switching from bash to csh or sh. I'm happy with bash. If I want to run a shell script, it always begins with #!/bin/sh so all the sh dependent shell scripts I've gotten used to, written and rewritten over the years work just fine.
If this already got covered, I apologize.
Sounds like a job for the Dock. The default mode of the Windows 7 Taskbar is very Dock-like. They both generally seem like a handy place to keep your most commonly used applications.
(I Win 7, you Pin to the Taskbar with the default behavior, which turns the whole Taskbar into a Quicklaunch area. Though it is possible to revert to XP-like behavior with a Quicklaunch and worded application references to the right of the Quicklaunch.)
I don't use the right side of the Dock in anything but "Folder" and "List" view. I still miss how Tiger (OS 10.4.x) treated Aliases (shortcuts) of folders: you could see the actual contents of the folder you aliased. Since Leopard, it just allows you to open the folder in a new Finder window. Poo. I created folders with aliases to all of my applications as I've categorized them for years.
(For the record, aliases and shortcuts are similar, but not the same. Worth googling to confirm the subtle differences.)
Strict keyboard navigation is tougher. If you like it, be sure to turn on Full Keyboard access for All Controls in the Keyboard Shortcuts section of the Keyboard Preference Pane.
I miss the split window of Windows Explorer: Folder List on the left, contents on the right. I use Column View most of the time for Finder Windows (Command-3) and sometimes List View (Command-2) if I'm specifically interested in file/folder details. I don't think there are any third party navigation tools that replicate that, either.
If your're getting a laptop, the trackpad is awesome. Nothing like it in Windows that I'm aware of.
I think Control Panels are easier and more straightforward in OS X, called System Preferences with Preference Panes. I think Control Panels got even more convoluted with Vista/Win7 from XP. That said, the Windows gives much more granularity of control than OS X, but many things can be modified with some third party help (you HAVE to check out Tinker Tool).
Is it worth it? Hard to say. If you spend most of your computing in an office with Windows computers in a Windows domain? I say not worth switching. You *can* do everything, but I find it often a little more time consuming than I find it in Windows.
If most of your computing is for personal use and/or you're not integrating into a Windows domain environment? Then I'd say whatever software you need to run and personal preference can drive the decision.
Good luck!
If you can get your fingers to do the gymnastics, command-control-shift-3 (or 4) will put your screen shot (or partial screen shot) to the Clipboard instead of a file to allow for pasting where you want to.
Cheers.
Your comment about "suffering with 7 all day" is surprising to me. I don't know if I've seen Windows 7 experience a full OS crash. And I've been toying with Win 7 since it was in beta.
Sure, it ain't perfect, but I find Win 7 pretty darn efficient overall. I haven't encountered any OS related issues with 7 yet. Application quirks, sure, but not really any OS problems.
I'd say OS X and Win 7 are much more comparable than Vista or XP.
Again, it comes down mostly to what you need a computer to do.
Cheers, all.
i've used windows as long as the OP. Mac OS X is great and there is nothing i can say you wouldn't like about the OS, but i still get stomach aches from the lack of software and hardware options for Mac users. it is a totally different world. there is just so much more developed for Windows. Apple must make it extremely difficult to develop for Mac. i am an audio engineer and i'd be using a different DAW if i could (i have to use Logic) and i wanted more options for my hardware interface, but i'd have picked this one anyways (RME Fireface, i actually picked it because it was compatible with Windows as well). also, i miss all the DIY and homegrown freeware you could get for Windows. DIY Mac developers don't like to make as much useful stuff. so, as a result, i could always get more done with Windows.
Bad:
Less software options
Less device/peripheral options
Dealing with Apple as a company. They want too much money and find tons of ways to get it.
Bad:
Less software options
Less device/peripheral options
Dealing with Apple as a company. They want too much money and find tons of ways to get it.
I'm sure this has been mentioned.
Connecting other hard drives. I'm only able to read from most (windows) drives.
Connecting other hard drives. I'm only able to read from most (windows) drives.
FAT32 (File Allocation Table)
- Read/Write FAT32 from both native Windows and native Mac OS X.
- Maximum file size: 4GB.
- Maximum volume size: 2TB
- Read/Write NTFS from native Windows.
- Read only NTFS from native Mac OS X
- To Read/Write/Format NTFS from Mac OS X: Install NTFS-3G for Mac OS X (free)
- Some have reported problems using Tuxera (approx 33USD).
- Native NTFS support can be enabled in Snow Leopard, but is not advisable, due to instability.
- AirPort Extreme (802.11n) and Time Capsule do not support NTFS
- Maximum file size: 16 TB
- Maximum volume size: 256TB