has anyone recently switched from a windows desktop pc to an iMac? Are you happy with your choice? Is there anything you miss?
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switching from a windows desktop to iMac?
- Thread starter cinek
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I switched form a PC to the 27" iMac recently.
Do not regret it at all. No problems so far, OSX is beautiful and makes things really simple. The only things I had to spend a little time learning was stuff like pages and word for imac. But its a pretty simple transition overall.
I also found that most of the software I wanted was available. 10 years ago or so this might not have been the case. Also, i think there is exciting potential for the future with apple.
Not only is it a great computer, but I think the design makes it like having a little bit of art. Its a beautiful item to look at and have in a room. Not like having an ugly PC you want to hide.
Do not regret it at all. No problems so far, OSX is beautiful and makes things really simple. The only things I had to spend a little time learning was stuff like pages and word for imac. But its a pretty simple transition overall.
I also found that most of the software I wanted was available. 10 years ago or so this might not have been the case. Also, i think there is exciting potential for the future with apple.
Not only is it a great computer, but I think the design makes it like having a little bit of art. Its a beautiful item to look at and have in a room. Not like having an ugly PC you want to hide.
I also switched recently. And don't regret it. No OS is 100% better in every regard so yeah, there are a few things I miss but I'm getting used to OSx and I like it a lot.
Psilocybin
macrumors 6502a
Your in for quite the ride. You'll love it I have been programming for the Mac for decades and after using both os's and hardware Ill tell you one thing. You probly won't ever touch a pc if you have the choice again
Sent from my iPhone 4 using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone 4 using Tapatalk
Only issues I faced was sometimes (rarely though) my xls and ppt files created in ms office for mac was not compatible when i open it in office pc. Its not a problem with mac os, but it was one of the problems I faced with mac. Almost all essential software is available in mac and many times works very well. I also used the trial version of iwork and though its more intuitive, compatibility issues were often a problem.
I found that lot of applications like photoshop, matlab, pdf writers and even ms office work better with mac. I rarely have problems like one application hanging the whole system (which is almost a daily thing in my quad core PC at work). So the mac experience is far better. I realized that OS and software plays a big role and its not just about hardware spec by spec comparison.
I found that lot of applications like photoshop, matlab, pdf writers and even ms office work better with mac. I rarely have problems like one application hanging the whole system (which is almost a daily thing in my quad core PC at work). So the mac experience is far better. I realized that OS and software plays a big role and its not just about hardware spec by spec comparison.
I got an iMac 27'' some days ago and hell, I'm blown away. It's just beautiful and works so much faster than Windows 7. With multitouch-gestures you can do any work a lot faster and more intuitive (I recommend buying the trackpad).
The OS and apps are very well done, very easy, nice layouts and just "simple". You find everything you search at the right place. everything works fine, the iMac itself is damn fast.
Just for gaming a lot of games don't fit with the OS (no download/flash/version for Mac). But you're able to install windows on it. So if you don't like OS X at all, you might go back to windows very easy 😉
The OS and apps are very well done, very easy, nice layouts and just "simple". You find everything you search at the right place. everything works fine, the iMac itself is damn fast.
Just for gaming a lot of games don't fit with the OS (no download/flash/version for Mac). But you're able to install windows on it. So if you don't like OS X at all, you might go back to windows very easy 😉
Switched a few weeks back , semi regreted it after a couple of weeks but now happy with my choice.
Took me a while to settle into OSX but thats just because i'm old and set in my ways 🙂
I'm still not entirely comfortable using the magic mouse (lack of central clicky wheel) and the small Apple KB. If i could order things again knowing what i know now i would order the larger wired Apple KB with numeric pad and the Apple Trackpad instead of the mouse and use my old Windows USB mouse instead.
Also helps that i installed Windows 7 last night in Bootcamp 😀 , which by the way was a total breeze much to my relief.
Took me a while to settle into OSX but thats just because i'm old and set in my ways 🙂
I'm still not entirely comfortable using the magic mouse (lack of central clicky wheel) and the small Apple KB. If i could order things again knowing what i know now i would order the larger wired Apple KB with numeric pad and the Apple Trackpad instead of the mouse and use my old Windows USB mouse instead.
Also helps that i installed Windows 7 last night in Bootcamp 😀 , which by the way was a total breeze much to my relief.
NutsNGum
macrumors 68030
I'm confused. Why do you say there is no Flash for Mac, am I misunderstanding your sentence?
Psilocybin
macrumors 6502a
I just switched as well, I had apple transfer all my files over before I even unpacked it. I just need to order some ram now!
I had never used a Magic Mouse until last week, and I also wanted it my way, so I installed MagicPrefs. You can use MagicPrefs, and set "One Finger Middle Axis Click" to Middle Click. It has many more configuration options for clicks, swipes etc. Now I wouldn't go back to my old mouse.
Another app for switchers is KeyRemap4MacBook. It will let you use many PC key combinations you may not really want to give up.
Other tricks are installing the KeyFixer add-on on Firefox and hacking the ~Library/KeyBindings/DefaultKeyBinding.dict file for additional keystroke compatibility.
Some of us are too old or simply use several OSs to bother re-learning all the key combinations.
I've had my first iMac for less than a day. Gotta say: I'm loving it. I can't say that I miss anything. 🙂
Just go dual-boot if you miss Windows. I prefer the Mac OS but, being an IT person, I find myself needing both. FWIW, these puppies run Windows just fine:
I switched to Mac OSX on the new iMacs that came out a month or so ago.
At first, I was a bit lost with some things such as folder permissions. Now that I understood how that works (sorta like UAC in Win7 but can be much more granular than the Win7 UAC from what I can gather) I only miss two things which are being addressed in OSX Lion... Full-Screen Apps and being able to resize a window from any location. Currently, you can only resize windows from the bottom-right corner.
I have not had the need to load Boot Camp which allows you to run Windows on the Macs without virtualization software like VMWare.
I am happy with my choice and dont miss a thing... especially this month with Windows releasing 14-ish security updates.
At first, I was a bit lost with some things such as folder permissions. Now that I understood how that works (sorta like UAC in Win7 but can be much more granular than the Win7 UAC from what I can gather) I only miss two things which are being addressed in OSX Lion... Full-Screen Apps and being able to resize a window from any location. Currently, you can only resize windows from the bottom-right corner.
I have not had the need to load Boot Camp which allows you to run Windows on the Macs without virtualization software like VMWare.
I am happy with my choice and dont miss a thing... especially this month with Windows releasing 14-ish security updates.
Pipper99
macrumors 68040
I got my new iMac on Friday, and I love it. The only thing that I missed from windows 7 was aero snap, but the free program Shiftit gave me most of that functionality. Bettersnaptool is only $1.99 in the app store, and it gives you the full aero snap capability. Flash doesn't come installed on new macs, but it's a quick download from adobe. One other thing that I missis quicken: the Mac version is awful, but I can run the windows version on my Mac in boot camp. I'm not getting rid of my windows laptop, so I'll probably just keep using it for quicken.
Switched and never looked back. I can do bootcamp with games so no big deal. I even made myself a list of stuff I concerned about if I use a Mac. Funny that a lot of them already doable on Mac. There are some really oddball ones but all have to do with I was using someone's 3rd party exe. I guess I can run them in wine if necessary? I have yet to find something I can do on pc that I cannot do in my iMac now....
I switched a month back after having used windows for 13 years, and majority of my life. And I absolutely love it 😀
I haven't needed to use windows at all for the past month, don't miss it at all. I might end up using bootcamp for some games, but I'm still not sure yet.
I haven't needed to use windows at all for the past month, don't miss it at all. I might end up using bootcamp for some games, but I'm still not sure yet.
I switched last week after having a Windows product since the early 90's. I always built my own Windows PC, but decided I wanted a change. Love the 27 inch with SSD + 2 TB HDD. I installed Windows 7 Pro in bootcamp and it runs great. I took out my internal Blu-Ray out of my old machine and put it into an external enclosure and now watch Blu-Ray movies on my iMac (through Bootcamp in Windows 7). So now I have the best of both worlds. The only thing I have to get use to is the Wireless keyboard and magic mouse, but I am learning how to use it pretty fast.
Mac OS X Snow Leopard is a far more streamlined operating system than Windows 7. It boots faster, has excellent software, and boasts outstanding performance. Youll find that Snow Leopard is a very compelling option.
I'm a design mechanical engineer and use my iMac for complex design of assemblies of 100+ parts/components and because I used both systems I can say with all my honesty the performance of OSX vs. Windows is like day and night. OSX is way far superior to Windows no matter how you slice it. Plus the engineering design work put into a Mac machine is of no comparison with any PC.
RoyalFlushAK(s),
I'm a design mechanical engineer and use my iMac for complex design of assemblies of 100+ parts/components and because I used both systems I can say with all my honesty the performance of OSX vs. Windows is like day and night. OSX is way far superior to Windows no matter how you slice it. Plus the engineering design work put into a Mac machine is of no comparison with any PC.
RoyalFlushAK(s),
Switched and Going Great
I recently switched to the 2011 27" i5 iMac after about 18 years of strictly PC use. Sorry I didn't stay with Macs from the very beginning (started out in the old 512k Macintosh days). This is a fantastic experience. There's nothing I miss, really, in the PC species. Still have to use a PC at work, and will make claim for a Mac when next time to upgrade the office computerware. As for word processing and spreadsheets, I'm using the open source Libre Office and have had nothing but good outcomes so far. Still much to learn about several of the standard OSX applications, but waiting on Lion to arrive before getting very far into their intricacies. Any PC user who thinks they might like a Mac will love a Mac once they convert.
I recently switched to the 2011 27" i5 iMac after about 18 years of strictly PC use. Sorry I didn't stay with Macs from the very beginning (started out in the old 512k Macintosh days). This is a fantastic experience. There's nothing I miss, really, in the PC species. Still have to use a PC at work, and will make claim for a Mac when next time to upgrade the office computerware. As for word processing and spreadsheets, I'm using the open source Libre Office and have had nothing but good outcomes so far. Still much to learn about several of the standard OSX applications, but waiting on Lion to arrive before getting very far into their intricacies. Any PC user who thinks they might like a Mac will love a Mac once they convert.
There is a learning curve, but once you get use to it, you will never want to go back. Everything works. No pc can beat the startup time from power off to full functionality is 20 seconds.
Me too, lol, lol, lol, .., 🙄
I remember when I used Windows in the past, almost every other day my machine had to download and install security updates. My hard drive was so crowded with so many Win updates that I lost count of them all, lol, lol, Every other day or so I had warnings to check and download/install the latest security patches.
Well, it is what it is. I'm super happy with OSX,
RoyalFlushAK(s)
Made the switch as soon as the new iMac refresh came out and don't miss Windows at all. OS X does everything I did on Windows without the constant updates and viruses. I do miss the F11 full screen mode for Firefox but Lion should take care of that.
Its a great system, however it gets better as you use it. Needless to say there are many tricks & tips that enhance the experience and are aquired over time.
Bootcamp is easily installable to give you that PC experience if the need be there for it such as for Games, Quicken etc.
Overall the experience is positive, Apple has created an Operating System which thrives on user satisfaction.
As that old comercial used to say.........TRY It ,You'll Like it.
Bootcamp is easily installable to give you that PC experience if the need be there for it such as for Games, Quicken etc.
Overall the experience is positive, Apple has created an Operating System which thrives on user satisfaction.
As that old comercial used to say.........TRY It ,You'll Like it.