Thinking of Switching to Apple (Im a PC User!)

[iMacIreland]

I have been thinking of switching to apple now for a few months. I am currently using HP desktops and laptops with XP.

I was just wondering.. what exactly is so good about the mac?

As the new iMac has just come out I will probably buy one this week, I just nee some re-assurance that im making the right choice

Also, is it worth buying iWork with my iMac when im purchasing it?

-Jordan

 

[Eidorian]

It's UNIX and there are a lot of compatible packages.

 

[nineteentwelve]

If you haven't done so already, I'd suggest watching the Guided Tour of Mac OS X on Apple.com. This will show you the best features of Mac OS X.

 

[ajchapinjr.com]

With a Mac, you'll not only enjoy the benefit of a functional operating system, but also the fact that you won't have to deal with Anti-Virus software, Spyware, etc...

As far as iWork goes, I highly recommend it. I changed over to Mac a few years ago and after toying around with both MS Office '04 and iWork, purchased iWork.

It does the exact same things as your Office suite, but it seems to "work" better... at least for me, it is much quicker loading, exporting, printing, etc. than I have ever seen Office work on a Mac.

Man, am I vague today...I hope this helps.

 

[AppleFan360]

I have been thinking of switching to apple now for a few months. I am currently using HP desktops and laptops with XP.

I was just wondering.. what exactly is so good about the mac?

As the new iMac has just come out I will probably buy one this week, I just nee some re-assurance that im making the right choice

Also, is it worth buying iWork with my iMac when im purchasing it?

-Jordan

The short answer is do it! You will be glad to did. You will be more productive instead of dealing with Windows issues.

I would suggest picking up iWork (or at least a serial number) here in the Macrumors marketplace. It will be much cheaper.

I also would suggest a .Mac account (Amazon has them pretty cheap). Having online storage, web space, and screen sharing between macs has been handy.

Above all, just have fun!!!

 

[nick9191]

iWork is great, however has limited compatibility with MS Office. If your using Office a lot elsewhere, buy Office.

 

[mslide]

It just works. That pretty much sums everything up as to why I use a Mac. My wife would say "because it's pretty."

The engineering side of me always appreciates the fact that the OS is based off bsd and it comes with all the standard packages one would expect with a unix-like os. It's nice that I can ssh into my linux/freebsd servers and run X apps right out of the box.

As for iWork. If I didn't have office already, I'd seriously consider it. From when I've used it on other machines, it seems to load much faster.

edit: I also equate using a Mac to driving a high end luxury sedan as opposed to a ford focus. They'll both get you where you want to go, but it's just a nicer experience.

 

[iMacIreland]

Thanks for the replies everyone, they seem to be a great help for deciding to switch, just wondering though, how long is it normally before they will update the design? I do like having the latest style but i suppose that isnt improtant when the computer works. Has anyone here tried vista on a mac? If so, does it actually work well, or have microsoft programmed it to run like a slug?

 

[nick9191]

They didn't update the imac design between 2004 and 2007, the current design was released in 2007, so I think your safe for a while.

Vista runs fine on a Mac. As far as Vista is concerned, its a computer, it can't tell if its a mac or pc.

 

[iMacIreland]

Sounds great, in that case ill buy a new iMac first thing in the morning!

 

[Sun Baked]

You know Office, so that is a given.

Try iWork 08 for the 30-day free trial ... and also give NeoOffice a try during that same time.

 

[Eraserhead]

It does the exact same things as your Office suite,

No it isn't iWork is not as feature rich, for example it can't do citations.

 

[iToaster]

Good luck, you won't regret it. The iMac will be a nice change, but if you find it awkward at first, give yourself a few days to learn the new OS. Yes, if you need to, you can install Windows and it will run well, but I don't think you'll need to.

By the way, iWork has caused me no trouble at all, but it never hurts to give other things a try.

 

[D4F]

I have just one advice.
Get a regular (like Logitech MX) mouse. The one button white piece of crap that comes with iMac can cause serious frustration especially if you're used to right click.
This is the only thing I hate in iMac and I wonder till this day why Apple uses it especially that any two button one works like a charm.

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

The one button white piece of crap that comes with iMac can cause serious frustration especially if you're used to right click.
This is the only thing I hate in iMac and I wonder till this day why Apple uses it especially that any two button one works like a charm.

Umm, don't you know you can turn on the 2nd button in System Pref? It's turned off by default.

 

[deputy_doofy]

And once you buy, get all the necessities here:
http://www.opensourcemac.org

Great, great site.

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

If you're used to Office, get Office. I've had iWork all this time and haven't bothered with it at all.

 

[D4F]

Umm, don't you know you can turn on the 2nd button in System Pref? It's turned off by default.

I know that but it still didn't suit my 15 years old dedicated right click button habbit.

 

[Petoz]

I just switched to Mac about 3 weeks ago. Its hard to explain why it is better, but it just is. I don't think you will ever regret making the switch. An even when you do switch, if for some unknown reason you need xp, you will still have your laptop to use. Hope you enjoy the new iMac. I just got the 2.4GHz 20" yesterday, after returning the 2.0GHz 20", as I was within the 14 day return time.

Enjoy!

 

[mslide]

Umm, don't you know you can turn on the 2nd button in System Pref? It's turned off by default.

Doing that will cause even more frustration with someone used to right-clicking. It will constantly think you're left-clicking when you're trying to right-click and vice versa. I use some small logitech mouse that's made for laptops. Much better.

 

[Petoz]

Doing that will cause even more frustration with someone used to right-clicking. It will constantly think you're left-clicking when you're trying to right-click and vice versa. I use some small logitech mouse that's made for laptops. Much better.

I had never used a mighty mouse before, and turning on left click was not a problem at all. You just need to lift your finger off the right click, and just click the left button. I found this very easy to get used to. And why bother buying a new mouse, when a perfectly good one comes with the imac? Thats what I think anyway.

 

[McGiord]

No hesitation : get a Mac!

Here you will solve all your questions, it's always more fun to learn the differences while using it, no disappointments ever.

Remember that you can also run Windows if you "miss it".
________
Ferrari 275 picture

 

[D4F]

I had never used a mighty mouse before, and turning on left click was not a problem at all. You just need to lift your finger off the right click, and just click the left button. I found this very easy to get used to. And why bother buying a new mouse, when a perfectly good one comes with the imac? Thats what I think anyway.

Try the MX revolution if you ever have a chance. You'll know why the moment you mess with it.

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

Doing that will cause even more frustration with someone used to right-clicking. It will constantly think you're left-clicking when you're trying to right-click and vice versa. I use some small logitech mouse that's made for laptops. Much better.

I'm used to right-clicking and have had no problems with the Mighty Mouse.

 

[Digital Skunk]

Don't sweat it, you can always switch back to PC if it's the worst experience you have ever had..... I doubt it will be that bad (there is a slight learning curve that is easy to overcome).

If in a few weeks or months you HATE Macs then you can always recoup a good portion of your purchase price for the iMac and get a PC mini tower of comparable specs for cheaper....