How was your transition from Windows to Mac (assuming you did)? Was it love at first boot or did it take some fussin' and cussin' before you fell in love? I ask because I'm seriously considering taking the plunge, but every time I work on my parents' or girlfriend's Macs, I have a hard time making the machine do what I want. I understand about learning curves and familiarity, but I wonder if I have PC neural pathways. Cheers.
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Was It Love At First Sight?
- Thread starter Dave410
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I switched relatively recently, in 2012, with the quad core mac mini.
Learning it took awhile, but I absolutely loved it. The UI made so much more sense once you adjusted, it was cleaner, and required less fuss than windows. My wife was a windows person too, but she eventually made the switch and says she's "spoiled" now. Her past 2 laptops have been macs.
I've tried a few windows devices (surface3/book, Dell XPS 15/13), but always come back to Macs. If I'm going to be spending money on a laptop and using it daily, I want it to be the best hardware/software - and in my experience that's macs.
Although I think the touchbar is a distraction, but I love the non-TB 13", and have faith they'll get back on track.
Learning it took awhile, but I absolutely loved it. The UI made so much more sense once you adjusted, it was cleaner, and required less fuss than windows. My wife was a windows person too, but she eventually made the switch and says she's "spoiled" now. Her past 2 laptops have been macs.
I've tried a few windows devices (surface3/book, Dell XPS 15/13), but always come back to Macs. If I'm going to be spending money on a laptop and using it daily, I want it to be the best hardware/software - and in my experience that's macs.
Although I think the touchbar is a distraction, but I love the non-TB 13", and have faith they'll get back on track.
I used to be a typical opinionated Windows/Linux user, making fun of Mac and its hipster user base for buying these underperforming, overpriced form-over-function machines that wouldn't even run any reasonable software. Then I had to use a Mac for a student job (the place where I had to work only had Macs). A month later I bought my first white polycarbonate MacBook. That kind of sums it up.
This was about 10 or so years ago
This was about 10 or so years ago
My transition to the Mac has pretty much been a 18 year process. It started when I first saw OS X on an episode the Screen Savers on ZDNet TV or TechTV as it was known back then. I fell in love with the Aqua user interface, that vibrant aqua blue, lickable wallpaper; the photo realistic icons; gummy bear window ornaments. There was even a purple one back then I believe, what was known as simple window mode. At the time, I was deep in Microsoft Windows, its all we had access to and considered a practical choice. Living under my parents roof with no income, I had to settle for seeing it on TV or in the technology magazines I bought. I probably could have persuaded my dad to buy one but there was the issue of compatibility. Where would I get compatible versions of apps like Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint? The logistics of persuading him to buy a Mac then buy software too, would seem ridiculous.
It was purely a lust for aesthetics and remained that way for a long time. Of course, Microsoft was planning their answer to OS X and Aqua with Vista and Aero, but when it finally came out, the world had pretty much moved on from desire of a good looking operating system. It wasn't out of the ordinary to have snazzy UI's. Apple moved on to the iPhone but they continued to release envious computers: MacBook Pro, Air etc. My first full time experience with Mac OS X was in 2006 when a hacked copy of Tiger 10.4.5 for Intel was released to the Internet.
I persuaded my dad to build a cheap AMD Sempron machine so I could get to play with Windows XP 64 bit (boring). So, my next obvious challenge was to install the hacked OS X. After many trials and errors and basically destroying all my other dual boot installations, learning how to modify kernel extensions (KEXT), I finally got it to run. It was fun, but I knew I was missing a lot of other stuff, for instance, the Geforce FX 5200 was not being utilized. It was surprisingly a useful machine, but it just wasn't a "true" Mac. I didn't have the white Apple logo boot screen - all I saw was a string of boot code; there was no accelerate graphics, which meant no genie effects. In addition to that, installing point updates was a PITA.
With Leopard on the horizon, I would want that next, but, it just wasn't going to happen and I never got it to work. So, eventually I gave up. In 2007, I was furthering my education at a vocational institution. One day, I entered the cafeteria and I couldn't believe what I saw, an Apple logo shining right back me. Behind it was a young lady with a perplexed expression. I asked her if I could check it out. It was the first gen 2006 Core Duo MacBook Pro, 15 inch. She told me her husband bought it for her, but she was having a difficult time with it, because she can't use her accounting program required for class; this was Peach Tree Accounting. She was running it in Parallels on top of Windows XP at the time. It was slow as molasses. Take into account, this was a Mac with 512 MBs of RAM shared with a VM. I told her to bring it next week; I returned home for the weekend then downloaded a beta copy of Boot Camp at the time. Boot Camp was supposed to be an exclusive addition to Leopard, but the beta copy worked on 10.4.5 or .6 I believe.
I gathered all the stuff she would need to have Windows setup on her Mac: Windows XP Professional (pirated), Office 2007 Enterprise (pirated) and I downloaded some apps like iTunes and a software that could read HFS+ partitions and write to them.
When I returned the Sunday, she was not on campus, so, I had to wait. The following Thursday, I met up with her in the computer lab. What I saw on the screen shocked me. Windows XP was installed, but there was no more OS X. It seems my IT Instructor, not having a clue about anything else but Windows, thought it was just a regular Windows Laptop, installed XP by wiping out the GPT partition. It pretty much turned it into a zombie, the Device Manager looked like a crime scene.
What this meant was, another week of waiting. I told her to bring the software restore discs and any other software that came with the machine. Cut a long story short, everything was finally sorted out. Mac OS X Tiger restored, reinstalled her other apps. Setup Boot Camp then installed Windows XP and Office 2007. Installed the copy of Peach Tree and everything was working. I also, setup a shared folder between the Mac and Windows partitions so her files saved to one location without issue.
The only issue was, she wasn't liking the Office 2007 ribbon; they were using Office 2003 in her class. I installed that and everything was then perfect. To say how grateful she was would be an understatement. What ended up happening, for that entire year - 07 to 08 - anytime I wanted to use her Mac - she would lend it to me without hesitation. I still have some Photobooth photos from that time.
Between 2008 and 2015, I would never touch another Mac, but my lust for one remained. Vista was ok, so was Windows 7. I just wanted to own a Mac though, but money remained an issue. I wasn't earning much really to justify such an expense. I won a iPod Touch 3rd gen in 2009 and that was probably the closest I ever came to owning anything Apple at the time.
In 2012, I got an IT Sys Admin job at a local high school. Income was relatively good and I saved up to nearly $2,000 US with the plan to go on a major shopping spree. I was planning to buy an iMac, iPad and iPhone. Just go all out.
Somewhere along the way, I lost interest, job stress and some other issues, I just never ended up doing it. I left my job in 2014, went abroad for a month. The money I had saved up since 2011 would be what I lived on for about a year until I got a writing gig at a web site. That same year (2015), I traveled to a conference using some of the money I had saved from my previous job. The owner of the site I write for lived in the part of the US I was traveling to, so we got to meet up.
I traveled with about US $3,000, not necessarily with the intention of buying anything, just as emergency money. To cut a long story short, I was dead set on buying an iPhone. So, that became sort of my first impulse purchase, a 6s. I was using a feature phone a Nokia 321 and a Nokia Lumia 625 I bought from my brother in 2014. The Nokia Lumia Windows Phone was just so mediocre, it pretty much pushed me to buy the iPhone.
I met up with my boss and instead of having to wire me money, he gave me cash. So, I had some extra spending money. My last evening before departing, I said to myself, fk it, I am going to buy the Mac too. Took the bus, went to the Apple Store on a very rainy and windy night, laid out 16 Benjamins, but got a $100 discount because of my affiliation with a particular company (not gonna say).
There I did it, I bought it, pulled it out of the box and began setting it up there in the Store. I was so excited and anxious. A lot of things were going through my mind, what did I just do, do I really need this, OMG, I finally own a Mac, with my own money. Of course, I was going back home with only $500 in my pocket, but I didn't care. I finally got one, a 13 inch MacBook Pro.
They took me to a setup desk in the store, a store employee assigned to help me set it up thought I was new to the Mac. He was helping another customer in the store setup their iPhone, he said he would be back in a few minutes. When he was back, I already setup the Mac with my iCloud account, and was updating apps. The Store wi-fi was slow.
He concluded I seem to know to the Mac, so I didn't need much help then he started budging to free up the desk so he could help another customer. I obliged, once I saw it boot up and working I returned to the hostel I was staying at downtown. The hostels wi-fi was so bad, I couldn't get neither Yosemite point updates or El Capitan downloaded. I thought this would not be a big deal when I returned home, but getting El Capitan updates for apps installed was a PITA. I tried at my brother and his Wi-Fi struggled, so the Mac remained without updates for a couple months.
I had to also buy a Ethernet Thunderbolt adapter so I could connect to the wired network at the Internet cafe to download updates. Eventually they told me they won't allow me to do that anymore. I think it was partly jealousy, I simply said ok and left. Eventually, I found a more professional establishment with a bigger pipe and I download updates smoothly for macOS and my apps.
The Mac has been a pretty good experience. There is certain a difference between owning and using one occasionally. Its a smooth platform, very reliable and intuitive. Batch editing photos, sharp retina display, the trackpad gestures, attractive interface and the overall build quality; all make it up to be a great experience.
Right now, there are some issue with the display lamination. I won't be returning to the US until 2018, hopefully it doesn't get worse by then, but it obviously will need to be fixed. I don't see this as my last Mac, I would like to eventually get a iMac, but I will probably have to wait a couple years before I can consider getting one of those. I have my eyes set on an iPad Pro as my next purchase.
I still love Windows, ironically, I write about it for a living, but for me the direction of Windows 10 is kind of uninteresting. It has become such a moving target because of its servicing model. The once year upgrade cycle makes the Mac and even more attractive platform to use.
It was purely a lust for aesthetics and remained that way for a long time. Of course, Microsoft was planning their answer to OS X and Aqua with Vista and Aero, but when it finally came out, the world had pretty much moved on from desire of a good looking operating system. It wasn't out of the ordinary to have snazzy UI's. Apple moved on to the iPhone but they continued to release envious computers: MacBook Pro, Air etc. My first full time experience with Mac OS X was in 2006 when a hacked copy of Tiger 10.4.5 for Intel was released to the Internet.
I persuaded my dad to build a cheap AMD Sempron machine so I could get to play with Windows XP 64 bit (boring). So, my next obvious challenge was to install the hacked OS X. After many trials and errors and basically destroying all my other dual boot installations, learning how to modify kernel extensions (KEXT), I finally got it to run. It was fun, but I knew I was missing a lot of other stuff, for instance, the Geforce FX 5200 was not being utilized. It was surprisingly a useful machine, but it just wasn't a "true" Mac. I didn't have the white Apple logo boot screen - all I saw was a string of boot code; there was no accelerate graphics, which meant no genie effects. In addition to that, installing point updates was a PITA.
With Leopard on the horizon, I would want that next, but, it just wasn't going to happen and I never got it to work. So, eventually I gave up. In 2007, I was furthering my education at a vocational institution. One day, I entered the cafeteria and I couldn't believe what I saw, an Apple logo shining right back me. Behind it was a young lady with a perplexed expression. I asked her if I could check it out. It was the first gen 2006 Core Duo MacBook Pro, 15 inch. She told me her husband bought it for her, but she was having a difficult time with it, because she can't use her accounting program required for class; this was Peach Tree Accounting. She was running it in Parallels on top of Windows XP at the time. It was slow as molasses. Take into account, this was a Mac with 512 MBs of RAM shared with a VM. I told her to bring it next week; I returned home for the weekend then downloaded a beta copy of Boot Camp at the time. Boot Camp was supposed to be an exclusive addition to Leopard, but the beta copy worked on 10.4.5 or .6 I believe.
I gathered all the stuff she would need to have Windows setup on her Mac: Windows XP Professional (pirated), Office 2007 Enterprise (pirated) and I downloaded some apps like iTunes and a software that could read HFS+ partitions and write to them.
When I returned the Sunday, she was not on campus, so, I had to wait. The following Thursday, I met up with her in the computer lab. What I saw on the screen shocked me. Windows XP was installed, but there was no more OS X. It seems my IT Instructor, not having a clue about anything else but Windows, thought it was just a regular Windows Laptop, installed XP by wiping out the GPT partition. It pretty much turned it into a zombie, the Device Manager looked like a crime scene.
What this meant was, another week of waiting. I told her to bring the software restore discs and any other software that came with the machine. Cut a long story short, everything was finally sorted out. Mac OS X Tiger restored, reinstalled her other apps. Setup Boot Camp then installed Windows XP and Office 2007. Installed the copy of Peach Tree and everything was working. I also, setup a shared folder between the Mac and Windows partitions so her files saved to one location without issue.
The only issue was, she wasn't liking the Office 2007 ribbon; they were using Office 2003 in her class. I installed that and everything was then perfect. To say how grateful she was would be an understatement. What ended up happening, for that entire year - 07 to 08 - anytime I wanted to use her Mac - she would lend it to me without hesitation. I still have some Photobooth photos from that time.
Between 2008 and 2015, I would never touch another Mac, but my lust for one remained. Vista was ok, so was Windows 7. I just wanted to own a Mac though, but money remained an issue. I wasn't earning much really to justify such an expense. I won a iPod Touch 3rd gen in 2009 and that was probably the closest I ever came to owning anything Apple at the time.
In 2012, I got an IT Sys Admin job at a local high school. Income was relatively good and I saved up to nearly $2,000 US with the plan to go on a major shopping spree. I was planning to buy an iMac, iPad and iPhone. Just go all out.
Somewhere along the way, I lost interest, job stress and some other issues, I just never ended up doing it. I left my job in 2014, went abroad for a month. The money I had saved up since 2011 would be what I lived on for about a year until I got a writing gig at a web site. That same year (2015), I traveled to a conference using some of the money I had saved from my previous job. The owner of the site I write for lived in the part of the US I was traveling to, so we got to meet up.
I traveled with about US $3,000, not necessarily with the intention of buying anything, just as emergency money. To cut a long story short, I was dead set on buying an iPhone. So, that became sort of my first impulse purchase, a 6s. I was using a feature phone a Nokia 321 and a Nokia Lumia 625 I bought from my brother in 2014. The Nokia Lumia Windows Phone was just so mediocre, it pretty much pushed me to buy the iPhone.
I met up with my boss and instead of having to wire me money, he gave me cash. So, I had some extra spending money. My last evening before departing, I said to myself, fk it, I am going to buy the Mac too. Took the bus, went to the Apple Store on a very rainy and windy night, laid out 16 Benjamins, but got a $100 discount because of my affiliation with a particular company (not gonna say).
There I did it, I bought it, pulled it out of the box and began setting it up there in the Store. I was so excited and anxious. A lot of things were going through my mind, what did I just do, do I really need this, OMG, I finally own a Mac, with my own money. Of course, I was going back home with only $500 in my pocket, but I didn't care. I finally got one, a 13 inch MacBook Pro.
They took me to a setup desk in the store, a store employee assigned to help me set it up thought I was new to the Mac. He was helping another customer in the store setup their iPhone, he said he would be back in a few minutes. When he was back, I already setup the Mac with my iCloud account, and was updating apps. The Store wi-fi was slow.
He concluded I seem to know to the Mac, so I didn't need much help then he started budging to free up the desk so he could help another customer. I obliged, once I saw it boot up and working I returned to the hostel I was staying at downtown. The hostels wi-fi was so bad, I couldn't get neither Yosemite point updates or El Capitan downloaded. I thought this would not be a big deal when I returned home, but getting El Capitan updates for apps installed was a PITA. I tried at my brother and his Wi-Fi struggled, so the Mac remained without updates for a couple months.
I had to also buy a Ethernet Thunderbolt adapter so I could connect to the wired network at the Internet cafe to download updates. Eventually they told me they won't allow me to do that anymore. I think it was partly jealousy, I simply said ok and left. Eventually, I found a more professional establishment with a bigger pipe and I download updates smoothly for macOS and my apps.
The Mac has been a pretty good experience. There is certain a difference between owning and using one occasionally. Its a smooth platform, very reliable and intuitive. Batch editing photos, sharp retina display, the trackpad gestures, attractive interface and the overall build quality; all make it up to be a great experience.
Right now, there are some issue with the display lamination. I won't be returning to the US until 2018, hopefully it doesn't get worse by then, but it obviously will need to be fixed. I don't see this as my last Mac, I would like to eventually get a iMac, but I will probably have to wait a couple years before I can consider getting one of those. I have my eyes set on an iPad Pro as my next purchase.
I still love Windows, ironically, I write about it for a living, but for me the direction of Windows 10 is kind of uninteresting. It has become such a moving target because of its servicing model. The once year upgrade cycle makes the Mac and even more attractive platform to use.
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I am still working on it dispite having mac since 1984. Part of the issue is in a given day I use multiple OSes. So I never settle in to one.
It was hard to use the trackpad for me. Took a while to get used to it, now I go back and forth with ease.
Meeting my wife was love at first sight, but a computer/operating system? Uh, no. Got better things in life to focus my eyes on. It's just a computer, folks.
I'm generally OS agnostic. I was a life long Windows user till the release of Windows 8 which was the catalyst for me to try something new. I bought my first Mac in 2012 which was the just announced Macbook Air 11" with 8GB of ram. At the time it was the cheapest ultrabook sized computer with that amount of memory available in Australia.
For the next few years I had and on and off relationship with OS X (Got an iMac, iPad, a used 17" Macbook Pro, MacBook Pro Retina) it was good for the first few months but once the newness wore off I was struggling to do the same things I did in Windows. Lots of applications I came across that I needed were either non-existent or needed workarounds. I was more used to working with Windows and would have to dual boot anyway for work. It did force me to learn shortcuts because I found OS X was really cumbersome in its UI (Cut button I'm looking at you). Now I'm on the way back to being a full time Windows user and don't see myself going back.
The Macbook hardware was fantastic but a few of the latest design decisions with the new Keyboard and soldering everything in have really put me off. The OS isn't really a draw for me anymore.
For the next few years I had and on and off relationship with OS X (Got an iMac, iPad, a used 17" Macbook Pro, MacBook Pro Retina) it was good for the first few months but once the newness wore off I was struggling to do the same things I did in Windows. Lots of applications I came across that I needed were either non-existent or needed workarounds. I was more used to working with Windows and would have to dual boot anyway for work. It did force me to learn shortcuts because I found OS X was really cumbersome in its UI (Cut button I'm looking at you). Now I'm on the way back to being a full time Windows user and don't see myself going back.
The Macbook hardware was fantastic but a few of the latest design decisions with the new Keyboard and soldering everything in have really put me off. The OS isn't really a draw for me anymore.
Clix Pix
macrumors demi-goddess
Not really "love at first sight," but almost....
I had cut my computing teeth on DOS and then moved into Windows 3.1 and progressed through the various iterations over the years..... I started having some problems and frustrations with Windows XP, but was still hanging in there with it. Then I was away from home for several months and when I returned, it seemed as though it took forever before I could actually do anything on my computer again once I'd booted it up because it had to go through all sorts of contortions with virus scans, ad-aware scans, etc., etc. I also noticed that there were some problems with my machine itself, too, the hardware, even though the thing wasn't that old.
Right about that time a friend had told me with great excitement about the new iMac she'd just bought. Eh? One of those...Macs? I went online to find out more information about it and to see what a terrible mistake my friend had made. This was back in the fall of 2005. I discovered MR and started reading through posts, and was startled to see that there wasn't a lot of complaining about problems or expressed confusion about the Registry or configuration issues -- au contraire, just about everyone seemed really HAPPY with their Mac. HUH?
My curiosity was really pricked by then, so I eventually wandered over to the local Apple store. I'd been in there a few times in the past but really hadn't lingered. This time I was actually interested in what was on offer. A very helpful -- TOO helpful -- sales associate showed me all the wonderful things a PPC Mac could do. The problem was she did everything, didn't really let ME tinker with it. I left the store not really knowing much more but with the curiosity still niggling at me.... A couple of weeks later I was in another local store which also carried Macs and since there was no one around to bother me I was able to spend some time playing with the different machines and seeing what happened when I did this, when I did that.....and came home MUCH more interested in the whole idea of a Mac....
Then there was the keynote. I watched as Steve enthusiastically talked and then as he introduced the first iMac with a BUILT-IN iSight camera! WOW! He was really excited about this thing and showed off its wonders. The thought flashed through my mind, "I don't need a camera in my computer, I like the other iMac better....."
BOOM!!!! RDF and the magic and charisma of Steve Jobs strikes again!
The next evening I was in the Apple store to buy my first Mac, the 2005 G5 rev B iMac, telling myself that, hey, I was saving a little money by getting the now previous model.....
The love story actually began when the sales guy asked me if I had WiFi in my house, and I nodded, saying, "yes," while thinking, "oh, boy, here comes another hassle getting THAT to work with this new computer!" He said, "it'll connect right away with your new machine and you'll be online almost immediately!" I gave him a half-smile, thinking, yeah, "RIIIIGHT!" Anyway, I carted my new iMac home in the back of the car wondering if I had just made a terrible mistake, going to the "dark side....."
Got the thing set up on a table, plugged her in, went through the initial setup process, went through the registration, etc., etc......and at some point it dawned on me that, hey, I was ONLINE!!!!! No fuss, no muss, no wrestling with compatibility and configuration issues.... I was already doing some fun things.....
BOOM!!!
That first night I fell in love with my new Mac as I joyously played with her instead of spending most of the night trying to get things to work and agonizing over conflicts and such. She really did "just work." THAT was a revelation. Sure, there were a few times that night and the next few days when I wondered, "how do I --?" but I had a book that I'd purchased which told me what I needed to know, but a lot of times I was able to figure things out quite instinctively.
That was in October 2005, and the love affair is still going on..... This is an all-Mac household now.
I had cut my computing teeth on DOS and then moved into Windows 3.1 and progressed through the various iterations over the years..... I started having some problems and frustrations with Windows XP, but was still hanging in there with it. Then I was away from home for several months and when I returned, it seemed as though it took forever before I could actually do anything on my computer again once I'd booted it up because it had to go through all sorts of contortions with virus scans, ad-aware scans, etc., etc. I also noticed that there were some problems with my machine itself, too, the hardware, even though the thing wasn't that old.
Right about that time a friend had told me with great excitement about the new iMac she'd just bought. Eh? One of those...Macs? I went online to find out more information about it and to see what a terrible mistake my friend had made. This was back in the fall of 2005. I discovered MR and started reading through posts, and was startled to see that there wasn't a lot of complaining about problems or expressed confusion about the Registry or configuration issues -- au contraire, just about everyone seemed really HAPPY with their Mac. HUH?
My curiosity was really pricked by then, so I eventually wandered over to the local Apple store. I'd been in there a few times in the past but really hadn't lingered. This time I was actually interested in what was on offer. A very helpful -- TOO helpful -- sales associate showed me all the wonderful things a PPC Mac could do. The problem was she did everything, didn't really let ME tinker with it. I left the store not really knowing much more but with the curiosity still niggling at me.... A couple of weeks later I was in another local store which also carried Macs and since there was no one around to bother me I was able to spend some time playing with the different machines and seeing what happened when I did this, when I did that.....and came home MUCH more interested in the whole idea of a Mac....
Then there was the keynote. I watched as Steve enthusiastically talked and then as he introduced the first iMac with a BUILT-IN iSight camera! WOW! He was really excited about this thing and showed off its wonders. The thought flashed through my mind, "I don't need a camera in my computer, I like the other iMac better....."
BOOM!!!! RDF and the magic and charisma of Steve Jobs strikes again!
The next evening I was in the Apple store to buy my first Mac, the 2005 G5 rev B iMac, telling myself that, hey, I was saving a little money by getting the now previous model.....
The love story actually began when the sales guy asked me if I had WiFi in my house, and I nodded, saying, "yes," while thinking, "oh, boy, here comes another hassle getting THAT to work with this new computer!" He said, "it'll connect right away with your new machine and you'll be online almost immediately!" I gave him a half-smile, thinking, yeah, "RIIIIGHT!" Anyway, I carted my new iMac home in the back of the car wondering if I had just made a terrible mistake, going to the "dark side....."
Got the thing set up on a table, plugged her in, went through the initial setup process, went through the registration, etc., etc......and at some point it dawned on me that, hey, I was ONLINE!!!!! No fuss, no muss, no wrestling with compatibility and configuration issues.... I was already doing some fun things.....
BOOM!!!
That first night I fell in love with my new Mac as I joyously played with her instead of spending most of the night trying to get things to work and agonizing over conflicts and such. She really did "just work." THAT was a revelation. Sure, there were a few times that night and the next few days when I wondered, "how do I --?" but I had a book that I'd purchased which told me what I needed to know, but a lot of times I was able to figure things out quite instinctively.
That was in October 2005, and the love affair is still going on..... This is an all-Mac household now.
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I don't believe in love and first sight. For people, or inanimate objects.
My tech are all tools. There are things I hate about them all, and there are things I like about them all, but love never enters the picture.
Experienced a waitress. during lunch with the team one day, comment on my work Lenovo Thinkpad (W540 with i7 & 32GB RAM). How "ancient" and "clunky" it was. Purely judging the system by just how it looked to her. Said more about her than anything that could be said about the laptop.
My tech are all tools. There are things I hate about them all, and there are things I like about them all, but love never enters the picture.
Experienced a waitress. during lunch with the team one day, comment on my work Lenovo Thinkpad (W540 with i7 & 32GB RAM). How "ancient" and "clunky" it was. Purely judging the system by just how it looked to her. Said more about her than anything that could be said about the laptop.
Switched back in 2001 from a Compaq laptop running Windows 98 to an iBook G3-500 with Puma. It was love at first sight. Even though I was working on my degree and knew it would be more logical to buy a Windows laptop (especially since I'd be coding in Visual Basic for a few classes), I didn't care.
The physical design of the iBook and the user interface and experience was just lovely. I'd worked with Solaris and played with Linux as a hobby, but to finally have a Unix computer in my home was so thrilling. And even terminal was beautiful. And although it was slow and twitchy as crap, the great-grandfather of iCloud existed as iTools, which saved my bacon once when I was on a PC and needed to download a file I'd stored there but had forgotten to bring with me.
Linux and Windows, even the much improved Windows 10, always felt like a beast I had to tame. Something I had to personalize in order to enjoy using it. Not so with Mac OS X. It has always felt natural even with little to no customization. The workflow and experience just feels so organic.
The physical design of the iBook and the user interface and experience was just lovely. I'd worked with Solaris and played with Linux as a hobby, but to finally have a Unix computer in my home was so thrilling. And even terminal was beautiful. And although it was slow and twitchy as crap, the great-grandfather of iCloud existed as iTools, which saved my bacon once when I was on a PC and needed to download a file I'd stored there but had forgotten to bring with me.
Linux and Windows, even the much improved Windows 10, always felt like a beast I had to tame. Something I had to personalize in order to enjoy using it. Not so with Mac OS X. It has always felt natural even with little to no customization. The workflow and experience just feels so organic.
Thanks for the great stories, guys!
[doublepost=1495815362][/doublepost]
I'm typing on a Lenovo Thinkpad right now and I love the keyboard, which is why I bought it. Going to any kind of Mac keyboard would be a big step down. Besides, I really like having both a Delete key and a Backspace key. I'm not sure how Mac users function without them.
[doublepost=1495815362][/doublepost]
I'm typing on a Lenovo Thinkpad right now and I love the keyboard, which is why I bought it. Going to any kind of Mac keyboard would be a big step down. Besides, I really like having both a Delete key and a Backspace key. I'm not sure how Mac users function without them.
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I guess for me, it was a huge sense of relief. In late 1985 I signed up for course in DOS. On the first night, Everything the instructor talked about threw me for a loop. I had no frapping idea what he was talking about. I left at the break, certain I would be computer illiterate the rest of my life.
A couple of months later, I saw a Mac SE. Fooled around with it a bit, and actually understood what the heck I was doing. I know that this was for me, and I immediately bought a Mac Plus. Been stuck on 'em ever since.
Lou
A couple of months later, I saw a Mac SE. Fooled around with it a bit, and actually understood what the heck I was doing. I know that this was for me, and I immediately bought a Mac Plus. Been stuck on 'em ever since.
Lou
I got involved with the Mac when windows vista came out, I bought a brand new dell laptop with windows vista home premium on it, since I am a severe weather storm chaser and the main weather radar program only runs on windows.... brought it to my local Starbucks to set it up and start using it. that laptop was an absolute disaster, constant crashes.... I had to send a fairly long email to some of my storm chase team members and I would just about get thru typing it and the miserable thing would crash and loose everything. went thru that for about 2 hours and took it back to the store. the tech there played with it and said it should be ok now. took it home didn't touch it at all that night, the next morning I took it and again tried using it with the same results. took it back again to the store at which time the store manager told me well it is because you only have 2 gb of ram and vista needs much more. I said I just bought it here the night before and the salesman told me it would suit my needs which it obviously does not so fix it. he then stated well it will be another $100.00 or so to fix it since I will have to buy the replacement ram. I told him forget about it I will deal with this pile of crap but don't ever plan on seeing me again for anything. went back to the Starbucks that afternoon and attempted to use that pos laptop when my friend who had a iBook g4 came it and I was watching how easy he was able to do what he wanted to with it, asked him what it was and he told me it is an Apple iBook g4. he said looks like you are having problems with your laptop, told him yeah it is a pos that I just bought yesterday and it is pure crap. he let me use his iBook to send my email, worked absolutely perfect and although it was a g4 it seemed faster than my dell. then I noticed he took out another white apple laptop and was using that.... asked him what he was using, he said it is a new MacBook with the intel processor. I asked him what he was going to do with the iBook since he has the new laptop and he said well I guess I could sell it to you, I just bought a new battery and ac adapter for it so I have to get $150 for it. I said ok wait here went to the atm machine and bought it from him that night and used it for about 3 months until it was stolen out of my truck when I went in to pay for the gas. I then got a 2007-2008 white MacBook core 2 duo with 4gb of ram used that for a year and now have my 2011 MacBook Pro with the i7 processor and 4gb of ram and enjoy using a computer again. Still have to use a windows laptop when out chasing storms, but I have a Lenovo Thinkpad for that and it works ok enough for weather radar and models and very light email and web browsing but by far prefer to use my MacBook Pro and don't think I will ever enjoy using a windows laptop or desktop again. Apple has me hooked for life
You sound fun.
Better things in life to focus on yet you've taken the time to come on here and thread crap. Thanks!
For me yes instant love for the os.
I been always windows up til a year or little over ago.
Was given an old ibook g4 by a customer at work and my boss did not want it.
Has a duff screen but ebay sorted that.
had 10.4 but was soo easy to use compared to windows.
ok there is a learning curve and quite a few differences but much better on the whole.
I work for computer repair shop so mainly still deal with windows machines but see few macs in.
do not see me going back to windows now.
I been always windows up til a year or little over ago.
Was given an old ibook g4 by a customer at work and my boss did not want it.
Has a duff screen but ebay sorted that.
had 10.4 but was soo easy to use compared to windows.
ok there is a learning curve and quite a few differences but much better on the whole.
I work for computer repair shop so mainly still deal with windows machines but see few macs in.
do not see me going back to windows now.
I took me a while to completely transition from Windows to Mac as my primary machine. I started to get interested in Apple when I got my first 5th gen iPod, but the PowerPC thing put me off. My first Mac was the first intel Mac mini. An "inexpensive" Mac with tiny form factor. I really dig the form factor, but bought it to play around with. My main machine is still a PC tower.
Then I got fed up with iTunes on Windows (I have an iPod as well). Took the plunge converting to Mac by getting the black Macbook. I liked Tiger for its overall smoothness compared to Windows back then. Since my iTunes library is now on the Mac, I practically switched to my Macbook for my primary computer. Imo the killer app back then was iMovie. iPhoto was great, but Picassa on Windows was fine as well. iMovie on the other hand was an amazing software. There was no comparison in the Windows world.
And the rest is history.
I do still use Windows alongside my Mac. Nobody told me that I can only use one platform exclusively. For certain things, Windows is great.
Then I got fed up with iTunes on Windows (I have an iPod as well). Took the plunge converting to Mac by getting the black Macbook. I liked Tiger for its overall smoothness compared to Windows back then. Since my iTunes library is now on the Mac, I practically switched to my Macbook for my primary computer. Imo the killer app back then was iMovie. iPhoto was great, but Picassa on Windows was fine as well. iMovie on the other hand was an amazing software. There was no comparison in the Windows world.
And the rest is history.
I do still use Windows alongside my Mac. Nobody told me that I can only use one platform exclusively. For certain things, Windows is great.
I hated the Mac when I switched over. It was a cumbersome crash prone pile of junk. But then again, I moved before OS X.
I had used Macs since the first Mac. But only if I had to. I found them to be more like trying to do things the hardest way possible just for the fun of the challenge.
They made me miss the refined Apple II series.
I primarily used DOS and Windows PC's after Apple discontinued the Apple II series (mostly because I found the idea of forcing us to switch to Macs by abandoning the very established Apple II series, to be a huge slap in the face).
Eventually, I switched to the Mac because I felt like it. Mostly for the same reason I always sold my car after I had it perfect. Simply put, by the time I had my car just the way I liked it, I was tired of it. I'd buy another one just for change.
So, even though I was no stranger to the Mac, I personally switched from Windows as the PowerPC G3 266-DT DV package was released.
I cussed that machine every day. I hated it. But I was also determined to make it do what I wanted. So I kicked and prodded that hunk of crashing junk for a while. It did what I needed, even if Mac OS crashed constantly (usually at the most inconvenient and annoying moments).
As System 9 came out, it got better.
Eventually, I got a iBook G3 in Blue (whatever flavor that was), and it was about the same.
But... it was portable.
Then, eventually Apple released Mac OS X 10.0. And, it was completely stable. No more crashing. Unfortunately, while it was much prettier, more logical, and significantly more stable, it was useless for more than just browsing the Internet. But, I held out hope, and eventually the software came.
I've generally been happy with Mac OS ever since.
That doesn't mean I'm happy with the Apple computer market, business strategy, available options and configurations, or even the quality of the Macs. But, I am happy with Mac OS X.
Now as an IT professional, I am well aware of Mac OS' shortcomings in the enterprise market. It simply can't compare to Enterprise versions of Windows. But, for personal use, I do like OS X.
So, love at first sight??? Absolutely not. Perhaps more like an impulse marriage that was a rushed decision and for some reason the stubborn couple stayed together until 20 years later they've beaten each other into submission and finally get along most of the time.
I had used Macs since the first Mac. But only if I had to. I found them to be more like trying to do things the hardest way possible just for the fun of the challenge.
They made me miss the refined Apple II series.
I primarily used DOS and Windows PC's after Apple discontinued the Apple II series (mostly because I found the idea of forcing us to switch to Macs by abandoning the very established Apple II series, to be a huge slap in the face).
Eventually, I switched to the Mac because I felt like it. Mostly for the same reason I always sold my car after I had it perfect. Simply put, by the time I had my car just the way I liked it, I was tired of it. I'd buy another one just for change.
So, even though I was no stranger to the Mac, I personally switched from Windows as the PowerPC G3 266-DT DV package was released.
I cussed that machine every day. I hated it. But I was also determined to make it do what I wanted. So I kicked and prodded that hunk of crashing junk for a while. It did what I needed, even if Mac OS crashed constantly (usually at the most inconvenient and annoying moments).
As System 9 came out, it got better.
Eventually, I got a iBook G3 in Blue (whatever flavor that was), and it was about the same.
But... it was portable.
Then, eventually Apple released Mac OS X 10.0. And, it was completely stable. No more crashing. Unfortunately, while it was much prettier, more logical, and significantly more stable, it was useless for more than just browsing the Internet. But, I held out hope, and eventually the software came.
I've generally been happy with Mac OS ever since.
That doesn't mean I'm happy with the Apple computer market, business strategy, available options and configurations, or even the quality of the Macs. But, I am happy with Mac OS X.
Now as an IT professional, I am well aware of Mac OS' shortcomings in the enterprise market. It simply can't compare to Enterprise versions of Windows. But, for personal use, I do like OS X.
So, love at first sight??? Absolutely not. Perhaps more like an impulse marriage that was a rushed decision and for some reason the stubborn couple stayed together until 20 years later they've beaten each other into submission and finally get along most of the time.
The first time I used a Mac it was running OS 9 and I didn't get on with it at all. I tried again a couple of years later and OS X Panther was a vast improvement and got me hooked after a couple of days.
Thanks, everyone. I just purchased my first Mac yesterday after 33 years with PCs so I'll be finding out for myself. (I say "33 years with PCs" because I started before Windows came out and learned to type DOS commands of a flickering screen.)
Congratulations!! What kind of Mac did you buy?
My story:
Always found the Mac and the iOS-devices looking like toys... I was fully into Windows and BlackBerry.
But at the end of 2014 my then new girlfriend had some issues with her MacBook Pro and asked me to
fix them. I told her she would have to backup the thing at first, before making any changes, but she had
no idea how to do it.
I started reading a little(!!!) about it...and started playing a little(!!!) with the machine.
Turns out I was always right...I hated it...!
Showed her my Lenovo Thinkpad and how much better it was... Because it was a late evening I showed
her at first my backlit keyboard...she didn't have that. I was so proud...
I showed her how easy it was to copy and paste files with a right mouse click on my Windows machine
and told her to compare it to her MacBook where she couldn't do that because there was no right mouse button.
Showed her how easy it was to backup files with copy and paste instead of using the menu bar. And so on... LOL.
Embarrassing, I know...
Basically I convinced her that night to buy a Windows laptop instead of fixing her MacBook...
The next day, I still had to backup her files... Suddenly I found out how the trackpad worked and that there
was something like a right-button-click, and there were context menus etc.
Then I discovered an article about Time Machine and realised that I wouldn't have to backup folder by folder...
Within a day I really enjoyed using the trackpad...
Told her to rethink the Windows thing...
Around that time I also started playing with her iPad...still toy-ish looking to me (iOS I mean)...especially since I had actually the pro-looking BlackBerry tablet...
But besides the looks I actually liked using it.Anyway, a few weeks later she bought herself a MacBook Air. I set it up for her and really enjoyed doing it after
installing hundreds of times (fuc****) windows and drivers. Wifi, printer, scanner everything worked basically
right away. Wow!!
A few weeks later I had my own iPad (hers, because she didn't really use it), another few month later I bought
myself a MacBook Pro (Early 2015). Then the iPhone 6S, now having the iPhone 7...
And just two weeks ago I bought my mom an iPad and an iPhone as well because of constantly having printer driver issues with her Windows computer...problems with the anti-virus program... Well, the usual windows problems.
Her Android phone slowing down...
Extremely annoying...
I guess I am somewhat of a late Apple-fanboy now...
When I was looking for a laptop for college I realized that all the windows machines I looked at always had some form of compromise. They weren't even much cheaper than the rMBP I ended up getting. I had no real issues figuring out OS X (macOS now), although I'm still not a huge fan of the uninstall process. As for desktops, meh, I'll probably stick with windows since I mainly use it for gaming and I enjoy building my own PC's.
Windows 10 itself isn’t so bad but the M$ Office and Outlook are horrible on the PC regardless of underlying Windows version. If you need to use M$ software on the Mac OS then it’s an immensely unrewarding and depressing experience.