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I switched to using a mac for two reasons:

1. I had it with Windows. It was quite frustrating.
2. PlaceofDis was pushing me to try it out. He assured me that I would like it.

Heh, it turns out that I did, a lot.
 
I switched to Mac because:

PC's are just boring. There was no "outstanding apps" and nothing that made PC's "unique" just that they are most prone to viruses.
 
Hi everyone!
Just wanted to hear your stories on why you switched to mac. I am a nooB here and want to hear all the stories,the good AND the bad!:D Also if you have had any heated discussions with microsoft people.:D

I have owned Apple computers since the Apple IIe. The only time away was when they killed the Apple II line and left me orphaned.

I chose Apple computers because they work reliably in both the software and hardware. The OS is generally very stable. If an App goes south it does not drag down the system. If I need to force an App to quit I can do it easily, whereas with all flavors of Windows you need a third party app to make some programs quit. The multitasking is far superior to any version of Windows I have used (Win 3, 95,98,98se,me,2k,xp and vista).

Apple engineers seem to write more efficient code. You generally can get away with many years of OS updates and still have good performance on old hardware. I have a 350Mhz iMac G3 Blueberry running Tiger. It runs it well considering the CPU speed.
 
I switched because it came out to be cheaper to buy a Mac than keep up with Windows for me. Plus, it comes out to be so much faster because I don't need to have so many programs to maintain my computer. I love it!
 
I switched because I was getting tired of all of the hang ups using Windows. Compatibility issues, blue screens of death, my machine hanging up doing even the simplest of tasks.

I love my macs, and won't ever go back to Windows.
 
Well...the first time in 2006, I was getting my first laptop. I chose a Mac for the better security, the cool looking hardware, and the fact that it was different from your generic PC laptop. Turns out I decided I wanted a gaming PC that I could mess with and upgrade the hardware myself, so I went back to a mix of Linux / Windows in 2007.

The second time in 2008, I grew to miss all the little features and conveniences of the Mac, like not having to screw with drivers, the attention to details, and a much better (in my opinion) interface than the PC. I don't plan on switching back any time soon :)
 
My new iMac arrives tomorrow. I'm switching because hubby needs my laptop (which btw, totally rocks, it's a Sager model with Vista and just screams, totally trouble free) and the gorgeous looking iMac fits into my home office/hobby room space, it's sleek, wire free (mostly) and I am very computer literate so I thought switching might be rather fun! :D
 
Keynote.

Seriously - that's the only reason. I saw someone using keynote, I'd been giving lectures for two years at that point, and I knew I needed a piece of that action right then and there. I'm reasonably glad I did, because it's a more pleasent computing experience. Sadly, after two really badly built and expensive laptops ( an MB and an MBP ), dreadfull problem of crashing Safari, laptops not waking up and so on with 10.5 - 10.5.2 - It's not been a perfect honeymoon - but I don't think I'll be switching back any time soon. If Bluray and higher def screens don't make early '09 MBP's - then switching back will become a serious consideration.

Doug
 
A new requirement led my business to OS X. At the time the Intel transition had been announced as well as the news that Windows would also run on the Macs. At the time I'd been dabbling with OS X and although the dearth of applications could be a problem, I didn't really see a downside to switching and of course, I wanted some shiny Macs for home.

This was when the Reality Distortion Field was still fresh.

This was also until the DOA's, defects and operational failures started coming in thick and fast, and to cap it all Windows proved to be notably less stable on the Macs whichever way you ran it - which meant that instead of Apples, an increasing number of Dells and HPs were once again in the frame, demonstrating their superior build quality (as regards intended use) and reliability over the Apples. But at that time I had locked myself in to the development cycle, and couldn't get out without taking a near-six-figure hit. I had already committed to a full roll-out hoping that the upgrade to Apple's idea of enterprise hardware and support would overcome such issues...

Er... no. Actually I think I've suffered some hair loss as a result of this ill-conceived assumption of their approach - which might make some university happy, but not a corporate-type entity. Based on this experience every time I now hear the words Apple and Enterprise I laugh hysterically, then kick something.

After the reliability problems we experienced as well as the other disadvantages of a minority yet somewhat-closed architecture, I started to look for alternatives and to try and lever myself away from OS X as an app platform and move to a more open platform with better hardware flexibility. I handed over part of the code to a Linux development team and it brought me directly in conflict with the prima donna OS X developers, after which we were in deadlock for a few months. The next contention was moving the desktop component of the application away from OS X, where I was initially planning to go Ubuntu. We discussed this in length and I ended up favouring Windows. Somewhat surprisingly - certainly in comparison to the OS X guys - the Linux guys had no problems with it and agreed it was the better plan. Development is now going according to plan.

So I'm very glad to be getting out of OS X as one of the main business platforms circa 2010. I could make the switch earlier, but I want to get my money's worth out of the currently working setup. I don't think it has been a complete disaster as the capability I wanted was eventually realised, but it has certainly not been anywhere near a 'just works' process and hugely more disruptive than a Windows rollout would have been. For others in a similar position, I suppose it depends on how JRDF clouds your objective judgement in this regard as it did for me at the very outset - for many here certainly, I see that the Field is 100% effective over a fairly long time.

From a personal point of view, OS X is a decent platform to use but it is also a weird mix of the ubernerd and the completely technoilliterate being less balanced than Windows in aspects of regular use, with Unix rearing its head somewhat unnecessarily often in my view for a modern desktop OS. In terms of platform-unique applications, I find it not a particularly compelling reason to switch with a few exceptions (Keynote as pointed out above being one standout) - for the majority of comparable apps, it seems more like which way you prefer to work rather than which Apple app is clearly superior to those available under Windows. GUI-based networking is weak, as is security - and the application platform as a whole has proven to be very easy to grow out of if you don't want to immerse yourself in **ix. In other words, while I find it an idiot-resistant and simultaneously nerd-entertaining platform, in terms of everyday flexibility for a technologically skilled, mentally agile user who isn't a total nerd and capable of making his own mind up, I actually place it lower than Vista at this point in time.

So - as far as the desktop is concerned from now on, for things that matter I'll stick to Windows. For things that don't, Apples will still get a look in and I expect Macs to continue forming a good percentage of my home computers.
 
an increasing number of Dells and HPs were once again in the frame, demonstrating their superior build quality (as regards intended use) and reliability over the Apples.

I've got to say - I hear you there. We have 30 laptops on site, that have to undergo regular shipping across the country with the brutal idiots of various courier companies, IBM's, HP's and Dell's. They get used and abused at the other end and shipped back by more brutal idiots, having been packed by idiots.

None of them have chunks of plastic falling off ( my old macbook ), keys failing ( my old macbook ), screens discolouring ( my macbook pro ), massive gaps between sections of body ( my macbook pro ).

When you pay such a premium as one does with Apple hardware - it's fair to expect perfection, and my experience is the opposite. It's not even close.

Doug
 
I switched to Mac because people in the workplace and friends said I should for the industry I work in (Flash, graphic design. I was the black sheep in the group. With the exception of one or two friends.

I have found bugs with Leopard, its not funny. I see no real benefit in moving except that Apple is more a status symbol than anything else. I hear many Apple people complain about their machines AND Leopard but then say they will always use a Mac. Gee, isn't that what Mac people always said about PC users, all the problems they have and they continue to stick with Windows. Mmmm. LOL. Welcome to the PC(Windows) world.

I like the Mac Pro but not because Apple logo is on it but the Intel Processors. I have had nothing but probs with CDisplays as many others have. On #3 in less than 6 months. Finding applications is not as intuitive as they make it out unless you have been using Macs for a while. But I am using MS Word on the Mac and like it. :)

Wait, I lied there are some benefit to my Mac Pro. Bootcamp has allowed me to switch between both OS to test my work and make sure everything is working. I will give that to the Apple Software engineers. The other is viruses but someone in the know told me there are some out there but not much to worry about. Personally I think these are trojans that I have seen reported here and there, but I do not think hackers see much fun trying to get in to an Apple when most are using Windows. Could be the reports I have see are bogus too.

OVERALL RATING:

Macs are no worse or better than PC's (Windows based). Its preference and for some that I have worked with and know its a status symbol or in my opinion the coooooool thing to have. lol. And an expensive cool thing.

And its too late to change back, I am stuck. Spent quite a bit of money with the Mac and switched all my Adobe software licenses over to the Mac. Do not want to go through changing that again for a while. Maybe next I need a new computer, but this monster has to last me at least 5 years.

So no real benefit to my eye, except Bootcamp. All I have to do now is replace this keyboard which is bad, what were they thinking. LOL. Come on Logitech give us a keyboard that can be used on both Mac OS and Windows on the Mac Pro.
 
I switched to Mac because people in the workplace and friends said I should for the industry I work in (Flash, graphic design). I was the black sheep in the group. With the exception of one or two friends.

I have found bugs with Leopard, its not funny. I see no real benefit in moving except that Apple is more a status symbol than anything else. I hear many Apple people complain about their machines AND Leopard but then say they will always use a Mac. Gee, isn't that what Mac people always said about PC users, all the problems they have and they continue to stick with Windows. Mmmm. LOL. Welcome to the PC(Windows) world.

I like the Mac Pro but not because Apple logo is on it but the Intel Processors. I have had nothing but probs with CDisplays as many others have. On #3 in less than 6 months. Finding applications is not as intuitive as they make it out unless you have been using Macs for a while. But I am using MS Word on the Mac and like it. :)

Wait, I lied there are some benefit to my Mac Pro. Bootcamp has allowed me to switch between both OS to test my work and make sure everything is working. I will give that to the Apple Software engineers. The other is viruses but someone in the know told me there are some out there but not much to worry about. Personally I think these are trojans that I have seen reported here and there, but I do not think hackers see much fun trying to get in to an Apple when most are using Windows. Could be the reports I have see are bogus too.

OVERALL RATING:

Macs are no worse or better than PC's (Windows based). Its preference and for some that I have worked with and know its a status symbol or in my opinion the coooooool factor. lol. And an expensive cool thing.

And its too late to change back, I am stuck. Spent quite a bit of money with the Mac and switched all my Adobe software licenses over to the Mac. Do not want to go through changing that again for a while. Maybe next I need a new computer, but this monster has to last me at least 5 years.

So no real benefit to my eye, except Bootcamp. All I have to do now is replace this keyboard which is bad, what were they thinking. LOL. Come on Logitech give us a keyboard that can be used on both Mac OS and Windows on the Mac Pro.
 
Macs are no worse or better than PC's (Windows based). Its preference and for some that I have worked with and know its a status symbol or in my opinion the coooooool factor. lol. And an expensive cool thing.
I always find posts like this entertaining... PC user tries to tell Mac users that they fit his preconceived notions of what a Mac user is. And yeah, you are still a PC user in my book.

Status symbol? Doesn't something have to be seen by others in order to be classified as a status symbol? Nobody sees most of my Macs, and the only computers I take away from home are my PowerBook G3 or my IBM ThinkPad. And in both cases, only my client see them and they are all Mac users, so it's not a big deal.

I don't hide Apple logos within my clients web sites or within the graphic design work I do for them, so it isn't like most people know that I've made most of my stuff on Macs anyways. So where is the status symbol aspect for me?

Coooooool factor? Again, doesn't something like this require showing it off? Or is it because it is new? See for someone like me who has been using Macs since the late 1980's the coooooool factor has been gone for nearly 20 years.

An expensive cool thing? What are you talking about? Macs have never been expensive for me. My total expenditures on computer related stuff (hardware and software) since the beginning of 2000 has been $2,720. This stuff doesn't have to be expensive, but I've found that most people moving to Macs from PCs (like you) want the full Mac experience (whatever that is)... which means you most likely dropped twice as much on your Mac setup as I've spent on computers in the last eight and a half years.

Here is a news flash for ya... the people who are most like what you envision Mac users to be are switchers. Former PC users (not unlike yourself) who think this is the way to stand out in a crowd. Real Mac users don't care that they are Mac users because they've always been Mac users. I don't have an Apple sticker on my car, I don't where any Apple logos on my clothes... in fact the only article of clothing I own with a computer logo on it is my SGI letterman's jacket (now there is a status symbol for ya... not).

I have found bugs with Leopard, its not funny. I see no real benefit in moving except that Apple is more a status symbol than anything else. I hear many Apple people complain about their machines AND Leopard but then say they will always use a Mac. Gee, isn't that what Mac people always said about PC users, all the problems they have and they continue to stick with Windows. Mmmm. LOL. Welcome to the PC(Windows) world.
You've found bugs?

The number one bug encountered by PC users switching to Macs is their attempting to use Macs like Windows. And actually, I saw the same thing of Mac users switching from Mac OS 8/9 to Mac OS X. And using Mac OS X in the same way that one would use Mac OS 8/9 or Windows is the very best way to avoid finding out what makes Macs special to begin with.

It reminds me of when I met someone who said that my home town wasn't all that great. I asked him where in town he went and he said he was at the airport the whole time as he was waiting for another connecting flight. It sounds to me like you are going to be sitting in the Mac waiting terminal waiting for your connecting PC flight for the next 5 years. :eek:

To be fair, sure Leopard has bugs. Most new things do. I don't generally let my clients upgrade to new hardware or software until it's been around for awhile. And I don't let them do updates until the updates have been out for a couple weeks so I can see how they have worked on different types of hardware and software combinations. But consider this... last year I was in charge of the care of 130 Macs (besides the 20 I personally own) and I averaged about two service calls a week (which is why I also do web and graphic design work to make ends meet). I know companies with less than 30 PCs that have to have full time IT support (and we're often talking about more than just one guy too).

Personally, I think some switchers aren't worth the trouble. And I would absolutely never attempt to convert PC users to Macs.


As for why I started using Macs... back then everyone doing real work on computers was using either Macs or Unix workstations. The only people I ever saw using PCs were secretaries, data entry people, gamers, and the odd home user. While my background is mathematics, I enjoyed touching on a number of other areas and the tools for those areas were always available for Macs first. A few examples...
Microsoft Excel Mac: 1985, PC: 1987
Adobe Illustrator Mac: 1987, PC: 1992
Adobe Photoshop Mac: 1990, PC: 1992
Adobe Premiere Mac: 1991, PC: 1993
Adobe After Effects Mac: 1993, PC: 1997
Aldus PageMaker Mac: 1985, PC: 1987
Mathematica Mac: 1988, PC: 1992
Theorist Mac: 1989, PC: 1997
3D-XplorMath Mac: 1987, PC: 2007
MacroMind Director Mac: 1987, PC: 1992
QuarkXPress Mac: 1987, PC: 1992
FrameMaker Mac: 1989, PC: 1991​
And it wasn't like I spent a ton of money back then either. My first Mac at home was a Macintosh SE which I got for $400 in 1989, and I replaced it in 1990 with a Macintosh SE/30 for $500 (or actually about $100 as I also got $400 for my SE when I sold it). And I started using NeXT computers around the same time, though I didn't start seriously studying them until Apple acquired NeXT in 1997.

But the thing that really sold me on Macs was an ad for Theorist I saw in Physics Today that looked a lot like this one...

theorist.jpg

There wasn't anything like this app on any other platform at the time (1989) and that was exactly the type of tool I wanted for my studies. the current version of this app still has a place on my dock today.
 
Sesshi has a point. Mac's are good for those with no IT knowledge at all because, if you do thing exactly the way the Mac wants you to, they do 'just work'. UNTIL..something goes wrong - and then you've had it.

They're also good for full on Unix gurus, because they can do what they want with the terminal and all that jazz.

For the middle of the road - for people like me - OSX can piss me off sometimes, doing things it's own way, being easy to use but impossible to tweak when something's not quite right. iCal was giving me bloody nightmares - wouldn't remember it's settings, kept adding new blank calenders - kept revering to the default view. Nothing I could do about it ( and I tried ) . Ditto Time Machine and the utterly unfathomable Time Capsule settings that refused to work with my very ordinary adsl wireless router. Safari was screwed - kept crashing - nothing I did would fix it - had to do a complete reinstall.

OSX is not nirvana. OSX is not perfect. OSX is not much better than XP in many many ways.

Doug
 
Yes - As I alluded to in my dribbling post above it is apparent to me that there are two very disparate elements of the fanatical support Apple has.

The nerds upon nerds love the fact that they can do their usually very limited workaday repertoire of stuff without fuss and then get in deep - It's the nerdingoutiest flavour of Unix with a dash of style that they wish they had.

The non-to-minimally-IT-literate guys love the Mac because neither the OS nor its proponents patronise you for the metaphorical equivalent of being on the freeway without a driving license, and of course the package is delivered with significant panache. You may be less than competent but no-one likes being called out for it, especially when you're sneered at by spotty herberts with the social skills of a pea. With Apple, that happens a lot less - one might even argue that a certain degree of ignorance is actually celebrated. And also of course Apple provides basic training in-store which is among the most accessible for the neophyte that I've ever come across from a mass market manufacturer.

I can understand how both end up very defensive of Apple, for totally different reasons. And I can also understand how both can't quite picture a guy who really just wants to get stuff done, and has that metaphorical driving license.

I can't say I consider the Apples as a status symbol. Rather, if you're buying them to make a statement, it's probably more accurate to say they're an aspirational symbol. Apple's great marketing confers a slightly mixed, but nevertheless still potent message of aspirational independence to the user, and this perception among the 'unwashed masses' these days is a large part of why I make a point of using Apple notebooks in certain public-facing situations.
 
The nerds upon nerds love the fact that they can do their usually very limited workaday repertoire of stuff without fuss and then get in deep - It's the nerdingoutiest flavour of Unix with a dash of style that they wish they had...

I can understand how both end up very defensive of Apple, for totally different reasons. And I can also understand how both can't quite picture a guy who really just wants to get stuff done, and has that metaphorical driving license.
Qualify... you are saying that I (the person you disparage as a nerd) use my computers for very limited workaday repertoire. Which of the tasks I perform qualify as limited compared to your immense metaphorical abilities.

What do you use your computers for? Show us this incredible stuff that makes what I do qualify as very limited workaday repertoire.


And remember, it had best not fall short of that metaphorical WOW factor.
 
more porn without viruses
lol just kidding

cause of vista, 64 bit windows software incompatibility bullsh*t
seriously os x is a pleasure to use unlike the windows
it was nothing but heartache :(
 
I switched because I blew up my laptop + Mr. noisy kept telling me to get one or he would smash my cup at work (what I nice bloke) since then I have never looked back Mac is another word for simplicity. :)
 
I switched because I blew up my laptop + Mr. noisy kept telling me to get one or he would smash my cup at work (what I nice bloke) since then I have never looked back Mac is another word for simplicity. :)

oh spoon man, your such a spoon

when he smashed your cup you should have smashed his head with your old laptop :) :) :)
 
Didn't switch...I've been using Macs since I was three.

Same here - I wasn't three though, but my first ever computer of my very very own was a Mac. I'd used computers in school a little but my first computer purchase was a Mac nearly 20 years ago - if only I was rich enough to buy stock back then too!
 
I use Unix everyday at work, so I dumped Windows at home for Linux. This worked for a while, but just to be able to use new software on Linux, I had to ALWAYS re-patch the system and often do a lot of manual configuration. After a while, this drove me crazy. Also, I would jump through hoops to get a decent desktop environment (I wasn't a big fan of Gnome or KDE at the time).

Then one beautiful day, someone showed me that OS X runs on top of BSD/Unix -and- has a great desktop environment. This was 2004, and I never looked back.
 
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