Anybody switched from PC to Mac?

"Rev Hang Slows My Roll" (RevHang)
05/12/2015 at 06:44 • Filed to: None

My parents are getting me a new laptop for graduation. They are 100% on the Apple train and have suggested the Macbook Pro 15 inch. I have been a PC guy my whole life but i am intrigued and impressed with the build quality of apple products and i have used an iphone for the last eight years. My question is, how hard will it be to transition form Windows PC to Mac OSX?

DISCUSSION (62)

CB > Rev Hang Slows My Roll
05/12/2015 at 06:49

It’s not difficult. A few things are moved around, but you should be fine using it in an hour or two.

duurtlang > Rev Hang Slows My Roll
05/12/2015 at 06:51

I always question why . For a similar price as a mac you can get a much better performing laptop that’s better for games/movie editing/whatever, or you can choose to spend far less and still get something nice. To me an Apple isn’t worth it. They do look nice.

Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh > Rev Hang Slows My Roll
05/12/2015 at 06:51

Quite easy, I use Win, OS X and Linux and have no problems switching between them.

Alex B > Rev Hang Slows My Roll
05/12/2015 at 06:52

Hey, I’m in the same boat as you! Except mine is for birthday. I have the only windows computer in my immediate family. They got me a 13” MBP. I've used other Macs before and it does take a little getting used to, but not too bad.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > duurtlang
05/12/2015 at 06:57

It’s the want factor of Apple stuff really. Theres no reason to pay more for an iPad Mini over a Nexus 7, but a lot of people do just because they want one. Fair enough if you have the cash I guess, but being a cheapskate I could never buy Apple stuff haha. Apple are extremely good at making stuff people want to buy.

Wacko > Rev Hang Slows My Roll
05/12/2015 at 07:27

Same hardware except double the price. If you are PC, then you are gonna have to install boot camp, then buy a licence of Windows. Then you can do all the things you used to do.

SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman > Rev Hang Slows My Roll
05/12/2015 at 07:29

Just run a virtual machine and install windows on it

Axial > Rev Hang Slows My Roll
05/12/2015 at 07:30

It’s not that hard to get used to. The UI is a love it or hate it affair, it seems most people love it (not me, though). The weirdest thing to get used to will be using the Cmd key for everything that uses Ctrl on Windows. It’s in a different spot, so the muscle memory is not there.

JGrabowMSt > Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh
05/12/2015 at 07:31

I think the biggest learning curve for someone who’s only used Windows is the installation packages for software. Some have setups much like Windows with full installers, some have drag and drop packages.

I personally am not a huge fan of the latest OS, and Im only just going to be updating to 10.9 sometime this week, but thats because I use mine in a professional setting, so I often run into situations where updates occur sooner for the OS than the programs I run.

Otherwise, no big deal, I totally agree.

Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh > JGrabowMSt
05/12/2015 at 07:36

That’s true, but if you’re an experienced Windows user you’ll figure it out in an hour or so (if you’re not you’d probably have issues with some installs in Win as well ;P ).

I’m not a huge fan of the latest OS X myself either, but I have customers using it so I simply had to learn to “love” it.. heh.

105 HP of fury > Rev Hang Slows My Roll
05/12/2015 at 07:37

I bought a macbook for grad school back in 2007. Still use it today. Pretty well built machine, but a few complaints:

The Mac version of Microsoft Office wasn’t quite compatible with the windows version. When I switched back and forth, plots would be missing numbers in presentations and document formatting would change. Of course, I would only find this out when I went to print the document or give the presentation so there was no time to change it.

My Macbook has two USB ports. But they are too close together for me to plug in a flash drive and another device. Two USB cables fit just fine, but the drive was too wide.

After a while, the newest version of Osx is just not compatible with your machine because Apple says so. So I’m stuck on 10.5.

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > Rev Hang Slows My Roll
05/12/2015 at 07:40

As a former Mac devotee, I haven’t been impressed by them in probably about eight years. They’re a toy maker now, not a computer maker.

KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs > Rev Hang Slows My Roll
05/12/2015 at 07:40

Or just use Boot Camp and install Windows on it.

I went from PC to Mac. It takes getting used to, but it’s not hard.

I’m getting a new retina iMac soonish to put at the desk in my kitchen once the remodel is done.

JGrabowMSt > Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh
05/12/2015 at 07:42

Yeah, the biggest learning curve is more of a bunny hop in the grand scheme. Ive got a 2011 MacBook Pro, and it just got fixed by Apple, but I wouldnt replace it with another Apple. The computers are all pretty good, but its more about the full user experience, which admittedly is very good. I wouldnt be able to get another laptop with the features mine has, but for 98% of users, it wouldnt matter, Im certainly a much more advanced user in what I need my laptop to do on a daily basis.

Do you work at a repair shop? Youve got me curious about what you do now!

duurtlang > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie
05/12/2015 at 07:49

No idea about the computers, but I agree with the phones. My employer gave me an iphone for work. It’s... a toy. I prefer my 3+ year old Nexus phone, it might not look as nice but it’s superior in everything else.

jkm7680 > Rev Hang Slows My Roll
05/12/2015 at 07:50

Other way around, but still would buy a Mac laptop. Since honestly Windows 8 is some trash.

boxrocket > Rev Hang Slows My Roll
05/12/2015 at 07:56

My mom switched to a macbook a few years ago because she was convinced by the mythos surrounding the brand about "ease -of-use" and "lack of malware". No one else in the family uses apple anything (anymore: They were our primary computer brand in the '80s and '90s until Windows 95 blew them out of the water; I've had about 18 different apple computers myself) and she's easily the most technologically illiterate member of the family.

Trying to use it is like doing a self-lobotomy with children's safety scissors. Trying to teach her how to use it is like explaining the same procedure to someone using sign language over the phone. It was made worse by the fact she was told she didn't need to anything to it after purchase, including updates, so it was left on Leopard or Snow Leopard and is unable to be updated because updates come through the mac store, which she can't get because apple has determined her computer is obsolete. That'd be equivalent to Microsoft telling folks with Vista or 7 they couldn't get 8 or 10 unless they buy a new computer, which we know isn't the case since 8 can run on almost any XP machine, and be downloaded through any browser.

Thanks to boot camp, she's back on Windows, and we're all happier for it. She also bought a Lumia 920, which she loves, and is able to use without any help or calls to family members for assistance. I bought her a Microsoft Band for Mother's Day, and so far she seems happy with it, and has it more or less figured out.

I'm likely buying her a Surface Pro or another convertible (Dell XPS 13, Acer S7, Asus something) for Christmas, just to be rid of the heavy, cold, and awkward macbook.

Apple ownership is a slippery slope: You have to be fully integrated into their ecosystem for everything to work how they want it, and you have to keep replacing their products when they stop offering updates to them, which tends to be about every 2-3 years IME. Being overpriced, it means a greater financial investment to satisfy their 50-95% profit margmargins and trips to the apple store - better hope there's one nearby - for pretty much any problem, which has to be set up via an appointment and tends to be like pulling teeth unless they opted to buy applecare when they purchased the device.

Have them wait and try Windows 10 before buying any new machine.

Tim (Fractal Footwork) > Rev Hang Slows My Roll
05/12/2015 at 07:58

Once you get used to the UI, which is better in my opinion, it’s pretty much the same. And you can always dual boot like I did if you miss or need windows for something.

Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh > JGrabowMSt
05/12/2015 at 08:02

I would not buy a new Portable Mac myself, I’ve got an air from 2011 and it’s been great.. the new ones.. meh..

I do not work at a repair shop, I’m more of a freelance tech support guy. I used to work at the second largest retail chain for appliances in Norway.. So I met tons of people needing help with computers, tv’s and so on.. I have no education as such, but I’ve been tinkering with computers for the last 22 years :P

sellphones2493 > Rev Hang Slows My Roll
05/12/2015 at 08:13

I’ve been using a Pro since 2010 and haven’t had issues. It’s getting a little laggy and slower, but that’s a given for it being heavily used for 5 years, everyday.

Since purchasing, my only issues have been batteries and chargers. I’m on my 4th battery and 4th charger. I haven’t had to pay for a single battery though because Apple covered it.

Make the switch.

Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap > Rev Hang Slows My Roll
05/12/2015 at 08:37

It should be an ok transition. I went from xp to Mac and I really didn't have any issues.

Nibby > Rev Hang Slows My Roll
05/12/2015 at 08:55

Buy a 486 laptop with Windows 95.

Seriously.

Xkjacob > Rev Hang Slows My Roll
05/12/2015 at 08:57

Buy a PC and with the money you save go on a cruise for a week.

/thread

AM > Axial
05/12/2015 at 09:03

Agreed on the CMD key. After using a Mac for so long every time I use a Win pc I end up hitting the ALT key.

KirkyV > duurtlang
05/12/2015 at 09:03

Indeed. It’s rather unfortunate that Apple insist on so crippling their mobile devices. I have no desire to own an iPhone - my Nexus 5 is still a fine device, and I’ve heard rumour that LG will be producing a proper, Nexus branded follow-up with a sane screen size sometime this year - but I’ve been trying to find a decent replacement for my aging Nexus 7 for a while now, and no tablet, Apple or Android, really fits my requirements. The iPad Air’s hardware is pretty much perfect for my needs, but I’ve tried to deal with iOS day-to-day, and it simply can’t do a variety of things that I use my tablet for with great frequency.

As for the computers, I’ve actually had a pretty good experience with my five-year old MacBook Pro. It’s slow and doddery these days, of course, but outside of a couple of irritating OS X quirks - cutting files in Finder is far more obtuse than it ought to be - it’s been a good device. I’d never use a Mac as my only computer - I have a Windows desktop for when I’m at home - but I’ve yet to find a Windows laptop that can compete when it comes to trackpad quality/gesture support, which is pretty key for me when it comes to laptops.

AM > Rev Hang Slows My Roll
05/12/2015 at 09:04

It's really not that hard to transition. They basically use all the same kind of hardware, Apple just adds a bunch of tricks and gestures to their computers such as the zooming, swiping, pinching on the trackpad.

KirkyV > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie
05/12/2015 at 09:07

I just wish I’d come across a Windows laptop manufacturer that did as good a job with their trackpads as Apple do.

I’d love to upgrade from my old MBP to a Windows machine - the Dell XPS13 is a very nice piece of hardware, for example - but I never use a mouse with my laptop - I’ve got a Windows desktop at home; my laptop’s almost exclusively for out-and-about stuff - and so the quality of the trackpad experience is pretty key to me. As is, it looks like I’m going to have to just replace it with a newer MBP.

KirkyV > JGrabowMSt
05/12/2015 at 09:09

For me, it’s mainly the quirks of Finder that made switching between the two a pain, in the early days. The way you have to decide to Cut a file after you’ve already copied it caused me no end of problems. I initially missed all the snap gestures and such, too, but I found a Mac application that ported them over, and have had a much better time with my laptop since.

Axial > AM
05/12/2015 at 09:11

I believe you can actually quickly change it so that CMD is replaced with CTRL in all of the Mac combos. Honestly, though, I’m going to lay blame on Apple for this one. Everybody else uses CTRL, even when they also have their own special snowflake button, so they have no excuse other than being different because they can be.

AM > Axial
05/12/2015 at 09:16

Meh, all my works on the Mac so I rarely use the pc anymore. That’s just Apple for you though, they always feel the need to be different.

Look at phone chargers, Samsung, Blackberry, LG, they literally all use the exact same connector. What does Apple do? Comes out with the lightning connector.

MR2_FTW - Group J's resident Stig > Rev Hang Slows My Roll
05/12/2015 at 09:17

The best thing about Mac in my opinion is that you can have both OSX and Windows on the same machine. It’s really the best of both worlds. I love my Macbook Pro.

JGrabowMSt > KirkyV
05/12/2015 at 09:19

Mac OS has many handy hidden features, but overall, I work in a Windows based industry, I have a Win 7 virtual machine that I have open basically all day at work. I dont bother with gestures because they dont translate well into the VM, and I dont need them really, Im happy enough with how I use my computer currently.

KirkyV > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell.
05/12/2015 at 09:19

Coming at it as someone who has a slightly unreasonable degree of distaste for Apple as a company in general - I mean, I don’t really like any corporate entities, but I’ve always reserved a certain extra level of hate for them - I will say that I can understand why someone would want one of their laptops over the competition. I’ve tried countless Windows laptops, and while every other aspect of the experience matches or exceeds what Apple offers, the trackpads have been pretty much universally shite by comparison. As someone who has a desktop at home, and a laptop for, well, not at home, this is a pretty major issue for me—I’m never really in a position to use my laptop with a mouse.

It’s actually causing me no small amount of consternation at the moment, as my old MacBook Pro is more than due for a replacement - the performance is basically non-existant, as is the battery life - and I’d very much like to replace it with a Windows machine, particularly with Windows 10 on the horizon... But I still just can’t get past the trackpad thing.

Speaking of the Nexus 7, I’m actually in a similar position there, just with the companies reversed. I’d really like to replace my old N7 with something with a larger screen - I have shitty eyesight, and read a lot of comic books/manga - but I’ve yet to come across an Android tablet that offers a larger screen at a decent price point, with unskinned software. The Nexus 9 would be perfect, if it wasn’t for the fact that, so far as I can tell, it performs terribly, and can’t multitask to save its life. Apple’s iPad hardware is pretty much exactly what I’m looking for... But, try as I might, I just can’t deal with iOS. At all.

KirkyV > JGrabowMSt
05/12/2015 at 09:24

I’d say that, overall, I do prefer Windows if I have a mouse hooked up, but OS X takes it if I’m using a trackpad, simply because Apple’s trackpads beat the pants off anything I’ve used on a Windows laptop.

(To be clear, when I say ‘gestures’, I’m not talking about Windows 8 charms of anything; I just find the way you can drag a window to the side of the screen and have it snap in place, filling exactly half the desktop, pretty key whenever I’m working on a smaller screen. It doesn’t really matter on my big monitor at home.)

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Nibby
05/12/2015 at 09:40

Ha! I love you, Nibby.

qbeezy > Rev Hang Slows My Roll
05/12/2015 at 09:41

You’re gonna right click for 3 mins straight. Then remember there isn’t a right click on Mac.

And have fun repurchasing software. And don't download the wrong ms office from campus IT

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Rev Hang Slows My Roll
05/12/2015 at 09:41

I’ve been a Mac guy for over a decade (since design school), but use a PC at work. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. Give the Mac a shot, and set up for dual boot so you have Windows when you want it. Best of both worlds.

Milky > duurtlang
05/12/2015 at 09:43

Its like the XTS is a windows and the S class is mac. Yes you get the same “stuff” in the XTS for cheaper but it feels cheaper and just using the interface pisses me off.

duurtlang > Milky
05/12/2015 at 09:49

I’m not sure about the computers, but with phones it’s the opposite. I’ve got a (3+ year old) Nexus for private use and an iphone from my company. The interface of the iphone pisses me off all the time, it’s so form over function. Shiny with limited functionality for an inflated price. Not my cup of tea, at all. But that’s merely personal preference, I know multiple people (mostly older than me) who feel the exact opposite.

Milky > Rev Hang Slows My Roll
05/12/2015 at 09:51

I did the switch almost 6 years ago and it was pretty painless. However going back in a huge PITA. Whenever I have to fix my moms computer Im at complete loss. IMHO Macs are a lot more intuitive.

KirkyV > Milky
05/12/2015 at 10:13

I’ve never been able to get used to iOS’ interface, and it’s missing a couple of features that I use a fair bit. One real irritation is that there’s no way to post an image straight from Dropbox to a webpage, like there is on Android, and so far as I can tell it’s straight-up impossible to post a .gif to a Gawker site from an iOS device.

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > KirkyV
05/12/2015 at 10:29

I agree. Their trackpads are pretty great. Personally, I miss the actual button, though. I’m too clumsy for the buttonless ones.

KirkyV > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie
05/12/2015 at 10:31

Ah, I prefer the ‘click-anywhere’ approach, with two fingers for right clicks. I don’t really like conventional, click-less tapping, and find having to keep a finger in reserve for dedicated buttons annoying.

Flat Six > Rev Hang Slows My Roll
05/12/2015 at 10:38

I recently made the switch from Windows to Mac at home. I bought the 4K 27” iMac. Cons:

Mouse can only be configured for left and right click - no middle click

Keyboard is missing some keys that I use frequently for work (backspace, insert)

The Mac actually crashes more than my Windows PC. This could be due to applications that it is running, but I was surprised by this.

Support for games is not that great unless you also install Windows on the Mac.

Importing pictures from android phone is not straightforward. It is obviously much slicker if you have an iPhone.

Pros:

Screen is beautiful, speakers are OK

Works really well with multiple users / guest accounts

The app store is convenient for downloading a nice variety of applications and games

Good support for drawing programs, tablets, pen, and gesture control

Good support for my music hardware

Better commandline interface than Windows

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > KirkyV
05/12/2015 at 12:38

Apple stuff does tend to be more user friendly, but I use a cheap Windows laptop and never really have any complaints about using the trackpad and such. Suppose I’m just used to it.

My gf has a Nexus 7 and the screen size isn’t too bad. I could live with iOS but I couldn’t live with Apple’s prices.

KirkyV > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell.
05/12/2015 at 12:48

I actually tend to find their stuff kind of obtuse to use, particularly if we’re talking iOS. The quality of the actual trackpad itself, and the gestures attached to it, are genuinely the only advantages I think OS X has over Windows, at least for my use-case. They used to have the edge in battery life, too, but modern relatively high-end Windows laptops have more than bridged that gap.

I could just about deal with the iOS UI, but there’s a couple of absolutely ridiculous limitations to it that I just can’t get around, no matter what I do. For one thing, all the .gifs, pictures and so on that I post to this site all the time? Can’t be done on an iPad. The .gifs are straight-up impossible to upload from an iOS device, and even the static images require a lot of hoop-jumping that’s simply unnecessary on Android.

StndIbnz, Drives a MSRT8 > Rev Hang Slows My Roll
05/12/2015 at 13:00

Yes, very easy to transition over, never going back.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > KirkyV
05/12/2015 at 13:29

I can’t say I’ve used OSX enough to compare, just faffing around on macbooks in the apples store. Battery life on windows stuff is getting pretty good, I get 7 hours out of my £300 lenovo if I keep the brightness down.

Does jailbreaking fix any of that? My iPod Touch was jailbroken and I changed all sorts on it.

KirkyV > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell.
05/12/2015 at 14:12

It might, but I have a general policy against buying devices that I’ll have to jailbreak/root just to get basic functionality. I used to have a jail broken iPod touch, and while it expanded the functionality fairly dramatically, it still couldn’t do stuff that the Android phone I replaced it with could.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > KirkyV
05/12/2015 at 14:35

Android is a lot more open. Maybe they’ll build a bigger nexus worth having soon. That said some skinned android devices arent too bad, I had a HTC with their sense skin and it was fine.

KirkyV > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell.
05/12/2015 at 14:54

My first ever smartphone was a HTC Desire with sense. It was fine, at the time. I don’t think I’d want to go back to heavily skinned Android, though, much as I love HTC’s hardware. Samsung’s skin is far, far worse, as is their record for keeping their devices updated... And they just so happen to be the ones making the decent larger Android tablets. Sony put out good hardware, too, but it’s a little rich for my blood.

Nibby > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
05/12/2015 at 22:53

Brotherly love. <3

Rev Hang Slows My Roll > duurtlang
05/13/2015 at 10:25

I was cross shopping a macbook pro retina 15” with the Dell XPS 15. Both computers have similar hardware including SSD, 16gb Ram and identical GPU’s. But the Mac just felt so much more solid and substantial in my hands in addition to being more attractive to look at.

Rev Hang Slows My Roll > Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh
05/13/2015 at 10:25

Yea, the bootcamp option is really intriguing to me.

Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh > Rev Hang Slows My Roll
05/13/2015 at 10:28

Bootcamp is really nice. First thing I installed on my mac in fact.

Rev Hang Slows My Roll > boxrocket
05/13/2015 at 10:28

I do use an Iphone and Icloud so integration would be a plus for me. Nevertheless, i am reluctant to totally sell my soul to the Apple overlords...

duurtlang > Rev Hang Slows My Roll
05/13/2015 at 10:28

How were they priced?

Rev Hang Slows My Roll > Flat Six
05/13/2015 at 10:29

Thanks for this!

Rev Hang Slows My Roll > Alex B
05/13/2015 at 10:30

Cool! Happy birthday.

Rev Hang Slows My Roll > duurtlang
05/13/2015 at 10:33

The Dell XPS was about $2500. Macbook Pro priced out to about $3,000 but thats with Applecare and an external optical drive and ethernet adapter added.

Dusty Ventures > Axial
07/13/2015 at 21:16

I don’t know though, Apple may have been first and Windows may be the one that decided to be different. We had a Mac Plus from 1987 and it was already using the CMD key. Assuming Mac used CMD from the first iteration of their OS and Windows did same then Mac was first by a year.

...Also I just realized how old this thread was. Don’t mind me.

Axial > Dusty Ventures
07/13/2015 at 22:01

What matters isn’t who was first, but what is most prevalent. We technically had OHC first, but everybody calls OHV the old, backwards tech.