Make the swap to Mac?

[GetCarter]

Ken Figenus said:

V unfair on MAC's chaps - know lots that use them very successfully for video editing and sound editing using professional industry standard software like Avid and Pro Tools etc They are very solid and can be very fast (seen that round tube one flying).

Indeed. I've run widoze and Mac side by side since the early 80's and I wouldn't go near a computer running anything other than Apple hardware for my job. Neither does anyone or any studio I know, and that includes all the best in the UK (music industry).

Edited by GetCarter on Friday 27th May 17:04

[ZesPak]

GetCarter said:

Indeed. I've run widoze and Mac side by side since the early 80's and I wouldn't go near a computer running anything other than Apple hardware and software. Neither does anyone or any studio I know, and that includes all the best in the UK (music industry).

What exactly is "Apple hardware"? It's all the same junk and if you're telling yourself anything else you're delusional.
And if we're going by what's "good" and equate that with industries which use a certain platform... OSX is pretty dire from the looks of it.
In a professional landscape it's market share is very low but I agree that it's unfair to say they are completely unfit for productivity. If your software runs on it, they are decent computers but with a high price tag.

As for the person talking about the Mac Pro flying. Please check out the price. Any other machine at that price would run circles around it.

[GetCarter]

ZesPak said:

Stuff.

Abbey Road, Air and Angel disagree with you. But you carry on using PC and I'll carry on using both.

[bitchstewie]

I think the reality is both platforms have pros and cons.

I'm sat here typing this on a Macbook Pro but I could just as easily be using a Windows box as the reality is I bought a Macbook because I wanted one not because I needed one.

I didn't have a choice but to pay £1000 for a Macbook because that's what they cost but psychologically I'd find it hard to part with £1000 for a laptop running Windows/Linux/whatever for personal use - no idea why.

[AJB88]

My next Ubuntu laptop will probably be the i7 Chromebook Pixel, Install Ubuntu on it job done.

[Ken Figenus]

ZesPak said:

As for the person talking about the Mac Pro flying. Please check out the price. Any other machine at that price would run circles around it.

I am that person but I think you missed my 4.4Ghz PC point COMPLETELY! Back of the class!

[Ken Figenus]

GetCarter said:

Indeed. I've run widoze and Mac side by side since the early 80's and I wouldn't go near a computer running anything other than Apple hardware for my job. Neither does anyone or any studio I know, and that includes all the best in the UK (music industry).

Edited by GetCarter on Friday 27th May 17:04

This is a legacy of the best modern muso software appearing first on MAC (Cubase et all) and I thoroughly agree to stick with what works, what has been supported best and what you know - hardware is rather secondary unless its essential for crunching 4k video or hooking up to big SAN's that Apple will not support via their snazzy little mall shops for ladies .

And I've used Steve's excellent music too in my PC it seems

[Bikerjon]

Not another PC vs Mac debate?! Nothing wrong with being happy about ditching windows. Switching to a Mac is very much taken for granted these days, but when I did this many years ago there was always a program or two that would keep me coming back to windows. With the rise of web apps and generally much more software choice it's far easier to switch to a Mac than ever before.

The pound for pound PC spec comparisons always come up but honestly it's just not something to obsess about when you switch. As long as your chosen software runs fast enough then that really is good enough for most people! I do think that all Mac's should have SSD's as standard though.

[tjlees]

PCs for power hungry games, blu-ray and a cheaper build. Also use mine as a TV live, TV recorder, central music/video server etc and video and photo editing.

Macs/iPads for on line social, emails, apps, streaming films etc - similar for android. I have Apple TV which is great for streaming, buying and renting.

If I had to choose one, it would be a PC because Macs don't do 4K @ around 60 fps well for the price.

But you wouldn't choose one OS when all three have a valid use in life anyway and Google can share settings, favourites etc

[essayer]

I much prefer Finder to Windows Explorer. Wish there was a Windows version!

[extraT]

Holy thread revival, Batman!

Dredging this thread up from the depths…

Need to buy a new machine and debating Mac versus Windows. Always been a Windows user always gotten on well with Windows; whenever I’ve used Mac I’ve always been frustrated, possibly because I’ve never learnt how to use a Mac…?

How easy is it to make the switch? The reason I’m looking at a Mac is because I absolutely love my iPhone and use it for both business and private, being able to seamlessly sync everything between the iPhone and *a device* is what I’m looking for.

Is looking at a mac the right thing? I really wish MS could make a (good) phone on their own OS. I really don’t like an android (otherwise I would’ve gotten a duo). I know they used to make their own phones which werent very popular, if only they could emulate Apples success in intervention between devices…

So back to my original question… how easy is a Mac to use for a non Mac person…?

[paulguitar]

extraT said:

Holy thread revival, Batman!

Dredging this thread up from the depths…

Need to buy a new machine and debating Mac versus Windows. Always been a Windows user always gotten on well with Windows; whenever I’ve used Mac I’ve always been frustrated, possibly because I’ve never learnt how to use a Mac…?

How easy is it to make the switch? The reason I’m looking at a Mac is because I absolutely love my iPhone and use it for both business and private, being able to seamlessly sync everything between the iPhone and *a device* is what I’m looking for.

Is looking at a mac the right thing? I really wish MS could make a (good) phone on their own OS. I really don’t like an android (otherwise I would’ve gotten a duo). I know they used to make their own phones which werent very popular, if only they could emulate Apples success in intervention between devices…

So back to my original question… how easy is a Mac to use for a non Mac person…?

I switched in 2010, and it has literally made my life better! There were quite a few things to get used to, and IIRC moving email over wasn't totally simple. Things have probably changed a lot since 2010 though, and it is likely to be a lot easier now.

I am sometimes still amazed at just how stable Macs are. Again, since 2010 I am sure Windows stuff has significantly improved, but back when I made the switch the difference was remarkable. Stuff just worked.

[tribbles]

I switched from Windows to Mac in ~2007. I ended up buying a top of the range Mac Pro, and a bit later, a top of the range Mac Book Pro. In both cases, they were replaced with newer models the day after (I didn't know about the MacRumors website then!)

The two things that caught me out were:

1) Their idea of a UK keyboard is not the rest of the world's idea of a UK layout. I even called their support desk when it arrived as, to my mind, I'd been shipped a US layout. I ended up running a different keymap and ignored what was written on some of the keys.

2) Closing a program's only window does not close the program. Cmd+Q closes the program

I moved back from Mac to Windows in 2014 as Apple had a major security flaw in their OS, and didn't say whether they were going to patch the version I was using (and I couldn't afford to buy new hardware). I don't think they did get around to doing it...

I also did a lot of work with some odd USB devices, and found that Parallels and / or Mac native support for them was somewhat limited.

[extraT]

Thanks Tribbles,

Something else I forgot to add, I live in Austria= QWERTZ layout. In windows you can switch the key map to QWERTY, which means I have to either touch type from memory. Not too bad actually. Is that possible in a Mac?

[tribbles]

I think you can, but it depends on whether a US QWERTY layout is sufficient.

If I can get hold of my brother, I'll ask him - I'm fairly certain he's using a French Mac (although he may not have changed the keyboard layout).

[Tycho]

I changed from windows to macOS last year when I looked at the M1 MacBook Air and there was (and is IMO still) nothing even close to the quality, efficiency and speed of the M1 chip.

It is really easy to move over, I use the built in Mail and calendar apps with my Google account and it is simple to set up. There are a few niggles such as window management when full screen but that is just a difference in how the OS is designed.

[Chris Hinds]

Mixed Windows and Mac over the years, starting with Windows back in 1991. I first went Mac with a G4 PowerBook in 2002 to go to uni. I replaced that with another G4 whilst still at uni, but then added a Windows desktop machine alongside. I went fully back to Windows for a while, then back to a MBP, back to Windows + iPad, then MBP and right now I'm typing this on a Dell XPS9520.

For me the big benefits of the Mac are the fast wake time from sleep, the superb trackpad, the excellent build quality and, until recently a high-res 16:10 screen. Now the 16:10 screen is making a come back for Windows laptops too, taking that benefit away. What I find about using a Mac after some time is simple that everything feels "sluggish". All of the switches between screens are actually deliberately slow to make everything smooth. So much so that when you use a Windows machine, it feels much more snappy generally and your choice of software is wider. What I found, even when I had a MBP was that when I wanted to do anything serious, I'd crack out the Windows world, whereas anything more "consumable" I stuck in Mac. Once Apple went down the M1 route, suddenly my Windows door was closed... and so back to a Dell/Lenovo/HP it is. What I find annoying though is that my ideal machine still isn't made... ideally I'd like to swap the Intel CPU out for AMD - right now Ryzen has Core totally beaten.

[Bacardi]

Came across this last year which might be useful to watch. A die hard windows user trying out a mac including the frustrations he had at the beginning. Disclaimer, I'm a die hard mac user. I can use Wdows and Linux, but if that was the only choice, I'd rather sign up to the Russian army... Hopefully some useful thought to help you make an informed decision...

In order...

https://youtu.be/cfsNO14hikA
https://youtu.be/tZueJx-ndnI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjQyIUMKmZ8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8Xjz5v0jDw

[wyson]

extraT said:

Holy thread revival, Batman!

Dredging this thread up from the depths…

Need to buy a new machine and debating Mac versus Windows. Always been a Windows user always gotten on well with Windows; whenever I’ve used Mac I’ve always been frustrated, possibly because I’ve never learnt how to use a Mac…?

How easy is it to make the switch? The reason I’m looking at a Mac is because I absolutely love my iPhone and use it for both business and private, being able to seamlessly sync everything between the iPhone and *a device* is what I’m looking for.

Is looking at a mac the right thing? I really wish MS could make a (good) phone on their own OS. I really don’t like an android (otherwise I would’ve gotten a duo). I know they used to make their own phones which werent very popular, if only they could emulate Apples success in intervention between devices…

So back to my original question… how easy is a Mac to use for a non Mac person…?

Depends on what you will use it for. I use both platforms professionally, both have their strengths and weaknesses.

For the average joe, there isn’t much in it. I suppose Macs do have an advantage if you care about battery life, an area that Intel based laptops are much weaker in, at least for the moment.

Edited by wyson on Monday 11th July 22:59

[the-norseman]

I'd say Windows to Mac is easy.

I've gone Windows to Linux to Mac to Linux with a bit of ChromeOS in the middle as well. They are all pretty easy to use these days.