PC to Mac as painlessly as possible
Discussion
So said:
If you're going to be arsey, perhaps worth reading the thread.
The machine we need to replace isn't the one running W10 that I don't like. The little HP machine is a number of years old now and we were going to replace it because it's become slow.
Given what you appear to be saying is, "Mac isn't worth the aggro" "Windows isn't great but it's less aggro than Mac" I am considering whether we try to breathe life into the old machine and if it gives us 3 years we can worry about the Mac / Windows question another time.
The machine you're talking about is a netbook.The machine we need to replace isn't the one running W10 that I don't like. The little HP machine is a number of years old now and we were going to replace it because it's become slow.
Given what you appear to be saying is, "Mac isn't worth the aggro" "Windows isn't great but it's less aggro than Mac" I am considering whether we try to breathe life into the old machine and if it gives us 3 years we can worry about the Mac / Windows question another time.
It was hardly worth the money years ago and isn't worth spending anything on it.
For business use, get a decent laptop. Basically anything over 1000 will be good, you might get by with a couple of hundred less but then you usually start making compromises. I like Dell as their aftersales is the best I've experienced (next day on site).
For the posters above, we've run several businesses, and even if you go full mac, it's not a good idea to say goodbye to MS Office. Privately, yes, professionally, not a good idea.
Also, Office 365 means you can download the latest version for Mac and while not a full on Office version like the windows one it's still miles better than anything else imho.
Access is indeed an outdated tool but if you use it, these are the thing you need to watch out for.
This entire thread boils down to this: What do you want to do? What do you do now? What software do you use? What kind of software do you want to use in the future? How many machines are we talking about?
Edited by ZesPak on Monday 20th November 12:15
alorotom said:
We have a mix of Apple and Windows users in our organisation and there are endless windows issues where the macs do tend to “just work” and much more seamlessly with our iPhones and iPads
Not a great surprise. Apple kit works best in an "all Apple" environment. It always has done. That's what happens when you have a closed ecosystem with its own standards, and poor or non-existent implementation of open standards.In a non-graphic arts business scenario, I can't think of a single reason why you would choose Mac over PC, unless you had business critical applications running on other Apple devices.
Apple iOS is pretty good, and Windows mobile was bad. But you cant compare iOS to a Windows PC.
Yes, Apple have done a pretty good job on iOS and by locking down the OS, it is pretty intuitive and easy to use.
I use a Mac for work and have a Windows PC at home. The gap between the two isnt as big as it was a few years ago. Once you get used to Windows 10, it really is quite simple to use.
I cant think of a single reason why I would need to use a Mac over a PC in a business environment. It's just that my employer decided to issue me with a Mac, because people in 'my industry' use Mac's.... (whatever that means).
If it were me, I'd be buying decent Windows laptops and saving a good chunk of cash.
Yes, Apple have done a pretty good job on iOS and by locking down the OS, it is pretty intuitive and easy to use.
I use a Mac for work and have a Windows PC at home. The gap between the two isnt as big as it was a few years ago. Once you get used to Windows 10, it really is quite simple to use.
I cant think of a single reason why I would need to use a Mac over a PC in a business environment. It's just that my employer decided to issue me with a Mac, because people in 'my industry' use Mac's.... (whatever that means).
If it were me, I'd be buying decent Windows laptops and saving a good chunk of cash.
ZesPak said:
Limpet said:
In a non-graphic arts business scenario,
Even that is debatable. The only real factor here are the users.When we had Windows Phones (after 8 anyway) they never worked properly and were unstable. the iPhones we now have work 99.9% of the time, don't crash and do what we want.
I've not used Macs but my presumption is that they will be as reliable as iPhones.
So said:
ZesPak said:
Limpet said:
In a non-graphic arts business scenario,
Even that is debatable. The only real factor here are the users.When we had Windows Phones (after 8 anyway) they never worked properly and were unstable. the iPhones we now have work 99.9% of the time, don't crash and do what we want.
I've not used Macs but my presumption is that they will be as reliable as iPhones.
schmunk said:
So said:
ZesPak said:
Limpet said:
In a non-graphic arts business scenario,
Even that is debatable. The only real factor here are the users.When we had Windows Phones (after 8 anyway) they never worked properly and were unstable. the iPhones we now have work 99.9% of the time, don't crash and do what we want.
I've not used Macs but my presumption is that they will be as reliable as iPhones.
So said:
Are Macs vs PCs different from iPhones vs Windows Phones in terms of user friendliness?
The two are totally incomparable. iOS is not OSX and Windows Phone is not Windows.Since you mention it specifically, Windows Phone was always awful and Microsoft would be doing the world a favour if they actually officially admitted that they are going to drop it completely.
Buying wholesale into Macs just because you don't get on with Windows 8, when you admit that you don't the first thing about Macs seems a little short-sighted to say the least. Millions of people use Windows 10 every day and experience no issues; fundamentally, it's a good operating system.
Switch over to using Macs by all means but, as we've said, don't expect it to revolutionise your life because it won't.
it was worth a try.justinio said:
OP, I'm a bit confused.
You want to switch your business computers to Mac's, because you like your iPhone?
Is that about the size of it?
Not that uncommon actually. The iPhone is often seen as the gateway product into the Apple ecosystem. I've converted a few small businesses over to Apple computers on the strength of how pleased they have been with iPhones and how dissatisfied they have been with their windows computers. Small businesses do often have an advantage in that they are agile enough to switch to hardware that they actually *want* to use, rather than the stock windows solutions that are forced on larger businesses. You want to switch your business computers to Mac's, because you like your iPhone?
Is that about the size of it?
Bikerjon said:
justinio said:
OP, I'm a bit confused.
You want to switch your business computers to Mac's, because you like your iPhone?
Is that about the size of it?
Not that uncommon actually. The iPhone is often seen as the gateway product into the Apple ecosystem. I've converted a few small businesses over to Apple computers on the strength of how pleased they have been with iPhones and how dissatisfied they have been with their windows computers. Small businesses do often have an advantage in that they are agile enough to switch to hardware that they actually *want* to use, rather than the stock windows solutions that are forced on larger businesses. You want to switch your business computers to Mac's, because you like your iPhone?
Is that about the size of it?
That's how we ended up with Apple stuff at home. Mrs FTR wanted an iPhone (3G) so got her one and put up with using iTunes on a Windows laptop for a couple of years - this was not a pleasant experience as I recall - so when that laptop went bang (fried motherboard) it seemed logical to give a Mac a try.I've always used Windows in my work environments and I don't personally find much trouble in transitioning between the different OS's. I didn't mess around with Pages etc. too much - tried exchanging information between home and work laptops and the formatting went south so I invested in MS Office.
I haven't really missed Widows very much, but am now getting to the stage (seven years on!) where there are some Windows apps I'd like to use but there are no direct MAC equivalents, so I'm trying now to figure out the best way to do that!
justinio said:
OP, I'm a bit confused.
You want to switch your business computers to Mac's, because you like your iPhone?
Is that about the size of it?
No, because I am finding Windows since 7 (XP really) crap, not intuitive and unreliable.You want to switch your business computers to Mac's, because you like your iPhone?
Is that about the size of it?
I would add that when I've had problems with Windows, support seems to be by way of an online community, which comes up with the correct answer about 50% of the time. When I had problems with a iPhone, I was able to speak to a UK based (at least that's how it sounded) support agent, who resolved my problem quickly and efficiently.
Now, I am being told above that Mac and iphone is different, but if the ethos is the same I anticipate that a Mac will do a better job for us.
So said:
No, because I am finding Windows since 7 (XP really) crap, not intuitive and unreliable.
I would add that when I've had problems with Windows, support seems to be by way of an online community, which comes up with the correct answer about 50% of the time. When I had problems with a iPhone, I was able to speak to a UK based (at least that's how it sounded) support agent, who resolved my problem quickly and efficiently.
Now, I am being told above that Mac and iphone is different, but if the ethos is the same I anticipate that a Mac will do a better job for us.
Windows 10 is better than 7 or XP in just about every way.I would add that when I've had problems with Windows, support seems to be by way of an online community, which comes up with the correct answer about 50% of the time. When I had problems with a iPhone, I was able to speak to a UK based (at least that's how it sounded) support agent, who resolved my problem quickly and efficiently.
Now, I am being told above that Mac and iphone is different, but if the ethos is the same I anticipate that a Mac will do a better job for us.
Your comparison of Apple Support (paid for) with a free online community support model is comparing apples with oranges. If you need support, why not sign up with a PC support company that will offer the same level of service as Apple.
Sounds like you've already made your mind up on the switch to Mac's. Nothing wrong with them really (if they do everything you want them to), and they do look nice.
justinio said:
So said:
No, because I am finding Windows since 7 (XP really) crap, not intuitive and unreliable.
I would add that when I've had problems with Windows, support seems to be by way of an online community, which comes up with the correct answer about 50% of the time. When I had problems with a iPhone, I was able to speak to a UK based (at least that's how it sounded) support agent, who resolved my problem quickly and efficiently.
Now, I am being told above that Mac and iphone is different, but if the ethos is the same I anticipate that a Mac will do a better job for us.
Windows 10 is better than 7 or XP in just about every way.I would add that when I've had problems with Windows, support seems to be by way of an online community, which comes up with the correct answer about 50% of the time. When I had problems with a iPhone, I was able to speak to a UK based (at least that's how it sounded) support agent, who resolved my problem quickly and efficiently.
Now, I am being told above that Mac and iphone is different, but if the ethos is the same I anticipate that a Mac will do a better job for us.
Your comparison of Apple Support (paid for) with a free online community support model is comparing apples with oranges. If you need support, why not sign up with a PC support company that will offer the same level of service as Apple.
Sounds like you've already made your mind up on the switch to Mac's. Nothing wrong with them really (if they do everything you want them to), and they do look nice.
Support - yes, I suppose we could pay for a support contract. However, when I called Apple re the iPhone fault it was a Sunday evening. I am not sure what we would need to pay for a 24/7 support contract for PCs.
So said:
It's not the machine itself, it's Windows. In my opinion, Windows stopped being user friendly once 8 arrived. 10 is better than 8 was, but it still seems to be a mess. Don't get me wrong, I don't think IOS is brilliant, but it does at least seem intuitive and generally things work, whereas MS stuff increasingly doesn't seem to.
I think you need to get a grip of yourself. You hate windows, that's okay, lots of people do. But there was nothing wrong with windows. I've run a business that uses about fifty window machines over the last twenty years with everything from XP onwards, and now just about to swap to windows 10 from windows 7. It was always the same story, and I can predict who is going to have problems.No one likes change
Despite replacing machines, operating systems and upgrades it was always the same people who suffered the majority of the problems.
By all means convert, but I think the money would be better spent on some IT training, and all I know about you is the comments you have made.
julian64 said:
So said:
It's not the machine itself, it's Windows. In my opinion, Windows stopped being user friendly once 8 arrived. 10 is better than 8 was, but it still seems to be a mess. Don't get me wrong, I don't think IOS is brilliant, but it does at least seem intuitive and generally things work, whereas MS stuff increasingly doesn't seem to.
I think you need to get a grip of yourself. You hate windows, that's okay, lots of people do. But there was nothing wrong with windows. I've run a business that uses about fifty window machines over the last twenty years with everything from XP onwards, and now just about to swap to windows 10 from windows 7. It was always the same story, and I can predict who is going to have problems.No one likes change
Despite replacing machines, operating systems and upgrades it was always the same people who suffered the majority of the problems.
By all means convert, but I think the money would be better spent on some IT training, and all I know about you is the comments you have made.
Report back when you've switched to 10.
dmsims said:
I see a lot of different PC's running lots of software in a lot of environments
10 has been better than all versions before
So do I, but 10 being better than previous versions still isn't really good enough for many people now. They've come to rely on the "instant on" ways of iPads and iPhones while their Windows 10 machines endlessly applies another round of updates!10 has been better than all versions before
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