Real switch stories?

I have been doing some Googling on switching to Mac. Unfortunate, 99% of them are like this. Windows = Hell --> Mac = Heaven. Very biased. I'm looking for some real switch stories.

How easy was it to start working with a Mac? How long did it take before you got the hang of the OS? Which software didn't work anymore on Mac that you miss now? Is it easy to transfer your files from your PC computer to a Mac? Anything you miss that Windows had but Mac doesn't?

I only used Macs during a webdesign course two years ago. I remember it to be much like Windows, it had most of the same software like Office and Dreamweaver. The only thing I had trouble with was that the X was on the left top instead of the right, but I suppose this is just matter of habit.

 

hey

I've had my MPB about 4 weeks and have never even seen Mac OS before.

Initial set up was very easy, though I did a little background reading first and followed the advice here about setting up a separate admin account before doing anything else http://the.taoofmac.com/space/HOWTO/Switch%20To The Mac

All of the things I missed at first: right-click, alt-tab to switch windows, windows file directory structure.

Every time I have come across something from Windows I 'miss' I have then discovered a feature that not only does the same thing but does it better. you can right click with 'command', you can alt-tab with command-tab - and even better you can hit f10 and see all your windows to pick the one you want...

cut a long story short my laptop arrived on a friday night. from first boot up most things were intuitive. I spent the whole day saturday playing with it, setting up software and settings, and by sunday I was already very conversant with the OS.

Took a little while to get my head around where the applications where going when I installed them but again I found it very intuitive and anything I didnt understand was usually a top hit on google.

for software: i am very into photography and found everything I needed no problem. I use bibble, shoebox, photoshop CS3 and iphoto.

for internet i use firefox so i can sync bookmarks with my work pc

for music itunes is more than ok for my needs.

for office software neooffice is free and more than adequate, though I couldnt use it for my professional work because it doesnt always pick up the formatting from a word document. fine for my home use though. If i worked from home more I would need to put microsoft office on.

hope that helps...

 

Well, in a sense, Windows is hell compared to OS X. After having switched to Macs for half a year now, I can assure you that Windows is definitely a nightmare in comparison. Unless you're the kind of person that actually takes pleasure out of troubleshooting your computer for at least four hours every week.

 

There are a lot of switching stories right here, do a search. There is a fair number of people which come to think as you described; you might call this a bias, but then people are naturally biased, so it would be foolish to expect otherwise. Consider what happen to most switchers who spent their whole life using windows and suddenly discover there is this alternative which is much better (let's assume this for the argument's sake) and switch. They somehow have to justify WHY they spent so much time using an inferior solution, and some people rationalize that by exaggerating.

On to the actual question, I cannot be really called a switcher, since I still use Linux and Windows, but OS X is my main OS now. I'd say that there are very few things at which Windows, as an OS per se, is inherently better than OS X. I'd list more options for customization - coming from Linux, the spartan ways of OS X are specially annoying - and the greater flexibility of Explorer (the file browser) as compared to Finder. Considering the windows ecosystem as a whole, I'd say that there are far more quality free (as in beer) software available for Windows.

I won't delve into Windows' shortcomings compared to OS X since you'll find plenty of them here and elsewhere. I would just point out that people who can't adapt to OS X or other OSs are people which usually are so attached to a specific way of doing things they can't accept otherwise. And with Intel Macs, you can always run Windows as well, so there isn't so much of a burden in your decision.

 

I switched just over a year ago and have been very happy. To be honest, there really is not much I mis from Windows anymore. There were some things that were hard to get over, like the way a lot of OS X apps handle the file structure for you, but once you get past those things it's a great experience. I don't see myself going back to Windows anytime soon. Also, if 99% of the switch stories you read are glowing, that may tell you something.

 

I use a Mac at work and I'm hardcore windows LOL. I guess OS X is better, but it has the limitations we all know regarding programs. Particularly in my case it's hard to find some architecture programs, and even if they're done for both operating systems, a lot of plugins don't really work. You can experience the plugin thing with firefox too.
Also I don't like the underdeveloped context menu that os x has. I'm very used to the windows explorer, and I find Finder is not as good.
Last, I would like to be able to configure the looks of the OS a little bit. You can barely do anything with it.

 

The most vocal part of any community is usually the fanboys, so what you're hearing are the same type of people who say "Xbox 360 is the best" or "Playstation 3 is the best"! It's part of the territory, just ignore it as best you can

My switching story starts in December of 2005. I got a G4 Cube off eBay, mainly for looks and partially because I wanted to play with OS X. As it turned out, I really liked it. At the time, my wife was getting super frustrated with the movie-making software on Windows. I had invested quite a bit of money into different video tools and they were pretty much all horrible under Windows. For her birthday, I got her a 20" iMac Core Duo. We really, really liked it. I also tried out a Mac Mini and a 13" MacBook. I ended up selling both of those because I really needed a dedicated Windows laptop for school and work.

However, in March of 2007 Parallels released an update to their virtualization software that solved all of my Windows-related problems. No more lag, easy folder and file sharing between systems (drag-and-drop!), and many other nice features. They are also releasing an update (Parallels 3.0) that has improved graphics support to allow you to play games. Yesterday, Apple released the new Santa Rosa-based MacBook Pros with support for 4 gigs of ram. So now I can run OS X with 2 gigs of ram and run Windows XP virtually with 2 gigs of ram. So I am making the "full" switch this summer - selling off my PC equipment and investing that into a MacBook Pro.

Windows XP with SP2 is a pretty dang good operating system. While Windows is not my favorite OS, it is the one I grew up on and the one I use the most often. Properly tweaked, XP can be very secure and very stable. However, OS X does that right out of the box. Two of the things I really like about OS X are (1) the simple System/Software Update manager and (2) that all of the settings for the system are stored in a single place (System Preferences) instead of scattered around many different places like in XP (Control Panel, System Properties, Display Properties, etc.).

As far as finding replacement software, I have been able to find equivalents for every single program I use under Windows. That's no easy task since I use about 55 programs on a regular basis. Commonly used programs such as Photoshop and Excel are made for both the Mac and Windows platforms. The operating system does take some getting used to, but it's a quick switch. The Dock is basically like the Start Menu, Spotlight is like Google Desktop Search, and the window buttons are on the left instead of the right. There are certain things that still irk me, like the way the desktop icons are setup and the way programs can't really go full-screen. OS X is very smooth and fluid, lots of nice little effects and features that make it fun and easy to use.

 

kaidomac, all the settings for windows are in the control panel as well, there is just more ways to access them than only going through the control panel. The "system preferences" name seems more appropiate though.

 

Thanks! That was very informative.

 

i think a lot of people can agree with me on this, both OSX and Windows XP/Vista work extremely well for many many people. both of them have little issues here and there, but most of these issues come from people's personal preferences to working one specific way.

i think it is a good idea to think of it like this, since we have no control over what is being done. Learn how an OS works, figure out what you want to do with it, and adapt accordingly. Ok, this is how this OS goes about doing this particular thing, so to be more efficient I can just slightly change what I am doing.

people go on and on complaining about things, this OS doesn't do this this and this, this computer over here does this this and this, why doesn't this computer do the same thing???

for most people, the first time using a mac goes like this. (In the simplest possible way ever )

hmm, oooo, ahhhhh, wait what?, ohh ok, oh wow, clickety click, typety type (could last for a few weeks), oh what the hell!!, come on! why not?, oh!, haha, oh oh oh, clickety click, typety type (could last for years)

maybe I am missing a few oooo's, ahhhh's, and what the hell's here and there, but I think that about covers it. I smell a new Apple commercial

also keep in mind that Apple and Microsoft are not necessarily trying to push one or the other out of the market, they are both pretty happy with their positions.

what draws me to Apple, especially now, is that it seems that they have much more desire to make a great contribution to the industry, particularly the industries I am interested in, and have really been able to simplify them and make them more accessible.

you know what, that is the beauty of what Apple is doing right now with OSX, they are simply making more things accessible to more people, to do this they have used many different ideas from many different people, and have done it very successfully. People with little to know experience with a Mac, can look at it, be confused for a second, and within a few hours could have easily learned more about movie editing, or digital photography, etc.

 

Someone posted these article in another forum and I thought the three artcles were pretty objective. They're 30 days with Linux, 30 days with Vista and 30 days with OS X

http://enthusiast.hardocp.com/article.html?art=MTM0OCwxLCxoZW50aHVzaWFzdA==

 

ive had my mac for a few months and never used OSX before. maybe the occasional use of my friends, but no long term experience. it was tough at first to use OSX because i did not know how to install programs and other basic things. after reading up on the help section in OSX, and with the help of people here i am fairly proficient now and can do most of the things i can on a pc. so, basicaly, it took me maybe 2-3 months until i knew everything.

sometimes my work i do on my mac i cant easily transfer it to my pc, sometimes PDF files get messed up, word documents go haywire, or it just freezed. for the most part, its fine but i try to avoid exchanging work from mac to pc.

right now im using bootcamp to test the usability of windows and so far its been great. transferring files to my other PC is perfect, no glitches or anything. i still find myself missing OSX and ill probably get rid of boot camp and just use OSX....well see.

 

I switched less than 2 weeks ago. I bought a refurbished black macbook, and the trackpad has a bit of a problem (I'm calling them today). I had never used a mac before, and at first it was very confusing. But I slowly started getting used to it, and I have the 'mac switch' article by apple right up here as one of my favorite bookmarks.
After 2 weeks though, I'm still NOT convinced why OS X is THAT MUCH better than windows. Some of the windows features can be easily installed on OS X. For example, when my firefox browser prompts me a question (e.g. Do you want firefox to remember your password?), on windows i could choose the answers with my cursor or just press N or Y for yes or no. I can't do that here, but I'm sure there's a way to fix this.
But there are other stuff which is much harder or impossible to replace. On PC, when I was attaching a picture to, say, this message, for ex, I could choose how to view the folders and files. So I could actually see the pictures without opening them in the attachment window (the window which I browse and choose a file to attach). Little stuff like that. Plus, my F10 button doesn't really show all the windows. It just focuses on this window for some reason.

In conclusion, I like my new MB. But I'm not convinced that it is superior to a Lenovo T61, or that OS X is better than windows.

 

That's because that's what F10 is supposed to do... it shows all the windows of the SAME APP that are opened. If you only got one window opened... Try pressing F9, if you didn't change the default config, to show windows of all apps at once.

 

True! Windows seems much more keyboard friendly than mac os.
I really don't understand how people get things done faster in os x than windows. With all the shortcuts and the superior mouse implementation of windows it should actually be faster than os x.

 

I've been using Macs for 14 months, but only totally switched about 6 months ago.

I had tried Macs in shops and I thought they were quite nice, but never really considered getting one until early last year when I was getting a bid fed up with Windows and slowness and stuff. I brought my first Mac, a used G3 iMac (400MHz) in April '06, upgraded it to 640mb RAM and 80GB HDD and installed Panther on it.

It took me a few days to get to know basic operations and speed wasn't too bad for basic tasks. I slowly experimented with applications and found it quit easy to use. Within a fortnight, I had my music collection transferred to it and was using it for basic word processing, light web browsing etc. Obviously it wasn't powerful enough for heavy tasks/media, but for a 400MHz machine it was suprisingly responsive.

With the help of various Mac forums, I found equivilent/alternative software for most of the commonly used ones in Windows and was happily using the iMac as a secondary machine for 6 months.

Then I saw a great deal on a PowerMac G4 Cube and brought that, it was a design I'd always loved and it still looks amazing. I gave my iMac to my sister because her old ThinkPad was dying. It didn't take long for her to get used to OS X and uses it as a primary machine for schoolwork/MS Office/internet/music etc.

In December, I brought a used PowerBook G4 (15" 1.33GHz) to replace my Fujitsu Siemens A1630. I now use OS X full time and am very happy with it. It certainly seems faster than my 2.0GHz Athlon 64 w/XP and the laptop seems much higher quality.

Negative things about Mac (but nothing really major):

1. I haven't found an alternative for IrfanView (a really simple, light on resources photo viewer and simple editor)

2. My existing Xerox scanner didn't work (although most hardware nowadays works fine). I brought a much better HP one with photo feeder anyway which works great.

3. I occasionally feel like playing a game of GTA or something, but due to having a PowerPC Mac, I can't install XP via Bootcamp (not really an issue for Intel Mac owners).

4. Apple make such nice hardware that I can't afford it all (being a student!)

I will be buying a shiny new MacBook Pro this September when I start University and it should give me many years of happy computing

 

Ah, F9 vs. F10. That sounds better!

 

What do you use for your office applications in OS X? Does Office 2007 work?

 

no at the moment its office 2004 for mac

also you can use neooffice or openoffice, free apps which are pretty good but not as slick as office.

i got the mac version of microsoft office yesterday and am very impressed

 

Hrrrrm. What about bitorrent? utorrent doesn't work (please don't say azureus ).

Also, since OSX doesn't use directshow, what would I use to watch movies and whatnot? E.g. I use the CCCP atm to take care of all my video needs. What would I use for Macs (VLC doesn't support everything I watch).

Hope I didn't hijack this thread :/

 

iMovie? I watched a DVD on it yesterday, it was ALRIGHT. For some reason it doesn't have a bar when you can scroll to the time you want. You just have to push the forward or backward button.

 

I work for a Special Effects Company, and this is a very big discussion in the office. Most programmers (and people that know alot about computers) prefer the windows platform because its more flexible than the MAC OS. While in the other hand, people that prefer MAC OS don't know much technical stuff about computers and they just love working on a "pretty looking" workspace like the mac os offers.

So its just about how comfortable you feel with the operating system.

I have used both platforms, and i personally prefer windows because i use a lot of little softwares and pluggins for 3D and Architecture Programs. Mac OS is very restricted, and you cant change much of it.

 

Yea, the inflexibility to use certain programs is the only reason I'm hesitating on the MBP. The other things it lacks doesn't bother me quite so much in view of its unique characteristics.

I still haven't seen anyone's actual experiences with Boot Camp and Vista 64-bit on these forums..

 

Wow, not only is that insulting but that's a load of BS. I have a degree in electronics and in computer science and I had to build motherboards in school and I totally prefer the Mac OS. I was a Windows user for 2 years and had 3 PC's, one each year. In year 2 I replaced number 2 PC with number 3 and still hated Windows.
I agree that there are a few Windows only programs but that is usually software needed for corporate use. Outside of gaming, most home users are not going to have an issue at all getting the same programs on the Mac as they had on Windows.
When I switched 9 years ago the gripes I had with the Mac back then are the same gripes I have today but they are hardly problems.
Some of Apple's programs will quit when hitting the close button as do the 3rd party apps. Although it's logical for the expand button to enlarge the browser to fit the size of the web page I would rather it went full screen instead of resizing it manually. Again, some of Apple's apps will go full screen with the expand button and some don't.

Things I loved when I switched to the Mac are easy installation of software and dropping the file to the trash without requiring uninstalling it. No anti-virus subscription to waste money and maintenance on.

Nearly every action on the Mac makes sense whereas the Windows registry prevents easy operations at times. So although I know both system very well including Vista (which I don't like at all) I still prefer OSX. Leopard will most likely get a lot more switchers.

 

I didn't mean for it to sound insulting. I am sorry for that. I just posted exactly what they say, because they actually do say it like that. Its kinda like a war between graphic designers and programmers over at the office.

 

OK, well I came from XP to OSX. I knew Vista was coming out, but just wanted to try Macs as I never had before.

For the most part, I like OSX. You get iLife with it, and looks nice. Has those cool features here and there, and overall everything is more integrated.
But there are things that are taken for granted that are really not true... Like security. I found no proof that OSX was anymore stable than XP.

But if you think Vista is bad with DRM and things, then don't take a look at apple. You have to buy THEIR hardware to use OSX, you have to buy THEIR programs as their is limited freeware, and you have to buy THEIR accessories. Like many Apple things, these things are not cheap. Really, the overall experience of Mac/OSX is alot more expensive than buying a PC. And I happen to find that cost unwarranted. I have switched to Vista now, (i also happen to find it better looking) and im happy.

But after all this, I still want the new MacBook PRo...

 

all this windows sucks, OSX sucks arguement is stupid.

Look, the day OSX support as much programs as Windows will be the day OSX be as buggy and hackable as windows.

OSX isn't more stable or secure, it's just no one cares about hacking OSX. Windows isn't any better than OSX on similar features, BUT it does support majority programs in the world.

and yeah, i want a mac book pro too. just because its an awesome piece of hardware.

 

Interesting that there is a switcher from OS X to Vista. I know OS X looks cooler then XP, about the same for Vista, which brought things up to par. I can see why you would want a new MacBook Pro, they're really cool looking. One of these days I'm going to buy a used Mac on eBay just to try the OS out. I don't see a real reason to switch though..I'm happy with Windows, it works great, no bugs/viruses/blue screens.

 

I'm in the market for a new laptop and I am heavily leaning toward the new Macbook pro 2.4Ghz w/ the 256mb vid card. I have 2 reservations about it so far though...maybe someone can offer some advice or answers.

First, I currently use Roxio on my PC laptop to burn CDs and such. Since I am completely unfamiliar with OS X, can someone tell me if there is a similar program for Macs to burn CDs/DVDs and how well it works? I know iTunes is capable...but is that the only app for doing it?

Second, if I am interested in gaming (not only gaming) but would like to be able to play some games decently and in the future as well...am I doing wrong by investing in the macbook pro? I know it has a great video card, but am I pretty much going to have to dual boot Vista if I want to play games?

Thanks,
David

 

I'm a recent switcher (less than a week), and all I've ever known was Windows.

I worked at a computer repair bench for a year, doing nothing but troubleshooting XP, and a few recent cases of Vista. 95% of all cases where something was wrong with Windows, was at the owners fault. Yes at times spyware and virus can't be avoided(its like driving a semi through a field of landmines), but in cases where the OS was crippled the owner had it coming (Amazing that porn sites and myspace have spyware!).

So, knowing the ends and outs of Windows and how to keep it simple there, why'd I go Mac? Here's a couple reasons ::

- Beautiful hardware. In my opinion, Apple has made some of the most gorgeous products ever released. Even the OS is refreshingly attractive.
- A challenge. This is by far my biggest factor, I felt as if Windows had grown stale to me and I wanted something new. I'm slowly making myself a pro at both OS', and over time I may find myself leaving OS X to something else.
- You can have the best of both worlds. Buying a Mac doesn't mean you have to sworn off Windows at all, and no i'm not talking Boot Camp or vitualization of any sort. I have a MacBook Pro when i'm on the go, and a XP (soon Vista) desktop at home... living in perfect harmony.

So far my switch has been smooth, and much easier than I thought it would be once you get the basics. I'm slowly beginning to take full advantage of OS X's features, just like I did on XP. Give me a month or so and i'll post a full roundup of the experience, and maybe a nifty guide.

 

Cool, I look forward tor reading your roundup article.

 

Well the people that work with graphics and such are kind of an in-between kind. We're not just a stereotypical clueless iLife dependent user but we don't really know a huge deal about computers like programmers or electronic engineers that can play with computers at a different level.

What is surprising is how macs lost so much ground to windows in the graphics field. With the support that windows has for graphics programs people find themselves struggling in OS X because of the compatibility.
Also I'd much rather use programs like Illustrator in Windows than OS X, they just seem better integrated with the operating system.

 

I'm going to answer your original post.

I didn't really have a purpose to switch to Mac, I won this MacBook . No, its true, I did win it in a web design contest. Anyways, It was very easy for me to understand how Mac OS X works when I received my MacBook. I read some "switch" articles beforehand and I got a grasp of where what was. Spotlight was very helpful, and Apple's built in Mac Help is very useful as well. Apple's Mac Help is under "Help" in the Finder.

The only software I really miss that was available in Windows is Windows Live Messenger. Microsoft does make a Mac version of Messenger, but it lacks many features that the Windows version does have, and updates are much less frequent. Instead, I use Adium, a very good IM client.

Transfering files were very easy. I just dragged files onto my flash drive and loaded them onto my Mac.

I'll be honest - Windows doesn't suck, its a very capable OS and XP is very stable now with SP2. However, Mac OS X goes a further step to make your computing experience more enjoyable and less strenuous. For example, in Mac OS X you basically don't have to defragment your hard drive every few weeks; you don't have to restart your computer after a few hours (Windows gets very buggy after its been running too long, I find), I restart my computer every four days (just for "cleanup" purposes and downloading Software Updates). Installing software is much easier on a Mac, un-installing software is easy as well, with AppDelete. You don't need to restart your computer every time you install new software or plug in a printer.

I could go on, but I don't want it to become a "fanboy cheer". But you get the point - Apple takes care of little details that Microsoft forgets. Sure, they're not big deals, but it is nice to have little details taken care of. And I haven't even begun talking about Mac OS X's stability .

And about the exit button being on the top left corner of every window, I've gotten so used to it when I go on my PC I'm trying to find the exit button on the left side . But now that I think about it, I think its more logical to have the buttons on the top left corner instead of the top right. If you think about it, in web browser and other applications all the important buttons such as Back, Forward, Refresh are all on the left side. The same goes for almost all applications on Mac and PC, all the important functions are generally located around the left corner and the middle, so why should you move your cursor all the way to the empty right side to exit the window?

 

Apology very well accepted Just know that anyone really into computers looks past the aesthetics. The same holds true for PC users as well, the very average user will go into a retail store and say, "Oooh that Sony Vaio looks nice" and walk out of the store with it. So the people in your office who like the Mac OS for its prettiness are just a few and don't speak for the rest.

 

Don't underestimate aesthetics . The outside is just as important as what's inside, and it's worth taking the time to find something that looks as good as it performs.

It's when people *only* focus on one to the exclusion of the other (whether it's looks or performance) that it gets to be ugly and/or superficial.

 

Things will be a lot easier for you after you buy your Mac and remove the wall of doubt. This is where the "lack of software" myth proves to be what it is, a myth.
Roxio makes for both the Mac and PC's. On the PC it's called EZ media creator, on the Mac it's simply called "Toast Titanium". It offers CD/DVD burning, Tivo support, AppleTV support, EyeTV support and Blu-Ray Disc support and has a full package for movie editing and CD remastering.
You can go to www.roxio.com.
Just know that most of the major software companies develop for both platforms. Remove the shield that most popular programs are Windows only.

Most of the big software companies developed for the Mac first before they started developing for Windows. Adobe and Microsoft being top on the list. MS Office was on the Mac first before Windows.
Just Google search for OSX equivalent apps.
As far as gaming, it depends on what games you want to play. I play OSX natively(not ports) COD2, WOW, Quake 4 and Doom 3 on my G5. There are other popular games but for the Windows only games you can use Crossover Mac to play them (Windows is not required) but only some games work with it. Bootcamp requires Windows but you will get full native support.

 

Very curious to get a "nifty guide" on how "to take full advantage of OS X's features."

 

Well, I had and used regularly a MBP for a couple months, so I think I'm qualified to make at least a small assessment.

First, yes, OS X is quite different in some of the ways it does things. Most stuff felt odd at first, but that went away after using it for a few days. OS X is pretty smooth and I didn't have any huge complaints (more like annoyances, some of which have been mentioned already). Definitely a usable OS, although I wouldn't say really that much better than XP or Vista as each OS does some things better than the other, some things worse than the other but I would expect that as no OS is perfect.

As far as security/adware/crap goes, well, it's pretty simple. First, there's not as much of it out there that's written for OS X (not because it can't be, just because there isn't much interest in writing it) and thus the probability of having it goes down. Second, OS X *can* (if you set up the user accounts properly) stop that stuf from installing on its own. Really though, it's as Nicholie already said and I can back his experience up with some of my own. The majority of the time when someone has adware and other junk on their computer it's up to user responsibility; sometimes the user just didn't know any better and clicked that flashing ad for "FREE SCREENSAVERS!!" and then a minute later they wonder why they're getting constant pop-ups/"my computer is slow". Then there are the users who do know a little something but get junk put on their computers anyway, this would be an example of a "stupid user decision" or they just didn't take the precautions that *they* needed to, to not get that stuff from doing whatever it was they were doing. Overall, OS X just lessens the overall chances of mysterious software getting installed, it does not prevent it.

Anyway, the biggest issue I had and the reason I'm now using a solely Windows-based notebook (I still miss that beautiful MBP, but don't really regret my choice) was because of what software is made for OS X or in my case what isn't made for it. To throw out an example, I needed to be able to encode/transcode video to whatever format or container I wanted, however I wanted. I knew how to do this on Windows (AVISynth being one of the main apps used for this and not made for OS X) but after doing an extensive search for something that could do the same thing on OS X, I came up short. Yeah, there were a few utilities out for converting video, but none even came close to the flexibility that my Windows apps gave me. This scenario also held true for a few other, more minor applications (am I the only one that absolutely hates iTunes for it's inflexibility?); these all contributed to going back to a native Windows laptop.

Oh, I did try BootCamp, but at least when I installed it, power management was just about zilch due to drivers/lack of PowerPlay support in EFI so, that didn't last long *coughbatterylifepuncough*.

That doesn't stop me from wanting one of the new SR MBP's though... Apple has very good marketing.

 

download aMsn. They recently had an update.

 

Do any of you guys use iChat? If so, how is your experience with it?

 

Err, maybe you should start a new thread on this. Also, I'm sure tons of people have asked this before, but it would be nice to have an *updated* account of it.

 

Yah good idea...sorry about that.

 

Actually I find myself closing windows accidentally from time to time, wich never happened to me with the close button on the other side.

I absolutely dread itunes and (I'm gonna get completely flamed for this) I find it worse than Windows Media. The latter at least lets you drag and drop, something you cannot do in itunes. There's no equivalent for foobar2000 for a mac. That is a perfect music player.

 

That's perfectly fair, you don't have to like all Apple's apps but to be fair I have never seen an equivalent for iMovie, iPhoto and iDVD in the Windows world. I have seen nothing come close and the crap that MS gives with Vista don't cut it. I have received more complements on my special effects and media recorded onto DVD without anyone knowing it was done on a Mac. Some of my Windows friends wish they could find iLife equivalents.
It goes both ways. Having more software choices on Windows doesn't mean you'll get better. It boils down to your work and what software gets it done for you.
That was one of the main reasons I switched from Windows to the Mac is because I do music and the Mac kicks butt in the recording industry. I haven't met a musician yet that doesn't use and prefer Macs in the studio.

 

I absolutely agree. Windows has no equivalent suite to iLife. However, Picasa (from Google) is an excellent photo organizer for the PC. I still prefer iPhoto though. Just a little "suggestion" for anyone who wants an iPhoto-style photo organizer on the PC.

I agree. Studio work (movie editing, graphics, web design, music) is Apple's advantage. GarageBand is excellent, and Logic Express is even better if you want more features. All the DJs I've seen always have a black MacBook with them.

 

Well, have you had a chance to take a look at the newer version of Movie Maker, DVD Maker, and Photo Gallery on Vista? From the little I've played with them (I don't use them because they can't do everything I need them to), they seem about equivalent to the iLife counterparts in what they can do, without being much more complicated than Apple's apps.

Totally agree with the part about how it all depends on what you do with your computer, regardless of what software is made for your OS of choice, it's all about using whatever does what you need it to.

 

Actually I have tried the Vista media suite of apps that mimic Apple's iLife. I am a blogger so I purchased a Sony Vaio notebook from a store that had a really great return policy as I was only using it to write my article about Windows Vista. Please don't flame me for my antics. I had the notebook for 2 weeks and here are my observations. I found Windows Movie Maker to be complicated and the drag and drop hardly matched the simplicity of iMovieHD and it has limited special effects vs. iMovieHD. There is no match between those apps.
Windows Photo Gallery mimics iPhoto but iPhoto's tight integration with iTunes and the ability to make photo books and calendars and the special effects trump Windows Photo Gallery.
Windows DVD Maker is very simple but that's exactly what is, simple. The templates suck and there so much that it does not have in comparison to iDVD.
It's convenient for a new Vista user because out of the box you get a suite of apps like the Mac but course it's MS trying to do what Apple's been doing.

When it comes to the Mac I prefer the quality over the quantity of apps available on Windows. Of course I'm Mac biased but I am a switcher too. I had 3 PC's and that's why I now use a Mac.

 

Then, in either case, would you say that the minor differences between the DVD Maker and other multimedia features of Vista ultimate aren't worth getting if I already have OS X? - i.e. I'd just get Vista business instead.

 

If you upgraded Vista Business to Ultimate for the multimedia apps you won't use them after enjoying the iLife suite. I never took the iLife suite very seriously because I didn't always make movies and photos in fear that it would have a high learning curve. My brother's graduation came up and I took a load of pics on my digital cam and decided to bite the bullet and use iLife. I had no idea how simple iMovie was and I made still images look like a real movie. The basic stuff can be done in Vista's suite but I can bet you will find yourself using your Mac for that stuff.
I am no longer a Windows person (but I know the system very well) but it's a shame that Microsoft being a software company makes very little cool stuff for the home user to complement their OS. They spend too much time on the business world.

 

As far as iMovie vs Movie Maker, I'm not really in favor of either one as they are both consumer level applications. However, aside from the interface, the differences in their functionality are very, very small. I can understand preferring one to the other because of the interface, but please don't knock it just because it's different than iMovie. Too many people do that with both Apple's and Microsoft's bundled apps. I find them to be both pretty capable programs for basic editing, and at that level yes, more importance might be placed on effects, but they sure don't make or break a home movie.

For DVD Maker and iDVD I'm not even sure why I'm mentioning this.

They're both very basic applications that will get the job done, only difference I've seen being that they have different templates and iMovie allows you to reposition menu items on the DVD's title screen. Again, people have diferent preferences for what they think looks good, nothing wrong with that, although if I did use DVD Maker I would want to be able to move menu items. Then again, I like to be able to tweak things way more than most people.

Can't say much for iPhoto and Photo Gallery since I find neither of those apps of any use to me as I prefer image thumbnails in folders. Again, user preference is probably one of the most common arguments for either "side" (in quotes because I think taking sides on something like this is silly). It all comes back to using what you prefer and are comfortable with. ^^