Tempted by a mac, worried by being warned that my wallet will be regularly emptied :(

Background:

I am a 100% windows user. I have used every Windows version they have ever made, and know the ins and outs of Windows like the back of my hand. Windows Vista has been my favourite version yet. It's awesome IMHO, and I LOVE Aero <3

My knowledge of macs can be written in BLOCK CAPS on the back of a postage stamp......when that stamp has been torn in half

The Dilemma:

The new macbook looks, for want of a better word, awesome. I want one. However, i'm concerned because I know nothing about a mac.

My biggest concern is that I have been warned that all the decent software for mac is propriatary. So after spending £1,300 on the mac (I'd go for the top of the range macbook), I would then have to spend more money on software. Software that is inferior to what I already have on windows, expensive, and that will need to be bought all over again when a new OSX version is released because it won't work on it.

For example, my day 2 day software is Word 2007, Excel 2007, Outlook 2007, Firefox, Paint.NET, Nero Burning Rom, iTunes, Windows fax and scan (awesome scan options, and quick and easy).

So i'd have to buy Office for mac 2008, which i've been told pales in comparision to it's Windows counterpart and has no outlook equivalent. Paint.NET i've been told has no mac equivilent, it's photoshop or nothing? Nero Burning Rom has the Toast equivalent, but i've been told that's rubbish too, iTunes is easy, and have no idea whether Mac's have an integrated scanning program?

Overall:

So it's fairly self evident that I am a rabbit in headlights with no knowledge at all. I don't want to dual boot btw. I'm planning on keeping my desktop Vista, and my mac soley mac. What i'm worried about though is spending a fortune on the mac and the software, and then just leaving it on the side because I can do more, and more easily with Vista. I'm also worried about sharing MS Office files between Vista and the mac.

I am also wondering whether it's even worth getting a macbook now, or waiting for Snow Leopard?

Mainly the money is worrying me though. I'm half expecting to spend £1,300 on a mac, £500 on software, and then having to spend £500 on software every year or so, which would suck, big time.

So yeah, cluless newbe here. Feel free to flame or offer guidence depending on what you feel you want to do. I'm fairly easy going, so i'll take all flames with good humour

 

i doubt you will spend 500 PA on software. but you might have to spend a little bit more during the initial setup.

it seems you do care about value/money ratio, if thats really the case, maybe you should look elsewhere instead?
feel free to bash, fanboys.

 

I would recommend you to go to an Apple store and try out a Mac before considering to commit to anything. As you have said, your knowledge in OS X is very limited, so it would do you a lot of good to go speak to a member of staff or expert at the Apple store who would be able to answer most of your questions and perhaps even give you a demo of the system.

In terms of software, just like Windows, there are alternatives for OS X that are usually far more cost effective. If you don't really use any of the more advanced functions in Microsoft Office for example, you might be perfectly well off using NeoOffice.

There are no major upgrades to the Macbook range expected anytime soon, and a release date for Snow Leopard is yet to be confirmed.

Also don't forget to check the stickies: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=161784

 

I have a macbook pro and I'm half way to Apple store to buy the NEW one and a 24 LED...!

I don't think software is a big deal, but the fact that everything seems to be naturally expensive at Apple makes my wallet hurt. They will come out with NEW better stuff and then you'll find yourself in my position...wanting to go out there and get the latest.

I came from PC, and I STILL have an XPS desktop....I wouldn't give it up ( I know you can dual boot Windows ) I just love having both.

 

OSX is not hard to learn. If you are that good in windows you will definitely have no trouble using OSX. Do not worry about that.

in terms of software, I got office 2008 and compatibility seems fine. I regularily type reports on school computers using office 2007 and then use 2008 on my mac to finish the report and then I send them back to submit. Never encountered a compatibility issue, so long as you know what formats to use when saving.

I have used mac for 2 years and spent less than $500 on software

 

I switched after 25+ years of DOS -> Windows 1.0 -> Windows 3.0 -> Windows 95 -> Windows XP (there may be some Windows that I am leaving out).

I have MS Office for Mac OS (Media edition), Final Cut Express, Photoshop Elements 6, and I run Firefox. That's about it. It is more than capable for documents, photo editing, video editing and surfing the web. I have yet to buy a game to play but I don't have much time or desire to game - I just want to see what this is capable of playing.

 

Referring to Apple users as "fanboys" is what gets them to be pissed off at you.

 

Some people seem to think that everybody who uses a Mac is a fanbody, because we apparently are very snobbish, which is totally untrue. It's just the sad stereotype that many but not all PC users put us Mac owners in.

 

Exactly, he said "fanboys" not "appleusers". Fan boy exist in every brand so there's no need to be sensitive about.

Anyway, seriously love the design of Apple and might get one when I'm out of college and have a few cash to burn.

 

But how many other sections do you see people referred to as "fanboys"?

I'm not getting sensitive over it, I'm just annoyed with the flame bait in the Mac OS X section. Too many Windows-only users come in here, and throw in their unwanted 2¢ about how Macs aren't a great option. If I wanted to hear that, I'd hang out on a gamer forum (Which is the only software category that Macs fall behind in).

 

To the OP:

I was in exactly your spot when I made the switch early 2008. I relied on the same set of software, give or take, as you do.

Mainly, Office 2003/2007 (sharing documents, PPS etc.. with colleagues), backing up my kid's DVDs because he scratches the hell out of them and we paid good money for them in the first place, P2P occasionally (torrent handling), photo editing/cataloguing and IM (MSN Messenger).

I too didn't want to put windows on my machine although that would have solved everything in one swoop.

I ended up buying Office 2008 for mac but I regret buying it now as everything I do works very well with the combination of iWork '09, Mail and iCal (of course that's not for everyone but it did suit me very well). BTW, Entourage (part of Office 2008/mac) is the Outlook equivalent but with slight differences and minor annoyances.

I haven't used Paint.net but I'm a photography enthusiast and love using my DSLR. I found iPhoto to be just OK which is why I bought Aperture; it's a great program for photo cataloguing and basic image editing. Well worth it IMO but there are a ton of free image editing apps for mac.

There's a mac version of Firefox already but I found myself liking Safari a lot. It's great.

There are a lot of built-in utilities for disk authoring in OSX which is why I haven't really needed to search out a nero alternative but for commercial DVD backup I found a great mac solution that even rivalled my PC one but I won't share it here for obvious reasons. Feel free to PM if you need more info on this once/if you switch.

MSN Messenger for mac sucks. I really think MSFT is sabotaging it for us mac users because there is no good reason for it not to have audio/video chat capabilities, only text and file transfers.

Transmission works great for torrent handling and it's free. I got a trial version of Popcorn 3.0 by Roxio (for basic DVD authoring) and liked it so much that I ended up buying it.

All in all, apart from MSN Messenger and Blackberry Desktop Manager (a mac version of which is in the works by RIM for release this year ), I haven't found myself missing any windows-based application for what I do. The switch went smoothly with the help of everyone here and I was pretty comfortable with using OSX in two weeks, and within the first month I already was missing so many OSX features (when I would occasionally use an XP or Vista machine).

 

If you like OS X and Apple's design, I don't see a reason to stop you from doing it. Given the usage, I don't know that offers you much over what a PC can, especially if you like Vista. I got my Mac about a year and a half ago. I pretty much do the same things on as my PCs. While I like mine as something different, I don't know that I would say it's better than Windows.

 

Thanks for the help guys, I really appreciate it

As for when I should buy, do you recommend I wait until Snow Leopard is released? (Rumoured to be late summer 2009 iirc?) Or should I go ahead and get one with Leopard now?

 

is use openoffice on my mbp 15.4 [ late 2007] works perfectly fine and its free of cost

 

I wouldn't buy top version from apple-get base 2.4 model and upgrade ram/hdd yourself if you want!

 

That's just how many hardcore PC users are, and that's how many Mac users are. I'm not getting too sensitive about it, just telling it like it is. Anyway, I hope you are able to get one, because they are amazing machines!

 

OSX is easy to learn. However it'll take 2-3 weeks to know about every option. When I switched to the OSX last year I got the same problem as you ,but it's not complicated as windows (I mean no regular registry cleaning/ Virus scans/Etc)

I'm waiting for new iMac 24Inch......

 

^me too

 

Is there a new one coming out soon? I've also been eying the 24 iMac but I'm in no rush.

EDIT: Never mind, I just noticed the "Don't Buy - Updates Soon" recommendation on macrumors.com on all iMacs.

 

Just be wary of buying a bunch of accessories for Macbooks. Apple likes to burn your wallet with adapters and such. If you want to connect your MacBook to a projector, prepare to spend $60 on a proprietary adapter. That's weird, my $400 5-year old notebook connects to the projector just fine.

 

I have both an HP 17" laptop and a MBP, June 2007 version. When I first made the switch there were some moments of frustration due to the differences in the systems, however with a little patience (tough for me!) I've found myself only using the HP for gaming.

I have Office 2007 installed on the HP and Office 2008 on the Mac. I realize it's a matter of opinion and preference, but I actually like working Office on the Mac better than on the HP. The one thing I despise on the Mac Office version is Entourage. I hate it! I think MS did a glorious job screwing the Mac folks with THAT one!

Your biggest concern/worry will probably be the transition rather than the software as there is are differences and you'll have to learn them, but once you do you'll love them. There are equivalents in Mac to the Windows programs you mentioned and if not, there's always Parallels or VMware that will do you just fine.

Once you make the plunge, get ready to be amazed. You'll find yourself enjoying the Mac experience more and more.

 

stop being such a tool. the adapters are $30. we've had this discussion before.