01-16-2009, 02:42 AM

I am not a computer wiz by no means I have pretty much gotten used to the windows setup over the last couple of years. My PC is a real pain in the butt, but I have atleast kept on until I have figured most of it out. My question is whether or not it is all that difficult to get used to the leopard os. Keeping in mind all that I have dealt with is xp.

01-16-2009, 03:02 AM

It will take you a while to get used to the new interface and way of doing things but that's with any new thing you purchase.

01-16-2009, 04:27 AM

I was really daunted by the prospect, having used Windows since 3.1.

It took me about 3 days to get comfortable with it and I'm still learning.
I would suggest Screencastsonline as a great help. I subscribed (was about $30) and learnt loads. It really accelerated my conversion.

And now the question I have is "Why did I wait so long to switch?"

Come on in, the water's great!

01-16-2009, 05:44 AM

The jump is a bit of a change, but nothing you won't easily have figured out after a week.

I bought my mac a month ago, took about a week to get the basics figured out, and a bit longer to pick up on some of the lesser used features, but now I am as proficient on mac as I ever was on pc.
I will also say I have a few friends already using macs, which was a handy problem solver for quick questions (where's the delete key? etc...) and there are always resources like here where you can get help if there is anything stumping you.

01-16-2009, 07:37 AM

Switching is not nearly as daunting as it used to be, nowadays you can load Windows on it if you hate OS X and still have one of the best built computers hardware-wise with any OS you want. The Power PC days were a little different...

01-16-2009, 10:47 AM

After being raised on Windows PCs, I thought the learning curve would be pretty steep. I'd heard a lot about how easy OS X was and how intuitive everything is, but I was still skeptical, so I decided to get my college laptop early (I'll be leaving for school in August) to give myself time to get used to the OS before having to go away from home and get used to a whole new lifestyle.

It's been a week, and I can honestly tell you, it's been a painless switch. I love it so far. I had previously only used Macs a few times, for maybe an hour at a stretch just going online and messing around. Nothing intensive. The first night was the most confusing, but after that, everything starts to feel like second nature.

Come over to the Mac side.

01-16-2009, 08:36 PM

For the most part with mac OS X, if you want to do something think out the process of what you are trying to do, and pretty much that is how you are able to do that. As far as books go, hop down to borders or some place like that able open up the books and find what method works for you. For my dad I got him a book that was in full color and in numbered steps with arrows pointing to where to click.

01-16-2009, 09:05 PM

Just forget what you know about any Win OS, and you'll be fine I guess. Learning any new OS will take a bit of time to get used to. But the real question you have to ask yourself is what you need/want in a PC. (sorry but both a Mac and Win box are personal computers)

If most of the "work" (school, job etc) you do consists of using MS based products, I'd say forgo the trouble of looking into things like Parallels or Bootcamp etc etc.. and just keep it simple. If you're the type who just likes to mess around and you are simply curious, and can afford to be, then why not, make the switch.

I decided to get the Macbook Pro because we simply wanted a laptop, and I loathe Vista, and don't think that I'd want to start messing about with Linux on a laptop, for fear of wireless issues, and driver issues. I also liked the idea of using programs like Garage Band and such (though there are equally as good programs for music creation on a Win OS, but perhaps not as "pretty".)

I got used to doing things on the Mac in a couple of months, but that also involved sacrificing exactly how I like to do things. On the negative side, I find that my work flow on the Mac vs. with Linux is slower and a bit of a headache at times. One idiotic thing with OS X that I will NEVER get used to is the lack of CUT and paste. Sure, you can copy paste but it's not nearly the same thing. And neither is trying to use cmd and drag a whole bunch of files to a different directory. I've had people present alternative options for this IDIOTIC problem, but it's never the same. An huge waste of time.

Other than that though, I'm fairly satisfied with the OS, even if it does have the occasional quirk. Apple is certainly not the be all end all, but it might suit you to a T if you try it.

Remember this also: If you purchase a new Apple product, and find you don't like it, you'll have little to no trouble selling it with very good resale value in tact.

Doug

01-17-2009, 11:59 AM

I always used PC's from the day my family first got a computer. When I got a Mac I knew a little about it. Within the days before I got my Mac, I made sure to look at all the tutorials on Apple.com support website. This definently helped me with the conversion over to Mac. It may seem like a daunting task at first but once you realize how simple it really is you'll wonder why you didn't switch over faster.

01-17-2009, 02:54 PM

There is definitely a learning curve when coming to Mac OS X Leopard from the Windows world. But it's mostly the little things that tend to stump switchers and easily remedied. Learning a new OS can be a fun and gratifying learning experience. You mentioned all you knew was Windows XP for a couple of years - so it's not like you have a ton to learn/unlearn. Dive in and have a ball

01-17-2009, 03:42 PM

I was a Windows user for years but kinda got sick of crashes and all. Bought into the MAC hype - blah blah you'll never go back - and picked up my first MACbook. I am somewhat glad but still - after a month - find myself going back to my crappy PC and working on it.

Biggest issue with MAC is the IPhoto. Don't like it. I mean.. you got IPhoto, Event, library, pictures, what is with all these files that my pictures end up in?? The Windows method of photo storage/finding/uploading is easier; much easier.

Second, to much stuff out there that is not compatible with MAC, or MAC versions difficult to use. Downloaded GIMP to work with photos and still cannot figure out how to OPEN Iphoto on it, or pull stuff off my USB memory card reader... if I even can, etc. So... I do photo editing on Windows cuz it is easy! Click OPEN FILE in Gimp, Windows gives me the USB option, and away i go.

There are many many other things I am still not crazy about and am having difficulty using, but I guess it is just going to take time. In the meantime, thank God I still have a PC!!

01-17-2009, 10:31 PM

Originally Posted by ghostcinderella

I was a Windows user for years but kinda got sick of crashes and all. Bought into the MAC hype - blah blah you'll never go back - and picked up my first MACbook. I am somewhat glad but still - after a month - find myself going back to my crappy PC and working on it.

Biggest issue with MAC is the IPhoto. Don't like it. I mean.. you got IPhoto, Event, library, pictures, what is with all these files that my pictures end up in?? The Windows method of photo storage/finding/uploading is easier; much easier.

Second, to much stuff out there that is not compatible with MAC, or MAC versions difficult to use. Downloaded GIMP to work with photos and still cannot figure out how to OPEN Iphoto on it, or pull stuff off my USB memory card reader... if I even can, etc. So... I do photo editing on Windows cuz it is easy! Click OPEN FILE in Gimp, Windows gives me the USB option, and away i go.

There are many many other things I am still not crazy about and am having difficulty using, but I guess it is just going to take time. In the meantime, thank God I still have a PC!!

I kind of feel you on some of these issues, and rest assured you're not the only person who isn't very fond of iPhoto. For what it's worth though, iPhoto is absolutely fine for the casual user who has no expectations or isn't storing thousands of photos for editing etc.. It's for people such as my wife, who ask no questions about what is happening behind the scenes, and only see what is going on right in front of them. It's also for people who don't look into things more than what is being presented to them, and that includes where to store the photos, resizing etc etc..

I personally loathe iPhoto, and have sought out alternative ways to store, organize and edit my photos after having realized that. I'm still up in the air about using either Lightroom 2 or Aperture 2, but am leaning towards LR. And how I get my photos from the cameras to my external (and internal) HD's is:

I plug in a camera (I have both a Nikon D300 and Canon S3IS) and have the app "Image Capture" (which yes, is in the applications folder and is a great app) automatically open (you can set that in its preferences) then download all or some of the photos to a specified folder. Since I have redundant external drives, I have it set for one main drive, then later copy/paste from that one external to the other ones, which I have chain linked via my Airport Extreme. (I have a generic 4 port General Electric USB hub connected to the USB port on the A.P.E., 3 for external drives and the fourth for the wireless printer)

The next step would be to have either Lightroom or Aperture either import photos to its own folder on a separate drive, or perhaps just name a folder in the main external drive (the first one I mentioned) to either Lightroom Pictures or Aperture Pictures and have all subsequent photo folders put in there, to use for the main database for said program(s). Hope that doesn't sound too complicated. I have yet to try the last part, but I'm getting close.

If you want to set a program as the default for opening something, like say a RAW file, right click on that file, select "get info" then at the bottom where it says "open with", change it to which ever app you want, and then make sure to click the "change all" button right below it so that all of the same type files are associated with that program too.

Hope that helps a bit. If I can answer anything else, I'll try.

Doug