Looking to switch to macs

Hey,

Forgive me if this is in the wrong section....

Ive always used Windows but have become increasingly frustrated with lack of support microsoft give when something goes wrong with their software (which seems to be far too frequently).

Ive been told that mac's are 10x better, but obviously im looking at the prices and to me they seem steep. Im used to spending a good £400-500 GBP less than the IMac im looking at.

Can any one point out the real advantages of using mac especially to someone who hasnt even operated one before.

I also use Microsoft word a lot, and i know that my windows version wont work on the Mac operating system but is there a cheap/er program that is compatible or readable by standard windows users.

Thanks in advance for all your replies.

Wow, I can't even tell you how many times this topic has been covered. Try searching the forums next time for a long list of threads you can read through.

Plain and simple..people are willing to pay the prices to get the hardware that comes in Macs. They are great machines and I can guarantee you that they are well worth the price listed.

As far as Office is concerned, once again it's been covered many times. It's all a matter of personal preference. There is iWork which is Mac's version of Office, or you can always spend the money for Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac.

Congratulations on your choice to switch to the finer side of computing!

sam12345 said:

...I also use Microsoft word a lot, and i know that my windows version wont work on the Mac operating system but is there a cheap/er program that is compatible or readable by standard windows users.

Click to expand...

Open Office, Neo Office, MS Office 2008 for Mac, iWorks 09. The first two are free, the last two obviously cost money. You can download a trial version of iWorks 09 and see if you like it. Not sure if MS office offers a trial version.

Open Office and Neo Office's layout is more like Office for PC. MS Office for Mac's layout is a little confusing so there is a slight learning curve.

todd51 said:

Wow, I can't even tell you how many times this topic has been covered. Try searching the forums next time for a long list of threads you can read through.

Plain and simple..people are willing to pay the prices to get the hardware that comes in Macs. They are great machines and I can guarantee you that they are well worth the price listed.

As far as Office is concerned, once again it's been covered many times. It's all a matter of personal preference. There is iWork which is Mac's version of Office, or you can always spend the money for Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac.

Congratulations on your choice to switch to the finer side of computing!

Click to expand...

Ahh sorry should have searched first :Blushing:

Are they easy to use then?
Ive seen a couple of people using photo editing software is there one that comes standard with the macs?

what does your signature say Crimson and what font is that?

and sam12345 there is a software package that comes with mac standard called iLife which has a program called iphoto check what it has to offer here. scroll down and click "Watch the iPhoto ’09 Guided Tour video" it will show you what it has that you may like.

sam12345 said:

Hey,

Forgive me if this is in the wrong section....

Ive always used Windows but have become increasingly frustrated with lack of support microsoft give when something goes wrong with their software (which seems to be far too frequently).

Ive been told that mac's are 10x better, but obviously im looking at the prices and to me they seem steep. Im used to spending a good £400-500 GBP less than the IMac im looking at.

Can any one point out the real advantages of using mac especially to someone who hasnt even operated one before.

I also use Microsoft word a lot, and i know that my windows version wont work on the Mac operating system but is there a cheap/er program that is compatible or readable by standard windows users.

Thanks in advance for all your replies.

Click to expand...

Alright, I think it is impossible to outline all the advantages that a Mac has over a Windows machine. Other than the basic stuff such as the lack of virus, there are a whole bunch of things that OS X provides. It is an experience altogether, and you don't feel like your machine is a tool like you would feel when you are working on a Windows machine. A Mac is a like a friend that helps you out and works with you.

Anyway, it feels like customer support is something very important to you, since you mentioned that you got very little of those when problems occurred with your Windows machine. I understand that totally because I felt that way too before I switched to a Mac. For Macs, whenever something goes wrong with it, I know exactly where to go and what to do. If I need some help from the professionals, I know to bring it down to the Apple Store and somebody is definitely going to help me out. Even on the phone, they are very professional and efficient. Also, I don't know of a great many computer company that does one-on-one tutorials and step you through everything that you need to know about your computer. I love how Apple provides such services, and it really makes the transition so much easier.

And as for Microsoft Word, there is an Office for Mac version out there, so you can always buy that one. However, if you don't want to, Pages from iWork (which is a trial version pre-installed in every Mac) can read .doc files perfectly well, not to mention the fact that it can export in that format as well.

So yeah, Macs are awesome.

Mac advantages over PC: (Just a few)

1. iWork (Pages, Numbers and Keynote) is completely compatible with MS Office documents. Pages is the Mac comparative to Word, Numbers to Excel and Keynote is equal to Powerpoint. The iWork suite is easier to use as well.

2. Apple designs both hardware AND software, so the OS is guaranteed to handle other Apple hardware/software. This also makes things much easier for you because if you ever have problems with any Apple designed hardware or software, you can just take your Mac into an Apple store and get help!

3. No viruses. Simple as that.

4. Mac's are very durable. I've got a 2+ year old MacBook and I use it every day for a lot of things. I use Photoshop, Logic (Music creation software), AND cruise the web, do email, among other things. All of that, pretty much every day, and I've had no problems at all.

5. Mac runs both Windows and OS X. Thanks to programs like Boot Camp and VMWare Fusion, you can also run Windows on your Mac. Very nice if you work with Windows, but use a Mac personally.

sam12345 said:

Ahh sorry should have searched first :Blushing:

Are they easy to use then?
Ive seen a couple of people using photo editing software is there one that comes standard with the macs?

Click to expand...

To put it simply, Yes, Mac's are very easy to use. You just need to learn the little quirks of the system, and then you're set! This process takes less than a day if you really spend time learning it. Also, Apple has tutorial videos on their site to help with anything!

As for photo editing stuff, iPhoto does a fairly basic job of it, but if you want something more advanced, you're probably looking for Photoshop or Aperture.

Thanks for all the replies, they've been really helpfull.
Is the lack of viruses down to the number of people using mac's or is the OS a lot more secure?

Calijoefornia said:

As for photo editing stuff, iPhoto does a fairly basic job of it, but if you want something more advanced, you're probably looking for Photoshop or Aperture.

Click to expand...

Thats what i use on windows but "haven't got the disc" and definately dont have that money for a program where i only use a very limited number of the features.
Are there safe downloads of photoshop out there for the mac?

sam12345 said:

Thanks for all the replies, they've been really helpfull.
Is the lack of viruses down to the number of people using mac's or is the OS a lot more secure?



Thats what i use on windows but "haven't got the disc" and definately dont have that money for a program where i only use a very limited number of the features.
Are there safe downloads of photoshop out there for the mac?

Click to expand...

I believe in terms of virus, it has got to do with a bit of both. There has been only a few malware associate with Macs over the years, and they've been attached to pirated versions of softwares circulating the internet. For some people, hackers just prefer to create viruses for Windows.

And as for the Photoshop download, I don't think the rules of this forum permits that we talk about illegal downloading. However, I'm sure if you find hard enough, you'd be able to find it. Then again, doesn't that apply for anything in the digital form.

There is a trial version of Photoshop on adobe's website.

Discussion of illegal activities is not permitted here. You assume correctly!

All in all, macs are just so much easier. You'll be up and running in less than a week

I think we need a sticky. I can't tell you how many times people have asked these very same questions.

What questions?...lol

In other words, I see this same stuff over and over. People frustrated with windows. Do you need anti-virus solutions on mac? Is it worth the cost? All that stuff. I think we need a FAQ or something because there must be at least 50 threads like this one dating back to when I joined in May.

For me it is all about Mac OS X. I know I can get a cheaper computer hardware wise, but that is not the issue.

I use Windows too, for gaming mostly, and composing some music because some of the plugins I use need a little processing horsepower. And the Mac Pro is not an option for me at the moment.

I have never used any antivirus software on my Macs, but there may come a time when it is needed. It is not wise to be naive and think that Macs never will have any viruses. They will come.