• Welcome to the Off-Topic/Schweb's Lounge

    In addition to the Mac-Forums Community Guidelines, there are a few things you should pay attention to while in The Lounge.

    Lounge Rules
    • If your post belongs in a different forum, please post it there.
    • While this area is for off-topic conversations, that doesn't mean that every conversation will be permitted. The moderators will, at their sole discretion, close or delete any threads which do not serve a beneficial purpose to the community.

    Understand that while The Lounge is here as a place to relax and discuss random topics, that doesn't mean we will allow any topic. Topics which are inflammatory, hurtful, or otherwise clash with our Mac-Forums Community Guidelines will be removed.

What are the REASONS why you made the SWITCH? :)

Joined
Jan 27, 2012
Messages
9
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Location
Philippines
Hi There, RandomArrictine again!

So, in a few more months, I'm going to be getting my Very first Macbook Pro. I'm kind of waiting for the next line of the Macbook Pros because I wouldn't want to waste money on a 2011 one if it'd mean waiting for the 2012 one in a couple of months. So, as you may have read the title, "What ARE the reasons why you switched" to Apple :)

Were you a fanboy all the way? Or, was there something about let's say, Windows that you didn't like? :))

I NEED YOUR THOUGHTS!!!
 
Joined
Feb 4, 2012
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Location
Shreveport, LA, USA
Your Mac's Specs
MacBook Pro 8,1 (2.4/8/500/10.7.3)
The first computer I really did much with was a PowerBook Duo 2300c that my parents bought cheap from some family friends back in 1998. It was a great system, running Mac OS 8.1, and I became a very slight Apple fanboy as a result. :p

Eventually the time came that I wanted a more powerful system, and I went with a cheap eMachines PC because I couldn't afford a new Apple. After that I had a couple of other OEM PCs before finally building my own in 2003. That desktop served me well until I decided I wanted to get a laptop in 2009.

Again I went with a budget system, this time a Lenovo G530. The G530 was great for its price, and lasted until just a couple of weeks ago when I managed to break something while taking it apart. ;)

Anyway, a few weeks ago I decided to get a new computer. After way too much obsessing over minor details, I settled on a 15" MacBook Pro. However, after ordering it, I decided that for the $2300 price of the MBP as I configured it, I could get a 13" MBP and build a semi-decent desktop to handle anything I might want to do beyond the MBP's capabilities (i.e. play a game or two). Now, having used the 13", I'm not sure if I'm going to bother building the PC, at least yet.

All that doesn't really answer your question, though. I suppose I made the switch back just to try something new. Windows 7 is great, but I'm finding a lot to like about Mac OS X, and the touchpad functionality is wonderful (there are features in Windows to almost somewhat match it, but they're nowhere near as smooth and glitch-free). The halo effect also almost certainly played a part, as I already had an iPad and iPhone.

Then again, I'm not sure if I entirely count as a switcher, since I may still build that desktop Windows machine to be my primary system.
 

chscag

Well-known member
Staff member
Admin
Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Messages
65,248
Reaction score
1,833
Points
113
Location
Keller, Texas
Your Mac's Specs
2017 27" iMac, 10.5" iPad Pro, iPhone 8, iPhone 11, iPhone 12 Mini, Numerous iPods, Monterey
Moved here to the Lounge. Not really a topic for the "Switcher" forum since you're asking for opinions rather than asking questions as a new "Switcher".
 
Joined
Apr 20, 2009
Messages
4,301
Reaction score
124
Points
63
Location
The lonely planet
Your Mac's Specs
Too many...
I'm pretty sure someone else asked this too in another thread, but I'll answer here.
This is what built up to my current use of Macs.

I had became the new owner of two old Macintoshes back after my middle school got rebuilt and sold everything they had, but didn't really know that much about who's who of computers back then.

I've had many iPods in the time since.
I was using XP for my perusal use, and bought into the signature edition of Vista Ultimate upgrade(signed by Bill Gates...printed).
The phone I had at the time was an HTC MDA. It was slow, and irritating.
That was when I bought my first iPhone 3G. I thought is was silky smooth in the way it operated.

Vista was becoming a pain in the rear, and with the experience I had with the iPhone, I thought I would start saving up for a Mac.

Halfway through my savings, my HP laptop got "half fried." Perfect time to upgrade.

Purchased the first generation of the unibody MBP 15" and was really happy with it. I'll be honest though, it was a decent learning curve, and probably would have gone nowhere fast had it not been for this forum.

Now, I don't feel like ever switching. I switched because I was not happy. I'm happy now, mostly because, unless you do something wrong, my Macs have been the most consistent running computers I've had. I love consistently, and a well built OS that is smooth running and efficient.
 
Joined
Dec 22, 2011
Messages
62
Reaction score
0
Points
6
Location
Tempe, AZ
Your Mac's Specs
13" Macbook Pro 500GB OS10.7.2 i5, 4G 32GB iPod Touch
I had a horrible experience with Dell. I mean absolutely horrible. For my birthday, my parents purchased me my first laptop, a Dell, four years ago because I was going into college and needed a laptop for my schoolwork and I was always hogging the home desktop computer. (But it was also 7 years old and ran slower than a turtle. It was also Windows XP.) So, 7 months into owning said laptop, HDD failure. Not because of an accident, it just up and died on me. Not a problem getting it replaced with my 3 year Dell "Complete Care" warranty, but I still lost all my files. Many keys just up and popped off my keyboard over the period of time I had it as well. I went through three chargers, they all somehow "shorted out" when I almost always used a power strip to plug in my computer. My screws on the screen randomly popped out, and when they would go missing, my laptop screen would literally open up. I could see the light of the screen inside the computer. They, of course required me to ship my computer to India to get it fixed instead of sending a tech to my house.

Amongst other problems, my computer fell off my bed and the screen failed. It wasn't cracked, but the insides broke, so the display didn't work at all. The cd drive cover also broke off because of weak plastic.

I also upgraded from Vista, which the system was shipped with, to a legitly purchased copy of Windows 7 from my school. (It was worth it, $35 bucks with education discount.) Or so I thought. My computer stopped reading discs altogether. The technician controlled my laptop remotely and deleted an iTunes config file in order to get my drive working again. It did work, but no matter how many times I reinstalled iTunes, I couldn't get it to import or burn discs because that file was pretty important. I called a Tech again to get this problem fixed, that the other tech created, but because of my upgrading to Windows 7, they didn't want to help me.

I also had a battery failure, and they didn't replace it under the "Complete Care" as they call it, warranty because it's apparently not covered. We wouldn't have bought the warranty if my family knew this. Dell wanted to cut us "the best deal on the market" for a new battery, which their cost was $149 free shipping. Total rip off - I found the right battery on Amazon for $29 free shipping (third party, though) but it functioned perfectly, even better life than the official Dell one. (I got 3, instead of 2 hours out of it.)

My charger failed about 2 weeks after the warranty ended, again. My screws popped out again, and the entire hinge broke. I was with a floppy computer for a miserable month. I also hated the runaround that I got from the tech guys in India. (I don't mind Indian people, I'm not racist, but when you're on the phone for 3 hours with a guy who doesn't understand what you're saying, and you don't understand him, the language barrier made me want to throw my phone through the wall.)

It was time for an Apple. I always had excellent customer service with my iPod whenever I had to see a Genius, and the MacBook computer just appealed to me and my lifestyle. No cover for the CD drive on my Pro is a bonus, the slot is much more intuitive, and running Lion on this lovely piece of hardwares is quite a treat. I wanted to convert to Apple because I was getting fed up with Windows, and on other occasions I used the Mac OS. I loved it, and I still do. I couldn't be happier with my decision, and I really hate using Windows at school. I prefer my pretty MacBook ^_^ Also, the light up keys are AWESOME!!
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2011
Messages
75
Reaction score
1
Points
8
Location
Birmingham UK
Your Mac's Specs
2011 21.5" i5 iMac 2.7ghz 4gb ram 1tb HDD
I had a horrible experience with Dell, also

My £525 Dell Inspiron broke down a few days after the one year warranty ran out. It would not restore to factory settings without knowledge of the 'secret' that only the £50 a throw techies know about at PC World. Paid them the money and got the laptop back, installed the 23,000 Windows updates, installed a fresh copy of Norton (another £25) - two weeks later it had a major Kernel Panic from which it never recovered. PC World wanted another £50 to look at it - which they did - and then told me it needed a new hard drive for £150.

The final straw was being told I'd also have to stump up another £200 for Windows 7 (though I had it on disc) and another £25 for a third copy of Norton. That's around £900 for a laptop - complete false economy, useless service, useless machine, useless Windows updates, useless Norton.

The bloke at PC World leant forward, as I was about to blow, and said he'd refund what I'd spent in trying to get the wretched thing fixed before offering the following words of advice:

"Get yourself a Mac, you won't regret it"

And so I did, and I didn't.
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2011
Messages
75
Reaction score
1
Points
8
Location
Birmingham UK
Your Mac's Specs
2011 21.5" i5 iMac 2.7ghz 4gb ram 1tb HDD
Oh, I forgot

The charger broke after four months - no refund and PC World wanted £120 for a new one. To think that one of their top men (responsible for overhauling their awful customer service) has been head hunted by Apple.

Doesn't fill me with confidence.

It was Apple's marvellous customer service that swung it for me when making the switch. What this man can add to what is already a flawless experience, worries me.
 
Joined
Jul 2, 2007
Messages
3,494
Reaction score
204
Points
63
Location
Going Galt...
Your Mac's Specs
MacBookAir5,2:10.13.6-iMac18,3:10.13.6-iPhone9,3:11.4.1
I had used a Mac before and liked it. I also new that the current Mac OS was "Unix with a pretty GUI". Well, I'm a Unix SysAdmin, so a Unix-like OS seemed like a win to me. At the time I needed to buy a new PC, Mac's were just becoming available with Intel chips and virtualization was also available. My thought was that I could buy a Mac and run Windows and Linux on it if need be. I was enamored with the hardware so much as the potential of the OS. I bought one and enjoyed it. I'll probably keep buying them until I don't enjoy the OS anymore. I if my needs change I'll reassess. Until then, I'm a happy Mac user.
 
Joined
Sep 14, 2011
Messages
231
Reaction score
0
Points
16
Your Mac's Specs
Imac 21.5 2011 Stock with Time Capsule. Ipad2 Colecovision
I switched because I wanted a fresh start and all my friends who switched to Apple swore by them. I was sick of many viruses and malware even though I had so called virus protection. Also the resale value is amazing on Apple products. Most PCs lose their value over 1-2 years but Macs keep their value. That's why I went with a New Mac over a used one. for just 1-2 hundred dollars more I get a fresh Mac :)

I wish I switched years ago
 
Joined
Apr 28, 2011
Messages
447
Reaction score
12
Points
18
Our household switched from Windows to Apple over the past year and I no longer spend my free time acting as a home IT administrator or waiting every morning for my desktop to update itself before I can use it. I just get things done, and all my devices sync peacefully in the background, out of the box. Very nice and peaceful after years of Windows turmoil.
 
Joined
Nov 20, 2011
Messages
28
Reaction score
2
Points
3
Location
Solihull,UK
Your Mac's Specs
Macbook Air 11.6,Macbook 13,ipad 1,ipod Classic,iphone 4S
Was a "window" devotee since windows 3.1 and saw each build "improve" on the last incarnation.Loved Windows 2000-Professional Edition,thought it was Microsoft's "greatest moment".Then they destroyed everything with Windows ME,just a desktop overhaul,and Windows Vista.My boss and other employees all had Apple Macs and then family members and friends bought Macbooks,and I became curious.Obviously I knew about Steve Jobs and Apple,as I read a lot of tech mags,etc.Last year was the time I decided to take the plunge and become an Apple convert.Now have a Macbook Air 11.6",and not a "window" in sight.
 
Joined
Nov 30, 2008
Messages
89
Reaction score
2
Points
8
Your Mac's Specs
MBP, MacMini, iPhone 4, iPod Touch, iPad 2, AppleTV Original and a beloved Apple //e
My first Apple was an Apple //e. My parents bought it and wouldn't let my brother and I use it unless we learned how to properly type. So we learned. Quickly. That was.. in the 3rd grade, I believe. As I went to middle school our school's computer lab was outfitted with Apples, as I progressed through high school & college I had a lot more exposure to DOS, UNIX and the first Windows systems, but always favored Macs for things like writing school papers and such. My job after college used SABRE, so I was away from Macs for several years, til I got a 1st gen Macbook Pro in 2006. It was heaven to return to Mac :)
 
Joined
Feb 14, 2008
Messages
443
Reaction score
13
Points
18
Location
Chicago
Your Mac's Specs
MacBook(3,1): C2D 2.2ghz, 4g RAM, 10.7.5; iMac(12,1): 2.5ghz i5, 16gb RAM, 10.9.1; iPhone5S iOS7.04
Why did I make the switch? Because I had no choice; it was impossible NOT to. Allow me to explain...

I never liked Windows. Never, EVER liked Windows. I was a freshman in college when Windows 3.1 came out. I hated it so much that whenever I went to the computer lab, I would go to a dumb terminal to do e-mails etc. instead of a Windows box.

My first computer, which I got as an 8th-grade graduation present in 1988, was a Commodore 64 C. Loved the little bugger. By the time I got to college, though, I needed something more powerful, and I really, really loved seeing friends' Amigas. So I got the then-new Amiga 600 and LOVED it. Yeah, people told me that was a lousy decision because the Amiga 600 wasn't very upgradeable and was essentially a game machine...which I didn't find true at all.

In 1998 I upgraded to an Amiga 4000 and over the years tweaked it like crazy -- had it towered, upgraded the CPU, added as much RAM as it could handle (144 megabytes is the most I got it up to). In 2003 I upgraded yet again to the Micro-Amiga1C, the new-generation Amiga...running on a G3 processor and on a 6 x 6-inch motherboard....that sucker was amazing...boot time was blazingly fast, and apps would open instantly upon double-clicking on the icons. And I could finally encode MP3 files in under half an hour. :) And WipEout 2097 (or whatever it was called) played REALLY nicely....

Two problems: 1) the Amiga was -- and still is -- an expensive hobby, and never in my life have I been well-off, and 2) one day in 2006 my wife's payroll got messed up and so her paycheck was delayed until the next pay period, and we needed to pay the rent. (This was a big blow -- my wife had lost her job, and we were moving, so funds were REALLY tight, and she was getting by on part-time work.) I'm sure our landlady would have been cool if we had asked for a few days' leeway, but my wife didn't want to have to ask...so I made a very difficult decision: I put the Amiga1 on eBay, as I knew it'd have no problem selling. Sure enough, I got well over $300 more than my starting price (and ended up selling it for more than I actually paid for it!) because the demand was so high...those motherboards sold out FAST and there was no news on the horizon of more being made.

I had previously purchased a used PC (so that I wouldn't give a cent to Microsoft) so I was using that a lot anyway...and had it dual-boot to Linux, which I used much more than Windows...but still, as secure and reliable (and free) as Linux is, it's just plain not fun.

Anyway, late 2007 happens, and my wife gets a new job, and we can start spending a little again. So I decided I needed to get a fun computer once and for all. AmigaOne motherboards were still impossible to find, so I figured might as well try a Mac. I hadn't really used Macs much, except for the 680x0-based ones we had in the computer center in the library where I worked years before, and I typed a document or two on a coworker's Bondi Blue iMac, but that was it....also, I wanted a laptop, but I didn't want a Windows machine, and I was having a dilly of a time locating a reliable laptop with no pre-installed OS, so I decided to try a MacBook. (Also, I'm a PC tech, and a lot of folks would ask, "Can you work on Macs, too?" I wanted to learn so I could say, "Why, yes, I can!")

That....was the best purchase I EVER made. As much as I loved my Amigas, the MacBook (described by my avatar) was a dream...it was amazing...the speed, the friendliness, the way things just plain made sense....wow. I very soon forgot I ever used an Amiga...well, except until I realized that I really, really missed Directory Opus! (and still do, which is why I'm working on my own version of it!)...

Never looked back. My wife eventually got a MacBook Pro and says she'll never go back to Windows...and we just got an iMac right after Christmas....
 

RavingMac

Well-known member
Staff member
Moderator
Joined
Jan 7, 2008
Messages
8,303
Reaction score
242
Points
63
Location
In Denial
Your Mac's Specs
16Gb Mac Mini 2018, 15" MacBook Pro 2012 1 TB SSD
Reading all the posts above make me want to switch from Windows to Mac OS . . . except that I already did. ;)

Honestly, I have been ignoring this thread because my initial reaction was, "Oh no! Not another one of these . . ."
Now I am glad I got bored enough to go ahead and read it. Highly inspirational and reminds me of all the reasons I too chose to switch.
 

cwa107


Retired Staff
Joined
Dec 20, 2006
Messages
27,042
Reaction score
812
Points
113
Location
Lake Mary, Florida
Your Mac's Specs
14" MacBook Pro M1 Pro, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD
wow. I very soon forgot I ever used an Amiga...well, except until I realized that I really, really missed Directory Opus! (and still do, which is why I'm working on my own version of it!)...

I was a big DOpus fan too. They have a Windows version now, although it more mirrors DOpus 5 than 4, which is what I was a fan of.

Anyway, you might like TotalFinder. It's not DOpus, but if you're a fan of split-screen directory views, it's awesome (and cheap too).

Let me know when you finish your version - I'd love to beta test it for you.

Also (and this may be for another thread) - do you use anything for Amiga emulation on the Mac? E-UAE hasn't had an update for many years and I'm curious if you've ever tried compiling your own.
 

dtravis7


Retired Staff
Joined
Jan 4, 2005
Messages
30,133
Reaction score
703
Points
113
Location
Modesto, Ca.
Your Mac's Specs
MacMini M-1 MacOS Monterey, iMac 2010 27"Quad I7 , MBPLate2011, iPad Pro10.5", iPhoneSE
I am another big fan of Directory Opus. If you get your version working please let me know!
 
Joined
Nov 1, 2009
Messages
886
Reaction score
33
Points
28
Location
DohaLondonVegas
Your Mac's Specs
MacBookPro 11,2 <--DAW!!!
I made the switch only because my wife bought me an '07 MBP for Christmas '07. She asked a friend of mine about his MacBook and he told her to get me a MBP.
She got tired of me cursing out my 2006 Sony VAIO-X and the constant BSOD I kept getting with Vista.
 
Joined
Nov 1, 2007
Messages
1,246
Reaction score
80
Points
48
Location
Swansea - South Wales
Your Mac's Specs
21 M1 Pro 14" MBP, 23 M2 Pro Mac Mini (MacOS 14), iPhone 15 Pro Max (iOS 17), iPad 6 (iPadOS 17)
Whenever I visited my sister I would covet her G5 iMac - it looked so much better than the huge "box" of a PC I had at the time.

So during one visit to her we went online and I bought my current iMac.

That was back in 2007 and I love it as much today as I did back then. The design is timeless and as it's set up in our lounge looks are important.

So for me as someone who just uses a computer for browsing, storing and editing photos, keeping my music, and composing the odd letter, etc. it was purely aesthetics.

Over time though I've grown to appreciate the other plusses of Apple ownership.
 
Joined
Nov 15, 2011
Messages
948
Reaction score
150
Points
43
Location
Toronto
Your Mac's Specs
MBP 16” M1max 32/1tb and bunch of other mac/apple stuff
in the early 200s I had begun doing web interactive work to stop having to travel so much for a living, (as many musicians end up doing...) but I was building my own PCs at the time thinking that was the way to go. At one point in 2003 I had bought a used beige G3 300 desktop because I was tired of people telling me my work failed on a mac so got it to test, and it came with a video AD card and premier, so I could convert vcr tapes (that was the norm it seemed) . One morning my PC took a crap and spit out all sorts of gibberish and that time I was not interested in deciphering it's BS message so, set up trials of macromedia stuff on the G3, my work was on an external which I moved over, and I never went back. I went from a 1.4GHz system to a 300 MHz system, and I got more work done.

SO I went to a mac shop, and bought a G4 dual 1GHz, and though it was that loud one (a devil's harmonica I called it), I loved OS X Jaguar.

Never used a PC again. And all my music friends felt vindicated because they finally got me to switch, though, windows crapping out was really the reason. OS X never has let me down that I can recall.
 
Joined
Feb 14, 2008
Messages
443
Reaction score
13
Points
18
Location
Chicago
Your Mac's Specs
MacBook(3,1): C2D 2.2ghz, 4g RAM, 10.7.5; iMac(12,1): 2.5ghz i5, 16gb RAM, 10.9.1; iPhone5S iOS7.04
I was a big DOpus fan too. They have a Windows version now, although it more mirrors DOpus 5 than 4, which is what I was a fan of.

I LOOOOOOOOOOOOVED Directory Opus Magellan...that was a powerful thing. All I need though is just the old-fashioned Opus. :)

Let me know when you finish your version - I'd love to beta test it for you.

Will do! Have no idea how long that will take, though...I was making great progress but hit a few snags (partly including one of my grad school courses that takes up so much time!). It's in Java right now, but eventually I plan to bust open the Objective-C book and learn how to program it that way...

Also (and this may be for another thread) - do you use anything for Amiga emulation on the Mac? E-UAE hasn't had an update for many years and I'm curious if you've ever tried compiling your own.

Haven't tried Amiga emulation on OSX yet...heh, honestly, I've been holding out for an emulator that will run AmigaOS 4, but I don't see that happening in the near future. :)
 

Shop Amazon


Shop for your Apple, Mac, iPhone and other computer products on Amazon.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Top