How difficult was the switch... REALLY?

I have the problem that I still use a PC at work so pressing the wrong command key is the most common one.

Keyboard shortcuts are also very common. The amount of times I press Cmd-I for properties on my PC and it doesn't work is frustrating.

Beyond using iLife on my Mac, I use pretty much the same applications on both platforms (Photoshop, Excel etc) So it wasn't a problem at all

look at this a little ....http://arstechnica.com/guides/tweaks/miniguide.ars/

The few complaints I can think of at the moment are with the finder. I am hoping someone can tell me how to fix both of these. My biggest is that there is no up button. Only a back button so its a bit harder to navigate while dragging something. And you cant use the back button while dragging something. Another is that when you delete something in finder, the other icons don't move up to take its place. When you are dragging and accidentally go off the side of the window it for some reason takes it back to the folder you started dragging from making you have to restart. Another big complaint would be not being able to use the 2 finger scroll on the trackpad on the powerbook while dragging. Other than these minor complaints, I love using the Mac OSX and miss some of the useful shortcuts I have when I am back on Windows. One thing I especially miss on Windows is that when i put my mouse on the bottom right of my screen, it shows the desktop. It's things like that that make OSX amazing to me. I just recently switched to OSX and am very satisfied.

curious said:

Ahhh, Discerptor understood my question. Got it. So, no damage like in Windows?

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Nope, no damage.

Also, why don't you typically shut down? I shut down my laptop every night. I sleep, it sleeps.

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Mac OS X runs maintenance scripts at odd hours of the night/early morning that keep your computer running smoothly, so I find it unnecessary to turn the computer off. There's really no need to shut it off; I have this on for weeks at a time usually before something forces me to shut it off (plane trip, etc.). Though it kid of annoys me that it doesn't do them if you put the computer to sleep, you can execute these processes yourself in the Terminal.

Here's a couple:

1. Can you right-click on a Mac laptop without a mouse?

2. When you do a right-click with a Mac, what options do you have?

Same options as PC? More? Fewer?

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1. No, but there's a keyboard shortcut for everything you would do from the right click menu. And if manage to find some weird app that doesn't do that, you can always make your own keyboard shortcuts.

2. To be perfectly honest it depends on the app you're in. Most of the time the same, sometimes more (like an option to automatically check spelling as you type in fields in Safari). In Finder, OS X always has potentially a lot more options there than Windows because of Automator.

Interesting observation (well, to me, anyway):

I just noticed that Adobe Photoshop Elements is up to Version 4 for the PC, but only up to Version 3 for the Mac. I'm sure I don't have to tell anyone here that you can't get a much more Mac-friendly software company than Adobe.

So, what gives? Are they now leaning towards PC first, Mac second? If so, that is rather telling -- and a possible means for concern (for those of us thinking about switching to Mac).

Anyway, just curious to hear your (yes, you) thoughts on this. Thanks...

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I'm not entirely familiar with Elements, but if I had to guess, few Apple users actually use the product because of iPhoto, so Adobe just focuses on their Creative Suite stuff for Mac. They're definitely not leaning towards PCs now if the performance of Photoshop on each platform is any indicator. Apple actually sits down with Adobe to try and figure out how to get Photoshop to run very well on Macs (though how much this is dependent on Altivec is unclear, so maybe there'll be some new kind of benefit with the Intel processors...).

Well, I was going to. Until this thread:

http://www.mac-forums.com/forums/sh...ad.php?p=188157

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Read my response. I had in fact already answered your question in an earlier thread you'd made on the subject. iEmulator is already native, and on top of that it's entirely possible you could just wait for Vista to come out and then get a crack for it (or just wait for Darwine).

Discerptor said:

-Playing back my video files in a very enjoyable manner is something I fine tuned up until a few weeks ago. I can share my secrets to success with you if you so desire.

-VLC (http://www.videolan.org) is a free media player that plays every file type out there except the Real Player files (download Real Player if you just as well) and the WMV files specifically encoded with the WMV3 codec. It plays DVDs also, by the way. Anyway, for those pesky WMVs...

-Flip4mac (http://www.flip4mac.com) is a set of Quicktime components that enables WMV playback in Quicktime Player. It's nifty, and since Microsoft stopped supporting Windows media Player 9 for mac, they generously paid off the Flip4mac team to offer it for free.

There are also a couple of other things about Media playback in particular I can teach you how to do, like get Quicktime to play in fullscreen (though you can accomplish this with iTunes f you so desire). If you ever find need for those, just ask me. Congrats on the jump.

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Boy, do I need your help! I can't get videos to work on music sites at all. I first downloaded and installed Media Player 9 from the Microsoft website. I would get an empty box but no video playback.

I then installed Flip4mac and Yahoo! Music says I need to download Media Player again! Other music sites remain a blank box. A local TV news sites says I need Directx which I don't know if there's a Mac equivalent for.

Now, sport sites like ESPN and TSN.ca work fine with video. So, what's so different about music sites? Maybe I need to find Mac-compatible ones?

So far, this is my only disappointment. Everything else has gone very well and I am enjoying my Powerbook a lot.

Scott

Discerptor said:

1. No, but there's a keyboard shortcut for everything you would do from the right click menu. And if manage to find some weird app that doesn't do that, you can always make your own keyboard shortcuts.

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Unless I have missed something here, I think you are wrong there Discerptor, ofcourse you can right click on a mac laptop! It's the same as on the desktop (ctrl+click). You can also set it in the preferences such that holding down the mouse button for a second or two will bring up the context menu. I'm sure I must be missing something, but can't understand why you answered curious no :s

For me, the switch was effortless.

I got tired of running Mac emulators (Y'z Dock, etc) on my PC, so I sold it and got a Mac.

The ONLY thing I miss is Star Wars Galaxies; I played it for 2.5 years and had to give it up when I got my 17" Duo.

Everything except the lack of games is 100% better on a Mac.

The decision to switch was an easy one.
I was fed up of spending at least an hour every week updating virus definitions, spyware definitions and adware definitions. Not to mention plugging the security gaps via microsoft update. And even after keeping everything upto date you are still not safe from viruses, hackers, keyloggers etc.

As Mac becomes more and more popular it will of course become a potentially more attractive target for the hackers and virus builders. But until then, its THE OS for me.

The biggest problem I had as a switcher was moving out the comfort zone and having to learn a new operating system. But Im beginning to get more comfortable with it, just as I did when first starting to use Windows.

All the programs I need are available for the Mac, and if I want to play games then I can always upgrade to the 256 vram MBP.

The one thing I do like about the Mac is the sense of camaraderie on the forums. Its is similar to car drivers and motorbike riders. The car drivers are constantly trying to beat each other off the road, whilst the bikers always give another biker the friendly 'nod' as the pass each other on the road.

Dave

This is a great question! Obviously this will be different for everyone depending on their computer skills and comfort level. I'm not sure I'm a good measurement since I've worked in IT for many years on Windows PCs, Servers and Networks. I bought my Intel based iMac in Janurary. I have not found the switch very difficult at all. A little time consuming in getting all of my stuff over of course, but within a few days, I was primarily using the Mac. My main uses is for email, web and photo editing. I've also got Mac Office so I can do all the normal office type tasks. The biggest thing for me is, it is different. A lot of the same skills still apply, it's just where and how certain things are done. Getting used to it. I've actually found it fun, exciting and refreshing playing with it. My poor PC is just sitting there waiting for things to do