Boot Camp - Removes reasons not to switch

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Ok, other than price, I can no longer find any reason not to switch. Now that I have installed Boot Camp and XP Pro, the reasons are all gone.

My initial gripes were: Not being able to run AutoCAD, which I need for my profession, and not being able to play the one game I like, RTCW.

AutoCAD is not made in a mac version and the substitutes suck for an Acad user of 8 years.

The mac version of my game was horrible. The frame rates were awful.

I said macs suck for gaming and cad, but boy was I wrong. The truth is OSX has problems with games, not the hardware. The same game, with the same hardware, that ran horribly on OSX runs AWESOME on windows. Better than any computer I have owned yet, even with the cheap integrated graphics.

Autocad runs nearly as well on my macbook as it does on a very expensive cad PC at my office. I was really blown away to be honest.

So now that I can easily do the two things I missed, and happily enjoy the advantages that OSX / macs have for most things, I can't see a reason not to switch, other than price.

OSX is the ultimate experience for most of the things you do on a computer at home, or when working with multi-media. No doubt.

No crashes or virus / malware worries. If you or your other goes to adult sites, you would be CRAZY not to use a mac / osx. All the little tricks those sites pull on pc's / IE are powerless against osx / safari. If you want to use bitorrent, or limewire, FORGET windows. Trust me! You are going to get raped using windows, it is just a matter of time.

When working with video / audio / image editing, a mac is a dream come true. Perfect.

And now you can have windows there for those few things you need it for. Do yourself a favor and after updating everything disable the internet on the windows side. Spare your mac any damage from malware or viruses as I have done.

After loading in a trial version of xp pro and loving it in boot camp, I was still not willing to pay $300 for this insecure buggy os! When I realized I couldn't even do security updates without activation, I was almost ready to slipstream corporate with sp2 and be done with it! But just then a window from MS popped up offering a full license for xp pro for $149, and my honest side took over, and I paid. I prefer legal software, and don't want to steal really, I just don't want to get raped either. Paying $300 for xp when leopard is going to be like $129 is just WRONG!

But they did the smart thing, and made a reasonable offer, and prevented someone like myself who is capable of overcoming their security measures, from going the wrong way. Let's be honest, a lot of people don't want to pay an outrageous price for xp with all of its issues, and that is part of the piracy issue.

With everything in place I just can't think of a single reason other than price not to make the switch. If you want the best computers going, and are willing to pay for the best, buy apple. And no, I am not an apple koolaid drinker. I started building pc's heavily when windows 95 came out and kept doing it through xp. I got my mcse cert, a+, network +, etc. Built nt and win2000 server network including server hardware, ran the cable, punched down the connections, the whole works. I know windows as good as any fool that is going to say macs suck windows rules, etc., and can tell you you won't go wrong buying an apple.

There is a reason the ipod for instance, outsells every other mp3 player ten to one. It is the human interface. Same goes for OSX / macs. The Steve Jobs touch. Hopefully he will be cloned before he dies.

If you don't like to learn new things and get frustrated with technology easily, then maybe you need to stick with windows on your next computer though. Just make sure you have a full evening set aside for the 100+ updates / patches you are going to need to install before you can surf the net in reasonable safety. Even then you go to the wrong site once and you will have virtumonde, which no antivirus can remove, and you will be reformatting your hard drive unless you have some serious skills. Better keep the important stuff backed up too, because you WILL be reformatting that drive eventually.

I think my macbook is the best thing since sliced bread, and I like bread a lot.
 
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Usually the hardcore Windows users are the most nervous about switching, and have the most trouble when they do (it's not a nice feeling; going from knowing everything about your computer and having total control over every aspect of it, to being a complete beginner again, not sure of how to perform "simple" tasks [well, that's how I feel when I use Windows]).

So, I'm glad the switch has worked for you, and you're happy with your new Mac... I hope things stay that way :)
 
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I said the exact same words when i bought my Mac. I have one only application that there is no Mac version yet and i have to use bootcamp for it.
I got the MBP but the application works better than everything i saw till now on windows.
Its nice to be a happy Switcher, even if sometimes u get so frustrated.
And btw to being a complete beginner again is very nice feeling, at least im enjoying it :)
 
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Yea i am hardcore window user ! I used it from 95' version , and now i switched to the mac ! And you know what ?? It is Awsome to feel safer , faster ... I think i should use mac's for whole my life , i don't know anithing about mac's even how to unpack zip's and so on , but people using mac aren't so angry and agresive as windowers ( maybe because in mac much less bugs and glichs ?? ) :)) And i got answers to all my questions !! As it sayd on russian MAC communyti ( APPLE is company , mac is communyti ) ! thanks guys for helping and thanks mac for miraccles :)))
 
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With everything in place I just can't think of a single reason other than price not to make the switch.

What about people who want to build their own computers? Hardcore PC gamers also ain't making a full switch. Lots of people on this site have a PC just dedicated for gaming.

Dual booting is nice but I don't see the average user wanting to spend their time figuring what to do. They feel the need for having only one OS especially when you got to put up money for another one.
 
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I basically agree. The only customer base that's better off using PCs is the hardcore gamer section and the group that likes building individual machines. Other than that there really is no reason anymore not to try out a Mac. I hope that Apple will make a new middle class Mac you can buy new hardware for though. The iMac is a good machine but it's just too hard to upgrade (almost close to impossible). Right now the only Mac that you can upgrade yourself is the Mac Pro but the price tag is just too high for home users.

kuchiki
 
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I have a couple of questions regarding bootcamp.
I am currenly a PC user gonna make the switch with a MB in 3 weeks time (yay!!). when you install bootcamp, can you run windows programs without the need to install XP?

If you need to, does that change the interface of your whole Mac? as in the doc, finder, & everything be transformed into the PC destop with the start button?

One more question regarding AutoCad (for phoenix scanner), after installing bootcamp & windows XP pro, do you use the installation cd like the ones used on a windows pc?

Thanks guys. =)
 
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Windows is much better for games, as you've discovered.

But that's the only thing Windows is actually any good for!
 
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I have a couple of questions regarding bootcamp.
I am currenly a PC user gonna make the switch with a MB in 3 weeks time (yay!!). when you install bootcamp, can you run windows programs without the need to install XP?

If you need to, does that change the interface of your whole Mac? as in the doc, finder, & everything be transformed into the PC destop with the start button?

One more question regarding AutoCad (for phoenix scanner), after installing bootcamp & windows XP pro, do you use the installation cd like the ones used on a windows pc?

Thanks guys. =)

Bootcamp is simply an application that partitions the HD, and lets you install whatever OS you'd like on it. You NEED to install an OS, whether it be XP, Vista, Ubuntu, or what ever.

Once you have installed say XP on the Partition, XP runs no different that it does on a Dell machine. You have NO access to OS X, until you reboot back into OS X.
 
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Regarding AutoCAD and installing programs. Everything is just like a windows pc, because your mac BECOMES a windows pc while it is booted into xp. You still need to have a sp2 copy of xp to install. As I said MS sold me the license online for $149 and I can live with that.

You can't see osx drives from windows (no coincidence - thank God), but you can see the windows drive from osx. So if you want to share something from mac to windows you place it in the windows drive before switching. Or you could just use an external drive to keep things simple.

In case anyone neglects the instructions (that never happens right?), be sure you format the windows partition to fat32, NOT ntfs, so that osx can properly access it.

As far as those wanting to build gaming boxes, yeah, you are right. So make that TWO reasons for not buying a mac. I went through the "tinkering" stage of building my own computers, and it lasted for years. But I am sick of building computers now, and have better things to do with my time. I prefer to spend my "computer time" USING a computer, as opposed to building one.

I still say the new PS3 and xboxes have great graphics and game selection, and you can play games in 1080P on a true hd tv. I just don't understand why one would avoid this route and pay many times more to play on a small screen in low def just to have higher frame-rates. But that is just me I guess.

So with two legitimate reasons (money and game machine building), to avoid macs, there are still so many more great reasons to buy one.

First and foremost, secure (relatively - nothing is foolproof) surfing. Between me and the wife surfing is still the primary activity on our mac. And I will never have to go searching for dll files in system 32 or keys in the registry to get rid of virtumonde, which has violated most pcs I know at least once. No such things on macs. I really hate how windows is so easily exploited by things that are so hard to remove for the average person, even when they use spyware and antivirus programs. It is disgusting.
 

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