PC to Mac

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Hey guys I'm new here.

I am a PC user for over 10 years and thinking about switching to a mac, seriously.

I want a mac that is reliable, I am looking to spend only about $800 for a desktop. I have no clue which kind to get as I know nothing about macs..

This is for business, work, programming and some graphic design..
I do not want it to play games.

What is the biggest problem you have with your mac? (be honest please)
I really want to know :)

-Jesse
 
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Do you want something new? if so the 20" iMac is something to take into choice but it willl be more then 800. starts off at 1100ish but well worth it. This is my First mac and i got the 24" for 1799 brand new but I wanted something I could have for a long time and i knew how the reliability was on these.
 
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MacBook, iPod Classic, 8GB 3G iPhone, Time Capsule
You could always check out the refubs on Apple's site - you get the same warranty as new, and you know it's all been checked by the people who made it in the first place.
 
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MacBook 2.1GHz Core 2 Duo | 1GB RAM | OS X 10.6.3 | 250GB External HD | 8GB iPod Touch 1st Gen 3.1.3
You could always check out the refubs on Apple's site - you get the same warranty as new, and you know it's all been checked by the people who made it in the first place.

That would be the best way to go if you're looking for a lower priced Mac. The refurbs are always Apple certified.
 

cwa107


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Your Mac's Specs
14" MacBook Pro M1 Pro, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD
Hey guys I'm new here.

I am a PC user for over 10 years and thinking about switching to a mac, seriously.

I want a mac that is reliable, I am looking to spend only about $800 for a desktop. I have no clue which kind to get as I know nothing about macs..

This is for business, work, programming and some graphic design..
I do not want it to play games.

What is the biggest problem you have with your mac? (be honest please)
I really want to know :)

-Jesse

It might not be a bad idea to start with a Mac Mini. For a minimal investment, you'll get a capable machine that will help you learn your way around OS X - then, if you decide the Mac is right for you, you can look at a higher-end system down the road. For now, it sounds like the Mini would be a good fit, especially if games are not a requirement.
 
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Your Mac's Specs
24" iMac 2.4 - 4GB RAM, Logitech S530 Kbrd/Mouse, Logitech Z2300 Speakers
I bought my iMac from the refurb store and I've had no problems with it. I did swap out the mouse since it had issues, but the iMac itself none. The biggest challenge I've had is finding a few replacement applications that I was used to having on my WinTel machine. One is a vehicle mileage/maintenance application and the other was a good replacement for ThumbsPlus. I've found work arounds for the ThumbsPlus but nothing suitable for the vehicle application. Beyond that no problems, been very happy with the stability of the iMac and the features that came standard with it.
 
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Your Mac's Specs
G5 (PPC) Mac OS 10.5.7 1.8 GHz 3.5 SDRAM about 1 TB of storage ATI Radeon Rage 9800 Pro graphics.
Good MAC Hunting!

:Sleeping: I bought my G5 PPC 1.8 GHz on EBay for around $800.00. All I had to add was some memory. And it already had lots of software installed. There are lots of good deals to be found on EBay.
My daughters both bought all of there laptops off of EBay. Their first ones were powerbooks for about $200.00!
My Gateway monitor (which I bought new at our local Mall) cost almost as much!
Good Hunting!
 
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Your Mac's Specs
Mid 2009 MacBook Pro  Mid 2007 iMac  4G iPod Touch  iPhone 4S  iPad
When I made the switch I jumped into two machines right out of the gate, one for my wife and one for me. Both of them were purchased at the Apple Refurbed Store. Neither computer has had so much as even a hiccup and they are both used everyday. I highly recommend a refurbed Mac from Apple!

As for what I recommend for you, I think either a 20" or 24" iMac would serve you really well. My wife has a 20" iMac and loves it!
 
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iMac 21" 2.4G 320G HD OS Snow Leopard. Win7 on Dell PC Inspiron i5 8g Ram 1TB HD
I'd also recommend the 20" iMac, but be prepared to spend more than$800.00. I've had mine for a year now, and no problems,it just works. Good Luck Van
 
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Your Mac's Specs
13 inch Macbook Pro Retina, 2.7ghz, 128gb SSD
I think the biggest thing you'll find hard is the OS itself. In most ways its similar to windows, but in some ways it can be very different. Heres a few ideas:

1. Maximise vs Zoom: In windows hitting maximise makes the windows as big as it can be. in mac OS X hitting the maximise button zooms the windows to just fit the contents of the page, document etc. In some cases this can be a bit annoying, but in most cases it's OK.

2. In mac os x you can only drag a window to resize it by dragging the bottom right corner, in windows you can drag it from anywhere.


3. Using expóse instead of the taskbar. the primary way to switch between aplications in windows is using the taskbar, in Mac OS X you use Expose. hit a keyboard shortcut or assign a hot corner (which activates expose when your mouse hits a specified screen corner). Expose scales down all open windows and allows you to choose which one to work with next by simply clicking on that window. once you get used to expose its a very good feature which you'll def miss when using XP/Vista…

4. Keyboard shortcuts. In mac OS X keyboard shortcuts are different to window. However they're similar. The main key you use in windows is the control key, however in OS X you use the command key more. most keyboard shortcuts are similar to windows. eg. cntrl + C vs command v, cntrl v vs command V. etc. in most cases simply replace control with command. one thing to remember is that mac os x is based more on the keyboard rather than the mouse and windows is the other way round, therefore you're going to have to get used to using keyboard shortcuts.

One piece of advice: don't use your mac like its a windows PC and dont expect it to work the same, its a different system and has its own way of doing things, the sooner you accept that the sooner you'll enjoy using your mac and learn things faster.
 

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