New to Mac

I have always used a PC everywhere I have worked and at home. I am interested in switching to a Mac now, but I have no experience with them.

Is the Mac interface similar to an iPhone? Would you expect problems with me interfacing with my company's VPN/Cloud network or are things like that usually supported on Macs too?

Thanks

No, the OS X UI is not like the iDevice UI which is more touch centric. If you've never used OS X before, the interface is quite different than Windows and will take a bit of learning as long as you willing to do so..

OS X does have good support for VPN solutions and there are free programs that will work or your company might provide you with a OS X version of the app.

There are some aspects of a Mac which will be instantly familiar to iPhone users, such as Notes, FaceTime and iMessage. In fact most of the native iOS apps have their counterpart on OS X.

The big difference is that while iOS is app based, OS X is much closer to Windows in being more file based. It should present less of a hurdle in switching from PC to Mac, than to switch to iOS from a file-centric OS.

To me, the greatest point about iOS/OS X is the ease of operating the devices together. For example, when your iPhone rings, you can choose to take the call on your Mac instead of digging your phone out. You can also work on a document in, for example, Pages on your Mac, and then open it on your phone should you choose, perhaps to make a revision when you are away from your computer.

Network protocols are handled at a different level to the OS. I can't remember the systems now, and it would take some reading to become conversant with them again, but your network administrator would be aware of them and should have no problems connecting you fully to your company network.

In short, you should have no problems switching to a Mac from a PC.

The iPhone isn't just a small version of the Mac, but they do try to make the interface similar in feel; there's a Dock for your most used apps and the app icons are often the same. macOS has a Launchpad for all your apps which resembles the iPhone home screen. When you connect your devices to iCloud, all your contacts, text messages, emails, etc are in sync so it can be a smooth transition when you switch from one to another. But there are more differences than similarities. If you're used to Windows, though, you'll catch on eventually.

I would say get yourself to an Apple store…or a place they have Mac's (library, university, etc.)…and get your hands on a Apple computer to mess around with. This way you can get a feel for Apple computers & the Mac OS before buying.

Another option is to purchase an older used Mac to mess around with.

- Nick

Don't give up so easy when switching from PC to Apple, it is different and takes some time to get use to but when you do; you will realize that you wished you switched yrs ago. Most of the negative reviews about Apple is that most are previous PC users and get frustrated with the Apple language.
I was one of them, going from 30yrs of Windows and jumping into the Apple koolaid and just getting MAD MAD frustrated and going back but after a couple of time of the yo-yo effect I finally stayed with Apple.

GL

I bought my first Mac about 3 months ago and love it! Looking for a Apple laptop for my wife soon. We will never buy another PC again. As posted it takes a bit of learning the interface but not hard to do. It took me a few days to get use to closing a page on the left instead of the right. LOL It's also easy to get use to the Apple terminology like Taskbar in Windows is Dock on a Mac, Task Manager on Windows is Activity Monitor on Mac.

I switched in 2013 after using PCs since 1988. I finally got sick of all the malware issues and constant intrusive updates. I still have windows computers at work. I do all the IT work and I find myself wishing daily I could change everything over to macs. I am making some inroads - we have four macs on site currently.

There is a learning curve as others have stated, but I found a ton of help here on the forum and lots of great people who will help answer questions.

BTW: I use TeamViewer to VPN into my work so I can fix IT issues. I have it installed on my Macbook Air and I can connect to either my Windows 10 desktop, Mac Pro or our main server.

Lisa

I switched to Mac in 2008. The transition wasn't too bad, but to make it successful, you have to give up thinking in the Windows way and think in the Apple way. If you can do that, the transition will be smoother and faster.

haynewp said:

I am interested in switching to a Mac...

Click to expand...

There are some really nice, free, beginner video tutorials available online:

Learn the MAC In Under 90 Minutes (2015 Yosemite Edition)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSPisJXyjso

Mac Basics - comprehensive beginner tutorials
http://www.apple.com/support/macbasics/

Here is an Apple Tech Note on how to connect your Macintosh to a VPN:
https://support.apple.com/kb/PH21674?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US