Honest,unbiased answer wanted form mac people..

[mbohn]

That seems like a pretty expensive solution! I just transferred over my wireless network - took a surprisingly short time.

+1 ! !

I've had my MBP for 3 months now, came from a long Win background. Keep waiting for the "new glow" to wear off or for something bad to happen but not so far. And I don't think it will. I'm very impressed with the product.

 

[iggibar]

I pretty much agree with what everyone is saying on here. I have had my MBP for almost 8 months now, and apart from some setting issues, it's been awesome! There is a huge difference between running windows and OSX, I just can't really put the finger on it! I got used to something funny happening to my hp almost daily that it's been weird not having those related issues come up on my mbp EVER! But, computers will run perfectly if they ran alone, when you mix a person into that equation, things CAN happen with every computer.

It seems to me though, that you upgraded you computer and locked your previous account. That happened to me once when going from xp to vista, but I just re-upgraded it on top of my xp account and everything worked.

 

[bluefox9er]

for me now I face 23 challenges.

1. is to actually physically buy the imac, it dosn't seem likely if I will get a quadcore 27'' this side of christmas...an unmitigated disaster as I photograph weddings part time and have work pending on my now non-switching on windows computer. reputation for turning around products is very important and this will certainly damage my reputation for speedy delivery of photos and albums to my customers.

2. I face the gut wrenching torment of 'fixing' my window computer ( why shouldn't microsoft fix it for me?) and use windows with no confidence and under the strong belief that the machine is extremly likley to breakdown AGAIN ( it has a glorious track record with regards to this)


3. Seeking out mac eqiuvalents of my 'workhorse' software applications and transfer liscenses. in terms of photoshop/lightroom i imagine this to be a straightforward process, so i am already prepared for it to be a NIGHTMARE.

(p.s I am blaming windows for the typos, too!)

I love my photography, and I also love processing my images. I want it to be a fun and productive part of my hobby, windows has done everything in it's capacity to ensure that this never ever happens.

 

[chipz]

Honest, unbiased answer wanted from Mac people

The iMac is an excellent choice. I switched over about 7 years ago and never looked back. The machines are very well constructed and reliable. I have never had any real problems with any of my Macs. Any problems I have had have been minor and few. If you want a program to open and use Word documents, MS makes a version of Office for the Mac. You an also download a freebie called Open Office. It works just like MS Office and is compatible in almost every way. Take the plunge - you won't regret it.

 

[FiosFiend]

Here's my 2 cents. I'm a relatively new switcher to Macs and I'll not make any promises as to stability except to say that I've yet to see any kind of problem with lock ups or freezes or crashes. Keep in mind that the main reason for most crashes is plug-ins. I've had to "force quit" my web browser a couple times in Mac but it didn't cause any other problems with the stability of the system. That's the big difference between OSX and Windows. When you have a stability problem created by your web browser in windows it tends to cause stability problems with your OS. That just doesn't seem to happen with OSX.

I can make you this promise. Because Apple makes the hardware and the software, they support the WHOLE system. Meaning, if you do have a problem like the one you describe, you call Apple Care and you get a guy (in the US) who's knowledgeable and is NOT reading from a script. They will figure your problem out, whether it's a hardware issue or software related. I don't care how much you pay, or who you buy your windows PC from, you will NEVER EVER EVER get that level of support.

 

[Cycledoc22]

Having switched a few months ago I can the software works fine and you can find ways to work around issues resulting from the switch.

But you enter a world of one supplier. Which means you are at Apple's mercy on price, and they take royal advantage. I haven't yet experienced problems that needs support so I can't comment on that.

But if purchasing now I would opt for a third party mouse as the Apple one is stylish but glitchy. The keyboard is not ergonomic but is functional--you might want to try it out before buying and possibly look at third party stuff for that as well.

Good luck with your search.

 

[Nethfel]

People here have really covered most everything.

One thing I should mention - Adobe does make switching fairly pain free. From what I've heard it's either a non-fee or a very minor fee to make a switch (may be a 1 time switch) from Windows to Mac on Photoshop. I know with lightroom, my existing LR key worked on the Mac version when I switched (they may have changed this with 2.0+, but for all the 1.x versions the key for windows version worked on Mac)

Onto my thoughts on systems perfection/imperfection...

No system is 100% perfect. I switched about 9 months ago, I currently have 4 Macs and 1 windows gaming laptop (not including old comps that I don't use any more, but never got rid of, and the reason for the laptop was for lan parties, and so I can reduce the dual boot time on my Mac Pro as I really don't like surfing or other things I like to do while in windows any more, so it's inconvenient for me to keep booting back and forth so I can play the games I want).

Of the 4 macs, in the time that I've had them:

I've had 1 hard drive fail (on my server mac no less. Granted it just handles my private domain email, DNS for my house and as a small webserver, but it was still inconvenient). I've had 1 upgrade go hinky. I had a problem syncing correctly with MobileMe. And the biggest issue I have that I hope will get fixed soon is a problem with safari crashing on Yahoo mail (happens on the three Macs I use and surf with - but I tend to just use Firefox for yahoo, or have my Mail configured to access my yahoo mail which bypasses the browser all together).

To me, these are minor problems. Minor problems compared to the countless Windows based systems I see in a given year. Even if I lost a hard drive, or my OS got screwed up on one of my Macs, or I couldn't log in for some reason (account got corrupted) - these are fixable problems. Average maintenance is easier IMHO on a Mac then on Windows, and honestly, one of my favorite things to be rid of is the registry.

Any piece of hardware *can* have problems - no matter how well made, there's always a chance for a defect. Any software *can* have an issue - software, just like hardware, is created by humans, which means there is a chance of a problem.

Some people who buy Macs get them because they either find them more enjoyable to use, or fit their lives better. Some people who buy Macs do it because they are convinced by marketing or through use of other Apple products that it's the way to go. Some people get Macs and just can't make the adjustment to the environment (if you want an example, search through switchers forum for posts from Expatgirl (if I got the username right, I think I did) - she has a mac, but really should switch back to a windows system - she wants it to operate like windows and wants to figure out how to make the Mac work like Windows - it doesn't.

The OS' are 2 very different platforms, each with their own benefits and drawbacks. Both have their place in the world (although I honestly feel their rolls are reversed from what they should be in the real world - but thats another discussion). What you have to do is determine if what the Mac has to offer is a good fit for you. Some things on the Mac are just not up to par compared to Windows, and the same is true the other way around.

I'd say go and see what a Mac is like, go to a friends, or an Apple store, or even Best Buy and really play with one. Or you can look for a cheap older one on EBay (just make sure it's an Intel Mac so you can use the latest OS versions) to try and see if it's right for you. Just know that it is different, and it isn't windows. Shortcuts are different, concept of use is different, etc. I know, in my case, it gets harder and harder for me to use a windows box for extended periods now - I'm so used to the windowing on OSX that Windows feels more clunky to me with its constant full screen wannabe. Now I only use Windows for my games. But that is me. I also understand, and can accept, that I may run into a major issue one day that causes my entire system to just stop working correctly. I've had fewer problems on my Macs then I have on Windows, that I can say, but I can't say I will never have a problem - just as I, and anyone else on this forum, can't say that you would never have a problem.

Ultimately, what I'm trying to say in this very long post - find what works for you and your wife, even if it's two different systems (like my wife and me, she uses windows, I use OSX). Once you decide what you want to stay with, whether it be windows or Mac - just learn what needs to be done to keep the respective OS running smoothly and you should have at least a decent if not excellent experience.

Good luck - think carefully on your decision of what to have. Find what fits YOUR life better - even if that means using an OS that requires more work to maintain - in the long run chances are you'll be more happy.

 

[Calijoefornia]

As a fellow photographer (although I am amateur) I can relate to your woes as far as turnaround goes. In my opinion, there is two things you should consider with a switch:

1. the OS X version of Photoshop has a somewhat different GUI than the Windows version. Not much different, but it does work the way other Mac software works, instead of being a window with the taskbar on top, the OS X taskbar changes when you are in Photoshop and it has all your normal taskbar functions. Just a very small difference, but it takes a little getting used to.

2. Photoshop (and other Adobe software) runs 50 times better on a Mac. I use the entire Adobe suite to some extent, and all the software runs almost flawlessly on my machine. The same software was sluggish and choppy on my previous Windows computer.

So, as far as productivity is concerned, I do believe Mac to be your best option of the two. I don't know if anyone else has covered this, but here's a general idea on some Windows programs and their comparable versions on a Mac:

Internet Explorer-->Safari (there's other ones too, but this one is stock)
MS Outlook-->Mail (much simpler to use, in every way)
Word-->Pages
Excel-->Numbers
Powerpoint-->Keynote (Pages, Numbers and Keynote are all part of iWork which is $79)
Basic photo management is best handled with iPhoto in my opinion
iTunes is a solid music management program (and wouldn't you know, it works better on a Mac!)
IM programs-->iChat

I'm sure you know most of this already, but it never hurts to drop the information again!

Best of luck to you and your new Mac. For whatever it's worth, my previous macbook (which my girlfriend uses now) is over 2 years old and has never crashed. I've never had any hardware or software failure at all. Never a virus or anything.

 

[noobie-353]

While I'm by no means a power user, I think the bottom line for most people is that there is a little bit of a learning curve when you switch. So, bottom line, you can learn to love a MAC or learn to tolerate a PC.

 

[Mac SK]

I fix PC's by day and you just need a good optimize and decootie...but it will not stay fixed very long.

 

[Daddy Elmis]

That seems like a pretty expensive solution! I just transferred over my wireless network - took a surprisingly short time.
!

You can get that Belkin cable/software for $18 at Mac Mall. I just bought one to transfer my dad's stuff from an old thinkpad to a mac mini. While the actual transfers may not be faster, the Belkin is advertised to convert the Outlook mail, calendar and contacts to Apple Mail, iCal, and Address Book on the fly. The last time I switched (about 4 years ago), the transfer of Outlook mail to Apple Mail was hugely painful.

 

[Doug b]

I hate to go against the grain (I lie.. I love it) here but have you considered just installing either XP or Vista or even Windows 7 before purchasing a whole new system ? Also, you say your computer won't turn on.. .is that a Win thing for sure ? Or have you done any investigating into your hardware just to make sure it's not any peripherals such as the PSU and such ?

You can still download a beta version of Win 7 so you won't be pirating anything, btw. I would certainly try that before shelling out for a new Mac plus having to learn a new OS on top of the work you've got queued. Just a suggestion.


BTW, I used to use Win as well. Switched to Linux before I started using Macs. Love my 2 MacBook Pros. I also use Lightroom and PS. Great stuff here.

doug