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- May 5, 2013
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When you make the switch, you'll be glad you did, and you'll be asking yourself, "Why the **** didn't I do this a lot sooner!???"
I made the switch last month. I've found that EVERYTHING is easier and faster on a Mac than on a Win-doze PC. Here is a list of things that I've so far found to be better on a Mac:
1) Multi-touch gestures on the trackpad. This is very nice, and natural, once you get the hang of it. No longer am I stuck with the traditional limitations of the PC mouse and it's two buttons.
2) Mac App Store. Thousands of programs/apps are available, many are free. Sure, you can find a lot of programs on the internet for the PC, but the Mac App Store puts a lot of them in just one, convenient place.
3) Time Machine. Backups to an external HDD are a breeze with Time Machine. No clumsy (and dubious) backup software to worry about installing correctly, no fuss. Multiple backups can be stored on a single HDD, with the earliest backups auto-deleted when the HDD becomes full.
I had to restore the entire HD from a Time Machine backup, due to a mishap (which was my fault - I tried to do it without first reading the instructions) while attempting to install VirtualBox. The restoration took just minutes, with no problems at all - and all of my important stuff was still there!
4) AirPort. You can plug a USB printer into the AirPort Express (or Extreme), and it just works - no fuss. Of course, you can also use it with your Windows PC, but it's a pain in the butt to install and set up - I had to install Bonjour printer software on the PC, configure it, and then it worked. It was much easier on the Mac!
5) You can still run Windows on a Mac if necessary. You can install a Windows (or other) OS via Boot Camp, onto your Mac. I don't think it's possible to install OS-X on a PC, though (someone please correct me if I'm wrong). You can also use software like VM-Ware Fusion 5 or Parallels Desktop 8 to create a virtual machine to run another OS alongside OS-X.
I will be installing Win XP on my Mac soon, likely via Boot Camp, because I have some older games and some music software (for hardware synthesizer programming and MIDI control) that will only run on Win XP.
6) Near-impossibility of getting a nasty virus. The general consensus here on the Mac Forums is that anti-virus software isn't needed on a Mac. I would not argue with the Mac gurus on this point, but I'm the sort of guy who wants to be sure, having had viral nightmares in the past on my Windows PCs. There are anti-virus/internet security programs available for the Mac, should you be paranoid like me. For peace of mind, I installed one on my new MacBook Pro. I recommend ESET Cyber Security Pro - it doesn't tax the system like others I've used on PCs before (like Norton and McAfee), and I've noticed no system slowdowns or "stutters" since I've installed it.
7) Bluetooth connecting nightmares don't exist on a Mac. - at least I haven't had any problems whatsoever with connecting Bluetooth devices to my Mac. I use an Orochi Razor bluetooth mouse (for when I'm doing mouse-intensive tasks, such as photo editing or gaming), and it connects every time, quickly, when I turn it on. It was **** getting it to connect to my Windows PC. Of course, just as a test, I connected my Apple bluetooth wireless keyboard, also with no problems at all.
8) External peripherals just work - with no fuss. I've used external hard drives, an external Blu-Ray player, and multiple USB thumb drives and SD cards, all with no problems. No drivers are necessary. It's wonderful!
9) Microsoft Office is available for the Mac. If what's holding you back is Microsoft Office, not to worry - it's available for Mac! It's the first piece of Mac software I bought, since I use it at work extensively. Files created in the Mac version are usable on the PC version, and vice versa.
I made the switch last month. I've found that EVERYTHING is easier and faster on a Mac than on a Win-doze PC. Here is a list of things that I've so far found to be better on a Mac:
1) Multi-touch gestures on the trackpad. This is very nice, and natural, once you get the hang of it. No longer am I stuck with the traditional limitations of the PC mouse and it's two buttons.
2) Mac App Store. Thousands of programs/apps are available, many are free. Sure, you can find a lot of programs on the internet for the PC, but the Mac App Store puts a lot of them in just one, convenient place.
3) Time Machine. Backups to an external HDD are a breeze with Time Machine. No clumsy (and dubious) backup software to worry about installing correctly, no fuss. Multiple backups can be stored on a single HDD, with the earliest backups auto-deleted when the HDD becomes full.
I had to restore the entire HD from a Time Machine backup, due to a mishap (which was my fault - I tried to do it without first reading the instructions) while attempting to install VirtualBox. The restoration took just minutes, with no problems at all - and all of my important stuff was still there!
4) AirPort. You can plug a USB printer into the AirPort Express (or Extreme), and it just works - no fuss. Of course, you can also use it with your Windows PC, but it's a pain in the butt to install and set up - I had to install Bonjour printer software on the PC, configure it, and then it worked. It was much easier on the Mac!
5) You can still run Windows on a Mac if necessary. You can install a Windows (or other) OS via Boot Camp, onto your Mac. I don't think it's possible to install OS-X on a PC, though (someone please correct me if I'm wrong). You can also use software like VM-Ware Fusion 5 or Parallels Desktop 8 to create a virtual machine to run another OS alongside OS-X.
I will be installing Win XP on my Mac soon, likely via Boot Camp, because I have some older games and some music software (for hardware synthesizer programming and MIDI control) that will only run on Win XP.
6) Near-impossibility of getting a nasty virus. The general consensus here on the Mac Forums is that anti-virus software isn't needed on a Mac. I would not argue with the Mac gurus on this point, but I'm the sort of guy who wants to be sure, having had viral nightmares in the past on my Windows PCs. There are anti-virus/internet security programs available for the Mac, should you be paranoid like me. For peace of mind, I installed one on my new MacBook Pro. I recommend ESET Cyber Security Pro - it doesn't tax the system like others I've used on PCs before (like Norton and McAfee), and I've noticed no system slowdowns or "stutters" since I've installed it.
7) Bluetooth connecting nightmares don't exist on a Mac. - at least I haven't had any problems whatsoever with connecting Bluetooth devices to my Mac. I use an Orochi Razor bluetooth mouse (for when I'm doing mouse-intensive tasks, such as photo editing or gaming), and it connects every time, quickly, when I turn it on. It was **** getting it to connect to my Windows PC. Of course, just as a test, I connected my Apple bluetooth wireless keyboard, also with no problems at all.
8) External peripherals just work - with no fuss. I've used external hard drives, an external Blu-Ray player, and multiple USB thumb drives and SD cards, all with no problems. No drivers are necessary. It's wonderful!
9) Microsoft Office is available for the Mac. If what's holding you back is Microsoft Office, not to worry - it's available for Mac! It's the first piece of Mac software I bought, since I use it at work extensively. Files created in the Mac version are usable on the PC version, and vice versa.