Is anyone sorry that they switched?

[Village Idiot]

I guess I'll never be a true switcher, just a user. At least not until the prices are competitive and I can get the latest and greatest when ever I want and don't have to wait for Apple to have a big conference to release it.

But I game, so I guess that's to be expected.

 

[SIDTURBO]

I hated my Imac at first but even though I have my PC still sat next to my Imac I find I hardly ever switch it on any more. And it has Vista on it too! I love my Mac more and more and the learning curve is getting shallower each day.... can't wait for Leopard and Photoshop CS3!

 

[fiveightandten]

The first couple of months are good but it is when you start finding the things that don't work with the Mac, like MTV Overdrive http://www.mtv.co.uk/overdrive "This site is not supported on Macs because the WMV Player for Mac does not support Windows DRM"

This website works fine for me in Safari and Firefox.

-Nick

 

[JPig116]

Missed from PC

The only program I truly miss from the PC is Irfanview. It let me do all I wanted with my digital photos without the clunky interface of IPhoto and Aperature.

 

[Brown Study]

. . . "This site is not supported on Macs because the WMV Player for Mac does not support Windows DRM". I goto Hotmail or Yahoo! Mail and Safari isn't supported with the Beta versions. I goto the Tesco website and the store locator doesn't work with the browser...I try Opera, I try FireFox neither of which work. I know this isn't Apple's fault, but these are big companies that should work with the standards...even Google Calendars doesn't support Opera.

Web standards are not MS standards. MS deliberately breaks them, then changes them for use in IE.

When any browser, player or plugin can't handle WMV because of MS's DRM, blame MS, not some other company that won't bend over for MS or that MS refuses to license.

Internet "standards" are not the twisted programs that MS regularly steals and perverts, nor are they the "standards" that exist only in the minds of the MS indoctrinated.

 

[MacHeadCase]

I entirely agree.

Let's not forget why the internet was created in the first place. It was meant for cross-platform communication which meant that no matter what OS you were using, you could communicate with another person, no matter which OS they used.

M$ has changed the rules with their IE-only HTML and their web video encoding.

If you want to look for the culprit, take it to M$. It isn't for anything real web coders have been hollering against M$ for years and its non-compliant Internet Exploder. Poetic justice that it is so riddled with security holes now.

 

[glyndav]

stevenyc and chess buddist , I mean this in the nicest way possible: I can't imagine what you are doing on this forum. If you came here for help, then ask for help. Your posts in the thread serve no constructive purpose at all. And if you don't want help, then have the sense to look around and see that this is not a place where free-for-all blaming, complaining or nastiness is tolerated.

And for the rest of us; we should play nice.

OK first of all, I've got to say that I am really happy that I switched and having kept an open mind, enjoyed the whole process. However, reading through this thread, I don't get what you wanted stevenyc and chess buddist to say. I mean, it is titled "Is anyone sorry that they switched?" Its not titled "Please state for the 1000th time what you love about Mac and hate about Windows". Admittedly, I don't agree with their viewpoints either, but at least they are actually responding honestly to the thread title, rather than 5 pages of "I'm not sorry, its great". If anything, it highlights to me the difficulties that people can still have when switching and I would have struggled myself at times if it wasn't for the knowledgeable people on these forums.

What worries me is the amount of people who may feel the same as steven and chess who do not take the time to properly convert and need things explaining a little more and that is something that Apple may need to look at.

Or i'm talking crap, one of the two. Probably the latter.

 

[Prise]

With any kind of switch, the pain of going through the dislocation of change will always exist, even to varying degrees depending on the experience and tech savvy of the switcher.

In my view, a person will always be able to find certain things Windows does better, and vice-versa with the respective Mac operating systems. Listing the pros and cons with each system's respective merits as espoused by it's proponents (both partisan and non-partisan views has it's role) serves as an i invaluable resource for the potential switcher.

 

[thoras_herd]

i hope it will be a good decision - despite last night's problem and my mac not being able turn on, l still hold faith...

 

[Brown Study]

Or i'm talking crap, one of the two. Probably the latter.

No, you're not talking crap.

There's nothing wrong with people saying why they're unhappy or sorry they switched. There are any number of things Apple could and should do better, and that Windows does better.

But if the reason they think so, for example, is because Apple's apps or an app by anyone else doesn't adhere to Microsoft's proprietary "web standards," or the fiction of OS "standards," letting it go without comment advances the MS myth in whole or in part, gives tacit approval to MS's unethical and illegal business practices, including mob-like strong-arm tactics and outright theft, and leaves the posters with the impression that errors made from ignorance is the truth.

There is or should be no value judgment attached to ignorance unless it exists through laziness or is otherwise wilful. Ignorance, by itself, is not immoral — for lack of a better term — but neither is fighting it.

Doing so, though, can be tiresome. There is one fairly recent post in another thread that is so outrageous in its assertions that I didn't know where to start. So I decided to ignore it. Chalk it up as a win for the Microsoft Big Lie.

 

[Village Idiot]

I'm still wondering why my minimize/max/X are on the wrong side of the window

 

[bobtomay]

The one area where PCs shine is for the computer enthusiast. There's a certain exhilaration and adventure when journeying to build a "game" machine with the "best" parts. Choosing the ram, video card, sli or crossfire, state of the art motherboards, and finally over-clocking a machine to run faster than virtually anything else has it's own inherent rewards. To the quintessential "power gamer," there isn't a more rewarding experience than firing up self-put together PC running Doom 3 with all it's graphics options maxed out on 1600 by 1200 @ over 100 fps!

Couldn't agree more with that. Some just like to take things apart, re-build, and tinker with the mouse trap. Some don't care about the how the mouse trap works, just that it does. Think I am moving from the former to the latter nowadays (or just gettin lazy), though I sure would like to build another top of the line system once some of the DX10 games hit the shelf (or do I want a Mac Pro).

I'm still wondering why my minimize/max/X are on the wrong side of the window

LOL - good one VI

 

[dtravis7]

Couldn't agree more with that. Some just like to take things apart, re-build, and tinker with the mouse trap. Some don't care about the how the mouse trap works, just that it does. Think I am moving from the former to the latter nowadays (or just gettin lazy), though I sure would like to build another top of the line system once some of the DX10 games hit the shelf (or do I want a Mac Pro).



LOL - good one VI

Apple has had those buttons there on that side since the beginning. It was Windows that came along and put them on the other side. I can use them on either side as I go back and forth between XP and OSX on a daily basis due to my line of work.

 

[Village Idiot]

Apple has had those buttons there on that side since the beginning. It was Windows that came along and put them on the other side. I can use them on either side as I go back and forth between XP and OSX on a daily basis due to my line of work.

It was a joke. Easy pard'

 

[dtravis7]

It was a joke. Easy pard'

FEW new Mac users know the history of Mac OS. I was just stating a fact so they would know.

 

[cwa107]

Apple has had those buttons there on that side since the beginning. It was Windows that came along and put them on the other side. I can use them on either side as I go back and forth between XP and OSX on a daily basis due to my line of work.

FWIW, I think a lot of the early GUIs put at least the close button on the left side of the window, probably mimicking Xerox PARC's implementation. Off the top of my head, I can remember at least AmigaOS and GEOS being that way.

 

[orangebitters]

I didn't actually switch. I bought a MAC because of its creative reputation with the absolute certainty that I would LOVE it. Couldn't wait till it arrived. I have owned it since October and today (April 14) is really the first full day I have made myself sit here and try to figure it out.

I sat down several times over the past months only to be so frustrated I went back to my old '98 and did what I needed. First the mouse was unfamiliar which I realized I would have to learn. No problem, I love learning new things but hated the mouse. Got used to it. Downloaded a few programs....have NO idea what the heck happened there. Nothing works when I can find it.

I can use the internet with no problem but if I try to use the applications on my system nothing opens when I click on it. I'm about ready to blow a gasket after hours of trying to open files without right clicking, choosing "open" and then waiting and hoping it works. Is this normal?

Am I sorry I switched? Yes and No. I spent a ton of cash on this fantastic machine I can't figure out and actually looked to see how much I could get for it at one point last night. I really want this to work. Am I sorry I got a MAC? Not yet...

 

[MattGiaco]

I'm about ready to blow a gasket after hours of trying to open files without right clicking, choosing "open" and then waiting and hoping it works. Is this normal?

Just a thought, but if you're getting the menu and selecting "Open" then you ARE right clicking, whether you know it or not.

I'll agree that after years of using Windows, it's kinda like learning another language. Only, it's not completely different. It's sorta like OS X = English and Windows = Pig Latin.

 

[orangebitters]

I have been purposely right clicking since it's the only thing I can get to work. I tried to download some photos to begin my project but just can't get the hang of it. I know I will eventually but right now I'm really frustrated.

It will take time and I will learn this. You are right about being accustomed to Windows. I use 98, 2000 and XP pro daily. I wanted to familiarize myself with the MAC so I could better understand users when they call for help. It isn't going to happen overnight but I don't give up that easily.

 

[MattGiaco]

It will take time and I will learn this. You are right about being accustomed to Windows. I use 98, 2000 and XP pro daily. I wanted to familiarize myself with the MAC so I could better understand users when they call for help. It isn't going to happen overnight but I don't give up that easily.

Maybe it's because I spent several years using the "Classic" Mac OS, but I really didn't have any issue actually using the UI. That was, however, almost 10 years ago, though. The first time I installed software, that was a bit odd, but I figured it out.