Moving to Mac - any help for a newbie?

[NeoNerd]

I'm planning on moving from Windows to a Mac shortly, mainly because of how dreadful Vista is.

Thing is, I've used Windows since '95, so I'm set in my ways. Is there a good online guide to show the basic differences? I tried the ones on apple.com, but they seemed a little basic.

Thanks.

 

[dlutemp]

I'm not sure where you can find guides for that but I can tell you a few things that you should consider.

Pro (for a Mac):
- handles multimedia editing very well, this includes sound editing and graphic editing

- Macs can handle both Windows and MacOSX

- Macs are very simple to use and are low upkeep.

Cons:
- More programs are available for the PC than the Mac. This can be a of special concern if say a class of yours may be using a certain software.

- Though a customer service representative may tell you that Macs are growing in popularity, it is still the minority of the market, thus why programs and such are more compatible for the PC than a Mac.

- You might hear that Macs do not have virus problems but due to its growing popularity, viruses are now becoming a problem on Macs as well. http://antivirus.about.com/od/macintoshresource/Macintosh_Viruses_and_Mac_Virus_Resources.htm

- Though Macs are capable of running Windows on them, you will have to go through setting up something called "Boot Camp" which is an extra charge, not to mention having to pay for two operating systems.

- Macs are more expensive than a PC of the same architecture. If you look at the the RAM, processor speed, and other factors and compare them to a PC, a PC is substantially cheaper (and its commonly a criticism of Apple products).

You may also want to consider:
Windows is coming out with Windows 7 in the fall, and its gotten really good reviews. Better battery life, and its faster, safer, and more responsive, not to mention the shiny new look and organization it has.

You can get the FREE public release candidate (meaning if they were to sell it now, this would be the version they would sell) - like I have, for free from Microsoft, be careful though, because when March 2010 hits, you will definitely have to go out and buy it.

You can get the FREE public release candidate here :
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/get/download.aspx

 

[ukfan14]

1st. Macs are Unix based instead of DOS based like a PC
2nd. They hardly get viruses since most of the world uses Windows
3rd. (this is my opinion) they're easier to use and are a whole lot faster than a PC with Vista

in the future if you have any mac questions, check out my website.
(but right now im still working on it)
http://ukfan14.webs.com

 

[Elissa]

You'll find that using a Mac is really easy and intuitive. If you find the ones on apple.com basic, then you should have no problems getting started.

Honestly, it will be easier for people to give you good answers once you have started using a Mac and have some specific questions.

 

[Carling]

You need to look at Linux before you go out and buy a Mac, Macs are not what they are made out to be, you may think the mac is better than the pc you have now, what you have now will blow the mac sky high, using the right operating system, Linux is the right operating system, It runs on old 386 128 meg of ram to the worlds fastest IBM Road Runner supper computer,

With Linux you get all the software you will ever need, You need to download a live Linux CD or DVD and run it off the Disk and get to know what you can do with Linux, Got to youtube and in the search bar type in Linux vs Mac or Linux vs windows vista or Linux tutorials, you will be amazed what your old computer will accomplish, while microsoft are getting ready to release windows 7 Linux communities are now getting read to release 2010 versions

Last words. Never be afraid to learn being set in your ways is a bad thing, there are more video tutorials on youtube for Linux and Linux application software than enough... Linux never stands still it upgraded every 6 months with new features and software