Is it worth Switching?

[instant.human]

^yeah and he is not the most bad looking guy in the world. ;) quite the conrary, imho. charisma ftw. ;)

[LTD]

I don't think C_Guy is the most objective source of information. Many sites have confirmed, that in fact, Apple hardware is on par with the Windows counterparts.

Well, neither am I, for that matter. ;)

But if experience counts: Commodore64 from 1983-1989 (yes, I loved that machine), Amiga500 from 1990-May 1994, Apple PowerMac 6100/60 from June 1994-May 2002 (great little machine), Athlon-based Windows XP rig from May 2002-April 2006, with usage of Win2000, Win98 and 3 Linux distros while I had my Windows rig. Also upgraded the Windows box a couple of times in order to play certain games, etc. Yes, believe it or not, I built a few Windows machines. And at school it was mostly Windows-based machines. Same thing at work. I even played with a Commodore PET back in the day. I had this fascination with the Classic Mac, and as a kid I used to program in BASIC, but just simple things.

For the record, System 7-7.5 and OS 8 (never got to play with OS 9) really weren't bad. I preferred them over Win3.1 and Win95, although assigning memory to applications could be a pain sometimes.

All in all, accounting for acknowledged subjectivity in terms of technological advances (Commodore's GEOS software suite was amazing for its time, for example), a current model Mac running OS X Leopard represents the highest iteration of the computing experience. Easily.

Yes, it's just my opinion, but I certainly hope it's nearly as informed as those of my friends around Neowin.

Cheers.

[AltecXP]

I recently got a MacBook, and dual boot Vista and OSX, I had it slit 50/50 till I realized that I spend much more time on the Mac side, now its about 80/20 split.

[skywalker]

If you consider switching then there's an alternative to Bootcamp: Try VmWare Fusion. Except for gaming you can have both worlds at once instead of one at a time ;-)

[1759]

I use whatever OS to get the job done - OSX is the OS I use at home, but I use Vista for development/database work.

I use OSX for imaging and audio applications, but it just doesn't cut it for Office and my current development work (I use Access 2007, MS SQL Server, and Visual Studio 2008 - pretty much completely Microsoft-based).

Office 2008 is not that good, and iWork 08 is too basic for what I need to do, and I don't have time to learn Xcode right now.

However, I do think OSX is better than Windows for the most part, but I haven't had a problem with Vista since last summer, and for the most part, I've actually had less problems with Vista lately, than Leopard (Samba and Bluetooth are flaky, even with 10.5.2).

[hagjohn]

I bought a Macbook laptop and I love it. I have XP on bootcamp and on Parallels. NeoOffice is good for what I need but I game on my Vista desktop.

[StevoJD]

I don't suggest you get a MacBook. My friend bought one, and in 2 months the case started cracking. He got Apple to replace it in 2 days, but when they gave it to him the bottom was warped. Personally, a Mac is great, but I'd go with a MacBook Pro. The MacBook just seems too "cheap" and it's not long before there's a revision.

[Quillz]

It's only worth switching if you think OS X will be more productive for you. Don't listen to any of the advice here, try out Vista and try out Leopard. The one you prefer and/or gets more work done is the OS for you.

[instant.human]

I don't suggest you get a MacBook. My friend bought one, and in 2 months the case started cracking. He got Apple to replace it in 2 days, but when they gave it to him the bottom was warped. Personally, a Mac is great, but I'd go with a MacBook Pro. The MacBook just seems too "cheap" and it's not long before there's a revision.

the revision point might be valid here. ;) but just because one friend of yours had some bad luck... ;)

i know a lot of people being absolutely lucky with their macbooks, no cracks or whatever. ;)

[Binary]

I don't think C_Guy is the most objective source of information. Many sites have confirmed, that in fact, Apple hardware is on par with the Windows counterparts.

His motto: Apple Stock. Now crashing like their computers.

His signature: They say "Macs get you laid". Need proof? When was the last time Steve Jobs had a girlfriend? Or a friend for that matter.

I think it's quite pathetic that you take the time to insult Macs without reason nor rhyme. Learn the facts.

That's exactly what I was thinking. :blink:

#1 OS X doesn't crash nearly as often as Windows

#2 Steve has a wife

He needs some help... mental help.

[Chicane-UK Veteran]

Well speaking from my own experience. Been a Windows user for a long time, dabbled with Linux a lot over the last 8 years or so but never really found it suitable for me.

Got into OSX about 2 or 3 years ago and wanted a Mac since. Got a Mac Mini about 5 months ago and loved it.. Leopard came along and blew me away.

I can hand on heart say that, in my experience, OSX is just so much more of a better user experience than Windows. You're not a second class citizen. Buy a Mac and see how you get on. If its not for you, resale value means you wont lose much if you decide to sell it on and go back to Windows.

I promise you'll love it, especially if you use OSS apps a lot, and like the notion of alternatives to Windows.

[evo0o]

it's definitely worth switching if you have the money. i switched a few months back and never looked at windows ever again. the time i spent on computer maintenance also greatly decreased as i've less problems regarding viruses and bugs etc.

[tusctodd]

What I have always enjoyed about these "price" arguements is that these are the same people that if they had to choose between a Lexus and a Ford would take the Lexus any day of the week. Both vehicles will get you where you want to go because they are only cars.

It isn't simply about price. It never has been and never will be.

People will pay for quality, even if it is only perceived as being a higher quality product.

So you can spew all the nonsense you want about have to pay more for an Apple product, because it is only a computer, but the reality is that the majority of users want something that will work. They don't want to tweak/optimize/fix their machine to send simple emails or do a spreadsheet.

Apple has positioned their product as being simple to use and because they offer both the software and hardware element of the purchase they can control the quality of the products being offered.

The answer here is easy. No. Why? Because in order to "switch" you have to buy all new hardware. And, like all Apple products, the price of an Apple laptop will always be more than an identical-spec PC only because Apple's logo is more expensive than it's competitors.

So in that sense, no it's not "worth" it.

If you want a change and don't care about the money then you'll always wonder how much you would have liked it if you don't try it. The safety net (and one of Apple's top selling features) of Mac is you can either dual-boot it with Windows, or run Windows applications in a virtual machine with third party software. This way, when you switch you aren't "stuck" if you need a PC application. And if you regret your decision you could always turn your Mac into a single Windows-boot computer. Just don't tell Steve Jobs.

In that sense it is a "safe" switch.

So, the only thing you have to decide is how much money you want to spend.

[4CxbqFxVnstmA Veteran]

Personally I'd go for Linux, though Macs are cool. But my main advice here is...

make sure it's as light as possible!!!

A 10-pound laptop is very heavy, as is an 8-pound one. You'll be carrying it with you everywhere, so please go for light as possible

[Laurë Veteran]

I bought a Macbook a few weeks ago and I haven't regretted it one bit. I still like XP, I've always thought it was a good OS, but I like OS X better. I've tried many Linux distros in the past as well, but never got on with one well enough for it to become my primary OS.

Price was an issue with the Mac, but I feel I got good quality hardware and a good quality OS, so to me, it wasn't a rip off. I went the cheap ass route with my old laptop, and though it served me well, I'm glad to have spent more this time.

I would recommend that you find your way to an Apple store, or a friends house, where you can try out the OS for yourself. I personally would not have paid out a small fortune before being 100% sure that I liked OS X and without the option of installing Windows. I have XP on there only for games and Office really though - I almost never boot into it.

....

Its unbelievable, ive seen some of my friends switch to macs and they just have no clue, they use it as if its windows, .app's all over their desktops, .dmg's still mounted, running apps from the dmg's, windows minimized, windows maximized I look at it tell em, **** man, learn to use it or go back to windows for the love of god.

....

Well those confused me at first, because Windows teaches you to click and let it sort itself out. I took your attitude and realised I was in for a learning curve (a shallow one at that) and it took me no time at all to get used to it.

[QuarterSwede]

I've was a Windows user from Win 3.11 to Win XP. I bought a 12" PowerBook 3 years ago when Tiger came out and was blown away. I'm more productive and use the computer less because of it. There's relatively no maintenance to do (run CRON scripts once a month if you keep the computer in sleep mode when not using it) and you never have to deal with viruses, malware, spyware, etc. It comes out of sleep mode as fast as you can open the display and get your finger on the trackpad (Windows has never got that right) and there are tons of quality apps to use ... a lot of them freeware.

[Davie]

I switched 2 days ago to an iMac after being a Windows user for the past 12 years.

Best thing I ever did.

[macf13nd]

gah. this thread makes me want to get a mac.

(last mac I had was iMac DV, before that a horizontal PowerPC, before that an LC475, before that an LC II, and before that a Classic!)

Running Vista atm. no ?? for a Mac right now though.

[dead.cell]

gah. this thread makes me want to get a mac.

(last mac I had was iMac DV, before that a horizontal PowerPC, before that an LC475, before that an LC II, and before that a Classic!)

Running Vista atm. no ?? for a Mac right now though.

I hear ya. I'd really like to get a Mac as well and even though I have the money for the second MacBook... letting go of $1,000 is a lot tougher than it seems. I may do it if I had more money to fall back on, but right now it is not an option.

However, the urge to build a decent gaming rig instead is also kind of keeping me from making the purchase. I'm big on games so.:/:/

[Cara Veteran]

I know I'm biased but having had Macs for many years now I don't think I could ever consider not having one again... I use to be huge on games but I realized quickly that the games I played were so old to start with it didn't really matter if I played them virtually or natively which allowed my own transition to be much more painless than most peoples.

When I do buy a new Mac, which my husband says is to often, I feel it's money well spent more than an expense. I still have a G4 Sawtooth that is 10 years old running just fine, I don't have many PC's I can say the same for so I suppose to me it is just symbolic of the value I get from my Macs.

[macf13nd]

I hear ya. I'd really like to get a Mac as well and even though I have the money for the second MacBook... letting go of $1,000 is a lot tougher than it seems. I may do it if I had more money to fall back on, but right now it is not an option.

However, the urge to build a decent gaming rig instead is also kind of keeping me from making the purchase. I'm big on games so.. :/

yeah that's the other thing. I've got ?600 sitting in a bank account somewhere which I'm keeping to build a new rig. I just can't spare the other ?600 right now for what I'm really after.

[Sillysam]

The real question is is! Is it worth changing your under ware every day" hell yah it is worth it every bit.

[myNando]

I have a Power Mac G5 that I bought 3 years ago. I also have an HD Sony camcorder that I bought like 8 months ago. Well, to make a super long-ass story short, my camcorder saves HD & standard video to a format that the PowerPC processor Macs don't read well. So, I am switching to a WinVista laptop to edit video. lol

My Power Mac G5 is great but I found my computer too bulky and I need something smaller/portable and compatible. Mac notebooks are friggin' expensive...another reason why I chose an HP laptop.

I'm not dissin' on Macs, I'm just saying they're hella expensive. LOL!

If you have the money, then go for it!!

[mtber]

It is so worth the change. i wasent sure how i was going to like it when i switched but i am glad i did switch because i love it. everything is so much better and faster.

[DrewJW]

The cost is a hard thing to swallow, I am in the same boat being unable to get finance due to my status, but I am prepared to wait and sell up some stuff.

Well worth it in my opinion.