Anyone switch from PC to MAC?
 

Both my wife's dell and my Dell are going out.....we have used them extensively while here in Colombia and Ecuador. Our projector is also on its last leg. I am seriously considering switching from PC to MAC. I am concerned about is it really worth the extra cost? If I switch to Iworks will I loose all my Bible studies that I presently have on Word/PDF/Power Point? Do they easily convert into Iworks? Any one have any suggestions? Or maybe you changed and have regrets? Any one gone from Mac to PC?

Re: Anyone switch from PC to MAC?
 

I purchased a MacBook Pro a couple of months ago. Also, I got an iPhone 4S (my first iPhone I've ever owned). I love this computer, and I'm happy I quit the PC habit.

Re: Anyone switch from PC to MAC?
 

I suddenly got a burden for missions.

Re: Anyone switch from PC to MAC?
 

I have owned Macs for years without any problems.
i think it's worth the extra money.

Re: Anyone switch from PC to MAC?
 

We have had mostly Dell computers with a couple of Toshibas thrown in; I can't WAIT to switch to MAC when these finally give up the ghost. Which shouldn't be too long, considering our PC track record. :foottap

You should be able to use something like www.dropbox.com to save your files and then you can download those to a new computer. If the iPad has programs to read Microsoft document files, I'm sure MAC computers do, too.

iPad was my first step into the Apple water, and I can't wait to use Apple phones and laptops. :thumbsup

Re: Anyone switch from PC to MAC?
 

We have switched over the last couple of years to Apple.
We will never buy anything else, now.
My work still uses Dell, however. :(

Re: Anyone switch from PC to MAC?
 

I use Mac's all day at work (I'm the IT guy at a school which is almost ALL Apple). I even have a school issued Macbook and ipad and will NEVER own a Mac, iPad or iPhone. I'm very happy with my Toshiba laptop, home built desktop, and Motorola Droid phone. :)

Re: Anyone switch from PC to MAC?
 

I close personal friend of mine writes software for Microsoft. In fact, he is a key designer for Windows 7 and other Microsoft operating systems. He does not own a PC, and states he never will. I found this odd coming from a man who develops PC software for consumers, because he's a Mac guy all the way.

Re: Anyone switch from PC to MAC?
 

Good info for consideration. My Toshiba laptop is showing signs of aging.

My s-i-l writes software for iphones and other systems. He recently became an Apple fan and is switching over.

I'm undecided....cost is definitely a factor.:bigbaby

Re: Anyone switch from PC to MAC?
 

I have been anti-Apple for many years as I refused to pay about double for the privilege of having a notebook or desktop computer with their logo on it even if it only crashed about half the time of a Windows computer.

However since the Iphone has been out for several years now and so far no competitor can touch it (my sons try out all of the supposedly greatest smartphones and they never work as well as an iphone it seems) and the ipad is clearly innovative and the best of the tablets. For those reasons I am finally crying uncle and am going to get an iphone 4s and a year or two from now an ipad. I might even pay the extra dough for a notebook or desktop someday!

Re: Anyone switch from PC to MAC?
 

You may pay a little more upfront, but you save hundreds of dollars in virus protection, spyware protection etc. I've had my PC smoked two or three times because of viruses in email and websites. I used to have to manually clean out thousands of spyware in my computer despite having spyware protection every single day when I had a PC.

As long as I can afford a Mac, i will never go back to PC. Saving up for my next one.

Re: Anyone switch from PC to MAC?
 

Of course the ironic thing is that as soon as enough people switch to Macs to make it worthwhile the hackers will then start devoting time to writing code to attack Macs!

Re: Anyone switch from PC to MAC?
 

Anyone remember a time when double click mice for macs weren't around?

Exactly. Already happening.

Yep. Apple still uses one button. Though now it is also a touch pad. 3rd party mice have been around with two buttons for a long time.

This seems a little exaggerated. I started on Mac, then switched to PCs for 15 years. Now I use both. You can get great antivirus software for free on a PC. And I have maybe had to deal with 2-3 virus issues during that entire time - and it was always my fault. The big precaution is to use a site advisor tool in your browser to avoid sites that might have viruses. Also, only opening email attachments that you know are safe.

It's all preference, folks. And what kind of environment you find yourself in (corporate, home office etc). I know them both extremely well, and there is no miraculous trouble-free solution.

Re: Anyone switch from PC to MAC?
 

So then, from your experience a MAC is not necessarily better than a PC, and PC is not necessarily "second rate"? I have heard how wonderful MAC is but have at least one program that won't work on a MAC and will have to replace 2 or 3 other programs.

Re: Anyone switch from PC to MAC?
 

Doesn't matter when its not your computer and the 1 button mouse comes standard so its the one you have to use. Made for a very bad MAC first experience for me.

Re: Anyone switch from PC to MAC?
 

Mac can open most files.

Re: Anyone switch from PC to MAC?
 

I made the Mac switch about 9 months ago. I really love the macbook pro. I would rather be on my mac than my PC. I have programs that download on both, I like the way Mac loads them better and the way the various tools in the programs are presented in the mac versions.

I also have an iPhone and iPad. Having all apple family makes syncing much much better.

Once you get used to it, I think you'll really like the mac better (I know I like it much better but that may be just me)…but if you don't want to take that chance, PC works just fine and the Lord knows there is nothing wrong with sticking with them.

Re: Anyone switch from PC to MAC?
 

It has always been (or for a long time at least) that you could hold down the CTRL key and click for right-button functionality. But that is an extra step.

Re: Anyone switch from PC to MAC?
 

PC? MAC? Help me out, here. I can't remember: which one is 3-step and which is 1-step?

:heeheehee

Re: Anyone switch from PC to MAC?
 

The fact is that a Mac Book can run both Window and Mac OS seamlessly. I have Mac OS and Windows 7 64-bit both natively installed to different parts of the hard drive. And you can choose which operating system to boot into. So, you really have both PC and Mac when you have a Mac. But, if you find yourself booting in the PC side more often than the Mac, you should probably rethink it. I will say this. The Mac Book Pro I have cost me nearly $3000, but the aluminum hardbody is just awesome. It makes every other PC laptop feel like cheap ......... Is it worth $3000 for that alone? Of course not. But I find myself using the Mac 90% of the time unless I am doing realtime 3D development or something that requires a PC only app. If all you do is email, Office and web stuff - you will probably enjoy the Mac.

Re: Anyone switch from PC to MAC?
 

Yep. And I hated everytime I had to do it that way. BAD experience for me like I said.

Re: Anyone switch from PC to MAC?
 

The new desktop I am building in a few months, when the new Ivy Bridge processors come out, will cost me about 1500 (give or take a hundred) and run multiple circles around an iMac costing three to four times as much.

Also, my Droid phone simply plugs into the PC and can transfer files back and forth at will. No itunes required!

Re: Anyone switch from PC to MAC?
 

Apples marketing strategy is great. Make sexy products, focus on user friendliness and claim they make them virus proof and better built than other similar products. To be honest those are the things the non computer savvy person find appealing. It's not about power as long as they can do what they want. It's not about upfront cost, its about less headaches and the thought of less cost in repairs down the road.

I'm not saying apples claim is true... but as long as it's perceived to be true then that's all that matters.

I also have an Android phone. Which works great with my Mac (and everything else). Just got a Galaxy 2.

Yep. More to overall experience than pure power to many though.

Re: Anyone switch from PC to MAC?
 

Not exaggerating at all. The problem with the free pc anti virus and spyware is that most of them are not real time. I used a highly recommended real time anti-virus protection and even then, I still got a bad virus that completely smoked my computer.

I'm sure that hackers will eventually start writing harmful viruses for the Mac's but until then, I am enjoying not having to spend an hour each day manually cleaning my computer and having to have spyware blockers/removers and anti virus/firewalls and never-ending patches to download from Microsoft.

Dude. You are doing something wrong if it required that much maintenance. Seriously. If you're not exaggerating, then you may make the worst web-surfing decisions of anyone I've ever met. ;). And I'm not implying that you are searching for immoral stuff. There are plenty of other harmful sites.

I have gone for many, many months with nothing but a passive free antivirus app, no spyware app, and a firewall. Are you on corporate LAN without a firewall or something? Do you not have a NAT at home?

Sorry to harp on this. I like Macs too, but this just seems like an unfair claim. I guess if it's your experience, then I understand your frustration.

Re: Anyone switch from PC to MAC?
 

The only reason someone would spend an hour a day cleaning viruses is if they spent an hour or two surfing Russian porn sites.

....and, unless you haven't been updating your Mac they have regular security updates as well. Their updates are also MUCH bigger since it usually involves downloading much larger sections of the Mac OS kernel where Windows updates are just patches.

Re: Anyone switch from PC to MAC?
 

PC's aren't safe when they go to the wrong parts of town. Learn where the wrong part of town is and stay away next time ;)

Re: Anyone switch from PC to MAC?
 

RAndy Wayne, that is an unfair assumption. You are offensive.

I don't have problems at all with my Mac OS. Therefore I spend about 2 minutes a day cleaning my computer.

Re: Anyone switch from PC to MAC?
 

Again...offensive.

I've gone to card greeting websites to send cards to loved ones. The websites literally took over my computer to set their own settings. If that is the "wrong part of town", then would say you are missing it.

I've typed in my own mother's name to try to learn my genealogy, again, it set my computer to download something I did not ask for.

You guys ought to be ashamed of yourselves for automatically assuming someone is looking for porn or in the 'wrong part of town'.

OFFENSIVE.

Re: Anyone switch from PC to MAC?
 

I am not a dude. Read above responses.

Re: Anyone switch from PC to MAC?
 

"the wrong part of town" was not a reference to porn. Sorry if I wasn't clear. All those websites you just mentioned are also included in the "wrong part of town". Yea they look innocent but ya gotta be fairly careful about where ya go. Once ya get a virus ya should avoid the site/sites that you went to when you got it... or try an elimination process till you figure out which site it was and then avoid it. Sure you might pick up the occasional virus but if your smart you won't spend hours a week removing them unless you're not getting them removed completely in the first place. I run windows and have no virus protection, never do virus scans, and even have windows firewall turned off. My computer runs fine though I do suspect one or two of the processes my computer runs are viruses or something similar. They don't bother me though so I typically don't bother them :thumbsup

Once upon a time I had a computer with over 500 viruses on it. I still used it all the time... it had a few quirks to it though. That computer was before I learned to be a lil smart about where I went and what I clicked on ;) So yea, viruses are out there but just avoid the wrong "parts of town" and you'll be fine.

Re: Anyone switch from PC to MAC?
 

That's offensive Randy, it only takes 5 or 10 minutes to get that many viruses from those!!!

Not trying to be offensive, "Ma'am." In fact, I suggested that you weren't doing anything wrong. You needed a site advisor to avoid those sites. Ecards and people finding sites - along with screensaver and clip art sites are the worst offenders. I know you're on a Mac now, but eventually they will be targeted as well. I recommend McAfee Site Adivisor or Web of Trust or something similar as a good first line of defense. If you are even spending 2 minutes a day on it, that's still not normal, by the way.

Re: Anyone switch from PC to MAC?
 

The 2 minutes is to clear my caches and reset safari.