Why Mac if you have PC at home? (Why "Switch"?)

[decelerate]

I have been using Micro$oft software for seven years from Win3.1 to WinXP. I love very much Mac design in terms of appearance, hardware and software (OS + apps bundled). I want to switch (but wait... just want!). Apple guys always say MacOS is more productive. Not too much people say apps on MacOS are more productive. I see the productivity gain from apps from Apple Inc. However, what the users use most are apps from third parties. What I use daily are JBuilder, Java, Dreamweave, Flash, Photoshop, Acrobat, etc. They are from other software houses, not Apple Inc. Therefore, the productivity should be not much difference on Win or Mac if not the same. Only the design of the appearance, hardware and OS with few apps from Apple Inc are not worth for me to spend over US$1000. In addition, ugly MS Windows .. I have used to. Therefore, I still want only.

What do you think?

[Zaphod_B]

Hi,

First of all: good to hear you're thinking about the "switch"!

I just switched 4 weeks ago and I NEVER switched on my PC's since then. They're currently catching dust on top of a cupboard . What I like about MacOS X is that I get my WORK DONE. Using Windows (also from 3.1 'till XP) I always had to worry about stability (save my Word doc often to be sure, etc), and it sometimes took ages to get particular hardware to coexist in the same system (Sounblaster Live! conflicts with ASUS A7V133 board for instance, a f*ckin nightmare!) without driver nightmares, blue screens of death etcetera.

Using MacOS X it just isn't there! No stupid blue screens, no trouble with the hardware. Everything inside this little iMac is from Apple and severely tested as a SYSTEM, not as a collection of seperate parts (ok, I used to build my PC's my own. your mileage may vary using Dell or Compaq).

Also, the GUI of MacOS X is so intuitive, clear and simple, that it makes you more productive too. What seems eye-candy in the first sight is functional when you use it for a while. For a brilliant review, which pushed me to making the swith: http://www.birdhouse.org/macos/beos_osx/
This review is by Scot Hacker, before a BeOS enthusiast. As I also came from BeOS (used it for some time too) I knew Scot Hacker from the BeOS scene.

So to be short: MacOS X saves me time by letting out the crap. So I have more time to be productive and have fun with my computer! I LOVE IT!

Now I have to start saving for a Powermac G5 next year or so

[toast]

I'm personally convinced switching has interest in your case. 90% of the time I spend in front of my G3/500 iMac is design: I work with Photoshop, Acrobat (just as you), but also Illustrator, Flash (a bit), Quark/InDesign, etc.

I find the Mac really adapted to this type of work. For its stability, for its better color management (ICC rules !), for many things designers care about.

I hope you will find some sense to this

[decelerate]

I have gave lots of $$ to PC (Software and Hardware). If I switch to Mac, I need to buy a Mac machine (e.g. eMac as a cheap but powerful computer), lots of software that I am using in PC (e.g. Photoshop, Micro$oft office X, JBuilder, Macromedia Flash and Dreamweaver, etc), even some peripherals (e.g. printer because my old printer is using serial port). Is it too EXPENSIVE ? What I gain are somehow productivity, user experience, nice OS, *stability*. Therefore, I am still with my PCs

What do you think?

[voice-]

If you're like me at all you've spent much on better and newer hardware. I did this while I used a PC, no longer will I pay for additional hardware(save increasing my HD). Looking back I can say they in terms of hardware you save $$$ on the switch.
Software is another story, unfortunately you'll have to buy that all over...I'd still say it's worth it.

[RPS]

The answer to all your questions.

[decelerate]

I read it all and frequently check the link of "hearing from people who've switched" and "What is the press saying?".

In top 10 reason to switch, I just think the last one "it's beautiful" is the one can convince people. We put our time in the front of the computer, it is very important for its appearance and GUI. Other than that, umm... none of them is not a good reason.

1. The Mac...it just works
With PC and MS windows, it just works too. More important, most of digital devices if not all (iPod) do provides drivers and software for window but may not for Mac. As a general computer, "it just works" is normal.

2. It doesn't crash
Sorry, "it is rarely crashed" maybe better. Even text mode UNIX system would have crashed. I have seen it although it is not frequent. The most importance is that "It" in "It doesnt' crash" is UNIX but not MacOS X. Think about it. Based on UNIX, but it is not only or the same as UNIX.

[btoneill]

Hmmmm, why to switch, the question of the decade

I recently switched for a variety of reasons. I've been a Unix person for years and years who has been forced to also have Windows around for those apps that don't exist in the Unix world. Well, all that has changed. I can now do everything I need to do, and did in Unix and Windows in OS X. I've found the productivity apps much more stable on OS X then in the windows world (Office, Acrobat, Quicken) and they are much more intuative IMHO. The biggest things that are lacking is some of the multimedia stuff (which surprised me). Alot of codecs aren't there for quicktime, and no real support for 5.1 digital audio (atleast that a consumer can afford).

As to the cost of upgrading, in honesty it didn't really cost me much at all. By selling off all my old hardware (SGI's, Sun's, PC's, etc) it just about covered the cost of my mac, and having just gotten my first power bill since turning off my old computers, I'm saving around $1.50-2.00/day on energy costs. So, thats $550-$700 or so a year I'm saving.

But ofcourse, everything is based on the user and what their needs are. I'd suggest picking up a used G4 sawtooth box, and play with it and see if it does what you need. If it doesn't, you can turn around and sell it again with just about no, if any at all, loss in value (assuming you figure out in a month or so if you like it or not). If you do like it, you can either keep the used box you bought, or sell it and buy something new and speedy. Either way, you really don't have anything to lose going that way.

Brian