# Switchers



## senne (Jun 2, 2003)

Who has switched from PC to Mac in the past year?

Tell your experiences here!


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## Arden (Jun 2, 2003)

I think there has been a thread like this before...

I "switched" to Mac way back in like 1991 when my parents bought a IIsi.  Of course, I was 6 at the time, and the only switch I was really making was from an Apple II.


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## senne (Jun 2, 2003)

Ehm, Arden: I'm asking this question to people who have switched in *this* year. You're talking about switching 12 years ago...


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## Arden (Jun 2, 2003)

Oh, right...

My bad.


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## TRITON (Jun 2, 2003)

i switched  
this 4 months ago, i love my powerbook g4 500, was not too happy about the speed, but i love the OS X. Then i read in the forums here " the best mac site" to format in HFS+ instead of UFS, and voila, awesome... I LOVE MY MAC.  comming from the WinDoze, and Linux world, it is so refreashing to have a computer work, and no popups, 
Now i am looking for a used G4 Cube, might even buy a new 15" PB when the new models come out.


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## citizentony (Jun 2, 2003)

I guess I switched although I just use both now. Other than a rough start out of the box (OS X had a bad install and I had no idea how to format the thing) and a key falling off the keyboard (going to get that fixed today) I quite like the Mac. Speed is not to bad but it bugs me to no end that resizing the windows is choppy.

I have a 12" PB.

Tony


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## Arden (Jun 2, 2003)

Which key?


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## citizentony (Jun 2, 2003)

The one with the + and = sign. What is really sad is that I have never even used it. Just looked down the other day and it was raised and twisted. Now they have to replace the whole keyboard.


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## mr. k (Jun 2, 2003)

us mac users should draft a plan to turn all the pc users in the world toward the light...  we could all donate five dollars to a research fund to trick pc users into switching, thus launching apple into a 95% marketshare :^)  apple could really get movin with development if they made the billion dollar profits that microsoft and all the pc computer suppliers make yearly :^)


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## TRITON (Jun 2, 2003)

true, BUT, if apple was like that the mac would be full of crappy apps, and no better then a pee cee, i like the way mac is,


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## citizentony (Jun 2, 2003)

I think alot of people are like me. I wanted a Mac since I began using PC's in the 80's, but always had access to a PC and did not have any reason to buy a new comp. I always got one for free from work, upgraded, or whatever. In 1997 I bought a VAIO laptop but wanted a Mac then but could not see paying the diff. Mine was only $1400 for a then fully loaded laptop. When OS X came out I really became intrested in Mac but once again did not need a new comp. 6 months ago I bought a fully loaded Tower PC for really cheap to use for games and a server. Mac Towers were to much. A month ago I needed a new laptop and got to looking and just happened to go to Apple.com and the price was right. My dream of owning a Mac had come true. 

Most people just do not know that Apple is an option. Best Buy, Wal-mart, and most other stores do not carry them. The power users are not going to switch any time soon. Most of them just got done switching to the PC not too many years ago. 

At this point the average user is comfy with what they have and there is no real reason to upgrade or have to learn a new computer. It is the average person that makes the money for these companies, and the average person sees no reason to switch from what they have and know, not to mention the software that will not run on the other machine.


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## Doxology (Jun 3, 2003)

I'm *going* to switch at the end of the summer.  Being a design student, I'm looking at either an iBook or a 12" PowerBook (if the PB price drops to below $1500 after MacWorld).

I'll still use my PC for gaming, but I plan to use the Mac for everything important.


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## citizentony (Jun 4, 2003)

If you are a student it is only $1399 right now.

http://store.apple.com/1-800-800-AP...HH63HS1h8ouQBb/4.3.0.5.17.1.0.25.3.1.1.0?59,4

edit:

Come to think of it I now feel jiped. I have had mine for only a few weeks and now it is $300 less.


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## Arden (Jun 4, 2003)

If Apple had the marketshare that Microsoft has, they would not be as inclined to innovate and would probably revert to buying others out, much like Microsoft does now.  (Yeah, yeah, I know, they still buy people out, but not like Microsoft.)


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## Azzgunther (Jun 5, 2003)

My friends (3 of them) were all pretty hardcore Mac and I pretty hardcore Windows a few years ago.  I hated OS9 (still do for the most part) to the extent that I'd conciously avoid it.  Anyway, OSX came out-my friend got a new DP800mhz system with Apple 15" LCD and I fell in love with Apple.  

I was sort of waiting for a good reason to switch and then the new iMacs came out last winter.  I ordered the very day they were announced


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## hulkaros (Jun 5, 2003)

The switchers I mean?

Anyways, for those who replied welcome to the Dark Side of the Force... 

I'm trying to be funny of course! Truly welcome and I hope that you will enjoy the Mac Side of the things and if you have ANY problems let us know ASAP!

Welcome!


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## ApeintheShell (Jun 6, 2003)

arden..

i don't think that is true.  When they were at the top they worked tirelessly to build the Macintosh. But when certain management took over it went to the crapper. 

Besides, your forgetting that Apple thinks different. They want to make this Digital Hub work and they have the best user interface around.  About 40% would be reasonable and still wouldn't make them a monopoly. 

Even if they don't get a good marketshare at least they are improving  their system every year unlike Microsoft.

Oh and my Dad's printer switched to Mac OS X in January.  =)


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## GulGnu (Jun 6, 2003)

Well, my 900MHz iBook just shipped from the factory, so I can't say how the switch went quite yet =P

/GulGnu


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## lilbandit (Jun 6, 2003)

When it came to operating systems and hardware, I suppose I have used nearly all of them except an sgi machine (hoping to get one on ebay soon!) I like x86 hardware, it is cheap, easy to run if you know what you are doing and best of all at the moment x86 is blisteringly fast and only getting faster. I have friends working in cg modelling and they swear by x86 purely for the speed. Personally I own a couple of X86 based linux and windows machines. I don't use them that much anymore as I'm now a teacher and I don't have to worry about render times and stuff. I like to do cg modelling as a hobby and I use my powermac for that purely because I love os x. I genuinely believe that the g4 powerbook I bought a year ago was the best purchase I have made in years. It is a model of simplistic and functional design, NEVER lets me down and I can bring it into the classroom and get set up in seconds. I wouldn't consider myself a complete switcher but I am certainly a mac fan and wish that they would get their act together and get the 970 into production. If they want switchers thats the way to go. It might also serve them well to reduce the prices of their powermac range. A dp 1.42 powermac selling for over 3300 euros (irish prices)without a monitor is an extortionate price for a less than cutting edge piece of equipment that still cannot take full advantage of DDR RAM and makes more noise than a jet engine.At the moment, if I had a business to run I would not but apple. My own circumstances are certainly not unique but perhaps unusual in that I am perfectly happy with my own powermac (noise and all) and my laptop. Neither are blisteringly fast and this is not a priority for me anymore. But if a paychecque depended on it, at the moment Intel and AMD would have to be first on my list. Software is generally the same on all platforms and nearly all operting systems are networkable through samba. Justifying an powermac to an IT manager in difficult times is no easy task. I hope Apple will eventually emerge with a decent processor to match os x but I fear that Apple may find it extremely difficult to match Intel's speed. IBM and motorola combined don't have the same research resources as intel. Persuading people to buy apple computers is not an easy task and recent indicators in their sales are beginning to show the lack of imact that Apple Stores are having. I love os x and Apple laptops and I hope things improve as much as anyelse on this board but I'm afraid that looking at the powermac price list can set me off sometimes. Ah well, just my contribution...


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## Arden (Jun 6, 2003)

Just think, though: to get a Wintel box comparable to a 1.42 Ghz PM (at US$2699), you have to spend about the same amount, if not more, to get all the similar features.


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## lilbandit (Jun 6, 2003)

comparable in what way?DDR RAM is fully implemented in x86 hardware, DVD burners are easily acquired and they all work with the sofware provided. Apple refuses to support USB2 at the moment. your ipod will work fine with windows. if apple is targetting consumers who just buy wintel  they need to provide better financial reasons for switching. Any idiot can go and buy a dell with DVD burner and software that might not match apple's idvd but it will get the job done, and that is what people want, ie. to get the job done with as little fuss as possible. A potential customer in Ireland sees daily newspapers littered with Dell promotional pamhlets. To be honest, their offers are reasonable and tempting. The customer goes to Apple and has to choose the imac or the powermac. Imac= perceived slow processor and fast powermacs only start at 3000 euros or so without any monitor, meaning more expense. It might only be another 3 or 4 hundred euros, but people are lazy. Why bother chasing down a monitor when dell give you one in the box? I find os x to be a great os, but most consumers are interested in raw numbers, and the worst of it all is the fact that most people are now familiar with just enough of the jargon to be even more ignorent. For example, everyone "knows" that you need a pentium and "windows". Everyone "knows" that you need to have office, when there are great alternatives out there that would save businesses and governments millions in ridiculous licensing fees paid to microsoft. The argument that Apple can provide a unique multimedia hub is convincing but not without it's faults. The average pc user is happy with either winamp/musicmatch or WMP. Apple also advertised for a software engineer team leader tasked with porting iTunes to Wintel in the past couple of weeks, which would effectively negate one of Apples greatest assets and a feature unique to Apple computers. Most pcs come with all, if not more of the ports that Apple have. You can see my point. When it comes down to it, I use Apple because of os x, not the hardware. I don't see myself as any kind of mac fanatic and as a relative newcomer (about a year or so) I'm just offering my own experiences.  If I was in charge of IT purchasing in my school, I would have to go with Wintel. I prefer Apple but Wintel machines are cheaper and do offer more bang for buck, especially when money is so tight in schools. Educational software that works on a PC usually works on a  mac, but not always. Virtual PC was recently bought out by Microsoft so you can see why I would be reluctant to commit vital funding to Macs without the knowledge that all apps will work properly.


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## Tarambana (Jun 7, 2003)

Lilbandit:

I am, as you are, a newcomer to Apple and Macs. I have had my new iMac :-D for as short as a month now, but I can already tell you a series of things:

1.- I disagree with everybody talking about how fast Wintels are as compared to Motorola's processors (leave aside PPC 970). I mean, I have been working with Intel and AMD hardware for twelve years now. And, certainly, the Pentium 4 1'8 GHz and 512 MB RAM that I had, outperfomed my iMac on certain tasks, not all, thoough. My iMac (1 GHz, 768 MB Ram), outperforms the Pentium, even though its bus system is slower (133MHz-233 MHz), and so is its Ram. Now, in fact, I can open up to TWENTY TWO (22) applications at the same time, without my system becoming totally unreliable, which happened on Windows even when launching 8 or 10. That, at least to me, means, that Macs have got better multithreading (OK, I know that OS X has got a great part on that, but as far as they are tightly integrated, it would not be fair to talk about the hardware without considering the software). Also, I have nticed that my Mac is A LOT faster when coming to tasks such as MP3 or AAC Encoding and Video encoding. All right, all these facts come from real use everyday, so maybe, it's all up to the software: anyway, it does not speakk good of Wintels, if the software is what we ought to blame.

2.- Of course PCs are a lot cheaper, but you pay for what you get. Seriously. Both eMacs and iMacs (without having to reach for the 3000$ PowerMac, which is a bit excessive to my own opinion) are great machines, with great looking design. And you pay for it. So, it depends on how important those things are for you. I spend, rouughly, between 40 and 50 hours a week working, playing, or just using my computer; therefore it is relevant to have apleasing environment to work. For example, did you notice that when the iMac is set to sleep you can see a small yellow light glowing, pulsating in the right low hand corner of the screen to indicate it? First, not only I haven't ever seen a PC make use of such a nicety, but also, IT'S CHEAP: it consists on a LED, nothing else. This shows how much attention Apple pays to detail. Second, I work as an attorney, and, when I am writing on my Mac, I like to liesten to music. Then, I assure you that never have I had a machine which came bundle with such impressing speakers and soundcard (also, I don't care for the fact of that that it didn't came bundled with 5.1 support, because I use my computer to get my work done, not to watch DVDs: by the way, how many people have a big enough room to correctly place a system with 7 speakers and a subwoofer? Not many, I guess ;-)

3.- Now, I fully agree with you on that OS X is so much better than MS Windows. I have even got accustomed to the single button mouse, because I use a lot my keyboard to navigate the system; and becausa you can almost do anything just by Drag and Drop.

Just my 2 cents. Sorry for le long post


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## lilbandit (Jun 7, 2003)

My point is that at the moment, powermacs are not great machines! A great machine offers performance matched to the price. Apple sold something like 155,000 powermacs in the last quarter. That is a damning statistic and proves that at the moment they are not what the potential switcher is looking for. Switching seems to be a very personal thing, you work in the legal profession and obviously using your mac is just as personal. Would it be fair to say that you have little need to share use of the mac such as in a classroom or use it to chew on large cg renders? I mean that when it comes to the classroom, value for money is paramount, while in many other fields, processing power is a much more important factor. But even putting that aside, most consumers are afraid of shelling out hard earned money for a slower product. The school I work in has just purchased ten new dell machines. Even I will admit that they were a bargin. 1000 Euros for a 2.4 pentium and flat panel monitor and cd burner is not bad. The equivalent emac costs between 2 and 3 hundred euros more, iMacs only start at 1500 euros. The principal looked at Apple on my suggestion but the numbers did not add up. It's hard to recommend Apple against competition like Dell when it comes to pure value for money. I don't care what os the children use because by the time that they reach maturity, both os x and win xp will be gone! My priority has to be their learning and also the best tools that we can afford. People will not switch when it is going to cost them more money than just buying a new pc....


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## Tarambana (Jun 7, 2003)

OK, I had a very long post as a reply, but I lost it (I guess that is why they call Safari a beta: it is still possible for it to hang), so I am going to try and rebuild it the better I can.

The main thing that I want to say is that I guess you are right when you say that I am buying a Mac for personal reasons: I am not budget concerned and I do not care that much about speed, I do not even need it for sharing so much information or computer generating large renders (though I am sure that they can perfectly perform on those areas. Yet, in my opinion, too many people is too seriously concerned about raw processor capacity, whilst, benchmarks aren't all that important. I mean, when you buy a computer, you are not (or, at least, you should not) be paying for the ability of that machine to carry out 10000 or 100000 operations per second. Computers might be very impersonal object, or tools, and that is a problem, because we spend alot of time with them, and achieve a lot of our objetives through them. It is also important to be sure that the relation which we stablish with those machines is fluent. But, too usually, we forget about that. And, on that extent, Macs are better than PCs, hands down.
 I can understand that the principal of your school is so very budget-concerned, but if he is planning to buy a new set of cumputers, he should consider other elements aside from matthematic operations crunching-price; and not all of a computer functions weight the same, or should weight the same. I mean, what use will you get having super powerful computers to perform most of the students tasks? Guess none. Yet, I suppose it is easy to explain to fathers that the school has spent X ? on a set of more powerful machines, instead of Macs: better usability is harder to sell. and leads me to something else: I read some time ago an article on which the author covered (a lot better than I can do), the  things that make Macs better than PCs for schools. Even though I can't remember its web address, I have done very superficial search, which has lead me to a series of sites, that might help you persuade the school principal: http://www.lowendmac.com/macinschool/cmac.html; http://www.rockingham.k12.va.us/rcps_tech/WhyMac.html; http://www.zdnet.com/anchordesk/stories/story/0,10738,2846571,00.html.

Finnally, I agree with many of your asserts: Mac OS X is better than Windows XP (if you didn't, I say it) ;-); the whole PowerMac line needs a bump (that I hope will come with the PPC970), though I am afraid it is not so necessary for schools (that have the eMac) than it is for power users; and, also, the whole Apple marketing in Europe is, right now, and as far as I know, pityful, but I think there are signs that point to a change on this particular point.


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## lilbandit (Jun 7, 2003)

yea i agree, gets kinda frustrating when trying to persuade people!!!


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## dtmdoc (Jun 8, 2003)

my wife became a switcher last month when she got an iBook.


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## tobiko (Jun 8, 2003)

2 years ago saw a g3 ibook fell in love got it, 2 years later saw a g4 fell in love sold the g3 and got the g4.  I love this computer


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## ApeintheShell (Jun 10, 2003)

I think people miss the point of switching to a mac. You are still using a personal computer but with a more intuitive interface. 

Educational institutes don't understand that in the long run Mac OS X is a good choice. While windows is the standard today, it may not be tommorow. Unix has stood the test of time and is included in our fav. operating system. It doesn't have a spiffy UI but gets things done quick and efficiently. 

People like power and to be in control. 
That is why a computer with 2.2 ghz on the label sells. But when they can't control the environment all that power goes to waste. 

But this is all irrelevant because you have already been convinced in person or by a mac buddy.


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## MacNEO (Jun 13, 2003)

I'm a switcher! I am getting my 12.1" 900 Mhz iBook next week! I was just approved for a lease to get one through macwarehouse! I was a pretty die hard PC user, but as stated here there isn't much control over the power. I was always trying to customize my system and keep it running at peak performance and it still never did what I wanted. I use macs in the printing industry and decided if I want to progress my creative skills I need a real computer! I also play guitar and the iBook will be great for sitting on the floor with me to practice music and play back tunes I'm learning! Owning a PC is like being stuck in the Matrix. I hate Microsoft and want nothing to do with their bloated, spying garbage ever again! MACs kick serious ass!


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## ApeintheShell (Jun 15, 2003)

Rock you like a hurricane...

My brother just switched from the dark side tonight. He bought a PB 12" w/ a 15gb iPod and Canon Printer through the Apple store. I can't say he hates pcs, he loves kazaa with a passion, likes to change themes and uses photoshop almost everyday.


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## Reality (Jun 15, 2003)

*stands up*

Um, I'm a switcher. I made my first switch back in 2002. The start of the year really. My quote for anyone who gives me a hard time about having a Mac is, "I love it to death, for the first time I own a computer and I would never want to go back to what I had before." So then I tell them about my Mac. It's a Apple eMac-Super Drive and I'm running on OS X.2.6.

For the first time, I have a OS I really like or even more to say love. I was using Windows ME before I went to OS X. Everyone said I should just upgrade to a better Windows OS. Then they told me how so much better XP is.  But from view they always say that. I always hear about how much better the next OS is or will be. It was just odd to me, almost every PC related discussion was about problems you have with your PC: I need more memory, or a faster chip and my Computer won't do this right for this reason. I was just puzzled on how common these things are. Like it's not a big deal to fork over $200 here and there to get your Computer up and running. That is when I started to look "into" Mac water.

That had to be the hardest part though. Anytime somebody ask me what kind of computer I was looking to get and I say I was thinking about a Apple. I was immediately preached to on how they were so bad. They told me it all, they can't run anything, they are to pricey, simple hard to use and only good for Photoshop. It got hard but I continued to look into things and seen a much different story. 

When I started my research I learned about their quality, their compatibility and best of all, the new OS X. So I then looked into the Mac units themselves, seeing what ones would be the right Mac for me. I decided to go with a eMac Super Drive. It was able to do anything I every wanted in a PC. So when I cough word of a future price cut I was sold on the idea of getting one and I make my switch then. The week after the price cut I went down to my local city were the nearest Apple store was located. I walked inside and immediately tried out the Apple units there. After having my fun and being simple wowed to death with the beautiful layout and graphic design of the OS X, I went on the hunt to get mine. I was lucky to find a refurbished eMac and saved $200 which I used to get a ESPON CX3200 Printer/Scanner.

Of course, being a first time Apple user I was amazed and some what scared.  Scared that I didn't know how to use it and if I can ever do things the Windows guys can. There is a happy ending here though. A month or so later I got the handle on the old girl and can use her better now then I could with my 3 years in Windows ME. I simply love the computer. It's sharp looking and is has a sharp OS. Best part of it I feel I only just hit the tip of the ice burg on what I can do with this OS.

Maybe even a little side pride came from amazing my friends with it. When I was online on my eMac for the first time I downloaded to MSN and talk to them like I always did. At the end of the convo I told them I was on my new Apple eMac and they were all, "Your one MSN with a MAC?" *shock*. Ok, so it's not that big of deal but it was fun, after being told I couldn't do it and there I was, doing it.


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## hulkaros (Jun 15, 2003)

> _Originally posted by Reality _
> **stands up*
> 
> Um, I'm a switcher. I made my first switch back in 2002. The start of the year really. My quote for anyone who gives me a hard time about having a Mac is, "I love it to death, for the first time I own a computer and I would never want to go back to what I had before." So then I tell them about my Mac. It's a Apple eMac-Super Drive and I'm running on OS X.2.6.
> ...



...and if you have any questions just SHOOT!  

Enjoy your Mac life!


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## Arden (Jun 17, 2003)

hulk, stop...

...doing that!!  It's annoying me.

Something really funny that happened a while ago:  My friends were talking about their Wintel computers, and the problems they were having.  These are the guys who always nag me for using a superior computer, and they always shoot me down when I try to argue for the Mac because there's many of them and one of me.  Anyway, this guy, Kevin, was saying that he had these problems (I forget what) and he had to reformat his computer, and he said it like he has to do so regularly.  I was thinking, Let's see, you use a Windows machine, and you had to reformat your computer.  I use a Mac, and I've had to reformat only once in five years, from built-up corruption.

That's another thing Macs have over Wintel boxes:  You don't have to format the hard drive to fix stuff, and if you do, you have a hard time going back to the way it was because everything gets personalized, even unintentionally.  I would have a hard time if I had to reinstall either 9 or X on either machine I use regularly without having a backup to restore certain settings and pieces.


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## MacNEO (Jun 17, 2003)

Try to free your friends from the Matrix... Free their minds! Macs are freedom to do whatever you can imagine and then some!


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## hulkaros (Jun 18, 2003)

> _Originally posted by arden _
> *hulk, stop...
> 
> ...doing that!!  It's annoying me.
> ...



Which exactly part of my actions is annoying you?  

Or you are just having fun with me?


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