[Cøltøn]

I've been a Windows user my whole life but as of late, I've been seriously contemplating making the jump to a Mac. The main thing holding me back is that I don't have a lot of experience with OSX so I'm kind of concerned with making the transition. I've been using an iPhone for the past year and an iPad for the past 9 months and I have to say that I'm quite impressed with how intuitive they are and how little maintenance they require.

What I use my computer for:

- Mainly as a central hub for all of my media (music [iTunes], movies [VLC], documents [Microsoft Word/Evernote], pictures, etc.]
- Downloading and unzipping files [Winzip]
- I have my laptop hooked up to a 17" Dynex TV that I'm using as a monitor (hooked up via VGA) and it's also hooked up to my 42" LG TV via HDMI for
movie watching
- Web browsing (including Netflix) [Mozilla Firefox]
- Accounting - currently just starting out with this (mostly using Excel) but from what I've heard, Macs don't handle accounting software
very well. However, if I got a Mac, I would keep my current laptop and use it for anything my Mac couldn't do
- Very minimal (if any) gaming

Why I'm thinking of switching:

- I've found over the past few years of owning my own PC's, I've been having to upgrade almost every two years and it's been getting
frustrating in that regard - I tend to upgrade because I find my computers get laggier and laggier
- I really like the UI of iOS and how intuitive it is
- I have an iPhone and iPad which I feel would work even better with a Mac (it would essentially complete the ecosystem)
- When I do anything moderately intensive (such as using iTunes before v11 was released), open lots of tabs in Mozilla Firefox, use
certain streaming services (mostly the ones that bands use to stream concerts) my laptop gets super hot (even though I'm using a
cooling mat) and my PC will crash.
- Simple things are starting to make my computer lag out which is pretty frustrating.
- If I stay with Windows I'd be getting Windows 8 most likely, so I'd have to learn a new OS either way

Why I'm kind of on the fence:

- I'd have to learn a whole new OS
- Macs are pricier so if I'll still have to upgrade every two years I'll be no further ahead and I'll just be wasting more money
- Macs seem to be less compatible with programs than Windows
- I'd be boxing myself in completely into the Apple ecosystem
- I've been told multiple times that if I put the amount of money that I would put into a Mac into a PC instead, that the performance I'd
get from Windows would be much better
- For Apple products, I'm mainly considering a 21.5" iMac and the Mac Mini as these seem to be the most reasonably priced and would suite my needs
but the iMac doesn't even have an HDMI port and the Mac Mini has an HDMI port but I don't see how I could hook up dual monitors like I'm using now


Here's what I'm currently running:
I paid $500 CAD for it in November or December of 2010.

Anyone who has made a switch from Mac to Windows, Windows to Mac or people who have experience with both OS's want to give me some advice/guidance? Any advice is greatly appreciated.

I'm not a fanboy for either company (lately, I've just enjoyed how my Apple products have worked), I'm just not particularly computer savy and just want to have a really consistent experience where I don't have to worry about the maintenance and upkeep of my computer.

[colorlesscliche]

I have both and because of work and school, I use my Windows PC a whole lot more. In fact, I hardly turn on the Mac.

But if you were thinking of going Mac, they do offer Office software ($$), and software that can run both Mac OS and Windows ($$).

[popdisaster00]

Why I'm kind of on the fence:

- I'd have to learn a whole new OS You'll pick it up in no time
- Would I still be able to download and unzip .rar and .zip files? Yes, absolutely.
- Macs are pricier so if I'll still have to upgrade every two years I'll be no further ahead and I'll just be wasting more money Not necessarily
- Macs seem to be less compatible with programs than Windows Not necessarily, depends on what programs you need
- I'd be boxing myself in completely into the Apple ecosystem true
- I've been told multiple times that if I put the amount of money that I would put into a Mac into a PC instead, that the performance I'd
get from Windows would be much better Perhaps

[Cøltøn]

Originally Posted by colorlesscliche

I have both and because of work and school, I use my Windows PC a whole lot more. In fact, I hardly turn on the Mac.

But if you were thinking of going Mac, they do offer Office software ($$), and software that can run both Mac OS and Windows ($$).

Why do you find yourself using the Windows PC more than the Mac?

Originally Posted by popdisaster00

Why I'm kind of on the fence:

- I'd have to learn a whole new OS You'll pick it up in no time
- Would I still be able to download and unzip .rar and .zip files? Yes, absolutely.
- Macs are pricier so if I'll still have to upgrade every two years I'll be no further ahead and I'll just be wasting more money Not necessarily
- Macs seem to be less compatible with programs than Windows Not necessarily, depends on what programs you need
- I'd be boxing myself in completely into the Apple ecosystem true
- I've been told multiple times that if I put the amount of money that I would put into a Mac into a PC instead, that the performance I'd
get from Windows would be much better Perhaps

Thanks!

[FuckT41182]

hh, download some Linux distribution for free, Ubuntu is kinda easy to handle, you will save an awul load of money and Ubuntu is fully capable of executing all the actions that you want it to manage.

[colorlesscliche]

Originally Posted by Cøltøn

Why do you find yourself using the Windows PC more than the Mac?


Thanks!

I just said why - because of work and school. I'm in the IT field so I need to use Windows to connect to servers, work in AD, etc. And school computers are all PC based so it saves the stress of them not working if I just stick to their medium.

[LastDeclaration]

Macs definitely have their prices gouged by Apple. PCs obviously have more competition from all the different vendors (HP, Gateway, Dell, etc.), but Apple is the only one making Macs, so they can jack up the prices. Most people don't even realize the hardware in PCs and Macs is almost entirely identical, save for the casing, so it's really an arbitrary price increase by Apple. Anyway, tl;dr, you definitely get a lot more for your money from a PC, as you seem to have been told by others. Not sure why that other guy said "perhaps"; if you compare identical hardware builds of a Mac and a PC the Mac will pretty much invariably be hundreds of dollars more.

The only thing that you would want a Mac for [IMO] is because you really love the OS or you want to use the exclusive programs - that's all the extra few hundred bucks will be going to (and customer service, I suppose, but I don't think Apple's customer service is anything out of the ordinary). Getting one for the programs is kind of silly, I think, considering the multitude of fantastic programs available for Windows. Logic, for example, is great, but Ableton and Pro Tools are just as great.

Oh, and there's the whole no viruses thing, but as long as you're not a dingus you should be fine with a PC.

Obviously I'm a bit biased, but I think my reasoning is still sound. I would buy a Mac for someone like my grandma or a technologically illiterate friend, but other than that they're hard to recommend.

Ubuntu is kickass as well, as the above poster said. And you aren't gaming, so you wouldn't miss out on that. You might want to consider downloading Ubuntu alongside Windows on your current PC to see how you like it. It's extremely easy to do: http://www.ubuntu.com/download/deskt...dows-installer

[SkateFirm21]

I say there's no reason to switch to mac. You definitely will be able to build/customize your own PC with better specs, while spending less money compared to buying a mac. For more business uses like accounting, I'd suggest a PC as well. If you were to switch to mac, learning to use one and the OS shouldn't be hard at all, and if you're thinking of getting a laptop, they are pretty thin and really easy to travel with. But there isn't much a mac can do that a PC can't.... Unless you want to use garage band, which is a shitty recording software, and there's a software on PC that mirrors what garage band does.

thats my 2 cents.

[ctmk]

Ok, here's my take. Apple products are beautiful and efficient and almost never have problems. I owned a Mac Book pro for 5 years. Loved it. Best piece of tech Ive ever owned. When it came time to buy a new computer, the price became hard to swallow. As I shopped around I began to notice that I could buy a mid to top of line PC for the price of a base Mac. I have a Sony Vaio S series and am loving it. Blu ray player, 12 Gigs of ram, 1tb of memory, 15' 1080p screen. Not to mention the laptop itself is easy on the eyes, sleek, thin and lightweight. All for a price less than a basic Macbook pro.

[drewinseries]

I got a Mac laptop for school and I have loved it. I want to get a desktop and was looking at the iMac. While not the reason, I definitely wanted to try some gaming on it for Skyrim and Battlefield. Through research I was brought to pretty much everything but a Mac for a powerful system, and now I will probably be building my own PC. I love iOS and the look and feel of a Mac, but their prices are outrages, and it seems that if you keep up with upgrading, you system should run and will still probably have saved money. I will miss iOS, but at least I still have my laptop for that.

[drewinseries]

Originally Posted by Cøltøn

I'm not a fanboy for either company (lately, I've just enjoyed how my Apple products have worked), I'm just not particularly computer savy and just want to have a really consistent experience where I don't have to worry about the maintenance and upkeep of my computer.

You can always partition your hard drive and use BootCamp to put Windows and your Mac.

[spiffa0]

Windows 8 is the shittiest thing to ever be on a computer. I'm a Windows guy, but I might be making the move to Mac next time I buy a computer.

[drewinseries]

Originally Posted by spiffa0

Windows 8 is the shittiest thing to ever be on a computer. I'm a Windows guy, but I might be making the move to Mac next time I buy a computer.

Yeah, im heavily considering just installing 7 on my build.

[LastDeclaration]

Originally Posted by drewinseries

I got a Mac laptop for school and I have loved it. I want to get a desktop and was looking at the iMac. While not the reason, I definitely wanted to try some gaming on it for Skyrim and Battlefield. Through research I was brought to pretty much everything but a Mac for a powerful system, and now I will probably be building my own PC. I love iOS and the look and feel of a Mac, but their prices are outrages, and it seems that if you keep up with upgrading, you system should run and will still probably have saved money. I will miss iOS, but at least I still have my laptop for that.

make it a hackintosh, braski. dual boot

[drewinseries]

Originally Posted by LastDeclaration

make it a hackintosh, braski. dual boot

I came across that online, I would love that, but maybe its my novice on the subject, but I read that was highly illegal.