Mac or PC? To some people, it's an easy answer, and generally you can pick one side and be completely for it. To a large group that answer has always been..."I use a PC, I always have". Well, I was faced with that choice. I have always been a PC person. Not because I liked them better, or because I needed to punch out spreadsheets and tables, but because I just always had a PC. It wasn’t until the iPod became pretty popular and I realized how ingenious it was, that I realized that maybe Apple was the way to go. So like any computer geek, what did I do? I "googled" everything there was to know about Apple and quickly grew to know they’re product line, their operating system and it wasn't long until I figured out what many people before me had...Apple is just that good.
So, I finally decided to make the plunge to Mac soon after the Intel transition took off. Originally I fell in love with the MacBook Pro, but with the release of the MacBook, I decided that the Pro edition was too much computer for an average using student.
I went to the Apple Store in the mall near my house a few times to check it out, and make sure that it was what I wanted.
Mac OS X
So the big difference between a Mac and a PC is of course the operating system. Like I said earlier, people either work on a PC because they don’t know any other way, or there is a specific task they are trying to accomplish. PCs have always been labeled as a business machine, even with attempts by Windows to personalize the home computer. If you want to be able to do “Life” stuff, Mac has made a good name for themselves.
Some people I talked to on my quest for answers on the Mac OS, told me they would switch, but some (mostly the older of computer users) said that the reason they wont switch is they don’t desire “re-learning” the computer. I’d like to say that, they have a very false fear. Mac OS X is an extremely user-friendly system and they market it as such. Many of my initial problems were my own fault, as usually I would be over-thinking something, that on a PC would usually be found in a hidden keystroke or deep within a menu, whereas on a Mac, a convenient blinking button or pop-up would do the same.
Want to check your email? Don’t go browsing through Windows XP menu’s to find your mail program, simply look down and click “Mail”.
If you are the type of person staying with a PC because you need certain software to work why not try out Boot Camp or a virtualizations software to seamlessly run Windows? Also, Universal products keep popping up on big name software. With Apple now running an entirely Intel based line, software developers are scrambling to come up with Universal software to keep customers happy.
Final Thoughts
Though I have only been a Mac user for about a week, I have already quickly realized the benefits of it. Simplicity, user-friendliness, and general ease of use are what have really hooked me on Macs. This concept is carried through on all of Apple’s products. Even right after the transfer, once I set everything up, I felt right at home.
Hopefully this will help you make “the switch”. Thanks for reading!