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16 replies

  1. i agree with robed64, and thx for telling us. i used mac briefly for design work, but these days, with data-sharing i watch in pity as visiting mac users cant get their hands on my anime collection [evil laugh] without hours of piddling about

  2. Well, i have been a PC user since the first computer i ever touched and just bought MacBook Pro. Best of luck in your PC world and with cheap products. Thats the best thing about a PC so many makers keeps price down. But i would take zed’s advice and learn how to restore, reinstall and pray things work after you load your computer up and add 3rd party programs. I think there is a reason not to many people write about their great experience switching from Mac to PC(windows). Oh, wait till you need tech support. Maybe you can understand the person on the other end but i do not speak broken indian-english. I do wish you the very best w/ your PC!

  3. Beware though, as a PC tech for decades I can assure you that there is no “only need to install once” in the Windows world. Even Windows 7 will eventually slow to a crawl and require a reinstall of the OS. Most people just buy a new computer thinking that theirs is outdated but the ugly truth is that WIndows gets slower and slower the longer you own it and the more times you install or uninstall programs, and YES that includes updates.

    I’d strongly advise you to use a program (Norton Ghost is great) to back up your entire computer as an image so you can easily just restore the computer to its “like new” condition down the road.

    Also I don’t know what the specs are on your RAM and HD and processor but there are lots of tweaks to reduce the load on your system that may make you reconsider buying a new machine.

  4. I do back-end web dev company that’s mostly mac-based. The company didn’t have a macbook for me the first few weeks, but I’d just gotten a new quad-core i7 with win7 ultimate on it. I wanted the same dev env as everyone else (easier to get up to speed that way), so I installed OSX into a VirtualBox VM using instructions from osx86project.org. Works great for development – like linux, except prettier, with good device support. Dual-monitor between win7 and mac is just cool. I run Office, CS5, and other productivity apps from win7, and keep all of my dev stuff like IDEs, app servers, databases, etc on the VM. Makes backups stupid easy, too. And if I drop my lappy in a puddle, I can just plug the backup drive into another machine and be done with it. Best part: compilation is faster on my VM than on a coworkers newer macbook using the same stack.

  5. Sorry. I’ve used them both. Mac is better by far. Saving as a PDF, better in mac. Snapshots of anything on the screen, better on mac. Troubleshooting, downloading, safari, applications, i-movie, virus-free environement, BETTER ON A MAC!

  6. b, you sure aren’t! But we never get the headlines that the Mac switchers do. And it’s true, while you can change your desktop image easily in Mac OS X, there certainly isn’t a built-in all-in-one theme manager for desktops, sounds, and UI colors.

    As this point a few months since my own switch, I’m a bit disappointed with my Toshiba Satellite laptop, but that’s simply because I bought a low-end version to be thrifty. It still does all I need it to and I will eventually trade up to a speedier, more powerful system. However, I still love Windows 7, regardless of the weeniness of my processor, and have no plans to return to Macdom.

  7. as a former windows user i’m glad i wasn’t the only one wanting to switch back from mac, after this year with saving up my money i’m going to get the next hp laptop with bluray and get rid of my apple crap. though i’m surprised that it’s playing well with my android phone (for now until i do something un-apple like convert my tvshows.)

    i miss changing my desktop theme, and icons.

  8. I am enjoying reading this series. I have had my Mac frustrations, but not enough to make me go back to the world of PC. However, I do really like Windows 7, it is SO MUCH of an improvement over Vista, I can’t even stand it. I used to do IT for a NFP organization, and 60% of my time was taken up by cleaning off computer viruses, running restore scripts, and destroying malware, that I will never even consider a return to PC unless they come up with a system that is so Virus-Proof that it would make Linux users jealous.

    Your one line that really stuck out to me is “as a Mac user my day-to-day computing life feels more Mac-like on a Windows 7 PC.”

    I mentioned earlier a that I have had some frustrations with Mac. This takes me back to the original Macintosh commercial. When Jobs put that together, it was a masterpiece. But it could almost be said now more than ever that Jobs is the one up on the screen, calling out for corporate conformity and unity of user experience. (Kind of ironic. lol)

    However, I happen to like the Mac GUI and the fact that I can do just about everything that I need to ootb with any Mac that I buy. So, I don’t mind being a fanboy. I’ve converted many, and I’ll continue to do so. Just call me the Macevangelist. haha

  9. Thanks, Phil. Those reinstallations might not be so bad, as long as you do adequate advance planning. While it’s a bit annoying to have to re-input preferences and such, if you make sure you have your install DVDs, CDs, and installer filers ready to go, it shouldn’t take too much time. Essentially, as a Mac-to-PC switcher, I had the same experience as XP upgraders face–i.e. reinstalling everything anew from scratch. You only have to do it once 🙂

  10. This is a really interesting series. I had been toying with going to a Mac for a few years, especially after the Vista debacle. I do have a few hesitations, though, beyond price.

    This series has really spoken to me. I’m going to see if MS creates a viable XP to 7 upgrade path that doesn’t require me to reinstall many desktop-based apps.

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