Paul Vaughn is “Mac Guy” for the San Antonio Express-News who recently received this question, “I am thinking about switching from a PC to a Mac. Is there a lot involved in the switch? How will I know if all the equipment and programs will run with a Mac?” signed, “Looking for Greener Grass”
Vaughn writes, “Switching from a Windows PC to a Mac is not something you want to take lightly, but it is quite likely that you will be pleased in the end. Most modern peripherals are usable on both Macs and PCs, especially USB or FireWire devices. You may need to download new drivers from the manufacturer’s Web site, but many will work when you plug them in.”
“You will need to get new versions of your software. Programs have to be compiled for the specific platform on which they are run. Some applications, such as older versions of Adobe Photoshop Elements, have both the Mac and Windows versions on the CD, but technically you are only licensed to run one or the other. Check with the developer of the programs that you use to make sure they have a Mac version or see if you can find an equivalent program written for the Macintosh platform,” Vaughn writes.
Vaughn writes, “Most of your files, such as photographs, letters and music, will be usable on either platform. You can move these files to a new Mac by simply burning them to a CD, copying them over a network or using a specialty program such as Detto Technologies’ Move2Mac ( http://www.detto.com/move2mac ). This $49.95 program includes a special USB cable and will transfer your PC’s data to the appropriate place on your new Mac.”
Vaughn writes, “Other than that, you will just need to spend some time getting used to how things work on a Mac. It is different from Windows, but it does not take long to become comfortable with the Mac operating system. Apple answers many common questions about switching platforms on its Web site ( http://www.apple.com/switch ).”
Full article here.