“With all the buzz surrounding Apple Computer these days, many Windows users are starting to think the unthinkable: Should I switch to a Mac? There are plenty of good reasons to consider a Mac. Most of Apple’s current desktop and laptop models are shipping with Intel Core Solo or, more commonly, Core Duo processors, putting to rest the longtime stigma of ‘overpriced and underpowered’ that critics attached to many Macs. And the release of new products like Boot Camp and Parallels that let you run Windows on a Mac mean that switching is no longer the one-way street it was a few years (or even a few months) ago — which makes the idea of moving to Apple and Mac OS X much easier,” John Welch writes for TechWeb.
“Then there’s the matter of style. Some PC manufacturers have tried, but none can match the sleek sophistication of Apple products — and Apple knows it. You can’t help but notice a certain glee in the way the company’s advertising flaunts its products’ superior design,” Welch writes. “Once you get past the cute commercials and talking heads, there are some hard facts that you need to know to make an intelligent decision about switching. And, to be honest, there are some things about Macs that will seem a little weird if you do make the switch. We’re here to guide the way.”
Welch’s Switching To The Mac Guide includes:
• Price
• Hardware Differences
• Operating System Differences
• Applications
• Running Windows On A Mac
• Mac Security
• Choosing A Mac
• Transferring Data To Your Mac
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: “It was a funny thing,” said Joe Windows User. “I got the Mac because I could run Windows, but after a month or so, I realized I never ran Windows anymore. I guess I’m Joe Mac User now. Why didn’t I do this years ago?!”
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Related articles:
Sydney Morning Herald Tech columnist dumps Microsoft Windows, switches to Apple Mac – June 13, 2006
Moving Microsoft Internet Explorer Favorites to Apple Safari Bookmarks when you switch – June 08, 2006
Apple Boot Camp’s ‘Windows Insecurity Blanket’ helps buyers decide to switch to Macs – May 19, 2006
PC Magazine: Top ten questions and answers about switching to Apple Macintosh – May 18, 2006
Macs that run Windows will calm potential switchers’ irrational fears – April 06, 2006
Top 10 things all Windows to Mac OS X switchers should know – February 13, 2006
Bill Gates: Apple’s Intel switch doesn’t really change anything for Microsoft – January 09, 2006
Because you listened to other joe windows users.
Bahhhhhhhh….buncha windows using sheep. Do you never pay attention to ANY advertising involving non-windows stuff?
First, before you leap, check out the Apple discussions forums (their own site) where 10s of thousands MacBook and MacBook Pro purchasers are suffering lap and leg burns (Apple warned you, though), mooing and whining noises (Apple says they can’t hear ’em) and the white ones are turning brown-ish yellow (Apple says wash your hands).
Steve’s stuff is not ready and his rush to capture PC swithchers before Vista (no matter how awful) is going to fail because the hardware is so defective.
Apple is on a good approach with this “one machine, many OS’s” type approach.
However there is still a slight problem.
With a generic PC one has the option to not order a lot of functionality, which comes in handy for the “dumb terminal” mass produced market. where most PC’s are sold.
Pete –
I have a MacBook that suffers from none of these ailments (nor does it suffer from any virus ailments).
And as for the discoloration factor – come on, you buy something white, you don’t wash your hands, what do you expect?
Pete . . .
To put it mildly, you live in a VERY sheltered world! When you say:
“Steve’s stuff is not ready and his rush to capture PC swithchers before Vista (no matter how awful) is going to fail because the hardware is so defective.”
. . . you REALLY need to visit THIS site!
http://techdirt.com/articles/20060613/103246.shtml
No–I repeat–NO hardware vendor is immune to defective products and poor customer service, but Apple is at the top of a very tall pile . . . with DELL, HP, GATEWAY, and a host of others running a distant second.
My guess at this point is that you’re just another Winfan Troll trying to get a rise in the Community of the Chosen. Go somewhere else, OK? And grow up!
Yes, the Core Duo’s are too hot, Intel has failed, IBM was right that you can’t improve performance and reduce heat. They have the best minds in the buisness.
Performance in laptops is going to be history, Apple can’t add more features to their OS, new apps can’t be created because the processors are too hot.
People demand laptops and the technology for growth is just not there.
Intel conned Apple into believing they can produce a cool laptop dual core, IBM conned Apple into the G5 roadmap.
It’s not Apple’s fault, it’s just the problems with technology. We need a new type of processor. Apple needs to sell hardware.
I need a drinkie.
“Tens of thousands,” Pete? Right. You really need to go back to school and learn to count, old man. (I bet you tell your girl/boyfriend that your johnson is a “foot-longer,” too.)
Oh, and one more thing. Steve isn’t “rushing” to capture PC users before VISTA is released (if it ever is). “Tiger” is already superior to VISTA and has been in users’ hands for well over a year now. “Leopard” will, in fact, precede VISTA and humble the good folks in Redmond as no other operating system ever has.
Pity the poor PC vendor who is STUCK–and I do mean STUCK–with running Windows ONLY, no matter which flavor is currently available. We Mac users can run OS X (the finest operating system in the world, without question), Windows (clearly NOT), Linux, and almost any other OS we wish.
As Henry Ford once said, you can have your Model T in any color you wish . . . as long as it’s black. How sad for you and your ilk.
Pete, give it a rest. “10s of thousands MacBook and MacBook Pro purchasers are suffering lap and leg burns …”? There are not even <u>hundreds</u> of reported cases, much less “thousands” or “tens of thousands”. And few of the reported cases actually resulted in burns. What’s more, you could find similar incidents with most major makers of portable computers. That makes it an “industry” problem and a “user training” problem rather than an “Apple” problem.
Hope you have a good time in Computer Lab showing the other guys, who won’t be going to the Prom either, all the attention you can generate simply by blowing it out your butt.
Amazing that this “Mac writer” gets several basic things wrong in his article, including:
–that Widgets remain on your desktop (rather than in Dashboard)
–that most applications cannot be launched through the Finder but, instead, must be launched from your desktop or from the Dock.
Wow! No experienced Mac user, or even slightly experienced Mac user, would make those mistakes!
Pete,
Rule #1:
Don’t compute in your birthday suit.
Rule #2:
Let’s never discuss your birthday suit again.
That’s a good article. Mostly positive, the bit about security is a little misleading because although it does tell the truth about security on the Mac, (i.e. no system is bullet-proof, but the Mac is light years ahead of Windows), it doesn’t actually boil it down to numbers, i.e. Mac = 4 (proofs of concept), Windows 114,000.
However I think that the very existence of the article in the first place shows that Apple is finally making inroads into Microsoft’s dominance, PC-types are getting interested, and PC zealots are getting worried.
I agree. the only thing really wrong is the security thing. True, OS X is as vulnerable, but there is no malicious content (other than those proof f concepts and poor excuses for trojans awhile back) for it.
But this guide should be put onto other sites and such, definitely a good read for first-timers.
MW: Looks like Apple’s voice is getting louder and louder…
Profane, obscene, nasty – Mac style?
According to Apple at this moment: 114,912 persons concerned about the problems I have raised. That’s 10s of thousands.
MDN’s buddies over at The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) confirming these problems.
Why is it so hard for us to demand the quality Apple is suppose to be so famous for?
I repeat: these Intel laptops are not ready for retail distribution! Period.
Hey, DLMeyer, how do you do that cool underlining thingy with your text?
Me feel left out.
What is so unthinkable about switching to a Mac?
What is so unthinkable about using a Mac that actually works for you and not against you. Doesn’t have viruses, trojans, and spyware fighting you every single day. What is so unthinkable about having a great looking computer that has built in software that will do all of your home media needs like photos,movies, creating music, and listening to music. Also can put things up on the web for you as well. Imagine having a computer that doesn’t blue screen and applications that if they do crash don’t crash your system like Windows. On the Mac you just quit the application and restart the application and your back in business. The system doesn’t think anything of it and you can continue doing whatever you need to get done. What is so unthinkable about having a Mac that runs for months without re-booting. Absolutely nothing, it’s a great computer with a great operating system that is fast,secure, and easy to use and now you can boot Windows if you really need too.
I would love to see an ad where a switcher buys a Mac, installs it, uses it for a few minutes and then takes his old PC out back and shoots it with a shotgun. Too violent for a Mac ad?
Pete Peterson,
Powerbooks/iBooks/MacBooks are “portables” or “notebooks” but not “LAPTOPS”.
Apple has never called them “laptops” (as far back as I can see – way pre-Intel) likely for the very reasons that:
1. It is stupid to balance a $1-3,000 piece of delicate computing hardware so casually
2. EMI emissions so near the reproductive areas isn’t smart
3. Soft, fabric type surfaces only trap heat and reduce airflow which overheats the CPU.
So…
1. Stop putting them on soft surfaces like couches and pillows and beds.
2. Stop running wasteful processes like screensavers or visualizations.
3. Stop putting them on your laps unless you have a hard surface under it.
This applies to ALL so called laptops from ANY maker (particularly Pentium notebooks which are actual blast furnaces.
(Might as well get it over with myself…)
“3. Stop putting them on your laps unless you have a hard surface under it.”
Huhuhuhuhuhhh He said “hard”…
Buy a desk…
I’ve been a Mac customer longer than you have been alive and know all about how Apple has positioned their product names for clever marketing.
But, as we all know, the product is what the customers say it is. So, like it or not, “laptop” is the prevailing name for portables and people do think they ought to be able to use them in all those places you say to stay away from and could care less about instructions to the contrary.
And, there are no portables as scorching as the new Intel offerings from Apple. Repeat: not ready for my money and I really want one but I’m not going to pull out my plastic until Apple gets theirs right.
I will win this argument and you will know it when Apple’s promotes their next generation of portables as “cool” — an outright admission of the heat problem in today’s products!
>I’ve been a Mac customer longer than you have been alive and know all about how Apple has positioned their product names for clever marketing.<
Longer than I’ve been alive? Oh how cute of you to presume I’m young. I’ve been using Macs since day one, professionally.
>But, as we all know, the product is what the customers say it is. So, like it or not, “laptop” is the prevailing name for portables and people do think they ought to be able to use them in all those places you say to stay away from and could care less about instructions to the contrary.<
So what you’re saying is that Windows (or a Dell PC) really is a “!#$%^ g-dd@mned piece of sh1t?”? That’s what their customers say it is…
Users that could care less about usage instructions are what life insurance and Apple Care were made for. I’m fine with them being stupid, just keep the rants out of my earshot.
“I will win this argument and you will know it when Apple’s promotes their next generation of portables as “cool” — an outright admission of the heat problem in today’s products!”
It’s called “progress” in a sea of changing technology and changing demands.
Anicca, Dukkha and Anatta, bitch! Get used to it.
“Yes, the Core Duo’s are too hot…”
—> Yeah, but not just in the MacBooks + Pros. All of the new Win notebooks coming out with the Core Duo’s are quite toasty as well (at least from reviews and podcasts I have heard). I agree that Intel was more than a bit disingenuous about the heat these processors generate. Time will tell if they can fulfill their promise on that one.
“Hey, DLMeyer, how do you do that cool underlining thingy with your text?”
—> Incase he doesn’t revisit this thread, I’ll give ya the “low-down”. Use < u >Enter text here< /u > just like you did with the bold. Take out the spaces in between the <>’s. Underline away!
<u>Triffid – One more thing…….If you have JavaScript enabled, just go down to the feedback box and click on the “Allowed HTML Tags” link just above the box. It will give you a list of formatting features you can use in your posts if desired.</u>