Do you have some Windows-suffering friends and/or family? It’s about time the madness ended. Help stamp out PC Stockholm Syndrome once and for all.
“It’s About Time” to learn the Switch to Mac, from “It’s About Time” Products, is the first and only completely interactive learning tool that guides users through a typical day in Windows (idealized, without the crashes, security issues, virus scanning, etc.); then, teaches the equivalent on your Mac. So in about an hour, Windows to Mac switchers can become familiar with the basics of using their new Macs.
As users progress through the learning tool, the onscreen instructor shows them the steps they went through to complete a task in Windows; then, teaches how the same task is performed on a Mac. The best part is, right after the instructor walks the user through a lesson, they can try it themselves and receive immediate feedback.
Here’s what’s covered:
• Using Mail to configure and check e-mail
• Scheduling events with e-mail alarms in iCal
• Adding contacts to your Address Book
• Changing your desktop background and right-clicking
• Organizing files in your home folder
• Locating all of your applications
• Using the Dock to quickly open your favorite applications
• Browsing the web using Safari
• Finding anything on your Mac with Spotlight
• Exposé
• Dashboard and Widgets
“It’s About Time” to learn the Switch to Mac retails for US$29.95.
System Requirements
• Mac OS X v10.4.4 or later
• 1.25 GHz or faster PowerPC G4 or G5 or Intel Core Duo processor
• 512MB RAM
• 200MB free hard-disk space
• 1280 x 720 or higher display resolution
More info via Apple Store online: “It’s About Time” to learn the Switch to Mac.
For anyone considering this training aid, you can download a brief demo here:
http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/home_learning/itsabouttimetolearntheswitchtomac.html
Some have criticized this tutorial for being too basic, but my feeling is that anyone who needs a tutorial to prevent new-computer-panic from setting in will probably be quite satisfied with the basics—at least in the beginning. And if they aren’t fortunate enough to have Mac-saavy friends to help them with the transition from Windows to Mac, spending a few bucks on learning aids is not unreasonable. A computer is not a toaster and never has been.
“System Requirements
• Mac OS X v10.4.4 or later”
Actually that is the first version of OSX that went universal/intel. I know the software runs both platforms, but Apple is not really looking for people scrubbing the used market for a Mac. Which makes it doubly a shame Apple doesn’t license it and offer it as a pre-installed freebie on a new or reconditioned Mac.
“A computer is not a toaster and never has been.”
But there was a close call:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_Toaster
As has been mentioned, there’s One-to-One training – $99 for a one-hour session every week for a year, from the basics to the technical stuff.
There’s also the tutorials mentioned.
There’s also the Learning Center in .Mac – again, $99.
And, during the first 90 days – or for 3 years if they got AppleCare – they can call phone support all they want and ask tons of questions, the support specialist is supposed to take them step-by-step through doing things.
They can also just go to an Apple store and ask a bunch of questions. At some point, the Mac Specialist will want to recommend One-to-One and/or .Mac, but your cousin and his wife can say, “Thanks, we’re just looking.” if they don’t want to spend another $99 for some reason.
Does it go over installing apps? That always seems to be the biggest issue with switchers that I have seen.
There is a similar tutorial for Windoze but it is much shorter:
Chapter 1 – “Ctrl-alt-delete is your friend”
Chapter 2 – “Understanding the Blue Screen of Death”
Chapter 3 – “Rebooting your PC”
Chapter 4 – “Surviving .dll hell”
Chapter 5 – “Reinstalling Windoze”
Chapter 6 – “10 things to do with your dead PC”
Chapter 7 – “Where to buy a Mac”
thanks @MikeK for the free tutorial links that I can pass along.
MW: company as in “in the company of Mac users”
As a recent Mac buyer I am not frustrated by “converting” because I know it is just like a new language that will take a little time to master. My frustration comes from things that don’t work right. I have had repeated problems with projects printing only 1/3 of a page, or getting text to wrap around a picture in a newsletter. Advertising is also misleading by claiming things can be done right out of the box. I had to buy a word processing program and it looks like I will need to buy iPages to do a proper newsletter etc. The ads make it seem like there is no need to buy any software. Maybe I was naive.
As mentioned I recommend that if your familys near an Apple store they attend the Getting Started workshop. It’s a great resource. They can check apple.com/retail for their local store and times of the workshops.
I help switch a pal a few years ago and he would phone me wanting to throw his Mac out the window. Of course he refused to accept that he needed to look at the manual/help from time to time to sort out the little things he was doing wrong.
After about two months of difficulty everything seemed to click. I guess he ‘forget’ the PC stuff he had learnt. His wife now has an iMac. She adores it with a passion. As she had not been a PC user, I think she just took to it and had no preconceived notions as to how a computer ‘should’ work.
They are both now full of that proselytising zeal of the true Macolyte.
Friends don’t let friends use Windows.
I’m so happy to hear that there are some more resources available for Switchers, and at a good price too (although it could be cheaper). Anything that Apple can do to make X-Windows user more comfortable with their new Operating System is good in my book.
MikeK: Walk them through installing Vine Server (free) and you can use whatever VNC client you prefer such as Chicken of the VNC. It’s all free and in an hour you’ll have them over the hump. I agree with @MikeK, if we convince someone to switch ya gotta be there to hold their hand across the street.
MW light: ya gotta show them the light
There’s always Mac 101 and Switch 101.
(Ooops, shoulda read above posts more carefully)
One of the guys in my office just cannot seem to get that when you close a window, you leave the application running. By the time he’s lined up the cursor with the little red dot in the top right of an open window and clicked it, he could have closed four or five applications with Command + Q, Command + Tab.
Is it that hard?
John Davis