Switch to Mac from Win - Should I ???

[Bharat Roy]

Hi folks,

I am a long time user of Windows and never got any problems like crashing etc (strange but true ). Will it be a good idea to switch to Mac (Power book.)

What abt the speed. The G4 is 1.6 GHz, which is equivalent to Intel's 2.4 GHz. But Intel has crossed 3.3 GHz mark.

What about ease of use. I personally hate command line (although I know UNIX very well).

Java is available but what abt .Net. Being a s/w Developer I might get .net projects too.

What other thing I should consider before switching to Mac.

Please try to be impartial and kindly provide comments.

Thanks

[marc weber]

I'm in the same situation: A longtime Windows user who's planning on making "the switch."

For me, the main consideration is that Java 1.5 is not yet available on a Mac. By all accounts, this will be included in the next version of the operating system -- coincidentally called "Tiger" -- which is officially scheduled for the "first half of 2005" (although I just heard from an Apple Store Manager that 3rd quarter is more realistic). I was going to wait, but since it might be a while...

Anyway, that's something to consider: Mac users must rely on Apple to keep Java current. You can't just download from Sun.

As far as "speed," it's difficult to make one-to-one comparisons, because it really depends on what you're doing. My understanding is that some applications run quicker on a Mac, while others run a little slower.

"Ease of use" is also difficult to compare. In general, Macs are known for their ease of use. BUT this also depends on what you're doing -- not to mention how engrained your own Windows habits are, and how open you might be to doing things new ways.

.NET is a tough one. I have no idea whether "Virtual PC" could handle this or not... Anyone?
[ February 22, 2005: Message edited by: marc weber ]

[Warren Dew]

Virtual PC emulates at the hardware level, so it should be able to handle Microsoft dot net.

For 1.5, you might get on the beta list for the OS X Tiger release, which I believe includes a beta of 1.5.

[Venkatraman Kandaswamy]

This might be off topic but I had to tell. Earlier I read this post and skipped it - did not want to get into a win vs mac war...But some time back I was searching for a word in Outlook's compose page( am at work - only windows..) and Control-F was opening a duplicate of the edit window. Now it seems Find is F4 inside outlook. The design lead for Outlook ought to be shot. All other office products including the lame notepad have consistent short cuts. Such little annoyances which we in windows world live with are virtually non existent in OS X. Everything is intuitive and work the way its supposed to. And once you have bought your powerbook install geektool, quicksilver, virtual desktop - all free apps. You will suddenly discover how productive you really are !!

[Bear Bibeault]

My story, short version:

When making the switch from PC to Mac, I started at the beginning of a new year (2002, I think it was) and made it a New Year's resolution to get myself up and running doing web app development on OS X rather than Windows. I gave myself the first quarter to convert.

It took me 3 days before I found that I could shut the PC down and never start it up again.

It's a bit telling that my previous experience with Windows had jaded me to the point that I estimated 3 months for what turned out to be a 3-day task.

[marc weber]

Originally posted by Bear Bibeault:
It's a bit telling that my previous experience with Windows had jaded me to the point that I estimated 3 months for what turned out to be a 3-day task.

My plan is to "pilot" this by switching my laptop to a Mac. Then, if all goes well, my desktop would follow. Interestingly, I was envisioning at least a few months to get used to a Mac.

I think Windows has taught me to be nervous about changing anything, so this seems like a real leap of faith. But I suspect that after a few days on a Mac, I'll wonder why I waited so long.

[Bear Bibeault]

But I suspect that after a few days on a Mac, I'll wonder why I waited so long.

That was certainly my experience. I can't guarantee it'll be yours, but it's certainly not uncommon.

I still have to endure the "I told you so"'s from my room-mate who had been trying to get me to try out Macs for years. In my own defense I'll just state that I never could wrap my head around OS 9; it wan't until OS X hit that I became intrigued enough to give it a go.

[Ray Muirhead]

The command line is actually difficult to get to -- it's hidden away in a 'utility' folder.
And as for ease of use, whenever I use windows I'm always hitting the F9 key for Expose. Believe me, as soon as you see it go 'whoosh' and realise that you can navigate your windows at lightspeed and multitask like there is no tomorrow, you'll be sold. You could try going into an Apple reseller and just playing with one for a while and seeing if you like it.

[Bear Bibeault]

The command line is actually difficult to get to -- it's hidden away in a 'utility' folder.

I'm not sure I'd classify that as 'difficult', but it was probably an appropriate usability choice since the average user wouldn't use it (my graphic designer room-mate averts his eyes whenever I am madly typing in unix commands).

Since I use Terminal so often, I created a shortcut to it in the Dock and it's readily available.

And I completely agree: Expose is da bomb!
[ February 25, 2005: Message edited by: Bear Bibeault ]