Helpdesk Challenge – switching from PC to Mac
Most people I know that own a Mac tell me how much better they are than PCs, yet plenty of PC owners are hesitant about making the switch, or happily maintain that there are benefits to working with a PC.
There were a number of ad campaigns brought out by Apple both in America and in the UK, wittily highlighting the advantages of a Mac over a PC. Understandably, these reflected a corporate marketing message (the fun versus the staid and boring), and PCs hardly came off well.
There are plenty of defences for choosing a PC over a Mac, and for many people, these will be sufficient to deter them from switching over to the Apple side of the fence. As always, there are two sides to every argument.
Reasons to love a Mac
…the sleek and simplistic design looks great
…it works well with other Apple products
…you can run Windows alongside Mac OS X using Boot Camp
…there are fewer Mac-targeting viruses (although they do now exist)
…if you have any problems, it’s simple to call Applecare
…the software is slick and simple to use
Reasons to love a PC
…it’s fully customisable
…there’s a wide support system available
…there are stylish ultrabooks to choose from these days
…you can easily upgrade components
…there’s a wide range of software available
…you can easily find cheap laptop PCs
But how about those who have experienced both technologies, and have switched from PC to Mac? Or even – whisper it – switched from Mac to PC?
Have you switched? And if so, how long did it take to adapt, and what was the hardest part of the transition for you?
Lastly, can you share any advice with people who might be considering changing either from a Windows PC to a Mac or from a Mac to a PC?
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dan thorley
At home I’ve gone completely Mac at work Windows. Nothing compares to Mac stuff for ease of use and reliability , but nothing compares to Excel Access and Word and Windows explorer in Mac world and although I have Office for Mac it doesn’t work as well as on Windows. So in my opinion if you want basically internet -music home email , by a mac, if you need the higher end of microsoft funtionality with word, access and excel etc by a Windows based product. Or ideally have one of each!
John
True, but MS Office for Mac and for Windows have different update cycles. So for a year or two the Mac version might be the better, then the Windows version leapfrogs it and is better for a couple of years. I believe the Windows version is currently in the lead.
Then there’s Bootcamp and other solutions that allow you to run Windows on your Mac. Bootcamp is every bit as fast as a ‘real PC’; the others are slower but still adequate for most purposes.
Avro
Can’t agree here. For presentations Keynote is better than PowerPoint and for writing Scrivener is better than Word, but as you say Excel is in a class of its own although Numbers is less fussy for a Home User.
John
I’ve worked in the IT industry all my life. At work I’ve (mostly) used Windows PCs. At home i’ve (mostly) used Macs.
Macs are not perfect. But they are by far the better machine for home use. In the last quarter of a century I have NEVER needed professional help with a Mac. But even someone like me, with a reasonable technical knowledge, needs the PC Helpdesk a couple of times a year.
It’s a no-brainer.
David B
I started to switch to Mac a few years ago. At the time I was deliberating for ages due to the high PERCEIVED cost of Mac, however I now know that like for like, Mac are better value, that is IF you can find any pc to do the same job as efficiently.
At that time, what decided me on making the move, was spending around 12 hours on what should have been a simple software installation on my pc. Since then I’d say I’ve probably saved around 1 month per year by having a Mac compared to pc. I save time every day when my Mac boots up in seconds, I don’t have to spend frustrating hours fixing glitches, the Mac just works.
Some people are making judgements on why others buy Macs. This is not really helpful, and I suspect that the people doing it are PC users trying to convince themselves that they are right! All I can say is, just try a Mac for yourself, and you’ll see the beauty is much more than skin deep.
In summary, I would say Mac is easier to use, easier to live with, requires much less frequent updating, less prone to crashes, viruses and failure, retains much more value, and total cost of ownership is lower, due to longer lifespan combined with other factors above.
Sandie
I’d like to try a Mac as all the people I know who have one think they’re the bees knees. But I really couldn’t justify the cost. We have 4 windows computers in this house, the oldest is 9 years old. All still going strong, they update themselves, have never had a virus, rarely crash, and are easily updated when they are getting on a bit and need more memory etc etc. Maybe I’ve just been lucky, and yes, I’d like to try a MAC to see what all the fuss is about, but having had a great experience with the windows system – and Linux on the old machine – I can’t help but feel Macs are somewhat overpriced, but it’s horses for courses, and whatever suits.
Colin
I noticed a few recommendations for Linux. Be prepared for hours of frustration with Linux unless you are a very experienced programmer with Unix type language. Every time I have upgraded Linux on my laptop I have lost the wireless connection. I have spent hours following up advice from other users and finally given up and gone back to Windows. I am tempted to try an iMac, but am waiting fot the upgrade!
Peter West
I grew up through Sinclair ZX80, 81, Spectrum etc and for years with PCs at home. My wife a technophobe wed to pen, paper and books was surprised that she liked the Kindle, which she uses at meal times and in bed night and morning. She then took to the iPad 2 and e-mails rather than writing.
I am now 73, and using my iPad more than the PC and having seen others with Mac’s and my wife hating all the wires and the PC Tower blocking out the light I have purchased a MacBook Pro with retina screen.
Instead of Word, Excel and PowerPoint I have Pages, Numbers and Keynote.
To fully appreciate the Retina screen I have ordered 2 pairs of reading glasses (upstairs/downstairs).
Although I have only had the MacBook a month I am converted to it. The seconds in which it boots up, the convenience of its light weight and my first ever video put together without too much difficulty.
Fortunately the Apple store is where my wife likes to shop, I had been in a few times to view what was for sale, and play on them, feel the weight etc.
I did not pay for a year of one to one, but have twice this week gone in for a workshop. I was amazed that there were only three of us at the first hour on iMovie so we all could ask our questions as well as listen to a very experienced teacher. The next day I was the only one at the workshop so I had an hour one to one for free! The workshops were at the table nearest the door so I could have been distracted but was not.
I have a disabled friend with a big iMac and carried it for him and listened to his hour one to one.
I heard about the ‘Genius Bar’ upstairs where you could book a 15 minute slot with an expert, with your computer and was amazed to find that it is free too, even when the computer is out of warranty.
I am very grateful for all the opinions expressed above, most helpful!
snowball
Your reference to ZX80 caught my eye. I am a few years your junior, but that was my first computer (which I still have) and I went from there through BBC micro (yes, programming in BBC basic was great fun), to many years on PCs. Two years ago I bit the bullet and bought an iMac. Night became day.
I saw a comment in this month’s Computing magazine by “TR” who used the analogy of going from a right-hand-drive to a left-hand-drive car. I would go further, it’s like going from a right-hand-drive Nissan Pixo to a left-hand-drive BMW 3 series.
Tony Foulkes
I note that there have been very few recent comments, but the latest WHICH? Invited them still, so here goes: I have just bought a MacBook Pro as my wife and I are now retired and no longer need a system compatible with our previous workplaces.
Although offered the one to one, I felt we were both computer literate enough to manage with just workshops/genius bar assistance. Despite haing an iPhone and iPad, I have found the transition from pc to mac unnecessarily frustrating and time consuming.
The MacBook came with just a QuickStart guide and no other instructions as to the MacBook or the OS Lion. There were no up to date manuals on line. I did print the “latest” on line manual, but it was talking about number lock keys and a smart drive that my machine did not have.
On returning to the Apple store, staff were very helpful but were unable to assist with either the OS guide or the manual for my mac. They did print off the most up to date manual they could find on their shop system, which was not available in the public domain and told me to use it in conjunction with the user guide which should suffice.
As Amazon offered delivery of osx lion for dummies and mac os x “manual” within 24 hours I purchased them – interestingly the latter is subtitled “the missing manual – the book that should have been in the box”. How true this is. Having to buy guides has also added to the already high cost of the MacBook.
It seems amazing that in today’s modern world, when a cheap calculator seems to come with a multi-page user guide and operating instructions, that an expensive (nearly £2000 all in) and life changing device such as the MacBook comes without.
To date, I have been unable to really start the transition from pc to mac – my experiences so far have been most discouraging – however, I will persevere …. at the price I paid I will have to!
Keith Maunder
I have been a Mac convert since 2008 and nothing would induce me return to Windows. I occasionally have to help others with their Windows machines, and I hate it. There are many reasons for owning a Mac, most of which have been referred to by others, but in my view the single most important reason is Time Machine. This is an infallible way of backing up your entire hard drive so that, if anything goes wrong with your computer, or you need to replace it, you can restore your machine to exactly as it was before it went wrong or had to be replaced.
I have once renewed the hard drive because I ran out of space and I replaced my Mac about 2 years ago. On both occasions I clicked on “restore from Time Machine” and within a few minutes my new machine/hard drive was an exact replica of my old one. I think that, to do that with a Windows machine would be much more laborious and would require a far greater degree of skill, not required by Apple.
Apple Mac Support London
Time Machine offers an easy, elegant solution to backing up a hard drive. Microsoft also provides backup solutions, but nothing as smooth and simple as Time Machine.