Thinking of Switching to a Mac?
Tim and I have been drooling after the release of the new features that will be appearing in Apple’s Leopard Release. If you have not seen what is coming then definitely check it out. There are heaps of screencasts and screenshots. Both Tim and myself are seriously thinking of making the switch to Apple. As we watched these screencasts we both said the same thing: How the heck can Windows, Vista or otherwise compete with what Mac are starting to offer. The two OS’s are really chalk and cheese for many reasons. Just take a look and decide for yourself. Although there are those questions that gnaw at the back of your brain.
After giving Download Squad a right royal ribbing this week over what we considered quite bias journalism, this week I am impressed! They have a fairly new podcast called “Download Squad Switcher Podcast”, now up to the second edition. Nothing special in so much as there are plenty of Mac podcasts out there. However the second edition was great. The podcast addressed some of my personal concerns over Mac and swapping, especially since these guys were Windows users.
They spoke with Jason Clarke and Lisa Hoover about swapping to a Mac after being windows users. It was great to hear what was good bad and ugly about it. There was not so much ugly though, which is nice.
They covered such topics as:
- The reasons that they switched to a Mac after years of using a Windows based system
- What problems they encountered
- Answered some of the questions regarding software availability, compatibility and alternatives
- What applications they find invaluable on a Mac having come from Windows
- How they went about the process of swapping
- What was frustrating about swapping and how they managed it
- What are the good things that they found having swapped
- What is with the whole no right clicking thing?
I found the podcast very informative and helpful. These guys are like both Tim and I. Avid Windows users who know the OS very well and they made the switch. One suprising thing you might like to know is that Jason Clarke designs Windows applications for mining companies.
I would recommend listening to the show to anyone who is thinking about switching and wants some real life examples of what it was like. Your Mac fan boy mates can rave and rave about Mac, it is good to get a balanced opinion that is also informative and helpful.
One thing that was quite apparent is that with Parallels coming of age and allowing users to have the best of both worlds; Windows users are seriously thinking hard about why they use Windows. I know I am.
Check out the Download Squad Switcher Podcast #2
Dave
While you are at it Have a listen to our Latest Show as Well!
June 15th, 2007 at 10:13 am
I’m about to switch away from the Mac, to Windows. While I still love the Mac OS, I am increasingly frustrated at the drop in quality of basic OS functions and application quality requirements with every new release. Before OS9, every action could be completed with keyboard shortcuts, every release since then has dropped some, so many are gone now that some applications have few left at all. After operating at high speed during the day on Windows, it’s getting ever more annoying to have to slow down and do everything the hard way. If you’re a power user, consider your work speed before making the switch.
June 15th, 2007 at 5:09 pm
The macbook is the first notebook I’ve bought. The first workstation I bought was a NeXT. Before that I only had homemade garbage. I’m really happy with OS X but I’m a long time unix (Solaris and BSD) user. If you want to switch expect adapting to OS X to take a long time. I’ve seen it first hand. We switched some managers at work from thinkpads to powerbooks in 2004 and some of them had a terrible time.
btw - The latest TUAW podcast looks interesting.
June 15th, 2007 at 5:19 pm
Interesting perspectives guys thanks for the input. It all helps!