My Experiences Switching to a Mac

Sometimes you just feel like shaking things up in your life. That's the way I became when I was finally able to upgrade from my failing Compaq laptop. I had played around with whether or not to purchase a new Windows desktop or laptop, but after recommending an iPod to my sister for her music, I started checking into the Mac. Now, I am typing this on my Mac Mini that I have had for a couple of weeks now.

My Computer Background

I had always used a PC at home. Well, our first family computer back in the early 90's was a Tandy 1000, but that was really before Windows 95 conquered the world. The next computer we had was a custom built, cheap-o Windows 95 machine with a whopping 150 mhz processor. In 2000, my high school graduation gift from my parents was a HP Pavilion desktop that was the computer special at Wal-Mart on Black Friday. I stood in line for like three hours to buy it passing the time by playing that “Snake” on my mom's cell phone. I don't recall much of the specs for it, but it had Windows ME and 128 megabytes of RAM (put in an additional 256 later). It got me through college and just beyond before I gave it to my sister and it crashed for her shortly thereafter. I had a company issued Dell laptop with Windows XP for a couple of years after that. That may have been the best computer for its time that I have used. Unfortunately, that job did not work out. After leaving that computer and job, we purchased my Compaq laptop which was on sale that weekend at Best Buy. It came with Windows Vista (which honestly has never really bugged me that much), 80 gigabyte hard drive, and 1 gigabyte of RAM (upgraded it to 2 gigabytes that next Christmas). I confess to pretty much abusing the poor thing. Had to reinstall Windows once and now there are lines on the screen where the hinges have wore out. I have been afraid it may crash at any minute.

As for Macs, I used them in school when we got to go to the computer labs and such. I wonder how many hours I typed away during Mario Teaches Typing? Anyway, I actually go back far enough to have been in a class that won an APPLE IIe desktop in an art show. That's about it.

Why I Switched

I mainly decided to switch for a change of pace. I was looking at learning the new Windows 7 anyway, so things were going to be different. I had used Windows basically 100% since around 1996. I was really excited about learning something new.

I also switched because it seemed that Apple makes a much better product. I had mostly used very low end, cheap computers and was ready for a little quality. Seeing the longevity of many of the used Macs for sale (and their surprising resale value) convinced me that the Mac is a well built machine. The prospect of having a functional computer last for years and still have some value seems to be a foreign concept in the PC world.

The software that comes on the Mac, including OSX, has really intrigued me. My past experiences with Apple software was simply that I despised Quicktime on Windows. When I looked at things like GarageBand and iMovie I could not find anything like them on Windows without dropping a bunch of money. Quality software coming standard? I usually spent a week just uninstalling bloatware from my PC's and then reinstalling various open source programs. I hardly used anything that came “standard” with the system!

The ease of using the Mac that I hear about really became a major factor. I was very tired of the complexity of the Windows interface. It seemed that nothing was simple and every new version of Windows just make it even more complex.

The Big Purchase

It wasn't a quick decision to purchase a Mac. I researched about them online and watching dozens of YouTube videos on Macs. I played around with them for a little while at Best Buy. I finally decided to buy one and was able to convince my wife on it.

I then faced the biggest hurdle I had to cross in making the switch: the “Mac Tax”. Most of my computers have been the bargain basement variety. I think the most I have personally spent up front on one was my Compaq laptop which $500 (I think, may have been $600). With the Mac I was looking at spending around $1,000 easily. This really made the bargain PC's much more appealing.

As to which Mac to purchase, it came down to simple process of elimination. I did not like the 13” screen of the MacBook, and the price tag of the MacBook Pro ruled it out. I really liked the iMac, especially since it comes with everything you would want in one package. I looked at the 21.5” models but it was still a little more than I wanted to spend.

I looked into buying a used Mac, but was put off by the prices and not getting a warranty. The only Macs I could find that I was comfortable with the price were badly outdated. I did not want to buy one with a PowerPC processor since they are now obsolete. The prices may have drove me away from buying a used Mac, but they also made me comfortable in buying a new one since they seemed to hold their value very well.

This left me with one last option: the Mac Mini. I liked the power they were able to pack into the small box, plus I figured I could save at least $200 after setting it up compared buying an iMac (more on that later). It was just a matter of finding the best deal.

If you have shopped for Macs you know that it is practically impossible to find a bargain on one. Macs rarely go on sale and it is next to impossible to find a new Mac discounted more than 5% or so. Some places like MacMall.com add other items to make it a better overall deal for the bundle, but only if you need the things they include. There are some tricks that people claim will save you some cash, but most are very marginal in real value.

The only real way I found to save substantially (10%-15%) on a Mac was by purchasing a refurbished Mac through Apple.com. This was the best deal I could find and the products come with the same warranty as new ones. The problem with buying a refurb is that you have to catch them when they become available. I don't think there is a set schedule so you have to keep checking back multiple times a day. I do think they update it a few minutes past the hour when they do. Anyway, when the refurb items become available, the best deals go within 15 minutes from my experience. We tried to purchase two other Mac Mini's that were bought out from under us before checking out. Apple really needs to fix that because we went all the way through the checkout process two straight times only to get a message about the product no longer being available. They told us they would...

So I purchased a refurbished Mac Mini for $599. It's the current base model with 2.26 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo processor. Yes that is the original price of the base model, but mine came with the upgraded hard drive (320 gigabytes). So essentially I got the standard base model Mac Mini with the free hard drive upgrade (regularly $100). Not too bad of a deal, and about as good as you'll find.

The Mini shipped the same day as the purchase, and I got it the next day. The keyboard came two days after purchase. Pretty amazing considering I used their free shipping option. The problem was that I had the computer a day before the keyboard. Also, the day I got the keyboard was when I got paid and was going to buy a monitor. So I had a new computer sitting on my desk that I could not use for over 24 hours! Talk about torture!

Outfitting the Mac

I went ahead and purchased a Mac keyboard at the same time as buying the Mac Mini. I really wanted a Mac keyboard, just for the sake of having the correctly labeled keys. Looked at other brands, but went with the Apple made wired keyboard with numeric keyboard. I do like it a lot. It is very solid and has a great feel. My only only real complaint is that the space bar is much louder than the other keys.

The rest of my set up I bought at Best Buy. I bought a 20” HP monitor that came with the DVI cord. If you do buy a Mac Mini, bear in mind that it only comes with an adapter dongle for DVI. You can purchase adapters for most other types of connections for around $20.

I did purchase on Microsoft product: a wireless usb mouse. I had mixed emotions about the Apple Magic Mouse. It is an amazing device, but two drawbacks for me: price ($70) and uncomfortable, flat design. I wanted a wireless mouse, and just found one that I liked at a decent price. Ended up being a Microsoft mouse. I think it is kind of funny having a Microsoft mouse on an Apple computer. Feel kind of like I am sticking it to both sides of the computer battle.

Setting Up the Mac

Got the Mac set up pretty easily. Was playing with the monitor during the boot up so I missed part of the welcome video. The mouse did not want to work at first, but I was able to fix it by re-syncing it.

The only issue I had was with setting up my Sprint usb wireless modem. I live in a rural area and it was the only real option available to me outside of dial-up. I have had it almost a year using it with my Compaq laptop. When I plugged it in, it installed the software and drivers and worked fine. It prompted me for an update, and then everything fell apart. After the update it refused to work. Did a little searching online (on my laptop) and found that this is a common issue. I had to uninstall the Sprint software, remove a system folder it created, then install the latest version of the software from the Sprint website. It finally worked. In fact, it is pretty awesome to use it on the Mac since you can bypass the Sprint SmartView software. I'm not going to go into details here, but you can look it up.

Something that made me instantly love the Mac was setting up my Lexmark all-in-one printer. I knew it was Mac compatible, so I knew it would eventually work. Every printer I have ever set up in Windows required install disks and half an hour of hassle. With the Mac, I just plugged it in and it worked. That's it. Well, at least the printer worked. I couldn't get the scanner to work, but that's not a big deal because I can scan to a memory card or flash drive. I just haven't taken time to really play with it.

Mac Software

Let me give you a run down on some of the Mac software. There are some amazing applications that come standard and some glaring omissions.

Finder - Think Windows Explorer. It's the program that you use to browse files. A few things I don't like about it: the ugly icon, the inability to keep files automatically sorted, and the folders are sorted among the files when sorting.

Dashboard – I never used the Windows Sidebar, but that's basically what this is. I do like it a lot, I just don't use it much. You hit F4 or click the icon in the Dock and it pops up. It then will disappear from view just as easily.

Mail – I do like the Mall app better than any other I have used (Outlook, Outlook Express, Thunderbird). It does everything a email application should.

Safari – I want to like it. I became frustrated with it using tabs and just downloaded Firefox. I will probably play with it more, but for now I have all my passwords and bookmarks transferred to Firefox from my laptop.

Address Book – Haven't done too much in here, but probably will soon. You can store contact info in here and it works seamlessly with other Mac apps like Mail and iCal.

iCal – Calendar application. Not sure what makes it special other than it working with other Mac apps.

iTunes – music player and organizer. Integrated with the iTunes store where you can purchase and download movies, music, and more. I do like how it organizes music, but find playing only one song or album to be difficult (maybe I just don't know how).

iPhoto – organizes and does basic editing of photos. Pretty cool, but you can get basically the same functionality with Google's Picasa.

iMovie – this program is pretty amazing. It is pretty basic as far as video editing software goes, but that is including software that is hundreds of dollars. Just sort of professional editing, this is more than adequate. Of all the software on the Mac, this is the one I think set is apart most.

iDVD – A very cool application that you can use to create great looking DVDs. Pretty simple to use with some great looking templates. Used in conjunction with iMovie and iPhoto there are a lot of possibilites.

GarageBand – This is really two programs in one. One one side it is an amazing guitar lesson program. On the other it is a basic multi-track recording suite that is not really very special.

Chess – THE ONLY GAME THAT COMES ON THE MAC. No solitaire. Only chess. It is pretty tough, too!

iWeb – Build web pages. Haven't played around in it.

iChat – I know that is program is highlighted in most Mac advertisements, but I find it useless. If you like to chat a lot online (I don't), you might like it. You can use it to video chat if (1)you have a iSight camera or other webcam on you Mac and (2) the other person is also on a Mac and using iChat. Therefore, you can video chat only with other Mac users.

TextEdit – the only word processor that comes on the Mac. It is the equivalent of WordPad on windows. This to me is a major drawback on the Mac: the lack of basic office programs. This can be solved easily by downloading NeoOffice or purchasing Microsoft Office for Mac, but it would be great to have something like Microsoft Works ready to go.

FrontRow – A pretty cool media center application. It can be launched at any time hitting Command+Esc.

TimeMachine – A backup solution that you can back up your files on an external hard drive. Pretty cool in how it works. Once I get all my files transferred over I will play with it more.

There is also not a lot of choices out there as far as third-party software. Most of the software is high quality, but it can be hard to find. This isn't a big deal to me, except when it comes to kids' games. Most games are PC only anyway, which is not a problem for me. I do wish there were more preschool games.

Also on the subject of software, older software may not work on your new Mac. Software for pre-OSX Macs used to run on OSX using something called Classic. That does not work in Snow Leopard or even Leopard. Therefore, the software must say that it works on OSX (10.1 and up) without mentioning Classic. Don't worry so much about software that mentions PowerPC's. These still work using an additional, automatically-installed program called Rosetta.

One word about Bible software: be prepared to buy. There is a free program called MacSword that is functional, but not very good compared to Windows offerings. I fell in love with E-Sword on Windows, but it is not available on Mac. There are a few commercial programs available, such as Quickverse and Accordance., but be prepared to spend $50+.

A Whole New World

So how different is a Mac to use? It is different, but most of it I think most users will be used to inside of a week. You still work with files contained in folders. You still use applications to get things done. Most people could probably jump in and get used to it very quickly.

Instead of the Start Menu, applications are launched from the Dock that is located on the bottom on the screen by default. Adding and removing programs is as easy as dragging them on and off the dock. I really like the Dock.

Using applications is a little different. The window is not usually full screen. It seems the Mac environment is designed for using a dozen windows at once. You can very easily switch between open windows by utilizing Expose. I love Expose! You can see the open windows and switch between them with just a couple of clicks.

The weirdest thing to me about programs is that they often stay open after the window is closed. Very different from Windows. To close the applications, you have to right click on the icon in the Dock and click close, press Command-Q, or close the program through the menu bar. In a way it is very weird, but then again it is very handy at times that the programs stay open. Especially if you are opening a bunch of files.

Working with files in Finder is a mixed bag. I hate the way it organizes the files. They don't automatically line up or snap to grid. You can do that, it just doesn't do it automatically. I do like the customization options though. Spring loaded folders is very cool. It allows you to drag a file onto a folder and then that folder opens. You can navigate through folders very easily this way.

I love the many ways to preview files. You can view flip through the pages of a pdf file inside of Finder without opening the files. You can play videos the same way. It just does it inside the file icon. There is also an option called QuickLook that lets you preview many types of files without opening them in an application. This works for many types of images and movies.

One very odd thing to me is ejecting discs. If you have something like a DVD in the drive, it shows up as an icon on your desktop. There is no eject button on the computer to eject the disc. There is a button on your Mac keyboard you can use. Otherwise, you drag the disc icon to your Trash. Strange.

Installing programs is very cool. The installation information always comes in a disc image format (which puts them on your desktop when you open them and then require ejecting). Some programs have installation programs like you are used to. Others have an icon for the program that you drag into the Applications folder on the Dock. It is so simple.

One last thing that takes a little getting used to is the keyboard. If you are a Windows keyboard shortcut expert, it may take a little getting used to the Mac and its keyboard arrangement. For instance, Cut, Copy, and Paste, on Windows is Control-X, Control-C, and Control-P respectively. On the Mac, it is Command-X, Command-C, and Command-P. Doesn't sound too different, but look at the keyboard layouts. The Command key is located on a Mac keyboard where the Alt key is on a Windows keyboard. You have to retrain your hands to do some of these basic commands.

My Two Week Review

It has been a little over two weeks since I got my Mac. Let me give you my honest opinions thus far as to the experience:

• Overall, I do like it. Love a lot of things, absolutely hate some.

• I still have a little buyer's remorse, but it has been going away.

• There is a lack of third-party software. Especially with games and kids' software.

• Setting up various peripherals and hardware is super easy (except the Sprint bug).

• Love the iPhoto screen-savers and slideshows.

• Major problem in not including some basic office software.

• The Bible software selection stinks.

• The transition is much easier if you use many open source apps that are also on Mac.

• Hate the way Finder organizes files, but love how it works with them.

• I still don't feel any cooler (like the guy in the commercials).

OK, so now I have been a Mac user for FIVE weeks. Let me give you some bullet points on my feelings now...

• I think I can now safely say I love using the Mac. Still some issues, but many positives.
• Feeling little to no buyer's remorse now. I'm happy that I made the switch.
• There are still issues with finding software. Had a game given to my four year old for his birthday that was bought brand new off the shelf at Target that flat did not work (it was Learning with Nemo, and it didn't even work on in Windows Vista either). I will not buy any software without checking online to make sure it is compatible with Snow Leopard.
• There is no drawing/graphics/paint program included. Needed one the other day and found that out.
• iPhoto really needs a way to find and delete duplicate photos. iTunes can show duplicate tracks, so why can't iPhoto do the same?
• MS Office for Mac 2008 is not that great. Got it through special volume license pricing through my job, and I'm glad I paid a tiny fraction of its retail cost. Stick with NeoOffice.
• I just got used to using the "Home" and "End" keys in the last few months to jump to the beginning or end of a line of text. Evidently the Mac OS doesn't work like that.
• If you are have an internet plan like I do that limits your usage each month (Sprint's plans only include 5 gigabytes bandwidth each month), then you'd better turn off the Automatic Updates.
• I really like GarageBand for recording my "podcasts" for the website. I don't have a great microphone, but I can hide it in GarageBand.
• I'm thinking about expanding the recordings to an actual "podcast" lineup and trying to get on iTunes. Worth a try!
• Finder still frustrates me in how it organizes files. I just want Folders handled separately when sorting, is that too much to ask for?
• Multitasking is amazing in the Mac OS. It seemed that if you had three or four programs open at once on my Windows laptop that it would slow to a crawl. Other than a cluttered workspace I never even realize I have more programs running that what I am using. This is great because I always get in a hurry and click the wrong icons in the Dock.
• One very big thing that I LOVE is that when the Mac OS starts up, it is ready to go. I got so tired of waiting an extra minute before actually using Windows so that all the background programs could start up. When your desktop appears on the Mac, it is ready for action.
• Well, everything is ready after start up except for my Sprint wireless card (is it just me or do I have a lot of problems with that thing?) which I have to unplug before using it after a restart.
• I don't regret the desktop purchase, but I think I will miss having a laptop.
• I'm now very interesting in picking up other Apple products. I don't think I'd use it that much but I would like an iPod, probably the Nano. I am really fascinated with the iPad, until I see the price tag...
• Reformatted my old laptop and will be giving it to some family soon. No turning back now!
• What do I miss from Windows............. the way it sorted files in Explorer. I think that's about it.
• Programs I miss? E-Sword and Baseball Mogul.
• I've got to get a program to code these pages in that has spell check!

Seven weeks into using a Mac. Here's some more thoughts...

• Still love it.
• I think anyone making the switch and lasting for at least six weeks will not go back.
• Finally figured out the really annoying keyboard issue involving the HOME and END. Command plus the arrow keys does the same thing.
• The thing that made me hate Quicktime on Windows back in the days of Windows 95 was that it kept wanting to update. Maybe its just an Apple thing because there have been a lot of updates in the past weeks.
• Finally bought something off iTunes: the Season Pass for 19 Kids and Counting for my wife. Amazon usually is cheaper for digital downloads, and did not even check before buying this.
• GIMP stinks on the Mac. The multiple window approach does not work at all. I will be looking for an alternative.
• I love the portability of the Mac Mini. I was able to take it, along with keyboard and mouse, and hook it up to another monitor. Not quite like a laptop, but pretty easy.
• Speaking of a laptop, I don't necessarily miss mine but I can see a couple of cases where I will miss having a laptop.
• Wish I could do more out of Spotlight, like being able to right click on the items and to things like open a file in its folder.
• Even though I still think it is a gimmick, I'd really like to have that Aero Snap feature from Windows 7. Wait, found a program that does it called Cinch. A widescreen monitor begs for it.

Two and a half months in to the switch...

• Finally picked up a copy of the White Box edition of Quickverse 3.0 for Mac last night (at Half Price Books for less than retail price). It works OK, but there is practically no support for it. It is definitely better than MacSword, but I'm not convinced it is what I'll stay with.
• I might have found an alternative to my beloved, and not-available-for-Mac, Baseball Mogul. Downloaded the free version of Out of the Park Baseball. It is WAY more in depth than Baseball Mogul. Not for the casual gamer.
• If you are a news junkie like me, you can streamline your web browsing by using a RSS feed reader. I've been using NetNewsWire. I can get caught up with the latest news and website updates in minutes. Especially handy to keep up with those sites that seldom update (like mine!).
• For Mother's Day we sent all the moms on our list iPhoto books. It was about the same price as flowers and it seems to have thrilled them.
• Making an iPhoto book is extremely easy. There isn't a lot of customization to their templates, but the end result looks really good.
• One complaint about the ordering process... If you have multiple orders (which you must do to ship to multiple addresses) you will be uploading the book for each order. Wish they could let up upload the information then place as many orders off of it as you need.
• I've been driving my wife crazy by constantly bringing up the iPad and blaming her for not letting me have one. I'm only joking, I think...
• It seems that there are two types of Mac software: great software that is built for the Mac and lousy software that is ported over from Windows. I am just not impressed with anything that is not built natively for Mac. Firefox may be the only exception because it feels the same on both Windows and Mac.
• For all the talk about how great the iTunes store is, the only thing I have bought is a season pass for 19 Kids and Counting for my wife. The few music tracks I have bought have been from Amazon because they have been consistently cheaper.
• I could very easily become a snobby Mac user. Especially when I see someone having a problem on Windows and realize there is a solution for it on Mac.
• I am not, however, a full blown "Mac-vangelist". I was talking to someone about a new computer just this week and steered them away from a Mac. I think Mac is far superior to Windows, but the switch would blow too many minds of those who are not very geeky or are too set in their ways.
• No real regrets about the switch, other than maybe not buying a laptop. If I was really rich though, I think I'd have the 27 inch iMac... and a 17 inch MacBook Pro... and a 3G iPad... and an iPod Nano... and a Time Capsule... and an Apple TV... and an iPhone... and by that time I'd probably be broke.

The saga continues with another random burst of bullet points…

• After a little more time with Quickverse, I found that it is basically useless for serious study. The only way to display Bible text is in paragraph form. There is no option for verse-by-verse. I'll be sticking with MacSword for a while longer which hasn't seemed that big of a deal as I grow familiar with it.
• Mentioned OOTP Baseball last time. Way too complicated for casual use.
• Bought a refurbished 8 GB iPod Touch. It is an amazing little device, but doesn't have a lot of practical value that I can see.
• Both of my boys (4 and 2) love the iPod Touch. It is the best gaming experience I have seen for young kids (and older kids, too!)
• I love Angry Birds! Too bad I have beat all the levels. I am hoping for a sequel.
• I picked up a copy of iWork '08. I have to say that it beats both MS Office and NeoOffice handily. Its only weakness in my opinion is compatibility because its native format is not compatible any where else. I also wish it have support for the OpenOffice formats.
• Keynote is the best of the iWork apps. It is very simple to use and the included templates are quite nice.
• Keynote also has the one feature I have searched for time and time again - the ability to export a presentation to a movie file.
• Pages is also a very good word processor. I like the look and feel of it better than anything I have used in the last few years.
• Numbers is the weakest offering in iWork. That doesn't mean that it is not good, but I still find myself using Excel.
• I don't recall mentioning it, but the Mac has the absolute best Parental controls. It is amazing what you can do. However, I have found setting them up is a little quirky.
• Most Mac users say that the Mac has fewer crashes than a PC. I have had only a handful of program crashes, but have had a lot of issues lately with Firefox and iDVD crashing.
• I'm really wanting to switch to Safari instead of Firefox. If only I could transfer all my passwords, bookmarks, and settings…
• If you have a toddler who is dying to play on your Mac, get Alpha Baby.
• Isn't it just my luck that less than six months after buying my Mac Mini that Apple revamps that line?
• Still don't own an iPad…
• I have come to realize that in switching from PC to Mac you really jump into a totally different world, especially with software. The brands you get so used to on the PC or either nonexistent or worthless on the Mac. It is really is best with Mac software to stick with companies that specialize in it.
• One of my favorite websites is Lifehacker. I've played with seven of the programs they recommended recently. Probably gonna try a couple more, but I just haven't seen the need for some of the programs. I did bookmark that article because I'm sure I'll need a program for something and will consult it.

A few new thoughts brought to you by the scorching Texas heat…

• Finally ventured into an Apple store a few weeks ago. Prices are little higher compared to other retailers on non-Apple branded stuff.
• Still love my Mac Mini.
• The boys killed the scroll button on my wireless mouse. I purchased a Microsoft Bluetooth mouse to replace it. Doesn't seem to want to stay connected when computer is idle. Kind of annoying.
• The biggest problem that I am still habing with the Mac is that I cannot find a Bible program I like. I may put up a page about the different available ones. How I miss you Esword!!!
• My mom has an iPad now from the school she works at. I am so jealous.
• I was really interesting in the Magic Trackpad when it was announced, but now I'm not sure it is more than a novelty item.
• I wish there was a way to "lock" the dock icons into place. My boys are constantly removing icons and it is frustrating.
• I'm really tempted to try programming again. I downloaded Xcode and registered at Apple. If only I had time!
• C'mon, Sprint iPhone! I'm tired of my Palm Pre and I don't want to pay the fees to swtich away from Sprint. AT&T reception is too weak at my house to use them, I know because I used them for a couple of years.
• The new PC versus Mac page on the Windows 7 site is pretty childish. I'd expect to see it taken down soon. Apple's Why You'll Love a Mac has much better information.

I'll try to update again in a few weeks.