Switching to MAC Mac: a Very Pretty Experience

That's my new iMAC, iMac and using it is a very pretty experience, even though getting used to a new operating system takes a lot of re-thinking.

My experience dealing with Apple has so far been excellent. The whole company is set up to help customers - what a concept. I've signed up for ProCare, so I get 52 one-to-one hours at any Apple store with Mac experts who will teach me anything I want to know about my MAC or any Apple program; help me with any project using any of that software; or speed me through a service line if I need my MAC fixed. I also signed up for a three-year extended hardware warranty for $169.

I find that some things that you can do with a click or two on a PC seem to take three or four steps on the MAC. But what is fascinating is that there are three or more different ways to do any task, and the methods are based on the different ways people work.

I've finally met someone who switched from PC (Sony Viao) to MAC: Shel Holtz. He details his *extreme* unhappiness on this episode of his podcast, For Immediate Release. After his rant, he says "I miss Windows, and I'm going back to the dark side."

YouTube has "Why MACs Suck," a very funny parody of the switchers commercials, followed by comments from scores of MAC fans who debunk what he says.

All I know is that I have two Dells sitting here that don't work: the Dell Dimension lemon I bought that broke down in a year, and the refurbished replacement that won't turn on or off. I will not miss them when I send them back to Dell. Not for a minute.

Wait until you discover Applescript.

Now that you switched a little education, MAC is Media Access Control and Mac is Macintosh computer. Welcome aboard.

BL, just a quick note: It's Mac. Not MAC.

Mac is short for Macintosh--it is not an acronym. As an aside, there is an acronym MAC in the computer world--Media Access Controller. I believe it's used with Ethernet cards. Sometimes your Internet Service Provider will ask for your "MAC Address" and, yes, they always hear "I use a PC, not a Mac!"

Thanks for setting me straight. I've got a lot to learn from my new team.

welcome aboard! i switched in 2003 and, after about a month of doing things in odd ways, have found that i am wildly more productive. if you do presentations and didn't get keynote - do! i can throw together a drop-dead-gorgeous presentation in 30 minutes. seriously.

and i apologize in advance for all of us manic mac-heads who will now feel compelled to give you all sorts of corrections and tips etcetera. welcome to the club!

"I find that some things that you can do with a click or two on a PC seem to take three or four steps on the Mac."

Funny. I seem to experience the opposite - stuff that is easy for me on the Mac often seems to take 2 to 4 times as many steps to accomplish on Windows. I think it simply different levels of expertise. As you gain more experience with the Mac, you will undoubtedly learn more shortcuts.

Dell isn't the only manufacturer of PCs, but Apple IS the only manufacturer of Macs. PC is software, Mac is hardware. When one PC laptop didn't come with the PC card slot I needed for my Spring EBDO card, I chose another. The 12-inch PowerBook G4 didn't come with a PC card slot (and wouldn't have worked with the Spring card even if it had), but no alternatives were available. That's one of the HUGE advantages of PC over Mac, from my point of view. I've loved every Sony I've ever owned (I've had four), I know people who will never switch from Lenovo, and I talk to others who think their Fujitus rock. So don't dismiss PC because of a bad experience with Dell!

It wasn't just Dell that made me switch, although this was my 4th or 5th Dell and it was a lemon from day one. The service sucked so bad I can't even begin to describe it until I blogged about it and the exec fixit team reached out to me.

They replaced my Dell with another that also doesn't work. I have a Lenovo, so I haven't given up on PCs altogether.

But I am sick of Microsoft, of viruses, of forced updates, of them being, how shall I say this kindly, up their customers' butts all the time.

And have you ever called Microsoft with a support issue? Dell is saintly by comparison. The first thing anyone at Microsoft tells you is that you need to reinstall Windows. Puh-lease. I love my new Mac. and she's so pretty. and all those freaking wires are gone!

I live in a NY apartment. We got several feet of precious floor space back. Now that's worth the price of admission!