Macworld Forums: Switchers Guide: Moving from Windows to the Mac - Macworld Forums

Post your comments for Switchers Guide: Moving from Windows to the Mac here

This is a very good and timely series all in one place. I sent it to 3 friends that are making the "switch" this weekend - Thanks Macworld

This will be useful for a friend who just switched.

The best windows 7 quote came from a friend of the family who posted on his facebook wall, " I wish Windows 7 would stay booted long enough for me to get to Apple's website." Brilliantly true.

When will MacWorld be publishing a Mac-to-Windows switchers guide? Since MacWorld covers Windows on a regular basis now wouldn't that be the fair thing to do?

lkrupp, on 08 November 2009 - 04:21 PM, said:

Check the weather widget on your Mac and search for "Hades." When you see temperatures consistently below 32°, check in with us.

I also use this setup (a macbook pro and a windows netbook, but XP) and I love both. I for sure love my macbook pro way more but love having the little guy too for trips when I cant lug the MBP with me.

Mac to Windows please.

Sadly - I like the OS but the hardware is unreliable.

Just so you know I'm not a recent Mac purchaser:

SE, SE30 (processor), Personal LaserWriterNT (repaired/factory defective parts), iMacDV400 (4 drives replaced), iMac 1.8 G5 20" (power supply, drive, power button, I forget what else), iMac 1.9 G5 17" (vertical lines on monitor). Talked to IT pro about repairing iMac 17" (wife's computer - really likes it and I didn't care about the cost). IT guy's parts source said don't do it - the 17" LCDs were unreliable and a source of constant complaints. Now running with a LCD plugged in. I thought this 17" was, finally, a reliable Mac - which I had not seen since the SE. But it proved me wrong a couple months after AppleCare expired.

SadMac, on 09 November 2009 - 10:25 AM, said:

Even your newest system is almost 4 years old.

Hardware is not invincible and will eventually come to it's life's end. Giving up a great OS for Windows will not solve your problems. You will still face the same issues with hardware failure.

rockinphotog, on 09 November 2009 - 02:26 PM, said:

My fault for not making this clear - all of my Macs since the SE30 began having trouble within months of purchase. Most repairs were done under AppleCare. I work in a school with both Macs and PCs. I have 10 PCs which I have overseen for over 6 years - used by students and abused every school day - not one has broken down. The only thing I have done over the years is to add RAM. I also see Macs that have lasted as long but not in recent memory.

That's why I had such high hopes in the iMac 17". Zero problems for just over 3 years - kind of a record.

Again - I've used the Mac platform since OS 6, love the OS but, IMHO, the hardware has problems. My good friend is a tech at another school - he says the Macs are simply not as reliable as they once were. When he takes in Macs for warranty work he sees piles of new model Macs awaiting repair.

Windows - I don't like it as much as the Mac OS but I can live with it. I can't live with computers blowing HDs, power supplies and other components. My 20" iMac G5's last repair, out of warranty, was the power supply. The old one literally started to burn - there were soot marks on the cooling vents in the upper back of the machine. This was the second one in the same machine.

Again - over 20 years with the Mac OS - don't want to see anymore Sad Macs.

I'm sure you've had good luck with your Macs - I have not.

Thanks for you input.

SadMac, on 09 November 2009 - 03:46 PM, said:

I too have had my problems with them, two iBooks with logic board gone only a few months out of warranty. Newer MacBook hard drive bad - ok under AppleCare but still it's like being on a skid with problems.

SadMac, on 09 November 2009 - 10:25 AM, said:

I hate to say you have bad luck, but your anecdotal evidence is contrary to all surveys and studies of Mac reliability. Anecdotally for me, I used a Mac SE for 10 years. My next Mac was a 5-year old Power Mac 7100/66 given to me by somebody who was getting a new computer, that I used for 4 more years. After that I got a Pismo powerbook in 2001 that I used until last year. I'm hoping my current 17" MBP will have the same longevity as the others. The only Mac in my experience (at work) that didn't match the reliability and longevity of the others was the Titanium Powerbook, due to its hinges flaking out. That being said, I just ran into somebody a month ago who had one of the first models of that still humming along just fine. So, I'm sorry you had bad experiences with Macs, but your experiences seem to be the exception that proves the rule.

I agree that hardware issues aren't typical for Macs. All of my Macs from my first (an LC575 from the pawn shop) to my current newest Mac (the Core 2 Duo Macbook I'm writing this on) have been used machines, and other than the occasional flakey slot-load optical drive, I've not had any real hardware failures. Can't say the same for some of the PC's I used many years ago.

My family bought my Grandmother a dell for christmas... I pleaded with them to get her a mac but they said she couldn't learn the "complicated" OS. Give me a break, mom! When Gramma opened it up on christmas morning... it wouldn't boot up.

It was epic! My wife said... "hmm that's weird, my mac worked perfectly right out of the box." Apple FTW!