Anyone else in the same situation Switching to Mac, check-out http://www.SwitchingToMac.com to help you with the transition...
Tom Markiewicz
· 2 years ago
Thanks Mike. Looks like a great site.
Alison Scott
· 2 years ago
I made this switch, oh, about five years ago now. I found it very useful to blog about all the things that irritated me about Macs, because in at least half the cases, the result was that someone would comment to say 'ah, that's because you're looking at the problem in a Windows-centric way; there's actually a simple Mac-like solution'. Of course, I cannot remember what *any* of these are now that I've internalised Mac-ish-ness. And for some of the most obvious ones, they got sorted out in later versions of OS X. Were it not for one bit of indispensable Windows-only freeware (er, Stereo Photo Maker, I have weird hobbies), I'd be completely Windows-free now.
Daniel A. Shockley
· 2 years ago
Alison, Search on VersionTracker for "stereo" and you get a list of software that sounds (to me, at least) like it does something similar to Stereo Photo Maker. Perhaps they aren't as good, but I thought I'd mention that. Here's the search on VT I tried.
Matthew
· 2 years ago
I would like to hear more about how Ubuntu failed to meet your needs. Was it the tax software, and could you not get it working with the Wine/Crossover code? The more details on people deciding against Linux provides developers more data points on where "desktop Linux" needs to improve. Good fortune with your switch to Apple, but I might caution that Mac OS also has the proprietary vendor lock-in that made you switch away from XP/Vista.
Mario
· 2 years ago
It's interesting how people now feel compelled to blog about the experience. I suppose it's the equivalent of just telling other people. I switched in the "Dark Days" (1995), so there weren't blogs back then. Then, as now, people got to know Macs from word of mouth. I've been a Mac user since then, through the down and then the up because the user experience on the Mac made a lot more sense to me than the Windows experience. I don't want to sound like I'm belittling your experience, but frankly, the majority of people in the world don't care because they're happy with mediocrity. All they know is Windows and will most likely never come in contact with a Mac. You recognized that you hated Macs without even really knowing them. I think most of the population suffers from the same phobia: fear (and hatred) of the unknown. And the source is hard to pin down, but mostly it's because that's all they have been exposed to, so they don't seek or know to seek any better. I don't try as much as I used to to make a case for switching to the Mac. I think they're good products that most people won't try. BTW, I worked for Apple in retail sales for four years up until recently. I got tired of people calling the Apple Store, the "iPod Store." I own an Intel iMac now with both Mac OS X and Windows XP.
Eytan
· 2 years ago
Matthew, in your comment you say: "Good fortune with your switch to Apple, but I might caution that Mac OS also has the proprietary vendor lock-in that made you switch away from XP/Vista." That is rather presumptuous of you. Tom makes it clear that he was looking for a smoother user experience, one that just works. He never said he wanted to use the Mac because of "vendor lock-in" on Windows. Instead of discounting his experience, shouldn't you be encouraging the Linux developers to: a. have an OS that "just Works" and smoothly, and b. has a valuable suite of applications?
Sam
· 2 years ago
Man. Macs are great. I've gotta desktop at work and its a pitty I cant afford to buy one for home! I just hope to my wildest dreams that Apple would realese Mac OSX for PCs. That would be the killer app to Microsoft. Lol!
Pete
· 2 years ago
Hell yeah! Another one finds the light at the end of the tunnel! Welcome to the Mac World Tom! You could not have said it any better then this as for reasons to switch!
Bob Smits
· 2 years ago
Great article. As Mac user since 84 I stopped arguing already a long time. This article is based on user facts an that is what counts.
I switched to mac about a month ago after having used damn small linux for over a year.
I started with a macbook as a test machine but quickly realized this was how I wanted to work - especially with having the options to run some old windows apps and have a DSL virtual machine in case I needed it in parallels - so bought an imac as my main machine.
I started using openoffice but in the end there were too many compromises in terms of the way it works - always felt like a round peg in a square hole how it runs in X11. I've moved to thinkfree office which is excellent.
the other really nice touch is the built in support for an external monitor (via the mini=dvi connector) to extend the workspace in the macbook and imac.
Johnny WashNGo
· 2 years ago
Well done on switching away from Windows. It can be a difficult task at first but you soon get used to not having to fight the OS to do your work.
I switched from Windows to Linux full time around 2000/2001 and haven't looked back. For me, the most important aspect of my main computer is the ability to configure it to do what I want, when I want it and in the way I find most suitable. Linux gave me that power and now working on a Windows machine in the office is just painful.
I cannot use an Apple computer, believe me I have tried. I have a mac mini which I bought to evaluate MAC OS X a few years ago and found that the UI really got in the way of what I wanted to do. I found myself in the terminal window pretty much all the time. Which is why it runs SuSE these days.
Anyway, once again, congrats on leaving Windows. When you get sick of the Mac, Linux will be waiting for you ;)
jimmy
· 2 years ago
na i no why u really switched cause your a fat ass dumb prick that cant use a commputer right, so you buy a mac so u have to think less.... and limiting your options on flexibility of get the best out of your computer... good on ya ..... wanka
@Alison - Thanks for the encouragement. I'll keep blogging about the issues I encounter.
@Matthew - Ubuntu failed my needs the same way Windows did - the applications. I was looking for applications designed better and more efficiently. An overall better user experience coupled with the ability to be more productive. I found more of those apps on the Mac. Regarding proprietary vendor lock-in, this was not a reason I moved away from Windows so that's not a major factor for me. My recommendation for Linux would be to focus on "killer apps" unique to Linux desktop. Most of what I found for Linux always compared itself to a related Windows or Mac software. It may be better for Linux developers to get away from that mindset (trying to make equivalents) and focus on what makes Linux better.
@Mario - Great points. I would just say that blogging really is word of mouth just on a bigger scale. As I mentioned above, I have no issue with people preferring Windows. Just try all the major OS's first, then make a decision.
@Bob - Wow, a longtime Mac user. The last Apple computer I used before my MacBook Pro was an Apple IIc.
@Dave - Very nice article. It looks like I echoed many of the same ideas.
Tom Markiewicz
· 2 years ago
@Paul - Try NeoOffice. It's a port of OpenOffice for Mac. NeoOffice has been running smoothly with no issues pulling in and editing existing Microsoft Office files.
@Jimmy - I bought a Mac so I could think more. IMO, there is considerably more flexibility in a Mac than Windows. Maybe not as much as Linux, but I guess that depends on your definition...
Ron Toms
· 2 years ago
Yeah, I was a long-time Windows user, and Linux too- several flavors. I love Linux- for my servers. It never really lived up to the promise of a nice desktop machine.
All the press about Vista made me cringe- it seems like every release of Windows is "More secure, easier to use" blah blah blah. And I always end up with bolt-on unix utilities to make up for key deficiencies. Hey, I'm a power user.
Then I bought a Mac for my mom. Mostly because it's supposed to be easier to use for newbies and less susceptible to malware. Within 2 hours of using her machine, I had ordered a Mac Pro for myself.
Apple has done an amazing thing with OS X. It's an incredibly user friendly, highly polished and refined user interface on top of real, hard core BSD UNIX. It's a real class act too, right from the box.
Now I'm replacing ALL the computers in my company with Macs (Except for the servers, they're still Linux, Slackware)
As an alternative to MS Office, I'm a big fan of Mariner Write and Mariner Calc. They're not quite as user friendly as, say, Pages, but they're rock solid and faster. Not to mention cheaper. NeoOffice is good, and free, but it's too slow for me. I got tired of waiting several minutes for documents to load on my iBook, so I bought Mariner Write, which opened everything I threw at it in seconds.
Matthew
· 2 years ago
Here's how I took your reason for switching to be vendor lock-in:
"So why the switch now, especially with Microsoft’s Vista launching?"
"My current Windows laptop had slowed to a crawl (as usual) after less than two years. When I did some research and realized that I would be unable to run Vista well with my existing laptop, I finally decided to look at all the alternatives."
Did I misunderstand the text above? I wasn't trying to put words in your mouth.
Szandor
· 2 years ago
@Jimmy:
Beautifully written and cogently argued.
@Tom:
It *is* a nice change, isn't it? I've been a windows user/tech for several years and when I bought my mac mini last year it took a little getting used to at first, coming from a windows-centric world. But now I enjoy working *with* my computer so much more than working *on* it.
Nice article, and welcome to The Better Way.
raul
· 2 years ago
I'm sure if you were a FeedDemon fan that you've discovered NetNewsWire, it's one of several excellent mac feed readers. MarsEdit by the same company is a great blog post editor.
Also if you ever do any css coding, cssedit is the best css editor on any platform...
I understand your microsoft aversion, but word and excel on the mac are actually pretty darned good as long as you turn off all the defaults that do automatic word completion and formatting. NeoOffice is a noble effort but still a long way from feeling like finished polished Mac software.
Don't know if you feel like it, but it might be interesting to find how how you've set up your ruby dev environment and any issues you've had... compared to what you have on the PC.
For example did you use locamotive or install all the parts yourself... and what's been your experience with the various components in the mac environment vs the windows environment...
Bill Boebel
· 2 years ago
Nice move. A lot of Webmailers swear by Mac these days. I'm loving my Ubuntu, but there is definitely a learning curve. And small quaky things have consumed a lot of my time trying to figure out how to adjust. But the learning curve is part of the fun.
Kane
· 2 years ago
Firstly, Jimmy - You're the first person to criticise Tom on his blog rant. Other people have stated their opinions, not always for the mac way of things, but they're polite, understanding, and open-minded. You're none of that, you're purposely trying to offend him, and you really cannot spell. I doubt you've ever used a mac. If you have, however, you didn't let yourself like it - you just followed what you've heard from most people. If you were a mac user and had never used Windows, and were one day made to use it for 10 minutes, you would be clueless and you would hate it. Don't think I'm wrong. You say that by buying a mac he can think less... well you're kinda right. But it's not a negative thing. Mac OS X is not a dumbed down operating system. It just works - unlike Windows, so often. Yeah you probably know how to fix/ignore the little problems you have with Windows, but with a mac those problems just don't happen. Options and flexibility are certainly still there with a mac. If anything, they're more prominent. I'm starting to sound a bit closed minded, but I guess I'm just irritated about your arrogance and ignorance. I would love it if you had to use a mac for a month for your everyday tasks, so I could laugh at the shock you would be in as you begin to realise it's not so bad. C'mon, just give it a go.
Secondly, nice rant Tom - congratulations. I hope to soon be able to afford to buy an Intel Mac of some sort (perhaps a MacBook/Pro). Sorry about this huge comment, Jimmy ticked me off a little lol.
Tom Markiewicz
· 2 years ago
@Jclark - Thanks, I\'ll have to look into Mariner\'s products. I\'ll also take a look at the new Office for Mac which is supposed to be out in the second half of this year.
@Matthew - I think the misunderstanding on vendor lock-in was my comment regarding Vista. I was simply adding to my analysis on my situation in that if I wanted to upgrade my computing experience (Vista, Mac, or Ubuntu), a move to Vista would involve a new hardware purchase just like the Mac would. Thus, I could justify new hardware purchase when comparing those two options. I initially was hopeful that I could skip buying new hardware and go straight to Ubuntu on my Dell laptop. While I found no issues running Ubuntu on my laptop, I did not find the applications and overall experience to be what I was looking for. I was however very impressed with Ubuntu. Having tried other Linux distros in the past, Ubuntu was a pleasant surprise and will only get better. So, while vendor lock-in is an issue, I wasn\'t one I was considering .
@Raul - I still feel FeedDemon is head and shoulders the best feed reader out there regardless of platform (I have honestly tried every one I could find on each of the major platforms including web-based). I hope the next version of NetNewsWire can compare with FeedDemon. Until then, I\'m using Parallels w/Coherence mode to use FeedDemon on my Mac. And it works wonderfully.
With respect to my Ruby dev environment, I looked at both rolling my own and Locomotive. Since I went the full install route when I was on Windows, I did the same with the Mac. I followed a tutorial (http://hivelogic.com/narrative/articles/ruby-ra...) as recommended by the AWDWR book.
So far it\'s working fine, I\'m just still trying to get used to some of the permission issues I never had to deal with on Windows.
Congrats on making the switch Tom! I am about 1 month in and am loving it!
- G
James Sawyer
· 2 years ago
Hey Tom, We met several months back up at Knowledgeworks. You made the right move getting a Mac. I've never had anything but. And you know, you rarely hear about anyone going the other direction, from Mac to PC. Just like you rarely hear a waitress say, "Is Coke okay?" when they order a Pepsi.
Let's talk soon, JS
Sascha Kulawik
· 2 years ago
I even switched to Mac OS X because of Vista and will try to blog my way under http://www.kulawik.de. It's very funny, so much people are doing that these days!
Motorcycle Guy
· 2 years ago
My main problem with switching to apple, is that it means less choice about what kind of hardware I run my pc on. Sure it might not seem like much of a difference now, but I don't see that strategy as exactly promoting innovation. If you could buy OSX separately I might have switched a long time ago. I mean I know apple builds nice machines but to me its about choice too.
Tom Markiewicz
· 2 years ago
@Motorcycle Guy - good point, but that's their whole business model. Apple is in the hardware business not software. Just look at their current product lineup.
Andy Reilly
· 2 years ago
Stumbled across this page on some random surfing. As a Mac user since 1990 and an IT professional in a Windows shop, I get to see both sides of the coin. I actually use Ubuntu as my desktop machine at work and run VMWare for Windows needs. That said, Linux is NOT a 'pleasurable' experience as a desktop environment, unless you actually feel more comfortable at the command line. It should at least WARN you the first time it breaks half of your apps because you clicked the 'Updates are ready' button. Then I found PC-BSD. It's kind of the Ubnuntu equivalent of BSD. And if you are used to the Mac command line, BSD is of course more comfortable. It installs software in packages much like the OS X ".app" containers. Storage is soooo cheap and large these days that I don't care if 10 different programs that use the same lib file each have their own copy, it's not going to amount to much wasted space. This way, new versions of programs don't break other programs, and updates to your OS have less impact when the distro maintainers decide to update versions of these files in the OS. Check it out http://pcbsd.org/ .
Ed
· 2 years ago
Hi Tom, et al,
I was just surfing by. The article and conversation that follows was a good read. Thank you.
I've been in IT since the early 80's and a PC user all these years. Though I can't drop MS altogether due to my skill set, and the requirements of food, clothing and shelter; I find myself more & more disillusioned with the computing world Microsoft has wrought upon us.
At it's beginning as an underdog to IBM's incompetence, to breaking Novell's stranglehold in PC networking, it was a pleasure to watch it grow. Somewhere along the line, alarm bells started to go off, as MS became a juggernaut more interested in crushing innovation than bringing it about.
Aside from the convoluted underpinnings of the Windows franchise, the DRM initiative in Vista, which only benefits MS and the media conglomerates is the final straw for me. I don't like the world MS has fashioned and I'll be voting with my wallet shortly.
I'm on the fence between Ubuntu and Mac, leaning towards Mac due to applications. Oh, I'll still use MS cruft as I still make a living wallowing in it, but the winds of change are coming. What Gates evangelized, to bring legions of corporate minions to his side, Ballmer's bug-eyed rants and collusion will destroy.
I hope Apple continues to innovate, as it had to, in order to stay alive. My concern is for the future and vendor lock-in (and the only reason for my fence-sitting). Microsoft too, had a better take on things than IBM or Novell, yet the current OS and application stranglehold it has world-wide, feels no less a burden these days.
The ray of hope I see is Steve's rally-cry against DRM (while still providing it), and the move away from a dead-end processor to Intel. I'd feel better if Apple embraced AMD as a second-source to Intel in its hardware designs. Intel's self-absorbed malaise went nowhere in the last decade, until AMD provided a wake-up call.
It's all about choice, competition, and innovation. If Apple embraces alternate vendors (AMD), and drops AT&T as a single-source provider for the iPhone, it may find a watershed moment when all of us fence-sitting minions of Microsoft move towards the light.
All Comments
Anyone else in the same situation Switching to Mac, check-out http://www.SwitchingToMac.com to help you with the transition...
Search on VersionTracker for "stereo" and you get a list of software that sounds (to me, at least) like it does something similar to Stereo Photo Maker. Perhaps they aren't as good, but I thought I'd mention that. Here's the search on VT I tried.
That is rather presumptuous of you. Tom makes it clear that he was looking for a smoother user experience, one that just works. He never said he wanted to use the Mac because of "vendor lock-in" on Windows. Instead of discounting his experience, shouldn't you be encouraging the Linux developers to: a. have an OS that "just Works" and smoothly, and b. has a valuable suite of applications?
I agree.
I started with a macbook as a test machine but quickly realized this was how I wanted to work - especially with having the options to run some old windows apps and have a DSL virtual machine in case I needed it in parallels - so bought an imac as my main machine.
I started using openoffice but in the end there were too many compromises in terms of the way it works - always felt like a round peg in a square hole how it runs in X11. I've moved to thinkfree office which is excellent.
the other really nice touch is the built in support for an external monitor (via the mini=dvi connector) to extend the workspace in the macbook and imac.
I switched from Windows to Linux full time around 2000/2001 and haven't looked back. For me, the most important aspect of my main computer is the ability to configure it to do what I want, when I want it and in the way I find most suitable. Linux gave me that power and now working on a Windows machine in the office is just painful.
I cannot use an Apple computer, believe me I have tried. I have a mac mini which I bought to evaluate MAC OS X a few years ago and found that the UI really got in the way of what I wanted to do. I found myself in the terminal window pretty much all the time. Which is why it runs SuSE these days.
Anyway, once again, congrats on leaving Windows. When you get sick of the Mac, Linux will be waiting for you ;)
@Matthew - Ubuntu failed my needs the same way Windows did - the applications. I was looking for applications designed better and more efficiently. An overall better user experience coupled with the ability to be more productive. I found more of those apps on the Mac. Regarding proprietary vendor lock-in, this was not a reason I moved away from Windows so that's not a major factor for me. My recommendation for Linux would be to focus on "killer apps" unique to Linux desktop. Most of what I found for Linux always compared itself to a related Windows or Mac software. It may be better for Linux developers to get away from that mindset (trying to make equivalents) and focus on what makes Linux better.
@Mario - Great points. I would just say that blogging really is word of mouth just on a bigger scale. As I mentioned above, I have no issue with people preferring Windows. Just try all the major OS's first, then make a decision.
@Bob - Wow, a longtime Mac user. The last Apple computer I used before my MacBook Pro was an Apple IIc.
@Dave - Very nice article. It looks like I echoed many of the same ideas.
@Jimmy - I bought a Mac so I could think more. IMO, there is considerably more flexibility in a Mac than Windows. Maybe not as much as Linux, but I guess that depends on your definition...
All the press about Vista made me cringe- it seems like every release of Windows is "More secure, easier to use" blah blah blah. And I always end up with bolt-on unix utilities to make up for key deficiencies. Hey, I'm a power user.
Then I bought a Mac for my mom. Mostly because it's supposed to be easier to use for newbies and less susceptible to malware. Within 2 hours of using her machine, I had ordered a Mac Pro for myself.
Apple has done an amazing thing with OS X. It's an incredibly user friendly, highly polished and refined user interface on top of real, hard core BSD UNIX. It's a real class act too, right from the box.
Now I'm replacing ALL the computers in my company with Macs (Except for the servers, they're still Linux, Slackware)
-- Ron Toms
http://www.RLT.com
"So why the switch now, especially with Microsoft’s Vista launching?"
"My current Windows laptop had slowed to a crawl (as usual) after less than two years. When I did some research and realized that I would be unable to run Vista well with my existing laptop, I finally decided to look at all the alternatives."
Did I misunderstand the text above? I wasn't trying to put words in your mouth.
Beautifully written and cogently argued.
@Tom:
It *is* a nice change, isn't it? I've been a windows user/tech for several years and when I bought my mac mini last year it took a little getting used to at first, coming from a windows-centric world. But now I enjoy working *with* my computer so much more than working *on* it.
Nice article, and welcome to The Better Way.
Other programs on the short list would be:
lauchbar (or alternately quicksilver)
mailacton (allows for mai.appl automation)
bbedit which is textmate's big brother
marc linyage's prebuilt mysql, php, and imagemagick packages can save a bit of time.
Also if you ever do any css coding, cssedit is the best css editor on any platform...
I understand your microsoft aversion, but word and excel on the mac are actually pretty darned good as long as you turn off all the defaults that do automatic word completion and formatting. NeoOffice is a noble effort but still a long way from feeling like finished polished Mac software.
Don't know if you feel like it, but it might be interesting to find how how you've set up your ruby dev environment and any issues you've had... compared to what you have on the PC.
For example did you use locamotive or install all the parts yourself... and what's been your experience with the various components in the mac environment vs the windows environment...
Secondly, nice rant Tom - congratulations. I hope to soon be able to afford to buy an Intel Mac of some sort (perhaps a MacBook/Pro). Sorry about this huge comment, Jimmy ticked me off a little lol.
@Matthew - I think the misunderstanding on vendor lock-in was my comment regarding Vista. I was simply adding to my analysis on my situation in that if I wanted to upgrade my computing experience (Vista, Mac, or Ubuntu), a move to Vista would involve a new hardware purchase just like the Mac would. Thus, I could justify new hardware purchase when comparing those two options. I initially was hopeful that I could skip buying new hardware and go straight to Ubuntu on my Dell laptop. While I found no issues running Ubuntu on my laptop, I did not find the applications and overall experience to be what I was looking for. I was however very impressed with Ubuntu. Having tried other Linux distros in the past, Ubuntu was a pleasant surprise and will only get better. So, while vendor lock-in is an issue, I wasn\'t one I was considering .
@Raul - I still feel FeedDemon is head and shoulders the best feed reader out there regardless of platform (I have honestly tried every one I could find on each of the major platforms including web-based). I hope the next version of NetNewsWire can compare with FeedDemon. Until then, I\'m using Parallels w/Coherence mode to use FeedDemon on my Mac. And it works wonderfully.
With respect to my Ruby dev environment, I looked at both rolling my own and Locomotive. Since I went the full install route when I was on Windows, I did the same with the Mac. I followed a tutorial (http://hivelogic.com/narrative/articles/ruby-ra...) as recommended by the AWDWR book.
So far it\'s working fine, I\'m just still trying to get used to some of the permission issues I never had to deal with on Windows.
@Bill - Thanks. BTW, nice recent post on your switch to Ubuntu (http://billboebel.typepad.com/blog/2007/02/ive_...) as well.
- G
We met several months back up at Knowledgeworks. You made the right move getting a Mac. I've never had anything but. And you know, you rarely hear about anyone going the other direction, from Mac to PC. Just like you rarely hear a waitress say, "Is Coke okay?" when they order a Pepsi.
Let's talk soon,
JS
It's very funny, so much people are doing that these days!
I was just surfing by. The article and conversation that follows was a good read. Thank you.
I've been in IT since the early 80's and a PC user all these years. Though I can't drop MS altogether due to my skill set, and the requirements of food, clothing and shelter; I find myself more & more disillusioned with the computing world Microsoft has wrought upon us.
At it's beginning as an underdog to IBM's incompetence, to breaking Novell's stranglehold in PC networking, it was a pleasure to watch it grow. Somewhere along the line, alarm bells started to go off, as MS became a juggernaut more interested in crushing innovation than bringing it about.
Aside from the convoluted underpinnings of the Windows franchise, the DRM initiative in Vista, which only benefits MS and the media conglomerates is the final straw for me. I don't like the world MS has fashioned and I'll be voting with my wallet shortly.
I'm on the fence between Ubuntu and Mac, leaning towards Mac due to applications. Oh, I'll still use MS cruft as I still make a living wallowing in it, but the winds of change are coming. What Gates evangelized, to bring legions of corporate minions to his side, Ballmer's bug-eyed rants and collusion will destroy.
I hope Apple continues to innovate, as it had to, in order to stay alive. My concern is for the future and vendor lock-in (and the only reason for my fence-sitting). Microsoft too, had a better take on things than IBM or Novell, yet the current OS and application stranglehold it has world-wide, feels no less a burden these days.
The ray of hope I see is Steve's rally-cry against DRM (while still providing it), and the move away from a dead-end processor to Intel. I'd feel better if Apple embraced AMD as a second-source to Intel in its hardware designs. Intel's self-absorbed malaise went nowhere in the last decade, until AMD provided a wake-up call.
It's all about choice, competition, and innovation. If Apple embraces alternate vendors (AMD), and drops AT&T as a single-source provider for the iPhone, it may find a watershed moment when all of us fence-sitting minions of Microsoft move towards the light.
Thanks again for the article... best of luck.
Ed