PC vs Mac
 

Finally got fed up with my PC crashing so went out and bought a Mac all-in-one.

For PC users considering a similar move let me put it like this: it's like going from a cheap Ford to an Audi. However, it's as if the Audi comes with canvas deck chairs instead of seats, the spare wheel is stored on the back seat, the hand-brake is located in the boot, and there are a limited number of petrol stations where you can fill up. The Audi feels and looks reliable and you know that you'll get to where you're going quickly and safely, but you also know that you won't enjoy the journey.

Hope that this doesn't upset too many Mac users.

Not quite sure on your reply there Mike, does that mean if your PC had been more reliable you would never have gone down the Mac route? or does it just mean that the Mac will take some getting used to but when you do it will be the dogs nuts??

Hi Ade, If the PC had been reliable then I wouldn't have bothered changing. I might get used to the Mac, but it will always be poor to use.

Apple are proud of the unit's beautiful slim looks with its curved back and extremely thin edges. To maintain the thin edges, Apple haven't included a disc re-writer, co I've had to fork out extra for an external disc drive (this is on top of the £850.00 paid for the original unit). So now my table has an extra bit of clutter. The unit comes with four USB ports, a card reader, and headphone socket. But, again, to keep the unit's good looks, these are at the back of the machine. So, every time you need to plug or unplug something, the whole machine has to be turned around. All this just to maintain the thin edges. And here's the thing: most computer users that I know look at the front of the screen, not the side.

Included with the computer is a cordless mouse that ca be re-charged from the computer. However, the charging cord plugs into the underside of the mouse resulting in the mouse not being usable whilst re-charging.

The Windows Explorer in a PC can be opened run a number of times simultaneously. This means that it's possible to compare file and folder contents and transfer easily between them. The Mac equivalent ('Finder") does not allow this multiple viewing, making my work-flow more onerous. I really do hope that I've yet to learn that there is a way of opening multiple Finder views - it's driving me up the wall not to be able.

Two of my favourite pieces of software (free to download) is FastStone Image Viewer and ProgeCad (CADS programme). Unfortunately, they are not available for Macs.

Since writing my first post, I've tried restarting my old PC and it's sort of working (95%) and not as fast. If it keeps on working OK, I think that my grandchildren will be getting a Mac as a combined Christmas present.

Thanks for that, it always seems that pro's & the like use Mac's giving the impression they are superior, as you say they come with a hefty price tag & you seem to be stuck with the Apple way of doing things & apple only compatible hardware/software. I'll be sticking with my old laptop & windows 7 for the moment.

Yep I think you have it in one. Nothing but a fashion icon. I remember the days when Apple nearly went bust. I think they stole the lead by signing a deal with the chip manufactures not to release multi-core processors to the PC market for 6 months when they switched from Motorola processors.

First time I've felt proud of my "wonderful" Windows set up. Thanks Mike:D

Hi everyone, The old PC finally gave up the ghost, but not before I managed to copy the few files that I hadn't backed-up.

The good news with the Mac is that I found the way to open two Finders (the equivalent of Windows Explorer), so I can now transfer files easier. But it still doesn't alter my initial perceptions of the Mac.

Go Windows 7!!!

Please don’t take this the wrong way but it never ceases to amaze me on forums such as this that it is always the equipment which is at fault and never the operator.

Most of your problems could have been avoided if you had done a little bit of research before you actually bought the Mac.

Apple have always been ahead of the game and they don’t include optical drives because most people now download software, music and videos, thus making optical drives redundant. It won’t be too long before PC’s go the same way.

As for the number of USB ports, you don’t need to turn the Mac around every time you want to plug in a peripheral, all you need to do is buy a USB hub and plug all your peripherals into that.

Regarding the cordless mouse and keyboard; Apple do actually supply iMac’s with a wired keyboard and mouse at no extra charge. If you had looked at the Apple website you would have found that out, so there would be no down-time whilst the keyboard/mouse is recharging.

To open multiple Finder windows on a Mac all you have to do is right-click on the Finder icon and then click on “Open New Finder Widow”, you can do this as many times as you want.

Concerning the software that is not available for Mac’s, if you had checked their respective websites before buying the Mac you would have found out that they were not available, which may have meant that you didn’t buy a Mac.




That equally applies to PC’s and Microsoft as well. You can only work the way that the software is designed to be used.




What you seem to be forgetting is a very small but important point; whilst Mac’s and PC’s do the same thing in a very similar way, Mac’s and PC’s are not the same.

Before you ask, no I am not an Apple Fan-boy. Personally I think iMac’s are nothing more than over-sized, over-priced laptops. But if you had gone down to your local Apple store and spent a bit of time with a “Genius” I think you would have made a more conducive decision.

It never ceases to amaze me how supporters of a particular item will blame the buyer for not researching the item's short-comings.

I've got a USB cluttering my table, bit it wouldn't be necessary if the ports were at the front.

Unfortunately, I'm not one of the 'most people' who download software etc, and until it becomes standard for it to be so, I'd expect an optical drive with the machine.

As John has so-well advised, you need to do a lot of on-line research before switching from a PC to a Mac or you might not get what you are expecting.

Well, who else is there to blame?


Birdsnapper are you seriously telling me that you did not check the specifications of the iMac before you bought it. And no you don’t need to do a lot of on-line research, a visit to the Apple website would have quickly made you aware of what you were actually buying.

If you wanted a computer that had front USB ports like a PC then why didn’t you buy a PC.
If you wanted a computer that had an optical drive like a PC then why didn’t you buy a PC.
If you wanted a computer that would run Windows only software like a PC then why didn’t you buy a PC.

It is perfectly obvious from your previous posts that the computer you bought is totally unsuitable for your specific needs and requirements and yet you have the audacity to blame Apple for your predicament.

If you wanted a computer that had easily accessible USB ports on the front of the machine then why did you buy a Mac which has its USB ports on the back.
If you wanted a computer that had a built-in optical drive then why did you buy a Mac that doesn't.
If you wanted a computer that will run Windows only software then why did you buy a Mac that runs OSX.

There is only one person to blame for the situation that you are in and that is you.

Where I used to work I had a Mac, PC and a Unix server on my desk.

I don't know if it is still true but for some reason the Mac software was always a version behind other platforms.

Best have a Mac if you live in a Mac world and a PC if you live in a PC world.

Our Germany customers loved Macs and complained that Windows did not run very well on them :)

Hi John,

I agree that it's entirely my own fault that I bought a machine with which I was disappointed. I made two fundamental and very stupid errors:

1. I Thought that paying in twice as much for a Mac than a PC I would be getting a machine with all the bells and whistles. Very naive of me.

2. I believed Mac users when they raved on about their machines. Very naive of me.

My experience with computers overlaps magnetic core memory by a decade, my first PC ran DOS and I couldn't imagine how I'd ever fill up that huge 20 megabyte HD. Since then, and until three weeks ago, I've only owned PC's but last year finally got fed-up with Microsoft and Adobe and resolved to convert to a Mac. My point being that I too have been around a while, tend to be rather crusty and opinionated, however my experience has been very different and I'd like to share it and urge Mr. Birdsnapper to give his iMac a fair chance.

In my case I did spend considerable time researching things and realized that expecting a Mac to be like a PC was unrealistic, I'd have to reset to zero and learn, evaluate, and appreciate it for what it was. First of all, I did not expect to use any of my PC programs, and so far and at low cost I've found very good ones which accomplish what Lightroom and Photoshop did on the PC. And I'll put in a plug for Affinity Photo and LYN.

Here are a few thoughts about my experience to date:

Expensive- well.. considering that like most photographers I don't blink at shelling out major money for a quality body or lens if I feel I need it, the three grand my 27" Retina iMac cost isn't all that bad-especially considering that in the PC world I'd have to spend, and did, over a grand for a monitor that isn't any better. I'd also point out that it comes with the equivalent of MS Office and the Apple programs seem very tightly integrated with each other. In fact, outside of photography related stuff, there hasn't been anything the Apple integrated software won't do for me.

In terms of the ports, there is a slick usb hub that has a card reader plus three ports, it works well and looks like it belongs with the machine. Ports on the back have been a non-issue for me to date. The thunderbolt drive has been lightning fast to augment the rather small (!) 500 GB SSD.

I had the same concern about a dvd burner, although they are cheap, I too would find it annoying to have to deal with an external. However, I decided not to get one until I need it and so far, that hasn't been the case and I don't think it ever will.

As far as the wireless 'magic' keyboard and trackpad go- a charge lasts for months, so charging them up once in a while is hardly onerous. I have wrist problems typing and have used a MS Natural keyboard for years and was bothered by looking at that tiny 'magic' keyboard and realizing that there isn't a good ergonomic option for the Mac. However, I'd read that it's surprisingly good so decided to give it a chance....and Magic indeed! While I'm still getting used to it, I'm typing on it now and it's as fast and seems as comfortable as my old one. Looking at it, it makes no sense, but I can't argue with the results.

As I said, I realized that I needed to learn Mac from scratch so I looked for some good books as I like to be able to flip around and rapidly find what I'm looking for, something I can't do in a long video tutorial. I found the 'For Dummies' books to be too simple, but the El Capitan Missing Manual to be just right. I have and am putting some major time into it, after all it's like learning a new language and I've got over 30 years of PC habit to break. But it's proving well worth it, at this point I don't intend to ever go back to the PC.

So, in terms of Birdsnapper's analogy, the Audi is indeed an Audi just as long as I'm not disappointed in that fact that it doesn't act like a Ford F150! I would encourage him to step back, find the Mac based programs that do what he needs doing ( so far I've spent less than a hundred bucks and am pretty well set up) and give the Mac another chance.

Oh, how so very true.

For how long did you have PCs?
For how long have you had the Mac?
Q.E.D,


GHK

Well, if you're asking me, I got my first PC in 1985, I believe, and have had them ever since, I've lost count but at least 10 of them, my first OS was DOS 3.0 and my last Win 7.

I got my first Mac three weeks ago.

Things will seem a bit strange at first, keys not doing what you expect (especially Ctrl) and various little irritations, but you'll soon get used to everything.
GHK

Yes, that's true. I'm finding that things on the Mac work as an intelligent, rational person might expect them to.. very unlike my decades of experience with Microsoft. In fact I've come to the conclusion that MS uses their alien work visas for actual Aliens. Nothing else can explain some of the 'logic' behind their software.

In fact,over the years I've learned the hard way when setting up a new PC to block out a solid 4-5 hours to get it up, connected, and running my basic productivity software. I don't always need it all, but usually something, frequently the printer, won't play well with others. With the iMac I was good to go in about 15 minutes from ripping the box open and everything plays nice together.