- Joined
- 27 Dec 2001
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It's been just over a year since I moved from a PC to a Mac as my main home computer. I thought I'd chronicle a bit of my experience for enterainment/informational purposes. Perhaps it will even be helpful for others who might consider switching to, or at least owning, a Mac.
Before acquiring the Mac, I had used PCs since my family first owned a 486. I went through Windows 3.1/95/98/NT4/2000/ME/XP. I still use a PC every day at work and I am one of the network admins at my place of employment. Until last year I had very limited experience with Macs. By no means am I anti-Microsoft or one who would suggest "Buy a Mac" for every situation.
Original Configuration
1.8GHz PowerMac G5 - now 2 years old
512 MB PC3200 DDR SDRAM
140GB Seagate SATA HD
OS X 10.3 Panther
(How I came about owning the G5 can be found in this thread.)
Experience with Software
OS X 10.3 Panther was the most recent OS at the time, and I became familiar with it very quickly. For the most part it was very intuitive, which is often a selling point for Mac computers. In terms of general use, I found that I could do most things close to the same way as they are done on a PC. Learning to use Command+key instead of CTRL+key for keyboard functions was what took me the longest to get used to... probably about a week. I also started out with a Logitech MX700 mouse, so there was no need to worry about the lack of a right-click or scroll wheel.
I was pleased to discover the usual method for installing and uninstalling apps in OS X. All of the contents of an application are usually packaged together and all you see is the application's icon. Drag that to the Applications folder and you've installed it. Drag it to the trash to get rid of it. No registry entries? I liked that a lot.
Any software I needed was available and worked just as expected. I had MS Office X for Mac with Word, Excel and PowerPoint... no problems there and all the files were cross-platform compatible. Also, using ZIP files between Mac and PC worked perfectly, so that's a good way to transfer multiple files. I quickly learned that the "lack of software" argument for Macs is no longer true. There is a ton of software, both to purchase and freeware, that will let you do just about anything you want. Note that I am not a gamer, so I can't provide an opinion regarding game availability for the Mac.
I installed iLife '05 and I've really enjoyed the software. I use iPhoto as my image program, and I've used it jointly with iDVD to create a DVD slideshow. I've also ripped audio from some music DVDs I have and burned that audio onto CDs -- a gut-wrenching experience on my old PC, done easily with Apple's software. iTunes is obviously my music player of choice. I love how the iLife apps work together with each other and with OS X.
OS X has an integrated Firewall and it is pretty straightfoward to configure. No need for antivirus software -- another beautiful thing.
Hardware Experience
I love the look of the G5. As a guy I must admit that it's just a masculine-looking machine. Very simple, very clean. There aren't 5 bays in the front, but I've got a SuperDrive and don't need the extra slots. There are several extra PCI slots, room for 2 more hard drives, and 8 RAM slots. The side of the case is extremely easy to take off, and the inside is very open and very clean. Everything is easy to reach and there are no cables running in the way anywhere.
The computer usually runs very quiet because the fans are independent of each other. If a certain zone heats up then that zones fan(s) come on. The system speed is excellent -- from boot to desktop is about 10 seconds, including login time.
Any hardware I've attached works immediately after I plug it in. My iPod mini obviously works, but I've also got an Epson all-in-one, the Logitech mouse, two Canon digital cameras, a Logitech microphone and a Belkin router. Hardware identification is extremely quick and usually requires no interaction from me.
Experience with Stability
I do not remember a single time when my Mac froze and I had to reboot it. The only times I remember it being necessary to reboot was after installing certain updates, such as 10.3.x OS updates. I've had Safari crash and close maybe 10-15 times in a year, and iTunes less than 10. Force Quit works better and faster than End Task.
OS X manages memory like a champ. I've had very few instances of a process hogging memory to the point that I had to end the process.
No viruses. No spyware. No defragmenting. Maintenance is almost non-existent.
Experience with Upgrades
I upgraded from 10.3 to 10.4 when Tiger was released earlier this year. I backed up data to DVDs, performed a clean install and was running 10.4 in about 30 minutes. I never had issues after the upgrade. OS X 10.4 Tiger is a solid OS and has some awesome improvements over Panther. Upgrading was easy and I probably would have been fine performing a true upgrade, instead of clean install. I chose the clean route mainly because that's what I was used to with Windows.
I also upgraded my RAM to 1.5 GB. I did it because I found a great deal on two 512MB sticks, and because I figured I'd see an improvement with iPhoto and iDVD. I also wanted to take advantage of more than 2 of 8 slots! I learned that you have to upgrade the RAM in pairs, but that wasn't a big deal since I have so much room for expansion. Installing the RAM was extremely easy because the slots are so accessible. It took about 2 minutes to do. OS X has put the RAM to good use and I'm glad that I made the upgrade.
Overall User Experience
OS X is the heart of a Mac system. Most people do enjoy looking at the different Mac computers, and I enjoy looking at mine. But what I really enjoy is using OS X. I use Windows XP every day, but I don't enjoy using it like I do OS X. I practically look for reasons to use my Mac at home! I love the interface of the OS, Dashboard, Spotlight, Safari, the iLife apps and the widget animations. It's a great user experience.
Overall, I can do things easier on my Mac than I could on my PC. Pretty much anything can be done on both so long as you have the right hardware and software, but based on what I've tried to do on both I've found the Mac and OS X makes it easier to accomplish these things.
Conclusions
If I didn't use a Windows-based PC anymore then I wouldn't miss it. I want to buy my parents an iMac G5 because they are always asking me why Windows gave them this error or if they should run a virus scan. The argument that computer illiterate users are to blame doesn't fly with me. Apple has made OS X in a way that both power users and the computer illiterate can both appreciate, and use.
I am thankful that I have a computer that I love to use, and that having that computer actually helped me get the job I have now. It was a huge benefit that I had knowledge of Mac computers and the operating system because the company I work for has a creative department.
If you actually read all my ramblings then I'm interested in your feedback. It should probably go without saying, but please don't post any anti-Apple or anti-MS opinions.
THE END
Before acquiring the Mac, I had used PCs since my family first owned a 486. I went through Windows 3.1/95/98/NT4/2000/ME/XP. I still use a PC every day at work and I am one of the network admins at my place of employment. Until last year I had very limited experience with Macs. By no means am I anti-Microsoft or one who would suggest "Buy a Mac" for every situation.
Original Configuration
1.8GHz PowerMac G5 - now 2 years old
512 MB PC3200 DDR SDRAM
140GB Seagate SATA HD
OS X 10.3 Panther
(How I came about owning the G5 can be found in this thread.)
Experience with Software
OS X 10.3 Panther was the most recent OS at the time, and I became familiar with it very quickly. For the most part it was very intuitive, which is often a selling point for Mac computers. In terms of general use, I found that I could do most things close to the same way as they are done on a PC. Learning to use Command+key instead of CTRL+key for keyboard functions was what took me the longest to get used to... probably about a week. I also started out with a Logitech MX700 mouse, so there was no need to worry about the lack of a right-click or scroll wheel.
I was pleased to discover the usual method for installing and uninstalling apps in OS X. All of the contents of an application are usually packaged together and all you see is the application's icon. Drag that to the Applications folder and you've installed it. Drag it to the trash to get rid of it. No registry entries? I liked that a lot.
Any software I needed was available and worked just as expected. I had MS Office X for Mac with Word, Excel and PowerPoint... no problems there and all the files were cross-platform compatible. Also, using ZIP files between Mac and PC worked perfectly, so that's a good way to transfer multiple files. I quickly learned that the "lack of software" argument for Macs is no longer true. There is a ton of software, both to purchase and freeware, that will let you do just about anything you want. Note that I am not a gamer, so I can't provide an opinion regarding game availability for the Mac.
I installed iLife '05 and I've really enjoyed the software. I use iPhoto as my image program, and I've used it jointly with iDVD to create a DVD slideshow. I've also ripped audio from some music DVDs I have and burned that audio onto CDs -- a gut-wrenching experience on my old PC, done easily with Apple's software. iTunes is obviously my music player of choice. I love how the iLife apps work together with each other and with OS X.
OS X has an integrated Firewall and it is pretty straightfoward to configure. No need for antivirus software -- another beautiful thing.
Hardware Experience
I love the look of the G5. As a guy I must admit that it's just a masculine-looking machine. Very simple, very clean. There aren't 5 bays in the front, but I've got a SuperDrive and don't need the extra slots. There are several extra PCI slots, room for 2 more hard drives, and 8 RAM slots. The side of the case is extremely easy to take off, and the inside is very open and very clean. Everything is easy to reach and there are no cables running in the way anywhere.
The computer usually runs very quiet because the fans are independent of each other. If a certain zone heats up then that zones fan(s) come on. The system speed is excellent -- from boot to desktop is about 10 seconds, including login time.
Any hardware I've attached works immediately after I plug it in. My iPod mini obviously works, but I've also got an Epson all-in-one, the Logitech mouse, two Canon digital cameras, a Logitech microphone and a Belkin router. Hardware identification is extremely quick and usually requires no interaction from me.
Experience with Stability
I do not remember a single time when my Mac froze and I had to reboot it. The only times I remember it being necessary to reboot was after installing certain updates, such as 10.3.x OS updates. I've had Safari crash and close maybe 10-15 times in a year, and iTunes less than 10. Force Quit works better and faster than End Task.
OS X manages memory like a champ. I've had very few instances of a process hogging memory to the point that I had to end the process.
No viruses. No spyware. No defragmenting. Maintenance is almost non-existent.
Experience with Upgrades
I upgraded from 10.3 to 10.4 when Tiger was released earlier this year. I backed up data to DVDs, performed a clean install and was running 10.4 in about 30 minutes. I never had issues after the upgrade. OS X 10.4 Tiger is a solid OS and has some awesome improvements over Panther. Upgrading was easy and I probably would have been fine performing a true upgrade, instead of clean install. I chose the clean route mainly because that's what I was used to with Windows.
I also upgraded my RAM to 1.5 GB. I did it because I found a great deal on two 512MB sticks, and because I figured I'd see an improvement with iPhoto and iDVD. I also wanted to take advantage of more than 2 of 8 slots! I learned that you have to upgrade the RAM in pairs, but that wasn't a big deal since I have so much room for expansion. Installing the RAM was extremely easy because the slots are so accessible. It took about 2 minutes to do. OS X has put the RAM to good use and I'm glad that I made the upgrade.
Overall User Experience
OS X is the heart of a Mac system. Most people do enjoy looking at the different Mac computers, and I enjoy looking at mine. But what I really enjoy is using OS X. I use Windows XP every day, but I don't enjoy using it like I do OS X. I practically look for reasons to use my Mac at home! I love the interface of the OS, Dashboard, Spotlight, Safari, the iLife apps and the widget animations. It's a great user experience.
Overall, I can do things easier on my Mac than I could on my PC. Pretty much anything can be done on both so long as you have the right hardware and software, but based on what I've tried to do on both I've found the Mac and OS X makes it easier to accomplish these things.
Conclusions
If I didn't use a Windows-based PC anymore then I wouldn't miss it. I want to buy my parents an iMac G5 because they are always asking me why Windows gave them this error or if they should run a virus scan. The argument that computer illiterate users are to blame doesn't fly with me. Apple has made OS X in a way that both power users and the computer illiterate can both appreciate, and use.
I am thankful that I have a computer that I love to use, and that having that computer actually helped me get the job I have now. It was a huge benefit that I had knowledge of Mac computers and the operating system because the company I work for has a creative department.
If you actually read all my ramblings then I'm interested in your feedback. It should probably go without saying, but please don't post any anti-Apple or anti-MS opinions.
THE END