Why I became an Apple (Mac)convert

[s1mp13m4n]

I have been using computers since 1987. I started using them in school typing papers for class. I got my first computer for myself in 1995. I basically grew up with DOS and Windows. I went to college for computers in the 90s and went in to networking. I preferred hardware to software. I went through my gamer and geek phase.
I started getting bored working on Windows all the time. From the blue screen of death to viruses, malware, etc it just got old. I started wanting a computer for my own use that just worked and did not need to be worked on all the time. I found Linux and loved it. It was more powerful than Windows and did everything I needed to do, all for free. Linux was no longer the money pit that Windows was. I had an iPod Touch and an iPad however that just did not work in Linux. Apple for some reason did not release the rights for Linux.
About 9 months a go I bought my first iMac. The simple truth is that I love it. The iMac is not plastic like a Windows computer, it is aluminum. It is well made and does not feel cheap. I enjoy how simple it is to use with the graphical interface, yet you can still use the command line if you want to because OSX is based on Unix. I like how all the Apple products integrate and work seamlessly together and communicate. It depends on what you read but OSX has about 3% of the market and Windows has over 90%. That is fine with me. I do not mind being in the minority at all. I do understand why folks say "once you go Mac you never go back". For me this is true.

 

[labworm]

Always a PC in the workplace, but at home since about 1996 nothing but a Mac.

Currently a iMac, 21 inch.

 

[s1mp13m4n]

I really like how you can do so many things with finger gestures on the smart touchpad as well.

 

[labworm]

I really like how you can do so many things with finger gestures on the smart touchpad as well.

Magic mouse, couldn't live without the little guy.
IMac, iPad, iPod
Apple Extreme, now you are good anywhere in the house, even outside with limited range.

Funny, many friends would throw the old insults around years ago, now they have seen the light.

 

[rcnixon]

Happy Unix (Free BSD)to you! I would buy an Apple but I require the use of software from a (the) vendor of networking equipment that only runs under Windows. I have several Ubuntu boxes and I am perfectly comfortable and competent with BSD/Linux/Unix command line.

The week Steve Jobs died, another man died to whom Jobs owed everything that Apple is and will ever be. That man was Dennis M. Richie, Phd. Richie invented the "C" programming language which is arguably the root of most of the languages we use today.

Russ

 

[EugeneNine]

I have a metal cased computer, Dell Latitude C400, ran XP for about a year until I gave up on it. Tried a few distros and went back to Slackware which was the first I had ever tried in the 386 days.
I worked on the service side for too long, we were a large GEM reseller and I got to see how badly Apple treated customers and resellers, I won't every spend any $ on them.
I am constantly unimpressed with the amount of $ it takes to make Apple or Microsoft do any work when I can get comparable quality for free from code people have voluntarily written in their spare time. Makes Microsoft and Apple look like government work.

 

[cddanjr]

When I open up ANY of my Apple products, they ALWAYS work. Have never had a virus, glitch, nothin.

Plus if I do, my wife is a Mac wizard and can fix anything on the Apple system. well I think she can, nothing has broke yet, 12 years+!

CHuck

 

[labworm]

When I open up ANY of my Apple products, they ALWAYS work. Have never had a virus, glitch, nothin.

Plus if I do, my wife is a Mac wizard and can fix anything on the Apple system. well I think she can, nothing has broke yet, 12 years+!

CHuck

Scary isn't it

 

[R. G. Amos]

Both OSX and Win machines have their places. I use a Mac Mini and Macbook Air for internet use since OSX is less subject to internet mischief; at least at this point. When I work with spread sheets and the like, I go to a Sony running Win 8. Apple's iWorks is just simply not as useful as Microsoft Office. I have not found Mac machines to be more reliable when compared to equal value Win machines. Of course a $800 machine will probably be less reliable than a $1600 machine. I am pleased with Win 8 but am becoming less so with OSX as it seems to be moving more and more to the iPad.

 

[Ben_hutcherson]

Right at a year ago, I was in the middle of working on a very, very important presentation(it would determine whether or not I was able to continue in my Ph D program at school).

About a week before my scheduled presentation date, my year-old Toshiba laptop died out of the clear blue. I'd been working with Windows systems for years and was familiar with a lot of the intricacies, but I'd never seen anything like what happened to my old laptop. It just seemed to shut down with a corrupted file system, and never would restart.

I pulled the hard drive and recovered all of my work off of it, and a friend was nice enough to loan me a computer to get through the presentation. The computer he loaned me was his "retired" aluminum Macbook, from about 2008.

I got through the presentation(I passed!) and the next day went out and bought a new 13" Macbook Pro. I've not looked back since then.

The learning curve for me was about 2 weeks, but I've found OS X to be a very stable and very capable operating system. There are features which I use all the time which I would really miss if I went to a different operating system. Virtual desktops along with the "mission control" feature is probably the best example of this.

Someone above mentioned using Office products. I have Office Mac, and it's fully compatible with and essentially identical to its Windows equivalent. I use Excel and Powerpoint very heavily, and exchange files with people using these programs all the time too.

By the way, I also managed to rehabilitate my Windows laptop from the above story and use it to run some Windows-only software.

 

[Lost Lake]

I just clicked the Apple logo on the top left and read that my iMac was made in early 2008. It's the 24" and I love it.

I have gone through one mouse and one keyboard (hot cocoa spilled on it) but the computer is the same as the day I bought it.

It runs all the new software.

It never crashes.

Updates are free.

I have never ran any anti-virus and it is connected to the net 24/7.

The computer is shut down about once every two weeks for an overnight.

I used to run IBM clones with Windows software... What a pain!!! Now when I bring in a new printer, I plug it in and my computer lights up, tells me it recognizes the printer is in the room, and asks if I would like to wirelessly connect and set it up.

Same with iPhones, iPads, iPods. My wireless is a Time Capsule. Never a glitch in over 5 years, backing up every hour on the hour.

What's not to love?

 

[Malpasowildlifer]

I love my Mac! Zero problems.

 

[sipowicz]

Mac, iphone and ipad....no regrets.

 

[s1mp13m4n]

I also use the Time Machine with the Apple external back drive/router all in one. Works like a charm. For my school work iWork does all I need to do even thought I have MS Office for the Mac. I found that when using Open Office and Libre Office in Linux, it did not play nice when my instructors sent us assignments using templates. I like how the Apple designed software works seamlessly on my iMac. It integrates well. An example would be that when I use my iPod Touch as a camera and then am in range of my network it automatically syncs my pics and video with I photo and will upload to Youtube, Flick, etc all without me doing a thing if I so choose. iTunes on the Mac is a different experience than iTunes on Windows. One major feature I like of OSX as in Linux, if a program does mess up it does not lock up and freeze the entire computer. You can simply force quit the stuck program and nothing else is effected.

My 4 year old daughter playing Pinball Arcade on the iMac

 

[labworm]

A little secret.

I collect radios, went to purchase one off a gentleman who was relocating to Amsterdam, I bought one. On my way out the door he said why don't you buy this, I don't want to drag it back with me. I said I don't want it, he said yours for $5.00, I said throw it in my trunk. Actually works, just around as a novelty, 1986 Mac Plus, 1 MB RAM

The line in the B&W screen is caused by the camera.

 

[Col. Plink]

I got an iPhone last summer. Bought my wife an iPad for Christmas. I was afraid she would not warm to it, and she is on it every night when sitting in front of the TV -- looking up info on shows, actors, ordering off eBay ... and finally checking her email regularly.

Next PC we get will definitely be a Mac. Life is too short to tolerate Windows machines any longer than necessary (i.e. it is tax time so no spending for awhile) ...

 

[LouisianaJoe]

I design software. All of my customers have standardized on the windows platform. The development tools that I am required to use do not run on a Mac.

If you just use office apps and email and surf the internet then you do not need the windows platform. If you use computers in your business with custom database applications, then you need windows.

If you use server based web applications, then you can use any platform to get to your data.

I still like my iPad for quick access to info on the web.

It just depends on what you want to do and what investments that companies have made to run their businesses.

Windows 8 may be the platform that pushes people away from windows. It is really bad! Talk about user unfriendly!

 

[357-RevolverGuy]

I've used a mac since the 90s starting on an early G3. I'm a graphic designer who has transitioned over to web. Have owned various G3, G4, G5, early Intel, and currently work on a Mac Pro running 10.6. Of them all I remember the G4 iMac as being one of the funnest I've owned... when the dual G5 running 10.4 came out I thought it was pretty amazing and still own it. The Pro tower feels just like it but a lot faster.

I've also owned several Windows machines from 98-to the most current Windows 8. My take on Windows is that you can easily upgrade an older machine to run newer software and hardware where as on a mac you are good for maybe 2 OS upgrades and then are forced to buy another mac. It's harder to find parts for a mac... and for some reason parts like video cards, ram, etc. end up costing almost double.

I think in today's world Windows has come a long way and it does everything I can do on my mac. The mac OS no longer has the wow factor it once did years ago. At work we started using Windows 8 for testing and I found it to be pretty stable so I upgraded my Acer laptop with it. I've been impressed. It's fun to use. It's what I had wished computers were like 10-15 yrs ago.

I still use a mac but I also have been enjoying Windows more than I have before.

 

[Dominus_Lex]

Cannot say enough good about my MacBook Pro, the price was rather hard to swallow vs a PC based laptop, but in the end very much a case of "you get what you pay for".

 

[kozmic]

Macs at home and PC's at work. I bought both my kids laptops for school. The oldest wanted a PC. and got a Dell. Interestingly, at his college there are 2 computer labs for basic repairs, sofware, etc. One side of the hall is for PC's and the other is for Macs. His campus supports both equally and when I asked about it on our tour, our guide said the school is 50/50. I was able to talk my youngest into a Mac Book Pro. Both use the snot out of them and each like their chosen format. My wife has an Airbook and loves it. I have a Mac Book Pro and would never change. To me Macs are much more intuitive and reliable.
And like with handguns, you get what you pay for.