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"Windows to Mac - Difficult" Topic


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Moonraker Miniatures27 Jul 2016 5:02 a.m. PST

I'm going to have to replace my laptop soon and am thinking of taking the plunge and going for a Mac. If I did, how easy is it to transfer stuff from the Windows machine to a Mac? I'm thinking of documents, photos, email accounts and probably other things I haven't identified yet.

Doug

Cold Steel27 Jul 2016 7:07 a.m. PST

I run Open Office on a 10 year old Mac and have no problem accessing photos, documents or spreadsheets from Windows PCs.

Guinny27 Jul 2016 7:55 a.m. PST

Apple have an app designed exactly for that purpose: link

Andrew Walters27 Jul 2016 8:35 a.m. PST

Yup, easy. I helped my father go through that conversion last year. Learning the new interface will take more of your attention than converting files or email accounts. The file formats are essentially the same, and the Mail app can use all your email accounts straight up.

RavenscraftCybernetics27 Jul 2016 9:27 a.m. PST

Open Office Rocks!

Moonraker Miniatures27 Jul 2016 12:23 p.m. PST

Thanks for input. Next question (which I'll probably have to answer for myself) is:

Is it a good idea to change to mac?

Doug

Mr Elmo27 Jul 2016 12:43 p.m. PST

Is it a good idea to change to mac?

That depends on your use case and existing ecosystem.

What brand is your smartphone? If it's an iPhone then there is a strong case to switch as the integration is pretty sweet.

Do you want to play premium game titles? If so, Mac isn't a good choice

Do you want control or just have things work? If you want to worry about graphics cards, drivers, settings, etc. then don't get a Mac. On the other hand, if you want a minimum of fuss then get one.

Does it bother you to pay more for a brand?

I have a Mac and love it; however, I also run Parallels and have a Windows 10 virtual machine.

Andrew Walters27 Jul 2016 6:12 p.m. PST

With a Mac you will spend less time restarting, less time fiddling with the Control Panel, less time dealing with malware of every type. Yes, someone else already chose your sound card for you and your graphics chipset and all that, but it was someone very knowledgable and they did it right. It does depend on available funds and what you're going to do with it, but OS X is just nicer.

You will have to learn the interface, but that will happen pretty quick.

Moonraker Miniatures28 Jul 2016 3:55 a.m. PST

Thanks for the interesting and useful input. I don't play games on my laptop. I do have an iPhone. I have no interest in selecting graphics cards. Drivers and settings are a necessary evil at the moment – not something I engage with for fun…!

So it looks as though a Mac may suit me. I'd probably get a reconditioned one from Apple. I know nothing about their range so I need to look into what's available. I currently have a 6 year old Toshiba Satellite 650 so something roughly equivalent (but more recent) would be fine. If anyone has further input on that, I'd be grateful.

Thanks

Doug

PaddySinclair28 Jul 2016 5:23 a.m. PST

If you're a UK user, the one thing that will drive you up the wall is keyboard layout if you're coming from a PC based laptop. It will take a lot of getting used to if you were highly keyboard reliant before – your muscle memory will keep going for the wrong keys as their UK models have a layout closer to the normal US one (but not the same…).

If you're a look at the keyboard and point and peck type, you'll be fine straight out of the box.

Andrew Walters28 Jul 2016 9:53 a.m. PST

Apple Refurbs area good idea. You get last year's model at 10% off with the full warranty and all the other benefits of a new computer.

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