Tips from Our Experience of Switching from PC/Windows to Mac
A WDFS reader emailed us asking: "How was switching over to Mac? We have a similar situation and am considering moving to Mac platform but am somewhat hesitant since we have used Windows the entire professional career."
I've made no secret recently of my disappointment in Windows. I've always hated the fact that no installation remains quick for more than about 6 months before needing a reinstall, no matter how few things I seem to install.
I opted for Vista Ultimate on my new Lenovo laptop (bearing a full 3GB of RAM!) and it quickly became so slow and flaky that, following a hard disk crash, when I took it to the store, I asked them to put XP back on it, paying Microsoft another £100! So I've vowed never to buy another Windows PC, and I'm keen to make the switch when funds allow (especially now Santa brought us a gorgeous gleaming iMac for the family to use in the kitchen).
All that aside, Lizzie is our first full-time Mac user, so here's her response and advice.
Hi Steve,
I have managed the process myself, being reasonably technically minded, but Apple themselves will manage the whole process for a fee should you wish to take that route. I prefer to know what is happening though. so that I can fix issues and minimise any down time should anything go 'wrong'.
We took the decision to make the change over with just one machine initially, minimising costs and impact company wide, and importantly being able to pick up any 'change over' issues as we went along. It is choosing which individual to give the additional work load to!
Because I was able to partition a Mac (by simply installing inexpensive software - Parallels
) and install Windows on the partition I initially ran my Windows/PC set-up on my Mac hardware.
I am unaware of whether or not you have seen this operation in progress, but I personally find it incredible. By clicking the windows icon on my Mac dock, I open Windows as if I was opening any other application on my Mac. And quick keys let me switch back to working on OSX as though I have just minimised an open window.
This way I was able to continue using purely Windows-based software that I had always used (eg. Sage for my accounts) as I always had done, while converting my other programs (email, calendars, etc.) to the Mac one at a time.
I now very rarely access the Windows partition, and in writing this realise that if it was not there I would not miss it.
A couple of interesting things have come out of this process. One is that we are now no-longer attached to our MS Small Business Server, and can work easily and securely from anywhere in the world. Our information is backed up automatically as it is held in our mobile devices, on the cloud, and on our computers. Information is flowing more easily it would seem.
The other wonderful thing for me, with an accountants brain, is that the partitioning enables me to make the change-over as and when machines break, licences expire, etc. Minimising the impact of large expenditure. Thus setting up a new Mac in the office, when a PC breaks, will take the same amount of time as if I was setting up a new PC… As I type this I realise that my Macs are always a lot easier to set up! So it may be quicker to convert a Mac to a PC, than to replace a PC with a PC!?!
Main Issues
Accessing our Windows Small Business Server - as a novice I found it hard to get the server to communicate with the partition (ie, bypassing the Mac). Using posts on the web I worked through this though and all worked fine. Ben will not be going through this step though, as we are now using MobileMe & iPhones and on-line (backed-up to our server) storage.
Prospect of slower productivity for Ben: he has used the PC for so long that he knows his quick keys and short cuts instinctively. He will need to re-train is lightening fast typing fingers. He has done this before though, when converting to his ergonomic keyboard
and found it well worth the effort. As I type I realise that I do not know whether Ben's much loved keyboard is Mac compatible! I will ask him to research that!
Costs
Benefits
This is purely my experience and different change-over models will work for different companes, but I hope I have been of help.
I would love to know how you get on, what issues you face. We've started a discussion on the Scratch forums so anyone can share their views.
Lizzie