Thanks to Apple’s Boot Camp beta, long-time Mac users are trying out Windows XP, and Windows users are starting to pick up Macs. Trying out the “other side” can be confusing at first. ExtremeTech has a simple little guide that makes this trasition an easy one.
Some things discussed are what programs are great for each OS, as well as how to get around your new environment.
A Switcher’s Guide to Windows / OS X
About The Author
Eugenia Loli
Ex-programmer, ex-editor in chief at OSNews.com, now a visual artist/filmmaker.
Follow me on Twitter @EugeniaLoli
Mac users are going need to get use to Windows regardless.
Or did you really think Apple can survive selling overpriced x86 boxes as the only OEM that has to fund the development of its own niche operating system?
OS X is going bye bye…
Microsoft adopting QuickTime, OS X APIs for Windows, take your pick of end game scenarios for OS X. It will all end up with Steve and Bill shaking hands on stage.
I don’t think OS X is going to go anywhere. Where do you see OS X API’s for windows?
Windows will not have iLife, iWork or any of the other fantastic app suites you can have with OS X. Windows will not give you the stability of OS X. Windows will not give you the security you get with OS X (go ahead and flame away for that comment).
The addition of bootcamp is only going to see more people switching to OS X (conjecture). Windows users going to the Apple store to get the Powerbook they’ve always wanted to try. Once you spend a little time with OS X, you’ll never want to go back to MS.
At least, that is how it worked for me. I was a diehard windows user who was forced to develop for a Mac. Once I decided to buy an iBook, I removed windows from every x86 I owned and went to *nix.
Of course…..this is all conjecture and my opinion, but how is that different from your post?
“The addition of bootcamp is only going to see more people switching to OS X (conjecture). Windows users going to the Apple store to get the Powerbook they’ve always wanted to try. Once you spend a little time with OS X, you’ll never want to go back to MS”
I’ve spent time with OS X and though I admit it’s nice, I’m not going to go rush to the Apple store and get a Powerbook for that reason only.
Don’t misunderstand-I don’t necessarily like Windows per say, but I have no use for OS X, which is my point: If/when I get an Apple/OS X (or whatever it may be in the future), it will be because I have a use for it. I don’t buy computers for “gee whiz” factors. As for security, I don’t rely on my Windows computer to keep me safe (admittedly these days, not a wise thing to do), I use a Linux box in combination with other software, utilities, etc. – again, because I have a use for them.
That’s just *my* opinion too 😉
Edited 2006-04-26 12:54
I totally agree here. I purchase computers to get work done, and purchase the best machine for my purposes. I was a Windows user for a long time and dabbled in Linux.
I moved to an academic lab that is entirely Mac based (back with OS 9). At that time, I continued to use Windows, as OS 9 was completely foreign to me. But, I had to write code for the Macintosh (Matlab based code, so I did most things on Windows anyways and ported small chunks for Mac only libraries).
I was in the market for a laptop around the time of OS 10.3. At that point, it was more efficient for me to make the “switch” – and I purchased an iBook. Not for the eye-candy, not because the iBooks are “sexy”, but because it seemed the best tool for the work I need to do.
All computers should be evaluated like this.
But, the addition of bootcamp will allow people who wanted to dabble in OS X the choice to try it out (if wanted) and still have the safety net of knowing they can use the Windows based apps they’ve always used. I think that there will be a lot of casual users (e-mail, web surfing etc.) that will continue to use OS X after giving it a try.
There is a place for Windows, as there is for OS X and Linux. It is (should) be up to each consumer as to what they feel is the best tool for the job. Not simply be forced to use whatever their OEM decided to install on their machine.
Edited 2006-04-26 13:31
> All computers should be evaluated like this.
Amen brother, it’s called “The right tool for the right job.”
*cough*trolling*cough*
Like the Windows Media Player plugn being adapted FOR Quicktime, like wine’s Winow’s API NOT written by Microsoft and the ability to run Winows on a Mac you could’ve easily said the same thing for Windows. Tripe and flamer fodder. Yes, Macs are a bit more expensive, but you’re paying for quality not quantity (thought I should add this before you throw more flame on the fire). Controlled hardware means better support for the system and the OS. Profit margins and overal sales of all of Apples products are thriving (Google it). Even stock analysis are predicting even more growth. Surviving? I’d say that they are doing quite well.
And furthermore, this does not mean that Microsoft is dead or going to be. Quite the opposite. With things like virtualization (read darwine and others) and Apple’s nifty Bootcamp Microsoft will continue to grow. Even a 3% (to use a very old quote) market share gain for Microsoft is great. With every Mac sold Microsoft has an even chance of selling a copy of windows for it. What? A win/win situation for Apple and Microsoft? Oh, bet on it.
This is just common sense. I expect more from expeirienced trolls. I’m not mad. I’m just… disapointed. Next time, please, try harder. This was a piss poor attempt at trolling. If this happens again I shall strip you of the troll title and label you dolt.
Edited 2006-04-25 21:37
That’s an interesting way to spin the situation. Have you been reading the news over the past year? Everyone’s excited about the prospects for OS X, everyone’s excited about the prospects of Linux, and nobody could care less about Vista. Just check the OSNews headlines over the past few months. Sure, it’s far from a scientific study, but if anything the current vibe on the net makes your statement sound very silly.
Both Windows and Mac OS X are going to be around a long time.
Having said that I’m another person that uses a Mac but I support Windows at work. Using both I definitely prefer the Mac.
There won’t be a huge amount of Windows users coming over to Mac even though they will be able to run either. That’s ok, even a small percentage helps Apple more than it hurts MS.
For me using Windows is equivalent to driving an old car. There is a lot more maintenance than what I want or feel I should have to deal with. My car may not be the fastest but it isn’t slow. And time in the shop or me having to wrench it is time away from me doing something I like. I don’t like wrenching cars and I’m sick of “wreching” on Windows computers. You can, in a way, say that Microsoft bought me my Macs.
On the latter issue, it is extremely hard to find jobs supporting Macs because there are very few full time Mac support specialists inside of companies. The reason is that the Macs we have at work rarely need support. RARELY. Mac users don’t need help installing apps and rarely need help trouble shooting them. The person that does trouble shoot them is usually not a computer tech but a person that has a different job title that happens to once in awhile fix or config this or that.
Anyway, that’s why I still fix Windows computers all day. At home I just go and do things on the computer that are enjoyable and entertaining.
Edited 2006-04-25 22:21
I don’t know about Mac, but for Windows I much prefer µTorrent ( http://www.utorrent.com ). Full-featured, in a ~150Kb package. There’s just no comparison.
From the article: “General Interface: Buy a Mouse
Okay, so this one isn’t software, but it’s so important we had to include it. Whether you’re on a notebook or desktop Mac, you owe it to yourself to replace the Apple mouse with something else. Apple is sticking with one-button mice and trackpads”
That’s not entirely true, every (current) Mac that comes with a mouse (namely, the iMac & the PowerMac – the mini doesn’t come with either a mouse or a keyboard) comes with Apple’s Mighty Mouse, which has 3 buttons & a scroll ball.
For older models or laptops, I agree – I’m using a 4 buttons + clickable scroll-wheel mouse myself.
> comes with Apple’s Mighty Mouse, which has 3 buttons & a scroll ball.
You mean the ‘twitch mouse’ that seems to left and right click when all I’m trying to do is move it, and the POS ‘scroll ball’ that gums up after 20 minutes use? Much less the headache that is trying to drag and drop with that POS…
Which is why the first thing I do for any computer is go get a Logitech Trackman Marble.
One thing I got a laugh out of in the article was:
> the WinXP taskbar at the bottom of the screen simply shows the currently-running apps. And it does so without iconic representations.
Nice grammar, and those look like icons to me, just with TEXT next to them. I know the concept of actual TEXT on the screen may be blasphemy to the apple folks, but I’d be a LOT happier if the damned dock actually displayed TEXT all the time… and if I could get between multiple TEXT files quickly. (But then I also run my taskbar in portrait on the left and turn off ‘group by’ in XP so…) Expose is cute, but when you have more than one text document open at once you can’t tell them apart – something I can do on the taskbar at a glance without clicking or hovering anyplace.
“Windows will not give you the stability of OS X”
“Controlled hardware means better support for the system and the OS.”
“Yes, Macs are a bit more expensive, but you’re paying for quality not quantity”
All three are false.
XP is at least as stable as OSX.
Controlled hardware is a misnomer. Its just less hardware, not any less controlled. If you buy a preinstalled windows machine from any significant supplier it has all been tested together and will all work at least as well as a Mac. If you doubt this, try reading macintouch or macfixit.
Finally, as a glance through macintouch or macfixit shows, you’re not paying for quality. Or if you are, you are not getting it. You’re getting no better components, no better assembled. You are getting three things: (1) the brand and the look (2) a low volume series (3) 15 points of extra margin for the supplier.
The most egregious example of paying for the brand is those thick polished perforated aluminum plate cases for the floor standers. Utterly pointless, very expensive, heavy, noisy. But if you know nothing about case design, they look great. Put them next to an Antec 180. One is designed to catch the eye, and does, the other to house computers and keep them cool and quiet, and does.
Macs are a perfectly reasonable personal brand choice for anyone, just like a Rolex or a Gucci or a Mont Blanc is. Expensive? Maybe, but one person’s expense is another’s pleasure. Spend your money how you like. Just don’t make up lots of bad reasons for other people to follow what are only your personal tastes.
“Yes, Macs are a bit more expensive, but you’re paying for quality not quantity”
Dunno about nowadays but a couple of years ago when i looked at buying a powerbook g4 with all the bells and whistles i decided not to because of all the reports i was seeing on various boards, dead pixels, warped lids .. for nearly 2 grand i expect every pixel on my screen to glow and be able to close the lid correctly, good customer service for replacement or not (even then i heard that 1 dead pixel on screen was acceptable to Apple) … I ended up buying a AMD64 latop and never regretted it for a moment, especially when i played with the 17″ powerbook, man how can you use only one mouse button 🙂
every (current) Mac that comes with a mouse (namely, the iMac & the PowerMac comes with Apple’s Mighty Mouse, which has 3 buttons & a scroll ball.
True, but the mighty mouse pretty much blows. to right click, you have to raise your index finger. If it is touching the left side of the mouse at all, it registers as a left click.
One can learn to do so of course, but not being able to press both buttons at once leaves certain operations impossible. Rocker gestures in Opera/Firefox? Nope. No jumping and shooting at the same time in Unreal Tournament (not in my default setup anyway, others will use spacebar for jump of course).
That and pressing the whole body of the mouse down instead of a discreet button always seemed like a real physical effort to me, something that shouldn’t be in an action repeated so often in a GUI world.
Just my opinion and observations after using the MM for 4 weeks. I haven’t thrown it away or returned it though