Thinking about switching to a MBP from Windows:

BlackBerry Guy

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I recently made the switch to a 13" 2013 MacBook Air after 20+ years with Windows. I was a little nervous about the switch as well, but it hasn't been as bad as I thought...once you figure out the equivalents in the OS and command keys, you'll find that the two OS' are more similar than different. I did end up partitioning about 70gb of the SSD to Boot Camp so that I can dual boot Windows 8 if I need it for work, or apps for which I specifically need Windows. Aside from that, the only other thing I did Windows related was buy Paragon NTFS ($20), so that I could also write (OS X can only read) to NTFS formatted external drives that I've used to store media on.

Good luck! You won't regret your decision :).
 

Eileen89

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I recently made the switch to a 13" 2013 MacBook Air after 20+ years with Windows. I was a little nervous about the switch as well, but it hasn't been as bad as I thought...once you figure out the equivalents in the OS and command keys, you'll find that the two OS' are more similar than different. I did end up partitioning about 70gb of the SSD to Boot Camp so that I can dual boot Windows 8 if I need it for work, or apps for which I specifically need Windows. Aside from that, the only other thing I did Windows related was buy Paragon NTFS ($20), so that I could also write (OS X can only read) to NTFS formatted external drives that I've used to store media on.

Good luck! You won't regret your decision :).

Thank you BB Guy. I had a chance to play with the Retina MBP again tonight and the screen really is stunning. Can't wait till they come out with the new one that has the updated processor. :)


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Padron26

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They need to bring back the 17" MBP, then I'd have one. I currently don't have a Mac, I need one expandable and with the performance like my Elitebooks.
I'm constantly looking at them, trying to justify it to myself.
 

Eileen89

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They need to bring back the 17" MBP, then I'd have one. I currently don't have a Mac, I need one expandable and with the performance like my Elitebooks.
I'm constantly looking at them, trying to justify it to myself.

I guess some may want a 17" screen. However, I like the 15" screen. It looks and feels like the perfect size for me. :)


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Padron26

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Yeah I love the compact feeling of the 15" but with cad and some other programs the extra screen size really makes a world of difference.
Especially when it's 1080.

THats why I always have a backup/secondary laptop with me. I've been using a surface pro and its competing fairly well.
 

Padron26

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I need to have it easily accessible and It's not to easy to bring all of that with you to meetings and especially while traveling. When you have to show jobs in Detail those couple of inches can make all the difference. Believe me I have a room full of computer accessories. Monitors, docks,replicators, stands,racks cases etc
I've got 5 pc's including 3 laptops and a windows 8 tablet that are just mine. And these aren't your everyday laptops.
I use to have a meilink safe bolted on the inside on my truck bed. To keep things safe cause I don't need everything everytime.
And I only did that cause I've had my tailgate was ripped open from the side just so the thieves could get hood rich for the week, which happened 11 am in downtown Tampa.

Like I said before 15" laptops are great... but for some things they just don't work.





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DJLILM

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Best switch I made. I don't have to worry about all the drama that comes with windows nomore.


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Eileen89

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Especially with Win 8, what a festering t#rd of an OS that is. Switch and don't look back.

Jeff
I tried W8 on a laptop for the first time at BB when I was there and honestly I was lost. I didn't like the look or how everything has been changed around. If I have to get used to a new OS I would rather switch to Apple at this point.
 

Fausty82

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Especially with Win 8, what a festering t#rd of an OS that is. Switch and don't look back.

Jeff

I tried W8 on a laptop for the first time at BB when I was there and honestly I was lost. I didn't like the look or how everything has been changed around. If I have to get used to a new OS I would rather switch to Apple at this point.

And to bring this back full circle to Apple, that is one of the biggest concerns with completely revamping iOS... IMHO, iOS 7 changes it up just enough to be different, yet while remaining somewhat constant for the customer experience.

What Microsoft did with Win 8 was unconscionable - leaving it’s customers in a quandary like that - what do I do? how do I do it?, etc...

Fortunately, you won’t experience that with OS X - even if they do revamp it, the look and feel will remain somewhat constant - like how Microsoft did the Windows 3.1 > Windows 95 > Windows 98...

My switch to Mac/OS X was a learning experience, but looking back, it was not that difficult... and with that same 20/20 hindsight, I am very happy that I did it.
 

Eileen89

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^ Fausty, I'm not sure but I believe Apples OS updates are cheaper than Windows too which will be another added plus. I had to pay $100 when I upgraded my kids PC from Vista to Windows 7.


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Fausty82

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^ Fausty, I'm not sure but I believe Apples OS updates are cheaper than Windows too which will be another added plus. I had to pay $100 when I upgraded my kids PC from Vista to Windows 7.

Sent from my iPhone 5 using Tapatalk 2.

Excellent point, Rose. The updates have gotten significantly cheaper... back in the day, Apple charged a Microsoft-like $119 per machine to upgrade... the upgrade from Leopard to Snow Leopard was only $29 one computer, and $49 for up to 5 computers... and the upgrade from Lion to Mountain Lion was only $19 for up to 5 computers...
 

Fausty82

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I found this graphic somewhere online that could easily serve as a conversion tool... if I did this in Windows, how do I do the same function in OS X?
 

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Eileen89

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Excellent point, Rose. The updates have gotten significantly cheaper... back in the day, Apple charged a Microsoft-like $119 per machine to upgrade... the upgrade from Leopard to Snow Leopard was only $29 one computer, and $49 for up to 5 computers... and the upgrade from Lion to Mountain Lion was only $19 for up to 5 computers...

WOW! Only $19 and it allowed for up to 5 computers? Not bad at all, IMHO. I paid $100 and was only able to upgrade 1 PC. This is great to know. :)


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Eileen89

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I found this graphic somewhere online that could easily serve as a conversion tool... if I did this in Windows, how do I do the same function in OS X?

This is awesome, thanks! I'll print this out for reference later. :)


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Fausty82

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WOW! Only $19 and it allowed for up to 5 computers? Not bad at all, IMHO. I paid $100 and was only able to upgrade 1 PC. This is great to know. :)

Sent from my iPhone 5 using Tapatalk 2.

Yes, the upgrade was $19 and only available through the Mac App Store ... all software sold through the MAS can be installed on any Mac that shares that account. The current limit is 5 Macs... so any software that you purchase (including OS X) is included.
 

Fausty82

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The hardest thing to get used to was the lack of Quicken. The Mac does have Quicken Essentials but it's not good enough because it doesn't include the detailed portfolio tracking of the "real" Quicken. I finally settled on iBank which is good enough although still not quite up to the version of Quicken that I last used in 2011 before switching to the Mac. I was able to get all my transactions exported and imported though.

Yeah, I absolutely agree with that. I’m still struggling to find a good replacement for Quicken...
 

Peter Cohen

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The 13-inch MBA also has a PCIe-based SSD instead of SATA; the improved throughput makes a big difference in perceived speed.

Haswell processors will make a big difference in power efficiency for the MacBook Pro and will also provide better integrated graphics performance. But don't count on a big bump in processor *speed.* Haswell chips aren't markedly faster than the Ivy Bridge processors in currently shipping MBPs.
 

Trees

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iBank isn't perfect but I've had good luck with it over the past almost two years. And I had been a Quicken user since at least '94.

Slightly off topic, but since personal finance apps are a consideration when moving from Windows, thought I'd share.

Just FYI for those using iBank, or considering a Quicken alternative. There's a companion mobile app that can synch via WiFi to the iBank instance on your Mac. I use it primarily for tracking cash expenses. I need to use iBank more consistently, but so far it's been a viable alternative to Quicken, and one less reason to use Bootcamp or similar hypervisor just to run Windows only for Quicken.
 

Eileen89

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The 13-inch MBA also has a PCIe-based SSD instead of SATA; the improved throughput makes a big difference in perceived speed.

Haswell processors will make a big difference in power efficiency for the MacBook Pro and will also provide better integrated graphics performance. But don't count on a big bump in processor *speed.* Haswell chips aren't markedly faster than the Ivy Bridge processors in currently shipping MBPs.
Thanks for the info Peter. Only problem I have with the MBA and it's a big one for me, is the lack of Retina display. Once you get used to Apples Retina display it is very hard to go back. Apple will probably add a MBA with Retina, but I don't think it will be soon.
 

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