People Who Moved from Windows to MacOS. How was it?

WuMyster

WuMyster

WuMyster

Associate
Joined
28 Feb 2012
Posts
1,839
Location
London, UK
As title says. I've never touched MacOS for more than a minute but I'm in serious need of a new laptop so it has to be a MBP of some sort.

Wondering how people found their switch to MacOS. Desktop will still be Windows which will run Chrome for additional detail.

I have read from many places that Finder is properly **** compared to explorer.
 
I swap between the two regularly, and don't have to think about it much. I read the same thing about Finder and started using stuff like PathFinder - I don't really bother any more. I really don't have any issues with Finder.
 
Finder isn't as advanced as Windows Explorer but it's getting there. A big part of it is just getting used to it though. At home I've used Macs exclusively for years and Windows at work.

It's good fun and good to see how things work a little differently. You may even end up preferring it :)

It's a friendly OS that anyone can pick up and just use, that's for sure.
 
I switched my windows desktop to an iMac about a year ago.

It took me a couple of weeks to get my head around things but its a very simple OS to use.

I only use my iMac for the most basic things, internet/email/photos.

Some things have really irritated me in the past such as setting up email accounts, this can be a pain for me. They can make some things that should be simple a complete an utter pain to do.

But generally Im very pleased with the switch.
 
Did the move about 5 years ago from Windows 7 and definitely prefer Mac OS for personal use and Windows for office use.

Mac OS really shines when you're within the Apple ecosystem so everything just syncs between all your products, admittedly there is probably something out there which does it across diff OS and devices but I'm not clued up on that front.
 
Long time Windows user, flit between Windows and Mac OS (Gaming PC and Mac for other stuff). Admittedly, I am still getting to grips with Mac OS (not a power user).

I find Mac OS management of dual screens far better than Windows (e.g. simple things such as handling different wallpapers etc).

I agree that the Apple ecosystem is great for syncing between devices. Sending SMS without picking up your phone.

I am happy to be proven wrong, but from my experience everything costs. Call me a tightwad, however with a PC you can usually find some really decent programs for everything (audio, security, graphics etc) and they cost nothing. Whereas with Apple in my experience, there is usually a price to pay (even with apps not listed on the Appstore).

I agree with comments concerning Finder. Why the hell is the Library folder hidden? I find this really annoying that Apple squirrel folders away and you have to run a DOS command to locate downloaded eBooks etc?

Foibles such as trying to locate the '#' key (I had to resort to Google to work it out). No Delete key on the keyboard!

Window Snapping still needs work (Windows is better).

As a media machine, albeit, this is mainly cosmetic - media files just look better than Windows. Hard to explain, one example which influences (unsurprisingly) iTunes works far better but still not perfect.
 
I've been a long time user of both.

MacOS:

Definitely easier to use, more intuitive, and more beautiful. Apple's fonts are much better than Microsoft, the OS handles DPI scaling a million times better (windows is getting better at each iteration, but it's still nowhere near macOS, and third party windows software are just nowhere whereas on macOS almost every third party app does DPI scaling very well). Most of the native macOS software are definitely a head and neck ahead of windows, but they will cost too. Worse software exists that are free, but they're no better than their free windows alternatives. The OS is more smooth and fluid and doesn't crash as much as windows does.

Windows:

Games. Better window management. Much greater customizability. Games. Obviously ability to build your own system and use any hardware that you want. Better professional engineering software. Games. Games. Games. Better support for less widely used languages.

These change between different versions. macOS used to have horrible multimonitor support, now it's ahead of windows. Finder used to suck, it's improved greatly although explorer is still preferred. Windows notifications used to be horrible, they've improved but not fast enough.
 
mark66 said:
Not sure if it is still the case, but the default lack of CUT in Finder was shocking. Just why??
Click to expand...

I used to think this when I got my first MBP six year or so ago. Actually, you're just looking at it wrong; that is, back to front. :p

Windows: 1) Cut this file. 2) Paste it here.

So cut is the first instruction in the set, and you only have to confirm the destination afterwards, with 'copy it here and delete the original' thus being the only available option. Conversely,

macOS/Finder: 1) Select the file to work with (Copy command). 2) Right click in desired folder, then select either 'Paste Item' (copy and paste a duplicate here), or alternatively alt+right click for 'Move Item Here' (put the file here, delete the original).

Therefore Finder gives you more flexibility to work with a file then decide what t do with it. I know it's counterintuitive (literally back to front) to Windows habits, but it makes sense once you know. How many times in Windows I've cut or copied a file in a rush/absent-mindedly, only to realise I needed the opposite command... On a Mac you just say 'this is the file' and then decide what to do with it. Simples.

OP, it's easy to get to grips with. Coming from Windows it'll likely wow you with how polished and attractive the UI is, and it'll have a fair novelty factor for a while. Then little niggles will creep in and annoy you, due to your own lack of knowledge (like my initial issue with not knowing how to 'cut' files). Pretty soon you'll suss it all and you'll love it.

It's not Windows, and it's not *nix. It is what it is. The networking stack is decent enough, it's really stable (though ironically I find Windows 10 a little more stable these days) and it's intuitive and fun to work with. Find a website or book with a real newbies' guide, and/or some YouTube videos. Dig in, have fun, and you'll soon be getting along like a house on fire. Simple tweaks/add-ons make it even more seamless and useful, for example the free library QLVideo to add thumbnailing for all video formats in Finder, Movist for hardware accelerated h264 MKV playback, and - if you're as bad as me - Murus as a front-end for the inbuilt pf firewall. :D

The days of restricted software catalogues and whatnot are long gone, and if it's out there chances are it's on Mac (even MS Office etc). In addition there are tons of Mac-only apps that really are very good. Just note that Macs - like all modern PCs - thrive on an SSD (some models can't be upgraded by you, only at factory). I'd say 8GB RAM minimum but I run 16GB.

I'd be highly surprised if you didn't like it. The hardware alone is worth it. Despite the old 'low spec' stuff that gets trotted out (I used to be in that camp!), in the real world you realise that it's a very carefully thought out mix of components with a really efficient OS that makes full use of the hardware on board. I adore my MBP, despite having Win10 and various Linux/BSD boxes in the house. It'd only ever get replaced with another (better) one. :cool:
 
Rainmaker said:
I used to think this when I got my first MBP six year or so ago. Actually, you're just looking at it wrong; that is, back to front. :p

Windows: 1) Cut this file. 2) Paste it here.

So cut is the first instruction in the set, and you only have to confirm the destination afterwards, with 'copy it here and delete the original' thus being the only available option. Conversely,

macOS/Finder: 1) Select the file to work with (Copy command). 2) Right click in desired folder, then select either 'Paste Item' (copy and paste a duplicate here), or alternatively alt+right click for 'Move Item Here' (put the file here, delete the original).

Therefore Finder gives you more flexibility to work with a file then decide what t do with it. I know it's counterintuitive (literally back to front) to Windows habits, but it makes sense once you know. How many times in Windows I've cut or copied a file in a rush/absent-mindedly, only to realise I needed the opposite command... On a Mac you just say 'this is the file' and then decide what to do with it. Simples.

OP, it's easy to get to grips with. Coming from Windows it'll likely wow you with how polished and attractive the UI is, and it'll have a fair novelty factor for a while. Then little niggles will creep in and annoy you, due to your own lack of knowledge (like my initial issue with not knowing how to 'cut' files). Pretty soon you'll suss it all and you'll love it.

It's not Windows, and it's not *nix. It is what it is. The networking stack is decent enough, it's really stable (though ironically I find Windows 10 a little more stable these days) and it's intuitive and fun to work with. Find a website or book with a real newbies' guide, and/or some YouTube videos. Dig in, have fun, and you'll soon be getting along like a house on fire. Simple tweaks/add-ons make it even more seamless and useful, for example the free library QLVideo to add thumbnailing for all video formats in Finder, Movist for hardware accelerated h264 MKV playback, and - if you're as bad as me - Murus as a front-end for the inbuilt pf firewall. :D

The days of restricted software catalogues and whatnot are long gone, and if it's out there chances are it's on Mac (even MS Office etc). In addition there are tons of Mac-only apps that really are very good. Just note that Macs - like all modern PCs - thrive on an SSD (some models can't be upgraded by you, only at factory). I'd say 8GB RAM minimum but I run 16GB.

I'd be highly surprised if you didn't like it. The hardware alone is worth it. Despite the old 'low spec' stuff that gets trotted out (I used to be in that camp!), in the real world you realise that it's a very carefully thought out mix of components with a really efficient OS that makes full use of the hardware on board. I adore my MBP, despite having Win10 and various Linux/BSD boxes in the house. It'd only ever get replaced with another (better) one. :cool:
Click to expand...

Come to think of it, the mac side makes more sense to me. There have been countless times I've started a cut on Windows to decide I don't want to cut it so I paste it in the same place to get an error to cancel the cut process.

I currently have two hardware configs that I'll go for. Either a the base 2016 with 512GB SSD or a maxed out 2015. Leaning towards the 2016 atm.
 
WuMyster said:
Come to think of it, the mac side makes more sense to me. There have been countless times I've started a cut on Windows to decide I don't want to cut it so I paste it in the same place to get an error to cancel the cut process.

I currently have two hardware configs that I'll go for. Either a the base 2016 with 512GB SSD or a maxed out 2015. Leaning towards the 2016 atm.
Click to expand...

Yeah base 2016. Holds its value much better for selling down the line.
 
I have Windows dual booting on my MBP because my work USB (encrypted) doesn't play nice with OS X and my other half uses my machine a lot... if she's stuck on something I can tell her to boot in to Windows and not have a 25 minute conversation about something minor :p

Tbh I'm going to remove it because Windows 10 UI scaling is horrendously poor. Not so much the main UI but some apps pop up a dialog box that doesn't scale and you just notice how comically small it is on the display!

Should probably add that I've used a Mac fulltime since the iMac G5 (2005) and Windows since Windows 3.1 but never have problems swapping back and forth. Unless.... I'm running Windows on a Mac and my muscle memory wants me to press Cmd + C to copy, so it does nothing. Weird how that doesn't happen anywhere else though.
 
I've been using my Mac for coming up to 2 years now and it's great for just general pootling about web browsing and things basically the only thing I touch a computer for outside of work these days.

Would I like to use it productively? No. I still find Windows much easier to get on with and with less frustrations when it comes to multitasking and multiple windows.

The hardware and battery life is top notch though, being able to log onto my work VM and not have to worry about plugging in for the best part of 8 hours is great.
 
chroniclard said:
Only use a Mac for a bit of Xcode or debugging things on Safari. Otherwise avoid it like the plague, exceedingly unintuative. :)
Click to expand...

What are you trying to do that isn't intuitive? Genuine question.

One thing I wish OS X had was the ability to snap Windows side by side. Find myself using Mission Control and switching back and forth whereas in Windows I'd just snap them next to each other.
 
Snap and maximise for me, why the OS wants to put them to full screen is beyond me. Reminds me of Windows 8/8.1 a little. I did try a tool that manages windows better in OSX but I can't remember the name.
 
It's weird because normally the green button maximises the window to fit contents but there are specific apps which go full screen which drives me mad. I admit I never use it :p

Tried using multiple desktop spaces and got bored at swiping / frustrated I couldn't see everything at a glance. That said, I was fine with them on Linux so maybe it's just "what you're used to".
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom