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Thread: Transition from windows computer to Apple computer

  1. #1
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    Transition from windows computer to Apple computer

    Has anyone done this transition?
    How did it go?
    I only use a computer for internet , bill paying, excel spreadsheet, little bit of Word, nothing very sophisticated.
    Every day I hate Microsoft a little bit more👿
    I’m not very technically savvy
    Thanks
    Dennis

  2. #2
    I did, about 10 years ago. Actually, my work did it for me first. My company switched from Windows to Apples. So, when we made the switch at home, it went pretty smoothly.

    I haven't touched a Windows computer in over 10 years.

    Apple has their own Spreadsheet/Word programs called Numbers & Pages. I'm sure they are fine, but we still use the Microsoft Office products.

  3. #3
    I used windows for many years. Ten years ago I switched my home workstations to mac. My kids use macs. I hate it. When they move out next year I plan to convert back to windows.

    Mac doesnt let me know where files are. So I can’t just drag and drop to back things up. It can be done but it is messy. All my macs have become painfully slow.

    This is not to say windows is Magical and perfect. But Mac is not either. Go with the one whose interface you find more intuitive.

  4. #4
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    I took the leap a few months ago. It wasn’t without some headaches. I’m still in the process of rebuilding my music library, and I still prefer the Windows file management system. If you are computer savvy it should not be too big of a problem. I'm not...

    https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread....hip&highlight=

    Edit: I should add that I went from a Win7 Pro machine to the Mac. I have never used a Win 10 or 11 machine.
    Last edited by Bruce Page; 06-08-2022 at 10:41 PM.
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  5. #5
    I started with Microsoft back in the DOS floppy disk days. Then I went to work for a company that was using Macs. I didn't have any problem converting except the Macs were very slow. Then that company switched to Windows and I'm still there.

    Mike
    Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.

  6. #6
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    We switched a number of years ago. It was not a big deal to adapt, especially for the applications you cite. Make sure you look for applications you use, even infrequently, that require Windows. It’s a good idea to hang onto a Windows laptop just in case you need it a few years out—e.g., Nova tools can have their sofware updated, but they only interface with Windows OS.

  7. #7
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    As the "desktop support" guy for our household my workload dropped about 10X when I got rid of the last windows machine. Now stuff just works, which makes me very happy. I do use the MS Office suite on Mac, just because of decades of familiarity. The seamless integration of Mac, iPad, and iPhone works really well; all of my information is everywhere, which I regard as something of a miracle and incredibly convenient. Even better, it also works for DW who can do most things without having to call me now.

    I think I'm dense, as my wife also complains about the Mac/Unix file structure, but I do not perceive any difference. They both use files and folders in a way that, to me, looks nearly identical. I don't seem to have any issue knowing where my files are (click on any file name in the Finder and the full path appears at the bottom of the screen, for example), so I have a very hard time helping with the problem. The IBM mainframe systems I was briefly forced to use confounded me, but I got a VAX pretty early on and then UNIX machines as my first "desktop" computers before PCs came into existence. Not being any kind of expert it looked to me like both Apple and Microsoft used that same architecture as a model for their file structures.

    My Macs are relatively old at this point, but still way faster than I am. I use a new PC ( a mid-range Dell) in one of my volunteer gigs and my perception is that my 10 year old (high end when I bought them) Macs are still faster. I've been doing video rendering for our turning club demos and was unhappy that it was taking an hour or more on the old Mac so I tried it on the new PC and had to go home when it hadn't finished in 2-1/2 hours. Not at all a (wait for it) apples-to-apples comparison with regard to memory and disk speed, so not really a fair comparison, but speaks to the importance of configuration in making a machine fast for a specific task.

    My current Macs are aging out of support for new operating systems, so I'll probably buy new machines when the M2 processors come out-- and get that video processing time down to a few minutes.

  8. #8
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    I made the move in 2010. It's not difficult. It's even easier now if you're used to Win10 or Win11 as things are not all that different..the one thing that takes some getting used to is the Finder which is the equivalent of whatever file management app you have been using on Windows, but even that's not all that difficult. You'll be fine making the switch.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  9. #9
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    For those that use Excel on a mac. dose the user written basic macros work?

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    I switched about 7 years ago and so happy I am not constantly besieged with viruses, bots, and general bull like before. No need to keep up with the best anti-virus software and keep paying for it. But I am not a computer expert just an old guy getting online, email, news, searches, etc. I do have a very cheap Windows laptop I keep in the shop just to use Cutlist Plus for cutting up plywood.
    Last edited by Bruce Page; 06-09-2022 at 10:53 PM.

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bob Coates View Post
    For those that use Excel on a mac. dose the user written basic macros work?
    AFAIK, they are generally compatible based on a quick Google search
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  12. #12
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    Thanks for the advice, I’m not sure what I’m going to do.
    Dennis

  13. #13
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    When I was using both at the same time it helped to remember to look in the opposite corner for the little icon I needed to click to do something or go somewhere.
    They call them icons because it uses plug and pray.
    Bill D
    Last edited by Bill Dufour; 06-10-2022 at 10:17 AM.

  14. #14
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    If all you do is browse and access a few accounts it shouldn't be difficult. Funny that people say that Apple doesn't have issues with bots and viruses. Is that why they have had so many ios updates in the last few years? Some a couple weeks after the previous. The world still runs on Windows plain and simple. My previous employer switched to iPhones about 2015 because Blackberry lost their niche. Everything else was based on Windows. Every laptop and desk top was a Windows machine.

  15. #15
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    Mac doesnt let me know where files are. So I can’t just drag and drop to back things up. It can be done but it is messy. All my macs have become painfully slow.
    Not sure about the painfully slow. Often it can be due to a lot of things running at the same time. I find my computer has to be restarted every couple of weeks. Another old trick is to reset the PRAM. Restart the computer and right away hold down the Command key (the one with the Apple logo or a cloverleaf) in combination with the Option key and the P and the R keys. Let the computer chime three times before letting up on the 4 key combination.

    If that doesn't work you may need to do a disk diagnostic. In the Applications folder should be a folder called Utilities with a file called Disk Utilities:

    Disk Utility.png

    Open that and run First Aid when you do not need to do anything else, it takes a bit of time.

    As to not knowing where files are there are a few ways. Let's start with searching for something like one of my chocolate overdose cookie recipies. I know one has Quadruple in the name. When in the Finder, the key combination of Command-F brings up the search window:

    Searching for Cookie Recipie 1.jpg

    This shows every file having anything to do with quadruple, even if it is somewhere inside the file. That isn't what is wanted. Note the little drop down below the text box with the selector of "file name":

    Searching for Cookie Recipie 2.jpg

    Clicking on that or using the keyboard's down arrow key will highlight the term used. Hit return/enter viola:

    Result of Refined Search.png

    Double tab to or click on the desired file (if more than one has the term in the name, after tabbing, the arrow keys will work for navigation). Note the path to the selected file is down at the bottom of the window.
    Double clicking on one of the folders in the path will close the search folder and open the clicked on folder. If you want the search window to stay open, hold down the Command key when double clicking.

    If a file is open, a simple way to find the path is to click on the title of the file:

    Find the Path 1.png

    If you click on any of the other folders the file will be moved to that folder. Convenient but use carefully.

    Another way that is convenient and safer is to hold the Command key when clicking on the file title:

    Find the Path 2.png

    Clicking on a folder in this case opens the selected folder.

    A few other options are available through the menu:

    File Functions.png

    If you want to make a copy of a file to move to another folder, hold the Option key down before clicking on the file. Then drag and drop.

    Another navigation trick for keyboard navigation is the Shift-Command-G key combination:

    Keyboard Navigation.png

    This requires typing in the correct path and it is Caps sensitive.

    There are a lot of other tricks that make things simple for those who learn how to use them.

    jtk
    Last edited by Jim Koepke; 06-10-2022 at 11:03 AM. Reason: Correcting mistakes and wording
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
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