Ditch and switch
- Article 42 of 53
- iCreate, September 2005
With the success of the iPod and low-cost Macs such as the Mac mini, there's never been a better time to ditch that old PC and switch to the Mac
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If you can’t find the program you want or an equivalent, there’s always one of the Windows emulators, such as Virtual PC, which can run Windows programs on your Macs. They’re nowhere near as fast as an actual PC, but if you really want a choice of programs, then why not get a machine that can run both Mac and Windows applications, not just Windows applications?
If you do the right thing and buy a Mac, you’ll probably be wondering how to get your files off your PC and onto the Mac. For those that want an easy life, there’s Move2Mac (http://www.orlogix.com/prodinfo.php?pn=m2m) which comes with its own high-speed USB cable for transferring data and settings directly from your PC. Otherwise, there’s all manners of ways to get stuff across: DVDs, iPods, hard drives. Macs have built-in Windows file sharing, which is often a good way of migrating files or getting the two systems to work on the same network. Apple has a useful page on how to migrate data at http://www.apple.com/switch/howto/.
In fact, the hardest part of the switch won’t be getting the files across; it’ll be using the files at the other side. Movies, music, photos and other common files such as PDFs will work without hassle. If you have any Windows Media files, there’s a Windows Media Player for the Mac that’s free to download, although it can’t play all the same files as its Windows counterpart. While most programs, such as Photoshop, Filemaker and Dreamweaver, use the same file formats on Windows and OS X, others won’t. Most will have an export option that converts data into formats that other programs can understand. There are also utilities for converting some data formats, with Maclink Plus Deluxe being the best (and most expensive). Ultimately though, there could be a few formats that will give you problems, with Microsoft’s Access being the most obvious barrier to a clean switch.
Email is the other usual migration issue. Outlook and Outlook Express store their contacts and emails in odd formats and getting the data out of these formats and into Mac email programs can be hard. Outlook2Mac (www.littlemachines.com) is a commercial program for making the switch and there are several others that perform similar functions. Since Netscape can import Outlook and Outlook Express mail and uses the same mailbox format on both platforms, it’s a useful conversion tool.
Now we’re not going to pretend that the Mac experience is absolutely perfect in every detail and that making the leap from Windows to the Mac will be seamless and completely cost-free. If you’re a big games fan, you’re probably better with a PC or a console rather than a Mac. There are certain fields of work where it is difficult to find Mac software and there are some must-have packages in these areas that just don’t have a Mac version.
Nevertheless, with perhaps a little pain, you’ll be able to make a lot of gain. If there are no absolute dealbreakers that prevent you moving to a Mac, we think you’ll see the benefits very quickly. No viruses, no Trojans, no bots. Software that’s easy to use. Programs that fit into your lifestyle straight away, with no real equivalents in the Windows world. The Mac way has a lot going for it. With the Mac mini going for a song, you can try a Mac for almost the same price as an iPod. We’re sure you’ll enjoy the switch.
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