Windows genius going to a Mac - Oh the headaches

[Somtamnication]

Just venting...

I have been a windows person since way way back. Was certified with various MCPs, blah blah.

I started a new job last week and as I do not have a laptop and that job requires constant wifi access and drop box access to upload and edit spreadsheets, I thought I would dive into a mac.

Bought the new Mac Air.

The OS is killing me. I am all thumbs with the bloody thing. I watched the apple videos, the usual windows to mac forums etc.

Got up today at 4 am, worried about this. I played with it more, downloaded a note program and copied files here and there, just to get the hang of it.

It really is a huge learning curve. Love the apps for it. The apps that came with it are superior to what Windows offers. Hardware-wise, no difference. Software-wise, huge difference.

Any other hints for an old buffalo to become more at ease with this? Yes, I know, keep using it and get the hang of it. But it really does take major brain rewiring to use this thing.

[tominbkk]

Just keep using it. It took me about 2 weeks to become comfortable with the mac environment, the same here, was Windows guy for 20 years and moved to macs in 2011. You just pick up tricks and shortcuts little by little, which make things easier and easier.

Now I have an iMac, macbook pro, and one of the 11 inch mac airs 2014. Guess they sold me on their products!

[SoloFlyer]

Why do you need 3 machines? Would like a big sexy iMac, so please inspire me !!

[IMHO]

Hardware-wise, no difference

You haven't had the machine long... give it another few months and it'll suddenly dawn on you that the Mac hardware hasn't pissed you off - then the true value of the hardware becomes more apparent

As for adapting from Windows, the very very first thing you need to do is forget about the way Windows Explorer has forced you to work and organize files. In Mac, everything is more abstracted, but you'll eventually find a method for cataloging that suits you.

The second thing is to get used to "Launchpad" vs "Start" - once you get a handle on using the mouse wheel or touchpad the flip through pages in Launchpad, you'll love it... click, scroll, click and your apps are open.

The third thing you'll need to get used to is the application install process, and how to use right click > open for newly downloaded "untrusted" apps to get them to open after downloading.

Next, you have to get used to the fact that app menus are docked to the top of the screen, not to the top of the app window. The idea in OSX is that app menus contain seldom used functions, and common controls all get into the UI - which generally means better UI/UX as a result. Windows apps feel like they use the menu as a crutch by comparsion.

After this you'll need to get used to the fact the minimize, maximize and close buttons are on the top-left of the app window, and don't show any mnemonics until you hover. The color-coding will quickly embed in though

Lastly, you'll need to get used to the physical keyboard, which generally has much larger keys than a typical Windows machine, and less buttons. Once you've re-learned to type on it (a week or so), you'll notice how awful Windows keyboards were whenever you need to use a Windows machine again though.

[Somtamnication]

Thanks for the answers. Indeed, it is a great machine. I would have bought the 13" but they were out. The 11" is way too small, but I found the zoom button ( ).

IMHO. Your answers are of great help. I have been brainwashed. I feel like Tom Cruise converting to Catholicism.

[IMHO]

Thanks for the answers. Indeed, it is a great machine. I would have bought the 13" but they were out. The 11" is way too small, but I found the zoom button ( ).

IMHO. Your answers are of great help. I have been brainwashed. I feel like Tom Cruise converting to Catholicism.

Hehehe, I still recall making the switch a few years ago (forced on me by work), after being a Windows user all the way back from v3.11..

And I can still recall quipping at Mac users with things like: Those boxes on the screen that contain the app UI - what do you call them again? Oh that's right, they're called *Windows*

But now, If they tried to force us back in VAIO's and using Windows 8.x, I think I'd politely offer to supply my own hardware

[richard_smith237]

Give it a few weeks... You'll read back on this Opening Post and be surpassed at how quickly you've moved on.

Before no time your fingers will me automatically making 2, 3, 4 finger swipes to open different screens, zoom, scroll etc...

I recall making the switch a number of years back....

... The frustration with the Mac... How to uninstall that program I don't want... Whats wrong with Mac? they don't even haven an uninstall program.... I then found out that all I needed to do was simply delete it...

From that point I I rethought how I use the Mac... when approaching something I'm unsure of, I generally think 'how would I design it?'... the Mac has a far more logical OS.

This past few months I've had endless headaches working with Windows 8 on another (new Laptop), various crashes, 2 hour reboots, complete system wipes and reinstalls... over the same period I've had one very simple and minor issue with my Mac (the camera won't work in FaceTime if VLC player is also open !).

One more issue with Macs - The Hard-Drives are generally smaller - I find this to be a bit of a pain in the neck.

[RichCor]

While you're making the transition, you could run Windows as a Virtual OS or Dual-boot on the same machine. Saves a lot of headaches and worry if something comes up and you haven't figured out the Mac version yet.

When you mentioned the "job requires constant wifi access and drop box access to upload and edit spreadsheets", are the recipients also on Mac, on PC, or both? Just wondering if your files are working OK cross-platform.

[animatic]

Just venting...

I have been a windows person since way way back. Was certified with various MCPs, blah blah.

I started a new job last week and as I do not have a laptop and that job requires constant wifi access and drop box access to upload and edit spreadsheets, I thought I would dive into a mac.

Bought the new Mac Air.

The OS is killing me. I am all thumbs with the bloody thing. I watched the apple videos, the usual windows to mac forums etc.

Got up today at 4 am, worried about this. I played with it more, downloaded a note program and copied files here and there, just to get the hang of it.

It really is a huge learning curve. Love the apps for it. The apps that came with it are superior to what Windows offers. Hardware-wise, no difference. Software-wise, huge difference.

Any other hints for an old buffalo to become more at ease with this? Yes, I know, keep using it and get the hang of it. But it really does take major brain rewiring to use this thing.

Don't worry it will get easier quite quickly.

I have had to switch between Mac and PC regularly for 20 plus years,

Even now with all that time, I still find the Mac the better choice.

Don't worry y'll get there.

Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand

[EyesWideOpen]

While you're making the transition, you could run Windows as a Virtual OS or Dual-boot on the same machine. Saves a lot of headaches and worry if something comes up and you haven't figured out the Mac version yet.

When you mentioned the "job requires constant wifi access and drop box access to upload and edit spreadsheets", are the recipients also on Mac, on PC, or both? Just wondering if your files are working OK cross-platform.

I am like you, a long term windows guy . Then a generous friend of mine gave me

a 2009 Macbook pro. So I have spent the last few months sort of going over the learning

curve on it. I did load windows in using boot camp, as there are a few programs

such as Quicken that have better windows versions. So you can run both operating systems

at the same time which can be handy. I also loaded in VMware fusion, which allows you to

boot directly into windows, so it runs lightning fast. Running it as a dual boot can be a bit

pokey ..

Generally I like Mac. However I still feel that windows file manager is far more

logical. So to that end I loaded in a mac program called Path Finder, which sort of emulates

the look of windows file manager. Gotta say I love Mission Control as well, allowing you to open many different desktops at the same time, and easily switch between them.

[Loptr]

I've been a Windoze guy my entire IT career... Last year I was put out in front of a couple Mobile development projects and had to get up to speed on iOS as well as Droid... I picked up a MacBook Air and was having the same issues as the OP... I installed Parallels on it and now I have the best of both worlds as I can run any Windoze apps, plus have the Apple interface... After a couple of months, I liked it much better...

Edited July 6, 2014 by Loptr

[Somtamnication]

While you're making the transition, you could run Windows as a Virtual OS or Dual-boot on the same machine. Saves a lot of headaches and worry if something comes up and you haven't figured out the Mac version yet.

When you mentioned the "job requires constant wifi access and drop box access to upload and edit spreadsheets", are the recipients also on Mac, on PC, or both? Just wondering if your files are working OK cross-platform.

Nope, just excel stuff, so I have it installed. Nothing OS independent. The usual pdfs, docx, etc.