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Worried about switching to an OS X Macintosh? Here are reality checks


July 27, 2005


By Al Fasoldt
Copyright © 2005, Al Fasoldt
Copyright © 2005, The Post-Standard

   The Mac is fashionable again, but a still hear a lot of arguments from Windows users afraid to make the switch. Here are some of those contentions, accompanied by reality checks.
   What would I do with all my files?
   Reality check: By "all my files," Windows users think they're referring to programs, but what they really mean is all their documents. Mac programs handle Windows documents just fine. Examples: MP3 files? Use iTunes. Documents? Microsoft Word for OS X (Word 2004). Videos? QuickTime player or iMovie. Excel spreadsheets? Microsoft Excel 2004. Quicken files? Quicken for OS X. PDFs? Apple's own Preview program is designed for PDF viewing. And so on.
   But what would I ever DO with all my files?
   Reality check: Windows users who ask that question don't realize that Macs network with Windows PCs better than Windows PCs network with Windows PCs. (I'm not joking or exaggerating one bit, either.) So you simply connect the two of them and transfer y our old files to the new Mac via drag and drop.
   I'd have to learn something new!
   Reality check: Right. You'd have to learn something new. Such as where you click the close a window -- on the left, not on the right as in Windows. Such as the way program icons bounce on the dock ("taskbar" to you Windows types) when you run the software. That's to provide visible feedback that they got launched. Or the way you stop working on the computer. In Windows, you shut down; on a Mac, you put the computer to sleep. There's seldom any reason to reboot an OS X computer.
   What about my printer? I'd have to get a new one.
   Reality check: OS X works with nearly all USB printers. (I'd say "all," but someone would dredge up a model that was recalled a week after it was introduced just to prove me wrong.) Because OS X detects printer types better than Windows does, the reality is that you have a better chance of using your old USB printer under OS X than you do under Windows.
   I've got you on this one. What about my digital camera! I'd have to find new software!
   Reality check: Windows users have been relying on the lousy software that comes with digital cameras because older versions of Windows didn't know a digital camera from a didgeridoo. So when they consider switching to a Mac, they naturally think they need new software to get their photos into the computer. Mac owners, it's time to open the window and shout out in unison: "We love iPhoto! We love iPhoto." Windows users who haven't seen or used iPhoto are due for a shock. Whatever camera you have, it just plain connects.
   I suppose you're going to tell me my five-button mouse will work with a new Mac.
   Reality check: Yep.
   And my new 5.1-channel speakers? My wireless headphones? My card reader? My thumb drive? My digital camcorder?
   Reality check: Yep, yep, yep, yep, yep.
   I've really got you this time. How about my big collection of PowerPoint presentations?
   Reality check: Microsoft PowerPoint 2004 is part of Office 2004, which has OS X versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint, and includes Entourage, the OS X clone of Outlook.