First Day On a Mac

Question

Hi guys I'm a recent transfer from PC which was terrible and I'm so happy i switched the design and appearance got me. Well anyway I'm loving how things are going with me so far for switching but what can i do on mac that i can't do on a PC or Windows Computer. I love garageband and have made some music on it but what else can i do that will be a long term subject like a sort of homework assignment, I wanna get to know why i bought this and be proud i did.
Thanks for your time.

Answer 1

Basically, the two platforms are the same. The "learning curve" is a bit steep for those who have always used PC's. Just like me when I finally decided to get a Windows box for the things you cannot do on a Mac.
If you still have your PC you can get a KVM switch so you can switch back and forth from your PC to your Mac while you're making the switch. Better, if you have your Windows XP install disk you should definitely install VM Ware Fusion which will allow you to have windows and OS X on the same machine at the same time for those little things you only know how to do on a PC..
Why should you have both? Well, because you're making the switch and you might need Windows for things you do not know how to do on a Mac yet.
All that aside, I use Windows for two things. 1. All PCs at work. There is one place I cannot go on my Mac because it requires Internet Explorer due to an app that works with IE to gain access. 2. WVM files that are protected will not play on a Mac. And that is it.
My friends that I talked into switching were mad at me at first, but after about 2 to 6 months of playing around and figuring it out, they LOVE the MAC and hate PCs.
Why hate a PC? At work they are fine because the server filters out all the crap. Unfortunately, the server hobbles your PCs performance and keeps you for going to sites that you know are safe but the IT department does not.
NOW FOR THE GOOD STUFF!! You do not need any virus protection software because no one seems interested in making viruses for OSX. So, at home you will find the Mac flying along the Web at top speed AND YOU DON'T HAVE TO WORRY about which site you visit. Or downloading Mac software from the web with a virus that will SLOW your computer down, or harm your computer.
Pop up's are annoying, but you will not find nearly as many. I would say about an 80% reduction for Pop ups. Have you ever been tempted to push one of those buttons on a pop-up? Press anything you like. 99% of the sites have .exc programs that are downloaded on you PC and can slow your computer down to a crawl. If you run into a site that has those annoying automatic .exc files, your Mac will download them from time to time, but so what. Your Mac cannot run .exc files so they are in your "Down load" folder. Just throw them away.
There are about a million software programs for you PC. Most of them are crap, or contain viruses or just don't work. There are a lot of Mac programs (free ware) that will not harm your computer, or spread any viruses.
HERE'S a biggy!! Think about all the different PC's out there. Windows cannot anticipate all the problems that could occur on a thousand brands of PC's.
OS X only works on Apple products. So every Mac is designed for ONE operating system. If you just got your Mac, I suggest you purchase Apple Care. You can get 3 years of service and SUPPORT with a real person to talk you through it. So, when you are confused about anything from complex to simple you can call support and most of the time you are connected right away with a real person. Amazing.
You get 90 days of this service for free when you purchase a Mac. So don't be afraid to call as often as you like.
Software: Most Mac users have Microsoft Office, an Adobe Suite of some kind which contains at least Adobe Photoshop® Extended, Illustrator®, and InDesign. Toast is also pretty important.
But some of the best software usually comes with your Mac, iTunes, iMovie, iDVD and more. If you have an HD Camcorder, there iMovie makes things very easy and fast to edit. You can port that project over to iDVD and burn DVD's that look professional. If you take a lot of photos, you can also use iMovie to create a professional looking slide show and port that into iDVD to make a DVD with as many menus and chapters as you like.
Mac's stay useful and relevant for up to 15 years. I have a 10 year old dual processor G4 that can do ANYTHING my New Mac I got in 2010. It runs all the same software and I use it a lot. I have an old G3 from 1995 that I use everyday at work because it boots the old OS 9 and I use it strictly for music. I installed an M-Audio Delta 1010 card way back when. (10 channels in and out plus MIDI) and it runs perfect and records and plays 8 channels of audio with ease.
Why did I write so much BS here? Because it looks like I am working....LOL
Just post here if you want to know more. If you have a difficult question, they usually get answered right away. Very little chit chat here.
So, purchase an HD movie from iTunes tonight, use your extra video port (Not mirrored extra desktop) and plug it into your HDTV. While your Mac is playing the movie, you can serf the web at the same time.
I have barley touched the surface as to what a Mac can do that most PC's are not designed to do. Like right click on any text and you get a pop up window with spell check and you can even have the computer read any text that you can highlight.
The main thing is, using a mac for business or at home is really, really fun. No crashes, consistent fast internet, and long term use, no need to purchase one every two years like a PC.
Enjoy.