Switching to Mac OS X

Hi,
I have a experienced knowlegdege of technology (IT Engineer) so feel free to explain in detail. I've owned iOS devices since they first came out, and love them. There so stable and fluid and never fail me. (Have used android devices, but in my own opinion can not compare) anyway my lack of MAC and OS X Experience is what brings me to this question: I've been told that mac's are preferred by tech enthusiasts due to them be extremely stable and completely optimized around thier hardware. (As opposed to windows devices where the OS is just slapped on hardware) is this true and worth the switch? Or is this untrue information I've been told?
Thanks in advance for any help.

Smith,
I'm in IT as well though I'm a fairly recent convert to OSX with my first iMac purchased a year and a half ago.
Consensus is Apple's closed hardware ecosystem is responsible for OSX's stability along with it's Unix heritage, however, I won't pretend to be an expert in these matters. I will say in the eighteen months I've had my iMac I've had no desire to use Windows when I get at home at night. OSX is an absolute joy to use especially when you can lay money on it simply working if you follow Apple's suggestions on use and maintenance (let the OS take care of itself basically.)
This forum is a God send as well with an amazing amount of information freely given by long time users and extremely valuable troubleshooting tips which has increased my knowledge about the world of OSX ten fold. Still, I'd love to hear from more experienced contributers with respect to your questions and suggested resources where we might find even more in-depth information.
Thanks for essentially starting a thread I've been meaning to create for eighteen months.
P.S. This book looks very much like what I'm looking for on how OSX works. You may be interested as well:
http://www.amazon.com/Mac-OS-Internals-Systems-Approach/dp/0321278542/ref=cm_cr_ pr_product_top

Similar Messages

I am a new mac user and I switch to mac due to the graphics that it brings. I do website in pc and I heard iweb is the best.NOW i heard that iweb will be discontinue. so what is the best application there for website using MAC OSX lion?

I am a new mac user and I switch to mac due to the graphics that it brings. I do website in pc and I heard iweb is the best.NOW i heard that iweb will be discontinue. so what is the best application there for website using MAC OSX lion?

It is now confirmed that iWeb, and iDVD, has been discontinued by Apple. This is evidenced by the fact that new Macs are shipping with iLife 11 installed but without iWeb and iDVD.
On June 30, 2012 MobileMe will be shutdown. However, iWeb will still continue to work but without the following:
Features No Longer Available Once MobileMe is Discontinued:
◼ Password protection
◼ Blog and photo comments
◼ Blog search
◼ Hit counter
◼ MobileMe Gallery
All of these features can be replaced with 3rd party options.
I found that if I published my site to a folder on my hard drive and then uploaded with a 3rd party FTP client subscriptions to slideshows and the RSS feed were broken. If I published directly from iWeb to the FPT server those two features continued to work correctly.
There's another problem and that's with iWeb's popup slideshows. Once the MMe servers are no longer online the popup slideshow buttons will not display their images.
Click to view full size
However, Roddy McKay and I have figured out a way to modify existing sites with those slideshows and iWeb itself so that those images will display as expected once MobileMe servers are gone. How to is described in this tutorial: #26 - How to Modify iWeb So Popup Slideshows Will Work After MobileMe is Discontinued.
It now appears that the iLife suite of applications offered on disc is now a discontinued product and the remaining supported iApps will only be available thru the App Store from now on. However, the iLife 11 boxed version that is still available at the online Apple Store (Store button at the top of the page) and those still on the shelves of retailers will include iWeb and iDVD. Those two apps were listed in small, gray text on the iLife 11 box that I bought.
Personally, if I didn't already have a copy I would purchase one to have it for reinstallation purposes if ever needed.
This might be of some interest to you at this time: Life After MobileMe.
OT

Looking for some assurances that I haven't made a mistake switching to Mac.

Bought an intel-powered IMac 9 days ago and love everything about it's look, functionality, etc.. Only problem: I've had a bout of "Application has closed unexpectedly" occcurrances while using Safari (while at AOL.com deleting emails from aol account) and while editing pics in iPhoto. As this happened time and again, I got a sad, sinking feeling that I'm headed for the same frustrations that I've had w/ every Windows machine I've ever owned. Ugh!..I switched to Apple for the specific purpose of avoiding crashes!!! Apple support walked me through steps to fix (removed/updated Quicktime, and check a few other things..). They were very helpful, but... I absolutely detest having to do this. Other than Office:Mac, i've added nothing to this machine! I'm really stressed about this. I paid far more for this than I would have for a Windows machine simply because I had heard that Apple machines don't do this sort of thing!!
Please tell me that this is normal and expected with a new machine and not a harbinger of more complicated problems to come!! I'm hoping that once resolved, I won't much more of this.. On the other hand, if many of you feel that this issue is a bad omen, I'll take the machine back while I still can. ..What a pity though, it's truly been a joy to use so far.
IMAC (early 2006) Mac OS X (10.4.4)

Hi syd123! And Welcome to Discussions!
No you haven't made a mistake! You will love your Mac!
Deleting AOL Mail, crashes Safari (Consolidation)
It seems the most recent Safari, and or 10.4.4, update has created this problem.
Apple & AOL are both aware of this, but, as far as I know, no correction has been implemented.
Here are some of the work arounds, that I have been able to discern from the various posts regarding this issue.
Use the FIREFOX BROWSER.
Use your AOL Mail program.
Use this utility AOL SERVICES ASSISTANT, to set up Apple Mail, to access AOL Mail.
Access the AOL Mail thru Classic AOL Webmail.
And here are links, to the various threads, discussing this issue.
<a href="http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=314479&start=0&tstart=0 "Safari and AOL</a>
AOL/ Delete/ Safari crash
safari crashing with aol.com mail deletion
AOL Webmail and Safari on 10.4.2 crashes on delete mail
Update 10.4.4 causes crash
Safari crashes when deleting email on AOL
Safari Update
Safari Crashes AOL mail
Safari Crashes when Deleting or Reporting E-Mail as SPAM on AOL Web Mail
Looking for some assurances that I haven't made a mistake switching to Mac. This Thread
Good Luck!
ali b

Switching to Mac

I am switching to Mac :-D and now I have a few questions that someone can help me out with a few iPod/iTune questions.
1) Will I need to restore my iPod so that it will be able to talk to the Mac. I believe I will but I want to make sure.
2) I have saved/export my library. However, I am left wondering will I be able to still use that library? Since it's going to have reference to a P:\ drive and following path?
Would it be possible to edit the XML file to reflect the new path? If this is the case I will have a follow up question.
3) Is there any thing else I should know?
Thank you

*1) Will I need to restore my iPod so that it will be able to talk to the Mac. I believe I will but I want to make sure.*
Macs can read Windows formatting so you should have no problem connecting your iPod to your Mac. One proviso is that up until now Apple has only fully supported using the iPod shuffle in FAT32 format on Mac (unless the range has been expanded to include the iPhone and the iPod Touch which I've no experience of). What this means effectively is that if you need to apply a firmware update for your iPod and you wanted to maintain the Windows format you would have to do it on a PC. If you were to try and update a Windows based iPod on a Mac it would be restored and reformatted to the Mac file system and have the Mac firmware installed.
*2) I have saved/export my library. However, I am left wondering will I be able to still use that library? Since it's going to have reference to a P:\ drive and following path?*
These pages may be of some help:
How to move an iTunes library from a PC to Mac
Networking with a Windows PC
Don't forget by the way if you have purchased any tracks from the iTunes Music Store to deauthorise your old PC if you are disposing of it so you don't use up your 5 allowances: About iTunes Music Store Authorisation and Deauthorisation

I have CS5 for Windows, can I upgrade to Creative Cloud and switch to Mac

I originally purchased my Adobe CS software for Windows - I recently have switched to Mac . . . so I am forced to upgrade my CS software. Can I use the upgrade discount of $29.99 a month and switch platforms?

If you have an Education version you will not receive a discount, since Education versions are already discounted
Once you have the Cloud, the License allows 2 activations http://www.adobe.com/legal/licenses-terms.html
-Install on a 2nd computer http://forums.adobe.com/thread/1452292?tstart=0
-Windows or Mac does not matter... 2 on the same operating system, or 1 on each

Considering Switching to Mac - Data on File Server - HELP!

Hi-
I'm a Windows-on-the-desktop user with a whole bunch of iOS devices and I am thinking of switching to Mac as of Lion / Lion Server. I tried the Mac a few years ago and got frustrated pretty quickly because of the inability of multiple users to share data on a server. Can anyone please tell me if now is the time to try again!?
My needs:
iPhoto - Have a Photos share on a server (windows/mac/linux) which contains all of our family photos (raid6) as the source of 3 desktop Mac iPhoto Libraries. Automatic updating? Faces recgonition turned off? (server grinding at 400GB of photos), syncing libraries among desktop clients? Can Aperture do this? (last time I tried Aperture, it wanted to rebuild the library every week.... and that took days of grinding my server)
iTunes - Have a Music share on the server as the source of 3 different iTunes libraries. Automatic updating? I'm in Canada so iTunes Match will never come here.
iMovie - native editing of AVCHD yet ? (no desire to convert my whole library to massive uncompressed video files)
Video - Play AVIs / WMVs / MKVs full screen via a Mac Mini from a Video share on the server to a HD Television. Can Quicktime do this? FrontRow? Last time I tried I recall a lot of stutter.
Many thanks-
A Mac-Wanna-Be

So I've got a solution to iPhoto: Use Picasa. Not ideal, as I would really like to live the iLife, but it'll do for now. I've found a bunch of iPhoto library syncing utilities, but none of them deal with shared raw data on a network drive - they all expect you to carry all of your photos on your desktop / notebook Macs.

Serialnumber disabled after switching to Mac from Win and back to Win.

Hello,
i first bought CS6 for Windows, than i switched to Mac.
I bought a new notebook today and wanted to install CS6 on Windows again, but the serialnumber is disabled.
Unfortunately, i didnt deactivate the serialnumber on my old PC and Mac. I just deleted it.
There is no chance to reinstall, because i sold them.
I was looking for some contact mail or whatever but there is only the chat, which is offline now.
Is there any contact mail or number for germany?
What is the problem with this company? I payed money for this and there is no chance to activate this in time?!

You could contact Adobe thru chat (it does work and is not offline) and ask them to reset your activations.
Chat support - For the link below click the Still Need Help? option in the blue area at the bottom and choose the chat option...
Make sure you are logged in to the Adobe site, have cookies enabled, clear your cookie cache. If it fails to connect try using a different browser.
Serial number and activation chat support (non-CC)
http://helpx.adobe.com/x-productkb/global/service1.html ( http://adobe.ly/1aYjbSC )

Switching to Mac: MBPr Questions!

Hey all,
So I've been a Windows user my whole life, but I've finally decided to switch to Mac after witnessing the beauty and grace of the 13" mac book pro retina that my friend just bought. It's astonishing. Plus, there's no better time to switch than when you have a 3 year old HP laptop and are in university.
Since switching to Apple is bloody expensive (nearly double the budget of what I usually spend on laptops), I want to carefully calculate my decision.
I know that the most recent MBP to be released was in October 2013, and it updated to Intel Haswell processors. BUT I also happen to know that Intel Broadwell processors are coming out within the next couple of months, and are said to be around 30% more efficient. Do any of you know if Apple has the tendency to regularly update their MBPs?
The reason I ask is because if there won't be an update to the MBP until October 2014, then I might as well invest in one now, but if there is a chance that a newer model will be released in the coming months, I'll definitely hold out until then!
Also, another couple of questions:
Without tweaking the MBP (by adding extra ram, processing power, etc...), how well will it run software like Ableton Live, as well as various games such as call of duty?
Thanks a bunch everyone,
Hopefully I'll also be part of the Mac family soon!

There will always be some kind of upgrade to the macbook pros every year. You shouldn't stress about trying to keep up with technology I have a 13" retina late 2013 and am very happy with it.
I did do some research and found out that Apple will not release the Broadwell processors until late 2014.
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/broadwell-to-launch-2h-2014,24765.html
A $300 PS3 can run Call of Duty so of course a $1,000 +Mac will run it just fine. Ableton Live will run great.
If you are going to have lots of apps open, then the 4GB ram on the base model of the 13 inch might not be enough and I would recommend upgrading to 8GB ram or get the mid model 13 inch as it has more storage anyway.
I do not recommend getting the 15 inch as it would cost you over $2,000!

I just made the switch to mac. I am have installed all the new PS6 CC and bridge and I am now trying to add some presets to my ACR but when I search for the folder to place them it is not there. From what I researched it says it should be under camera l

I just made the switch to mac. I am have installed all the new PS6 CC and bridge and I am now trying to add some presets to my ACR but when I search for the folder to place them it is not there. From what I researched it says it should be under camera library/application support/adobe/camera raw/settings but I can only get to library/application support/adobe/ and then there are two different camera raw options I have checked both and there are not settings folder. If anyone can help me please thanks

Apple most likely has the same poor taste that Microsoft does when it come to defaults. Microsoft likes to hide things like settings, preset, folders etc from normal users think the dumb or something else. If Apple also hide things you will have to make some system setting changes that will allow Finder to do it job and find it for you.

What should I do if the iphoto keeps on saying that "Plz wait for import to complete" when i click the close button but it is not importing photos? How can I close the iPhoto? I try to switch my mac off but it doesn't work. Thanks.

What should I do if the iphoto keeps on saying that "Plz wait for import to complete" when i click the close button but it is not importing photos? How can I close the iPhoto? I try to switch my mac off but it doesn't work. Thanks.

You should be able to select Force Quit from the menu beneath the Apple icon in Finder
and choose to Quit iPhoto from there, without messing up the Mac OS X in the process.
OS X - Support
Not sure if rebuilding the iPhoto library would help this issue. However if you had to
turn off the computer without the correct method (unplug, etc; instead of menu choice)
the system may have accrued damages and should be checked, maybe repaired by
use of the Disk Utility in the system. Or restart the computer in Safe Boot mode, then
run 'repair disk permissions' while it is running in that reduced mode; then restart after.
•Understanding Safe Mode - tuts+ computer skills tutorial:
http://computers.tutsplus.com/tutorials/understanding-safe-mode--mac-59897
•OS X: What is Safe Boot, Safe Mode?
Suggestions on how to use Safe Mode in article, to resolve issues, may be helpful.
There likely are other means to rectify troublesome applications, including reinstall.
Be sure to backup your music, image, video, and other work on an external drive
or suitable device as a precaution against loss should there be a hard drive failure.
iPhoto - Mac Apps - Apple Support
There should be some tips and help information using iPhoto via this tiny Support link.
Good luck & happy computing!

Switched from MAC to windows7

I recently switched from MAC to Windows 7 and i'm trying to pull the music from my ipod nano into windows 7 itunes. How can i do this? itunes just tells me the device is formatted for mac. Also itunes does not give my the disk mode potion for my device. Please help, i dont want to lose all my music.

MOV is a wrapper, what is inside YOUR wrapper - Exactly what is INSIDE the video you are editing?
Codec & Format information, with 2 links inside for you to read http://forums.adobe.com/thread/1270588
Report back with the codec details of your file, use the programs below... A screen shot works well to SHOW people what you are doing
https://forums.adobe.com/thread/1070933 for screen shot instructions
Free programs to get file information for PC/Mac http://mediaarea.net/en/MediaInfo/Download

Switch learning mac addresses

In a video that I watched a few days ago someone explained a basic process of booting up a switch and how a switch learns mac addresses. He said something that I would like to discuss. I know... it is not important but want to clarify :)
PC1---SW1----PC2
PC1 wants to send sth to PC2. In the video it was said:
'a frame arrives at SW1 and SW1 learns the mac address of pc1 but it does not know the mac address of pc2 so it will flood this frame to all ports'
My uderstanding is that it all starts with an arp message: pc1 does not know the mac address and sends an arp and it will allow the switch to learn both mac addresses: pc1 and pc2. I am too lazy to do it in wireshark but did that in PT and that's what I saw as well. After the arp - switch learnt both macs and did not flood the frame.
Am I correct? I know it is not important but... ;-)

It may be possible that there was some aspect of the switch environment in the video that would change the behavior (perhaps something like a long timer for the ARP cache in the PC and a short MAC ageing timer on the switch). But in general you are correct. PC1 would send an ARP request as a broadcast, the switch would learn the MAC of PC1 and forward the ARP request. When PC2 sends its response to the ARP request the switch would learn the MAC of PC2 and forward the ARP response. So the switch should have both MAC addresses when data traffic begins to flow.
HTH
Rick

Switching to mac with CUBASE should I ?

Hi every one !
simple question :I'm a cubase lover but might want to switch to mac power book g4 latest ...
Is cubase run as good on mac , It's seems not too popular.
should I run cubase on a super tweeked audio pc ?
thank you all, mac lovers.
m.

I used Cubase for years, older VST/24 v.4.1r and was happy with it. I use Logic Pro 7.1 and am happy with it. I do notice a few little things I miss about Cubase (remember it was an older version): I can't open more than one Matrix Edit wndow in Logic (or haven't been able to discover how it can be done, if it can) and I really appreciated being able to work simultaneously in two Edit windows in Cubase; in Cubase, dble. clicking on a region where the progress marker was opened the region to that place, whereas in Logic it opens it to the beginning or some other place, but nevver where I want it to (Maybe there is a way, yet to be discovered.); in logic, if I accidentally dble. click on a midi note in the Matrix winow, the window is suddenly populated with data from what appears to be another midi region, possibly drums, or a mixture of crap not belonging in the window (fortunately, closing and reopening the window resolves the problem). I also really miss the poor tech. assistance I used to (try) to get from Cubase folk (though this may change now that they have changed hands through a buy-out). But I don't see how you could have a lot to complain about regarding either application. They both offer more than the average Joe can probably ever take full advantage of. Pick one, befriend it, and you'll be able to make plenty of hit music. Just be sure to have plenty of RAM and the latest updates.
PB G4, 1.5Ghz, 1.5GB Mac OS X (10.3.9) Seagate 200 FW/USB 2.0 FireFace 800

Switching to MAC from Windows: How to open files in Office 2007 VMFusion?

Dear all,
Intro:
I switched to MAC and now cannot find the solution to a simple problem.
First: I need an Office 2007 PowerPoint FULLY compatible solution.
What did not work: IWork, NeoOffice, Office 2008 (this is not fully compatible with Office 2007 Files)
I also had problems with: Parallels (not stable, too many hangups), codeweaver crossover (office files do not even open sometimes, good idea but not suitable for serious office jobs)
Now I have VMWare Fusion with WinXP and Office 2007 as this seems to be the only truly stable and best solution to run Office 2007 on Mac
Question:
How to open files in Office 2007 on MAC VMWare Fusion easily?
It would be nice to spotlight the file and click and it opens in powerpoint or excel or word 2007 in Virtual Machine.
The only known solution to me is to use the Windows explorer to navigate to the file and then open it from Fusion WinXP. This is very cumbersome and honestly makes me think of getting back to a windows machine as I work with office frequently.
Thank you for your help.

Thank you for the quick reply.
Yes, I have Office 2007 installed. The problem is that to open files in Fusion virtual machine I have to use the windows explorer and navigate to the file to open it. Now that I have the mac I want to use the good feature of spotlight. So when I search and find the file I want to open I cannot click on it on the mac (or in finder) but I have to switch back to the virtual machine, locate the file again and open it from windows.
You might think - ok, why not skip the first step of using spotlight, and look up the file in windows explorer before anything else?
Correct, but I know from parallels that there is a file association possible to directly access the file in office 2007.
This does not seem possible in Fusion - So the question is whether there is a possibility on the mac to associate the file and to click on it in finder/spotlight and the office 2007 application in fusion opens the file. So far I could not find anything.
Thanks

Windows user switching to Mac, finding everything and how to?

Hi, I'm currently a Windows 7 user. I'm happy with windows but I could be happier!
I have an iPhone 4 and an iPad 2 and I absolutly love how they work together (via iCloud etc) and also how everything looks and feels. One thing in my opinion that wipes W7 off the age is the fluidness of a Mac. Just how well and easily it works. As Steve Jobs said last year "it just works" and he's right!
Another big thing that I love about Mac is the connection between the iOS and OSX Lion (and upcoming Moutain Lion).
And I feel the need (or want) to switch to Mac because I want that connection with my mobile devices and my Laptop/ Home Computer.
But there's a few things that are stopping me from doing that and it's basically my lack of knowledge regarding OSX Lion etc...
It's simple things like Music. On windows, you press the start menu and you see music where you have all your folders regarding music (Albums, songs, or other audio) and also Photo's with all your photo albums etc etc etc...
Another thing holding me back is Software. For example, I burn a lot of CD's for DJ'ing. I use Nero 10 on my PC. Is there any Mac equivilant software that can let me name the CD, burn at different speeds etc etc....
It's simple things like that. I can't really find any video's on the internet showing me these kind of things.
I hope you can help. Thanks!!

See these:
Switching from Windows to Mac OS X,
Basic Tutorials on using a Mac,
Mac 101: Mac Essentials,
Mac OS X keyboard shortcuts,
Anatomy of a Mac,
MacTips,
Switching to Mac Superguide, and
Switching to the Mac: The Missing Manual, Lion Edition.
Additionally, *Texas Mac Man* recommends:
Quick Assist,
Welcome to the Switch To A Mac Guides,
Take Control E-books, and
A guide for switching to a Mac.

Teacher switching to Mac from PC--but worried about difficulty transferring Microsoft Office files?

Hey everyone,
I'm a high school English teacher, and recently my PC at home died after only two years. I'm really wanting to switch over to Apple products, but I'm not sure about the combination of machines to buy and I'm concerned about how easily my 3,000+ Microsoft Office-based files I use every day at work will be transferred to a Mac. I'd really appreciate any advice you may have about your experience using both types of machines!
Issue #1: The first thing I'm unsure about is what combination of machines to buy from Apple. I absolutely am getting an iPad, for the portability and because I love my Iphone but want a larger interface on which to use my educational apps. However, I'm really torn between getting a Mac Pro desktop or the much smaller, much more expensive, but much more portable Macbook Pro laptop. My husband is a gamer (he loves Starcraft!) and his only criteria for our new machine is that it will play his games. Both the Mac Pro and Macbook Pro have the capabilities to play the graphics-heavy game, but I don't know if I want to go back to a desktop computer after having the easy of a laptop at home for two years. Any profession swear one way or the other? Please give me your reasons for your preference! I'd love to hear.
Issue #2: The other thing I'm nervous about is transferring all of the 3,000+ files from my school PC to a Macbook or Mac so I can work on them at home and not have to haul the PC to and from school. I've transferred what I could to Google Drive, but I'm not keen on switch over to Drive completely because it doesn't give me the flexibility that working with Word does. I'd like to know how the transition from PC to Mac is when it comes to Word, PowerPoint, Publisher, and Excel files, since I'll be creating them on the PC at school and continuing work on the Macbook or Mac Pro at home. Is it difficult transition? Please let me know...again, I appreciate your responses.
Thanks very much,
Mrs. Tripp

I think you should purchase the MacBook Pro, because as you stated you are accustomed to using a laptop, or if you would like a desk-top consider the iMac over the Mac Pro (To much for your needs). Both computers can handle your requirements regarding the MS Office files you would need to purchase the Mac version of MS Office.
Starcraft will work on a Mac, another option you have with a Mac, it is possible to run Windows via BootCamp or a software solution like Parallels Desktop and VMWare.
This link will help you with the switch to Mac, http://www.apple.com/support/macbasics/
PS. Welcome to the club!

Switching to Mac OS X

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