Moving to a Mac

Just go out and buy a top of the range laptop and send the bill to Naim HQ

Mista H

Very good Mista H. You should try posting more like that in the Best Jokes thread...

Seriously though, swapped to a Mac about 12 years ago now and never looked back. I just want a machine that works. We've got 5 or so in the house now including a headless Mac mini as a music server. Buying one for my folks to replace their PC also stopped the computer support calls.

I have had a number of Windows system PCs over the years. They always went wrong Two were new and both seemed to develop silly problems that rapidly multiplied. No computer lasted more than two years before catching cold, and eventually dying of computer pneumonia. I do concede that I am hopeless at computers, unlike cycles!

I have an ancient Sony Vaio that operates on Linux, and is useful for the internet. Bomb-proof, but it is a bit like exercising a camel compared to the MAC ...

About two years ago I went with a new MAC Mini, and it is flawless. It just works, and the MAC software is so intuitive that I have hardly run into a problem. When I did Guido Fawkes [sadly late of this Parish] fixed me up in no time. A simple setting issue.

After Linux and MAC OS, I would never return to the world of Windows!

ATB from George

Been using Macs since 1990, no regrets at all.  

IME, the more Apple devices I have about the abode, the more I appreciate the synergy.

I'm sure that the internet is full on stuff on moving to mac.  However, if you haven't seen this already Richard, it may help http://www.apple.com/support/macbasics/pctomac/

Like James, I use a headless Mac mini as a music server.   As for music file management, well there is this forum I know well......

If you buy direct from Apple, they offer a 14 day period to return if you are unhappy.  If you have an Apple store near you, they can do most of transferring of stuff from a PC at the Genuis Bar, as Tony suggests.

HTH

Jude

Just do it you won't regret the switch.  If you need to run some windows app you can always run a VM with Parallels.  The only problem is the high cost vs Windows laptops.  However, I've owned 8 in my life and all are still completely functional [although both my Mac SE and Mac Classic are quite obsolete as they were built in the late 80's - 1991]

After years of PC desktops and laptops I was persuaded to try a MacBook Pro by my son who fixes them for a living.  I made the move a couple of years ago. Expensive compared to many laptops but you can feel the quality of the engineering and build. Software for Macs is remarkably cheap when viewed at the Microsoft office suite.  But the best bit is the navigation of screen. I can thoroughly recommend one, Richard.

MDS    

Hi,

I switched from PC to Mac Mini about a month ago and primarily use for audio. I use an external HDD to store music in aiff format and have another HDD storing reference Flac files, and thank goodness I had the backup..

For some reason the Mac mini, possibly something to fo with iTunes/ iCloud or some other auto update system in mac, decided to move 768 of my music files to trash on the HDD so I had to re copy the HDD from the reference. So I have now turned off all the auto update systems and iCloud in the hope to prevent a reoccurance.

other than that, perfect.....

Regards,

Nick

Well this obviously quickly descends into a Mac/Windows debate. My two cents...

I love the Mac. I have a fully loaded Macbook Pro, (Retina display, 768GB SSD, maxed memory etc) hardware. The screen is so much nicer than anything else I've seen on a laptop. I have a big Dell Ultrasharp at work and it is nearly as good, but still behind. The keyboard is a delight. Trackpad is great. The case is rigid, metal, light and thin. Nothing to fault it, really.

I am less convinced by the OS. Probably more stable than my work PC, but not quite as easy to work with for some tasks. Bear in mind I've never really been trained on either, so things I find difficult are likely due to ignorance, rather than intrinsic OS capability.

But in the overall scheme, we're a Mac family. Over a dozen devices including the ubiquitous Mini as a music storage and playback device. It's hard to go past the quality of the hardware.

You guys must be unlucky.  No probs here with 2 Windows 7 machines a Nexus 4 and a Nexus 7.

Got an iPad air too and it's no more or less reliable than the rest of the tech gear I have.

What I usually do in my grass is greener moments is log onto the support forum of the software/hardware that's greener in my mind.  That usually shows that there's problems everywhere and to chillax a bit with what I have.

Richard, 

I upgraded from Vaio and Dell,which I had for about 8 years,  with,different upgrades, to an iMac last year and use the iPad for general connectivity. Never looked back.   Just  like upgrading from SL2s to  Ovators. It'll take time but you know it makes sense!

Best of luck,

Tony

Hi Richard,

A long-term Windows user here. The retina screen was the key feature in my transition to Mac. First on an iPod Touch, then on an iPad, and now on a 17" MacBookPro. If you're spending hours every day focussing on a screen, there really is no substitute for better resolution. 

I spend between 5 to 8 hours a day writing, translating or revising texts. The retina screen not only greatly reduces eye strain, but allows far greater error detection. There has always been a general rule in revising texts that you can't properly revise unless you're working from a paper version. The retina screen changes that.

That may or may not be a good thing for forum moderation, as you may well notice more - euh - aberrations.

The hardest part for me was adjusting to the loss of the right click, until I learned that in Mac it's a two-finger tap on the track pad.

Downsides ? The 17 " MacBookPro is fairly heavy, so if you moving around a lot, have a look at the Air version.

Apart from that it's a constant delight to use, and with flash memory instead of a hard drive, ultra fast.

I'm just beginning to explore the Mac as a music source. I've installed Audirvana and copied over a load of WAV files from the UnitiServe. Feeding the Chord Hugo, the results exceed my expectations.

Jan

I am a recent convert to Macs too. After iPads etc it seemed the right thing to do. There are still somethings that frustrate me, I have to authorise saving things to my desktop for instance, but i am sure there are ways around this! 

On the right click, as a mouse user you can set the mouse to right click. so perfect for me as i don't like the touchpad.

but i wouldn't go back especially after the new windows 8 thingy which my daughters laptop came with! I can't find anything on the damned thing now!

I couldn't give a flying frog what name is on my PC - I just want it to work. After years of endless frustration with a PC migrated to a Mac in 2009 - works everytime 

Hi Richard -

Only pitfall I can think of would be the cost of re-licensing PC software apps for Mac.  Some, like Photoshop, can be expensive.

IME, Mac has been a big step up in hardware quality, user interface, reliability and security. Zero interest in Windows, but some apps have not been ported off.  For example, am still using MediaMonkey for ripping on an old HP laptop, and am still running Asset on a small DIY system. Hopefully not for much longer. Obviously, you have your own list of apps to consider.

As far as your music files are concerned, you do have some options. PlugPlayer works fine on Mac, but is no world beater for usability. Do you need to carry the music files around on your laptop, or is NAS storage and UPnP access an option?  If not, mass conversion to ALAC and AIFF is not that big a deal. You just need disk space for a landing zone.

Good luck.

Hook

Thanks everyone. So the changeover is not going to be a world of pain then.  Good. I have to admit that the apparent build quality is a big draw. I looked after the Vaios very carefully so was disappointed when they both failed after only 2 and a half years. A friend's MacBook Pro is built like a tank by comparison. 

Yeah, I was really disappointed with the quality and feel of the Vaios when shopping for a shool laptop for our son. We couldn't see the benefit of paying the Sony premium for something that was going to get trashed anyway. So we went cheap with reasonable results given the "hard life" it has.

Our other son chipped in some of his own cash to get a Macbook Air. You can definitely see the benefits in terms of quality and durability in that machine. Also MUCH nicer to use.

We went Mac several years ago and were very pleased to do so. I still occasionally use a PC laptop (an Asus iirc) which seems well built, but having to use Windows is not pleasant, and having to wait for ages whilst the latest crop of security updates load and install is extremely irritating.

Cost of re-licensing software from Win to Mac.

It is worthwhile talking to the developer of the application to see if they do a migration process that will disable the Win version and enable a Mac version for a much reduced fee.

As for Photoshop - it may well be worth looking at the Pixelmator application which is designed and written using the supplied functions in the Mac OS. It is very low priced compared to Adobe products.

At a function level many of the Mac applications are relatively cheap compared to Win apps.   As well as there being a very active shareware/freeware/donateware market.

Also check out to see if there is a local Mac User group that you can go to to expand your Mac experience. 

Gosh this thread is like Mac's anonymous!

I use a PC at work and Mac at home.  I really don't have a problem with the PC however, it does have full support from the IT team in work which may cover a multitude of sins!

I've been lucky with all my Macs, except for the original MacPro which I dropped several times until eventually the lid split away from the body - served me right for falling asleep so often!

The one and possibly only criticism I have of Mac OS is my inability to figure out how to "Save As" files to new locations in the folder structure - something which is extremely intuitive on PCs.  I'm sure I must be doing something wrong that such a problem exists?

My 2006 iMac (white bodied version) is still going strong with a great display considering its age.  Sure, it takes its own sweet time over some tasks, but it gets there in the end.

The latest Mac I have is the MacBook Pro which comes with a 750gb SSD.  I'm sure specs have moved on since I got this but it works like a dream and I have no wish for greater computing power.  iCloud is also a reassuring feature to have both for backing up all your valuable files "off campus" and for syncing with other Mac devices.

There used to be significant differences between Mac and PC versions of MS Office.  There still are differences however, these are minor and I don't find problems with formatting pages etc like I used to.  Hope some of these comments are of use to you.

Peter

By Save As - do you mean from within the application - if so which applications

or do you mean move the file to a different folder

I use PCs at home and a PC at work.
At home I provide what minimal support is required (and with Windows 7 that is minimal).
At work I have the full support of an IT team and it is a total f**king disaster. 

Willy.

Hey Tony. You may put the man off with that comparison. 

Mac gets my vote too. Went from windows to Mac 4 years ago with a MacBook Pro and now have a couple of iPads and iPhones in the house along with a soon to arrive MacMini.

ATB

Steve

Steve,

           Are you going to use the Mini for audio applications. If so could you explain how and let me know the outcome.

Having read George J's posts it seems to be a relatively simple, straightforward means of playing digital music.

I use a Mac Book Pro via Fidelia player and my Mtech Hiface/nDAC. I'm thinking of using a Mini exclusively with maybe a backup drive instead.

Not being a computer expert (not totally dim though) I'm waiting for the streaming/storage market to mature more before I step in.

Thanks,

               Graham