Moved over to the Mac

[wise871]

Well I finally did it and moved over to the Mac (OSX Lion) as my primary operating system. This wasn't a impulse decision and it was something I've been considering for sometime.

First a little background. I'm a Windows IT Specialist and I work on computers 24/7 for a major agency. I live and breath windows all day troubleshooting, fixing, upgrading, ensuring compliance, etc, you get the idea. Well the last thing I wanted to do was get on Windows when I got home. I wanted something different but the only thing holding me back was all my scanner software. I read just about every post from Mac users here in the fourms so I new I had a couple of options.

Two weeks ago I went out and bought me an iMac. Being a PC user I know I was going to pay way more for the iMac. I could build one hell of a Windows box for the price but I wanted to own one so I took the plug. The other reason I went with the iMac was I was tired of all the wires, power strips and lack of desk space. I also wanted something that would integrate well with my other IOS devices. I was getting bored with Windows and as a IT Specialist I was looking for a new challenge. These days of my online gaming are pretty much non existence.

Well after two weeks of learning and trial and error I am happy to report that Mac OSX is incrediable. I shoot myself for not trying it out sooner. Once I stopped thinking Windows I was able to get around the OS with little or no problems. The UI is simple to Navigate and everything works so well together. Installing and removing applications is a snap. Since I've owned it I downloaded a few highly recommend programs that just furthers the OSX experience. Best part was, most were free. I did purchase a few programs like Parallels Desktop 7, Total Finder, Office 2011, etc.

Now for the Scanner apps on a Mac. Thanks to the forums and what I read online I have all my scanner related software running just fine. When I first got the Mac I decided to start off with BootCamp. This allows me to install Windows 7 on it own partition so I can just use it when I want to work my scanner applications. This process is simple and Win7 runs great. The only drawback was I had to log-off of OSX to get into Windows. Then I decided to try out Parallels Desktop 7. This is exactly what I was looking for . I can now run Windows Virtually and access my Win7 BootCamp drive without even restarting my computer. Once I figured out how to enable my scanners USB in PD7, everything else was a snap. All my programs such as FreeScan, Win500, ID Tracker III, HP-1 Sentinel all work great.

I am very pleased with the results and glad I made the move. I'm still learning something new each day and between Youtube Videos and Mac Support forums I always find my answer in just a few minutes. I'm enjoying the new adventure of learning something new. For those of you wandering I still have my high end Win7 PC, I'm no fool. I still have tons of Windows programs I like to use and then there are the occasional gaming sessions. I just finished doing a clean install today and it is screaming with speed due me turning off the unnecessary services and all my daily programs are now running on the Mac.

Well I just wanted to share my experience. I'm sure I could have typed up a small term paper with all the details but you get the point. :wink:

 

[KD8PVX]

Thanks for the post! I have often thought about trying out a Mac, but other things have been priority in life. At one point I was also bored with windows and gave Ubuntu (Linux) a try. I still use it as my main OS and love the vast capabilities with it. Some day though I think a Mac Laptop will have to be an investment that I want to make.

 

[newsphotog]

I'm actually moving from Mac OS X back to Windows as all of my Macs die off :lol:

 

[N1XDS]

Now here's my story...Awhile back I ran the Gateway & Dell laptop line of computers never ran a Apple desktop or laptop computer before until 4 months ago I went in to the local PX shopping mart (Airbase) took a walk to the electronics where they had the computers lined up in rows they had Apple computers for people to play around and etc. So I went to use one of the hand's on Macbook Pro laptops and I came attached to it. So right now I am using a Macbook Pro 13'' with upgraded 8gb of ram and Mac OS X 10.7.2 software on it and it runs nice! It's nice to see if I have any questions or concerns I can go to the local Apple store in my area to have my question answered. Like they say once you go Mac you never go back.

 

[BoxAlarm187]

Moving to Mac over six years ago was the best move I've made in years. I find that a lot of people who talk down about Macs haven't ever really spent any time on one.

 

[lgentle]

I loved the old iMac I had (think it was the purple one?). It ran the original OS X good enough to use for things like the Internet, etc. I had an old USB external burner that I plugged up to it and it worked fine also.

I find it hard now to spend $600 or $700 or a Mac mini (only one I would get now). I spent a little under $500 for my Acer Iconia Tab A500 and find it more useful than I think the Mac mini would be.

My wife, on the other hand, wants a Macbook Pro as her next laptop.

 

[bravo14]

Moving to Mac over six years ago was the best move I've made in years. I find that a lot of people who talk down about Macs haven't ever really spent any time on one.

I agree. I knew a few people had a MAC they loved it. I may do that soon getting tired of the BS on windows.