I jumped into the world of Mac after my over 20 years of PC hardware and software experience. I had previously taught several PC operating systems classes as an adjunct instructor at a community college in California, so I was no novice. I decided to "take a bite of the Apple" when my old Windows 98 clunker gradually could not keep up with the bloated Internet add-ins and after my unsatisfactory experience with Windows Vista. I still use my Windows Vista notebook computer that runs satisfactorily, as long as I overlook its glacial pace of booting up and annoying security and update features that seem to intrude at the most inconvenient times.
So I made an appointment to see a sales rep at my local Mac store, which, frankly, made a very positive first impression. Mac computer stores are not your cavernous and impersonal electronics warehouses with semi-qualified sales people (when you can find them). The people at Mac know their stuff, and the salesman who showed me the high-end Mac I wanted and answered all my questions. I was also impressed with the Mac store's array of technical support and service after the sale. I saw no unattended customers in the busy store that day.
From its first minute out of the box, my experience with my new Mac computer was like switching from a Honda Civic to a Mercedes Benz. Compared to any PC I have ever used, my Mac desktop boots up and jumps on the Internet faster, runs its operating system and software smoother, and just looks and feels better. Its Unix-based operating system is self-correcting and the old Windows "blue screen of death" never intrudes. Whatever may be causing a problem (usually my legacy Windows software) is isolated and shut down through the "force quit" feature, never taking the entire operating system with it. I have also encountered absolutely no hardware compatibility difficulties. I use the same printer and digital camera as before. All I had to do to get my broadband modem up and running on the Mac was to attach it to the Ethernet outlet.
I still need to use the Windows operating system in my home tutoring business. My Mac, which is Intel-based, can run Windows Vista in a "virtual" mode with the help of a software program I bought called "Parallels Desktop." This proved to be a bit pricey, since I had to pay about $90 for Parallels and buy another copy of Windows Vista (I found a copy on e-Bay and saved about $50 over the retail price). However, it was money well spent, since now I have the best of both worlds. I run Mac's OS and Windows Vista simultaneously. Ironically, my Mac computer runs Windows Vista better than my old PC.
Speaking of operating systems, the latest is Mac's OS X. The learning curve for me in running this slightly different operating system approach was negligible. Mac uses the traditional file management approach with folders and icons with some slick variations that include a sort of "carousel" icon view of programs and photo files, which is dazzling. Its "Spaces" feature allows me to isolate multiple open windows far better than Vista. Also, press the keyboard's F3 button to see and switch to every open program quickly.
My experience with Mac software has also been totally positive. Mac comes with some very nice free programs (a text editor, web browser, calendar, e-mail, address book, sticky notes, a photo manger and dictionary to name some). There is also a Mac version of Open Office that can be downloaded for free from the Open Office web site. It is called "Neo-Office," and it really is an exceptionally powerful office suite that includes a word processor, a spreadsheet and a presentation program. Neo-Office also accommodates MS Office files, but it gets a bit quirky handling Office 2007 and Excel spreadsheet files.
As far as "high-end" software, I bought a copy of FileMaker Pro 9, a data base management program that runs flawlessly. Unlike my experiences with Microsoft Access, FileMaker Pro never crashes. I also use the Mac version of Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Entourage, the Mac version of Outlook). Mac's operating system accommodates these programs quite comfortably, and they never crash. I especially like Entourage. It has everything (and more) that MS Outlook, with the exception of the latter's nasty tendency to freeze and crash.
My new Mac and its 26-inch jewel of a monitor were, to be honest, pricey. I paid nearly $3600 for the entire system. Plus, I had to spring for the JBL speakers that did not come with the computer. Admittedly, the model I bought (a rocket Mac Pro with 2.8 GHz processor, 2 GB of memory and a 300 GB hard drive) is high end. There are less expensive models, but Mac does not offer anything as inexpensive as the least expensive PC.
But the same can be said about Mercedes Benz versus the Honda Civic.