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Knightoftheapp

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I'm forty-five years old and for the last twenty years I've been using PC's. I've always liked Steve Jobs and Apple. And I've always thought Macs were the better computer but I used PC's for as long as I did because pretty much everyone else did. Not to mention the fact that the PC was everywhere in my career.

Then I got an iPad 2 and for me, the world of computers changed for good. I use my iPad for almost everything. To tell the truth, I now consider my iPad to be my main computer. About a month ago, my PC (which I had been using for eight years) finally "died". All that's left is the hard drive which I have sitting on a shelf.

The truth is that I need a new desktop computer and I'm thinking about getting a Mac. The fact is that the PC is still the dominant desktop on the market. What I want to know is...are the Mac and PC compatible? For example, is it possible to send/receive to and from a Mac from a PC? The point is if their compatible in that regard, I'll probably end up getting a Mac. What do you think?
 

Vlammetje

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What do you mean by send and receive? Wirelessly? Share files?

Mac and PC are compatible in the sense that you can view, create and save almost any document type on either one. They are incompatible in the sense that software cannot be exchanged. There are many manufacturers that will offer software for both, if not more, OS's. There are even more though, that don't.

And even then, a native windows program could still be used via an emulator on a mac. Or even on windows which you could install as a 2nd OS next to OSX.

I see absolutely no reason why you shouldn't be able to switch, but then again I do not know what your main use is.

Also, I need to point out to you that mac OSX, which you would be using on an iMac, is very different from iOS, which you see on your iPad. It is -in my opinion- very intuitive and very user friendly, but it is still a full fledged OS, with a very different basis than iOS.

My advice: have a clear idea of what you want to be able to do with your desktop. Make sure any iMac meets your requirements. And most of all: go to a store and play for a long time with one of those demo iMacs they have. That'll give you some feel for the OS.

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I'm forty-five years old and for the last twenty years I've been using PC's. I've always liked Steve Jobs and Apple. And I've always thought Macs were the better computer but I used PC's for as long as I did because pretty much everyone else did. Not to mention the fact that the PC was everywhere in my career.

Then I got an iPad 2 and for me, the world of computers changed for good. I use my iPad for almost everything. To tell the truth, I now consider my iPad to be my main computer. About a month ago, my PC (which I had been using for eight years) finally "died". All that's left is the hard drive which I have sitting on a shelf.

The truth is that I need a new desktop computer and I'm thinking about getting a Mac. The fact is that the PC is still the dominant desktop on the market. What I want to know is...are the Mac and PC compatible? For example, is it possible to send/receive to and from a Mac from a PC? The point is if their compatible in that regard, I'll probably end up getting a Mac. What do you think?
There is a sister forum to this one, appleforums.net, that might right up your alley . It covers all things Apple.

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info

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I'm not sure what you mean by send/receive but I'm quite sure that you will find the Mac more than adequate in that department. Eight years is a long time so I suppose there is little point in trying to revive your old PC. An inexpensive new PC laptop would probably tide you over these turbulent times well enough, saving you a few bucks and allowing you to concentrate on iOS. It may be premature/unwise to rid yourself of Windows completely. You could always go for a more evolved MacBook later, and this approach would give you access to both systems. Or, you could dual boot a Mac or maybe run Windows on an emulator like Parallels or Fusion if you feel you need it. It's a judgement call of course.
 
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jsh1120

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Although you should be able to move to an Apple desktop/laptop without worry, here are some things to think about.

() As another poster noted above, your iPad and a Mac share a manufacturer but not an OS. And while some apps like Pages (word processing) have identical names on the two platforms, the features are not identical and you no more install Pages for Mac on your iPad than you can install Word.

That's not to say that there aren't some benefits in having a desktop/laptop from Apple if you're going to use your iPad extensively. The look and feel of apps will be more similar than will be the case with a Windows PC, for example. And it's likely that Apple will try to make integration/interfacing between their tablet and Macs as simple and functional as possible in the future. By the same token, however, Apple would be foolish to implement significant barriers for users that have Windows PC's and iPads.

() You'll pay a premium price for Apple hardware. That penalty, however, may be somewhat reduced if you plan to use a desktop system for relatively limited and simple tasks. A Mac Mini may suffice for you. On the other hand, if you want/need a workhorse desktop system you can equal the specs of an Apple system at significantly less money with a PC. And since you're already familiar with Windows, the added maintenance burden of a Windows system may not be a deterrent.

() I've never been able to move to an Apple desktop/laptop because my business life is so heavily immersed in Microsoft products. That includes corporate communications, specialized software, etc. Some of my colleagues use Apple systems successfully but not without extra effort from time to time. They love their Macs and are willing to invest the effort. Each time I've considered making the jump, however, the cost and potential for arcane incompatibilities have prevented me from doing so.

() All in all, my guess is that you'd benefit from shifting to an Apple-only environment, especially given your enchantment with the iPad and the fact that you believe it can be your primary computing environment. But consider it a lifestyle choice, not necessarily a rational economic decision. :)
 
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Knightoftheapp

Knightoftheapp

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Vlammetje said:
What do you mean by send and receive? Wirelessly? Share files?

Mac and PC are compatible in the sense that you can view, create and save almost any document type on either one. They are incompatible in the sense that software cannot be exchanged. There are many manufacturers that will offer software for both, if not more, OS's. There are even more though, that don't.

And even then, a native windows program could still be used via an emulator on a mac. Or even on windows which you could install as a 2nd OS next to OSX.

I see absolutely no reason why you shouldn't be able to switch, but then again I do not know what your main use is.

Also, I need to point out to you that mac OSX, which you would be using on an iMac, is very different from iOS, which you see on your iPad. It is -in my opinion- very intuitive and very user friendly, but it is still a full fledged OS, with a very different basis than iOS.

My advice: have a clear idea of what you want to be able to do with your desktop. Make sure any iMac meets your requirements. And most of all: go to a store and play for a long time with one of those demo iMacs they have. That'll give you some feel for the OS.

Sent from my iPad using iPF

Yes. I meant share files.
 

iFrog

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Most file you can share then like pictures, videos, music and so on. However word doc, excel files will require you to purchase the app for Mac.
 

Pinkpoison

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You have been given lots of tech info,my opinion for what it is worth is get a mac computer,I went from pc to mac recently and what a difference,no frustration anymore,I got a MacBook pro,it's so fast,everything is just there with a click,you wouldn't want a pc again,the new iMacs are fantastic.
 

nessva

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My dad had the same questions before he swapped to apple (always used windows his whole working life etc) but he's had no troubles at all and now wouldn't go back to windows.

If you do have an apple store or reseller, just go in every now and again and play with their computers. I've been doing that just to have a look at the new operating system to decide if I want to upgrade it on my laptop.
 

gwynsoft

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A client of mine runs a financial help centre here in Italy - these centres basically submit tax forms for companies and people and provide an interface to the finance ministry. The finance sector is exclusively Microsoft based.
A year ago this client's office computer died and he opted to replace it with an iMac. I installed Windows under VirtualBox to run those programs that absolutely required Windows and OpenOffice on both the iMac and virtual machine. Email is handled by Mail on the iMac to both the company server and his private email. Skype is available for both systems for his communications. A proportion of the company's needed services are available via the web and these are handled by Safari; one specialised service requires a slightly altered RDP and is run on the virtual machine.
My client has had no major problems in the year he has had the new system and is very happy with MacOS X, only using Windows when he really has to.
There are a few caveats to using a mixture of MacOS and Windows:
- VirtualBox (and any other) virtual machines have poor graphics performance. This doesn't matter for normal office programmes but can be a show-stopper for creative professionals; on the other hand most content creation programmes are available for MacOS.
- MacOS sometimes has problems with SMB/CIFS file-sharing. However, Bonjour is available for Windows and anyway this company's file server uses Linux and serves up both.
- If you need to use USB dongles or disks under a VirtualBox virtual machine, set it to have only one processor. This made no significant difference in speed with the type of programmes the client uses. I do not know if Parallels or VMWare have the same problem.
I hope this helps your decision

Sent from my iPad 2 using iPF
 

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