Moving from Windows to Mac; what to expect?

[Kandjar]

Hi,

I used to sync my iPad with my Windows computer, and now that I want to develop, I bought a Mac and I'd like to switch the synchronization from the PC to the Mac; I'm just affraid to loose apps, or other files (pictures, music, podcast...)...

My questions would be:
- have you already done this process?
- how painful was it?
- did you lost anything doing it?
- what would be your recommendation (steps to follow... stuff like that)?

Thanks,
Kandjar

 

[Moonchaser]

When I made the move 2 yrs ago, I did it for iPhone development.

It was amazing free of pain. My biggest problem was getting used to MacOS X. By that I mean that Mac OS is really smart and does a lot of things for you automatically (and more amazingly, correctly). As an experienced Windows user, I kept trying to configure things that I "knew" needed configuring, only to find that the Mac had already done it.

As for moving the iPhone stuff, there was no problem. I just moved my iTunes library from the PC to Mac via file copy (for music, movies, etc...). My apps synced from the phone to the Mac when I did my first sync (no loss of anything). You might just write down the apps you have added to your device, just in case (you can always download apps you have already bought for free, you just have to know what they are). You might want to make sure all your apps are synced with the device (iTunes lets you have apps that are not synced, and I don't know if those get moved with the iTunes library).

Finally, Apple support is real responsive to people making the move you are making. You can always call them and they can help you with any problems you might have.

 

[gentlefury]

Well you can expect less nagging pop ups, less system failures, less lock ups, less freezing, less possibility of viruses, less having to search for drivers, less hardware conflicts, and much much much more up time (I don't remember the last time I restarted due to an issue...the only reason I have to shut down is to restart in windows to play some games!)

 

[Kandjar]

When I made the move 2 yrs ago, I did it for iPhone development.

It was amazing free of pain. My biggest problem was getting used to MacOS X. By that I mean that Mac OS is really smart and does a lot of things for you automatically (and more amazingly, correctly). As an experienced Windows user, I kept trying to configure things that I "knew" needed configuring, only to find that the Mac had already done it.

Good to know!!!
Yeah, learning the Mac OS way was also an interesting aspect for me...

As for moving the iPhone stuff, there was no problem. I just moved my iTunes library from the PC to Mac via file copy (for music, movies, etc...). My apps synced from the phone to the Mac when I did my first sync (no loss of anything).

Last move I did was from PC to PC and wasn't free of pain... Kind of sad that you loose all the rating you put on the music...

You might just write down the apps you have added to your device, just in case (you can always download apps you have already bought for free, you just have to know what they are). You might want to make sure all your apps are synced with the device (iTunes lets you have apps that are not synced, and I don't know if those get moved with the iTunes library).

Well... this is where it's getting complicated
I have over 450 apps *sick* installed on the device...
I know it's crazy high, especially, since there are no folder yet on the iPad; I end up having over 10 pages of app non accessible (except by search).

Finally, Apple support is real responsive to people making the move you are making. You can always call them and they can help you with any problems you might have.

That's nice!

Well you can expect less nagging pop ups, less system failures, less lock ups, less freezing, less possibility of viruses, less having to search for drivers, less hardware conflicts, and much much much more up time (I don't remember the last time I restarted due to an issue...the only reason I have to shut down is to restart in windows to play some games!)

I do experiment lots of Freezing, lagging and lock up from iTunes itself on the PC; that'd definitively be nice if all these issue would go away...

Note that I already manage to freeze for 2 to 3 minutes my mac mini by just doing a search in their documentation...

 

[Kandjar]

Ok, after plugin the ipad with the mac; in order to synchronize, I actually have to wipe it out... What the heck!!???

Do I really have to erase the entire device to be able to move the synchronization from windows to mac???