bnrmom Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 My computer is dying a slow death, and I'm really interested in getting a Mac, but I'm wondering how rough of a transition it will be. For instance, all my word documents, spreadsheets, etc. Will those transfer easily? How about all my pictures in Picasa? I do work on QuickBooks, so I would have to buy the software for Mac and convert my files. Can you think of what other typical software I might have to repurchase? I'm really interested in getting everything synced "in the cloud" as far as calendars, contacts, emails, etc. We have iphones, and ipad, and ipods. Is it realistic that having a Mac computer will make all the syncing easier? Is there anything else that could be an issue that I should be aware of? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto3boys Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 When we switched we bought Office for Mac and had all our documents, pictures, etc on an external hard drive so everything was pretty painless with the switch. I love Macs, I'll never go back now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mama Geek Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 We still have both a pc and a Mac. I have suggested to dh that the for the next Mac I might be able to get by with an IPad because I mostly use it for pics, music, and surfing the internet. I still prefer MS office and just can't justify buying it for a Mac. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bnrmom Posted February 13, 2012 Author Share Posted February 13, 2012 So if you don't use Office for Mac, what do you use for documents? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 I find that documents transfer back and forth between the Windows version and this one very easily. There are minor differences in the tab layouts between the versions, but you get used to them. The one thing that I will say: Macs are very easy to use but if your habits are all Windows, then you will find yourself at sea for a few days. The little booklet that came with the Mac was not, for me, enough. I got a user manual (from a non-Apple author) and it helped a lot. I love Macs - I'm on my third - and wouldn't go back. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nukeswife Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 I'm :bigear: as I'm planning to replace my current laptop with a macbook pro. I'm also thinking of getting rid of the kid 3 dell laptops and having them share one huge iMac. We all love our iPads and Ipod touches and can't wait to get our iPhones. I think we're slowly turning into a Mac family. I use Quicken for my checking etc, I guess I'd have to buy the mac version of that and then transfer my file in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 Go through the Switch 101 tutorial. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kathkath Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 When we switched we bought Office for Mac and had all our documents, pictures, etc on an external hard drive so everything was pretty painless with the switch. I love Macs, I'll never go back now! yes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamajag Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 Are you going to be in a mixed home of Macs and PCs? If so, there is a driver called NTFS forMac that will allow Macs to read Windows formatted hard drives for about $20. It's worth its weight in gold. Buy a large external hard drive for your Mac to use as a Time Machine backup drive. The software is fantastic and has saved my butt many times. Mine is double the size of my internal. The bigger the drive, the farther back in time your backups go. Farther is better. You will be at sea for a couple of weeks because the entire philosophy behind the OSs are so very different. I recommend the Missing Manual series, and the one on Lion is better than the one on switching. You'll grow into the former, and the former contains the most important parts of the latter. Take advantage of Apple's switching info and getting started videos. They have a wealth of very good information. Also, the switcher forums at Mac Forums are very helpful, but they assume you have familiarized yourself with the Apple tutorials in a basic way before asking for help. Office for Mac is a no brainer. Your pictures will be fine, and Google even has a Mac client for Picasa. ICloud is still being developed and has some issues, but all the things you mention work just fine. They are phasing in more advanced capabilities so outside apps are taking their time supporting it. I LOVE having all my emails, calendars, and such with me no matter what device I am carrying. I have an iMac, an iPad 1, and an iPhone 4s. My daughter just got a Mac mini, and the kids all have their own iPods. I put dd1s independent work in ICal, and it syncs up to let me know what she's completed. It's pretty sweet. If they stop making Macs I will give up computers completely. I will never, ever go back to Windows. Macs just work. We are down to 2 PCs, one of which is on its last legs and I am saving to replace, and my DH's nearly new Alienware he bought right before I switched. He's having to wait to get a MacBook Pro, and it's killing him watching the kids make the switch. Put it this way: About 2 weeks after I switched, dd2 was having trouble getting her games to work on her PC. I was out of the house and got a phone call from DH who just said that she wanted to talk to me. She asked if she could play on my computer with the Apple on it because it works when no other one will. I reminded DH of my password and told him to let her use it. She was 4, and it was obvious to her which computer was better. She is the one who just got a Mini. Oh yeah, parental controls in Lion are awesome. You can control who they receive mail from and limit them to preapproved sites among other things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpyTheFrog Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 You can use OpenOffice for free. It can use MS Office files on a PC or a Mac. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iucounu Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 Yes, OpenOffice is pretty good and free. Just make sure it works with your particular files. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamajag Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 Office for Mac will take care of your files perfectly. I can open most Word files in Pages, but Excel files are more problematic and sometimes won't open in Numbers. I simply quit using Office when I switched because I was done with college. Pages and Numbers have sufficed for me. iCloud works perfectly in the way you describe. It has more advanced applications that are still in development and can be iffy. Picasa has a Mac client, so you're covered there. If you're in a mixed group of Windows/Mac, there is a driver for $20 called NTFS for Mac that will allow your Mac to read/write to hard drives formatted for Windows. Also in a mixed situation it is much easier to set up a network and printer sharing if the Mac is the brain of the network. Expect to be lost for a week or so and fuzzy for a bit after. I recommend the "Missing Manual" line of books, specifically the Lion one. There is one for switchers, but most of the goodies in it are in the Lion book, and you'll grow into the Lion book. Also make sure you check out the 101 and switcher tutorials on Apple's web site. The switcher forum on Mac Forums is very helpful, but they do ask you at least do a cursory look see through the above-mentioned Apple resources before asking for help. Get an external HDD just for your Mac, and turn it into a Time Machine. There's a tut. It's a fantastic backup program that keeps snapshots of your machine so you can go back in time and find that file/email you deleted. It is wonderful, and if your Mac should die, you can restore your Mac with it. Wonderful stuff. Mine is twice the size of my internal HDD, and it lets me have a wider range of choices as far as when to look for files. I will never, ever go back to a Windows machine. I just recently bought dd2 a Mac Mini when her PC died, and I love all the parental controls. I can control which websites she's allowed to go to and who is allowed to send her mail as well as who she is allowed to send mail to. When you get your Mac, if you need help, you can PM me if you like. Oh yeah, do NOT pay Apple's price for upgrading RAM. Go to Crucial and let their web site scan your computer and get your RAM from there. RAM is a painless upgrade for sure on the iMac (like plugging in a lamp, I swear), and you will save HUNDREDS of dollars. I have used Crucial for almost 15 years and never had a single problem. My iMac is rocking 12GB of their RAM right now. There's also talk that it's complicated to upgrade the internal HDD in the iMacs due to some proprietary things Apple is doing, so get the internal space you want the first time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nukeswife Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 You can use OpenOffice for free. It can use MS Office files on a PC or a Mac. This is good to know as I switched over to open office when we got our new PCs a few years ago because we didn't want to pay for MS office. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpedIntoTheDeepEndFirst Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 Older turboax files don't convert. Also, Apple's own office suite is available in the app store of individual purchase ie you can buy just the word processor or just the spread sheet. They can convert MS Office docs and you can chose to save a MS version to send off to a PC or what ever you need. See if you can older through the education store online and pick up in a local Apple store. I hear they will help you transfer and set up your new Mac right in the store. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamajag Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 Sorry about the double post. Nothing was showing up yesterday and I thought the computer had eaten my posts. :glare::001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonshineLearner Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 You should know.... to ask for an Educator's Discount... and you won't want to stop with your new computer. I love my MacBook Pro, smallest size screen, and I could hook it up to my great monitor, if I would remember to purchase the cord. I love to pop it in the case and take off with it. It's awesome!! :) I also like being able to print to my printer... (in the other room) I love the whole... scan the receipts.... potentially less paper. I love scanning back to my MacBook Pro from the Printer. I did an awesome slide show yesterday, from some screen shots that my friend sent me (of material I wanted.) The only problem is that I want an iPad and maybe and iPod, too!! :) Seriously, it's great!! I would suggest the warranty (Apple) and I love my laptop case from REI. It's nicer than the Apple ones, for less. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellers Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 So if you don't use Office for Mac, what do you use for documents? We have Office, NeoOffice (used to be free but now I believe the download requires a $10 donation), and iWork. We use iWork (Pages) and NeoOffice the most. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbkaren Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 I use a mac at home and a pc at work. I hate having to stop and think about which system I'm using; I wish I were all one way or the other. My biggest complaint is that "control" doesn't work on the mac...you have to go over to the "command" button. And I do a lot of "Control +" navigating (ctrl + arrow to skip among words, ctrl + end, ctrl + delete or backspace to delete entire words) which doesn't seem to work on the mac...the "command" button doesn't replace the control button in those instances. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abigail4476 Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 So if you don't use Office for Mac, what do you use for documents? Pages for docs, Keynote for ppt and Numbers for excel. Most documents transition over just fine and you can also export pages/keynot/numbers files as office documents. I had hundreds of docs and ppt files and they open in the mac programs just fine. Occasionally I will have to edit a font or stretch a box in Keynote to adjust my original slides. Personally, I think Pages performs at least on par with Word and I think Keynote is superior to PowerPoint. It's the little features that make a big difference. Also, take the time to learn all the shortcuts. Familiarize yourself with all the command+whatever's and you'll be zooming through tasks that used to take multiple clicks to complete. There is a learning curve, so you should go through all the tutorials for everything. I switched to mac from PC just a couple of months ago and I can't imagine EVER going back. Love, love, love my macbook air. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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