Switching to Mac

by Aditya Anand

It’s been more than a month since I bought my Apple MacBook Pro. I have just switched from Windows, and this has been a completely new experience. It did take a lot of persuasion from other Mac owners for me to buy my notebook. With every Windows user trying their best to dissuade me from buying a Mac, it does take courage initially to buy one; especially if one is a student like me and had to chip in some portion of the money from his own savings.

People who had never touched anything Apple other than an iPod used to lecture me why not to switch. I believe the only reason they do that is because they themselves have not experienced what it is to be on a Mac. I have yet to find a Mac user who does not like his computer. Though I do not know, how many “I hate Windows” sites exist on the internet. I bought my notebook solely on the advice of people who had already used Macs, and the fact that BootCamp was released. So that acted as a safety cushion, I could always revert to Windows if I didn’t like the new environment. My fears were all allayed the very first day I used my notebook. The GUI is not a sore in the eye, but infact a real treat. The interface is very intuitive. There is even a “Switching from Windows” section in the help. I do not recollect a single instance when I could not figure out things either on my own or with the OS-Help.

“But if you are thinking of switching, then trust me you will never feel like using Windows again unless you are forced to.”

It feels nice to simply surf the new without being reminded rudely to download hundreds of megabytes of security updates for the millions of viruses, worms, trojans, etc. that exist. It is a nice feeling when you are not told every minute that “The computer has recovered from a serious error” or when your applications shut down with all your unsaved data. This thing is stable, reliable. It does not eat my mind up for things it should not. The looks of Apple products are something to die for. The illuminated Apple logo on the cover is the envy of all my friends. I already prefer Keynote to Powerpoint. In fact, I cannot believe how quickly I have got accustomed to this. Yesterday, while working on a friend’s computer, I was clicking on the left side of the application window to close it.

“I have yet to find a Mac user who does not like his computer.”

To be honest I still do use Windows once or twice a day. This is only for games or for AutoCAD. In essence now there is no software which I cannot use. I believe one of the major issues with people who want to switch is compatibility, especially if he or she does not have another Windows machine. BootCamp easily resolves this. So does Parallels. But if you are thinking of switching, then trust me you will never feel like using Windows again unless you are forced to. Sure the notebook that I am working on is far from perfect, it does have heating issues and the speaker quality is not good enough, but this is closer than the rest.

Though in the Middle East, the Apple also turns out to be quite on the higher side, when it comes to prices too. Two friends of mine who stay with me also have bought Macs. They too had no Mac experience but seeing how it works first-hand on my laptop they got convinced enough to buy one. Needless to say they are as happy as me. The best way to gauge any product is to ask the users themselves. To cut a long story short, I am loving this.

About Aditya

Aditya Anand is an eighteen year old student from India studying engineering. He likes reading, wikieing, surfing, music, some poetry and ofcourse his Mac. This is his first year in Dubai, he would love to meet similar minded people and also get some advice on Macs and this new place. His emiratesmac username is “inurv2”. You can reach Adi on MSN at adityavinod@hotmail.com, or email to theone.adi@gmail.com.

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