Raleigh Loc: Reside in Olympia WA

I have been a PC person for years and for the last couple of years I have been using a Lenovo ThinkPad T500 for my photo work.
Recently, it has been shutting down (I'm told that's because of heat), the drivers are dying and I replace them (age?) and sometimes the image I'm working on starts to shake and vibrate.
My questions are: 1 How steep is the learning curve to move from PC to Mac Pro? 2. How difficult is it to transfer files from the present laptop to an Apple? 3. Should I move everything to an old HP desktop that my wife uses on occasion that is years older then the LT and has no problems? I know if I switched over to that it too, could fall apart; however I would save $$ and buy time by so doing???????????
Your ideas on some or all of these questions will be appreciated. :?: :roll:

amehta Loc: Boston

You can copy your files to an external hard drive which will also work on the Mac. This hard drive can then serve as your backup.

PhotoPhred Loc: Cheyney, Pa

I have been using Mac's for 10 years, no problems, however, there is a learning curve. I took some time, but worth it.

jethro779 Loc: Tucson, AZ

If you have a used book store in your area go to it and get"Switching to a Mac for Dummies". It gave me a running start when I switched and I haven't looked back. If you can still use the LT I would suggest using your home network to transfer the files from your pc to a mac.

LPigott Loc: Monterey Peninsula, CA

1. Steep but charming learning curve. I found the book "The Missing Manual" invaluable.

2. The Apple Store geniuses can transfer all your files for you ~ no charge.

3. Why go backwards when you could enter the state-of-the-art world of computing and photo processing?

JD750 Loc: SoCal

Here's my 2cents.
(1) I love my mac, switched in 2005, NOT going back. But of that first year it was a struggle because I was ingrained in the PC way of controlling everything. I finally let go of all that and discovered a whole new way of using the computer that I find generally superior to my old methods because it lets the computer do the mundane stuff and frees me up to think more creatively. YMMV. (2) Shouldh't be difficult to transfer the data form PC to Mac if you are PC literate (3) If $$ is your prime concern, then yes, you should definitely move your stuff to the old PC.

If your considering a Mac, I suggest you visit a Mac store and trying the computers, and the software. Bring some examples of what you want to do. Bring some files on a usb flash drive for example, and ask the store employees to show you how you can do those things on the Mac.

Regardless of what computer you decide on, I urge you to consider investing $100 in a 500GB or 1TB external USB drive, (myself I like the Toshiba models), and setup a method for backing up all your data on a regular basis.

blackest Loc: Ireland

you can get an enclosure for your laptops hard drive probably sata to usb these days and plug it into a usb port, usb isn't the fastest but enclosures are cheap enough. Actually for sata drives i have a nice little usb dock which takes 2.5 or 3.5 sata's (you just put the drive on the header and turn it on).

BigBear Loc: Northern CT

I use a pc for pc things, and I have a MAC for the graphics quality to work with my photos.

blackest Loc: Ireland

Macs are interesting to work with, The ctl c ctrl v keyboard shortcuts become cmd c and cmd v but otherwise are more or less the same.

windows do not always maximise to the screen size but as wide as they need to be. Starting Applications/ program files is different you can start from the dock (bit like a taskbar and having pinned programs on it) otherwise look in applications or sometimes utilities. You also have an icon on the dock which gives a display a bit like the android app folder which has pretty much all the programs you have installed in your mac in it. One nice thing about the mac programs are pretty much packaged together so if starting photoshop say in applications there is the photoshop icon without any other file names to see. so by default theres no strange file names like mvc.dll or wert.exe to click on. so no start menu but its not needed because you see what you need to see. Each user on a mac has a home folder with folders inside like documents pictures downloads. if you share a mac you can set up a 2nd account and keep stuff separate. applications (programs) all use a menu bar at the top of the screen rather than attached to a window the menu bar at the top will be for the application you are currently using if its chrome say you get the chrome menu if you click on the photoshop window it becomes photoshop.

control panel is replaced by preferences for things such as filesharing printers displays. its generally on the dock by default but you can remove it by dragging it off or add things with a right click.

one thing which macs do pretty well at is calibrating your display there is a utility which goes through a number of settings to try and provide you a calibrated display. Maybe not as good as using a dedicated calibration tool but if your screen is calibrated even by this method then what you see on screen should be pretty close to what you see when you print the image, it should also look good on other peoples calibrated screens.

I guess there are lots of things which i've missed but pretty much these are the main differences i've noticed.

LaurenT Loc: Northern California

If you have an Apple Store near you, I would strongly suggest that you purchase your computer there. They will transfer your files for you, at no charge. There is a learning curve, not a huge one, but a learning curve nevertheless. Take advantage of Apple's free classes at the Apple Store, and better yet, for $99.00 a year, you can purchase their One-on-One training which you can use everyday, if you wish. It will be the best investment you have ever made.
:D

davidrb Loc: Half way there on the 45th Parallel

There is only one way for you to find out just how easy the switch is from BillGatesRetiremeny.com to a real computer, a MAC! Call or go to the Apple store. You too will then say "Why did it take me so long?" Don't put off the joy any longer, you will enjoy it! :lol: :lol: :lol:

Tom S. Loc: Hillsboro, Ore.

I use a Dell laptop PC at work all day and a MacBook Pro at home. Getting on the Mac in the evenings is refreshing. Apple products are high quality and very reliable and just feel good in your hands. You can buy Apple products online, but pick them up at their store. The support there is great. Consider refurb items, too, to save a few bucks. I've got a refurb iPod that I've carried for years and use constantly and it's still going strong.

I'm no computer genius, but my pal truly is. He told me that Apple is changing their products to make it more difficult to customize the hardware. When he installed a solid state hard drive in my box recently he said that it would not be possible with a newer model. Just something to consider if you're a hot-rodder.

stableduck Loc: Chugiak, Alaska

here is a link to an apple video about switching from PC to mac
http://support.apple.com/kb/VI207

DavidPine Loc: Fredericksburg, TX

You can order your Mac the way you want it from Apple or an Apple Store. I made the switch about 4 years ago. The learning curve is easy. No more lock-ups and they always keep them upgraded. You don't need antivirus software and Apple will ask you not to install any. I like Microsoft Office and I use Office 365 and it works extremely well on my Mac. Adobe works extremely well. Good luck.

Moles Loc: South Carolina

1. It wasn't easy for me, but it helped when I bought a book "The missing manual, Switching to the MAC." 2. It's no problem at all. 3. My solution, which worked real well was to buy a 2TB portable hard drive, and move everything onto that. A second portable hard drive for pictures only isn't a bad idea either. I like the mac ok, the worst thing about it is crappy web browsing. The best thing is the solid state hard drive and the retina display.