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Apple Laptops and Desktops once considered a creative industry pc of choice is gradually becoming a mainstream usage item. While selecting their next Laptop buy, the most common question from consumers we get to answer is about Switching to Apple environment. In this post we would list down key points to address the “Switch” concern. Apple has done a tremendous job in putting up Switch support sites.

Get a Mac - The popular Switch to Mac adds homepage.
Switch 101 - Almost all your concerns answered by Apple Inc.

Difference between a regular Laptop (Acer, HP etc.) and Apple Macbooks & Macbook Pro?
The Latest Macbooks and Pro’s have the same architecture as like their siblings from Sony & HP etc. In fact, Intel usually announces its latest chips with Apple and leaving others to follow.

Can I run Windows on Macbook?
Yes! There are multiple solutions available to run Windows on Macs. Initially, it might be a real requirement, but with usage it wouldn’t be of that much importance.

Boot Camp - Apple Inc solution. You will be able to run Windows by switching and selecting which OS to run on start-up. This is the best solution as it gives you a complete Windows machine under your control. Current Mac OS X Tiger requires a reboot. New Mac OS X version Leopard will have added features. See the Site for further details.

Then, we have Virtualization products in the market namely, Parallels, Fusion etc. which allow you to install a virtual copy of Windows to run within the Mac OS X environment, giving you the ability to run windows softwares side-by-side. Another option is Crossover, which allows you to directly install softwares which are tested by the authors of Crossover.

What about my Excel, Powerpoint & word files?
Microsoft has its very own Office 2004 version available for Mac environment, with an update Office 2008 arriving in Jan ‘08. It would be interesting to note here that Microsoft Office started off on Macs. You can do about everything in Office 2004 for Mac OS X as you would do on Windows environment. Updates regularly come out of Redmond. Apple has its own competitive products in productivity area namely Keynote, Numbers and Pages in its Iwork ‘08 suite. Third party and Open source apps are also available.

Will I be able to work with Windows PC’s on the network?
Without any issue. Usually Macs, will pick up most of the shared printers for which drivers were written in the Mac environment. We have used some HP’s. For Domain based Windows environment, the administrator might need to install Services for Macs available with the server OS.

Wifi & Bluetooth?
Absolutely! Actually its so simple to get them up and running on Mac OS X, it really kills the pain you have to go through Windows XP and Vista environment.

My Data, will I be able to move it to Macbook?
Without a sweat! Mac OS X can read all windows files. For some specific files like WMV you might need to install programs like Windows Media Player or VNC Player. A good starting point will be to look at Apple Downloads.

USB and Firewire have native support in Mac OS X, hence your portable media can be attached and used easily.

Will I be able to use my custom developed Apps like Accounting, GL, CRM etc. on Mac’s?
Not under Mac OS X if the apps were developed for Microsoft only. You can use them in Wndows as discussed above.

Hence!
…. the list goes on. The following are some more:

Pro’s:

• 0 viruses till date. No need to install memory hogs still with no protection
• Unix under control. Mac OS X is the most amazingly simple, yet one of the most powerful Unix system available.
• Graphics. The most amazing GUI and easy to use environment
• Design. Stunning detail in design. Its one of the best Hardware/software combo in the market
• Work! You actually work not worrying about DLL’s, blue screen of death and those annoying Windows alerts

Con’s:

• Though these are by no means Cons, but some users might find them on the downside.
• No Modem in both Macbook and Macbook pro’s
• No native memory card reader. Though it can be added through Express 34 card
• No Finger print reader, if that is the security of your choice

Concusion:

I have been a windows user since forever and have used various IBM, Sony, HP, Fujitsu Siemens laptops during the coure of time. Recently, a virus attack disrupted my working pattern immensely allowing me to think about other safe options and Macbook & Mac OS X are the best combination I have came across. I’m very happy with my decision and besides an initial Switch time, I haven’t yet faced any obstacle in my work pattern.

Please visit Apple section on Shophive.com for more details of the products available.