Switching to Mac OS. Decided to switch from Windows to Mac? Everything you need to know

Nowadays, users are not particularly surprised when they hear words such as Mac or OS X - many know the advantages of Macintoshes, but unfortunately not everyone can switch to a new platform. There can be many reasons for this: someone is afraid that they will not be able to find analogues of their favorite programs, while others are worried about the new user interface. There are times when users, after purchasing a Mac, install the usual Windows on their computer because of some trifles. The publication offered a list of useful tips for those who decided to switch to OS X.

In case of unforeseen circumstances, make a backup copy of your entire Windows system, preferably to an external hard drive. To ensure your saved files are fully compatible with OS X, make sure your drive is formatted as FAT32. (The fact is that NTFS - the “native” file system of Windows - works with a Mac “out of the box” only in read mode. In other words, on OS X you can open and copy files from a flash drive, but change and delete they will not work. The problem can be resolved by installing a third-party NTFS driver, paying about 600 rubles for it).

Migration Assistant, a free utility that comes with every Mac, will help you directly transfer the contents of one computer to another. It copies literally everything: from the background image and email accounts to music, documents, contacts in the address book and bookmarks in the browser. You will need to install the same utility on a Windows computer and connect both PCs to the same network (via Wi-Fi, router or Ethernet cable). You can download Migration Assistant and read the full setup guide on the Apple website.

You can install applications on OS X in two ways: from the official Mac App Store (analogous to the App Store for iPhones, where the same Apple ID is used), or by downloading distributions from the Internet. If you want to resort to the second, less secure method, keep in mind that by default the Mac is prohibited from downloading programs from third-party sources. To remove this restriction, go to “Settings” → “Protection & Security” → “General” and check the box next to “Any source” for “Allow the use of programs downloaded from.”

Most programs are very easy to install. As a rule, to do this, it is enough to “mount” the DMG image by double-clicking on it in the Finder (analogous to “Explorer” in Windows), and drag the .app file into the Applications folder. However, when installing “heavy” applications such as Microsoft Office or Photoshop, the entire process will be approximately the same as in Windows.

To remove a program, open Finder, find .app in Applications, and right-click on it and select “Move to Trash.” To completely clean the system, it is recommended to use utilities such as CleanMyMac, which help get rid of not only the program itself, but also all settings and other elements associated with it.

OS X has an alternative to almost every application available for Windows XP. However, if you need any specific software, or you often play games (there are very few of them available on Apple operating systems), you can use the free Boot Camp utility. It will allow you to install XP, Vista, Windows 7 or 8 on a Mac, creating a new partition on your hard drive. To select one or another OS, hold down the Option (Alt) key while the computer boots. If you want Windows (as well as Ubuntu, Android, Chrome OS, etc.) to work in parallel with OS X, and you can freely drag and drop files between applications, your choice will be one of the virtualization solutions - for example, Parallels Desktop .

Apple's UNIX-like operating system is very close to Windows - in it you can easily find analogues of familiar programs. For example, “Finder” corresponds to Finder, “Control Panel” → “System Preferences”, Flip 3D (on the Windows 7 desktop) → Mission Control (press F3 to access it), “Gadgets” (in Windows 7) → Dashboard (press F12 to open the panel), Office → iWork, Notepad → TextEdit, Start menu → Launchpad (you will find it in the Dock), system tray → menu bar in the upper right corner, Task Manager → “System Monitoring”, taskbar → Dock (a row of icons at the very bottom of the screen), Windows Live → “Messages”, etc.

Everything related to OS X settings is located in the System Preferences application. From here you can connect Google, Microsoft Exchange and Twitter accounts, configure the firewall, sound, mouse and keyboard, change network access and electricity settings, connect printers and scanners, etc.

To activate the firewall, open “Settings” → “Protection and Security” → select the “Firewall” tab and click on the “Enable Firewall” button. From now on, OS X will block incoming connections that you have not authorized. Macs do not have a firewall that monitors outgoing connections. However, this problem can be solved by installing a special utility - for example, Little Snitch.

OS X (starting with version 10.5 - Leopard) includes an excellent Time Machine application for backing up your system. This function works very simply: if the computer “sees” the drive connected to it, it will automatically offer to use it as a place for backups. Duplicates of photos, documents, applications are made automatically every hour. In the event of an emergency, the “time machine” allows you to “go back in time” and restore the file in the form in which it was at a certain point in time. Copies are made until the disk is completely full. If there is no more space left, TM will automatically delete old files and write new ones.

The keyboard layout on Macs is largely similar to Windows, but it will take some getting used to. Most of the commands that are executed in Microsoft OS by holding down the CTRL (Control) button, in OS X begin with Command (the key with the ⌘ icon). For example, to copy text, press ⌘ + C, and to paste, press ⌘ + V. Also keep in mind that Macs do not have Alt buttons - they are replaced by Option (⌥).

In general, you can connect any keyboard to your Mac, even a Windows keyboard. For convenience, the functions of the keys can be reassigned: go to “Settings” → “Keyboard” → “Keyboard” tab → “Modification keys...” and change, for example, pressing CTRL for your Windows keyboard to Command.

The Delete button on a Mac keyboard, unlike Del on Windows, deletes “back”. To delete “forward” on MacBook laptops or Apple compact wireless keyboards, hold down the FN button and press Delete. Alternatively, you can buy a “large” Apple Pro keyboard with a numeric keypad, which has such a key.

Finally, Mac keyboards have dedicated F-keys for changing sound volume, screen brightness, controlling iTunes music playback, and more. However, once you connect a Windows keyboard, you will not be able to use them without installing special software. So we recommend mastering the powerful KeyRemap4MacBook utility, which allows you to reassign absolutely any button on any device, or the simpler Keyboard Maestro.

In Windows, scrolling a window using the mouse wheel corresponds to the movement of your finger, but in OS X (since version 10.7) everything is exactly the opposite. If you don't like Apple's "natural scrolling" approach, go to Settings → Mouse and uncheck "Scroll Direction: Normal." There should be no problems with other peripherals: your printers, scanners and audio systems will most likely be compatible with the Mac. However, in some cases, for OS X to “recognize” the device, you will need to install special drivers. You can download them from the manufacturer's website.

Mac is capable of reading and writing to hard drives and flash drives formatted under FAT 32 (but not NTFS) for Windows. This applies to all types of connections - via USB, FireWire or Thunderbolt. But even in this case, not all information (for example, metadata) may be transferred. Thus, if you no longer plan to use an external drive with a Windows computer, it is recommended that you format it for OS X. You can do this using the “Disk Utility” included with your Mac.

Apple computers are considered to be much better than their Windows counterparts. In many respects this is true, which is why many users are looking to change their Windows PC to a Mac. Switching from a Microsoft operating system to macOS is not that difficult, but there are a few things to keep in mind. These tips are intended for those new to the world of Apple and for users who have previously only used Windows.

Desktop

The Windows and macOS desktops have a number of differences. It's often cleaner on Apple devices, so the first time you set it up you'll have to spend more time getting it just the way you like it. Keep in mind that there is no Refresh option on the Mac desktop.

Finder

Finder is similar to File Explorer on macOS, but it's actually much more powerful. On Windows, you can get to Explorer by clicking on the corresponding icon or by pressing the Win+E keys; on Mac, Finder is always open, and by default you can’t even close it.

You can create a new folder in Windows using the combination Ctrl + Shift + N, but on Mac Cmd + Shift + N is responsible for the same action. If you prefer to use the mouse, then in Windows you need to right-click, “Create” and select “Folder” On a Mac, you need to right-click and select “New Folder.”

In order to rename a file in a Microsoft system, you need to right-click and select the appropriate item in the context menu or select the file and press F2. On a Mac, you can also rename the file through the pop-up menu, or select the document and press Enter on your keyboard. Please note that on Windows the file is opened by pressing the Enter button; on Mac the combination Command + O or Command + the arrow below is responsible for this function.

Finder supports tabs, which can be created by pressing Command + T.

In addition, the Mac has a different file system organization. Windows users are used to seeing disk partitions (C, D, E), but you won’t see this on Apple devices, since all data is stored on one partition.

If you connect an external USB device, then on a Mac, to safely remove them, you need to click on the “Eject” button in the file manager.

To get to the properties of a file or folder in Windows, you right-click and select “Properties”. On a Mac, you can also right-click and go to Properties, or select the file and press Command + I.

Hotkeys

To copy on Windows, use Ctrl + C, but on Mac it is Command + C, and for pasting, use Ctrl + V and Command + V, respectively.

In order to cut and paste a file on a Microsoft system, you need to press Ctrl + X and then Ctrl + V, on macOS everything is a little more complicated - Command + C to copy and Command + Option + V to move.

Ctrl + A in Windows is responsible for selecting all files, the same operation on Mac is performed with the combination Command + A. A useful function on devices running Windows is to select files and press Delete to move them to the trash or Shift + Delete to permanently delete them. If you want to do the same on a Mac, you need to press Command + Delete to move it to the trash or Command + Option + Delete to permanently delete it.

Speaking of the Delete button, it is worth noting that its functionality on a Mac is somewhat different, since it acts as a regular Backspace. To delete subsequent text, use fn+ Delete.

Alt + Tab on a Windows PC moves users through open applications; on a Mac, Command + Tab is used. To close the application you need to press Alt + F4 and Command + Q respectively.

Trackpad Gestures

At first glance, it seems that the trackpad on a MacBook is no different from that on a Windows PC. In fact, it supports a huge number of gestures.

On Windows computers, the trackpad's functionality is often limited to page scrolling and zooming, but on a Mac there is much more of these functions. Swiping up with three fingers opens Mission Control, where you can see all your running apps. If you have several tabs open in a program, swiping down with three fingers will open a similar menu, but instead of running applications, active tabs will be displayed. It often happens that while working with an application, you need quick access to the desktop in order, for example, to move a file. In this case, you can make a gesture with three fingers. To access Launchpad, you need to perform a four-finger pinch-out gesture.

Spotlight

Spotlight is similar in many ways to Windows Search. To launch the search in Windows, use the keyboard shortcut Win + S; on a Mac, the search is opened using Command + Space or the icon in the menu bar.

Just like on Windows, Spotlight on macOS lets you find word meanings, perform web searches, launch apps, and do simple calculations.

Because of Spotlight, many people forget about Launchpad altogether, since the search is very fast and saves a lot of time.

Exit the application

Clicking the red X in an app on a Mac doesn't exit it. In order to close the program, you need to use the Command + Q combination or click on the name in the menu bar and select “Exit”. You can also right-click an application in the Dock and select Exit.

Multitasking

As noted earlier, you can switch to multitasking mode using trackpad gestures. macOS supports multiple desktops; in Windows, this feature appeared only with the release of “tens”.

If you want to use multiple desktops in Windows, click the Task View button in the taskbar and a preview of your existing desktops will appear at the bottom. On macOS, you need to go to Mission Control, and desktop previews will appear in the same way, but at the top of the display. Microsoft encourages users to use shortcuts. For example, to create a new table you can simply press Win + Ctrl + B, to switch between them - Win + Ctrl + left or right arrow, to close - Win + Ctrl + F.

Mac unfortunately doesn't support keyboard shortcuts in this case, but you can use triple swipe left or right to switch between desktops.

Installing and uninstalling applications

Installing and uninstalling applications is one of the most common actions performed on a laptop. To install the program on Windows, use an installation file with the extension .exe. On Mac, the installation file has a .dmg extension. after opening it, a window will appear in which you just need to move the application icon to the folder with all programs, which is much simpler than the installation process in Windows.

Removing programs on a Mac looks as simple as installing them - go to the applications folder through the Finder and press Command + Delete, after which the system will ask you to enter your username and password.

Working with Windows

Both systems support displaying two apps on one screen, but Windows slightly outperforms macOS in this regard. You can open 4 applications at once and work with them simultaneously. By default, there is nothing like this on Apple computers, so you will have to use third-party software, such as Better Touch Tool or Better Snap Tool.

Voice assistants

Microsoft has introduced its own voice assistant in Windows 10 – Cortana. Apple followed suit and ported Siri to the Mac in macOS Sierra. Compared to Cortana, Siri looks more functional because, in addition to basic tasks, it can also display information about the computer and change settings.

The only problem is that Apple's assistant can't handle written commands, while Cortana can handle both voice and text commands.

Formatting disks

If you used Windows, most likely the file system of all your external media is NTFS, but Mac does not support writing to NTFS devices. The problem can be solved by formatting the external drive into a compatible FAT32 or exFAT format, or by installing a third-party driver, such as Paragon NTFS for Mac.

Screenshots

If you find yourself taking screenshots often, you'll definitely love macOS. Screenshots in Windows are performed using the combination Win + Print Screen or the Snipping Tool utility. The Mac has several hotkeys: Command + Shift + 3 to take a screenshot of the entire screen, Command + Shift + 4 to take a screenshot of a specific area, Command + Shift + 4 + Space to take a screenshot of an application window.

Backup

Backing up your data is never a bad idea and should be done on a regular basis. Both macOS and Windows offer quick backup methods. All you need is an external hard drive. Creating a backup and restoring on a Mac is very simple - connect an external device, go to settings and select Time Machine. If you need to restore data, connect your hard drive, click on the Time Machine icon in the menu bar and select “Enter Time Machine.” Next, you can select which files need to be restored.

Freezing apps

On macOS, you will rarely encounter the “Application is not responding” error, but if this happens, press Command + Option + Esc to open the Windows version of the Task Manager, and close the unresponsive application.

For five months I conducted an experiment, trying to completely abandon the PC in favor of the Mac. I stopped using my powerful 6-core desktop with 32 gigs of memory and put my laptops on the shelf. It's time to take stock.

Will I go back to PC, install good old Windows 8.1 on Mac instead of OS X, or will I continue flying? Let's figure it out. When I took it for a test, they asked me if I was a Win user or a Mac user. Back then I was definitely a Win user and didn’t plan to switch to a Mac, but it was then that I thought about the experiment and didn’t put it off.

There are those who have heard a lot about the wonders of Mac and dream of it, those who switched to Mac and no longer want to go back, and those who tried it, returned to Windows and never step on this rake again. The first is a clear exaggeration, the last two options have a right to life.

About the config

For the experiment, in August 2014, I took a medium-configured MacBook Pro 13 with Retina Display (Late 2013), which I later greatly regretted. I did not install Windows on it via Bootcamp, nor did I use any emulators or virtual machines. The config I chose was good, but not top-end - 8 GB of memory, 512 GB of solid-state drive and a Core i5 processor with a frequency of 2.6 GHz on two cores plus HyperThreading, as is customary with Intel. The video card in this configuration is integrated, also from Intel.

The configuration was taken quite intelligently in order to run Photoshop and Lightroom normally, and at the same time, so that the laptop was light enough for everyday carry. Since most photography-related software and plugins do not use GPU acceleration much, if at all, I was completely satisfied with the integrated video card. Its only drawback, in my eyes, is the lack of support for 4K screens at 60 Hz, but in 30 Hz mode everything works great, that’s enough for me for now.

The final impressions are completely mixed. In some places, MacOS X is very annoying, and the reason, as I understand it, is twenty-odd years of using DOS and Windows, starting with the earliest versions. To this day, I get stuck in habits that may not work on a Mac.

When I asked my Mac friends, I most often heard “strange, but I haven’t encountered such a problem,” and when I started Googling, I discovered that the Internet was full of questions on the same topic from dissatisfied migrants with Windows. I don't know how the ability to “not use it that way” is transmitted, in accordance with the precepts of Jobs, but somehow this method works, damn it.

You have to understand that MacOS X is in many ways just a very different system, with a different initial ideological approach. It tries to move as far as possible from folders and files to documents, and is increasingly merging with iOS, where, unlike Android, data is not “on disk” but “in applications”. Hence the peculiar logic that you may not get used to.

Don't think that MacOS X is intuitive in every aspect. This system has to be studied as carefully as I studied Windows in my time, and it will take months and months to completely get used to it, with a thorough understanding of what and how to do. You get used to some things instantly, but some “good Windows” things spoil your nerves for a long time. Let’s say I couldn’t intuitively understand how to use a MacBook in the “only with an external monitor” mode, but in Windows books this is done through a simple Fn+F button or one checkmark in the settings.
There were also problems at the first stage, immediately after installation - a conflict between switching layouts and Spotlight, the inability to connect to an iCloud account, then Continuity did not immediately work fully for me when Yosemite came out. There was a glitch with keyboard recognition, Safari froze, etc. I even created a special file “mistakes when first getting to know a Mac”, where I meticulously filled in a couple of dozen lines.

But within a day I realized that, in general, all basic tasks, if they do not go beyond the ordinary, can be solved comfortably on a Mac, and only a step to the left or right here leads to stupidity and googling.

The situation is painfully reminiscent of iOS vs. Android, especially those who switched from Android to the Apple axis will understand me.

About the bad

Based on the results of the test, I remained of the opinion that MacOS X is not as stable a system as Windows 8. If something is frozen (a process, a dialog box, a setup wizard), then often it can no longer be recovered, and the laptop cannot even be rebooted through the menu (killing the process and dancing with a tambourine at the user level will not help either).

Most often, freezes occur in connection with some kind of file operations, for example, when I conducted an experiment on whether it is possible to store the Lightroom database on a USB stick, crashes occurred systematically and I still did not understand the reason. Perhaps it was hidden in the NTFS driver from Paragon, but the system did not produce any obvious messages. You just open your eyes in the morning, and your Mac is frozen in the middle of the process. Removing LR does not help, the flash drive cannot be unmounted, Finder does not restart. We've arrived.

I also remember an epic moment when, when connecting an external 4K monitor via the Thunderbolt port (miniDisplayPort interface), the control panel froze and could not be revived. Dialog windows for copying processes froze permanently when the USB drive was accidentally disconnected. My Mac really doesn’t like to stop ringing through Continuity when there is an incoming call on the iPhone (the smartphone stopped ringing a long time ago, but the Mac shows that there is an incoming call and rings throughout the room). It’s especially annoying early in the morning, when “do not disturb” mode is on on the iPhone, but this doesn’t concern Macs or stung larks.

Why go looking for examples? During the first installation, the main control panel froze in the hourglass for about ten minutes. It’s not for nothing that I compiled the already mentioned list of “problems that I encountered when I first met the Mac,” this hasn’t happened with Microsoft products for many years, since the days of glitchy hardware and the first releases of Win’95. If once I could call Windows glitchy and slow, then these times are long gone, now there are other problems, and in 2015 we will eat them up by the ladle, at exactly the same rate as the spread of 4K screens and laptops with 3200x1800 matrices.

Finder... that's a different story. This is what bothers me the most about MacOS X. From time to time I need to put things in order on a large array of different drives (SATA, USB, NAS, DAS) - search, delete, regroup folders and files in them. Explorer in Windows XP was even smarter, more intelligent; its implementation for Windows 8.1 is two orders of magnitude more effective than Finder in MacOS X.

Why in 2014 Apple does not understand that it is often necessary to merge several folders with the same name without overwriting them with each other, I cannot understand. Why is the Merge command hidden in the wilds and does not always work, too. Why can't the transfer or copy process be paused? Why is the progress bar not really visible in the taskbar? All this has been in Windows for a long time, and it is very difficult to give it up.

Even add-ons like Total Finder don’t really solve the “merge folders” problem. I spent a lot of time looking for an alternative program, eventually settling on Disk Order, which was also not ideal.

I suspect that Mac users, on average, don't do much file-based work. In the classic scenario with iCloud, documents in application folders, using Spotlight, everything works like clockwork, exactly as you suspect. That is, this is a user-friendly system, but not at all power-user-friendly until all reflexes change. No, I don’t understand and don’t want to understand why you need to merge folders through the console.

The window management system is also in its infancy. When you connect a Mac to a screen with a resolution of 2560x1440 or higher (not to mention 4K), this comes to life. Where in Windows I spent exactly two clicks and a couple of button presses to redistribute windows, here I have to dance with my hands or install the BetterSnapTool plugin, which is good, but not ideal. And yes, the system works completely differently with 4K monitors and TVs than with native Retina displays. Everything there is very small, right down to the pixel. Even at 65 inches diagonal it is not very convenient.

There are problems even in the most basic things. Let's say, I told the system a dozen times that AVI files should always be opened only in VLC, and not in QuickTime, but it stubbornly does not listen to me: “The AVI file was created in VLC and will be opened in QuickTime”?! Where is the logic if I just said that the file needs to be opened in VLC and always?

Where is “archive this for me there”? And why does the staff archivist still have problems with Russian encoding? Okay, you can also get around it, but you’ll have to look for an alternative. In general, this notorious “find an alternative” became an exciting quest for me, since I know a lot of good software for Windows that solved my problems instantly.

Software is another headache. Developers all over the world are guided by the mass appeal of the platform when choosing which OS to write software for. That’s why Microsoft Office is disgusting for Mac, so it’s impossible to find a normal photo folder manager, and in general, for some tasks you don’t immediately find software that is as effective as for Windows. But, after a while, after smoking forums and googling all day long, something is found. As a rule, something is very paid and not quite the same as on Windows. There is no alternative to ACDSee, for example.

To the Mac's credit, I have no problem working with Office documents, including presentations and spreadsheets, but it's not as slick as native apps and documents.

Because of my Windows habits, I don’t like a lot about MacOS X. A lot of things never became familiar, but over time, I felt an adaptation coming. You start doing something differently, you stop doing some things altogether, and in the end, problems are solved and the process continues. I can do absolutely all my tasks on a Mac without Windows. It took some getting used to, but it worked out in the end. There is a class of tasks that cannot be completed without Windows, something from the field of accounting, as I understand it, but this is not my profile.

About the good

I don't plan to switch from MacOS X to Windows, and I don't want to use a PC anymore. As an IT specialist with many years of experience, this is difficult for me to explain, because there is little rationality in this decision. As a techie, I understand that I waste time on some things, and that MacOS does not give me any obvious productivity benefits. Photoshop and Lightroom do not work faster here with stopwatch measurements, video is not compressed more efficiently, and archives are not created better.

But, as a visual person who appreciates beauty, and a user who loves smoothness and beauty, my perception is clear to me. MacOS X is a stylish system; working in it you feel comfortable, as if wearing slippers on a warm, soft leather chair in the living room. You can have dinner in the garage or in the basement, but it’s more pleasant to do it in the living room, with dim lights, on soft chairs, with calm music and in good company.

This feeling of comfort works in all familiar applications. Let's say I fell in love with the multi-touch Apple Magic Mouse and the way it scrolls a worksheet in Photoshop, I enjoy typing up articles in Pages instead of Word, and I like the order that iTunes keeps in my library. Lightroom doesn't run any faster, but it feels smoother on the Mac. Safari has a very, very nice multi-touch page scaling and, like on tablets, double-tap on the mouse.

On a Mac it’s nice to read books on the screen, surf, listen to music, there are excellent standard applications like iPhoto and iMovie for amateur work with photos and videos. In general, in the basic version, for the usual tasks of ordinary users, the Mac is well equipped. Dump footage onto iPhone to clear memory? Easy and logical. Make up home videos? No problem. It’s easy to write an article, make a presentation, calculate expenses and income in a table.

I really liked the concept of Continuity, to which Windows still has to grow and grow. It's really convenient to answer SMS and calls from your Mac without interrupting your work. When you go out to get some fresh air, it’s convenient to continue reading the site from your iPhone, which will show you which tabs are open in Safari. When you return, you can continue in the big Safari. On Mac I left Chrome; the native browser is more convenient here, although it is not without its drawbacks.

It’s also convenient to work with documents “in the cloud,” continuing what you started on one device with another. Let's say, having started writing on an iPhone or iPad, I can just continue on a Mac, and this allows me to unload my bag without always having to take a large system with me. Writing articles on an iPhone using a stand, Pages and a Bluetooth keyboard is very convenient. However, Android also allows you to connect a mouse, but there are always some glitches and failures.

And of course, Mac is strong in terms of infrastructure. When you have an iPhone, iPad, AppleTV, MacBook and MacPro, it all integrates and interacts beautifully. Really convenient for everyday tasks, from entertainment to working with content. Creating something similar on Windows + Android, with DLNA and UpNP will require much more qualifications from the user, and will not work like a charm, it is also intuitive (outside of native films, everything will not be so smooth, say BluRay 3D images or films in excellent H.264 codecs are also not easy to watch).

I liked the concept of “drag an application into Applications”, the absence of a registry, Launchpad, widgets, gesture control, grouping programs in the dock and working with network drives in MacOS X. All the necessary utilities were installed, I found good add-ons and extensions, I appreciated how convenient it is to format articles by taking screenshots and how convenient it is to conduct presentations and give lectures from a Mac. That is, he practically adapted.

Many of the Mac's advantages, such as “great color work,” have been greatly exaggerated. I’m ready to confirm some things like “it lasts longer than piss laptops on battery power.” And yes, I really like the power adapter with a MagSafe II connector, which folds up perfectly and is not afraid of cable tugs, as well as the unification of power supplies between models (the power supply from an older MacBook can charge younger ones). I have never seen such an excellent power supply for Winbooks in all my years.

The touchpad, like working with the native Apple Magic Mouse, is a separate issue. I've tried almost every existing touchpad on modern WindowsBooks, and some of them are great, but none even come close to the MacBook's touchpad. It’s so comfortable to work with that I always forget to connect the mouse to the beech. When they told me this before, I didn’t believe it, I was full of skepticism. I repent, I hit my chest with my heel.

Let me sum it up

I stay on the Mac and will use Windows, as necessary, for individual work tasks and experiments, testing various gadgets and hardware, and so as not to lose my skills. And yet, it is the Mac that will be my main system in 2015, just as the iPhone 6 Plus became my main smartphone, and the AppleTV my main media player.

First of all, I will think about upgrading (non-trivial) or replacing the MacBook Pro 13 with a more powerful configuration. I don’t want a 15, it’s too heavy for my tasks, and I’m really looking forward to 4-core processors in three-packs, my next system will have 1 TB of solid-state memory for storage and 32 GB of RAM, because 8 GB slows me down, and 500 gigs Not enough for all the necessary files.

I will still have a lot of questions about Mac on my blog, stories about how I dealt with this or that problem or bypassed a system limitation. The topic is fruitful and interesting to understand.

Should you switch to Mac from Windows? Good question. If we are talking about whether the system will give any clear benefit in performance or in working with graphics, then definitely not. All other things being equal, a PC of the same power will cost much less. Working with photos and videos will not become faster by changing the operating system, nor will working with any heavy content. MacOS X itself does not speed up the processor, and the software for Windows is well optimized.

Is it difficult to switch to Mac? Not really, but there are a lot of pitfalls for those who know Windows well. Habits will have to be forgotten, and it will be difficult to return back. Still, Windows and MacOS X are noticeably different, and when reflexes change, you become slower for a while.

But, in general, MacOS X is a very comfortable and well-tailored system for infrastructure, it’s just a pleasure to work with it, and this comfort, in my opinion, is worth the switch if you can afford to overpay for systemicity and coherence. Some things have been made more convenient and simpler here, the same RAW viewing directly in the Finder, or its methods for navigating folders with previews.

Starting with MacOS X, giving a Mac as a first computer, makes a lot of sense. If you really press it, you can always roll Windows here and the system will become twice as useful.

Question for those who left for Mac with Windows and did not return - what won you over in the end? And among my readers and friends, are there those who returned and never set foot on a Mac again?

Today we are starting a series of articles dedicated to people who decided to leave the traditional Windows system and try their hand at Apple OS X Yosemite.

Most people first encounter Apple technology from friends, classmates, colleagues, or simply from a stranger passing by. The specific apple design involuntarily attracts the eye and lingers in the mind for a long time.

Then, passing by Apple equipment in chain stores, most potential buyers willy-nilly glance at the luxurious displays and mysterious Mac OS desktops. Still would! The Windows screensaver has already become something ordinary and boring for most Russians; we don’t even pay attention to it when choosing the next PC components. And here is a real mysterious country: widescreen flat-panel iMac monitors, weightless aluminum Macbook Air and fundamental MacBook Pro.

At the last stage, an internal struggle arises: is it worth risking finances and a familiar interface for the sake of unknown beauty? In order to answer these difficult questions, we suggest you read the article on the advantages of Mac OS.

And today we will talk about the difficulties you will encounter when moving from one operating system to another. The topic of transition from one system to another will be of interest not only to those who plan to do this, but also to those who have already gone over to the other side of the barricades.

APPEARANCE AND FILLING

Apple computers and laptops have a single design established by the company - this is what sets them apart from the gray mass of PCs and laptops that use the Windows platform. The buyer only has to decide on the required power and technical specifications.

When choosing a “box” for Windows, the user has to first study tons of information - in the literal sense, it is necessary to select each component separately: video-audio cards, processor, memory chips and much, much more. A computer for Windows is a cooler construction set than Lego. Of course, many will now want to argue with me, saying that the stores are full of ready-made kits. But if you spend a little more time on the issue, you realize that manufacturers save a lot on components, sacrificing one or two parameters in favor of an attractive price. And the result is most often very sad: the given production capacity is not even half used. Consequently, literally in the first year of using the equipment, the user is faced with the need to upgrade: the video card stops “producing” graphics, a cheap cooler begins to make ominous noise, or from the first days there is an acute lack of memory. We have to admit that buying a Windows PC is a task for passionate people who are ready to devote themselves to a series of updates and modifications.

PRICE POLICY

Reading the subtitle, Windows fans rub their hands gloatingly: here it is! Yabloko people, they say, have gone crazy with their expensive gadgets. Let's conduct a little marketing research and find out how much you will have to overpay to become a member of the apple club.

Monoblock

Monoblock – all-in-one computer: all the necessary hardware of the computer is contained in the back panel of the monitor. The main advantage of the monoblock is its compactness and the ability to work on a high-resolution display. The disadvantages of the gadget include possible problems with upgrading components.

We will compare based on basic parameters: display size (21 inches) and processor power (for example, Intel core i5). In this segment, the Windows platform is represented by Lenovo and MSI. The price for the former ranges from 40,500 rubles and reaches 53,990 rubles, depending on the narrow specifications and internal policies of online stores. For an MSI monoblock you will have to pay about 60,000 rubles. Prices for Apple iMac start at 78,000 rubles. The total difference ranges from 18,000 and reaches 37,000 rubles.

Laptop

Laptop – a portable personal computer, which, unlike a monoblock, combines not only a monitor and system components, but also a keyboard and mouse (trackpad). Laptops are compact devices that are preferred by people whose activities require constant mobility. These same characteristics become their advantages: light weight, size and versatility. The disadvantages of this type of technology include short battery life and rapid heating of the device.

In this case, you will have to reduce the sample and select models as close as possible to the characteristics of the MacBook Air 13. For comparison, we again take the display diagonal (13), processor (intel core i5), weight (up to 1.5 kg) and battery life (up to 12 hours ). Laptops from Lenovo (from 39,990 - 44,990 rubles), HP (38,290 rubles), Panasonic (from 103,000 rubles), Fujitsu (from 37,590 - 125,100 rubles) can boast of a similar set. Against the background of such a huge price analysis, the cost of the Apple MacBook Air (from 57,000 rubles) fades and we understand that the pricing policy is not something worth reproaching Cupertino with.

WORKING IN OC

So, with the costs and external characteristics sorted out, let’s move on to the issues that most frighten potential buyers of Apple computers – working on the Mac operating system.