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Level 1

4 points

Switching from PC to Mac Can I?

I am so disappointed I was finally ready to make the move to Mac. I was swooning over the OS, it's stability, the integration of applications, using my iPod on it's native platform, and the reputation that the Mac is the application for graphics etc.

Then I started looking at my applications on WindowsXP Pro and realized that comparable options on the Apple side were insufficient. I know a lot of people here will feel insulted, that's not my intent I really do want to move to the Mac, but:

My Palm PDA is running on DataViz's BeyondContacts which integrates with my Outlook2003 and gives me the look and feel of Outlook2003 on my Palm. It also copies over all of the fields in Outlook not just the fields designed by Palm. There doesn't appear to be anything similar on the mac

My Outlook2003 has been used extensively with emails, email rules, Contacts, and a feature called Journal that lets me link to the Contact notes, emails, telephone conversations, documents etc and my Outlook2003 allows me connect with my ISP for POP3 or IMAP--these features are not available in Entourage

MS Office2003--this at least is as robust on the mac side so there would be no problem

My Adobe Photoshop Elements 3.0 [planning to go to 4.0] is more robust than the Mac. This windows version has a strong Photo Organizer where I can tag my photos and not worry about putting them in folders etc.

Then there is my TiVo2Go which is awesome in integrating with my TiVo.

My HomeSeer home automation program with lots of scripts/rules and schedules

I use these programs for both home and work and the robustness is important especially in the email and Office components as well as the PDA and Adobe PS Elements.

Am I wrong, are there solutions offerring comparable functionality on the Mac side? I really want to switch, and I don't want to run all these programs in VirtualPC because that would defeat the purpose.

Thanks

Ben

Dell Latitude D800, Windows XP Pro

Posted on Dec 13, 2005 2:39 PM

18 replies

WWJD

Level 6

15,830 points

Dec 14, 2005 5:58 PM in response to BenR

I've found that the Mac Excel version is not as "good" as the PC version in some cases such as keyboard commands, short cuts, drop down lists, pivot tables, etc.. The Mac version graphs are better but the advantage is "lost" if a PC displays the file. The Word versions, though, are very similar. I own Virtual PC (Version 6) and Excel runs well in this mode when I need 100% compatibility.

Regards,

djames42

Level 1

80 points

Dec 15, 2005 11:28 AM in response to Dr. Smoke

Odd to hear people complaining about the Mac version of Office -- I actually find it to be far superior than the Windows version... Of course the office hasn't updated me to Office 2003 on the PC side; we're still using Office XP. Perhaps some of the features I'm using on the Mac side are available on the PC side, but I love the Project center. I have set up loads of rules so that incoming emails and events are tagged to make them easy to locate.

My only two complaints about Office are strictly on Entourage: the lack of support for RTF email, and the inability to work with the out-of-office notifications on Exchange (I have to fire up Virtual PC just to say I'm out on vacation).

Microsoft recently provided a service pack that addressed a few of my previous gripes--most notably, the fact that you used to not be able to view folder sizes on the Exchange serveer.

BigA

Level 1

5 points

Feb 2, 2006 10:20 AM in response to BenR

This has been an interesting discussion to watch. The past three years or so I have been using a Mac and trying to integrate it with the Windowz world. Though XP is my primary OS because that is what the majority of the office uses there is one very senior member of the team that has to use a Mac and I have become his support (learning a lot fast). Dr. Smoke is right, you really have to weigh the pros/cons of each. Each OS has its advantages and disadvantages.

Just for the discussion, here are some of the programs that I have found that I am using on the Mac instead of the traditional tools and they are free (and no ads) and just as good if not better:

Email: Thunderbird ( http://www.mozilla.com)
Web Browser: Firefox ( http://www.mozilla.com)
Office Suite: OpenOffice ( http://www.openoffice.org)
Graphics Manipulator: GIMP ( http://www.gimp.org)
This one is a little complex but comparable to Adobes tool

There are tons of other options out there, you just have to find them and test them.

Switching from PC to Mac Can I?