Comments on AKB2000020: Mac Guide for Windows Users Wanting to Switch

[PKCano]

Due to the large size of the Mac Guide , a separate topic has been created.

Please feel free to comment or ask questions about AKB2000020 here

Navigation to AKB2000020.
Introduction
Purchasing a Mac
Setting Up a Mac
Getting to Know a Mac
Getting Started with Mac apps
Getting to Know Apple Services
Getting Support for a Mac

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OscarCP, Lars220, Rand Alonin, Myst, Fred, Bluetrix, woody

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[Alex5723]

A big thank you to Nathan Parker on his really elaborated series of posts.

For the last couple of years I was looking into switching (back) to a Mac…

Over the years I have owned an Apple II, Apple IIC, Apple IIGS and did some publishing work on a Lisa.

My work at a bank made me develop application for the first DOS IBM compatible PCs, so I had to switch at home as well.

So, When Windows 10 was out and me using Windows 7, it was easy and the right time to switch to a Mac, or so I thought.

At first I was looking for hardware support  (3 X 3TB HDDs, AIO Laser printer, streaming video, audio.. to a streamer…printing to a wi-fi printer…)

ALL the storage devices needed NTFS read/write support. This could have been sorted by buying Paragon app.

The second were applications. I checked one by one for similar functioning apps but failed to find some very important, to me, apps.

As dual boot with Windows is not an option, I upgraded to a new Windows 10 laptop 🙁

I will be looking the  years ahead (not many left:-) for new options to switch.

 

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Nathan Parker, woody

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[PKCano]

Paragon NTFS for Mac comes free with Seagate external HDDs. I use it all the time.
And you wouldn’t believe how well Parallels Desktop runs all versions of Windows on Macs. I do some really weird things with that setup – run diving scoring with Daktronics console and scoreboard (try USB to DB9 RS232 adapter to the console from a Win VM)

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Nathan Parker

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[Alex5723]

PKCano wrote:

And you wouldn’t believe how well Parallels Desktop runs all versions of Windows on Macs

If I need Paralles for Windows what the point in buying a Mac ?

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[PKCano]

I just run Macs now for every-day use. But how could I support Windows Users on AskWoody without the Windows VMs of multiple versions of Windows (XP, Win7, Win8.1, Win10 1803, 1809, 1903, 1909 (Win10 changes as it progresses(?) ). Certainly don’t have room for that many PCs.

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Nathan Parker

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[ECWS]

While I am using Windows 10 Pro at home to access my office computer and also using Office 365.  I maintain it by using this site and searching for options for repairs and updates.

OTOH it would be much easier for my wife to use another type of computer since she only needs it for viewing our accounts, paying bills, viewing videos.  I see where you have reviewed MACs.  We are looking for an option that not does require user maintenance.  Possibly a Chromebook (with sufficient Google updates), a Linux Computer, IPad or a MAC.  In your opinion, which of these would be the lowest maintenance/highest quality option?  Thanks.

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[Nathan Parker]

In terms of low-maintenance, Chromebook or iPad is going to be your best option, Chromebook more like a traditional notebook and iPad more like a tablet, although iPads now can run a Smart Keyboard/Trackpad.

For what it’s worth, I moved my mother from a Mac to an iPad years ago since all she does is online shopping, reading news, and watching videos, and she’s loved it and never looked back.

Your wife would probably love an iPad.

Nathan Parker

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ECWS

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[anonymous]

If new Macs are too expensive for you, mention should be made of buying a used one. That was my path from Windows to Mac. I got a High Sierra imac for $350. Not the cutting edge, but it got me out of the Windows circus.

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Nathan Parker

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[OscarCP]

Thanks to PK and Nathan for the very helpful work they are doing with the Mac KB thread.

I would like to add to Nathan’s description of the Mac’s “Preview”, part of the core of Mac applications usually preinstalled, that is not just something for looking at images in the JPEG, PNG, etc. formats, or looking at a PDF file contents, but also has some pretty useful editing features for cropping images by “lassoing” them; for exporting, let’s say, a PNG file image to another file in the GIF format (*), that results in an image file considerably smaller without appreciable loss of resolution; to decrease the resolution in terms of pixels per horizontal and vertical line, etc. etc. I use it a lot and find it quite sufficient for many of my needs, such as making presentations illustrated with pictures pasted in from image files small enough to result, in turn, in a PPTx file sufficiently small to be emailed as an attachment to a message without it being stripped or even having the email blocked.

(*) To get the full set of file formats to chose for the exported image, one needs to keep a finger pressing firmly on the “option” key when selecting the format. Only in this way one can get to see and choose GIF and other formats that, otherwise, do not get shown in the scroll up menu. (For some reason having to do with some arcane copyright issue, I think, neither Apple nor MS favor GIF and try to keep it out of sight as much as possible but, if one tries hard enough to find it, it is there.)

Windows 7 Professional, SP1, x64 Group W (ex B) & macOS Mojave + Linux (Mint)

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Nathan Parker

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[anonymous]

I was surprised to see that WineBottler wasn’t mentioned (https://winebottler.kronenberg.org/). WineBottler is basically a compiled version of Wine that is designed to be newbie-friendly and easy to use, so you don’t have to compile Wine yourself.

As of February 2020 it does not support macOS Catalina, but the developer is working on it.

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Nathan Parker, Microfix

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[RamRod]

Thank you very much for this comprehensive guide.

I am in a slow, unintentional migration away from WinX. I’m taking an ‘ecosystem’ approach to the migration. I figure I can go Apple, Android, or Linux. This guide makes it very clear how to go the Apple way.

My wife has an iPhone 11, an iPad (2019), and an Android tablet. She (and I) are very accustomed word processing in Word – not New Word (2007 and newer), but Classic Word (2003). I’m curious what you might recommend to complete my wife’s migration away from WinX and associated hardware while maintaining our computing customs.

Thanks again,

RamRod

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Nathan Parker

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[PKCano]

Libre Office – works on Mac and Linux. Handles .doc, .docx, .xis, .xlsx and Power Point.

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Nathan Parker, RamRod, Microfix

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[pmcjr6142]

This is excellent work.  I was perfectly satisfied with my Win 7 PC, but faced with the prospect of having to move to Win 10 and most likely a new PC as well, I decided a few months ago that a Mac made sense for me.  I’ve spent this time researching how to do this and that on a Mac and watched many, many youtube videos.  They can be a great source on how to set up and operate a Mac.  Last weekend I finally made the move and bought an iMac from the Apple Store.  These last few days have been stressful as I began using a Magic Mouse and Apple Key Board for the first time and looking up this and that.  PK Cano’s tutorial is a good rear view mirror look at what I have been trying to learn on my own.  So far, I really like the Mac and it’s been a great brain exercise.  If you want a Mac…go for it.  I think you’ll like it.

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Nathan Parker

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[PKCano]

I did some Topics on some very basic Mac setups in the MacOS Forum maybe a couple of years ago. If you go to the very end of the page list and work backward, there is info on how to set up Finder close to Windows Explorer, and info on non-Mac apps that you are familiar with you can add (FireFox, ThunderBird, Libre Office VLC Player, etc).

And Nathan Parker has added a world of recent Topics since then.

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Nathan Parker

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[NetDef]

Wow!  Thank you @parkernathan !

This is one of the best startup guides I’ve ever seen targeted specifically to Windows users curious about switching to modern Apple OS products.

How about a section on integrating Mac’s into a Windows AD network with full seamless access to corporate file shares and plotters/printers?  😀

And for folks in the Engineering and Architecture fields, AutoDesk now has a native AutoCAD (and Maya) application.  Sadly no Revit . . . yet.

 

~ Group "Weekend" ~

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Nathan Parker

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[Lars220]

Readers Digest online magazine has a recent article about Mac laptops that may be of interest for newcomers considering switching to Mac (?)  The article has lots of pictures with short brief descriptions.  Maybe this might be helpful for some ?

15 Things You Didn’t Know Your Mac Laptop Could Do

https://www.rd.com/advice/things-you-didnt-know-mac-laptops-could-do/

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Nathan Parker

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[Nathan Parker]

Thanks everyone for the comments!

I forgot to mention Paragon NTFS. It is an excellent app for those who need NTFS Support (that’d be good to add to the guide).

I mentioned WINE but forgot to mention WINEBottler. I’ve had issues getting it to package apps on a test Mac I worked on, but I could be “doing it wrong”. I can run more tests.

Apple used to have a Mac Integration Basics guide for AD users. It seems the last one they released was for Sierra, so it’s a bit dated:

https://books.apple.com/us/book/mac-integration-basics-10-12/id1207918989

I could review it and prepare something similar a little more updated, but in the meantime, that might help.

Nathan Parker

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