According to Apple Watch on eWeek, “Apple’s retail market share is 14 percent, and two-thirds for PCs costing $1,000 or more.” “Windows desktop PC sales are way down,” writes Joe Wilcox. Stephen Baker, NPD Group vice president of industry analysis states, “in notebooks they’re [Apple] growing two times the market. Windows notebooks are pretty much flat right now.” According to Baker, for the first quarter, Windows notebooks had “zero percent” growth year over year, while by comparison, Apple notebooks had “50 to 60 percent growth.”
In February 2007, I decided I was fed up with Windows. Vista’s launch was imminent, and I knew I couldn’t go there. I bought an iMac.
I will not lie — the first week of migrating data from my legacy PC to my iMac was time consuming, and moving Outlook, even with Little Machines’ O2M, was a real pain. A fundamental mistake that I made: I stayed “open” during the migration time. This meant I was bouncing between iMac and legacy PC, since some data was moved and some was not yet there. If you make the switch, don’t do it that way. Close your office for a few days until you are all set.
I still have my PC connected to my network, and I use a KVM switch between my iMac and PC so that I can share a mouse and keyboard. Occasionally — very, very occasionally — I still use my legacy PC. For the most part though, it’s become a TiVO server for our household.
Here are 5 reasons why I’m happy I’ve switched to Mac:
- Every day I come into my office and get to do much more of what I’m there to do each day — work! Windows requires constant vigilance to keep your system buttoned up tight. Even though I used the best security protection available for anti-virus, anti-ad and spy ware as well as a firewall, new challenges happen almost daily on the PC platform as new viruses etc. are released and the protection software companies must keep up. I also spend less time “tweaking” my system for performance issues. It’s simple math: More Work + Less Fussing With My System = More Billable Hours. Mac computers, by and large, just work, they are lower maintenance and have a much greater mean time between failures. What a concept!
- Many of my clients are PC-based. If their security is not as tight as mine, I might receive the “gift” of a virus or trojan on work files they send me. Most viruses and trojans are written for Windows. My alternate operating system adds an extra layer of security. (Note to Mac users — just because most viruses, etc. are written for PCs doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have good anti-virus and firewall projection installed on your Mac!)
- I can do everything I need to do on a Mac. Office apps are compatible, for the most part. I can track time for my VA business using OfficeTime. I can still use Mac versions of most software people are already familiar with, such as Dreamweaver, FTP programs like CuteFTP, Adobe Acrobat, Photoshop, web browsers like Firefox and Opera, instant messenger and so forth.
- When I need a PC, (ugh) I can launch Parallels or VMWare Fusion and emulate a PC in a window on my Mac. This has come a long way in recent years on the Mac platform. Parallels will set you back about $80, and VMWare Fusion is about the same price. Both let you do anything you need without having to fire up your old legacy PC. In Parallels on my iMac, I have my scanner, printers and other peripherals installed as well. A few clicks and I’m using Windows if I need it. Sharing files between Windows in Parallels and my iMac is a breeze.
- Applications are in some cases cheaper. Sure, as a PC user you may not have heard of Acorn (nimble image editing app for small, quickie edits), OmniGraffle Pro (which smokes Visio, IMHO — and exports in Visio XML format) or Yep (imaging for small offices — think PaperPort only not nearly as much of a system resource hog), but in my office, those apps, as well as others, keep me productive without being hogs on my Mac or in my wallet. All the function — and in some cases even more function — for a fraction of the price and a fraction of the bloat on my system.
Thinking about making the switch? Here are a few of my favorite switcher sites and articles:
- Switching to Mac web site
- Chris Pirillo – 50 reasons to Switch from Microsoft Windows to Mac OSX
- The Tao of Mac – How to Switch to the Mac
- Hack Attack from Lifehacker – A Guide for Switching to a Mac
- Mac Zealot – Switching to a Mac
Are you a Mac switcher? Share your favorite reasons for switching in the comments section.
Photo, “mac love extraordinaire” by cervus on flickr.
About the author: At Your Service Cincinnati principal Nora Rubinoff’s core virtual assistant services include social media management, WordPress support, online reputation management, project management, customer relationship management, customized e-mail marketing campaigns and productivity enhancement. Nora is a Mac and PC specialist. Nora is enthusiastic about architecting solutions that enable clients to make more out of their business day.
Nora is a recipient of the Karen S. House Award for Regional Collaboration as well as the Women of Excellence Award, several state and local government proclamations and holds the IVAA EthicsCheck™ certification. Nora is a past board member for IVAA and serves on several community advisory boards. Read more from this author
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