Switching from PC to Mac

the Mac equivalent of Word is Word.

by and large PC Word docs will open in Mac Word. I do it everyday, with little or no problems at all.

My first piece of advice to you, or anyone, who is thinking of switching from PC to Mac is 'do it'.
My second piece of advice is 'do it'.

If you're really only going to use it for writing, then you'll find little difference. Other than things looking a bit nicer, and the navigation of system (once you get used to it) being friendlier, the biggest difference will be you don't have to worry about viruses and virus protection, and that it will start up when you want it to.

I'm no computer expert, and don't want to be, and that's why I hate ever having to use PCs.

Did you opt for the two year insurance cover when you bought your Dell? It will be on the documentation. It covers accidents. I accidentally ripped out two keys from the keyboard of my laptop. They replaced the keyboard. They would have sent a technician to do it but I said I could do it myself - they sent the part. So look up your document - you might have it replaced at no cost.

I switched to Mac last year in July. It took me a few weeks to become used to hitting the inner CMD key rather than the outer CTRL key for most commands, but even those few weeks weren't too bad. The one thing that slowed me down was that I had a Mac desktop compute and a Windows notebook computer, and it was awkward switching back and forth.

I prepare for my switch, I read a couple of Mac magazines. I forget which maybe Mac World and something else. They had buyers' guides, guides to switching, articles about tips, software, and hardware, and of course lots and lots of ads.

I never bothered to buy MS Office. I'm much happier leaving Word in my past. When I need a word processor, I use Pages, which is part of Apple's $79 iWork office suite. As far as I can tell, Pages isn't as full-featured as Word, but I honestly don't miss any Word features. Also, Numbers (the iWork spreadsheet) does whatever I need, and KeyNote (the iWork presentation app) handles most of my old PowerPoint slides, some of which were quite complex, with lots of animation.

Also, TextEdit, the built-in text editor works for both plain text and rich text, and will save in .doc, .docx, and .rtf formats.

For writing, I use a fantastic tool called Scrivener. For a year before I switched, many of my friends annoyed the hell out of me by singing Scrivener's praises at every opportunity. That was annoying because they were obviously right (check the features and the tutorial video) and the goddammed thing didn't run on my Windows computer. And none of my friends--not one, mind you--would buy me a Mac so that I could experience their Scrivener joy. Bastards all.

And no, I'm not saying I'll buy you a Mac so you can use Scrivener. I never claimed not to be a bastard myself.

My primary reason for switching was reliability. I just got tired of my Windows machines failing catastrophically. I don't think that was the fault of Windows per se (though I seriously do not miss Windows, either), but more a problem of incompatible and shoddy hardware manufactured by different companies.

There's a pretty good book called Switching to the Mac: The Missing Manual (Leopard Edition) by David Pogue. You may prefer his other book, Mac OS X Leopard: The Missing Manual, which is more about Mac OS X Leopard and less about switching. And there are a zillion other books about Leopard. (Note that the new version of Mac OS X, called Snow Leopard, will be shipped in September. I think you'll get a free upgrade.)

Dale

Aside from Word, there is an absolutely great program called Scrivener. It helps you organize, outline, brainstorm and keep track of all of the loose ends. When you're ready, it's a few short steps to export your manuscript, all formatted, in Word format.

I switched 3 or 4 years ago and haven't looked back.

If you have an Apple store nearby, take a look at their training schedule. They offer sessions for people who are Making The Switch and if you can't get to one, they have extensive information online you can access and print.

I just switched from a PC to a Mac myself so I am kind of in the same boat. I have used Word 2003 for a long time and to be frank i'm really missing it. I was very used to that software and I havent gotten 100 % comfy with Pages yet. I never tried Microsoft office for Mac yet--probably will give it a shot eventually.
I basically switched for the whole virus thing. I got sick and tired of the internet "not responding" or freezing up on me. I hated the daily updates that constantly slowed my computer. I want my internet fast and reliable--not much to ask IMO but evidently too much for Microsoft to handle. BTW I hate Vista!
As I said I'm getting used to Pages, but still do the bulk of my work on my WIP on my PC. I'm in the final editing phase so I really don't want to postpone that while I get the hang of the new software.
Pages does export files in Word format so you can easily work between both. It appears to be a good editor as well so i'm sure you won't miss much with it.

You still have to worry about viruses, there's just not so many and they don't spread so fast.

You will still have problems, and there will be less people with the know-how to ask for advice.

You will find 1% as much free software written for the Mac, if you need a low-budget alternative for anything.

A good PC with Linux would probably be cheaper, and have the same "advantages".

Any computer can be futzed up.

Just sayin.

Go Mac! We are exclusively Mac and love it!

For a Word replacement use Pages. It works just like Word but is native to the Mac so it is faster. It'll open and save as .doc if you need it.

I too use Scrivener for writing and love it! I'm fairly new to that piece of software, but it's wonderful!

Our Macbook Pro is now 3(?) years old and aside from some heat issues we had early on, we love it and no problems!

Good luck!

Matera the Mad said:

You still have to worry about viruses, there's just not so many and they don't spread so fast.

You will still have problems, and there will be less people with the know-how to ask for advice.

You will find 1% as much free software written for the Mac, if you need a low-budget alternative for anything.

A good PC with Linux would probably be cheaper, and have the same "advantages".

Any computer can be futzed up.

Just sayin.

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This.

I'm running a dual-boot Ubuntu-Windows system and I have been for about four years. Despite having both systems installed, I run Ubuntu linux almost exclusively and haven't booted to Windows in months. Ubuntu Linux is very user friendly. It's very stable. There's good user support on the Ubuntu forums. And it's hell of a lot cheaper than buying a whole Mac system. Plus, the software is free, albeit never as polished. Having said that, writing needs are pretty simple and Ubuntu with OpenOffice more than meet mine, including the ability to open and close Word documents with very few problems.

Frankly, I'd say save a lot of money and go Ubuntu over Mac.

I went from a 17" Gateway PC to a
13.3" MacBook. It takes some time
getting used to, maybe a little more
than your patience will allow, but
you will be happy in the long run.
Word for Mac works great.
Had a mouse stick issue, sent it in -
got it back in two days!!!! WOW!!
I've had mine 8 months, for working
it's great, and I can still watch the
occasional movie or TV show.
Drawbacks - doesn't have a lot of
little gadgets and games, but after
awhile you won't miss it. the sound
is weak, you will need external speakers
for watching movies and such.
Otherwise, what ever you get, get it
fully loaded with whatever makes it
run fast (Ram?), and lots of hard drive.

You can get MS Office for a Mac. I have it on mine. My PCs usually bite the dust within 18 months. My Macbook has been dropped at least 3 times, is 3 years old, and is still working just fine. No viruses, no spyware, no dead hard drives. (Might be ready for a new battery soon.) The only downside is the cost. If you do get a laptop, know that the computer doesn't like it if you tell it to shut down and then close the lid before it's done shutting down. It freezes (but can be unfrozen with a keyboard command). Three years ago, I would occasionally come across applications (or online games) that wouldn't work on the mac, but I haven't had that problem lately.

flyingtart said:

So I'm wondering about switching to a Mac. I've heard good things about them but how easy is it to change Word files to whatever Mac files? I'd want it for my writing and little else. Can any Mac users recommend the best sites to look at?

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You shouldn't have to change your Word files. Pages (part of Apple's iWork suite) can read word documents without difficulty.