Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

From Those Who've Switched to Windows, What to Expect?

dbit said:
Thanks for all the advice so far, this is the type of information I need!

I know this seems like a simple matter, but has anyone mapped their control key to a different key to be in a similar position to the apple key? I use a ton of key commands and I have big hands. The 'cntrl + key' combo seems so much more awkward to me then 'cmnd/apple + key'. I'm afraid this will really slow me down! I've heard of people remapping the keys, but I'd hate to think of some bloated process running all the time just to do this simple key remapping.
Click to expand...

Look into Autohotkey. I use it to make command-T work as control-T in order to open a new tab. Also have it set up for command-W and command-Q.

Also, I am a huge fan of Exposé and Spaces. If you are going to miss that, I suggest checking out Dexpot. So far, it is the closest thing you will get to Mac-like virtual desktops on Windows. Also, they have a plugin for hot corners.

And I definitely suggest building your own computer instead of buying one.
 
First off, don't take much advice from people on a Mac forum. Sadly, most tech sites are full of complete BS (so wait, how do you know you can trust me?)

Anti Virus? Microsoft Security Essentials. That's it. Run a good browser like Chrome.

I am currently running the Windows 8 beta on a personally built workstation and for the most part it is actually fantastic. I thought the Metro start screen would be atrocious, but the whole thing is actually quite nice, and the desktop on 8 is better than the desktop on 7. The system is incredibly fast, you'll marvel at how much faster Windows feels than OSX I think.

However you can always run Windows 7 to be safe. There are a few bugs with 8, but I am willing to put up with them until they get sorted out over the course of the RP, and eventual release.

Don't worry about junking up the registry. The registry is self correcting, reliable, and fast these days. The religion about the registry is completely wrong, and a holdover from the Windows 95 days.

Control Panel still completely sucks compared to System Preferences. No two ways about that one.

However almost everything else is better. Sure, OSX is prettier, but Win7/8 is no slouch, and I'd say Win8 is even impressive looking at times. On top of that, it is faster than OSX, has a lot more software, and supports incredibly powerful and extremely high quality hardware for a fraction of the price. What Apple does on the hardware pricing is almost highway robbery, and you aren't getting better parts.

Build your PC with confidence and just keep some other sort of Mac around for scratching that itch. That's what I do anyway. My PC is a monster and Win8 seriously KICKS BUTT. It cost me about 1300 bucks and it has 16 gigs of ram, a gtx 670 a top end Gigabyte board with amazing build quality, a workstation class Corsair case, and a 3570k effortlessly overclocked to 4.5 ghz. I can get serious work done on this machine. You can't even get that on the Mac side, and if you could it would be about 5 grand it seems.

Macs are cool, but don't ever EVER let an ignorant person tell you lies about any computing platform. Windows is rock solid. If you don't need specific Mac software, go for it.
 
Most of the info here is pretty solid.

Stick with Windows Firewall, and a basic anti virus program. And your good to go. Mal-Ware can sometimes be an issue on XP machines. Very rarely is it an issue on 7 machines. I just Ad-Aware for that. Great free program.

I've been using Windows and Macs very heavily for a long time, they both do pretty well, don't let people say " Oh Windozer suxors "

Oh yeah, Reinstalling every year is totally insane. Before I got my new workstation at the Office ( thank you gamepc for your total sex machine. Good thing I didn't have to blow 20K on that, thanks boss! ). I was running Vista until 7 came out, never had to do a reinstall. Ran 7 on for almost 3 years until this rig. No reinstalls were ever needed.

I will admit, up until SP3 For Windows XP. Windows rot did occur if you weren't careful.

The only thing I want to add, and its been said.

GET THE ZUNE SOFTWARE, ITS AMAZING.

It's 10 dollars a month for unlimited Music, and hell. If you can find a zune MP3 player on ebay. Its a pretty amazing and cheap music solution.
 
Microsoft is really bad. Huge gaping security flaws, your machine is not safe unless it has no internet connection.
 
mntnlvr43 said:
Hi. So, I can tell you I worked with a pc for 20yrs and converted to a pro a yr ago. On your 1st question, Norton sucks as it is constantly updating yet bogs down then system. I once tried AVG and when unsatisfied with it and tried to remove it from my system, it would not allow me to regardless of any of my efforts to do so. I've never heard of kaspersky. I did however, use a free program called Spybot Search and Destroy. That seemed to work well for me back then. Something for you to look into.

2nd... It does take a bit to customize windows so have patience. It does get very irritating at times. Good Luck
Click to expand...

I'm not sure what your pc was, though current PCs are not effected by antivirus running. Maybe you had one of those vista systems that had inadequate hardware. Removing program's under windows 7 is very easy. U never heard of kaspersky? Wow....

Anyway Avast is very good. I would recommend that now.

How is customising windows any different from os x? The most irritating part is learning how windows does tasks v os x like networking, though that goes both ways, switching to os x or switching to windows

----------
softwareguy256 said:
Microsoft is really bad. Huge gaping security flaws, your machine is not safe unless it has no internet connection.
Click to expand...

Ha ha ha ha. Were you once a prisoner of microsoft ? Windows ME? Windows vista on incorrect hardware ?

Windows 7 is very very good. I assume you have not heard of it
 
I have a new laptop at work that was decently fast. Then one day this week, after a reboot, it became unusably slow. Constant disk access. I even did a system restore to a week before, and it remained that way.

I finally disabled the on access mode of the virus scanner, and performance seems to have come back. I think that there must have been a bad upgrade. Issues that seem more common in Windows systems than Macs or Linux.

The only time I've seen behavior in a mac was when the hard drive started failing.
 
Oh yeah, don't let the trolls get in your way.


Windows 7 is a VERY good OS. Its every bit as stable and useable, and in some ways, its even better than OSX, if your doing very heavy lifting.

If your comming from a Mac, it WILL Be different. But you will get used to it, and you will love it over time.

I run Macs and PC's, and I like em both :D
 
TennisandMusic said:
Anti Virus? Microsoft Security Essentials. That's it.
Click to expand...

It is pretty good these days and no vested interest in selling you anything like the anti-whatever vendors. Extensive testing has shown it does not slow my machine down (which cannot be said of some [most?] of the others).
 
I've had my share of OSX and Windows problems. Got a love/hate relationship with both.
Last problems I had were Blackberry software on OSX problems.
Their driver caused my MP to start slowing down. and eventually become so slow that even basic browsing was a P in the A.
Removed the program and had to restore disk permissions etc etc.
No problem since!
 
The worst problem I have with switching back and forth is the file systems mean nothing is quite where I think it should be, but that's easily correctable.
 
I have had no problems with Windows 7. NO slow downs, no viruses etc. And I haven't reinstalled it in two years. You really don't have to unless you REALLY bog it down with junk. I LOVE IT! Probably the best OS I've used since Windows 98.

I haven't done a reinstall due to slow downs/performance since the XP days. That OS was a mess from a stability standpoint.

That being said, all operating systems will have their problems.

----------
MJL said:
It is pretty good these days and no vested interest in selling you anything like the anti-whatever vendors. Extensive testing has shown it does not slow my machine down (which cannot be said of some [most?] of the others).
Click to expand...

Yeah. And you can just install, set it up and never have to see it again.
 
Thanks for all of the information, I'll be reviewing it as I continue ahead with my build! I'm cramming a lot of studying in right now as parts arrived. I've gone over the ins and outs of my case, am watching lots of videos on my motherboard installation, etc. Going to be breadbording and building hopefully by this weekend, if not then early next week. Thanks again for all your help! :)
 
dbit said:
Firstly, I know very little about standard antivirus procedures. I'm aware that there are a million competing products out there and a few popular leaders.
Click to expand...

IME, the best is the free Microsoft Security Essentials. It is all you need, and everything else is redundant, I reckon.

dbit said:
Secondly, how long has it taken you to lock down and customize your windows system the way you like? One thing I love about OSx is the centralized system preferences pane. I hate how windows scatters these panels in various places around the system.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it is not as elegant as OSX, but it doesn't bother me all that much as I don't change the settings often. The only things I miss on W7 are Expose on the 4th/5th mouse button and Dashboard on mouse button 3. Everything else isn't all that different.

I'm running them concurrently, btw. W7 in Bootcamp on its own drive.
 
My sig below shows my latest 2 builds. Both running Win 7 64. After selling my 2008 Mac pro, I built. No regrets. Get Win7 64 if the software you need supports it. It's a great OS. It's nothing like XP was. A bit of a learning curve going back but not to bad. Microsoft Security Essentials and Malware Bytes is all I have running for protection with windows firewall. Here is a good site for info...
http://www.sevenforums.com/ . Good information. Just install what you need and stay away from bad web sites and should be fine.
I left apple because I couldn't afford the Mac pros anymore. Glad I did because I saved allot of money building my own. Theses weren't cheap to build but a heck of allot cheaper than a equivalent Mac pro. iTunes works good for streaming to my 3 apple tv's too. Good luck with your build. Post what you get.
 
dbit said:
And thirdly, as far as customization goes, do most of you just strip Windows down to its essentials? Do you use themes to enhance or simplify the look/feel of the environment?
Click to expand...
One thing I like about Windows 7 that Mac OSX doesn't have is the Gadgets. They're like Widgets, except they're always visible. So at a quick glance to the side of you desktop, you can read a big pretty analog clock, check how much space is left on your hard drive, check your system performance, etc. And those are pretty nice features to have. They're big, pretty, and very visually engaging, not to mention quite useful.

Secondly, in Windows 7 you can adjust the size and shape of any window from ANY side or corner, unlike in Mac OSX where you're limited to the bottom right corner. It's a nice feature.

Thirdly, a good way to "strip Windows down to its essentials" is to view Windows 7 in "basic" mode. Basically, all this does is make the "glass" borders around every window and the start bar no longer see-through. I had to enter this mode in order to play Battlefield 3, so apparently it frees up some processing power or something. :)

Oh, and about the start bar, a good idea would be to enable smaller icons to free up some screen space AND to make it so windows at the bottom stack on top of each other as little icons instead of their own long bars. I know that sounds strange, but I'm in OSX right now, and I forget the name of the stuff... :p

Interface-wise, Windows 7 is actually pretty competent. They really did try to make a somewhat modern operating system, and I think you'll be surprised at how sleek, intuitive, and enjoyable the Windows 7 experience can be. It even comes with Internet Explorer which is very good at downloading web browsers like Chrome, Safari, and Firefox! :D

Granted, you will find Windows 7 annoying at times. Like when it minimizes (in my mind, "crashes") the game you're playing just so one TINY say-bubble at the bottom of the screen can whine about unused icons on your desktop or something else completely trivial. :mad:

I hope this helps! Good luck with Windows! :)
 
My photography studio uses both Mac Pro’s and Windows 7 computer platforms. We don’t play games. These are commercial grade platforms that must provide a good return-on-investment for the studio.

In 2009 we decided to move our primary workstations from the PC to the MAC. We believed the MAC Pro would out perform and be a much more reliable system. After three years on the MAC Pro I can say it isn’t more reliable. The MAC Pro’s are a bit faster since we have not updated the hardware on our Windows PC’s much over the last few years. OSX is a cleaner interface (IMHO). But Windows 7 is as reliable. I have no issues with keeping up on virus protection using Essentials from MS and it is free. Windows 7 does a lot of updates. But for the most part it is all done in the background at night and no workflow issues. And now that OSX is app store based I get a dozen application updates on the MAC Pro weekly! It is all normalizing and not much different between the platforms anymore.

We have a lot invested in the MAC Pro’s. They are fine machines. But, knowing what I now know from actual experience, I would have stayed with Windows PC’s. But since we have standardized on the MAC Pro’s and invested a ton in software and hardware, I’m hoping for a significant refresh in 2013 from Apple.

If you’re looking for a real screamer platform, your only choice today is Windows. You can get crazy with CPU/GPU/Memory and Windows will load and doesn’t care. I’ve reviewed some benchmarks on Windows 7 systems that are simply remarkable.
 
dbit said:
Thanks for all the advice so far, this is the type of information I need!

I know this seems like a simple matter, but has anyone mapped their control key to a different key to be in a similar position to the apple key? I use a ton of key commands and I have big hands. The 'cntrl + key' combo seems so much more awkward to me then 'cmnd/apple + key'. I'm afraid this will really slow me down! I've heard of people remapping the keys, but I'd hate to think of some bloated process running all the time just to do this simple key remapping.
Click to expand...

Sharpkeys, I think it is called, changes keybindings on the OS level, so you just run it once and there is no slowdown
 
softwareguy256 said:
Do you think I care about the smart aleck remark from a poor person who can barely afford a 1200 computer? Get bent.
Click to expand...

Yeah because wealth is just SUCH a measure of anything other than wealth.

By the way, people who really don't care, don't care. They don't make replies saying they don't care.
 
pastrychef said:
Who is a troll? I've just seen people sharing experiences and giving opinions.
Click to expand...

Just as an example, someone said that you need to reinstall windows every year.

That is a totally insane thing to say, I've been Macs and PC's for a LONG time. ( Not as long as some of the guys on here, my first computer was a used 486 I paid 700 dollars door in middle school, lots of lawn mowing lol, running Windows 3.1, my first Mac was a iMac G3, followed by a Firewire Pismo Laptop for college ).

I've NEVER had to consistently reinstall Windows, EVER. Even going back to 3.1.

If your reinstalling Windows every year. Your doing it wrong, simple as that.

----------
softwareguy256 said:
Do you think I care about the smart aleck remark from a poor person who can barely afford a 1200 computer? Get bent.
Click to expand...

Oh yeah, I'm sure he's so poor.

My Main computer isn't a Mac....so I must be poor.

Oh wait, it's worth 7000 dollars :rolleyes:



......ok


Even still, a properly built PC running Windows is a great machine. The days of BSOD's all the time, and massive flaws have been gone since Windows XP/2000.
 
Last edited:
G51989 said:
Just as an example, someone said that you need to reinstall windows every year.

That is a totally insane thing to say, I've been Macs and PC's for a LONG time. ( Not as long as some of the guys on here, my first computer was a used 486 I paid 700 dollars door in middle school, lots of lawn mowing lol, running Windows 3.1, my first Mac was a iMac G3, followed by a Firewire Pismo Laptop for college ).

I've NEVER had to consistently reinstall Windows, EVER. Even going back to 3.1.

If your reinstalling Windows every year. Your doing it wrong, simple as that.
Click to expand...

That hardly makes them a troll. They're simply relaying their experiences.

BTW, Lombards didn't have Firewire. There's no need to call your Pismo a Firewire Pismo, simply Pismo is fine.
 
Man, lots of hostility growing in this thread..

dbit said:
Thanks for all of the information, I'll be reviewing it as I continue ahead with my build! I'm cramming a lot of studying in right now as parts arrived. I've gone over the ins and outs of my case, am watching lots of videos on my motherboard installation, etc. Going to be breadbording and building hopefully by this weekend, if not then early next week. Thanks again for all your help! :)
Click to expand...

On another note, what all will you be putting in your build?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back