Lifelong Windows user. Sell me macOS

[DaSal]

CTL-X, CTL-C, CTL-V don't exist. You have to use Command-X, etc. instead. I find this annoying because the keys are too close. Or it is just a problem of muscle memory.

CMD+* is objectively better compared to CTRL+*. With CTRL+* you use your pinky finger to press control, which is the weakest finger and also generally has the least 'finesse', so it's harder to place it quickly and also keep it pressed down. Keeping the pinky pressed down is also actually pretty unpleasant - you might not realise now, but once you get used to not using it, you will.

CMD+* uses the thumb and index finger, which are the strongest fingers. The thumb is also the heaviest, so it's really easy to keep the CMD button pressed down. Once you get used to it, it will really feel much better.

All other Mac/Windows things aside (I don't dislike Windows at all) - I feel like this is really just better on Mac.

 

[gank41]

One app I always recommend for Windows folks switching to a Mac is Cheatsheet. After you install this, you just hold down the Command key for the selected amount of time and a window will open that shows you that app’s keyboard shortcuts. Over time, a lot of these shortcuts will become second nature. One thing I’ve found after switching from Windows to Mac is the shortcuts just make more sense.

CheatSheet

Free keyboard shortcut utility

cheatsheet-mac.en.softonic.com

 

[raythompsontn]

Doesn't help that all this standardization basically happened around the peak of the dark era in the late 1990s, i.e. when Apple had the least ability to shape the development of these things.

The nice thing about standards, is there are so many.

I thought, and vaguely remember, I was using the CTL-C,V,X keys in WordPerfect under the DOS 3.0 (I think) days, which predates Windows 3.0, the first version that was actually usable. That would have been the middle 80’s when Apple was still considered a novelty. How things have changed.

Before then I was using an Apple II computer in the early 80‘s writing code in Basic. I don’t remember using any shortcuts on that machine. That does not mean they did not exist, just that I don’t remember.

I find the way of doing things with shortcuts, dialog boxes, manipulating files, etc. sometimes strange in both environments. I am reasonably certain that some ergonomics team made decisions based on rational reasons constrained by the limits of the keyboard and OS. Other times I think they do the key combinations just to be different from the other platforms.

Regardless of the reasons, the keyboard shortcuts are here to stay. For either platform to change would be met with much wrath, burning in effigy, and multiple videos of ways to destroy machines.

 

[gank41]

One app I always recommend for Windows folks switching to a Mac is Cheatsheet. After you install this, you just hold down the Command key for the selected amount of time and a window will open that shows you that app’s keyboard shortcuts. Over time, a lot of these shortcuts will become second nature. One thing I’ve found after switching from Windows to Mac is the shortcuts just make more sense.

CheatSheet

Free keyboard shortcut utility

cheatsheet-mac.en.softonic.com

Another app that helps “fill in the gaps” that’s been very helpful to me—

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/shareful/id1522267256?mt=12&cmdf=macos+sharesherts+app

 

[ProQuiz]

Which is the better media player for HDR content (MKV files)? IINA or Infuse?

Also, any recommendations for a torrent client for macOS?

 

[gank41]

Which is the better media player for HDR content (MKV files)? IINA or Infuse?

Also, any recommendations for a torrent client for macOS?

I’ve actually always used VLC for .mkv files, and for torrents I’ve been using Transmission for many years.

 

[VivienM]

Regardless of the reasons, the keyboard shortcuts are here to stay. For either platform to change would be met with much wrath, burning in effigy, and multiple videos of ways to destroy machines.

Oddly enough, that might stop Apple but... not so sure about Microsoft. Microsoft has made plenty of gratuitous unnecessary UI changes over the years, e.g. the continual (and unfinished) attempts to redesign the control panel. Maybe the newer UI is better, maybe it isn't, but everybody above a certain age had already figured out the old UI and is far more confused by the new UI. They haven't gone so far as to the same thing with keyboard shortcuts, at least yet...

It's worth noting, too, that one Windows version out of two seems to be met with much wrath, burning in effigy, and multiple videos of ways to destroy machines. Even me, a guy who was happy enough with Vista, seems to have joined this trend with Windows 8 and 11... and bought a bunch of Macs in response. Honestly, if it wasn't for Windows 8, I would be highly unlikely to have gone back to the Mac... and then Windows 11 got me at least one or two more Macs (not counting the vintage ones)...

 

[VivienM]

Which is the better media player for HDR content (MKV files)? IINA or Infuse?

Infuse is absolutely wonderful, especially if you've got it set up with the trakt.tv integration and everything...

It's one of a number of programs I would put on my list of "people are still innovating and designing cool new desktop software for Mac while no one seems to have developed any new non-Electron, non-web, non-cloud, etc desktop software for Windows in a decade and a half."

The true legacy of Windows Vista, if you ask this grumpy old curmudgeon - with the Windows world basically frozen on XP for a decade, people just stopped coding new Windows desktop apps.

The other thing that's helped, of course, is the commonality between Mac and iOS. People develop cool new non-web-based stuff for mobile, it's relatively easy to expand it to Mac, done. Meanwhile no one is going to port an iOS or Android mobile app to desktop Windows.

 

[ProQuiz]

As stated earlier, my use case for the MacBook Pro is just light daily usage such as Internet browsing, movie/music streaming and watching MKV files, communication apps like WhatsApp and Discord, work apps like Zoom and TeamViewer, and some productivity apps like Microsoft Office. No gaming or anything intensive. With this use case, do you think 18 GB RAM will be sufficient for the next 5 years?

 

[raythompsontn]

With this use case, do you think 18 GB RAM will be sufficient for the next 5 years?

Yes, without issue. Probably well beyond 5 years.

 

[raythompsontn]

Microsoft has made plenty of gratuitous unnecessary UI changes over the years,

The ribbon in MSOffice comes to mind. I had for them most part memorized all the menu items in MSOffice. I knew the locations. Then MSOffice arrived with the ribbon. Not only did it take a lot more space, everything moved. I found myself using HELP a lot to find items that I knew the location before.

It took time but I finally got used to the ribbon and have found most of the things I need.

I am certain that all platforms have a staff of ergonomic experts. People who have never really had a real job in the real world and used the applications to accomplish real work.

Some of the people who cannot pass the test for GUI and ergonomic experts employment now work for website companies. Why so many ways to format a phone number (spaces, hyphens, no spaces or hyphens)? Credit card numbers strung together or must have spaces. Forms that auto tab to the next field when a field is full. Back tabbing to the previous field to correct an entry is met with an immediate jump from where the cursor was. The entire entry must be highlighted to clear the entry and type in the data again.

Nothing is perfect for everyone. One person's poison is another person's glee. There are parts of the Mac that will never make sense to me. The same applies to Windows.

 

[Feek]

Another change I had to make was the scrolling direction. Apple just seems wrong. Again muscle memory.

There are two ways to think of this.
Imagine you have a piece of paper on your desk and you're looking at that piece of paper through a window.
With a trackpad, when you scroll, you're moving the piece of paper behind the window.
With a mouse scroll wheel, you're moving the window in front of the piece of paper.

To me, both seem perfectly natural depending on whether I'm using a mouse or a trackpad.

 

[circatee]

The first time I forayed into macOS, I hated it. However, I was still using a Windows PC near by. And, I kept trying to do the things I did on a Windows PC, on a Mac. Nope, that was not the way to go.

The second time I tried a Mac, I made it a point to not touch a Windows PC for a few weeks. I also made it a point to learn keyboard shortcuts and such. Eventually, macOS became natural. Now I only power on my Windows PC, if playing a game...

 

[Bodhitree]

The main difference between MacOS and Windows is that on the Mac there are fewer things to tweak. Everything you need as a standard user is in System Settings, and you don’t need to install device drivers or access the registry. It basically boils down to less time spent on technical wrangling.

In the new Sonoma OS there are some nice user interface bits, like being able to click on the desktop to move all the windows out of the way (or back again). You can see which apps are open by the dots underneath the icons in the Dock, so it has the same function as the Windows Taskbar. And then there is a feature which shows all the open windows, by a two-finger tap on the Magic Mouse.

 

[pipo2]

There are two ways to think of this.
Imagine you have a piece of paper on your desk and you're looking at that piece of paper through a window.
With a trackpad, when you scroll, you're moving the piece of paper behind the window.
With a mouse scroll wheel, you're moving the window in front of the piece of paper.

To me, both seem perfectly natural depending on whether I'm using a mouse or a trackpad.

Mac OS X Lion changed scroll direction. Apple received a lot of 'comment' from its users AFAIR. Most was addressing the name of the new way of scrolling: natural...
But you could and still can, always revert this in
System Settings... --> Trackpad --> Scroll & Zoom --> Natural scrolling.
And/Or
System Settings... --> Mouse --> Natural scrolling.

 

[Feek]

Mac OS X Lion changed scroll direction.

Yup, I remember and I remember the feedback and the way it could be changed.

I just got on with it and it does feel more natural to me now.

 

[ProQuiz]

My order has shipped.

 

[DoctorFedora]

one thing that really helped me wrap my head around Mac OS when I started running a Hackintosh setup (at the time, it was to convince myself that Windows XP was still the One True Operating System, and well…) was having it pointed out that the Windows UI paradigm is built on the idea of "window = program," and the Mac UI paradigm is built on the idea of "window = document." This made it a lot easier to intuitively grasp the way that Mac software can be running but with no open windows, if nothing else.

 

[raythompsontn]

I often wonder if the differences in the GUI and the way the OS operates is more about copyright, licensing, etc. than usability. Who owns the Windowed interface? Microsoft, Apple, Xerox? Is CTL-C,X,V copyrighted by WordPerfect? I have seen stranger things entwined in legal battles.

 

[tomtad]

Quicklook. Press the spacebar to see a preview of almost any file anywhere in the Finder or on the Desktop

That's all you need to know. It is the killer feature

 

[ProQuiz]

When it comes to Microsoft Office, I like the one-time cost of Office 2021 but is Microsoft 365 worth the yearly subscription? I just need Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Also, do both versions natively support Apple silicon?

I also read that Office for macOS is inferior to that of Windows. As in it is missing features and functions. Is this true? I remember the reverse being true about a decade or two ago.

 

[jido]

You do know that Macs come with their own suite included in the price of the machine, right?
Word = Pages
Excel = Numbers
PowerPoint = Keynote

 

[ProQuiz]

You do know that Macs come with their own suite included in the price of the machine, right?
Word = Pages
Excel = Numbers
PowerPoint = Keynote

Yes, I do know that. My workplace is all Windows PCs with Microsoft Office. Wanted to get Office to maintain full compatibility.

Edit: Or do you think compatibility won't be an issue?

 

[raythompsontn]

I also read that Office for macOS is inferior to that of Windows. As in it is missing features and functions.

I don't think it is inferior. I have not found any features missing.

It is also worth noting that Pages, Numbers, etc. will read and export into MSOffice formats without difficulty. The only differences that have been a problem is the difference in fonts between Office and Mac. Sometimes the formatting is not quite right but is usually quickly able to be fixed.

My suggestion is to try using the Mac versions first before committing money to Microsoft. You may find what you have is adequate. As for the learning curve, an entirely different story. In my opinion the Mac version seemed clumsy and I am going to chalk that up to my dozens of years of working with MSOffice.

 

[MapleBeercules]

I was born in 1984 and have been a lifelong Windows user. Only extremely briefly using Macs in middle and high school. I got my first Mac (a MacBook Pro 14" with the M2 Pro chip) on October 10, 2023 just to try it out because I have been always curious and fascinated by Macs. It was my first time actually getting deep into macOS. I used it for 3 weeks but then Apple had the Mac event and announced the M3 chips. I returned my MacBook Pro with the goal of getting one with the M3 chip.

Now that it is returned, I am having second thoughts about getting another MacBook Pro or just a new desktop gaming PC. My current desktop gaming PC was built in January 2012 and I have been using it ever since so it is definitely time for a new computer whether it be a Mac or Windows PC. The thing is getting a new gaming desktop PC might not be worth it because I really don't game much these days.

However, with the 3 weeks I had the MacBook Pro, it definitely took some time to get used to and I'm not sure if I got completely used to it. Multitasking seems easier on Windows because of the taskbar. Also, maybe it's because I have been using Windows all this time, Windows seems easier to use and more logical than macOS. I don't have a "genuine reason" to use macOS (meaning there is no app that I must use that is only available on macOS) so I am not sure if the switch is worth it.

What do you guys say? I know it is ultimately up to me but I'm looking for any feedback and opinions I can get.

Windows ends up being more work then its worth. Every feature windows has requires massive configuration and the user experience just sucks.

icloud and apples ecosystem makes using a mac for day to day task so simple. Great example is Universal Control, which lets me use my Ipad as a secondary screen for my macbook, and IT JUST WORKS. no configuration, no troubleshooting.

Pick 3 or 4 features you like about the mac and try to replicated that on a windows PC? you will find it takes considerable more time to do it.

Costs of ownership, I find macs carry much more value when you resell them, I was able to sell my 2017 Macbook Pro 13 inch with i5 dual core 8gb of ram and 512SSD for 750$ this summer.

I've never had to run an antivirus software on Mac. While I dont in windows either, I disable its network adapter when I walk away from the screen (ya i have microsoft trust issues)

Anyways if you value your time and user experience Mac is only way to go.. As the saying goes "Once you go Mac, you never go back "