More Switchers Than Usual?

[Aperture]

Hi. I found MacRumors I think maybe like 4 or 5 months ago. Just recently, I have been noticing more and more posts with switchers asking like what mac to get. Am I just noticing it more or are their really more switchers?

Kevin

PS: Sorry this if this is in the wrong forum!

 

[Blue Velvet]

It seems that way just in the couple of years I've been posting here although it's probably a combination of wishful thinking and poor memory.

There certainly seems to be more of a buzz around the MacBooks than there ever was for the iBooks.

Could be iPod halo effect, could be renewed advertising, could be increased word-of-mouth... or all these things and more. I suspect the AppleStores also have a lot to do with it.

 

[Eidorian]

Yeah, the rate of switches does seem to be going up. The number of "MAC VIRUS!!!111" and "What antivirus/spyware for Mac?" questions have been going up lately.

 

[FleurDuMal]

I'd suggest that the Intel/Bootcamp factor may increase Apple's appeal to the more technologically savvy computer-user. But I doubt that the Windows development has had much effect on the more casual user (the sort that doesn't even know what an operating system is, never mind understand what dual booting is).

 

[DanielGilbert]

I'm due to become a switcher soon hopefully - just got to get the money for my MacBook

I want to switch because of the simplicity and stability of OSX, which is even more attractive when combined with the low price of the MacBook

 

[amac4me]

I've noticed the trend. I've seen more posts from Windows/PC users over the past several weeks. It's a trend that should gain momentum.

 

[bluebomberman]

Yeah, the rate of switches does seem to be going up. The number of "MAC VIRUS!!!111" and "What antivirus/spyware for Mac?" questions have been going up lately.

I wish I was smart (or dumb) enough to ask that when I switched nearly two years ago. I feel like an idiot every time I think about the money I spent on Norton Antivirus (which became unusable once I got Tiger).

 

[jimTucson]

New Switcher

As a fairly recent switcher, what brought me to Apple was OS X. I purchased a 20" iMac G5 for testing at home, and I plan to get another iMac for my office and a MacBook (once it's over the initial-production-run problems). I've been living on a mix of MS Windows, Sun Solaris, and various Linux distros for years, and I am hoping that OS X on a Mac will give me a single-box solution (I use a lot of Unix shell scripting, which is relatively easy to port over to OS X, and impossible to port to Windoze). It was OS X that drove my decision to switch, not iPod.

 

[Eidorian]

I wish I was smart (or dumb) enough to ask that when I switched nearly two years ago. I feel like an idiot every time I think about the money I spent on Norton Antivirus (which became unusable once I got Tiger).

Norton Internet Security 2004 was decent on Windows. Norton Internet Security 2005 cripples basic home networking and causes crashes from firewall warnings.

 

[FleurDuMal]

Norton Internet Security 2004 was decent on Windows. Norton Internet Security 2005 cripples basic home networking and causes crashes from firewall warnings.

Norton Protection Suite 2006 also cripples home computers. All my mum and dad's computers back home suddenly freeze for 2/3 minutes everytime they boot until they become usable.

The Corporate version, on the other hand, isn't actually that bad. None of that awful bloatware which does nothing but conflict with things that are already installed.

 

[Macnoviz]

Seems like it

I joined this site around the 2006 Macworld SF, because I was thinking about getting an intel iBook (as it was called at that time) and in those months I became a regular, even though I had never worked on Macintosh ever (!)

I really like everything about Apple, and although I don't like to say it, my interest began with the iPod Shuffle, so I'm one of the halo people, but I like the Mac in the first place because everything just works, and because everything looks better on a Mac.

I guess you could say that there are more switchers, but I think that's mainly because the computer market is becoming bigger, and people start to understand more about computers, and they see that Windows isn't that good.

I do get a lot of people asking about my new Macbook, but some are still worried about those old myths, or they start making stupid comparisons between "their" PC and the Mac, like the lack of a card reader, and other irrelevant stuff like that.

So, in a word,
YES

 

[celebrian23]

things aren't always as they appear

 

[brbubba]

I'd suggest that the Intel/Bootcamp factor may increase Apple's appeal to the more technologically savvy computer-user. But I doubt that the Windows development has had much effect on the more casual user (the sort that doesn't even know what an operating system is, never mind understand what dual booting is).

Thats what did it for me. Mostly the move to intel. Even though I am running XP in parallels right now instead of dual boot, its more about the idea rather than the utility of the thing.

 

[FleurDuMal]

its more about the idea rather than the utility of the thing.

Same here. Bit like a safety net - knowing that if there's ever a piece of software which is imperative to any future work, and its only available on Windows, I won't be screwed.

Also, the DVD ripping/encoding applications available for OSX don't seem nearly as versatile and powerful as those available for Windows. This is, as far as I can see, the only reason I'd ever use Windows when I get my Macbook.

 

[brbubba]

Also, the DVD ripping/encoding applications available for OSX don't seem nearly as versatile and powerful as those available for Windows. This is, as far as I can see, the only reason I'd ever use Windows when I get my Macbook.

Have you tried HandBrake yet? The ease of use and encoding options have left me extremely impressed. Its much easier to use and get high quality results than any solution I have tried on windows.

 

[Saluki Alex]

I switched back in March mainly because of OS X. But I had been planning on switching ever since November/December, and after hearing ever increasing information/speculation on the Intel Macs, my decision was solidified. I'm not one of the "halo effect" switchers either, I was looking for a new computer and when I was perusing the notebook reviews on cnet, the Powerbook caught my eye. And as I learned more and more about Macs and OS X, I knew I had found the right computer.

 

[Eidorian]

Also, the DVD ripping/encoding applications available for OSX don't seem nearly as versatile and powerful as those available for Windows. This is, as far as I can see, the only reason I'd ever use Windows when I get my Macbook.

You're crazy right?

Freeware
- iSquint
- Handbrake
- Mactheripper
- FFMpegX

Commercial
- Popcorn 2
- Toast 7 (PowerPC)
- Visual Hub

 

[imacintel]

There certainly seems to be more of a buzz around the MacBooks than there ever was for the iBooks.

There certainly is. And they also buzz and moo! IT is really an animal...

 

[it5five]

I will be a switcher in a week now, but it had nothing to do with the ipod (even though I own one). It has to do with OS X being the best operating system I have ever used.

 

[dailo]

I switched as soon as it was announced there was a working solution on onmac.net. Now it is even better with Parallels! I only never bought a Mac because I did not like to have to use two systems to do what I needed. Hopefully eventually everything available for Windows will be available for Mac.