Switching to a Mac from a PC: It's Not as Hard as You Think

Switching to a mac from a PC can be a little scary, I know. I myself first did it a few years ago - I was performing a live electronic music event, and a "blue screen of death" on my laptop left me helpless and more than a little embarrassed. I decided to never let that happen again, and started looking into switching to a mac. But between the range of computer options and the "what's up with only one mouse button?"-factors, switching to a mac is a little confusing, especially having only ever used PCs. Don't be afraid, though - it really isn't as scary as it first seems, and trust me - once you make the switch, you'll never look back.

For the purposes of this article, I'm going to assume that you're an (at least fairly) experienced computer user - so I'm not going to be doing any hand-holding or telling you how to plug in your new mac. I'll only deal with the common fears and experiences of switching to a mac - principally, the Apple shopping experience and the principal differences between your new mac and the PC you're used to.

I know the one-mouse-button thing probably still has you freaked out, but trust me on this - the hardest part about switching to a mac is deciding which one to buy. This used to be much harder, though. Before Steve Jobs made his triumphant return to the company, there were all kinds of oddly-named ways to go Apple. But now, there's a simple system: One class of consumer-level desktops (the iMac), one class of consumer-level laptops (the MacBook), one class of professional desktops (the Mac Pro), and one class of professional laptops (the MacBook Pro). Pretty simple. Oh - and there's also the Mac Mini, kind of a budget system that honestly serves as more of a home media center than anything else. If you're just now switching to a mac, an iMac or a MacBook will do you just fine - the "Pro" classes are closer to workstations than home computers, and the iMacs and MacBooks can run a variety of even professional applications without even breaking a sweat.

Once you get your computer set up, the hard part of switching to a mac is over. Because here's a secret: Mac OSX isn't really all that different from Windows - just easier to use! A quick guide: The Dock is pretty much like the Start Bar. The window controls are in the upper-left corner this time - the first one closes a window, the second one minimizes it, and the third one sort-of maximizes it. Oh, and the whole one-mouse-button thing? Well, first of all, Apple now sells mice with two buttons (and more!) But if you do only have one button, just hold ctrl down while you click. Bang! The same functionality as your holy right-click! And, I swear, that's pretty much it! The differences between Windows and OSX shortcuts are all in one handy help document, and everything else is the same. See? I told you - switching to a mac isn't really all that hard.