One woman’s tale of switching from a PC to a Mac

A little under a month ago I decided to eat crow on a mantra that I proclaimed long ago and do something slightly drastic (and expensive): I ditched my PC and got a mac. See, I’ve had a PC since I was 15, so I was a tried and true user for roughly 15 years. This was a big deal and a major shift to get used to, and to make matters worse, it was right in the middle of high wedding season.

The day I went to go buy my mac (and I have to be honest, it was really on a whim) was the second time I had been in a Mac store. The first time was about two weeks prior with a group of friends. Had I visited a mac store before this date, it’s likely I would have made the conversion long ago. I realized an important difference in the mac vs. PC experience just as a customer browsing in the store: the focus was on me—the customer. I had the worst experience buying my PC from Dell three years ago. They got the order wrong, took 1 ½ months to build my computer, didn’t deliver it to the correct address—so this was an entirely new experience for me! Customer service + instant gratification? Hallelujah!

As I began to develop a repertoire with my sales person, Matt, we examined the iMac and discussed the benefits. I asked the smart questions: Will I be able to use excel? Will I be able to transfer all my emails from outlook? Would I miss my start button? Where’s the computer tower on this thing?

Matt answered my questions—and many more. I was sold. But as we began to purchase my new iMac and accompanying accessories, I realized another huge difference between the PC and mac—I could bring my computer down to my local apple store and get on site training on how to use it. Seriously? You mean I won’t have to talk to someone in Dispur, India for technical support???? I wouldn’t have to open up my computer with a screwdriver and try to fix it myself, as Dell has made me do countless times before? Holla!

My experience in the mac store ended with a quick zip of the credit card on Matt’s iPhone and then the offer to carry my 27” iMac to my car. As I exited I received a round of applause from everyone in the store for having made the switch. True story.

Why did I reach my breaking point? What made me switch? Well, a little guidance from some friends who are also in the industry—but in all honesty—I needed a computer system that could make me more efficient. My laptop had reached the end of its life and I knew I had to invest in a desktop sooner or later. I didn’t like running my business on a laptop anymore either. It didn’t feel reliable to me—not as reliable as a desktop. I probably first realized that when the battery overheated the computer so bad it forced itself to shut down—but also burnt my leg. Plus, the laptop afforded me too much flexibility and I found myself not really working on it. Yeah, I’d answer emails in front of Tuesday’s Dr. Phil episode on the chaise lounge, but I wasn’t really working.

I found myself wasting a lot of time trying to sync my PC with my iphone, never having necessary calendar information with me to add an appointment or check my schedule. They were working against each other and not with one another. My friend Rob Trenske gave me a brief lesson on a mac a few days before my purchase and described to me the benefits—operating system without errors, no viruses, intuitive design, efficiency in workflow, additional application accessories that would sync with my iphone (and now, my ipad)… the list went on. But Rob assured me that the computer would work smarter for me, in turn, making me work smarter. I trusted Rob because he is a really smart guy. And that’s what I needed. Plus, the iMac was shiny and pretty with pretty graphics. So yeah, I also wanted it because it would look prettier sitting on my desk. I’m not afraid to admit it!

So now I am roughly 75% comfortable with my new computer. It’s taken a lot of getting use to—I won’t lie. Mostly because everything is backwards on a mac, so it’s relearning everything down to exiting out of a program (.. or application ?). Do I love it? Yes. Do I recommend you make the switch? Yes—but when you are ready of course. And not in between 3 huge events and a workshop!

Some of the things I love about my new mac:

• MobileMe. This allows me to sync all of my apple hardware—iMac, iPhone, iPad, etc with MobileMe. And boy, do I LOVE MobileMe! The calendar and contact sync is incredible. For those of you who don’t know—whenever you update anything in your calendar, be it your iCal on your computer or on your iphone or iPad, it instantly updates all your other calendars to reflect the change. No more entering it into your computer and then syncing your iphone with the computer—or worse, entering it into your phone by hand. Not only that, but it automatically syncs my contacts. So when I am on the go, I always have people’s information. And for us wedding planners that is REALLY important! I can also share big files with MobileMe, which has really freed up a lot of time. Instead of uploading it to yousendit or an equivalent service, I just drag and drop it from the location on my iMac to the iDisk icon on my desktop. DONE.
• The Dock at the bottom of my screen. I thought I’d miss my start button. Truth is, I don’t. I can easily pull up an application that I want to use on my dock and keep going. No more Start >> Programs >> Adobe >> Photoshop. You don’t realize how much time you waste doing the simplest of tasks until you are shown an easier way to do things!
• Applications. I love that I can download one of my favorite iphone applications, evernote, right onto my iMac as a fully functioning program. Same goes for a variety of other programs that I use!
• Drag ‘n Drop. If I like a picture on a website. I just drag and drop it onto my desktop. It’s saved.
• Multiple Calendar Feature. My iCal allows me to have multiple color-coded calendars for myself, the Jubilee Events team, and whatever else I like. I am especially enjoying my “personal calendar” where I get to input things for myself to do outside of work!
• Preview. Simply put, I can preview a file or a bunch of files before opening them. So much nicer when going through pictures!
• Microsoft Office. I am able to run excel, word, and power point on my iMac, which helps me to keep file compatibility with PC users. Even still, I do have the mac equivalent programs pages, numbers and keynote which all open and save files in word, excel and power point extensions.

If you are a PC user in the market for a new system I really recommend doing some research on apple’s products. It isn’t going to be for everyone, but I can guarantee most of you will really appreciate the difference between the PC vs. mac. The price isn’t all that different and in some cases, it’s cheaper (my laptop cost $1500 MORE than my iMac three years ago!!). Don’t be fooled (as I once was) that Mac’s are ONLY for creative photography people who do high quality graphic design and art renderings. You can run a small business on a mac, no matter what industry you are in. The only downside is some industry specific software may not run properly on a mac—so do your research first to make sure that any imperative programs you use daily are compatible.

Next up… why you need an iPad!

xoxo

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