It's a common misconception (right up there with the falsehood that
there is no right-click on a Mac) that the keyboard is different on a
Mac. I had similar misgivings when I switched a year ago. In Windows
I used keyboard commands almost exclusively and it was important to me
to retain that part of my workflow.
All the examples Robert gave do exactly the same thing on a Mac as
they do on a PC (shift-arrow selects text by characters, Shift-end
selects text by line, Alt-tab switches between open apps).
For other common keyboard shortcuts (e.g., cut, copy and paste), it's
a simple matter to press Command-X, C, or V instead of Control-X, C,
or V). Now using a Mac, I use my keyboard more than ever, because OS-
integrated search frees me from folder surfing to open files and
applications.
Neal
On Aug 18, 2008, at 10:24 AM, Robert Scheller wrote:
I have been considering switching from Mac to PC up until I
discovered a significant hardware compatibility issue: the
keyboard. Our office is mostly PC, including my primary computer.
I work at home 2 or 3 days a week and use remote desktop to connect
to the office computer. Although a Mac should have no problem
connecting, I would lose all of the keyboard shortcuts that I have
learned over the past 20 years: Shift-arrow, Shift-end, Alt-tab, and
all the other little things I do to use the mouse less and the
keyboard more. And constantly switching between the two keyboard
styles would be difficult and inefficient. So, if you will be
connecting to a PC frequently or for long stretches of time, take
the keyboard and keyboard shortcuts into consideration.
Cheers,
Rob
Scott D Lapoint wrote:
Hello all again,
About a week ago I posted a message asking for input on whether I
should move from a PC to a Mac. I was particularly concerned with
the higher costs of a Mac and if one can run Windows programs such
as ArcGIS and some statistics packages. I received ~200 e-mailed
responses from Ecolog alone, not to mention the dozens that I
received from my additional efforts.
So this is what I?ve decided: Buy a MacbookPro (if you want a
laptop), put at least 2GB of in it (more memory means that ArcGIS
will run more smoothly), and install Windows XP on the Mac.
Apparently, you can run Windows on a Mac by either booting directly
into Windows on your Mac via Bootcamp, or you can run it
simultaneously through Parallels or Fusion. That means, apparently,
that you can install and run any Windows-based programs on your Mac
(but only if you have an Intel processor on your Mac, which all the
new laptops seem to have).
Cost- It looks like a Mac is not that much more expensive than a
comparably equipped PC. Mac offers substantial discounts to
students and it is rumored that the prices of their Macbooks and
MacbookPros will be dropping this fall as Apple is releasing new
versions of both systems. Even though most people agree that Macs
are a bit more expensive than a PC, they all seem to agree that
they are well worth the extra money; less viruses, more stable OS,
less maintenance, etc.
But, if you?re scared of Vista and you?re not sure you want to
learn how to use a Mac (many responses mentioned the learning curve
when switching to a Mac), you can still buy new PCs with Windows XP
on them.
So that?s the summary. In case I did a poor job, I?ve pasted a few
tidbits of advice that some of the responders had below:
??to a PC as far as speed, stability, boot up time, lack of
viruses, and openness go. It is especially good if you are going
towards open source software such as Grass for GIS or R.?
?macs tend to last longer.?
?pages is better than word and keynote is better than powerpoint.?
?Excel is better than Mac?s equivalent, but you shouldn?t be using
Excel for stats when there are superior packages out there that
will run on Macs.?
??should also take a look at Linux -- keep the Dell just ditch
Vista.?
?I bought a new Dell and paid $99 for it to come with XP rather
than Vista. They call it Genuine Windows Vista Downgrade, XP Pro
Installed."
?I saw that about 1/4 to 1/3 of all laptops the ESA meeting last
week were Macs.?
??cost is actually quite similar, and macs have a higher resale
value.?
?I just don't really support apple as a serious counterpart - they
seem more bent on finding the next trend than supplying reliable
work solutions, especially for scientific endeavors.?
??get the extra memory, especially for GIS if you?ll have to
install XP too.?
Here are a bunch of links sent to me in responses for those of us
thinking about making the switch:
http://www.dell.com/content/products/category.aspx/desktops?c=us&cs=04&l=en&s=bsd
http://buyersguide.macrumors.com/
http://www.parallels.com/en/products/desktop/
http://www.opensourcemac.org/
http://www.freemacware.com/
http://macspecialist.org/content/articles/essential_apps/
http://grass.itc.it
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/apple-mac-leopard-windows-vista,1985.html
http://www.macworld.com/article/134373/2008/07/laptop_price.html?lsrc=mwweek
http://www.pcworld.ca/news/article/9853b173c0a800060058871f78388129/pg0.htm
http://features.csmonitor.com/innovation/2008/08/04/new-peeks-at-a-post-windows-future/
http://buyersguide.macrumors.com/
Thanks again to all that responded. I?m sure all of your responses
will help me and many others in our decisions.
Scott
Scott D. LaPoint
Graduate Student
SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry
243 Illick Hall
Syracuse, NY 13210
--
Robert M. Scheller, Ph.D.
Senior Ecologist
Conservation Biology Institute
136 SW Washington Ave., Suite 202
Corvallis, OR 97333
office: (541) 757-0687 (ext 3)
cell: (541) 207-6947
