PC to MAC apple: questions?

So within the next week or so I am going to switch back to mac after a 12 year hiatus. I do have some questions that I need help with.

1. Any idea how to make my 30,000 ttf fonts work on a mac? Can they be converted?

2. is mac office my only solution for working with word and excel files?

3. What are my email options? and can I import all my important past email from outlook?

4. I love my right click button, being able to have a menu without keyboard. How does this work on the mac.

5. Are there issues with printers?

6. technical question: I use a folder to drag and drop into my server…will I now have to go through ftp only?

7. Adobe is going to swap my CS3 for a mac version…anybody having any issues with CS3 in mac?

8. Anything else I need to be aware of?

I wanted a desktop and laptop but I think that I need a bag of money first. So it looks like Im gonna go with a macbookpro and then maybe jump on the 24″ imac. before Imac I think I’m gonna get a wacom cintiq for my illustration.

Anyway…help me out guys…


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44 responses to “PC to MAC apple: questions?”

  1. lori Avatar

    Uhhh…sorry…clueless!!!

  2. Wayne Jones Avatar
    Wayne Jones

    Hi! It won’t be that big of a deal to switch. You can use either the iWork suite from Apple or the free NeoOffice suite to work with Office files. You can use a 3 button mouse with Macs and the contextual menus work the same way. Keyboard command is ctrl-click. There are ways to import the email, but I’m not sure of them. Drag and drop into server should work. Fonts, I don’t know. You might check myfirstmac.com. God Bless, Wayne

  3. mjruggiero Avatar
    mjruggiero

    NO DON’T DO IT!

    Just kidding.

    Good luck…you may need it.

  4. Yacko Avatar
    Yacko

    Truetype fonts work as is. Yes there are other Office-like solutions but for ultimate compatibility with Windows Office, particularly powerpoint files, MS Office is the best choice. Apple mice have two button ability, you could use a Windows mouse or the trackpad on the MacBook has multi finger gestures to accomplish the same thing. The keyboard/mouse thing is not such a bad deal for gamers or photoshop users as they are used to using on hand on the keyboard for shortcuts and the other on the mouse/stylus for movement or drawing. CS3 does seem to have issues with the current update 10.5.3. Network sharing is atraightforward and easy. Just make the move. If you want to read about a recent switcher try Dave Alison’s blog http://www.davidalison.com/ for many articles about his switch

  5. heathbo1@gmail.com Avatar
    heathbo1@gmail.com

    1. Mac OS X has supported TTF since the beginning.
    2. If you want good compatibility, then I would suggest mac office.
    3. If you buy mac office you will also get Entourage. This is basically macs version of Outlook. Everything will import fine.
    4. Mac OS X has support right click mice since the beginning. I am currently using a Microsoft mouse with full right click support. No drivers needed.
    5. Printers? No issues I’ve found. If its a USB printer, you should be fine.
    6. The answer to this is really based on preference. You should be able to access any server through the OS. If you prefer FTP, then a good open source FTP client is cyberduck.
    7. None, I’ve been using CS3 for some time and I love it.
    8. There are some adjustments (no C drive, etc.) you will have to make. I think its worth it though. A good book to help you out is “Teach Yourself Visually Leopard” can be found at Amazon here http://www.amazon.com/Teach-Yourself-VISUALLY-Leopard-Tech/dp/0470101679

    Good Luck

  6. Dave Avatar
    Dave

    If you live near an Apple Store, you can consult with a Genius at the Genius Bar.
    You can make an appointment on the internet. I’ve found them to be incredibly knowledgeable and friendly, and the service is free.

  7. steve Avatar

    q1 dunno
    q2 iwork suite reads and writes word and excel docs.so does open office
    q3 there’s afew applescripts and freeware apps to convert email messages between formats.apple mail’s a pretty good app, go with thunderbird if you want more.
    q4 apple mice have two buttons and a scroll wheel thing (but it’s a solid upper shell so it only looks like there’s one button)
    q5 it’s a computer isn’t it! most work, i haven’t had problems, and there’s lots of open source drivers available too
    q6 transmit lets you create an icon to drop stuff onto, there’s probably a free answer too.
    q7 no problems here, apparently there’s probs saving files to remote servers, adobe says not to do it anyway, save local then transfer
    q8 pretty much any problem i’ve ever had i solved myself with google, macupdate.com, and macosxhints.com, and i’m an artist, not a techie 😉

  8. Carlos Avatar
    Carlos

    TrueType Fonts should be fine. Most other fonts should work.

    Welcome back. Don’t forget, you can still run Windows if necessary.

  9. Scott Rose Avatar

    Congrats on making the switch!

    Although wow, you’re asking a lot of fear-based questions. You really have nothing to worry about… the Mac is MORE advanced than Windows. Your post makes it seem like you’re afraid that the Mac is some inferior computing platform with no options. The Mac is the SUPERIOR COMPUTER PLATFORM with MUCH MORE FLEXIBILITY and MANY MORE OPTIONS than Windows. It is easier-to-use than Windows, it is more intuitive, it has almost zero problems, it has ZERO viruses, it has NO crashes, etc. It is the only computer that lets you run every operating system on the planet.

    It is WINDOWS that is the “also-ran” platform. It is WINDOWS that is horrible & tortured & makes users jump through hoops to get things accomplished. It is WINDOWS that has been crippling users and making users fearful for all these years. It is Windows that has been DISEMPOWERING users, while the Mac has been EMPOWERING users for years.

    Because your questions are EXTREMELY BEGINNER-LEVEL MAC 101 questions, you would be doing yourself a huge favor by investing in an outstanding book like “Mac OS X: The Missing Manual” at
    http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/059652952X/sw0b-20
    or “Switching to the Mac: The Missing Manual” at
    http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0596006608/sw0b-20

    Also, you would benefit by investing in the $100 One-To-One program at your local Apple Store: http://www.apple.com/retail/onetoone/

    1. Your TTF fonts will work perfectly without conversion. Macs support MORE font types than Windows right out of the box. No conversion necessary.

    2. There’s MANY programs that will let you read & write Word & Excel & Powerpoint files, not to mention Apple’s very own Pages & Numbers & Keynote (part of the iWork ’08 suite). Once you use Pages & Numbers, you won’t want to ever go back. There’s also other office suites, such as OpenOffice and NeOffice. And there’s others as well. Even Apple’s FREE word processor called TextEdit (that comes with all Macs) reads & writes the newest .docx format. And .doc format. And .rtf format. And so on. For ULTIMATE near-perfect compatibility with Office for Windows, you may need to invest in Office for Mac. If you need VBA/macro support in Office, you will be required to purchase Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac (Office 2008 doesn’t support this). Also remember, you can install Windows on your Mac (via Parallels or BootCamp or Fusion), so you can always simply install Office for Windows on your Mac if you ever need it in the future.

    3. You can use the program called Outlook2Mac to convert your email to ANY Mac email program that you want to use. There’s about a dozen different Mac email programs — too many to list here. Start by using Apple’s included Mail and Address Book and see if you like them. If not, you can use Microsoft Entourage (part of Microsoft Office for Mac) or one of many other email programs. Check out versiontracker.com or macupdate.com for extensive lists of Mac software. Also, if you buy your Mac at an Apple store, they will transfer all your files over for you… not sure if that includes email or not, but I think it does.

    4. Just plug in a mouse and right-click with it. It’s as simple as that. Or, you can always hold down the control button while clicking to simulate a right-click. If you’re using Apple’s trackpad on their laptops, you can enable a checkbox in your mouse system preference that lets you hold down 2 fingers when clicking to simulate a right-click. That’s our favorite way of right-clicking. Also, Mac trackpads offer multidirectional scrolling when you place 2 fingers on your trackpad as well.

    5. No. You’ve really been beaten into submission by Windows, huh? don’t worry, lots of people have. You usually don’t even need to install drivers for printers, b/c most printer drivers come built in with the operating system. Apple also uses an outstanding networking technology called Bonjour… this is a ZERO CONFIGURATION TECHNOLOGY that lets you immediately connect to printers without any configuration on your end at all.

    6. This is a ridiculous question. I’m not even going to answer this one.

    7. Not us.

    8. It’s about time you’ve made the switch. Embrace this switch with vigor, and do not be fearful!

  10. Paul Greatbatch Avatar

    I would add to what Heathbo1 said that Apple has been doing a great job with online video tutorials:

    http://www.apple.com/mac/

  11. Ed Avatar
    Ed

    Here are my simple, short answers. Didn’t want to take all day to type in the details 🙂

    1. Any idea how to make my 30,000 ttf fonts work on a mac? Can they be converted?
    -All TTF fonts should open in Mac without any conversion. If conversion is needed then there are free/commercial softwares available. As last resort, there should be equivalent Mac fonts of most of PC fonts.WARNING: on any system, less font is better. Don’t install all 30,000 fonts even if you can! Too many fonts will lead to problems.

    2. is mac office my only solution for working with word and excel files?
    -No. Open Office (still in Beta) and NeoOffice are all available. Also, Apple iWork will be a very good alternative to MS Office. Apple iWork offers much more creativity and and better than 95% compatibility with MS Office.

    3. What are my email options? and can I import all my important past email from outlook?
    – Easiest way to migrate Outlook is like this: Install Thunderbird on your PC where your Outlook data is. Then import all emails to Thunderbird. Migrate your PC emails to Mac, then import (now thunderbird emails) to Apple Mail.

    4. I love my right click button, being able to have a menu without keyboard. How does this work on the mac.
    – Apple Mighty Mouse has 2 buttons + scroll will. If you have only 1 button on your mouse Control+Click will act as the second mouse button. Or, any PC compatible USB mouse will work (drivers not needed) on the Mac.

    5. Are there issues with printers?
    – There might be problems with PC only printers if the printer is more than, say, about 5 years old. Most printers will work on the Mac. All laser printers usually work on the Mac without the need for drivers. However, inkjet printers usuallY require specific drivers to work. There is also COPS (unix solution) that is built in to OSX (but turned off by default), which will let you to print even old PC only printers.

    6. technical question: I use a folder to drag and drop into my server…will I now have to go through ftp only?
    – Drag and Drop truly works on the Mac. Not only between computers or servers, but between applications. You won’t have any problems

    7. Adobe is going to swap my CS3 for a mac version…anybody having any issues with CS3 in mac?
    – No problems. CS3 on Mac works beautifully.

    8. Anything else I need to be aware of?
    – Enjoy the freedom!!!! Finally you will have a computer that works for you.

  12. max Avatar

    1. I think they will work fine. Ask the Apple Genius at the Apple store.

    2. No you can use the Mac Office suite or Open Office. There is a whole list Mac apps that you can use. do a google search.

    3. Apple Mail is real good. Use $10 Shareware program. I forgot the name of it. Works great. Ask the Apple Genius for the name.

    4. Check the Mouse setup in Mac System Preferences. Easy to do.

    5. Are there issues with printers? Only real old printers may have issues. Just go to he printer website and download any drivers you need.

    6. This same setup can be done on a Mac.

    8. You can get Pro help at the apple store near you, also they can refer you to a ACN (apple consultant they certify) for onsite work. These guys are good at fixing these kind of issues.

  13. William Cole Avatar
    William Cole

    1 ttf fonts are supported – Font Book is a utilty included that will help with organization and installation.
    2 As stated above – iWork is doc docx and xcel compatible. As is Open Office.
    3 There are several email client apps that work with Mac and can import Outlook databases. The application “Mail” is included. Your local Apple store can handle imports for you – Ask about ProCare or One to One.
    4 Right click functionality has ALWAYS been available on a Mac – with the single button mouse you did need a key combo. New Apple mice have four assignable function hotspots.
    5 any USB printer is 99.9% plug and play.
    6. Server should show up under Devices in the ‘Finder’ window – drag and drop.
    7 Adobe does ‘cross platform’ upgrades – you pay the upgrade pricing for the full version.
    8 If you are within the range of an Apple Store. Make an appointment for a “personal shop”. Ask any and all questions there. Apple stores are more customer resource centers than retail stores.

  14. L. Hernandez Avatar
    L. Hernandez

    I highly recommend David Pogue’s book Switching to the Mac: The Missing Manual. Make sure to get the latest version (Leopard)

    Plug in any 2-button USB mouse, and right-click/contextual menu is instantly available.

    I feel that Mac Office is the best solution for working with Word and Excel files, but Google Docs or Open Office can work, and there are other workarounds

    Some printers do not have OSX drivers. Just double-check before you buy. Multifunction printers tend to leave out OSX scanning, but many print in OSX. From a user perspective, OSX thinks differently from Windows, so just be prepared to scratch your head if a print job seems to vanish — your Windows knowledge gets in the way (like knowing English doesn’t always help learning Chinese)

    Drag and drop depends on your server, but your Mac will likely be able to handle that. A basic FTP is built right into OSX, but should you start doing steady FTP, I like Transmit

  15. DLC Avatar
    DLC

    What took you so long? 😉
    OS X has been superior to Windows XP for at least 5 years now.

    Arrrg !! Welcome aboard, mate ! Better late than never.

    Best of Luck,
    David C

  16. klampert Avatar

    ha…thanks for all your help guys. I really appreciate it. When I first was on mac it was not very cool at all. And now Im switching because I know it’s better. I just want to make sure the trasition is smooth. not cus of fear but I don’t want to have any time lapse issues with the transfer..I need to be up and running asap when I switch.
    Im pretty stoked about coming back to mac and can’t wait.
    the closest apple store is about 50min away, but might be worth it
    I am most likely gonna buy from refurb dept. cus the pricing is fantastic.

  17. portorikan Avatar

    I don’t think Mac Office is your only way for working with Word and excel files. I believe Open Office or Neo Office is available and works. I think iWork can read excel and word files also.

    If you are using a desktop apple, and it came with a mighty mouse, right clicking is included. Just right click.

    If you’re on a laptop, Control-click performs the same function (and feels very nice as well).

    I find Apple Mail works quite nicely. There’s also Entourage by Microsoft. Eudora and others. You should be able to import emails, but I’m not sure how to do that. Same thing with contacts; just export your contacts into a file that you can import on the email client you intend to use.

    No issues with printers I’m aware of, but I don’t do a whole lot of printing.

    I’m not sure what you mean by the folder to drag and drop… Maybe you can explain a little more.

    I don’t know a whole lot about fonts, so I can’t help much there. I googled and found something called FontHopper 1.0 that might work, or Font Monger.

    Let us know how the transition is coming along.

  18. portorikan Avatar

    I was sitting on the page for a bit. Looks like most people have helped out already. 🙂

  19. klampert Avatar

    thanks buddy…yeah everything seems good to go…now to debate getting an imac too or just using my 24″dell as external monitor for the laptop.

  20. tam Avatar

    1. Any idea how to make my 30,000 ttf fonts work on a mac? Can they be converted?

    nope

    2. is mac office my only solution for working with word and excel files?

    don’t know

    3. What are my email options? and can I import all my important past email from outlook?

    i think you can

    4. I love my right click button, being able to have a menu without keyboard. How does this work on the mac.

    hmmm

    5. Are there issues with printers?

    only broken ones

    6. technical question: I use a folder to drag and drop into my server…will I now have to go through ftp only?

    would that be too much for you to do?

    7. Adobe is going to swap my CS3 for a mac version…anybody having any issues with CS3 in mac?

    eh?

    8. Anything else I need to be aware of?

    you’ll kick yourself for not switching to mac sooner!

  21. klampert Avatar

    ha ha ha….nah…i loved my pc tam…I have a killer glowing blue desktop…

    but I am ready for the move. lol

  22. inWorship Avatar

    Getting closer!

    Sounds like your questions have been answered. Besides some new working routines (very minimal) your gonna love it!

  23. veggiedude Avatar
    veggiedude

    Well everyone said what I wanted to say. Let me second the use of Neo Office. It is very nice and free. For a quicky job in Word, use Apple’s TextEdit – it can open Word docs and save in Word format. No bells and whistles.

    No one brought up Leopards ability to view Office docs with no need for software. For example, click once on a Powerpoint presentation to hilite it. Now press the space bar. The Finder will immediately show the contents of the file. That is sooo cool.

  24. My iPC Avatar

    I’m sure he wont be kicking himself for not switching to a Mac sooner, I imagine he’ll wish he had waited longer!

    Who uses 30,000 fonts anyway?

  25. klampert Avatar

    @veggie dude: very cool info there…thanks

    @iPC…thanks. lol

    I use that many fonts actually…I am a designer so I am always looking at new fonts…it’s what I do.
    I also do music though and Mac has become the prefered platform for recording as well.

  26. David M. Converse Avatar

    A large number of fonts can be easily managed with Suitcase or the free and awesome FontExplorerX from Linotype. Apple’s Font Book is also free and bundled with the OS but isn’t really designed to handle 30k fonts.

    Get Mac Office, iWork, or NeoOffice/Open Office.

    Outlook2Mac and then use Apple Mail, Entourage, Thunderbird, Mailsmith, Eudora, etc.

    Plug in a multiple-button USB mouse or use the bundled Mighty Mouse. Contextual menus are supported well under OS X. There are also numerous CMM add-ons available.

    Printing works great and is well-supported under OS X.

    File sharing from a server is also well-supported. OS X can use AFP, SMB/CIFS, Netware, and NFS servers. There is also a version of FUSE which supports many more filesystems.

    CS3 is supported on 10.4 and 10.5. There are always issues with software this complex but no real showstoppers currently.

    The biggest thing to remember is your new Mac is NOT a Windows box. Don’t expect it to work the same or have the same conventions. You might want to pick up one of Pogue’s books on OS X (Missing Manual) as a reference.

    Apple Stores have paid training available with the One to One program. $99 a year for 52 hours of training, great deal 🙂

  27. Lantz Avatar
    Lantz

    1. Any idea how to make my 30,000 ttf fonts work on a mac? Can they be converted?

    Macs handle TTF. Download the free Linotype FontExplorer X to manage all your fonts.

    2. is mac office my only solution for working with word and excel files?

    I’ve been using Apple Pages at home and Mac Office from Microsoft at work. There’s also NeoOffice and OpenOffice will have a native version soon.

    3. What are my email options? and can I import all my important past email from outlook?

    At work I use Entourage to do pretty much what Outlook does with Exchange Server. At home I use Apple’s Mail program.

    4. I love my right click button, being able to have a menu without keyboard. How does this work on the mac.

    I’ve used MS Intellimouse Explorer on all my Macs for years.

    5. Are there issues with printers?

    Most printers have OS X equivalents. Check the printer maufacturer for Mac drivers.

    6. technical question: I use a folder to drag and drop into my server…will I now have to go through ftp only?

    OS X plays pretty well with Windows servers. Leopard uses SMB.

    7. Adobe is going to swap my CS3 for a mac version…anybody having any issues with CS3 in mac?

    I’ve been using CS3 on my Macs for months without any problems.

    8. Anything else I need to be aware of?

    Yes, your headaches with using Windows will be going away. This comes from a person who works on both systems since 1986.

  28. mathue Avatar
    mathue

    1. Any idea how to make my 30,000 ttf fonts work on a mac? Can they be converted?

    The TrueType fonts should work just fine unless they are some peculiar iteration.

    2. is mac office my only solution for working with word and excel files?

    No, there are variations on OpenOffice, using either X11 or native. NeoOffice, Bean, Apple’s own Pages, Number and Keynote, and probably more that I can’t recall right now. Only issue is VisualBasic which won’t be re-included until the next version of Office for Mac

    3. What are my email options? and can I import all my important past email from outlook?

    Can’t help you much there, I’ve never used Outlook.

    4. I love my right click button, being able to have a menu without keyboard. How does this work on the mac.

    The same. You may find that mouse makers may not have their own special software for extra buttons, but there are applications like Steermouse to get around that.

    5. Are there issues with printers?

    Not that I’ve found, in fact I find I have fewer issues getting things printed than with my XP machine, _especially_ when traveling.

    6. technical question: I use a folder to drag and drop into my server…will I now have to go through ftp only?

    I don’t think so, but it depends on how you have your remote machine set up. I flawlessly exchange files with my XP machines.

    7. Adobe is going to swap my CS3 for a mac version…anybody having any issues with CS3 in mac?

    Don’t have CS3, though I seem to recall hearing of issues with the most current update 10.5.3

    8. Anything else I need to be aware of?

    Don’t treat your Mac like just a slightly different Windows machine, don’t force the Windows paradigm on it, you’ll get frustrated if you do. There are behavyours that will seem odd, don’t rail against them. Usually (but not always) there is a reason Apple does things as they do.

    Be wary of the fringes of Mac users. For years they had to deal with snubs, put-downs and disinterest and the every few months “Why Apple won’t survive the year” technology article. This gives some a distinct persecution complex. This small group is downright rabid and extremely vocal. Regard them as you would any extremist.

  29. Lefty Avatar
    Lefty

    “8. Anything else I need to be aware of?”

    Yes, anticipate a intensely reflexive, near-convulsive, aversion to something or some things about the Mac during The Switch. This will be your ‘inner Windows child’ squealing about being put to death. Your Outer Adult will exhale at some point something like ‘Windows doesn’t do it this way’, while your inner Windows child will be screaming ‘Mac does it the WRONG way! Hate Mac! Hate Mac!’. Accept don’t fight these angry moments. They will pass.

    And all of those past multiple psychological victory moments of ‘Hooray, I figured out how to do xxxx in Windows!’ will be shattered and supplanted with ‘Damn, I would never have had to deal with such pseudo-techno-conquests had I switched earlier or just stayed with Mac’ realizations. Accept don’t fight these angry moments. They will pass.

    There will actually be a deeper, unconscious anger at having had to use the atrocity known as Windows for the past 20 or so years. Windows, a cheezy ripoff of the Mac, vastly more expensive TCO-wise, and one of the worst technologies inflicted upon mankind, will leave scars. Accept this heinous affliction. You will iHeal.

  30. suzanne Avatar
    suzanne

    i have the answer to all these quiestions but i won’t give any information until you put me on your blog reader AND start leaving some comments……..

  31. Chris Moncus Avatar

    1. Any idea how to make my 30,000 ttf fonts work on a mac? Can they be converted?

    TTF fully supported. I use Suitcase Fusion for font management. Excellent app.

    2. is mac office my only solution for working with word and excel files?

    I use Office 2008 for Mac and like it a lot better than the windows version. There is also iWork 08 made by Apple. Not seamless but it has it’s advantage for certain projects.

    3. What are my email options? and can I import all my important past email from outlook?

    I prefer Mail to Entourage. Entourage seemed like a slow beast when using it. You can convert to Mail using guides at http://guides.macrumors.com/Moving_Email_from_PC_Outlook_to_Apple_Mail.

    4. I love my right click button, being able to have a menu without keyboard. How does this work on the mac.

    All desktops come with a two-button mouse. Laptops use a slightly different method of putting two fingers on the trackpad and then clicking. Sort of odd at first, but i really like it.

    5. Are there issues with printers?

    Not with any Epson or HP in the last few years. Canon I also believe fully supports Mac.

    6. technical question: I use a folder to drag and drop into my server…will I now have to go through ftp only?

    You are already going through FTP, just through an Explorer window. Command+K gets you a window to do the same thing on a Mac.

    7. Adobe is going to swap my CS3 for a mac version…anybody having any issues with CS3 in mac?

    None.

    8. Anything else I need to be aware of?

    Nothing to be aware of. Just read the many “switching” articles online and ask a bunch of questions. Through iChat you can screen share so don’t hesitate to ask for help from me.

  32. David H Dennis Avatar

    You’ve gotten some great answers so far, but I think a few elaborations on some of the points might still be helpful.

    I really like Pages and Numbers a lot, but I don’t know how good the Word compatibility actually is. Since there’s a free trial of the suite included with all new Macs, I suggest you try it and see.

    I enormously prefer Pages/Numbers/Keynote to Word/Excel/Powerpoint – a lot of really cool rethinking was done to make the program behave better and work more smoothly.

    If you are buying a desktop computer, it will come with a Mighty Mouse. The Mighty Mouse looks like it has a single button but it actually has two – left is the left half and right is the right half. However, it is not activated until you go to System Preferences / Keyboard and Mouse / Mouse and turn on the right mouse button.

    If you’re buying a notebook, a double click can be made by tapping the trackpad with both your fingers. You could also plug in any other USB mouse.

    In any event, I encourage you to defer your purchase by about a week. WWDC and Steve Jobs’ keynote on June 9th are likely to introduce at least some new models.

    Hope that helps.

    D

  33. David Burke Avatar

    If you would like ongoing assistance and fellowship as a user of Macs in ministry, I would like to invite you to join the Christian Macintosh Users Group. We are a worldwide MUG with hundreds of members using Macs in all different kinds of capacities in their churches and ministries. As we are an online-only group, I suggest you subscribe to the Mac-Ministry mailing list. I’m sure you will find it both useful and edifying. As a group, we are, above all, a family in Christ.

  34. kim Avatar

    Warning: this comment comes with approx. zero technical knowledge. Don’t know if this will be something you’ll run into, but I have had trouble printing from my Mac to network printers at our church (a PC network). Because of $$, one machine was not outfitted with the optional ‘card’ (or whatever… notatechy, remember?) that would allow a Mac to speak to it. The other printers… apparently no one can figure out why they won’t play well with the Mac. Suspect this is not the Mac’s fault.

    Enjoy your new world.

  35. brandy Avatar

    HOLY.CRAP.

    I so don’t have a single clue what ANYONE said up there. My head hurts. Okay, I did understand ONE person. I love Tammy. Just thought I’d mention that. 😉

    The most important question though….does Mac read emoticons??? HAHA!!! heehee

  36. JS Avatar
    JS

    The Mac can handle both Windows & Apple truetype fonts.
    Truetype afer all was an Apple technology MS licensed it from Apple.

  37. Scott Rose Avatar

    By the way, you should check out this company that makes Mac presentation software for churches. Apparently their stuff is very popular amongst churches:

    http://www.renewedvision.com/

  38. Ric Dalziel-Sharpe Avatar

    I should mention that if you can take your pc with you when you purchase your new mac at an Apple Store they will migrate all of your data over to your new system for no charge.
    Nearly all of your fears are unfounded.
    As mentioned by others the only one that I have any doubts about is the wisdom of loading 30k fonts onto ANY home computer. Therefore I would strongly advise the purchase of a Font Managemant application prior to installing them. And then activating only on a when needed basis. This is a simple process on a Mac. I have no idea of whether this is even possible on a PC.
    Remember when you sit down to use your Mac that the principles governing its design are called the Human Interface Guidelines. These are written with the aim of making the use of your mac as pleasant and intuitive an experience as possible.
    Macs are designed up to a standard not down to a price.

  39. Dizzle Avatar

    Welcome to the cult!

    I have a page with a bunch of links for switchers that might be helpful for you that I found helpful when I made the switch a year ago.

  40. Gerald Avatar
    Gerald

    The best pieces of advice in the above comments are:

    1. Get David Pogue’s “Swithcing to the Mac: The Missing Manual (Leopard Edition)”.

    2. Check out Version Tracker (versiontracker.com)

    3. Get a 3rd Party Font Handler. Font Book (Built-in) is OK, but not for 30K fonts.

    4. Accept that there WILL be frustrating moments.

    5. Take your PC into the Apple Store and let THEM switch you (for free).

    …and I can add to this:

    1. You’ve ALREADY done the best thing you can do… ask the community. Ask ask ask ask. Post the most popular answers and call for a vote. Post a list of your favorite Windows apps & ask for opinions on Mac versions. Post your discoveries and frustrations.

    2. Whenever you can’t figure something out; stop, breathe, and say to yourself: It can’t be better if it isn’t different. Different is good.

    3. Macs have FEWER problems, NOT zero problems. Nothing is perfect.

    4. Avoid Norton Anti-Virus like the plague. Avoid anything calling itself a “haxie”. Avoid telling your old PC buddies how happy you are with your new Mac.

    5. Play with System Preferences. Most “power user” stuff is turned off by default.

  41. Joe Louthan Avatar

    1. Any idea how to make my 30,000 ttf fonts work on a mac? Can they be converted?

    Mac will do TTF no problems. I assume you are using a font client like Suitcase to manage those fonts? From this point on, start buying OpenType if available. If not, TrueType.

    2. is mac office my only solution for working with word and excel files?

    Oh goodness no. iWork is wonderful. Don’t get Office for Entourage. Any mail client is better than Entourage. Mail/iCal works.

    3. What are my email options? and can I import all my important past email from outlook?

    Do you have a Exchange or IMAP account? If so, then your mail is all on the server save for your archives.

    4. I love my right click button, being able to have a menu without keyboard. How does this work on the mac.

    Mighty Mouse is wonderful. It right clicks wonderful. I don’t understand how it doesn’t work well for other people.

    5. Are there issues with printers?

    Uh nope.

    6. technical question: I use a folder to drag and drop into my server…will I now have to go through ftp only?

    Macs talk to servers. smb, afp, cifs, nfs… whatever is your flavour, you can connect to it. If your SysAdmins are running Windows-based file servers, then they need activate Mac Services for Windows File Sharing.

    7. Adobe is going to swap my CS3 for a mac version…anybody having any issues with CS3 in mac?

    So long as…

    CS3… Leopard… Intel

    or

    CS2… Tiger… PPC

    8. Anything else I need to be aware of?
    Get ready to love your computer. Windows versus Mac OS X, there is no comparison. I have 15 years experience with both (plus Linux) and when it comes to workstation, Mac is king.

    Oh yea, get a decent external hard drive for Time Machine. Backups are your friend.

  42. Joe Louthan Avatar

    OH man… pleeeeeeaaaaaaaaaassssee don’t install Norton AV. If you must insist (really affects if you are running Office) is using Clam AV.

    Also, if you use Font Management Software, do not open Font Doctor while running FMS. Trust me on this one.

  43. […] Let’s welcome CEC Worship back to the fold: So within the next week or so I am going to switch back to mac after a 12 year hiatus. I do have some questions that I need help with. […]

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