Today it is difficult to find a person who has not heard about Apple and the products it makes. They probably don't even exist anymore. The popularity of the company's products is growing by leaps and bounds. iPhone smartphones and iPad tablets have conquered most of the global gadget market, and MacBook Pro and laptops MacBook Air, like the all-in-one iMac, are rapidly gaining popularity. Unfortunately, not everyone can afford such an expensive “toy,” especially in our country. Apple is also famous for its operating system. Mac system OS X, which is fundamentally different from Windows OS. I hasten to please you - almost every owner of a more or less powerful PC with a dual-core Intel processor can install this operating system and try it out on their personal computer. Others will have to enjoy their existing Windows or run Mac OS X from a virtual machine.

The first thing that sets Apple devices apart from ordinary personal computers is their design. It is very simple, but always looks very solid, for which we can thank Apple's chief designer, the Englishman Jonathan Ive. Of course, the system interface design is also impressive and in many ways superior to Windows or Linux. At Apple, everything is always thought out to the smallest detail, so understanding the OS will not be difficult. Yes, the management process is really simplified to a minimum, because to install an application you just need to drag the icon into the “Programs” folder, and to delete it, drag it to the “Trash”. Created by Apple to simplify the transition from Windows to Mac OS X, the Migration Assistant utility makes transferring audio and video files, as well as other documents, as easy as possible.

The desktop is somewhat reminiscent of Windows, although there are many serious features. Programs are not launched through the Start menu or through desktop icons. Programs are launched through the Finder interface, and the most frequently used ones are pinned to the bottom menu, also called the "Dock". Finder is an analogue of Windows Explorer, and Apple's top menu, although with great stretch, can be called an analogue of the Start menu in Windows. System settings are located in the "System Settings" menu and are not much different from Windows settings.

Concerning software, then almost everything necessary programs already built into Mac OS X, including a program for working with office applications. This program is called iWork and it can work with Microsoft Word documents, as well as tables (Excel) and presentations (PowerPoint). If iWork does not suit you for some reason, then a version of Microsoft Word for Mac OS X also exists, but is provided for a fee. Most apps are downloaded from Mac App Store and Steam. By the way, Mac OS X is perfect for game lovers, because there are a great many games for it (compared to Linux, of course).

To surf the Internet, your faithful companion will be the Safari browser, which is also provided by default along with the OS. All major browsers and email clients are also available for free download, including: , Thunderbird and others. I would also like to note the presence of an instant messaging client. The client is called iChat and supports almost all major messaging protocols, so you can always stay in touch with friends and family.

Apple computers are ideal for creative people. Cupertino computers are used by artists, musicians and film directors. Apple has made sure to provide these people with good software that will help them in their professions. Artists and photographers will love iPhoto, which comes bundled with the operating system itself. iPhoto can be used to store, sort, and process photos and graphics. iPhoto can be called a very simple and flexible tool for storing your entire photo collection. The program is capable of analyzing images and identifying faces in them. There is also an instant search for photos using several parameters. Graphic effects are also provided, although for photo editing it is better to use Adobe Photoshop or. If you are a musician, then GarageBand and Logic Studio were specially developed for you, and fans of video shooting or film editing will like the utilities iMovie and Final Cut X. And these were only the applications produced by Apple itself, but in fact there are many more of them.

To everything else, we can add that the current current version of the operating system is Mac OS X 10.7 Lion. Of course, there are no comrades according to taste, so it is difficult to give an objective assessment of this system. Try it yourself and draw the appropriate conclusions. In general, I highly do not recommend installing it on regular computers, because the brakes cannot be avoided, as well as other problems that will have to be dealt with for a long time and painfully. Mac OS X will run perfectly on its "native" computers. You can purchase the operating system from the Mac App Store for a phenomenally low price - only $29.99 (approximately 877 Russian rubles). Whatever one may say, much cheaper than Windows.

A short story about the purchase.

Quite a long time ago I thought about replacing my HP Pavilion dv6 6130sr with lightweight laptop with a diagonal of 15 inches for typing lectures at the university and using it as a main computer. HP is quite a heavy laptop for daily lugging to university (the situation is aggravated by a huge charger weighing almost a kilogram), it also barely survives to the end of the third pair, and the constantly coming out ultrabooks, albeit with 13-inch screens, constantly fueled interest in replacing it.

In addition, I had an unsuccessful attempt to replace the laptop with a transformable tablet Asus TF700 with a docking station, but, unfortunately, Asus made a very inconvenient keyboard (squeezed to the right, short key travel), and installed a slow chip internal memory Because of this, the tablet constantly slowed down and the rather modest battery, and Android offices are very poor in functionality, so its only advantage over a laptop was its size and weight. After using this tablet, I believe that Asus only knows how to make routers (the RT-N56U works great).

Brief characteristics of HP Pavilion dv6 6130sr: 15.6", AMD QuadCore A6 3410MX (1.6 GHz), Radeon HD6750M+HD6520G (CrossFireX), 8Gb RAM, 62 Wh battery, dimensions: 3.52x37.8x24.68 cm, weight 2.91 kg.

Brief specifications of Apple MacBook Pro Retina(ME293): 15.4”, Intel Core i7 4750HQ (2GHz), Intel Iris Pro (5200), 8 Gb RAM, 95 Wh battery, dimensions: 1.8 x 35.89 x 24.71 cm, weight 2.02 kg.

Initially, the main conditions were: weight about 2 kg, high-quality 13-15” screen, discrete video card (for games), small charger, battery life of about 6 hours, which automatically means Haswell, and price/quality. But, unfortunately, I was faced with the fact that there were practically no offers on the market that interested me: HP, whose laptops I had used before, still do not want to make lightweight laptops with high-quality screens; Asus did not want to buy after the “successful” experience of using the TF700 tablet, although the UX302LG ultrabook looked like a very good purchase relative to the MacBook air: discrete video card (it turned out to be a bad bus, but still better than nothing), IPS screen, glass cover; Sony was not considered due to the sale of the Vaio brand, and I was also not satisfied with the filling for the money that our stores were asking for; Lenovo, let brand lovers forgive me, I don’t consider it a quality brand, and I didn’t consider the others due to their lack of availability in stores (I’m conservative in terms of purchases: first you need to look at it in person, and then buy in a store or order online). Also, I initially did not want to buy a MacBook, because I was used to Windows (putting it instead of MacOS is akin to blasphemy and mockery), I thought sometimes to play games, although I understood that it would be difficult for me to find something more autonomous and compact. That's why I put this topic aside.

Some time passed and I got hooked on the video of the walkthrough on YouTube, so the need for a discrete video card disappeared, I also realized that I needed a diagonal of at least 15”, the MWC, IFA, Computex exhibitions ended and I simultaneously fell out of reality while preparing for and passing exams in university. After passing all exams (I accept congratulations on receiving a red diploma), not seeing anything suitable, I seriously thought about switching to a Mac.

I compiled a modest list of programs that I use and began the selection of analogues with using Google and sites offering alternatives to specific programs, 90% of them were either available on MacOS or had analogues. After that, I finally decided to go to the dark side for cookies.

Problems I encountered and their solutions:

1. Ukrainian keyboard layout.

If the Russian user does not feel any inconvenience during the transition, since the PC layout is “out of the box,” then the Ukrainian Windows user receives a clumsy Ukrainian layout (and a nervous tic of the right eye), and if the letters “i” and “i” are rearranged, It’s possible to come to terms with this, but I’m clearly not ready to come to terms with a period and a comma “via the Shift key”. The solution to the problem was found on Habré (http://habrahabr.ru/post/130471/) and has been in effect since 2011, all you need to do is place two files in the “Keyboard layouts” folder in the libraries, reboot and select the “Ukrainian” layout in the settings. The only thing that will remind you of the terrible Ukrainian layout is the engraving on the piano keys.

2. Finder.

After Windows Explorer, you begin to feel sorry for Mac users. I don’t understand at all how you can normally use the finder out of the box: the lack of automatic arrangement of files on a grid (why do I need two columns of files in a stretched window?); “free” arrangement of files in a folder when copying/moving and their layering (I don’t think it’s normal to go into submenus every time to arrange files); folders mixed with files, not first folders then files, etc. I solved this problem using the XtraFinder program (http://www.trankynam.com/xtrafinder/). Now Finder is in no way inferior to Explorer + you don’t need to install QTTabBar to get tabs. Unfortunately, the program sometimes crashes.

3. Working with archives.

Initially, when we buy a Mac, we get an archiver that, when double-clicked, automatically unpacks the archive in the same folder. At first I thought this was very cool and convenient, but later it turned out that you can’t look at the contents of the archive without unpacking it, and you can’t add files to the archive either. Using this after 7-zip on Windows is difficult and inconvenient, and I started looking for a solution. First of all, I paid attention to the free archiver Keka (http://www.kekaosx.com/ru/), but it differs from the standard one only in supporting a larger number of formats and having an interesting icon for an archiver. This didn’t suit me much, so I decided to look for a free opportunity to look at the contents of the archive in advance and found The BetterZip Quick Look Generator 1.2 (http://macitbetter.com/BetterZip-Quick-Look-Generator/), this program allows you to quick viewing (select a file and press spacebar) to see what’s in the archive, but it doesn’t solve the problem of adding files. I settled on BetterZip (http://macitbetter.com/, the solution is paid, but there are distributions on trackers), this archiver has the same capabilities as 7-zip on Windows.

4. Music player.

On Windows I used iTunes (until I sold the iPhone and iPod), and then AIMP3, but it wasn’t available for the Mac, and Google persistently offers VOX (http://coppertino.com/) as an alternative. First of all, we are greeted by a website where only one thought arises – when will they let me download this player. After installation - who made this terrible design, and after some time of use this player simply flew into the trash, this is definitely not AIMP: terrible design (dark spot on the edge of the screen), inconvenient playlist management, inability to delete several songs from the playlist at the same time, inability to switching tracks using the multimedia buttons of the laptop, etc. The solution to the problem was the same iTunes, but at the same time I had to convert my media library to ALAC (thanks to XLD it took less than two hours - just a miracle program), and it also solved my next problem.

5. Editing music tags in Flac.

It would seem that what could be simpler than editing tags in music? But when I switched to Mac, I was in for a big surprise. I like to add covers and write down all the tags, including the lyrics, and it was this moment that made me waste 2 hours searching for a suitable program. On Windows, I used the tag editor supplied with AIMP, where there was a separate window for adding song lyrics, when I started installing analogues selected in advance, I was surprised by the absence of such a window or at least a field. TriTag (http://old.feedface.com/software/tritag.html), Musorg (http://download.cnet.com/Musorg/3000-2141_4-127314.html), MusicBrainzPicard (https://musicbrainz. org/doc/MusicBrainz_Picard) are not at all aware of the lyrics of the compositions, and the program that suspects them costs $6 (Music Tag Editor, available in the AppStore). The ability to add song lyrics is also available in the Kid3 () editor, but it is implemented strangely: not only does the display of the Lyrics field need to be enabled in the settings, but it is just a thin strip in one row. The solution to the problem was iTunes with normal tag editing (the music is still in Alac again). I also want to draw your attention to the fact that not even all tag editors on Mac can add a cover image.

6. View photos and images in a folder.

As a Windows user, I am used to opening one image in a folder, and then scrolling through them in a row with the mouse buttons, but standard View does not provide this option when simply opening it. In order to be able to scroll through images, you must first select all the images in the folder (cmd ⌘ + A) and only then open them. This state of affairs did not suit me at all, and I began searching for a replacement for standard Viewing; it turned out to be the JustLooking program (http://chipmunkninja.com/JustLooking). Unfortunately, it has several shortcomings: there is no retina adaptation at all, the touchpad zoom does not work, and there is a slow transition animation that must be immediately disabled in the settings. The first is partially solved by choosing a small toolbar size in the settings. Also, the Xee 3 program is considered a replacement for Viewer with the function of viewing all images in a folder, but it has become paid.

The shortcomings that I encountered, but related more to the laptop and not very annoying:

1. Adaptation for retina. After purchasing a MacBook Pro retina, the user will constantly be accompanied by slightly blurry image previews on sites (for example, deviantart.com, mycolorscreen.com, 4PDA forum), unadapted/partially adapted program interfaces (for example, Word, Photoshop script editor, JustLooking, Photoshop up to version 13.0. 3). It's not very annoying, but it's hard not to notice.

By way of illustrationscreenshot of the Word window with open settings (non-adapted preview of styles and icons in settings). Possibly visible only on Retina-like screens:

2. Lack of speaker placement. On the MacBook Pro retina 15” there are “grids” of speakers on the sides of the keyboard, so due to the fact that I’m not a good touch typist, my grandmother types blindly and sometimes I raise my hands to see where the letter I need is, constantly The music is briefly muffled/distorted.

3. Icons “for the blind”. Every time I open Launchpad out of nothing to do, I see an iPad. Of course, I understand that it’s easier to hit a giant icon, but there are reasonable limits to everything. I would like to see in the settings the ability to regulate the size of icons, but since the Applications folder in the dock is much more convenient (the icons are also huge, but at least it’s clear why), I’m not going to do anything about it.

4. Gesture to show the desktop. I don't quite understand the gesture for showing the desktop. Before that, I only dealt with MacOS on my mother’s white plastic MacBook (a1342) where Snow Leopard was installed (on newer versions it was slow due to the small amount of RAM), there you had to swipe down with four fingers, which seems more convenient to me, although and is a matter of habit.

I would also like to mention a very successful analogue of the CueTools program on Windows - X Lossless Decoder(http://tmkk.undo.jp/xld/index_e.html). Thanks to it, converting music to Alac took me less than 2 hours, because it: does not change/erase tags and covers in files; conversion begins after dragging the selected files into the Finder onto the XLD icon in the dock; converts directly to the original folder. All I had to do after converting was drag the already selected Flac files to the trash. In general, I recommend it to everyone.

Good things that I would like to see on Windows out of the box:

1. Quick view(select the file and press Spacebar). The quick view here is simply omnivorous and opens not only images, but also PDF and Doc documents. This way you can easily view the contents of the document without opening it.

2. Switch keyboard layout. On MacOS, the layout is switched using cmd ⌘ + spacebar, which is the most convenient way to switch layouts. It was possible to install the iSwitcher program on Windows, but it did not work in some programs, sometimes it stopped responding or Alt simply worked.

3.Mission Control. A very convenient way to switch between open windows and see what is happening in them. It was possible to install the Switcher program on Windows, but it does not live up to the original. The only thing I don't really like about Mission Control is that it doesn't display minimized windows.

To summarize, I would like to say that in my case the transition was a success: there were no serious or unsolvable problems, almost all programs are available, and if not, there are analogues. On top of everything else, I received a light, silent and quite powerful laptop with a long battery life, a gorgeous screen and touchpad. Perhaps if I had used some unique software the picture would not have been so rosy, but in such cases BootCamp is at hand or you can download Wineskin, although this cannot be called anything other than “crutches”.

If you find an error, please highlight a piece of text and click Ctrl+Enter.

Pitfalls when switching from Windows to OS X. Impressions of using an iMac after a long time of working on computers with Windows on board.

Introduction and purchase background

I've been thinking about changing my computer for a long time. The first thoughts began to appear after testing the budget nettop 3Q Sign. I immediately noticed that the room became suspiciously quiet. It turned out that my old “system unit” was very noisy, the noise of the coolers was just so familiar that I stopped paying attention to it. However, you quickly get used to good things, and after returning the nettop the difference in noise level was audible to the “naked ear.” Then thoughts about an “upgrade” began to appear. My “system unit” is about four years old; at one time it was bought as a gaming PC, but a lot of water has passed under the bridge since then, and now I hardly play on the computer.

After testing the nettop, it became clear: small, quiet boxes that don’t take up much space and are productive enough for everyday tasks are what I need.

As luck would have it, various information about OS X appeared on Twitter and on the website; at about the same time, Alexander Zubkov published his huge “Experience in operating the Mac Mini”. I trust Sasha’s opinion; in many ways, our use cases from this article were similar, so I turned my attention to Apple technology.

It was clear that if we were to take a Mac Mini, it would have to have an SSD, so as not to worry about the speed of operation. But I didn’t see such models available on any website (by the way, they have now appeared). It became clear that most likely I would have to install the disk myself. I adequately assessed my technical knowledge and decided that although I could install the SSD myself, it was better to turn to specialists.

Among my friends there was only one person working in this field - Alexey, known to some of you on Twitter as @androidioswp. Lesha and I had a long conversation about customizing the Mac Mini: initially I planned to take the cheapest version and simply install a 128GB SSD + 1 or 2 TB hard drive into it. But it turned out that such an “upgrade” would have been very expensive, and it was more profitable to take an older version of the Mac Mini (with Core i5 Quad-Core+1 TB HDD) and simply install a solid-state drive into it. Thus, the price tag for the Mac Mini gradually increased to 35 thousand for the configuration I needed.

In addition to the nettop, I also wanted to replace the monitor. Artem Lutfullin rightly noted that this is the main tool for work, so there is no need to save on your eyes. He even recommended that I pay attention to the same monitor as his, we are talking about the Samsung SyncMaster S27A850D model. Its main features are a PLS matrix with soft colors and high resolution (2560x1440 pixels), as well as support for MiniDisplayPort (and a compatible Thunderbolt connector is found in the Mac Mini).

Thus, the total cost of the computer was close to 60 thousand rubles. Continuing the discussion, Alexey mentioned that from conversations about custom Mac Minis, people often come to iMac. And then it dawned on me: the iMac really is the best option, but I didn't consider it, assuming it was crazy expensive. However, it turned out that the configuration I needed would not be more expensive than a combination Mac Mini + monitor from Samsung.

In addition, the iMac has a number of significant advantages over this combination. Firstly, this is the only cable for connecting your computer and monitor. Secondly, built-in speakers, which again has a positive effect on the number of wires. And thirdly, of course, cool appearance and materials. The only problem was the hard drive; there were no SSD versions available.

Alexey said that they can pre-order the version with Fusion Drive, and as soon as it arrives at the warehouse, I will be notified immediately. It is important to note here that almost no one is engaged in custom deliveries of iMacs (they were not at the time of writing this article, now the Apple online store has already appeared): for example, I went to “MVideo” and “White Wind”, and they had not even heard of them there . I didn’t contact Re:store because of high prices. In general, Lyosha advised me in quite some detail, so I purchased an iMac from www.max-up.ru.

It’s important to note here that I pre-ordered it in mid-February, but the iMac only arrived at the end of April. This is due to a delay in deliveries from the official dealer. As far as I know, now custom iMacs are delivered much faster. In addition, with the opening of the official Apple online store, ordering custom configurations has become even easier.

I apologize to the reader for such a long introduction, I wanted to describe my background purchase and note that I came to the iMac through much thought, that is, it was not an impulsive purchase.

Appearance, materials

The monoblock comes in a large “trapezoidal” package. It’s interesting that Apple’s new shipments use a double box: cheap cardboard on top and high-quality packaging underneath. I will not describe the unpacking in detail, since there is nothing special to say about it.

When you take the computer out of the package, you immediately notice how light the iMac is, especially if you have dealt with other all-in-one PCs (its weight is just over five kilograms, while the weight of analogues starts from 8-9 kg).

Looking at a newly purchased computer, you can’t help but notice that after all, at Apple, designers don’t eat their bread in vain. The iMac looks very beautiful: stylish appearance, aluminum case, strict black frame around the screen. It is immediately clear that this is a computer that was made so that, among other things, it was simply pleasant to look at. I had experience working with other all-in-one PCs; in terms of design and materials, Apple leaves them far behind. After purchasing an iMac, you understand what “overpaying for design and materials” is and why it is justified.

In his review of the iMac 2012, Sergei Kuzmin noted that reducing the thickness of the candy bar does not bring any functional advantages, but from the point of view of appearance, this solution looks very impressive.

Thanks to the light weight for all-in-one PCs and the good coating of the iMac support leg, it is very convenient to turn right/left, but you will have to do this, because all the connectors are located on the back of the device.

If you need to move your iMac all the way to rotate left/right, you only need to tilt the monitor slightly to adjust its tilt. I note that initially the screen tilted very easily, but as the device became overgrown with various cables, it became a little harder to raise/lower it.

The design of the iMac is something amazing, even after six months of use it is still pleasing, the candy bar is simply pleasant to look at. Among the functional features, I liked the back leg, on which you can put some frequently used item, such as a notepad or phone.

Screen

Before describing the screen, I would like to note that before this I used an old ViewSonic with a resolution of 1280x1024 pixels as my main monitor. Its characteristics seemed to me sufficient for comfortable work, and thanks to the convenient aspect ratio, I could manage my workspace as productively as possible (primarily, we are talking about Word and web surfing).

I had experience using a couple of all-in-one computers on Windows, so I assumed that I knew what quality monitors were like. As it turns out, I was deeply mistaken.

When you turn on the iMac, you immediately notice how big the difference in picture quality is between it and everything that you had to test before. The image seems to float out of the screen, the picture is amazingly bright and clear. It’s not for nothing that I mentioned the computers and monitors that I used and tested before; an experienced reader will notice that among them there is neither MBP Pro Retina 13/15 nor iPad 3/4. In fairness, I note that I dealt with both devices, albeit for a very short time. And the fleeting memory of “what amazing screens they have” quickly faded from my mind.

Why all this long introduction? The fact is that to me, as a person who has not previously used Apple technology with Retina displays, the iMac screen seems wonderful: bright, clear, with rich colors, however, for example, Sergey Kuzmin no longer seems good enough, using an iPad 4 and MBP Pro Retina 15 makes a significant difference to the experience.

As you remember, the previous generation had two significant problems with the screen: dust got under it and it glared a lot. This, by the way, was one of the reasons why I did not consider the iMac initially: my workplace is located near a window, and the sun often hits the screen. The iMac 2012 has undergone significant work on the display; the absence of an air gap eliminates the problem of dust under the glass, and a special anti-reflective coating eliminates almost all glare and reflections. Even in strong sunlight, you can work comfortably at the computer (of course, the barely noticeable outlines of your face will be visible on the screen, but this is not at all the same as in the same monoblock from Acer, where in sunny weather the monitor turned into a mirror).

The screen brightness is conveniently adjusted using the F1/F2 keyboard buttons. Interestingly, this combination does not work on third-party keyboards, but more on that below. During everyday work, I used about 30% brightness, in sunny weather I increased it to 60-70%. To be honest, I have never had a situation where I needed 100% of the screen brightness, it is excessive.

I really liked the screen in the iMac, I would gladly buy a separate monitor from Apple with the same characteristics. Before, I never understood why buy expensive monitors for 30-40 thousand, and even more so for 90 and above. However, after using the iMac, I can see the validity of such decisions even for the average user.

Operating system and firmware

In absentia, I was very loyal to OS X: many positive feedback online, some of which were from very reputable people. Mentally, I was ready for changes, a different OS logic, since I assumed that this would be associated with some functions that would improve the usability of the computer. It is important to note here that I have never considered myself a conservative user: new things are always interesting, especially if this new thing will ultimately be more convenient.

Before moving on to describing my impressions of OS X, I would like to briefly talk about my scenarios for using the computer:

First of all, this is a tool for work - a typewriter and a simple photo editor (quickly rename files, correct something, nothing more). Of course, all this is combined with web surfing, Twitter, checking email and other routine activities. In addition, I use the computer as a video player along with a TV connected to it.

It would seem that OS X should cope with such simple actions without unnecessary problems, but that was not the case. Working at the Mac for the first couple of weeks, I directly felt how it did not want to fit into my usual environment. It all started with the fact that I didn’t want to get used to switching the language via Command+Space; Twitter immediately suggested a solution in the form of the KeyRemapforMacBook program, but as luck would have it, the Alt+Shift combination couldn’t be properly configured there. The same thing happened with Alt+Tab. It’s amazing how difficult it is to retrain for other combinations: imagine that for ten years, in response to your mental command to raise your right hand, your right hand rose, and now with the same command, your left hand rises. These are approximately the impressions I experienced from changing the usual “hotkeys”. But my misadventures did not end there. In addition to changing the language, I'm used to Enter opening a folder, Backspace taking you back a section, and F2 being responsible for renaming a file. On OS X, Enter is responsible for renaming, Cmd+down opens a folder, Cmd+up takes you up a section, and Backspace has no specified actions at all. And yes, I could do everything through KeyRemap4Macbook in the same way as on Windows, but I liked the quick actions assigned to the default actions so much that I didn’t do it. In addition, some users on Twitter logically noted that one should try to adapt to the system, and not try to “make a second Windows out of it.”

But what caused me the most problems was the built-in photo viewer and iPhoto. I need very little from such programs: open a picture, rename it (in the same window), move on to the next one. However, when you open a photo in this viewer, you can't quickly rename it or move on to the next one. It's the same with iPhoto: you can only rename a photo if you click on its name. In general, there are a lot of unnecessary actions, and I could not find any key combinations that cause quick renaming (similar to F2 in Windows).

I’ll say in advance that I successfully solved both problems, but the first two weeks with the iMac were just a nightmare. I seriously thought about either giving it back, selling it, or installing Windows as my main OS.

The main message of such a long introduction is that you need to get used to OS X, and even if you are mentally prepared for the changes, it is far from a fact that in your individual case the transition to Apple technology will be easy and painless (although there are many such cases) .

I have already mentioned the disadvantages of OS X above, now it’s time to move on to the advantages.

Desktops

In OS X, you can create multiple desktops. In addition, each of them can host specific programs. That is, let’s say for work I need Finder, Pages and CyberDuck, and for entertainment I need a browser and a video player. I can configure desktops so that when I open Pages, a second desktop will open immediately. Thumbnails of all tables are called up by pressing F3 or swiping up with four fingers (if you are using a touchpad).

In addition, there is a separate desktop with widgets. To access it, you need to swipe four fingers across the touchpad from left to right. I use this table to post sticky notes and sometimes to view the weather.

Screenshots

I really liked how this feature is implemented in OS X. You can take a screenshot of the screen (Command+Shift+3), a screenshot of part of the screen (Command+Shift+4) and a screenshot of the active window (Command+Shift+4 and then spacebar). By default, all pictures are on the desktop.

Active angles

A favorite feature of many OS X users. Its essence boils down to the fact that when you point at a corner, some action is performed (for example, windows are minimized). Personally, I was never able to start using it, since any chaotic movement of the cursor towards a corner results in an unnecessary action.

Installing and uninstalling applications

OS X has three methods for installing third-party programs. The first one is the simplest. You install the application from the App Store. After downloading, it automatically appears in the list of programs. Long-pressing the left button on an icon allows you to easily remove it (similar to iOS).

The second is installation using a pkg file. This method is somewhat reminiscent of installation using executable files in Windows.

The third method is to copy the program's app file directly to the application folder. As a rule, such files are packed into a dmg archive, and you just need to drag the file icon into the folder. If you copy the file to another folder, the settings and permissions for the application may not be registered.

Finder

Already at the file manager level, you begin to understand that in OS X the logic is completely different. There is no hard drive that you are used to; files are sorted by category. I really like this approach, I sorted them the same way on Windows (separate folders for videos, music, photos).

The Finder (as well as all of OS X) has a handy preview option. You click on the file you need and press the spacebar, after which a preview of the selected image appears in front of you, text (if it’s a text file), or a video starts playing. Using the navigation arrows you can quickly move to the next/previous files, the preview will also be updated in real time. For me it was simply a salvation. It was possible to easily view pictures using previews and immediately rename them by pressing Enter. However, there was one more problem: when renaming, the file I needed “went” to the beginning of the list, and I had to scroll through the entire list from the beginning. I tried to set the settings to sort by creation date, but this sorting only applied to a specific folder, and I had to set it manually each time. I suspect there is a simple solution to this problem, however I haven't been able to find one.

iTunes

It's amazing how different the experience of the same program can be on different operating systems. For example, using iTunes on Windows is not very convenient: the program sometimes slows down, sometimes freezes, sometimes crashes, in general, it’s not very pleasant.

But on OS X there are none of these problems. The application “flies”, fits perfectly into the OS interface and does not cause any complaints. I happily use iTunes as my main music media player. However, it is important to note that the logic in iTunes is different, and you most likely will not be able to use your usual sorting by folders. Here they are replaced by playlists. Of course, it’s inconvenient to re-make playlists of your favorite tracks, but having done them once, you can then easily synchronize them both with another Mac and with an iPod/iPhone.

The purchase of audio and video content deserves special attention. I fully and completely support the purchase of licensed music, another thing is that most of the tracks I need are most likely sold only in the Japanese section of iTunes (where you can’t figure it out without knowing the language). However, if we talk about Western or Russian performers, the range here is quite extensive. I liked the ease with which you can buy tracks on iTunes. In my opinion, this is what a good music store should be: ease of purchase and ease of listening.

In addition to music, you can also purchase films. I was pleased that among the available resolutions there are HD/FullHD, as well as subtitles and audio tracks in several languages.

I was almost ready to call the movie purchasing service ideal, if not for a number of “buts”. Firstly, all movies are DRM protected, and you can't just copy a movie to your Android smartphone. Secondly, when watching via iTunes, you cannot select the size of the subtitles; for me, this drawback turned out to be decisive, since I like to watch films with the original track and Russian subtitles. Thirdly, these same films cannot be played by a third-party player (MPlayerX could not), in which I could adjust the size of the subtitles. Fourthly, I would really like to see film premieres released on iTunes simultaneously with cinemas or with a two-week delay. I think that many, like me, would prefer to watch a movie at home for the same money instead of going to the cinema.

Update: In Mavericks you can now customize the size of subtitles.

Pages

In Pages, I immediately liked the synchronization with iCloud. Every time I create a document in Pages and make any changes to it, a copy of it is automatically saved to the cloud. It is very comfortable. For example, I can turn off the computer, and the system itself will save the latest changes in a copy. Or here’s another example: one day I was finishing another review, and our power suddenly went out. To say that I was upset would be an understatement. Five minutes later the light was turned on again, I started the iMac without much hope... And what do you think? All my documents were there, and the iMac even kindly opened the programs it was using before shutting down. What would happen on Windows? He would most likely restore the last saved copy, and 2-3 hours could have gone down the drain.

But I didn’t like the spell checking in Pages at all. She doesn't correct even the simplest mistakes, and this, of course, is frustrating. Out of grief, I installed MS Office for Mac 2011. However, I could not use it, since I experienced noticeable delays when entering text. That is, I enter “check”, and the word appears only after a couple of seconds.

And one more thing: the cost of Pages is 600 rubles. You pay for the program once and receive all subsequent updates for free. The $20 price tag compares Pages favorably with MS Office, which is constantly updated and asks some wild sums (5 thousand rubles) for its license.

By the way, I still left MS Office, since it works much better with tablets than Numbers from Apple.

Safari

Before Google installation I decided to give Chrome a chance to the built-in browser from Apple. At first glance, everything was great - well-drawn fonts, a nice interface, a convenient reading mode and much more. I configured the zoom for myself and started using Safari. After some time, it became clear that the browser does not save the scaling settings, which means that each time you need to scale the site manually. A partial solution could be to set the font size in the settings, but in this situation the formatting would get lost, that is, you would see large letters with tiny pictures. Frustrated, I went to download Google Chrome.

Some time later, I finally forced myself to switch to Safari, and all because the rendering of fonts in it is much better than in Chrome.

iPhoto

At the beginning of the section, I noted that iPhoto did not suit my needs, but, nevertheless, I cannot help but talk about the capabilities of this program. If you are a complete novice in photography, but want to tweak this or that image a little, then iPhoto is perfect for you. Using a simple interface and clear settings, you can easily change the brightness or other parameters of a photo.

Notification Center

Just like in iOS, in OS X all notifications come through the notification center. In the settings you can change their appearance; I liked the notifications in the form of pop-up windows the most. Unfortunately for me, the font used in these bubbles is very small, so I was not able to fully enjoy the Twitter client, which is praised by all Apple users without exception.

Mail & Sparrow

Two great email clients for OS X, one built-in, the other third-party. I won’t describe their functionality in detail, I’ll just note that this is exactly what a “mailer” should be: beautiful, convenient, functional. Personally, I went with Sparrow because Mail doesn't allow you to adjust the font size in the Inbox column.

iMessage

Own messenger for Apple devices. Very simple, but no less convenient. You can also connect the same Google Talk to it. For me, its main advantage is the ability to immediately insert pictures into the chat. It is very comfortable

Original accessories

Apple Wireless Keyboard. One of the most beautiful wireless keyboards and one of the few that works using Bluetooth. Before that, I worked on a simple Genius SlimStar i220 White keyboard and got very used to it. Initially, I assumed that switching to Apple's solution would not cause any problems; the keyboard seemed beautiful and comfortable. But it was not there. Fingers in literally“Whined” about how unusually the keys on the Apple Wireless Keyboard were located after the solution from Genius. I got used to this keyboard for almost three weeks, and the only argument in its favor was: “Well, it’s so beautiful and matches the look of the iMac.” Now all I need is full-fledged navigation arrows and a separate digital panel. And of course, it’s a shame that the keyboard, which has both arrows and a separate panel... is wired!

Apple Magic Mouse. I was biased towards the Apple mouse even before I met it. While I fully supported people criticizing its flat appearance, it was immediately clear that such a mouse would be uncomfortable to hold and use.

However, at first glance, everything was in order. Yes, the mouse is flatter, but this did not cause any particular inconvenience. However, after half an hour I realized that this was not so. Due to the fact that the index and middle fingers are suspended and not supported by the mouse, after a while they become fatigued, which was not the case when using a regular mouse.

However, Magic Mouse also has undeniable advantages. For example, horizontal gestures, with their help it is convenient to flip through the same photos or scroll through some large picture in the browser. In addition, the mouse also supports two-finger gestures; horizontal swipes allow you to switch between desktops.

Magic Trackpad. At one of the presentations, I complained to my colleague about the uncomfortable Magic Mouse, as well as the lack of comfortable mice that match the design of the iMac. He suggested that I pay attention to the Magic Trackpad and spoke very flatteringly about it. In addition to this recommendation, I also had my own interest in getting to know this accessory. To be honest, I haven’t used Apple laptops for a long time and have long wanted to understand why their touchpads are praised.

Its main advantage is, of course, multi-touch gestures.

Swiping up and down with two fingers allows you to scroll through a web page or any other page.

Swiping with three fingers emulates selecting an area on the screen.

A four-finger swipe lets you switch between desktops.

And yet, despite the amazing convenience and functionality of touchpads, we should not forget that these devices act as a replacement for a mouse, so even the simplest mouse can be more convenient than the most sophisticated touchpad. Personally, I find it easier to scroll through articles in a browser using a touchpad, but I find it more convenient to select objects with a mouse. As a result, I still have Magic Mouse and Magic Trackpad lying next to me.

Time Capsule. One of my friends once told me that any OS X device can also act as a router. I became curious and decided to test this feature by first taking speed measurements on my previous router. The difference between the performance of my router and the performance of the iMac as an access point simply amazed me. It turned out that the router cut the speed by almost half, while the iMac reduced it by no more than 10%.

After such sad (for my router) tests, it was decided to replace it with an AirPort Time Capsule. A regular router from Apple costs about 5-6 thousand rubles, but the “capsule” is only five thousand more expensive, but at the same time has a built-in 2 TB hard drive (there are also modifications with 3 TB). An additional payment of five thousand seemed appropriate to me, and I took the recently announced updated Time Capsule model.

According to many Apple users, the entire process of setting up the capsule boiled down to connecting an ethernet cable to it and two or three clicks “Next” in the settings menu. In the worst case, you will have to enter the IP address and DNS server manually. I, of course, was the luckiest one. Neither automatic nor manual settings helped. Perhaps this was the only call from a technician to my home during the entire time I worked with my provider. By the way, he was able to easily set up the capsule, although he clarified something and asked the adjusters from the office to change it.

Once you've connected and configured the capsule, a separate icon for it appears in Finder, and you can easily copy and open files stored on it. They just open with some delay, apparently due to the fact that the capsule works via a wireless connection. I end up storing almost nothing on the Time Capsule, other than backups.

Windows installation

You have two ways to use Windows on your iMac. The first is using Bootcamp, this utility allows you to install Windows on a separate part of your hard drive and run it as a full-fledged OS on your computer. However, there are two nuances here. First, if you use Windows, it will install on your hard drive and you will lose the benefits of Fusion Drive. Secondly, the integrated Intel HD 4000 graphics will not work on Windows, that is, the monoblock will make more noise.

The second option for using Windows is using the Parallels program. Parallels allows you to run Windows in two modes:

1. A full-fledged emulator, that is, you have a separate window with Windows in it.
2. "Windowed mode". Each program has its own separate window; in fact, you can work on OS X, and if you wish, switch to the window with the desired program. This is an ideal option for those who are satisfied with everything in OS X, but lack a couple of programs from Windows.

Important note: If you plan to use Parallels frequently, it's best to get an iMac with 16GB of RAM.

Interestingly, when installing Parallels, the program automatically downloads a clean system image itself, this is very convenient. Parallels can also “pick up” your Windows installed via BootCamp.

Performance

I intentionally ordered the simplest configuration available. I don't need a powerful graphics card, so I didn't see the point in paying extra for one, but I knew for sure that Fusion Drive was something worth paying extra for. So my iMac has the following configuration:

1. Video card: NVIDIA GeForce 640M
2. Internal storage: Fusion Drive (128GB SSD+1TB HDD)
3. RAM: 8 GB
4. Processor: Intel Core i5 Quad-Core Ivy Bridge

The first thing I immediately liked: the iMac turned on very quickly, as if I had turned on the TV and not the computer. A little later, I noticed that Apple uses a clever trick: as soon as you turn on the device, a gray apple appears on a white background with the sound “Ta-dam”, and you subconsciously think that the computer is already turned on. However, this bullseye hangs for about three to four seconds, during which the system is still loading, but the user is sure that it has already loaded.

Second: Apple computers do not need to be turned off, they do not load with “garbage” and do not start to work slower without long reboots. In the case of the iMac, this, of course, is not so impressive, but I am sure that all MacBook owners really love this feature.

Third: the almost complete absence of noise, if you switch to the iMac from a regular desktop computer, this will be immediately noticeable.

Now I propose to talk about the features of Fusion Drive. Ideally, the iMac would automatically move frequently used files to the SSD and less frequently used files to the HDD. In fact, all new files are first written to the SSD by default, and then, when the threshold of 4 GB is reached for a one-time transfer, they are transferred to the HDD. To be honest, I don’t really like this approach; I prefer that the HDD and SSD be two separate drives, and I could independently define the folders that will definitely be on the SSD.

As for performance, there are no complaints when performing my daily tasks (video, browser, Twitter, email, browsing and minimal photo processing). The only thing is that sometimes when quickly scrolling through the “previews” of photos, the iMac can think for a second or two. As other Mac owners told me, if the photos were on an SSD, there would be no such problems.

I'm not afraid that the hardware on my iMac will become outdated, given that new versions of OS X work stably even on devices with the previous generation of processors and Intel HD 3000 video cards.

Webcam, microphone, speakers

As I said at the beginning of the article, the indisputable advantage of monoblocks is minimal amount cables So, you do not need to specifically connect the same webcam or external microphone. However, the convenience and quality of built-in components do not always meet user requirements.

In my opinion, the iMac has excellent stereo speakers; they can perfectly replace speakers for a couple of thousand rubles. The sound in them is clear and without wheezing, even at maximum volume.

I was very pleased with the built-in microphone, it has excellent sensitivity, you can be heard perfectly, even if you are sitting at a distance of two meters from the monoblock.

The quality of the webcam is also beyond praise; I would especially note the fact that it works better in FaceTime than in Skype.

Conclusion

I paid 67 thousand rubles for the iMac configuration I needed. Now it costs 62 thousand. Perhaps the key question I wanted to answer is: “How convenient is the iMac and OS X for the average user?” If we talk about the iMac itself, then there are no complaints about it: stunning design, high-quality display, pleasant body materials and fast operation. But I can’t say so unequivocally about OS X. Each user will have an individual impression of it, it all depends on how well it suits your needs. It took me about a month to get used to it, and I can’t say that the transition was “smooth and painless.” Now I'm happy to use OS X, because everything necessary programs found, but I’m used to all the features of the OS. OS X certainly has a lot strengths: this is excellent synchronization of your documents with iCloud, and fast speed, and a nice interface, and easy system backup. But some functions seem simply illogical, for example, why you need to use a two-key combination to open folders, although this is a frequently used operation, why couldn’t there be a separate hotkey for cutting, etc. Of course, I really don’t like Apple’s “we know what’s best, do as we say” approach. On the other hand, they use a clever trick: they make 80% of the actions in their OS very convenient, and the user is forced to put up with the remaining 20%, because in general, almost everything suits him.

I found OS X more convenient in many ways than Windows, but at the same time, I understand that both operating systems have their pros and cons. Another question is that I don’t like the direction in which Windows is now developing (we are talking about the “tiled eight”), but in OS X so far everything seems to be stable (and I really hope that the colorful trends from iOS7 will not affect "Poppy")

Now I would like to talk about the possible configurations of Apple home computers and which one I think is the best.

In my opinion, it makes sense to take the iMac 2013 Late with a 256 GB SSD, and then buy an additional external hard drive of the size you need. Now there are many models (from LaCie to 3Q) that look great with Apple technology. A model with an SSD will work faster than a Fusion Drive, and all rarely used data can be stored on an external drive.

Another interesting option is a combination of a Mac Mini and any external monitor. The ideal option is Apple Thunderbolt Display, but it makes sense to wait for an update based on the current iMac line.

A little more about price: Apple computers are expensive, on average 30% more expensive than their Windows counterparts. Yes, in some respects (appearance, materials) they win, but for everyday work the capabilities of a Windows laptop/all-in-one are enough. And the last piece of advice I would like to give to prospective “switchers”: don’t jump right off the bat, if you decide to switch to OS X, then don’t start with an expensive iMac or MacBook Pro Retina, choose something simpler, the same Mac Mini or Air of the previous generation. No one can tell in advance whether you will like this operating system or not.

Evgeniy Vildyaev (

07.11.2013 | 10:33 Analytics

Changing your work Windows computer to a Mac? The following recommendations will help make the transition painless.

Do you always wonder when you see Mac laptops in cafes? Perhaps you're about to buy a new work machine and don't want it to run Windows 8?

Either way, the good news is that switching from Windows to Mac isn't as difficult as you might think. This is especially true for small businesses that don't rely on enterprise-centric management tools and don't require running only native Windows applications.

With some preparation, switching to a new platform can be relatively painless, even for users who have used Windows their entire lives.

Here are six tips to help you.

1. Make sure Mac OS X supports the applications you need

The first step to ensuring your business can safely switch from PC to Mac is to make sure the applications you need are available on your MAC. This methodical process involves listing all the business-critical software installed on your Windows computer. Also don't forget about the productivity apps you use regularly.

Once you're done, check for Mac OS X versions of these important apps. Considering that it's been over a decade since OS X was originally released, the number of apps that currently exist may surprise you. For example, browsers such as Firefox and Chrome are available for OS X, as are popular online services: Dropbox, SugarSync, EverNote and Skype. In fact, even Microsoft offers Office 2011 for Mac, which includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook, but without apps like Access, OneNote and Publisher.

Be careful, though: OS X versions of apps don't always have the same capabilities as Windows versions. It can also get confusing if the Windows product line is different from the Mac product line. Nuance offers Dragon Premium 12 and Dragon Professional 12 for PC, for example, and Dragon Dictate 3 and MacSpeech Scribe for Mac.

In case the software manufacturer does not have an application for OS X, the next step is to find an application that provides equivalent functionality. In general, the maturity of OS X means there's a good chance you'll find what you need. Be prepared to do some research, although don't force the process. Read reviews online and search Mac forums. All this will allow users to find what they need.

But what happens if important business applications are simply not available on OS X? Luckily, you can boot Windows on your Mac. There are two main ways to do this: with Boot Camp or using a virtual machine.

Boot Camp is an OS X system utility designed to help you create a separate partition for installing Microsoft Windows. Once set up, users can choose between booting into Windows or OS X. Of course, installing Windows on a MacBook ensures you can continue to use your Windows apps, but booting Windows on a regular basis defeats the purpose of switching to a Mac.

In most cases, creating a Windows virtual machine on an OS X laptop may be a more viable alternative. Virtualization software options for OS X include Oracle VirtualBox, Parallels Desktop, and VMware Fusion. VirtualBox is a solid free product, although its OS X-centric integration and overall capabilities lag significantly behind commercial products Parallels Desktop and VMware Fusion.

The recently released Parallels Desktop 9 and VMware Fusion 6 offer increased performance, improved peripheral support, and better support for Windows 8. Both products offer enhanced features, although Parallels 9 may be more user-friendly for new users. It's important to note that both programs have the ability to extract Windows applications from the Windows virtual environment so that they appear alongside OS X applications on the Mac desktop. This mode is called Coherence in Parallels and Unity in Fusion.

This is what Microsoft Outlook 2013 looks like when running in Coherence mode next to the Mac version of Evernote.

3. Explore the MacBook lineup (luckily it's small)

If you have the required applications, then the next step is to buy a MacBook laptop. Luckily, Apple's streamlined lineup of devices makes purchasing a MacBook relatively simple.

The laptops are divided into the lightweight MacBook Air, the more powerful MacBook Pro with Retina displays, and the older MacBook Pro family with non-Retina displays. MacBook Air laptops are available in 11- and 13-inch models, while MacBook Pros are available in 13- and 15-inch models. Users who prefer portability will find the 11-inch MacBook Air or the 13-inch MacBook Air and MacBook Pro more attractive. Who needs power - look at the MacBook Pro models.

It is worth noting that the memory on new MacBook laptops cannot be increased in the standard way. However, additional RAM can be soldered. Some manufacturers offer aftermarket solid-state drive (SSD) upgrades, complete with the required proprietary connectors, although these are usually prohibitively expensive. Bottom line, it's best to choose the amount of RAM and storage you need when ordering a MacBook.

4. Switch to OS X; Don't rush, but hurry up

While a gradual transition to OS X may be tempting, it's best to speed up the process of moving to a new platform. Avoid crossing on the eve of important events (for obvious reasons), or on the day before an overseas business trip.

Spend a few days installing apps and becoming familiar with OS X. In the meantime, sync work documents from your old computer to your new Mac using a cloud storage service such as Dropbox or SugarSync. Even savvy users should expect an adjustment period when switching - another user interface, other steps for common actions such as startup and shutdown.

Users who type a lot can save a list of common OS X keyboard shortcuts, while those who prefer to use a mouse more should download and install Scroll Reverser. As the name suggests, this free utility reverses the direction of an external mouse's physical scroll wheel without disrupting the direction of the new "natural scrolling" that works well with the built-in trackpad.

5. Choose the right accessories for your MacBook: a case, a screen protector, or an external battery

The small number of model and form factor options in the MacBook line has another advantage: it gives peripheral manufacturers ample incentive to design and manufacture protective covers and other accessories for these laptops.

This means that there is a wide selection of accessories designed specifically for the MacBook. Here are some worth considering:

• An external battery from HyperShop HyperJuice 2 will be enough to virtually triple the runtime of an 11-inch MacBook Air.
• Moshi makes screen protectors and keyboard protectors specifically for MacBooks, as well as ultra-thin hard cases that fit laptops exactly.
• Twelve South, which makes accessories only for Apple products, sells BookArc vertical laptop stands and smart chargers USB devices PlugBug that attaches to a standard Apple power adapter.

6. Become an advanced Mac user, regardless of your current experience

Once you've gotten over the initial discomfort of switching between operating systems, take the time to explore (and use) the various features of the Mac platform.

One particularly important benefit for business travelers is the MacBook's excellent battery life, a byproduct of the tight integration of the hardware and operating system. Frequently absent employees will also appreciate Spaces, which allows users to create multiple virtual desktops and helps users organize applications to run without requiring more monitors.

Ultimately, switching to a Mac doesn't have to be permanent. In fact, if you do it right, switching between Windows and Mac OS X occasionally, you will achieve platform ambidexterity in no time at all.

Today I will tell you in an accessible way about the pros and cons of switching from a computer running Windows to a Mac computer running OS X. Our site has been successfully getting people onto the iPad for several years now, let’s see if I can shake the blind faith in Windows at least some of our readers.

In the article I will talk about buying my MacBook Pro, upgrading, and impressions of the work.

Attention! In the article increased level love for MacBooks and OS X. Please be understanding. :)

My history

Until 2011, I used Windows exclusively at home. Through his studies and work, he was able to handle various varieties of Linux at a fairly deep level. Several generations of computers have passed through me, from the first Pentium to the modern laptop with a Touch screen. In 2011, on a hot March day, my friends and I spent 2 days on the beautiful island of Penang (Malaysia) in order to obtain another Thai visa.

I've been toying with the idea of ​​buying a MacBook for about six months. And Malaysia is the ideal country for this:

• firstly, the price there does not include taxes, that is, initially almost the lowest for Apple equipment in the world,
• secondly, laptops come with an English layout.

We bought the latest MacBook Pro from early 2011. First impressions were: Wow! Nothing ever slows down. How beautiful and pleasant it is to the touch.

Do you know how long I didn’t reboot it after purchasing it? Six months. I’m not kidding - for about 6 months I didn’t even think about such a thing as a reboot. Now I reboot once a month, but usually these are some updates to beta versions of the system...

Speaking of brakes, I embellished a little above. Still, if you tried, it was possible to boot the computer. Therefore, I decided to make a working computer without weak points from my Mac. Over these 4 years I have made 4 small upgrades:

a) I bought an SSD drive and installed it instead of the DVD-RW, which was the default. I ordered from the USA - around 6,000 rubles came out for 128 gigabytes. For 2011 - normal. This is enough for the system and programs.

c) I changed the second hard drive for data: instead of 320 gigabytes, I installed a 1 terabyte screw. 3000 rubles.

d) I bought a new battery for 1500 rubles on e-bay. The original battery became damp in Bali and died after a couple of years of operation.

That is, the total cost of the laptop + maintenance for 4 years worked out for me: 35000+6000+3000+2000+1500 = 47500.

At the moment, I have a decent working laptop on which I can edit videos, download programs, and download movies for years to come. That is, after 4 years, my MacBook is not only not outdated, but I am completely satisfied with it and I am not looking for a replacement.

The only “weak” link for me in it is the lack of a retina screen, but nothing can be done about it.

Now let's get back to Windows computers. I changed them every 2-3 years (or more often). I was constantly unhappy with something. Either you need a newer video card to run the game, or the purchased components are incompatible. Something was breaking. If you do the math, Windows computers from 2007 to 2011 cost me 1.5 times more. :)

Pros of switching to Mac

Let's take a look at the advantages that I would highlight based on my experience. I won’t list everything, but I’ll tell you why I use Apple computers and don’t plan on leaving them.

In my opinion, the OS X operating system is more intuitive, friendly, advanced and secure than Windows. Let me explain with a simple example:

How are applications installed?

On Windows, you need to run the installer, click “Next” 150 times. Along the way, turn off the checkboxes so that unnecessary components are not installed.

In OS X, you either install the application from the Mac App Store (similar to the App Store) and the entire installation (and updates) comes down to the click of a button. Or run the installer and drag the program or game to the applications folder. ALL! It’s rare that a program asks unnecessary questions...

OS X was made so that any dummy could figure it out...

What about viruses?

If you want to win an argument about which system is better, then immediately remember the argument about viruses. In Windows, it is not safe to go online without an antivirus. Give an ordinary housewife a computer on Windows, and in a couple of hours she will bring you a whole breeding ground of Trojans.

I judge by my parents. They have a 2011 Windows laptop at home, plus a Mac Mini we gave them (also 2011). It so happens that they use these two devices on a 50/50 basis. I’m tired of listening to complaints about the laptop and am constantly cleaning something there. Viruses somehow get there even with antiviruses turned on. :)

On the Mac Mini, the biggest complaint I can remember is: “Why won’t my Safari tab close after updating to Yosemite?” Naturally, there can be no talk of any viruses in OS X. Kaspersky has been sleeping for 15 years and sees that viruses will finally appear on Mac... It is possible that they have an entire department unsuccessfully developing these viruses. "It's business, baby!" Skeptics predict, analysts and the media occasionally become hysterical, but things are still there. There are no viruses or Trojans in OS X! You can sleep peacefully.

How friendly is OS X?

I argued and maintain that OS X is easier to learn than Windows. The system has many useful standard programs. The principles of operation are obvious, the application menus are standardized. And switching from Windows to Mac is one of the easiest tasks that you least need to be afraid of. It’s the same as switching from an old Lada to a brand new foreign car.

Apple computer design

Looking at MacBooks, iMacs, Mac Minis, Mac Pros, there is no doubt: this is the best thing that is currently happening with computers. There is an almost perfect design and pleasant-to-touch materials... A standard inexpensive Windows laptop is a piece of plastic that you don’t want to pick up after a Mac. Well, the best representatives in terms of design on Windows are as expensive as Macs. Why pay the same amount if you can buy a Mac?

The ingenious and responsive Touch panel on the MacBook completely weaned me off the mouse. I seriously doubt that I could do this on a regular computer.

Operating system update

Well, an important advantage of the Mac is that Apple in one person sells the user not just a computer with an operating system, but also all future updates that are made in a couple of clicks. With a regular PC, you buy a computer and load it with Windows, which in three years becomes obsolete and the transition to new version you have to pay again. There is now a lot of confusion with Windows 10 - some will get it for free, others won’t... Do you need this hemorrhoid?

Cons of switching to Mac

I also decided to highlight only the most obvious disadvantages. Those arguments that I have heard more than once or twice from friends and acquaintances.

Price

Sky-high price of Apple computers. The cheapest Mac Mini costs 35,000. And laptops now cost 80 thousand and above. It is the high price that stops many from buying. We must state the fact that after the fall of the dollar and the jump in prices, Apple technology is again “the lot of the elite.” For some people there is a dilemma: “Should I go on vacation or buy a MacBook?” and the choice most often falls not in favor of technology.

Games?

OS X is not for gamers. No, there are plenty of games and expensive Mac models have decent video cards, but it’s still easier to play new games on a console or on a regular PC. Or get confused and buy a more expensive Mac with a powerful video card.

I solved the problem for myself a long time ago by purchasing a PS 3. After all, a laptop is a device for work and multimedia entertainment, but for games you need to buy a console.

No familiar programs

People are frightened by the absence of their usual Windows programs. And some people don’t even want to hear about analogues... There are no irreplaceable programs. So much software has been released for OS X that almost all Windows applications can be found with an adequate replacement. It's unpleasant if your work tool is released exclusively for Windows. I simply sympathize with these people: their transition is the most painful. :)

But software developers are not fools either: a large percentage of applications have versions for both Windows and Mac. Plus for OS X there is a lot of unique software written specifically for this system.