Monday, April 22, 2013

PC to Mac Switch

After years of thinking about switching from a PC to a Mac, I've finally done it. Say hello to my new laptop!

(c) Single Simple Studio
This is a MacBrook Pro from early 2011. I purchased it from Gainsaver for around $850. I also purchased a wireless mouse, but the battery came corroded, so I'm sending it back. Everything else works great, though. I was able to specify what I wanted on the Mac (Mountain Lion OS, 4 GB of memory and a 250 GB hard drive), which really added to the value I was getting. Right now, brand new Macs with the same capabilities are going for $1,200. A bit out of my price range! 

Because this is also a financially-themed blog, I have to tell you that I put a lot of thought into this purchase. I've been saving for a replacement laptop for my HP since last summer when said HP started going wacky. The HP is now shutting down randomly for no reason, so it is probably a good thing I've replaced it. For a big purchase like this, I added a line to my savings budget in the amount of $100. It took me about 8 months to save for the laptop. Now, when the credit card bill comes in this month, I have the $850 savings ready to use. Another bonus - now I have $100 extra in my budget that I can put towards my loans!

I really hope this Mac doesn't give me the same problems I've had from every other PC laptop I've owned - get's slow, overheats, acquires so many bugs you practically need an exterminator, etc....

For those of you who have made the transition from PC to Mac, got any tips?

Initially, I'm missing the CTL+E function. In general, I'm not sure how Macs are organized - there is no Start menu. The ribbon on the bottom is good, but again, missing the explorer window. I'll get used to it and obviously need to do more investigating and teaching myself via Google and Apple's website.

Note: I don't have photoshop for Mac yet, so I can't add a watermark to my photos for this blog. If you do reblog/pin anything from here, please cite my blog!

3 comments:

  1. I use a mac at work and it took a bit of getting used to but now im "fluent" in both. I believe mac stores often offer free intro to mac training- give yours a call and see

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  2. Good tip, Casey! I have also seen some tutorials on Apple's website. I think that's what I'll be doing Saturday morning!

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  3. Macs are fun! I miss the one I had at my old school. PC girl, for now.

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