Change. Does that word make you shudder? Some people find change in their lives to be exciting, others shun it at all costs, even when it’s for the better. People view changing things on their computer the same way, and changing computers completely, well, that’s absurd! Or is it?

At the risk of sounding like one of those incessant prescription drug ads on TV – Have you had your fill of Fatal Errors and “The Blue Screen of Death”? Perhaps your “Plug and Play” has become “Plug and PRAY”? Maybe it’s time for a change, maybe it’s time to move to a Mac. (Common side effects include “it just works”, “it doesn’t crash”, and “oohs and ahhs”).

There’s a common misconception that switching from Windows to a Mac is a daunting task, both practically and financially. Nothing could be further from the truth. There are some things you’ll have to do without, however. You’ll be without your PC’s cutting edge 1.4 MB floppy drive, which will hold all of one high-resolution picture from your digital camera. You’ll also have to stop buying all that software to find and kill viruses and keep your hard drive from belly-flopping on a regular basis.

Can’t live without Microsoft Office? Yes, there’s a Mac version, a very good one with the same familiar interfaces, which will open your Office files (with the exception of Access) perfectly, and save them back into Windows format if needed. Office for Mac OSX also includes Entourage, an advanced version of Outlook Express, which can easily import your addresses and emails. Apple’s Mail application, bundled on all Macs, can also import Outlook Express addresses and email, and has one of the most sophisticated “intelligent” junk mail filters available on any system. Throw in Apple’s blazingly fast new browser, Safari, and you’ve got the web covered. If you don’t want to spend the money for MS Office for Mac, Appleworks, bundled on all consumer Macs, can import and export Word and Excel files.

Other applications on your PC that have Mac counterparts and compatible data files are Internet Explorer, Netscape, AOL and it’s Instant Messenger, Yahoo and MSN Messenger, Quicken, QuickBooks, Windows Media Player, RealOne Player, Toast, Adobe Acrobat, and Adobe Photoshop to name a few. Got young ones? The hottest games and edutainment software are available.

Other files that are completely transferable and compatible include your digital photos (JPEG, GIF, PICT and PNG), your music (MP3 and MIDI), and movies (MPEG, WMV and RM). Speaking of digital media, on the Mac you’ll find digital Nirvana with the new bundled iLife suite of multimedia applications, which we’ll cover in depth in next week’s edition.

So how do you get all your stuff from your PC to your new Mac? You can burn your data onto a CD, or copy it onto a USB or FireWire external hard drive, or connect your Mac and PC via an Ethernet cable. How do you know what to copy over? A great guide to switching can be found at: http://www.apple.com/switch/howto/. There’s also software that can do it for you – Move2Mac (http://www.detto.com/move2mac/, $59.95). Move2Mac installs on both your PC and Mac, and includes a special USB cable that can transport 500MB of data in about 15 minutes. It moves your data into just the right places on your Mac, converts your address book and email settings, and transfers your Internet Explorer bookmarks and dial-up internet connection settings.

So, if you’re spending more time working on your computer than with your computer, take a look at the Mac. Change for the better is always good.

© 2003 Peter F. Zimowski