# Why did you buy a Mac?



## iKV (Oct 3, 2004)

In lieu of the iPod halo-effect, the increase in Mac market share and ehMac members, and out of sheer curiousity, just wondering what everyone's "Mac story" was -- why current Mac owners started using them. So, share away!!

I began using a Mac when I worked as the IT and office support dude for my local daily newspaper in '98. First programs I used were a no-function text editor (forget the name) and Claris Works' spreadsheet program (before it became AppleWorks). A few months later, Steve announced the colourful new iMac, and I was hooked. Bought one of the first iMac 233s, then sold it to my folks and bought the iMac 333 when I went to uni. Been a Mac addict every since, with the exception of a few years when I owned a *gulp* Toshiba laptop


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## kevs~just kevs (Mar 21, 2005)

It was a time for a new computer. A freind who recently switched convinced me with his cool icy looking powerbook. I thought i'd give it a go.

Any regrets? nut uh.


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## däycüs mäximüs (Nov 30, 2002)

i was using them while i was at mohawk college for their advertising program. didn't think much of it, then the flat panel imac came out, and i had to have it.

sold my pc, then went mac.. then proceeded to switch everyone around me.


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## Stephanie (Jul 21, 2004)

I used to be a fan of DOS, then grudgingly started using windows around the win95 era. In the latter half of the 90's a friend gave me a Powerbook 170 that was otherwise destined to be scrapped. I immediately fell in love with the Mac OS. System 7.1 rocked, compared to Win95. The circa-1991 black and white laptop and Mac OS did everything windows95 was supposed to, did it better, and did not crash.

As quick as I could afford, I transitioned to Macintosh. 

-Stephanie


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## mazirion (May 22, 2005)

I wanted a Mac when they first came out in 1984. I was heading overseas for a few years and thought one would be great to have, but at $5,000 or so, I just drooled.

Once the local store overseas had them, I sold my Commodore 64, which had just become a copying machine (along with everyone else... 500 or so double-sided disks of cracked & hacked apps were coming in to the computer club every week!). I sold it and bought a skinny Mac. Loved it. That was in April of 1985.

Just too bad I didn't learn more and make money from it. Just a home user here, but I have been around computers since 1981.


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## Cliffy (Apr 18, 2005)

I had been wanting to try out OS X for a long time, but the cost of getting into a Mac just to try the OS is a bit much. Then I hear rumours of the Mac mini, and this gives me the perfect opportunity. 

I found out I did indeed like it (bash is so nice to have), now I have a PowerBook to go along with the mini.


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## MACSPECTRUM (Oct 31, 2002)

it was 1984 and i was asked to put together a plan to computerize a community office
i went to computerland to check out pc's
i had recently finished U of T and had only been exposed to mainframes
i saw and tried a Mac 512
the idea of a mouse and graphical interface, storing items in folders seem to make so much sense to me, so that is what i recommended to the committee
they then offered me the job to run the office and i created a database of over 10,000 donors, helped collect over a million dollars, published donor lists in alphabetical order sorted by province/city/surname
i was able to print out tax receipts and look up names instantly unlike the head office that had 6 staff and took 3 days to look up a receipt

mac 512 upgrade to plus, imagewriter and serial external hard drive - backup sfw. hadn't even been written yet !

all from a one person office
truly a mac story

i've never looked back since


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## Bumpy (Jul 11, 2005)

Had been a PC user all my life, but noted the smugness of Mac types when they spoke of their computers. Finally bought an old iMac off eBay to further my software business, and now feel dirty when I use PCs (and not in a good way)


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## Jmain (Apr 30, 2005)

Having been a Windows user since 3.0, I was getting sick of how many times I needed to reinstall the OS. My wife almost killed me when Windows XP wiped out my Profile and with it all of our digital pics. (Didn't have a backup routine yet)

I had tried Linux several times over 10 years but always went back to Windows. Just didn't have everything I needed at that time.

I started watching the Keynotes when Panther was released and was seduced by Steve Job's reality warping field 

I thought to myself, Here is a computer that has all the good stuff from Linux and a really nice GUI. So I bought a used PM Quick Silver 933. I now haven't used Windows in over a year. I installed Linux on my old computer and have given it to my 2 girls to play a few games and play on the internet (neopets, treehouse etc)

I hope one day to purchase a newer system. Most likely I will choose a Laptop (New Intels when they are released)


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## teeterboy3 (May 22, 2005)

Christmas 1983/1984 under the tree was a brand new 128k Mac from Mom & Dad for the family. Shortly thereafter we also got a second. I learned about personal computers with the first REAL personal computer. I did high school art projects in MacPaint; essays in MacWrite. And even played games like Lode Runner…

And before there ever were laptops, we were mobile with a bag we could chuck the Mac, keyboard and mouse in. And a few times a year we'd pack it up and head to the University of Michigan to go to the MacUser group meetings.

I use a Mac cause that's all I've ever used.
And cause it works the way I want it to.

(and my parents still have those two Macs - I believe the first one has the signatures inside)


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## dmpP (Jun 1, 2004)

I sold my laptop, and I wanted a light-weight slim laptop. The powerbook fit the bill... I'm a hardcore PC guy... I do web development... I was thinking of a mac so that I can do testing on that platform too...


I guess I'm an old-school mac user... had an apple IIe back in the day!

I've been into pc's since, and picked up my PB about a year ago


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## zurich (Nov 26, 2004)

Need a new option: Switched, because bad Windows experience (ie: virus, malware, spyware, etc).


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## lpkmckenna (Jul 4, 2004)

I think I may have the most unique reason to switch: to prove that Microsoft didn't have a monopoly.

I bought my first Mac (iMac DV SE) in Jan 2000. I wanted to buy a computer for music recording, and I knew that most audio production packages were available for both platforms. Since I wasn't entrenched in PC programs I could start fresh.

Microsoft was embroiled in a dispute with Netscape over the bundling of Explorer with every copy of Windows. So it was a common discussion among fellow computer nerds whether Netscape really had a case.

Most people I spoke with insisted that Microsoft was a monopoly. I said they weren't; most people simply did prefer less expensive PCs. Others would say you had to have a PC to be "compatible" with everyone else.

I switched to prove a point: that anything you could do with a PC you could do with a Mac. I think my point has been well proven.

I didn't expect that I would come to really prefer the Mac. And now I am entrenched, and can't switch back!


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## Trose (Feb 17, 2005)

Short answer: A) Always used Macs. My first computer, or I guess the computer my family had when I was really little was a Mac. My first years of memories of computers are Macs. I've always used Macs.

Long answer: H) Other.


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## Vexel (Jan 30, 2005)

I've used both Windows and Mac OS for years. I prefer Macs.. but I can't always get away from Windows.(I wish I could)


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## DBerG (May 24, 2005)

I started hating PCs w/ Windows about when 95 came out. We had 3.1 back then, and we bought a '95 PC. The addition of Internet on PCs was one of the baddest move ever from Microsoft. Now, they're dealing with malware all the way. I hated PCs the day my PC first crashed. Then, it was bad experience. What the hell? Why can't I connect my Digital Camera to the computer and make it work?? Searching for drivers, installing them, BLUE SCREEN OF DEATH!, rebooting, uninstalling, searching for a newer version, finding it, installing, compatibility problem, installing dlls, updating the system, uninstalling the app, reinstalling it, connecting the digital camera, rebooting, throwing my PC throughout the windows, buying a Mac. That's me, for now.


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## JAMG (Apr 1, 2003)

Spent 2 years in College and 3.5 years in University for a career, that lasted a summer.

Worked 3 weeks on a MacII CX and started a career that is half way through its second decade...


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## SoyMac (Apr 16, 2005)

*Other*

My choice was not quite in the poll, so I voted "Other".
I'd had some PeeCees and was editing video with Premiere at home. I had a lot of trouble with my computers over the years, but I thought that was just the way computers were and we all had to live with it that way.
I'd heard some things about this "APPLE" computer, but because it had a one-button mouse and not very many people used them, I knew they were crappy.
Over the years I threw thousands and thousands of dollars of software and hardware upgrades at my PeeCees, all attempts to _finally_ get my machine over the hump and running smoothly. No matter how much money I spent, I could not quite get my machine tuned right and stop the buggy madness. 
By now I had invested so much money and time into MS that I hated the idea of switching to any other platform. I hated Apple, because I had invested so much in trying to fix Microsoft.
And then one day, I lost 8 months' worth of editing. Pfft. Gone. 
I had to re-evaluate my computer platform. While surfing user groups, I noticed that even where Mac users were posting questions about their version of a software, the users' comments were always lighter in tone and happier in general than the Windows users on the other side of the same software. Then I noticed that of all the people (the few!) I knew with Apple computers, none ever complained of downtime or bugs or viruses or spyware. 
After months of research, I came to the inevitable conclusion that Apple was the only way to go. 
I sold all of my PeeCee hardware, a couple of my cameras, and I bought the best G4 tower available at the time.
The day I got my G4 home, I knew I had made the right decision, and I've enjoyed and been thrilled and amazed by my Apple computers ever since.

If you're still reading, my apologies for the length of this post -
Whew!


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## dona83 (Jun 26, 2005)

Why did I switch?

Because I had a choice to do so.


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## sdm688 (Dec 12, 2004)

zurich said:


> Need a new option: Switched, because bad Windows experience (ie: virus, malware, spyware, etc).


 Yea, this is my reason too. As soon as I found out Mac can integrate all my work files in Win format, it was only a matter of which notebook will fit my needs the most. BTW why is "I hate windows" not an option on the poll?


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## trump (Dec 7, 2004)

I'm part of the iPod Halo Effect...I wanted a nice laptop to go with my iPod, so I got an iBook. Haven't looked back since, in fact I've purchased a Mac Mini as well


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## bryanc (Jan 16, 2004)

*Os X!*

I had an Apple ][ back in the day, but I was a PC guy for decades after that. However, after suffering with Windows for so long, I was certainly keen on finding a viable alternative.

I tried DesqView, OS/2, and several flavors of Linux, but was always forced back to Windows, primarily by the lack of apps, but also by a world that caters to Windows and all it's flaws. Finally, in 2000, OS X emerged as a contender, and by 10.1 it was everything I had hoped Linux would be. Now, at 10.4, while still not perfect (FTFF!) it's so good that I really have no complaints, apart from the fact that the world still caters to Windows.

Cheers


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## Gerbill (Jul 1, 2003)

I started using a Mac in 1985 at university, but couldn't afford to buy one until the Classic came out in 1990. I had some contact with DOS, but I could never get excited about it - the Mac was "it" as far as I was concerned. Over the years, I've had lots of job-enforced experience with Windows, but never warmed to any version and always had a Mac at home.


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## Elias26 (Apr 19, 2005)

Heck I asked this question two months ago.

I made the switch because I absolutely hated Windows!


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## iKV (Oct 3, 2004)

Thanks everyone for your Mac stories. Surprised at how many who've voted so far have been lifers from the beginning!! Awesome.



zurich said:


> Need a new option: Switched, because bad Windows experience (ie: virus, malware, spyware, etc).


I knew I'd forget a few "switcher" options, but how could I forget "bad PC experience"??!? Damn. It was one of the final straws that brought me back from the dark side. Spyware was crippling my Toshiba laptop, and I was recalling the good ol' days with my trusty iMac G3 when Steve welcomed me back with open arms..... and a new iBook.



Elias26 said:


> Heck I asked this question two months ago.


Couldn't find it, can you provide the link to the thread? Love to read everyone's "Santa placed a brand new Mac under the tree" or "I hate PCs so I bought a Mac and haven't looked back since" stories!


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## mbaldwin (Jan 20, 2003)

The computer I owned before a Mac was a Commodore. Do I still qualify as a "Switcher"?


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## PosterBoy (Jan 22, 2002)

I've always used Macs, but I've also always used Windows (just had a stretch there where I didn't own a Windows PC).


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## james_squared (May 3, 2002)

*iPod => iBook => eMac*

Hello,

Way back in 2002, my wife was looking for a .mp3 player and the best one, by far, at that time was the iPod. (I suppose it still is, too!) Also, I was rather fed up with the PII and OSX 10.1 was a lot more stable than Win 98. Plus, I wanted to try something different. So, that's how I ended up with my iBook 700, which is the only machine I use. My wife has an eMac 1GHz and my brother <b>has</b> to get an Apple laptop for school. Now, I guess we just have to work on the parents, but I think it'll be quite impossible to get either of them to change.

James


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## TroutMaskReplica (Feb 28, 2003)

we almost switched to windows at the office. os 9 was an absolute nightmare. i snagged a copy of jaguar in the trading post and installed it as a last ditch effort. i didn't expect much from it but i was blown away. i ran all my graphics apps in classic mode until panther came out, then upgraded everything. it solved every stability problem instantly.

you recent switchers who have only known OS X don't know how lucky you are.


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## Bighead (May 3, 2005)

I bought a Mac because I am a computer-snob. Just don't want to use what all the commoners own.  

Had one since the Apple ][e days...went to a Commodore (what was I thinking?), 386-33 MHz, a P2-200 Mhz. Then I see the light again! iMac-G3, PowerMac G4, and now an iMac G5-20".


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## kissenger (Feb 7, 2005)

I was so very (and so very still am) aesthetically attracted to Mac OS X and especially the Powerbook G4. I guess I also got tired of those damned error reports in windows (though I think VLC Player in Tiger is giving me more beef than windows ever did).

I also love the size/shape of the powerbook. It's so ideal for me. Whenever I take my powerbook out with me, I'm constantly excited, I really don't know how to express my LOVE for this machine.

I bought my powerbook back in May (2005) and plan on being a Mac User from now on.


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## Elias26 (Apr 19, 2005)

It's okay iKV, many threads get recycled. Heck, I have probably asked questions that were already asked in a previous thread sometime in the past. Like many of us, we just don't have the attention span or the desire to go through a billion threads to make certain that a certain thread wasn't already posted before.

Besides there is nothing wrong with exploring the same topic again sometime down the road for the newer members. So it's all good. I pretty much brought it up to simply say I had asked a question similar to this one.

Now to give a more fully detailed response as to why I am now a Mac user opposed to a PC one. It's quite simple, Windows machines crash more often than cars do in a destruction derby. Not only that but my last PC had gotten a virus, and that was with an anti virus! Waste of 60 bucks I ever spent! Stupid McAfee! Point is, since I been on my Apple, I have experienced very little to no crashes... well, with the new G5 PowerMac I have experienced one crash! And that was since February!!! No viruses! And no dreaded "You have caused an illegal operation" messages.

P.S. iKV, so were you originally from Canada or do you just love us Canucks that much?


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## Myradon (May 13, 2005)

My friend Will used to go on and on about his mighty mac back in 1994. I didn;t pay a whole lot of attention, after all, at that time I was more concerned with playing Dukenukem3D and i needed a PC compatible computer. I seriously started looking at macintosh around November of last year, as I had become sick of Reinstallking windows for my wife. not just her, my friends, my mother and sis. My Machine, that I built using a mini itx board was a flawless machine, except for the operating system.

There were just too many circumstances where windows would turn into a were wolf and need reinstilation or correction, OR Spyware Adware inspite of my best efforts to protect people with the garlic of Firefox, Adaware,AVG and Zone Alarm.

So I played with Linux, and I loved Linux, This was an operating system! Secuity, functionality. It made my Mini sing. The story doesn;t end there because as a university student ad prolific writter, i felt it was time for a laptop. I no longer game on computers, so anything would do as long as it can process word documents and conect to the net. 

I looked for Linux laptops. The one site that carries them (that I found) sells only older units. While the price is nice, I need this to work until After my masters degree, atleast another 5 years.

I looked at VIAO or other machines. None came without windows. I don;t like the idea of paying 50-150$ licensing fee to windows just to NOT use their software. Whatever. Also batterylife on the viao was touted buy the sales guy as being a whopping 1.5 hours! Thanks ut I need a portable WORKING computer, not a machine waiting for a plug in. Then I looked up these apple things, and found the Ibook did everything I need. Excellently. 

While saving for the order a friend heard about my OS of the week, and gave me her old rotting Imac (see sig). I fired it up and was instantly impressed with OS9. upgrading to OS 10.1 2 weeks ago was only an improvement.

So there's my story.
Just a PS. I have had one crash on the Imac. it was thanks to a program caled MS word.


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