| Pages in topic: [1 2] > | Advice needed: Migrate from PC to Mac? Thread poster: Andy S
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Andy S
United Kingdom
Local time: 00:58
German to English
I am considering migrating from PC to Mac (a Mac Mini to be more accurate).
I have some question and would be very grateful for any guidance.
Dual boot: my main concern is how practical it is to run Windows 7 on a dual boot alongside Mac OS. I still need access to Windows as, aside from translating, I am a freelamce journalist who writes "Dummies" guides-type articles on PCs, so I need to be able to use Windows to be able to explain how to do things on a PC step by-s... See more I am considering migrating from PC to Mac (a Mac Mini to be more accurate).
I have some question and would be very grateful for any guidance.
Dual boot: my main concern is how practical it is to run Windows 7 on a dual boot alongside Mac OS. I still need access to Windows as, aside from translating, I am a freelamce journalist who writes "Dummies" guides-type articles on PCs, so I need to be able to use Windows to be able to explain how to do things on a PC step by-step. My knowledge of Macs is however very limited indeed.
Hardware: is 4Gb RAM really enough? I cannot abide a slow machine and 8Gb seems t be the trend on Windows machines. There does n to seem to be an option to upgrade. Meanwhile, would I be able to use my PC's peripherals such as USB keyboard, wireless mouse, speakers, BenQ monitor (I presume Macs use HDMI connections?). Then there are an external hard drives, USB memory sticks etc.
Compatibility with Windows files: assuming I will be using Windows only when I absolutely have to (i.e. writing articles about PCs) I guess I would need to buy Office for Mac (plus language packs)...or is Open Office for Mac really up to the job of handling Windows Office files? Do Macs come with native OCR software for foreign languages (I presume the OS would be exactly the same as on the iMac)?
So, lots of questions! ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Mac & Windows | Jan 6, 2013 |
Hi Andrew,
being a Mac user, I'll give it a try and provide you a few information. Hope that they clear some doubts.
Concerning Dual boot -> Dual boot only becomes availbale once you already instlalled a second OS on your Mac. By default you'll only have MacOS installed on your Mini Mac. The Mac OS comes with bootcamp, an integrated piece of software allowing you to partition your hard disc and to install Windows (only Windows 7 for the moment, maybe Windows 8 as well, ... See more Hi Andrew,
being a Mac user, I'll give it a try and provide you a few information. Hope that they clear some doubts.
Concerning Dual boot -> Dual boot only becomes availbale once you already instlalled a second OS on your Mac. By default you'll only have MacOS installed on your Mini Mac. The Mac OS comes with bootcamp, an integrated piece of software allowing you to partition your hard disc and to install Windows (only Windows 7 for the moment, maybe Windows 8 as well, I'm not sure), which means you would need a legal copy of Windows 7, which you're asked for once you launched bootcamp and chose the size of your partition. The installation is quite easy. Once your finished, you can chose your OS when booting your Mac (by holding the Apple key on your keyboard or by installing Refit (http://refit.sourceforge.net/)) depending on what task you want to work. To switch between OS you would need to restart. (Another possibility is a parallel desktop, which allows you to run Windows virtually on Macs.)
Hardware: is 4Gb RAM really enough? -> It depends on if you want to work with heavy clients (as Trados Studio). Anyway you can always upgrade your Ram (at least for Macbooks, I suppose for Mac mini it's the same).
would I be able to use my PC's peripherals -> as soon as you launch bootcamp it will ask to download a package with Windows drivers which you can execute under Windows after the installation. It will recognize most of the peripherals. Maybe you would download some from the provider's hompage, but in general Windows 7 is supposed to find and install them automatically.
For the cables you would need to check on the Apple site for the specifications.
Compatibility with Windows files -> if you don't want to spend money on the Microsoft Office package, Open office will allow you to open, read and modify Excel, Word and ppt files. I had some issues with Pages when opening Word documents, as it changes the format a bit.
NB: the write rights on the Windows partition are not given per default when your working on Mac. You would need to find a third party program if you want this option. In general it's freeware, so there are no costs for you. Same thing the other way around, you only have reading rights in the Mac partition when working on Windows.
good luck
steve ▲ Collapse
| | | | Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 00:58
Member (2008)
Italian to English
Andrew Stucken wrote:
Dual boot: my main concern is how practical it is to run Windows 7 on a dual boot alongside Mac OS.
I recommend Parallels Desktop. It lets you switch between Windows and the MacOS, without needing to reboot. See here: http://www.parallels.com/products/desktop/
Hardware: is 4Gb RAM really enough? Not really. The Mac OS really only works well on 8GB or more.
There does n to seem to be an option to upgrade.
Check out the specs for your MacMini. If you can get it with 8GB you won't need to upgrade. But Mac Minis are upgradeable to 16 GB so that's not a problem. As a cheaper option you could get a basic MacMini and then increase the memory up to 8GB using Crucial Memory (which is very good).
Meanwhile, would I be able to use my PC's peripherals such as USB keyboard, wireless mouse, speakers, BenQ monitor (I presume Macs use HDMI connections?). Then there are an external hard drives, USB memory sticks etc.
Yes
Compatibility with Windows files: assuming I will be using Windows only when I absolutely have to (i.e. writing articles about PCs) I guess I would need to buy Office for Mac (plus language packs)...or is Open Office for Mac really up to the job of handling Windows Office files?
Open Office, or even better LibreOffice, seem OK although I haven't used them much. I would suggest that you buy Office for Mac.
Do Macs come with native OCR software for foreign languages Not that I know of.
(I presume the OS would be exactly the same as on the iMac)?
Correct.
So, lots of questions!
You may find this link helpful:
https://www.apple.com/uk/why-mac/
[Edited at 2013-01-06 13:40 GMT]
| | | | Egils Grikis 
United Kingdom
Local time: 00:58
Russian to Latvian
+ ...
| Advice needed: Migrate from PC to Mac? | Jan 6, 2013 |
Hi Andrew,
I suggest Parallels Desktop for running Windows on you Mac. Simplicity, performance, and no rebooting make Parallels the #1 choice of Mac users. http://www.parallels.com
I am using Parallels with Windows 8.
More RAM is better.
«More memory (RAM) increases performance and enables your computer to perform faster and better. Choose additional 1600MHz DDR3 mem... See more Hi Andrew,
I suggest Parallels Desktop for running Windows on you Mac. Simplicity, performance, and no rebooting make Parallels the #1 choice of Mac users. http://www.parallels.com
I am using Parallels with Windows 8.
More RAM is better.
«More memory (RAM) increases performance and enables your computer to perform faster and better. Choose additional 1600MHz DDR3 memory for your Mac mini.
The more memory your computer has, the more programs you can run simultaneously, and the better performance you get from your computer. Select the standard memory configuration to support day-to-day tasks such as email, word processing and web browsing, as well as more complex tasks such as editing photos, creating illustrations and building presentations. Upgrade your memory to enjoy greater performance for more intensive computing tasks or multitasking.» http://store.apple.com/us/configure/MD387LL/A?
3-rd party RAM is OK to use and it cheaper.
Yes, you will be able to use HDMI connection http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_mac/family/mac_mini
"Office for Mac (plus language packs)...or Open Office for Mac" there is no short answer. You need to try both before – Trial version available http://www.microsoft.com/mac/products
About OCR – it is other story. Which scanner will you be using, or are you talking about OCR on JPG and other image files?
Cheers,
Egils
Andrew Stucken wrote:
I am considering migrating from PC to Mac (a Mac Mini to be more accurate).
I have some question and would be very grateful for any guidance.
Dual boot: my main concern is how practical it is to run Windows 7 on a dual boot alongside Mac OS. I still need access to Windows as, aside from translating, I am a freelamce journalist who writes "Dummies" guides-type articles on PCs, so I need to be able to use Windows to be able to explain how to do things on a PC step by-step. My knowledge of Macs is however very limited indeed.
Hardware: is 4Gb RAM really enough? I cannot abide a slow machine and 8Gb seems t be the trend on Windows machines. There does n to seem to be an option to upgrade. Meanwhile, would I be able to use my PC's peripherals such as USB keyboard, wireless mouse, speakers, BenQ monitor (I presume Macs use HDMI connections?). Then there are an external hard drives, USB memory sticks etc.
Compatibility with Windows files: assuming I will be using Windows only when I absolutely have to (i.e. writing articles about PCs) I guess I would need to buy Office for Mac (plus language packs)...or is Open Office for Mac really up to the job of handling Windows Office files? Do Macs come with native OCR software for foreign languages (I presume the OS would be exactly the same as on the iMac)?
So, lots of questions!
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Andy S
United Kingdom
Local time: 00:58
German to English
TOPIC STARTER | OCR via tinter | Jan 7, 2013 |
Thankyou, everyone, for your very helpful and informative replies!
To answer Egils' question, I will be using an HP4215 all-in-one for OCR tasks, although i spouse if i am running Windows 7 alongside Mac OS I guess I can use my Abbyy Scan to Office for windows Windows.
A couple of further questions have occurred to me:
Would Windows run rather slowly using a parallel desktop on a Mac?
How much harder/more expensive is it to get a Mac repair... See more Thankyou, everyone, for your very helpful and informative replies!
To answer Egils' question, I will be using an HP4215 all-in-one for OCR tasks, although i spouse if i am running Windows 7 alongside Mac OS I guess I can use my Abbyy Scan to Office for windows Windows.
A couple of further questions have occurred to me:
Would Windows run rather slowly using a parallel desktop on a Mac?
How much harder/more expensive is it to get a Mac repaired, compared to a PC? For example I simply take my current PC to the local computer shop if anything goes wrong that i cannot deal with myself. Do you need specialist mac technicians to repair Macs? What kind of warranty does Apple provide? ▲ Collapse
| | | | Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 00:58
Member (2008)
Italian to English
| Not necessary | Jan 7, 2013 |
Andrew Stucken wrote:
How much harder/more expensive is it to get a Mac repaired, compared to a PC? For example I simply take my current PC to the local computer shop if anything goes wrong that i cannot deal with myself. Do you need specialist mac technicians to repair Macs? What kind of warranty does Apple provide?
You don't need to get a Mac repaired and you don't need a computer technician, because so long as you regularly perform some very quick and simple ordinary maintenance routines, nothing will ever go wrong with your Mac that you won't be able to resolve yourself, or with the help of the Mac discussion forums.
In 20 years of using Macs I've never needed a technician to fix anything.
| | | | Angela Dickson (X)
United Kingdom
Local time: 00:58
French to English
+ ...
Andrew Stucken wrote:
Hardware: is 4Gb RAM really enough? I cannot abide a slow machine and 8Gb seems t be the trend on Windows machines. There does n to seem to be an option to upgrade.
Over the last couple of years I've been using iMacs. I've recently bought one of the brand-new ones and it's amazing. I can echo most of what Tom says.
I suggest you check your assumption about memory upgrades for the Mac Mini. Perhaps you are looking at old models? The UK Apple store (http://store.apple.com/uk/configure/MD388B/A?) suggests that you can upgrade at the time of purchase, and as I understand it it's easy to upgrade the RAM yourself. It's certainly easy on the iMac, though it is the only component that it's possible to upgrade yourself.
I advise that you DON'T buy RAM from Apple as they charge a fortune for it - if you get a Mac Mini, buy one with 4GB then upgrade using crucial.com, as Tom suggests. It will be much cheaper and will work perfectly. I think you're right that 4GB wouldn't be enough for you.
Since last Thursday I've been running Mountain Lion and Windows 7 via Parallels 7, on my new machine which has 8GB RAM, and everything is very fast indeed. I can thoroughly recommend the new Fusion drives, though they do cost extra.
In 2.5 years of Mac use I have also never needed to get one repaired, but I also hear good things about AppleCare cover; realistically, things do go wrong sometimes, and most mechanical problems with Macs can't be fixed by the user. 3 years of cover was included under the academic pricing scheme through which I bought my iMac, but I've heard from others that it's worth buying it.
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Angela Dickson wrote:
In 2.5 years of Mac use I have also never needed to get one repaired
You can leave out the decimal dot in my case. Nothing wrong with my Macs in 25 years. Those were all desktop machines, and if I ever buy a MacBook, I'll have to do some heavy thinking about AppleCare.
Andrew, are you sure you want a Mac mini? I have one (and a 27" iMac), and it's a wonderful computer, but it's "expensive." I know it's cheaper than an iMac, but pretty soon you will buy an Apple keyboard, a Magic Mouse, and a decent display. If you total it up, you might just as well have bought an iMac…
Cheers,
Hans
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Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 01:58
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
| The first time... | Jan 8, 2013 |
Andrew Stucken wrote:
I am considering migrating from PC to Mac (a Mac Mini to be more accurate).
The first time I read this thread I resisted replying, but it's been a week, so here's my question: why do you think a Mac Mini would be more accurate than what you currently have?
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