General Tips For Switch to Mac From Windows

Sales of Apple's Macintosh computers have been growing much faster than PC sales overall, with many new Mac buyers switching from years of using Windows computers. For that reason, every month I get emails from readers asking about the differences in using the Windows and Macintosh operating systems.

While the Windows and Mac user interfaces are broadly similar, they do have subtle variations in day-to-day use that require some re-education for switchers. And because there are so many fewer Mac users than Windows users, help from friends and co-workers can be harder to obtain than it is for people switching the other way, to Windows from Mac.

So, here's a quick tip sheet explaining a few of the most common differences in the daily use of Windows XP, from which most people would be switching, and Apple's Mac OS X Leopard, which switchers would be adopting.

This column isn't an argument for making the switch to a Mac, merely an attempt to help those who have done so, or who are considering doing so. Of course, all Macs currently sold can run Windows and Windows programs concurrently with the Mac operating system. But this guide is for folks who intend to use their Macs primarily with Leopard, not Windows.

Menu Bars: In Windows, each program typically has its own menu bar. On the Mac, there's a single menu bar at the top of the screen that changes, depending on which program you are actively using. More>>

Will Enterprise welcome Mac's presence?

As we know Mac is the best and simple easy to use opertating system in the earth. But, it is not stolen as many desktops in the Enterprise arena, may be this is because of their focus only on individual users. But this time it takes very serious into the Enterprise, Enterprise Desktop Alliance showcase the power of using Macs in the corporate environment. It says

By leveraging the suite of capabilities that EDA solutions offer, an enterprise can easily integrate Macs and achieve the same level of control, security, policy compliance, and services that they currently have with their Windows platforms.

We have to wait and see the reaction from the Big companies whether they welcome mac into their environment. Obviously I will rise my hand If my manager asks my opinion :)

Leopard Rises from XP's Ashes

Windows XP officially exits the OEM and retail channels after today. Let the Leopard and Vista competition really begin.

Windows XP won't completely go away, but it will be increasingly more difficult to find, and that could be very good for Apple. Because if computer buyers don't want Windows Vista, they'll have to look elsewhere. Can you say Mac OS X 10.5?

Here's the no-nonsense explanation about XP availability:

• Today is the last day OEMs can offer Windows XP PCs.
• System builders, which buy the software from distributors, can ship XP PCs through the end of January.
• OEMs can offer XP as a "downgrade" option for PCs shipping with Vista Business or Ultimate, but usually at extra cost.
• OEMs can still ship Windows XP Home on ultralow-powered notebooks like the Asus Eee PC.
• Businesses buying Microsoft software through some volume-licensing programs can use "downgrade" rights to reimage Vista PCs with Windows XP.

XP's exit from OEM and retail channels comes at a time when Vista isn't doing so well. Microsoft boasts 150 million Vista licenses shipped, but the number loses its impact in the context of PC shipments.

Between Jan. 1, 2007 and March 31, 2008, PC manufacturers shipped approximately 342 million PCs worldwide, according to published Gartner figures. However, the figures include x86 servers. Being as generous as possible to Microsoft, I lop off 42 million units, to account for x86 servers and computer sales during the first 29 days of January 2007, when Vista wasn't yet available on new PCs.

That works out to about 300 million PCs during the same time Microsoft shipped 140 million Vista licenses. Typically, Microsoft sells about 80 percent of Windows licenses on new PCs. Being, again, generous to Microsoft, I figure 112 million Vista licenses. Based on this arguably loose estimate, Windows Vista shipped on about 37 percent of the 300 million PCs. I strongly suspect that one-third would be a more accurate number.More>>

Snow Leopard: Back to Basics

All the media attention this week has been on the announcement of the new iPhone 3G during Steve Jobs’s keynote at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference. But for Mac users there was another huge story that day, one that took up only a few seconds of the keynote: Snow Leopard, a brand-new version of Mac OS X.

Apple has been working on Mac OS X for more than a decade, and the public has been able to use it for eight years. In that time, the replacement for the classic Mac OS has grown through several stages: it began in an awkward, half-functional state, progressed into a fully functional replacement for OS 9 with increasing levels of speed and stability, and finally became an entrenched system that advanced by acquiring whizzy new features such as Spotlight and Time Machine.

Early in Mac OS X’s history, the operating system sped up with each new version, as Apple engineers tuned the code and got it working better. But those improvements have faded, and the last two releases have certainly been no faster than their predecessors. Instability, too, has returned to Mac OS X. (The title of my predecessor Rick LePage’s opinion piece, “What I Hate About Leopard,” says it all.)

So how refreshing was it for Apple to announce—albeit out of the spotlight of the keynote, via press release—that Apple is taking a break from rolling out Mac OS X updates with hundreds of new features. Instead, the next major release of Mac OS X will focus on speed and stability.More>>

iMac turns 10

It was ten years ago today that Steve Jobs mounted the Flint Center auditorium near Apple's campus and revealed the product that would save Apple, and become the best selling computer of all time: the iMac. It is hard to believe that this cute little guy is ten years old, but it is true.

The original iMac came stocked with a 233MHz G3, 32MB of SDRAM (though you could bump it up to a whopping 128MB), a 4 gig harddrive, 2 USB ports, a CD-ROM drive (not a CD burner, Apple was late to that party), and an IrDA port. These specs might not make your heart skip a beat nowadays, but the iMac is the product that started Apple's amazing turn around. It was the first mainstream computer to break with the past and offer only USB ports, no legacy connectors here. And it is worth noting that the iMac can also be attributed as the killer of the floppy disk.

I recall the howls from the tech community about the iMac's lack of a floppy drive. 'People love their floppies!' 'This is nothing more than an expensive toy!' All charges leveled against the iMac, but the decision actually helped create a market for USB accessories as most people bought their iMac and a USB floppy drive (I know I did. I used that floppy drive twice: once to make sure it worked, and another time to copy a file).More>>

Apple cleaning up in $1,000-plus retail market

Apple's doing well in the high-rent district of the computer industry, according to NPD.

On Friday eWeek published some data confirmed by NPD that reveals Apple now owns 66 percent of the U.S. retail market for personal computers that cost more than $1,000. Its percentage of the U.S. retail market in general is 14 percent, according to NPD.

Apple only sells one Mac below $1,000--the Mac mini--so it's not all that surprising that it would do well in that category, given the momentum behind Mac sales over the past year. By contrast, the single largest category of notebooks available at Best Buy--when sorted by price--falls between $700 and $899. And two-thirds of the desktops on the site are priced below $1,000.

These numbers don't include an awful lot of sales--such as corporate PCs that account for about half the market, and online-heavy sellers such as Dell--but tend to illustrate trends in the U.S. PC market over time. Apple only had about 18 percent of the same category in January 2006, according to Fortune. That was the same month Apple introduced its first Intel-based Mac.

This is a profitable category, however, that all PC companies covet. Those PC companies may be reaching corporate customers at those price points, but Apple is dominating the consumer half of the high end.

Vista, Leopard, Linux to compete in hack contest

Apple's OS X, Microsoft Windows, and Linux operating systems are to be pitted against each other in an ethical hacking contest in Vancouver next month. Run by the organizers of the CanSecWest Vancouver 2008 security conference, the competition is a repeat of the "PWN to Own" contest at CanSecWest in 2007, when security researchers competed to win a MacBook Pro and $10,000. The prize was shared between security researchers Dino Dai Zovi and Shane Macauley for their successful Read More>>

Apple more aggressive on Mac sales

Apple is more aggressive on selling macs. I come across lots of ads in major sites. Below is the one example:

San Francisco Geared Up For Macworld

http://www.macrumors.com/mwsf/

Macworld 2008

Stand in line here for Keynote

Best Buy announced plans to sell more Macs than ever this year

Katie Marshall reports for AppleInsider that Best Buy gave some insight into its plans for the immediate future at the CES 2008 and it’s good news for potential buyers of our favorite computing platform. Best Buy executives commented that the company plans to double the number of stores carrying Macs, a number that is currently pegged in the vicinity of 230-270 retail locations, in the next couple of months.

This means that by the end of February 2008, roughly 500 of the 900 total Best Buy stores will be selling the best computers money can buy (see what I did there?). We’re, of course, glad to hear this latest development: the more Macs you see on store shelves, the better an indication it is of their growing popularity. And that can only be good, right?

How Apple Can Win The PC Battle

According to Apple Insider, just a year ago Apple's share of the computer market was close to 2%. Now MacWorld and CNet are reporting that - according to NDP research - Apple's Desktops have crossed 10% and the MacBooks now closing on 15% of the laptop market. This puts MacBooks in 4th place behind HP, Toshiba and Gateway. The figures are likely to increase in the 3rd quarter, which is traditionally strong for Apple, because of the back-to-school sales.

The above stats are backed up by my own experiences. When I walked into the BestBuy store recently, something was very different. It took me a second to realize that among the usual scenery, I was also looking at a big section featuring Macs. So Apple is back with a vengeance and has re-ignited the PC war. Despite dropping the word computer from its name, Apple still desperately wants to win the PC market.

But why? Surely Steve Job's spite and ego play a role, but more importantly, desktops and laptops still hold the lion's share of profitability in the computing industry. The computer is becoming, if it has not already become, the personal media center. Laptops are literally everywhere and it is likely to remain the same way for at least a decade. So Apple is fighting as hard as it can to fix its mistake of the past - letting Redmond win the personal computing market.More>>

How the iPhone will rock the mobile industry

The initial release of the iPod wasn’t great. A so-so product that only worked with Macs and required users to spend their lives ripping CDs. But its long-term effect were huge: a massive 10% (and rapidly growing) chunk of music is now sold digitally to the iPod and its competitors. So what will the iPhone’s long-term effect on the cell phone industry be?

Accelerate 3G adoption in the US
The iPhone is a 2G device - ie, it’s slow. This was the right decision: the US has paltry 3G coverage. In most major cities, however, free 802.11b wireless networks are ubiquitous. People with devices like the iPhone and Nokia’s N95 (which also has a desktop-quality web browser) can get a taste of viewing real web on their phones content at reasonable speed over 802.11b wireless networks in cafes and bookstores. The massive speed drop users will get attempting to view a real website over an EDGE network will raise consumer demand for 3G and better networks from carriers.

They’ll also want a 3G iPhone like their friends in Australia have. Late next year Apple intends to release the iPhone in Australia, where 2G networks are being shut down, 3G or 3.5G HSDPA is everywhere, and free 802.11b wireless is rare. By the time that happens, the iPhone will be 3G - not only because Apple wants it to be, but because it has no other choice.More>>

HCL Info, Wipro for dealerships with iPhone

Friday 6 pm U.S time. As the world gets ready for this deadline to grab one of the most sought after handsets - the iPhone - two Indian companies are also getting ready to register gains from this revolutionary offering of Apple Inc., the makers of Macintosh computer (popularly called Mac) and the iPod.

Noida-based HCL Infosystems and Bangalore-based Wipro Technologies are close to becoming the exclusive Indian distributors of the iPhone. Analysts are expecting 1-3 million handsets to hit the shelves on Friday.

A luxury product costing $499 for 4 gigabytes memory and $599 for 8 gigabytes memory, iPhone will have a large touch screen minus the conventional keypad. It will also double up as an iPod, video player and will come equipped with a digital camera.

Despite some of its flaws, the iPhone has bagged rare reviews and is being branded as a 'breakthrough handheld computer' as it automatically syncs all contacts from a PC, a MAC or internet service.

The good response is seen helping Apple Inc's head, Steve Jobs, to meet his goal of selling 10 million iPhones in 2008. Such sales will automatically catapult iPhone to third major revenue garner for Apple along with Mac and the iPod. More>>