Help with choosing computer

I've never had a MAC, and I know some others have never had a PC! I know we've had peeps switch between the two.
The program - I'm not positive if you'll have to replace it. I do know that some programs discs were specific to PC or MAC.
As far as digi supplies, both computer systems can see the file formats. Some actions I think can be PC or MAC dependent, but usually designers include both in the folder. The only other thing I know that can cause an issue is External Hard Drive's. Depending on how it was formatted, it might not work on the other system.

@jk703 Jenn, didn't you switch the other way? Mac to PC? You should have some knowledge!

If it were me, I'd ask myself why I want to switch? And what are you looking for in a computer/laptop?

 

I went from Mac to PC... only since Mac stopped making a 17" laptop. If they did, I would have stayed Mac. If they offered a 17" Mac laptop tomorrow, I'd jump back to Mac in a heartbeat.

I would go to the Apple store and try out the different models. You will have to give yourself at least 3 weeks to a month to learn the nuances of a new operating system. You will have to have patience, but once you get the hang of it, Mac is awesome!

Supplies, files and most software will work, but you might have to repurchase some things. Your PCS4 discs would not work on a Mac. That might need to be purchased. I'm not sure what other software you use. Nowadays, most of my software is downloaded, and I can choose to DL Windows or Mac. If I got a new computer, I would download what was needed.

I was able to use all my actions, styles, fonts, files and everything else once they were on my Windows laptop. The hard part was getting them there and getting used to a new system. Going from Mac to Windows wasn't as hard, but still a learning curve, since I use a Windows based PC at work. It was a struggle to get my personal computer to run similarly to how my Mac ran/was set up. If you backup, backup to an external hard drive that can be read by both Windows and Mac. That was where I ran into issues. It will save you oodles of time and headaches.

 

I use both. Mac at home. Pc at the office. I use CC2017 on Pc. Unfortunately my Mac can only take Cc2015. I will pick Mac anytime. I’m a Mac fan. Mac hardly gets hang compared to a pc. (I get stressed working on a Pc). It’s just my opinion.

 

I switched from PC to a Mac and I'll never go back! I've just recently started my journey into digital scrapping so I can't say how it is to switch with all your goodies. It is a bit of a learning curve at first but well worth it in my opinion. I also have an iPhone and an iPad it is great to have everything connected

 

I used PCs from the mid-90's until I decided to get an iMac in 2011. The only thing that would make me switch back to PC is if I couldn't afford to replace this 2011 iMac, when someday it no longer works. I hope it continues working well for years longer because I can't really afford to replace it now!

I've read that you can put together as nice of a PC system as a an Apple, but that Apple is generally better with graphics, better for artists. And this iMac screen is definitely beautiful.

I found it very easy to switch from PC to Mac. The differences are very minor. I was using Photoshop Elements at the time, 2011, and I just contacted Adobe and they gave me the Mac version. (I had registered my Windows version of PSE.) If you're using Adobe Creative Cloud, I'd think you'd just download it all to your new computer easily from the Adobe website.

Not only does an Apple computer recognize the same graphics files, it shows PSD thumbnails in the files. The Finder search system works much better than I remember Windows file searching. Oh, I'll miss Apple so much, if I can't use it someday, unless Windows has caught up.

Good luck with your decision!

 

Are you still using your 2011 iMac ? i switched from pc to mac in 2009, and got a new MacBook pro 13" in 2011. I am tying on that. but i do not like upgrading the OS - since upgrading some OS a few years a go, my battery capacity is non existent despite buying NEW batteries !!! I also have a mac mini - fro 2013 - and it is so.... S L O W . and now MacBook pro's (since 2016 i believe) hard drives are a part of the mother board - and memory so nothing is upgradable (i have put in 4 different 2.5 external hard drives in my 2011 mac book pro, and upgraded memory to 16gb) but none of that is possible w/ new macs - AND They've gone BACKWARDS for hard drive size ?! which is why i wasn't a mac person in early 2000! Windows had much bigger hard drives. but i hated windows Vista. and 2009 bought this macbook pro. and fell in love.
now . i . am. sad. b/c hard drive is a huge issue for me. especially as a digital scrapper !

 

Yes! My 2011 iMac is still chugging along. I have to have patience with my geriatric computer because it's slow to wake up, but I generally don't have trouble with it. I was planning to stop upgrading OS when High Sierra first came out, but then some software needed it (I forget what it was) and tech support told me my Mac could handle it, and it did. I have upgraded to 16 GB Memory and I hardly put anything on the internal hard drive. All my photos and scrapbook pages and digi stash and documents are on an EHD.

 

I use PC at work and the MAC at home. I've been a MAC girl since 2001. I love it. And if you have the iPhone and iPad you can work so easily between all the different devices. Airdrop is the best! All your digi stuff on your PC will be usable on the MAC. Software isn't an issue if you use Adobe CC. But like Jenn/Courtney mentioned - the only issue would be an EHD that is formatted for a PC only. You can still move all the files though - you just need to get an EHD formatted for MACs. I store most of my photos and digi supplies on EHDs and back them up with BackBlaze. EHDs are very affordable these days and don't bog your internal hard drives down. If you photograph a lot, shop digi supplies a lot, and scrap a lot - EHDs are a must! Good luck - big purchases like this are tough. I would go to the Apple store and try them out and see how they feel to you.

 

Love my mac products too!!!

 

kissed the frog!

 

My phone is an iPhone and I have an iPad. My PC is a Dell, which is all I've ever had. Someday, if my PC ever dies, I want to switch to Mac, but for now, my PC is just fine. I transition from my Apple devices with One Drive.

 

kissed the frog!