Switching from Windows to Mac? You’re not alone. The Mac market continues to grow while the PC computer industry is actually declining (due mostly to tablets). In fact, Mac growth has outpaced the general PC market for the past 8 years.
For the best performance and the Mac experience, you’ll want to use the Apple apps that come standard with every Mac. Three apps - Pages, Number & Keynote - are free with a new Mac. These apps take advantage of Apple technologies like iCloud and have matching web, iPad & iPhone versions. They open and export Office, PDF and other common formats. Just be aware that some documents may reflow or change appearance during conversion, so certain working environments still call for Microsoft Office.
If you truly need Microsoft Office, Microsoft Office for Mac is available for as little as $7 a month. True Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint file formats are the same as Windows – no conversion required.
Most software companies allow you to migrate from the Windows version to Mac for little to no cost. For example, Adobe Creative Cloud apps are fully-transferrable, as are Microsoft 365 subscriptions.
If some of your essential software is not available in a Macintosh version, run Windows on your Mac. With Parallels Desktop ($80), you run both Mac and Windows (or Linux) at the same time. Work in Windows applications while using the Mac email system. Copy/paste or drag/drop between applications on different platforms. Choose to hide the Windows desktop and move Windows programs around the Mac screen, or switch to full-screen Windows mode. You can have several virtual machines – great for testing under Mac OS X, Windows 7, 8 & 10 – all on the same computer. There’s even a “Switch to Mac” version of Parallels that transfers all your files, apps, and Windows OS from your existing PC to the Mac. You can continue to work with your old PC “virtually” on your Mac and make the transition easier. We can help – contact us for details.
Already have a Windows license? Install Parallels and then your Windows install disc. If you need a the latest version, purchase Windows 10, starting at $120. We can install Parallels, Windows and print drivers – contact us for a quote.
Creative Tech Support can help transfer files from your Windows computer to a Mac, convert email, contacts, calendars and bookmarks, and connect you to servers and printers. We're happy to share our extensive Mac experience and make your transition easy and productive.
Read three methods for migrating your data from Windows to Mac.
