Apple’s Mac sales remain at all time highs, units sold, total revenue, profits. Windows users are switching to Macs in growing numbers.

If you’re a switcher, or you know one, what tipped the scales toward the Mac? Why did you take the plunge and make the switch?

Was it due to the influence of Apple’s delightful series of television commercials which pit ’I’m a Mac’ against the doddering, inept, ’I’m a PC?’ Did you switch because Windows security problems drove you nuts?

Apple claims that about half of all Macs purchased in Apple’s retail stores are to first time Mac buyers, most of whom are former Windows users. Seldom do we hear of reports of Mac users switching to Windows.

It’s arguable that Mac OS X is a more dependable, secure, less problem-plagued operating system than Windows. Mac are known for being easy to use and secure, two areas that many Windows users found to be problematic with their PCs.

Somewhere in the buying process, when a PC user decides to switch to a Mac instead of buy another PC, there is a tipping point, a pinnacle where desire overcomes fear.

Most Mac switchers may not have made a yellow legal pad list-- two columns, detailed pro and con-- of the good points about Macs and the bad points about Windows, but the mental process probably carried a running tab that, when added up, became the decision to buy a Mac.

Many media and tech pundits point to the success of Apple’s iPod and iTunes among windows users as one of the major reasons for Apple’s Mac successes of late. Others point out that Microsoft’s security problems with Windows XP, and quirky behavior in Windows Vista also contributed to the Mac’s success.

If you’re a switcher to the Mac from Windows, any time over the past three years or so, can you describe what criteria you applied to your get to your decision to buy a Mac instead of a PC?

Over the past five years, Windows users have been treated to what we like most about the Mac through their experiences with the iPod and iTunes. It just works. No hassles. No learning curve. Plug it in and start using.

Tens of millions of Windows users bought iPods and use iTunes. That showed them that Apple makes cool products that work better than their Windows PC counterparts. Even Apple’s design of the new generation of iMac looks similar to the various iPod models.

The reasons for PC users switching from Windows to the Mac probably are quite varied, though most will share one thing in common. A tipping point. What happened that made the decision to choose a Mac acceptable?

Price? Security? Ease of use? Dependability? Style and design? OS X and iLife? Mac applications? Influence from family, friends, peers?

We’ve had more than a few businesses call after Mac360 featured our Mac-based accounting firm in a headline article years ago. In fact, someone at Apple read that article and thought we’d fit nicely in their popular Business Profile pages. Apple clearly understands the power of word-of-mouth advertising and momentum. When firms (or individuals) are thinking of making the switch, it sure helps if they can read about the experiences of others that have already forged the path. The fact that millions have made the switch provides comfort and assurance that it can be done.

Tired old myths take time to die. The questions we often get have to do with file compatibility, availability of software, and the ‘price premium.’ But Apple enthusiasts everywhere are setting the record straight and providing knowledge and support and helping convert more and more PC users.

Sites like Mac360 and Apple’s Business Profiles - as well as word of mouth from friends and family - are a huge asset to Apple and are fueling impressive growth.

I choose to switch over to Mac back in December of 2006. I won a lawsuit and went into the Apple store and went to town, I skipped right over the IMAC and went straight for the Mac Pro and I purchased a 23 inch high definition monitor witch I must ad there is no other monitor on this planet that can match it’s performance.

I went into the world of Apple blind sided, I have never seen or used a Mac before and I did not know what to expect when I got home and took it out of the box and hooked it all up. I think you all will find this funny, the first thing I tried to do was go online but I could not find the browser. Remember now that I am still excited about my new beast of a machine. So I called Apple Care Tech support and said hum…. How to I get online? She said look for the compass, it’s called safari and click on it, so I did and off I went. I think the Tech support lady was trying really hard not to laugh.

I also purchased the Apple customer care program from the store I bought it from allowing me free learning sessions but I never used it, the membership has expired as of last December I believe. I am a pretty good person at self-teaching myself on how to use a computer. I had the basics of the Mac down in a couple of weeks and would say I was a good novice user after about six months or so. Where I stand now, I don’t really know what rank I would put myself in for a Mac user but it definitely is above novice.

I started using computers in 1998 and my first computer was a Gateway with a whooping Pentium II 400 MGZ processor in it. It was faster than all my friends’ computers and I was the talk of the town at the time. I have had many p.c. computers after that including allot of laptops all junk. Every year it seemed I had to format and start all over because the windows registry always got messed up. And why windows are still using a registry in Vista is way beyond me. Windows is noting but a bunch of programs fighting to work together most of the time they crash and when one program crashes on a p.c. the whole thing freezes up. I just plain out got sick of it. I got my lawsuit settlement and have heard over the years how a Mac just plain out works and it does, that is what influenced me to buy one and switch.

I still have a custom built p.c. that I gave to my fiancée. We don’t have the money to buy her an IMAC right now so she is using that for the time being. So far it has been on a good streak and running o.k. But I know a crash is coming, it has 8 bad sectors on a raptor hard drive and growing. I dare not tell her because I want it to crash and I am going to tell her the motherboard fried out. I have to do something; I want all the p.c. computers out of this house. She can cough up the money for an IMAC, she just does not want to. She is a R.N. charge nurse on the medical/surgical unit and makes around $90,000 a year gross. I have a plan to get her off p.c. for good. I find her on my Mac more and more and I know she likes it better than p.c. but she just won’t admit it. I bought us two brand new cars and paid cash for them on the spot from Toyota so we have no car payments, there is no excuse why she can’t get an IMAC. Personally I would like to play around on one and compare it to my quad 3 GHZ Mac Pro. I see the IMACS are up to 3.6 GHZ now.

I love my Mac I have come to realalize it’s a really hard-core addition for me. I spend on average 15+ hours each day on it. I also have a Mac Book for the road and when I seldom end up in the hospital due to my diabetes. All hospitals now have free wi/fi so I am good to good in the hospital with my Mac Book.

I actually have never had to switch.  I have always used a mac...well since 1984.  I have helped numerous people switch though and mostly its been ease of use.  Average people just want a machine that works and that is easy to figure out and interact with.

For me it was a long, painful experience. With Windows. Pain made me switch but even then it took awhile before I made the decision. Yes, sites like Mac 360 help because it is part of a community.

Mac users have support and a desire to ‘get it right.’ Windows users only know the experience they have so assume that’s what computing is all about.

Mac users show them that there is more.

Just curious Ron, have you ever owned a p.c.?

PRO~DUAL~INTEL~3/GIGAHERTZ - 15 May 2008 12:54 PM

Just curious Ron, have you ever owned a p.c.?

Oh, yes. Through the years, many, many PCs. But I’m not a ‘switcher.’ I used Macs before there was a Windows, though I used one of the early Windows versions (sucked worse than now).

My first computer was an Osborne 1, the sewing machine model. I cut my computer teeth on CP/M, WordStar, SuperCalc, and, gulp, dBase II. Anybody remember the little green dot? I’ve had various CP/M machines, PC-DOS, IBM-PCs, Compaq, Dell, Gateway, home-built, Toshiba, HP, Sony (currently have a Sony Vaio tower-- I turn it on only on Sunday to run the anti-virus software).

My first Mac was an original 128k model from early March 1984, and I’ve always owned a Mac. That first one didn’t do squat until the LaserWriter printer was introduced with MacDraw in 1985.

I also manage half a dozen Linux servers scattered here and there, and of course, Mac360 which runs on an Apple Xserve.

Ron McElfresh - 15 May 2008 01:06 PM

PRO~DUAL~INTEL~3/GIGAHERTZ - 15 May 2008 12:54 PM

Just curious Ron, have you ever owned a p.c.?

Oh, yes. Through the years, many, many PCs. But I’m not a ‘switcher.’ I used Macs before there was a Windows, though I used one of the early Windows versions (sucked worse than now).

My first computer was an Osborne 1, the sewing machine model. I cut my computer teeth on CP/M, WordStar, SuperCalc, and, gulp, dBase II. Anybody remember the little green dot? I’ve had various CP/M machines, PC-DOS, IBM-PCs, Compaq, Dell, Gateway, home-built, Toshiba, HP, Sony (currently have a Sony Vaio tower-- I turn it on only on Sunday to run the anti-virus software).

My first Mac was an original 128k model from early March 1984, and I’ve always owned a Mac. That first one didn’t do squat until the LaserWriter printer was introduced with MacDraw in 1985.

I also manage half a dozen Linux servers scattered here and there, and of course, Mac360 which runs on an Apple Xserve.

I just had to ask and actually I am surprised I though you where gonna say nope to a p.c.

I built a five thousand dollar gaming p.c. from tiger direct about two years ago. It has the clear case and top notch everything but I learned one thing, building your own p.c. means your on your own for drivers and there is no tech support and the damn thing to this day gives me more problems although actually it’s been doing better ever since I found a program that finds and updates all drivers and that was my main problem. I put a asus motherboard in it and could not find the firmware updates anywhere and once this program found and installed the firmware update for the intel processor all my problems went away except for the OS nothing can help that.

For me the tipping point was the first Mac Mini, a friend of mine had been advocating Mac for years, but I built my own computers and the price was always an issue for me. I bought the most basic Mac Mini there was, added my own ram to make it 512mb, and used it at work.

Within 2 weeks I knew I would never go back to Windows and bought a Powermac G5!

“What tipped the scales?” Hmmm, it was probably those damned Hollerith cards on the IBM 1620 I was forced to use and then the bitty rolls of flimsy punched tape that tore, followed by an HP desktop with magnetic cards and finally a portable Monroe CompuCorp with an external cassette memory.  That is when I purchased a Mac 512k.

I’ve used many including Windows, against my will, when a program would ONLY run on Windows.

The “final switch” was when I could buy the MacBook Pro with Intel and load up Windows XP and stop buying Dell Laptops and having to lug them around with my MacBook Pro.