Mac to PC
Switch Accomplished, Convert Thrilled to be Paid for
Switching PlatformsOctober 9, 2002 Yes, it's true. I like the Microsoft® Windows® XP
operating system enough to change my whole computing world
around. Here's the bottom line: Windows XP gives me more
choices and flexibility, and better compatibility with the
rest of the technology world. (Do not use the word lemmings.
Do not use the word sheep. Do not use the words mindless
drone. This is my choice.) Windows XP relieved my fears about switching. I can read
my files, import email addresses from my Palm* to the
Microsoft Outlook® messaging and collaboration client,
and keep my Web favorites. All the Mac hardware -- including
my printer, broadband cable, Zip drive, and Palm handheld --
works perfectly with my Windows-based PC. (Bet you didn't
know that cable modems and Palms qualified as Mac hardware,
did you. The Spin Doctor is in.) To my surprise, the process of switching was as easy as
the marketing hype had promised. I was up and running in
less than one day, Girl Scout's honor.
[Removed at the request of the Girl Scouts.] First, let me tell you more about why I converted. More Hardware Options, for Less DoughI am a freelance writer; I demand the best in mobile
computing. There's a much greater choice of portable
computers and features, for less money, on the Windows
platform. My laptop came with 512 MB of RAM, a 15" screen, a
DVD player, and Windows XP Home Edition preinstalled, for
$450 less than a comparable iBook. My recommendation is to
go straight to Windows XP Professional; the extra features
for mobile users are worth it. See Which Edition is Right
for You? for more information. C'mon, it doesn't matter that the TiBook is a stunning
machine with a 15.2" megawide display, only one inch thick,
has a combination DVD player and CD burner, and supports a
gig of RAM. It doesn't come with Windows XP in any edition,
and that's what Microsoft is paying me to switch to. Really, I'm a freelance writer, so I have to buy a cheap
computer. Yes, one that makes the iBook look overpriced.
Then I can justify the money for a real networkable version
of Windows XP. And don't laugh about the whole edition thing -- the Mac
has versions to. No, they don't strip OS X down to make
a cheap home version that nobody really wants, nor do they
charge a huge fee for upgrading to a more useful version,
but there is OS X and OS X Server. Microsoft
offers more choices, and isn't that what you really want?
Apple limits your choices. More Software FlexibilityAppleWorks pales in comparison to Microsoft Office XP,
but then so does Microsoft Works, which is really the more
comparable program. But I'm not paid to undermine MS Works,
so the less said about it, the better. I'm pushing Windows
XP with Office XP, not OS X with Office: X. AppleWorks has no equivalent for the versatility of
Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint®. Toolbars and
menus customize themselves to the way I work. (Please don't
mention that Microsoft Office runs natively on Mac
OS X. Forget that for a moment; I'm being paid to shill
Windows XP and Office, not Mac OS X and
Office: X.) Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 does more for me than
Netscape Navigator ever did, and I am a surfing addict. Come
to think of it, most of you Mac users are already using IE
on OS 9 or X, so you'll already be familiar with the
way it works. Searches are faster; the History feature makes
it easier to find that site from last week; and I can name
and organize my Favorites any way I want. Of course, a lot
of Mac users also use Internet Explorer, but it's not
version 6, so it's not nearly as good as what I have now.
(Do you Mac users really think Microsoft would ever give you
feature parity? Hah!) And Now for the HowNow that I've given you the reasons why I
converted, here's the skinny on the how. Step 1: Internet and Email
The first time I turned on my PC, Windows XP prompted me to
set up User Accounts. It's a lot like the setup
assistant that launches when you first use the Mac OS. I set
up one for me and one for my husband. I love that we can
define completely different user experiences without messing
with each other's settings. It's like a Lexus we rented
once; when you pushed a button, the driver's seat and
mirrors all moved to accommodate my 5 foot 3 inches instead
of his 6 feet. And the Mac doesn't have anything like it --
don't believe the pile crap people will feed you about
Multiple Users; only Windows XP offers this. Girl
Scout's honor! The New Connection Wizard then guided me through
the setup of my Internet connection for browsing the Web. If
you use a dial-up connection with an Internet service
provider (ISP), you'll need to know your ISP's name (e.g.,
MSN®), your user name (the part of your email address
before the @ symbol), your password, and the phone number
for your ISP connection. You know, the same things you used
to set up Claris Emailer, Eudora, Outlook Express,
Entourage, or Apple's own OS X Mail software on your
Mac. To make a new connection: - From the Start menu, select All
Programs, and then select Accessories,
Communications, and New Connection
Wizard.
- Work your way through the wizard, clicking
Next after each step and then Finish
when you reach the end of the wizard.
- To access your new account, click Start, point
to Connect To, and then click the connection you
set up in step 2.
I started with Outlook Express for email, because it's
included with Windows XP. (Yes, it's freely available for
the Mac as well, but we're hyping Windows here. Put your
blinders back on.) You'll need to know a few things from
your ISP or administrator: - Type of email server: POP3, IMAP, or HTTP
(like Hotmail® or Yahoo)
- Your name, email address, user name, and
password
- Incoming and outgoing mail servers: often the
same -- for example, email.contoso.com
To setup a new email account in Outlook Express: - From the Tools menu, click
Accounts.
- Click Add, and then select Mail.
- Work your way through the wizard.
Step 2: Importing Favorites
I copied hundreds of Web Favorites from the Mac onto a Zip
disk, then into the Favorites folder on the PC. I would
never have had to do this if Microsoft didn't provide the
financial incentive to switch, but when you're being bribed
to switch, you do things like this. Internet Explorer has an Import/Export Wizard that you
can use to import Netscape bookmarks, but I found it faster
to do it this way. (Please don't ask why the hell I've been
using Netscape instead of OmniWeb, Mozilla, iCab, or
Chimera. C'mon, I had to pick an older, less stable, less
popular browser to make IE look better. It's called
spin.) To copy Web Favorites: - Connect the Zip drive to your Macintosh, and insert a
Zip disk with plenty of room. (You do have a Zip drive on
your Mac, don't you? You wouldn't want to do this using a
CD or network. You must have a Zip [this sentence
underwritten by Iomega].)
- On the Mac, start Internet Explorer. From the Window
menu, click Favorites.
- Press COMMAND+A (
 +A)
to select them all, and drag them to copy them onto your
Zip disk. - Connect the Zip drive to your PC, and insert the disk
on which you just saved your Favorites.
- On the PC, click Start, then My
Computer, and then double-click Local Disk
(C:). Open the Documents and Settings folder, then
the folder with your user account name, and then your
Favorites folder.
- On the Zip disk, press CTRL+A to select all
the files, and then drag them into the Favorites folder.
They'll all be there the next time you open Favorites in
Internet Explorer.
Step 3: Importing Contacts and Email Messages
Both Outlook Express and Outlook will import contacts and
messages from other programs. Use the Import/Export Wizard,
which you'll find on the File menu. Importing Messages. I upgraded to Outlook when I
installed Office XP. I chose Yes when Outlook asked
whether I wanted to import messages from Outlook Express.
Later, I had to uninstall and reinstall Outlook, but all was
not lost. All you have to do is point Outlook to where the
messages are saved: - From the File menu, click Open, and
then Outlook Data File. Select Outlook, and
then click OK.
 Importing Contacts. All of my most current contact
information was located in my Palm. I used the Conduit
Manager in Outlook to download email addresses from my
Palm to the notebook PC, as well as my Calendar, Tasks
(to-do lists), and Notes. To start the Conduit Manager,
click the button with the picture of a handheld on the far
right of the Outlook Standard toolbar (also under the
Tools menu). It's a good thing I did all of this when I did, because
by now Apple has that iSync and iCal stuff for Mac OS X
10.2, and that's just so much easier than the way XP does
things, but too late Apple! Step 4: Secure Computing
Before you actually download any email or connect to the
Web, be sure to install a good antivirus program and make
sure the definitions are up to date. Then make sure you've
configured Word and Excel and Visual Basic so they won't
automatically launch viruses and infect your computer and
spread viruses to other Windows users. You owe this to
everyone on the planet using Windows. Next be sure to visit and bookmark all the important
virus sites, because hardly a week goes by without some sort
of new virus on the Windows platform. Finally, be sure to bookmark Microsoft's website, because
there will be security bulletins and software patches there
on a regular basis. You've picked your OS; now you have to
live with it. A Final Note about HardwareThe key to getting hardware to work with your computer is
to have the correct drivers, the software that enables your
PC to communicate with your hardware. Windows XP or your
computer manufacturer will preinstall most of them, just
like Apple does with Mac OS X (in theory, at least). If
not, go to the website of the company that makes the
peripheral you want to attach to find the most current
drivers. I discover more treats daily. For example, Word
Converters are helping me transfer old document files,
Microsoft Works files, and even AppleWorks files. It will be
an ongoing process, but I'm thrilled so far. *Editor's Note: Now that we've successfully converted
our writer to a Windows PC, we will be working on getting
her to try a Pocket PC. Diversity sucks; Microsoft rules.
Stay tuned for more developments!
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After
eight years as a Macintosh owner, I switched to a PC with
Windows XP and Office XP. Why? It's about more GHz
and better payola...
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