Comments on: Most Users Simply Can’t Switch to a Mac

By: River Valley

River Valley — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 11:54:24 +0000

back to the issue of non openables – A lot of windows users are not aware of the resource file that is sent by email or from memory stick. Its the one preceeded by an underscore. Somehow it always clobbers the ‘real’ file when the Win user does the batch save-to-disk from email. Sometimes checking “windows friendly” does not prevent this happening. However when writing a CD for transfer the burning app ( Toast or Dragon burn does hide these properly.

By: Sean Wilson

Sean Wilson — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 12:04:45 +0000

There’s no such thing as a “Mac document” and a “Windows document” – what matters is the app with which you open it.

If you’re on a Mac, you have Quick Look anyway, so Word document viewing isn’t an issue. For editing Word documents, you can use Word, Pages, Writer, even TextEdit.

By: elgarak

elgarak — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 01:48:51 +0000

Just to make sure I am understood: You can open any file both on a Mac and on Windows (excluding exotic proprietary formats). I’ll do it all the time. I have less trouble on my Mac opening Office 2007 files as I had on Win XP with only Office 2003 installed.

The problem is simply that it is possible to send files from a Mac that Windows is unable to recognize when you double-click them. It is, unfortunately, still up to the Mac user to make sure that this does not happen.

By: elgarak

elgarak — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 01:41:02 +0000

Been there, now switched to the other side.

The problem is with how the OS recognizes which file type is associated with which application. In Windows, it’s the file type ending after the dot (.doc, .txt etc.), in Mac OS X it’s something else. On the Mac, you can leave the ending off. Back when I was still on Windows, and got files from my boss on a Mac, I often had to guess which file type he sent me.

Of course, the Mac by now has a simple solution: If you use mail, there’s a simple switch labeled “Sending Windows friendly attachments”, which adds the file type ending if not present (and does some other changes).

The advice for any Mac user: Don’t ever turn this switch off, unless you’re absolutely, positively, 1000 per cent sure that the receiver is on a Mac also.

By: mobius

mobius — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 19:49:08 +0000

well, i have a mac and pc (just came to macs almost two years ago). i have noticed that when i modify a word document using my mac (office 2003 or 04, i forget) that sometimes windows users have a problem opening the document. same with powerpoint. look, i don’t delve into all the “religious” wars that some mac and some pc folks love to continue fighting; i have no reason to slam one os more than the other. but from my experience, if i’m creating a document that i want to be certain can be opened on the first try, i will create that document using the pc version of word.

By: djrumbu

djrumbu — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 19:38:31 +0000

i recently swithed to mac from about 7-8 years of windows, i’ve used windows 3.1, 95, 98, ME, 2003, XP, VISTA. they all suck, And since september 2007 i have a mac, tiger 10.4.8, and i’m so happy with it, that i could never change back to wondows, i have all the software i need equivalent to all the software i had for windows, and much more. I’m doing stuff with my mac, that i never could i can do on windows, Everything JUST WORKS. just works. is perfect.for me. and about office documents, i have office 2004, it is perfect copatible with office 2003 and other windows office sfotware, even open office. the software on mac are a lot better, nicer looking and more stable, i’m not saying they are perfect, but a LOOOT nicer than those on windows. OS X is the best. and chris, you better enjoy you mac pro, otherwise give it to me, i don’t mind:)).

By: Walt French

Walt French — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 19:28:02 +0000

I’m not surprised… who knows what ancient version of ??? is running on the “ancient Dell.” And the most likely cause: Mac users are likely to be casual about putting the “.DOC” on the end of their filenames, making them a hassle for the uhhh, less technically adept Windows types.

By: Wiljo_5

Wiljo_5 — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 16:36:31 +0000

Macs are as good or better than PC’s…

By: Steve A

Steve A — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 15:21:14 +0000

Since when has any computer for $1,000 been ‘top-of-the-line?’ There shouldn’t be any problem with .doc format on any OS. All the more reason why people should not buy computers from box stores.

By: Bob D.

Bob D. — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 14:48:37 +0000

Both Parallels and Fusion are brain-dead simple once installed. Even if this weren’t the case, there is always Boot Camp, which in effect completely turns your Mac into a Wibdows box (with all of its pluses and minuses).

I was also worried about Office compatibility to the point where I have Office 2007 Enterprise running under Fusion just in case (and to use Access), but every Office document I have ever gotten was able to be read by at least one of iWork and NeoOffice.

Both virtualization engines work brilliantly with Spaces – just run Windows full screen in its own desktop.

By: tony

tony — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 14:39:54 +0000

There are some issues that require a little patience to work around. I am like many with Windows at the office and Macs for the rest of my life, and have used macs since my IIcx. MOST of the time things like windows insisting on displaying a jpeg at actual pixel size automatically, or balking because of file extension names can often be avoided just by zipping things. Other times, like in my office situation, attachments above certain sizes are just shredded (firewall issues I’m sure). And overall, it seems Windows has always been just a LOT more finicky (at times, to the point of stupidity) in terms of dealing with non-windows generated files.

But all of these issues can be overcome by even moderate understanding of file handling characteristics of the two systems. Hardest things for me is having to take the extra time to create standalone attachments that are zipped for Mail.app so that inline graphics and other files just don’t show up as mime on the windows machine. Maddening that there still is ANY issue around this, but when you have as loose a development framework as Windows, combined with the garbage they port for OSX, that’s part of the problem.

I’m with you… stick with OSX app, and Office 2004 and leave that candy like interface alone.

By: Jon

Jon — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 14:05:35 +0000

I tend to agree with jen. The only time I have had trouble opening files from my friends/family/colleagues from windows to mac is when the file was in some obscure proprietary format (rarely), or somehow the file got garbled by the MIME settings.

By: swissfondue

swissfondue — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 11:48:11 +0000

@Brady: Buy a second hand Mac if a new one is too expensive for you.

By: Mike

Mike — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 10:04:14 +0000

I would have to agree with part of what was said here – it is usually the Windows application failing to follow the specs that causes the problem, but really, this is just one more reason not to use the latest version of Office on a PC. Lets face it, every other application out there uses a common file format, so I have no day-to-day problems transferring files over to a Mac when I need to.

@Brady: these days, Macs are no more expensive than Dell, HP etc machines, if you can find one of the same high spec.

By: richo

richo — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 10:02:00 +0000

“I would adore having a mac if I could afford it!”

Brady, that was true once but isn’t now for what you’d get even over the first few months. Hardware, you can get cheaper on windows, but you’ll get less (check the specs), & software you’ll really start to save – compare ms office to iwork, the iLife updates, an that’s before considering ms & mac system updates.

I use both systems (have to for work reasons) but at home I save time, trouble and definitely money with my intel mac mini. Google switcher articles.