David Pogue - Switching to the Mac

Missing Manuals are witty, well written guides to computer products that dont come with printed manuals (which is just about all of them). Each book features a handcrafted index; cross-references to specific page numbers (not just see ); and an ironclad promise never to put an apostrophe in the possessive pronoun its.

Whats going on with the Mac these days?

Apple was the only computer company whose sales actually increased during the recession. The Macs market share has quadrupled since 2005its now nearly 20 percent of computer sales in the U.S. And then theres the most significant statistic of all: you, sitting there reading this bookbecause, obviously, you intend to switch to (or add on) a Mac.

Whats going on?

Maybe its the halo effect: the coolness of all those iPads and iPhones is rubbing off onto the rest of Apples product line. Maybe people have grown weary of boring beige and black boxes. Maybe its the convenience of the Apple Stores. Maybe potential switchers feel more confident to take the plunge, since more and more of life is moving online, where it makes no difference what kind of computer you have.

Or maybe people have just spent one Saturday too many dealing with viruses, worms, spyware, crapware, excessive startup processes, questionable firewalls, inefficient permissions, and all the other land mines strewn across the Windows world.

In any case, theres never been a better time to make the switch. Mac OS X version 10.11 (nicknamed El Capitan) is gorgeous, easy to understand, and virus-free. Apples computers are in top form, too, complete with features like built-in hi-def video cameras, built-in Ethernet, illuminated keyboards, and two different kinds of wireless connections. If youre talking laptops, the story is even better: Apples laptops generally cost less than similarly outfitted Windows laptops, and they weigh less, too. Plus, they look a lot cooler.

And then theres that Intel processor that sizzles away inside todays Macs. Yes, it lets you run Windows and Windows programsat blazing speed, right there on your Macintosh. (Hell really has frozen over.) has the details.

Thats not to say, however, that switching to the Mac is all sunshine and bunnies. The Macintosh is a different machine, running a different operating system, and built by a company with a different philosophya fanatical control freak/perfectionist zeal. When it comes to their missions and ideals, Apple and Microsoft have about as much in common as a melon and a shoehorn.