Anyone Transition from Mac Pro to Windows 8/I7 and Lived to Tell about it?

[bwcolor]

I've been happy with my 2008 eight core Mac Pro. The only Mac Only programs that I run and am attached to are Aperture and Final Cut Pro/Compressor.

I've extended the life of the Mac Pro with updating to a 2010 video card and SSD, but it is a power hungry .. old system that I need to think about replacing. I know that the next generation of Pro will probably be Ivy Bridge Xeon and also pretty pricey. I don't like the all in one macs.. own three of them .. nor the mac mini .. own three of them .. all for my offices.

I'm thinking of going to Windows 8 and an I7 3rd Gen quad 3.4Ghz Dell.. with 24GB memory and a nice video card. I would keep the mac pro for processing video only.

I guess that my question is this... Windows/Microsoft has always seemed such a dodgy system, which needed all kinds of background security software and the like.

I would happily go Ubuntu Linux, but the photo/video software, IMHO, is still sub-par and yes.. have a number of Linux machines... again business.

Has anyone happily transitioned from Mac to Microsoft and lived happily with Windows 8?

 

[thegman]

Not transitioned, but I use both a great deal.

Windows has moved on a lot, it's not perfect, but the Mac isn't either. To be honest, I have used them both a long time, and I'm cynical enough these days to say I don't especially prefer one to the other. I'm a UNIX guy, so I'll always prefer the underlying core of the Mac, but that's just a personal thing.

You don't have to run any background security stuff if you don't want to, when you get a PC, often they're pre-installed with a load of rubbish stuff you don't need, but upgrading to Windows 8 wipes out all that.

You'll likely be fine with Windows if you're prepared to accept that it's different and don't try to force it to be like a Mac.

If you're happy with Macs though, I'd probably hang on for new Mac Pros, if your current system is working, stick with it until something new comes out. I think Apple will revise the pricing of the Mac Pro to make it more competitive. And of course, a Mac can run Windows 8 easily, but the other way round is not so simple.

 

[CaptZoom]

I haven't successfully transitioned! I have to use Windows 7 at work (editing photos) and its a pain the a__. I've used GIMP on Linux, but it was painfully slow. Good luck with whichever route you choose.

 

[bwcolor]

Yes, I'm really fond of Linux, especially on the server side of things. My wife and kids use Gimp/Darktable/RawTherapee and other software on Linux, but their needs are pretty simple.

I still run a few Windows machines, mainly because of the differing Quickbook Pro functionality between Mac and PC, but up to Windows 7, I've not yet reached the point where I'm Mac/Windows neutral.

I understand that Windows 8 was a radical change for Microsoft and I'm sure that Apple and Google were in Microsofts cross-hairs. Unfortunately, these days social media provides the driving force with these operating systems, as well as cross-platform usability. Neither of these improvement really come in to play with regards to my selection of hardware/software. Also, I suspect that a well equipped quad 3G I7 would not be appreciably slower than my old 2.8GHz eight core Mac Pro.

 

[segedi]

Haven't upgraded yet, but will soon. I'm fine with Win7, even run it as the main OS on my Air, because of two things, I know how to make it work for me and I had a local computer shop custom build a machine.

The custom build part is the way to go. All retailers seem to add software that you don't need and it makes it slower and less stable to boot. If you haven't tested out Win 8 yet, better go to a retailer to have a look first. The Metro live tiles and desktop might not be to your liking. As far as stability and security go, I've never had a massive virus infection or Trojan on Windows. And I find the OS fairly stable. Again that's mostly due to removing pre installed programs or doing a fresh install.

 

[ampguy]

linux picasa here. I use a macbook air, but none of the apps, just a browser, and when I want to carry a 3lb notebook vs my 5lb win/linux notebooks.

 

[iuseruby]

I would happily go Ubuntu Linux, but the photo/video software, IMHO, is still sub-par and yes.. have a number of Linux machines... again business.

You definitely need to try to go to Linux if you have some experience with this OS. I can't tell about video but for photo I'm using after shot pro and gimp. I'm sad that after shot pro is not open source and not free but it's the best software for processing photos under linux.

 

[bwcolor]

You definitely need to try to go to Linux if you have some experience with this OS. I can't tell about video but for photo I'm using after shot pro and gimp. I'm sad that after shot pro is not open source and not free but it's the best software for processing photos under linux.

I've ventured into the various photo software packages mentioned here and all the ones above, but haven't seen this as a viable alternative to Aperture/PS. That said, it has been at least six months since I last took a look. Like the look of Darktable.

 

[ianstamatic]

Windows 7 after 20 yrs of Mac.
Took a little while but really like it now. Stable fast, and don't underestimate how useful software can be to your computing experience. There's a lot of Windows software that I find useful i never expected.