Switching to MacOS from Windows in 2022

natpastime162

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
2,944
Pennsylvania
My sister is interested in purchasing a MacBook Pro for her next computer. I'm the unofficial techie of the family, but because ADD/ADHD and apathy I don't pay attention until necessary, which more often than not requires me to google the topic like everyone else. There are hundreds thousands of articles and forum posts on this topic and I'm trying to find some good advice. Can anyone point me to a good primer on the positive and negatives, alternative programs, etc? The only programs she's mentioned by name are Word and PowerPoint, which are available on MacOS. Right now she has a Chromebook that is apparently extremely limited, only allows cloudsaves, and will not be receiving security/OS updates (I think) in the near future.
 

nighthob

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
12,664
Honestly KeyNote’s better than PowerPoint. Migrating is pretty easy these days (and there’s a built-in Migration Assistant to help her out).
 

ColdSoxPack

Well-Known Member
Silver Supporter
Jul 14, 2005
2,338
Simi Valley, CA
This doesn't answer your question but the Mac OS is the best solution for users who want to just set it and forget it as far as the user experience. And it is great at syncing your stuff with your phone. Windows is better for users who want to do it their way. I think Word and Excel are great programs and the Mac OS versions are not as good. But I am willing to pay that price to get off of Windows.
 

Scott Cooper's Grand Slam

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 12, 2008
4,231
New England
I worked using Windows for 15 years. I was an expert user of Word and PowerPoint, and part of my job was doing training on both. I switched to Mac last year for work and personal.

Keynote is better than PowerPoint.

Pages and Word are comparable, unless you are a Word power user. Most people are not.

If your sister still needs to send people properly formatted Word docs, it’s easy to create well structured docs in Pages using headings and lists, then export them as Word docs.

If she needs to edit Word docs with others she’ll need to use Word for Mac. As others have said, Word is better on Windows.

She could also use Google Docs on her Mac, if she likes them on her Chromebook.

The biggest advantage to using Mac is synchronization between your Mac and iPhone. If you go all-in on the ecosystem— store your files in iCloud Drive/Files and use Safari as your browser on both devices— then the experience is seamless. Messages, files, and browser tabs are wherever you are.

If you’re not interested in using Safari as your browser or storing your files in iCloud, you lose that.
 

natpastime162

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
2,944
Pennsylvania
Thank you all. That is all the information I needed. She is already in the ecosystem (iPhone). The 16” will likely be perfect for her needs.
 

NortheasternPJ

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 16, 2004
19,236
I worked using Windows for 15 years. I was an expert user of Word and PowerPoint, and part of my job was doing training on both. I switched to Mac last year for work and personal.

Keynote is better than PowerPoint.

Pages and Word are comparable, unless you are a Word power user. Most people are not.

If your sister still needs to send people properly formatted Word docs, it’s easy to create well structured docs in Pages using headings and lists, then export them as Word docs.

If she needs to edit Word docs with others she’ll need to use Word for Mac. As others have said, Word is better on Windows.

She could also use Google Docs on her Mac, if she likes them on her Chromebook.

The biggest advantage to using Mac is synchronization between your Mac and iPhone. If you go all-in on the ecosystem— store your files in iCloud Drive/Files and use Safari as your browser on both devices— then the experience is seamless. Messages, files, and browser tabs are wherever you are.

If you’re not interested in using Safari as your browser or storing your files in iCloud, you lose that.
Agreed, PowerPoint has sucked for 20 years now.