Happy with the iPhone and iPad. Is there a benefit to switching to Mac OSX as well?

[sandrock001]

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Hi PhilMUGgers,

First off, I am glad to see there is a local forum for users of Apple products.

I am a happy iPhone and iPad user. I appreciate the way these devices work in spite of the limitations imposed by Apple.

Now, I would like to ask everyone in the forum whether there is an added benefit in my use of my iOS devices if I switch to Mac OSX. Currently, iCloud has software that allows me to sync Outlook and my Photostream with my PC.

Is there any additional functionality that I can gain if I use my idevices with Mac OSX?

My laptop is due for replacement in the next few months so I am doing my research.

I hope to learn from everyone's experience here.

Regards,

B

[cyberathlete]

IMO, i don't think its enough of a reason to switch if you're doing it just for your iOS devices. can't think of any significant iTunes or iCloud feature that's exclusive to OS X. consider thinking of other reasons/benefits switching to mac os x. if you're going to use this for work, also consider compatibility with your office environment (email, network resources, office documents compatibility, etc), for example, Mail.app and Mac:Office 2011 is NOT compatible with Exchange 2003 server. there's significant effort in complying in a windows-dominant office environment and it might discourage you if you don't have enough reason or passion to tinker with your mac. hope this helps and welcome to PhilMUG.

[rbenzon]

Got Air. No need to open Windows.

[sandrock001]

IMO, i don't think its enough of a reason to switch if you're doing it just for your iOS devices. can't think of any significant iTunes or iCloud feature that's exclusive to OS X. consider thinking of other reasons/benefits switching to mac os x. if you're going to use this for work, also consider compatibility with your office environment (email, network resources, office documents compatibility, etc), for example, Mail.app and Mac:Office 2011 is NOT compatible with Exchange 2003 server. there's significant effort in complying in a windows-dominant office environment and it might discourage you if you don't have enough reason or passion to tinker with your mac. hope this helps and welcome to PhilMUG.

Hi cyberathelete, thanks for the insightful reply. It seems I was expecting too much from Apple in terms of synergy between its Mac and iOS products.

I am also worried about compatibility with our office network (Windows-based) and the shorter warranty period offered by Apple (1 year so they force people to buy extended warranties?). I am still doing research on the compatibility front but there seems to be few online resources that provide detailed information. Hopefully, I find the information I need.

On the positive side though, for personal purposes, the magic Trackpad and GarageBand won me over.

The question is whether the trade-offs are worth it.

Thanks again for the input!

-B

[memphis]

i am using my personal laptop in the office. it's an Air. though there is an issued pc to us, i don't use it more than my mba. network compatibility is ok as well as my files. as for mail, we're using yahoo so this is not a deal breaker for me. i have my other iOS devices too so i find using mac osx heaven --all my files are in sync.

[cyberathlete]

i'll give my old office set up as well for reference. my main machine is a personal macbook that has Office:Mac 2011 and iWork '09 installed. Office documents compatibility was an issue when using iWork but not in Office:Mac. E-mail was a problem since our office uses Exchange 2003. I installed and configured DavMail to "convert" Exchange to IMAP but Calendar events were not synced (which is fine by me). I have Windows XP installed in a BootCamp partition which I can also access via Parallels when I need to (some of my work applications require .NET). I also have a Dell desktop running Windows XP which i can control from my mac like an extended desktop via a very awesome app called Synergy.

[primo1]

Well one thing's for sure... if you go Mac, you won't go back.

I say make the switch! Most Windows files now are compatible with Mac OS anyway. If anything else, you can always boot Windoze in bootcamp. You'll get 2 benefits in one beautiful machine.

[rbenzon]

A great majority of people who have switched to Macs have never gone back to Windows.

Windows is just an app in OSX.

[cyberathlete]

A great majority of people who have switched to Macs have never gone back to Windows.

Windows is just an app in OSX.

well.. not by choice.

God, i hope in my next job they will allow me to use a mac, but i highly doubt it since they're one of Apple's biggest competitors. LOL!

[Mykolant]

I've been using a PC (yeah, shoot me) for work, and that's because it's issued by the office. I do bring my MBA to work regularly, for surfing outside the network, via a USB-tethered iPhone 4S.

The reason I don't use my MBA to get on the office network is:
1) There's no access via WiFi. Have to be hooked up via LAN.
2) The MBA does not have an ethernet port.

I could get a ethernet-to-usb cable for the MBA, but I'm thinking, I'd rather not fill up my personal MBA with work-related junk. If I need to bring my work with me, I can access my office email via web (my office is using a Lotus notes suite for this, can you believe this?), and I just transfer the work files that I need to bring home, if I must.

Yeah, it's a pain to have to deal with Windows every day. But it sure lets me minimize the wear and tear of my Mac. I also look forward to going home to use my MBA.