You needn’t worry, however. Apple has listened to its customers and addressed their concerns. Should I Choose a Mac or PC for My Work is not a leap in the dark; it’s a smooth transition to a responsive and powerful computer.

The basics

A Mac is simple to use because Apple has designed its applications to work in a similar way. Once you become familiar with the Mac OS X operating system, everything falls into place.

Moving your files

Perhaps the most crucial aspect of changing to any new computer is the migration of your files from one to the other. These files might include documents, music, and photos, but it doesn’t really matter what they are: your Mac will automatically recognise almost all of them.

You have a number of ways to transfer your files. You can

• copy everything on your PC to a USB or FireWire hard drive, connect the hard drive to the Mac, and download
• use your local network to transfer the files
• burn the files to a CD or DVD on the PC, place this in your Mac and download
• send the files to your Mac via your email account

When you’ve organised everything on the Mac’s hard drive, you can install Windows (see below) and use your files as you would on your PC. If you don’t want to load Windows, you’ll need Mac versions of the appropriate software such as Microsoft Office (see below).

Windows

Having decided to make the move from PC to Mac, you may feel more comfortable if you still have Windows to hand. Fortunately, you’re able to load Windows XP Home Edition or Professional (with at least Service Pack 2), or any version of Windows Vista, using Boot Camp. This is a piece of software that comes as standard with every new Mac. (Please note that you cannot load any Windows software other than those given here.)

Once Windows is on your Mac, use it as though you’re operating a PC. If you want the flexibility of having Windows and Mac OS X available at the same time without restarting the computer, install either Parallels Desktop or VMware Fusion.

Windows networks

If you’re part of a Windows network in an office or at home and everyone else is using a PC. You can still switch to a Mac without upsetting anything. With a Mac, there’s nothing to prevent you sharing files across the network. Surfing the Internet, or sending and receiving email.

Microsoft Office

If you want to continue using Microsoft Office 2008, simply install the Mac version. It has all the features of the Windows equivalent including Word, Excel and PowerPoint. You can also work on Office documents that originated on a PC. And transfer your Mac-created Office work to a PC.

PC devices

You don’t have to buy new peripherals when you change from a PC to a Mac. Your Mac has pre-loaded drivers for hundreds of devices, which means. That it recognizes the vast majority of peripherals such as printers, hard drives, joysticks and cameras. Just install your device using the USB, FireWire, Bluetooth or audio connections and you’re up and running. If you’d rather, you can also continue to use your PC keyboard and mouse with your Mac.