[ryaxnb]

What OS version did you switch too when you switched to the Mac?

[Catfish_Man]

I never switched to the Mac. I've been using them since about age 4 though.

[ryaxnb]

Originally posted by Catfish_Man:
I never switched to the Mac. I've been using them since about age 4 though.

Obviously, this poll is only for people who switched to the Mac, probably from Linux or Windows.

[Drakino]

Right around the exact time 10.1 came out, though 10.0 is what caught my eye. Made the complete transition shortly before 10.3, with my PC reduced to a Wintendo when I got the Powerbook to replace a PC laptop.

[eevyl]

I switched from Amiga

[moonmonkey]

Switched from Apple IIe

[Link]

When I switched OS 10.0.4 was the new thing. Used both that and 9 for a while

[badtz]

10.0 was what first caught my attention in a BIG way.

Played with OS 9 previous to that, but didn't feel it was THAT great.

Made the switch at the end of 10.1's life cycle.

Been a happy camper since.

[xe0]

I 'switched' only recently.

When Apple released the dual Powermac G5 coupled with 10.3 - the time was ripe to make the jump from Windows to Mac. So far the ride is unbelievably sweet

[dwishbone]

born a mac user. die a mac user.
i wish that was the case. i was born before the mac. i used DOS based machines before that...and occasionally apple iis at school (loved doing graphics on those things). my first mac was a performa 635CD. the first mac i ever saw was my brother's Performa 550. that is what got me hooked and ive never looked back since.

[SMacTech]

I switched from a TRS-80 Model III with 48k RAM and 4 160k floppy disk drives to the Mac 128k. My programs ran faster on the trash80 then they did on the Mac because there was no compiled basic, only interpreted. The compiler was from <gasp> Microsoft.

[neilw]

I switched in 1996 from the Amiga. Wasn't a huge fan of the Mac OS at that time, but really detested Windows, so it was the only real choice.

Now a much more enthusiastic user of OSX.

[kovacs]

My first Mac was a Macintosh classic, I was very happy with it but a few months later I switched to Windows95 and later 98 ( never had the pleasure to work with ME ;-). I used os 9 for a year or two and than switched to OSX full-time the day they launched it, never looked back since...

[JKT]

Is it worthwhile making this poll (and the switch from OS9 to OSX one too) a sticky? Gives a nice idea of where other MaNNers are coming from. perhaps?

My 1st Mac was a Performa 5200CD given to me by my parents - got it from 7.5.5 all the way up to 9.1 (which ran verrrry slowly) before advancing onto a newer Mac capable of running 10.0 and onwards. Prior to that I had been stuck in DOS, Win 3.11, and NT 4 hell (hated having to use every single one of them).

[Nonsuch]

I got my first real Mac experience on a Quadra running 7.1, but when I switched personally it was to a G4 running 9.0.

[Wiskedjak]

I never "switched", I simply added a Mac to my collection ... OS 10.1

[mdc]

i would have switched around the time of 10.1, but i could not afford an ibook back then. financial situation sorted out and switched on 10.2, and will never look back.

[Kristoff]

I switched at 10.0 DP 2.

[techtrucker]

I switched late 6.x early 7.x. First mac a IIci...

[Mediaman_12]

Switched from An Atari ST. I started a design course at colege and they had just got load of New Mac's (IIfx's) with the brand new System 7 installed (that would make it 97'ish. The other older Mac's where still running 6x). I ditched my ST got a Plus and never looked back.

[fizzlemynizzle]

I had a Mac when System 7.1 was new and kept it until just after 7.5.1 was released. I got tired of it and dumped it in favor of a PC running Windows 95. I re-joined the Apple family in December, after seeing how well Panther was received. So I now have hardware running Windows XP Pro, Windows 2003 Server, Windows 2000 Server, Linux and Panther.

[dopik]

I switched from an Atari 520 ST

[nredman]

Mac OS 8.5 on my first Mac - the Powerbook G3

[KP*]

I bought a PC with WindowsME. That's what convinced me that not only was Microsoft evil, they were selling an operating system that was so unstable I wouldn't have wanted to use it if they paid me. It was then I decided to take the plunge into the Mac world with my next computer purchase. It was a couple years before I could afford it, but when I finally did it was worth it.

I originally intended to keep a pattern of Mac desktop / PC laptop, so that I would have cross-platform capabilities, but when I was hired for a four-month tour I knew I couldn't leave OS X behind, so I bought a PowerBook, which aside from the screen defects, must surely be the most perfect machine ever constructed in the history of humanity . I miss my games, but I'm definitely not switching back!

[greener]

I officially switched with my iBook 466 and OS 9.0.4. I immediately partitioned it and installed OS X public beta.

I un-officially switched (it wasn't official because I didn't actually own the machine) with my friend's IIsi back in '92. Ahhh, those were the days.. Bolo on a localtalk network.

[Ratm]

Originally posted by Catfish_Man:
I never switched to the Mac. I've been using them since about age 4 though.

Same but I started in 1995 when I moved back in with my father. And it looks like I'll never have to deal with MS or any version of windows
w00Tz.

[moonmonkey]

Originally posted by Mediaman_12:
Switched from An Atari ST. I started a design course at colege and they had just got load of New Mac's (IIfx's) with the brand new System 7 installed (that would make it 97'ish.

Think you needs to check your dates!

More like 89 (a guess).

[Gul Banana]

I have two responses, neither of which is on the poll. My first computer was a Mac, running System 6. But... I was in the process of switching to Linux when OS X 10.0 made me change my mind.

[DarylF2]

I'm kind of an interesting case (or at least I think so...).

I was a Mac-only user until 1997 or so. My first computer was an Apple //c (circa 1985?), and my first Mac was a Mac II in 1987. I then upgraded to a Quadra 660av, Power Mac 8500/120, and finally a Power Mac 8600/300.

Until 1997, I had been programming professionally on SGI systems. Then, in 1997, I moved our product to Windows (SGI maintenance was OUT OF CONTROL expensive), and was allowed to work nearly full-time from home (to do the port). So, I bought a PC for home. I couldn't afford to maintain both (I like to keep a machine only about 1.5-2 years), so I focused on the PC since it was my livlihood. My 8600/300, already a little long in the tooth, was fairly quickly relegated to a secondary computer and then phased out entirely within a year or so...

Fast-forward to late 2002. I now make a lot more money than I did before, and can afford to keep my Macs and PCs up to date. Plus, I was becoming more and more annoyed with Windows and PC flakiness. So, I dove back into the Mac world by getting a dual 1.0 GHz G4 in August 2002, and then a 12" 800 MHz iBook G3 in November 2002 (both with Mac OS 10.2). I haven't looked back since!

I now use my PC *only* during working hours, and do everything non-work-related (including the vast majority of my game playing) on my Mac, even though I have a pretty new 3.0 Ghz P4 (a Dell Dimension XPS) with 1.0GB of PC3200 RAM, 800 MHz FSB, 15K RPM SCSI HDDs, a Radeon 9800 Pro, etc....

The Mac is FAR more stable/reliable, is just as fast for most things (which still amazes me), and makes my work (and play!) easier and more enjoyable without getting in the way.

Thank goodness I moved back to the Mac!

EDIT: In a few months, I'll be upgrading again to a top-of-the-line dual G5. I have also, by example, convinced my roommate to switch from PCs (he's been using Windows PCs since DOS 3.3 days) to a Mac. He'll be getting a new G5 system with a 23" Cinema display in a few months as well!

[dru]

Originally posted by ryaxnb:
What OS version did you switch too when you switched to the Mac?

I went from 7.5.3 to Windows 2000 (PC as primary, dead Mac) to Mac OS X 10.1.2/9.2.2.

Although I'd toyed with iBook or iMac CRT and even Cube possibilities (opting for PC's instead), the lure for me was the original flat panel iMac.

I'd once declared "independence" from Microsoft back in '92 or so when moving out of Windows and to IBM OS/2 and, of course, System 7.1. Oops.

Unfortunately, I can't say my Mac OS X experience has been all I'd hoped. The platform continues to suffer in the key area of the Finder. And that's a shame when Jaguar seemed like Apple was getting so on top of things. I'm also disturbed by the callous games of large ISVs like Microsoft (duh) and Adobe.

From my viewpoint, Mac OS is *not* thriving but it is surviving. The hardware seems to be *there*, it's the software and especially the always tortured ISV relations that is the big stumbling block as it has been for Apple in the past and NeXT as well. Truth be told, I don't view the platform as "out of danger".

That said, I'm content to be "left behind" by Microsoft on Windows 2000 rather than move to XP or eventual Longhorn. I can't say I'm thrilled the direction they're taking.

[Maharaja]

My interest in Mac began when OS X was released. But It was when G5 was introduced that i decided to switch, i nearly bought a G4 but i waited.

No turning back for me. Now i'm planning to get either a iBook or Powerbook to replace my Toshiba Tablet PC XP.

[jcb9]

For me, it was a switch from DOS - my family bought an IBM compatible back in 1989 or so, then switched to the Mac in the System 7 days. I hated it at first - I was only 11 or 12 at the time, and I had gotten very used to DOS, so the whole Mac/GUI concept was very confusing to me. And using a mouse seemed terribly awkward and inconvenient. Obviously, I got over it pretty quick.

[ryaxnb]

It appears 2000-2002 was the stellar age of Switching, as I had thought, but a surprising number of people (number 1, actually) switched no later then 7.x. I expected more 10.1/10.2 replies.

[cpac]

there needs to be an option to "switched from DOS because Gate's hadn't ripped off the Mac with windows yet"

[jfinete]

Back in 1989, I switched from an Apple IIe to a Mac Plus running System 6.0.5. I really wanted a color monitor and I seriously considered getting an Apple IIgs, but I realized that the Apple II was at the end of its line and I made the switch. I guess I called that one correctly.