[raviruddarraju]

Checking on number of switchers on this forum. I mean, switchers from Windows to Mac OS 10.

[ebisix]

Maybe you should've made an option for people who are going to switch soon. That's where I am.

[dampeoples]

Sometime in February of last year

[audvidsvs]

Last year in July.
I like to think I diversified.
I still need PC's for work and headaches.
My Mac friends say they have never seen anyone with as many problems with a Mac as I have had. I think it is just some bad programming.

Ed

[mbryda]

Switched in March, 2002. iMac G4/800, 15", SuperDrive. Best machine I've ever owned....

Switched the wife in December, 2003 - iBook G3/800, 12", Combo. Best laptop I've ever used. And she's loving it too!

[Ricky]

My iMac DV Special Edition turns 3 in March. I was a switcher before the term was around. March 2000 for me.

[Millennium]

You need to add a few more options:

• I switched prior to 2000.
• I have not yet switched, but I intend to do so in the near future.
• I have not switched, and don't intend to do so.
• I have not switched, because I've never willingly used anything other than Macs. Or, I switched in 1984.

...and so on, and so forth.

[mitchell_pgh]

I must get about 2 people a day walking in to my part time job informing me that they just got a new Mac... and that the new Mac is their first one... (usually one of them had one in school, and enjoyed it)

I tell them about MacNN, and calm them down about being a Mac user in a Windows world. I tell them things like:

1) Mac users are out there, and we actually try to help one another [well, other then ranting on the new people... ha ha]

2) 80% of computer users have EVERY piece of software they will ever need on the Mac. (We could always use more... but...) Other them Office applications and music/video/design, what else do most average people do?

3) Apple isn't dying... I told them that they will hear everything from "Microsoft owns Apple, IBM owns Apple, Apple is on the verge of bankruptcy, there is no software for the mac, you can't hook a mac up to anything, you can't buy hardware for the mac, the mac crashes all the time... I told them that when someone says such a lie to ask them how long they have owned a Mac, and when they tell you Never, just to laugh...

Most people are cool about the Mac (a major shift over the past 3 years...) In the dark days, just the word Apple made pepople cringe... I don't push the Mac, but at the same time, I am not going to back down when someone wants to know how I did something... MUCH of the time I say things like "Doesn't Windows have that built into the Operating System?" or "On my Mac, I just click "OK" here and it works..."

I wish I could tell everyone about Apple...

[mitchell_pgh]

Originally posted by Millennium:
You need to add a few more options:

• I switched prior to 2000.
• I have not yet switched, but I intend to do so in the near future.
• I have not switched, and don't intend to do so.
• I have not switched, because I've never willingly used anything other than Macs. Or, I switched in 1984.

...and so on, and so forth.

Just a few more...

[B]You need to add a few more options:

• I have a Windows system and have now purchased a Mac as well... (not really a switcher, but almost)
• I only use Macs, and wash my hands after being forced to use a Windows based PC.
• What is "Windows"

P.S. I consider anyone that made it through the dark days of Apple a vet. 1996-1997 were hard years! $3K for a system that was dog slow out of the box... [AKA, the Performa years]

[nickm]

What about double-switchers? I had a Mac in high school, bought a PC laptop in college (which was stolen). Used, and loathed, Windows and Linux for years but finally switched back to the Mac in 1999. It was too early, though, and I had a long wait until 10.1, the first system that made good on the promise of an advanced OS that I had been hearing for years.

Now, with 10.2, I'm (mostly) in heaven. My only complaint is that Macs just aren't very reliable sometimes, but PCs are the same. And, when they're working, I enjoy working with my Mac much more.

[jokell82]

Considered switching when the TiBooks came out, but OS X finally clinched it for me. I got an iBook 500 in August of 2001 and switched to the 700 late last year...

[Jerommeke]

Yep, I was smart from the beginning. (Btw: there was an article in the paper today which was rather funny to read about the way-too-ludies in the PowerMacs)

[sniffer]

Hey, you needs more options in this poll. I Swiched in 2000 when i bought my first mac. A summer y2k iMac DV+ indigo. (Och.. Was it really that "long" ago I swiched.. Weeh.. )

[ApeInTheShell]

Options are fine but I think raviruddarraju wanted to focus on the Switch Campaign which has turned our underground railroad into a million man march.


(begin story)
The majority of the people in my college ranging from ages 18-78 years of age are computer illiterate. You can't convince them to switch to a pc or mac because they have no idea what you are talking about. They think the cd and vcr are the greatest inventions created.
Ironically, these are some of the same people who make fun of me for using a macintosh. It is sort of sad ya know.
(end story)

The point now is to figure out how to get old and mac users to get along.

[superfula]

Switched in March of 2002. I'm here, and I'm not looking back!

[entrox]

Technically I've switched in September '02, but practically it was in November. I ordered a MDD 2x1GHz + Ti4600 + Soundsticks, 17" LCD and 10GB iPod somewhere in mid-September, got the G4 (with a Radeon, because the Ti4600 was out of stock) and iPod 4-5 weeks later. Finally got the monitor and GeForce another 2-3 weeks later. That sucked, but I'm a happy Apple-lover now.

The machine I switched from was a P2 400 with 512MB RAM, so the speed difference was quite nice, although I was perfectly fine with my old computer. The main thing I hated about it was the lack of decent operating systems. I have been Windows-free for about 3 years and used primarily Linux (and FreeBSD for a few months, but the lack of drivers pushed me back to Linux).
Right now I'm in heaven - the MDD is a true speed-demon (I'll never buy a single-proc again) and OS X is a bliss - very speedy and good looking. No mucking around with dpkg, no kernel patching to get my Wacom working, no "vi /etc/X11/XF86Config" to switch resolutions and no breakage due to apt getting confused again. On the other hand, I get all the things I liked from the PC Unices: the ability to open a terminal and muck with the clean BSD userland if really want to.

The only thing that bothers me is the lack of nice free IRC-clients (right now I'm using good old irssi, but I didn't switch to OSX to run the same old console-clients). When my exams are over, I'll probably port my IRC backend over to OpenMCL and write a nice Cocoa frontend.

[sniffer]

Originally posted by entrox:

The only thing that bothers me is the lack of nice free IRC-clients (right now I'm using good old irssi, but I didn't switch to OSX to run the same old console-clients). When my exams are over, I'll probably port my IRC backend over to OpenMCL and write a nice Cocoa frontend.

Perhaps you already have tried it, but Athena irc client is not so bad. I don't know anything about OpenMCL, but your irc project sounds interesting. I hope we hear more about when you get along. X needs more good irc options.

[Eriamjh]

I switched in 2002 when I gave my PC to the wife (because she needed one to run her business software) and I sold my Pismo (which I used with the PC from Nov 2000 to Feb 2002 for a Quicksilver DP800. I have abandoned all PC software and use 100% Mac for makinmg movies, DVD burning, and general internet use.

And the wife has her own mac too, since 1997. She used them in school before 1993.

[OptimusG4]

I switched in Sept. of 2001, about the time 10.1 was released. I played with the PB on a mac at school (my roommates computer) and was interested in the OS since I could do PHP and MySQl with it. I've used Win 98 at the time as well as playing with Linux, but nothing felt right. OS X comes along and I was hooked. I was never against the mac, I just never had a reason to switch til then.

[DoctorW]

In July of 1992, I switched to a Mac from a Commodore 64.

[ibobunot]

I switched from windows in 1995.

[pimephalis]

Originally posted by entrox:
Technically I've switched in September '02, but practically it was in November. I ordered a MDD 2x1GHz + Ti4600 + Soundsticks, 17" LCD and 10GB iPod somewhere in mid-September, got the G4 (with a Radeon, because the Ti4600 was out of stock) and iPod 4-5 weeks later. Finally got the monitor and GeForce another 2-3 weeks later. That sucked, but I'm a happy Apple-lover now.

The machine I switched from was a P2 400 with 512MB RAM, so the speed difference was quite nice, although I was perfectly fine with my old computer. The main thing I hated about it was the lack of decent operating systems. I have been Windows-free for about 3 years and used primarily Linux (and FreeBSD for a few months, but the lack of drivers pushed me back to Linux).
Right now I'm in heaven - the MDD is a true speed-demon (I'll never buy a single-proc again) and OS X is a bliss - very speedy and good looking. No mucking around with dpkg, no kernel patching to get my Wacom working, no "vi /etc/X11/XF86Config" to switch resolutions and no breakage due to apt getting confused again. On the other hand, I get all the things I liked from the PC Unices: the ability to open a terminal and muck with the clean BSD userland if really want to.

The only thing that bothers me is the lack of nice free IRC-clients (right now I'm using good old irssi, but I didn't switch to OSX to run the same old console-clients). When my exams are over, I'll probably port my IRC backend over to OpenMCL and write a nice Cocoa frontend.

My word, entrox, you just described my situation to nearly a tee! I switched from windows to linux in 1998, and then made the move to OS X in November 2002. My iBook is my favourite computer of all time, and I believe the first one about which I have felt evangelical. I mean I've ragged on the poor MS slaves before (many a time), and hooted and hollered as I showed colleagues and friends the power at your fingertips when working with a *NIX and GNU based system, but that was all about the software and its configurability. With my iBook I have not only the power I now demand, but also the sheer pleasure of using a superbly designed machine and OS. What joy.

[schep]

No
I'm 16 and the 1st computer I used was my dad's mac plus which is now mine

[King Bob On The Cob]

I switched to Mac in 1992 (Go Performa 600 CD!). We've had a Apple ][ since before I was born

[ARENA]

I switched on 2000 when i bought an iMac DV. Then i replaced it with a Pismo on 2001 and now a month ago i got a spanking new SuperBook.
Switching is the best thing i've ever done.

So far i've switched 10 persons.

[Nonsuch]

I switched "in my head" in '96 when I first used a Mac at work. I couldn't actually get a Mac of my own until 2 years ago.

[Anomalous]

I have always used Macs, since I was a kid.

[Wet Jimmy]

Well, I'm certainly not going to be a full time switcher - my PC will still be too useful to be without, but as soon as my 17" Powerbook arrives, I think it will be my favourite child...