John Wang

Moving to a new OS is never an easy task. You have to get all new applications that are compatible with the new OS. You probably want to transfer all your data from the old one to the new one. And you may even need new hardware if your old one isn’t compatible with the new OS (ie. wifi cards, keyboards, webcams, etc.)

After observing some PC switchers at a local Apple Store, there are a bunch of things that I noticed bugged the average PC (Windows) user trying to switch to a Mac to no end.

1. No “Home, End, Pg Up, Pg Down” buttons. Not sure why this is, but that’s the way it was designed for better or worse.
2. No “Delete” button – ok, ok. Technically there is a “Delete” button, but to a Windows user, that translates to “Backspace.”
3. No “Insert” button – I haven’t figured this one out myself yet.
4. Tapping the trackpad does nothing! This seemed to be a big one. Especially with the new MacBooks and MacBook Pros. You have to physically press down on the trackpad to click a link in Safari. This seemed to drive some of the users nuts. Go figure.
5. No “Right-Click” button. Simple enough to understand that a PC user is used to having a 2-button trackpad. As soon as the Apple Genius told them that they needed to just press with 2 fingers, the users seemed ok. Though, still confused as to why not just put 2 buttons there.

Of course, these annoyances are easily overcome once the user has gone through the learning curve or a workshop.

Were you a switcher? What growing pains did you go through?

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