So, the new MacBook arrived via FedEx today. I planned to spend the day getting it up and running and moving files, applications, databases from the old iBook to the new MacBook. Got the Valium out, put the dogs out, put the cats in the basement, put a bottle of wine on the desk, put a six pack under the desk, put a Do Not Disturb sign on the front door and turned off the cell phone…hey, this was gonna be an all day job. So, fired up the new machine and about the 3rd prompt (about 15 seconds in to the start-up) asked me if I had a previous Mac and if I wanted to move all the old stuff (I actually got to chose). I told it to move everything, hooked up the two machines via FireWire cable, and was told by the MacBook to come back in 30 minutes. So walked out to the mail box and came back in fully expecting to begin the battle…BUT: the new machine was up, running, had my old desktop, all my stuff, all my email accounts, passwords, etc. So, put the old iBook in the closet, put the Valium back in the medicine cabinet, brough the dogs in, let the cats back upstairs, put the booze away, turned on the cell phone, took the sign off the door. Went to the gym and lifted weights. Life is good.
Yeah…it’s nice, huh? I got an iPhone and it works wonderfully with my .mac mail and my business account…plus displays photos inline in email. So far the only thing I kind of miss on my phone is being able to see some attachments but that’s not necessarily bad and a fix is in the works.
Having lived through a similar experience a few years ago, I wholeheartedly agree. Even though I’ve now been on Macs for years, I’m still impressed with how flawlessly that procedure works. One good thing that Apple can say about Microsoft is that they set the bar so low for consumer expectations that it’s so much easier to Apple to impress. Enjoy the new machine.
I’m curious - I’m about to buy an iMac for the very first time. Does the same software (or another similar program) assist in the migration of stuff from my PC to the Mac? Or am I going to be on my own for that?
Thanks
I believe there are programs to help you go from a PC to a Mac, but they don’t work as smoothly. Do a search on Walt Mossberg’s WSJ column to find suggestions, or ask someone at Apple.
One really nice thing about the new Mac OS (leopard) is that you can file share pretty seamlessly with other computers. If you go into your PC and turn on file sharing the Mac will see it’s hard drive as another disk in the menu. So if you have a lot of Microsoft Office files all you have to do is install office on your Mac and you can open/save anything on another system directly from your Mac. Same with photos and movies. It’s really pretty slick.
I don’t have windows/parallels on my Mac (still seems blasphemous to me) but I have been able to access my PC files without any issues.
One really nice thing about the new Mac OS (leopard) is that you can file share pretty seamlessly with other computers. If you go into your PC and turn on file sharing the Mac will see it’s hard drive as another disk in the menu. So if you have a lot of Microsoft Office files all you have to do is install office on your Mac and you can open/save anything on another system directly from your Mac. Same with photos and movies. It’s really pretty slick.
I don’t have windows/parallels on my Mac (still seems blasphemous to me) but I have been able to access my PC files without any issues.
Good point. I had forgotten about that feature. This should make the move from a PC much easier.