There isn't much that you can do a Windows PC that you can't do with a Mac. I prefer Windows for office work, business applications and gaming, and the Mac for video, photo, and music editing, coding and for security reasons. I've avoided a lot of the spyware and virus nonsense that you get with Windows by switching to a Mac for most of my computer tasks.
I came up with the following charts, while swtiching from Windows to Mac. Hopefully, you'll find them useful if you plan to switch between the two operating systems. The information below is basic and informal, and by no means complete, however it's a good guide for the average computer user.
I haven't updated this for Windows 7.
Operating system features
| Windows XP | Mac OS X | Differences |
|---|---|---|
| Start button on the Task Bar | Apple icon in the Menu Bar | Not much. You'll find different stuff lurking behind them, but they essentially serve the same purpose. |
| Control Panel | System Preferences | They serve the same purpose: they're both panels used to control your system's preferences. |
| Task Bar | Dock | Mac puts the Date & Time and Volume control in the Menu bar, while Windows puts them in the Task bar. Otherwise the Dock and Task bar serve the same purpose. |
| Menu Bar | Menu Bar | Each Windows application has a Menu bar, but all Mac applications share the same Menu bar, which lives at the top of the screen. They serve the same purpose. |
| All Programs Menu | Applications Folder | One is a menu, the other is a folder, but they serve the same purpose. |
| Explorer | Finder | They serve the same purpose. You use them to manage folders and files. |
| My Documents | Documents | They serve the same purpose; it's a place to store your documents. |
| My Computer | Macintosh HD icon | Essentially the same deal, but unlike Windows, you can't get directly to the disk utilities via the icon with the Mac. |
| Recycle Bin | Trash | They serve the same purpose; it's the place to dump your cyber-garbage. The Mac is a little cooler because you can use drag CDs to the trash to eject them. |
| My Recent Documents | Recent Items | Mac gives you more than Documents, adding Applications and Servers, but they serve the same purpose. |
| Search | Spotlight | They serve the same purpose, but they're very different. Mac's Spotlight is cool because it finds as you type. Window's Search does better with wildcard searches. |
| My Network Places | Network | They serve the same purpose;they're where you go to connect with other computers on your network. |
| Folder | Folder | Same. |
| Icon | Icon | Same. |
| Desktop | Desktop | Same. |
| Shut Down | Shut Down | Same. |
| Restart | Restart | Same. |
| Stand By | Sleep | Same purpose. |
| Windows Update | Software Update | These serve the same purpose, although the Mac's Software Update seems to cover a broader range of software (like Java). |
| Firewall | Firewall | Same. |
| Security Center | Security | The similarities stop with the word "Security". Windows Security Center is a one-stop location for Firewall, Anti-Virus, and Windows Update, while Mac's Security applet has more to do with passwords and file encryption settings (FileVault). |
| Disk Error-checking | Disk Utility | Different, but they both help you maintain your harddrives. |
| Defragmentation | Mac lacks a Defrag utility, mostly because it doesn't need one as badly as other operating systems. |
Accessories, Utilities, Applets and Programs that come with the OS
| Windows XP | Mac OS X | Differences |
|---|---|---|
| Calculator | Calculator | Virtually the same. |
| Command Prompt | Terminal | These applications let you operate you computer using a text interface (instead of using a mouse and icons). Windows is based on DOS, and Mac OS X is based on Unix, so it helps to know those operating systems. |
| Notepad, WordPad | TextEdit | TextEdit will do essentially what Notepad and WordPad do: let you write text files. |
| Paint | Mac doesn't come with a Paint-like application. No big deal. You'll probably want Photoshop or Pixelmator anyway. | |
| iCal | Windows doesn't come with a Calendar application. | |
| Microsoft Windows Media Player | Apple Quicktime & Apple iTunes | You can download free versions of Quicktime and iTunes for Windows, and you can get the WMP for the Mac, so no big deal. |
| Preview | Windows doesn't come with photo management software, but you can get Picazza from Google for free. | |
| Stickies | Windows doesn't come with a Stickies-type app, but there are free versions available. | |
| Sound Recorder | Mac doesn't come with a sound recorder, but some Macs do come bundled with Garage Tunes, which is an awesome music editing program. | |
| Volume Control | Sound | Same. |
| System Tools | Utilities and System Preferences | Tools and utilites to teak your system. The tools are different, but the idea is the same. |
| Fonts | Font Book | Same. |
| Internet Explorer | Safari | Same. They're both web browsers. |
| Outlook Express | Same. |
Doing Stuff
| Action | Windows XP | Mac OS X | Which is easier | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clicking | Left ButtonClick | Click | Tie | |
| Right-Clicking | Right Button Click | Hold down control key and Click | Windows | Until very recently, Apple didn't make a multiple-button mouse, so instead of right-clicking, you have to hold down the control key. |
| Make a new folder | Right-click inside other folder, or on Desktop. Choose New and then Folder. | Control-click inside other folder, or on Desktop. Choose New Folder. | Mac | |
| Get information about a particular file or folder | Right-click on the icon and choose Properties | Control-click on the icon and choose Get Info | Tie | |
| Open an application, file or folder. | Click the icon | Click the icon | Tie | |
| Minimize an open application | Click the Minimize button | Click the amber dash symbol button, or double-click the Title bar. | Tie | |
| Maximize an application window | Click the Maximize button, or double-click the Title bar | Click the green plus symbol button | Windows | With the Mac, you'll never fill the entire screen – you'll need to manually stretch the window. |
| Close an application window | Click the close button, or Alt+F4. | Click the red x button, or Apple+W. Apple Key + Q will end the program. | Tie | With the Mac, closing a window won't end the program |
| Saving your work | Control+S | Apple key+S | Tie | |
| Accessing the Menu Bar | Alt + the underlined letter of the corresponding menu item | Control+F2 and then use your arrow keys to scoot around | Windows | There might be an easier way with the Mac, but I haven't found it. |
| Minimize all windows and show desktop | Windows key + D | F11 | Tie | |
| Switch Programs | Alt + Tab | Apple key + Tab | Tie | |
| Show all program windows | Right-click on the Task bar and choose one of the Tile Windows choices | F9 | Mac | |
| Switch Windows from the same program | Alt + Tab | F10 | Tie | |
| Deleting a File or Folder | Right-click and choose Delete | Control-click and choose Move To Trash | Tie | |
| Empty Recycle Bin or Trash | Right-click and choose Empty Recycle Bin | Control-click and choose Empty Trash | Tie | |
| Control + P | Apple key + P | Tie | Apple gives you the option of printing the page as a PDF. | |
| Change the Volume | Click the speaker icon in the Task Bar, and use the slide bar to change the volume | Click the speaker icon in the Menu Bar, and use the slide bar to change the volume. Use the speaker keys. | Mac | |
| Eject a CD | Open My Computer. Right-click on CD icon. Choose Eject. | Hit the Eject key. | Mac | |
| Quit an application that is no longer responding. | Right-click on the Task Bar to spawn the Task Manager. Select the application that is not running. Click the End Task button. | Click the Finder icon in the Dock. Click the Apple icon in the Menu Bar. Choose Force Quit. Select the application that is not responding. Click the Force quit button. | Windows | |
| Changing the Screen Saver | Right-click on the Desktop. Choose Properties. Select Screen Saver. | Control-click on the Desktop. Choose Change Desktop Background… Select Screen Saver. | Tie | |
| Updating your OS | Open Internet Explorer. From the Tools menu choose Windows Update. Follow the directions. | Click the Apple icon and choose Software Update. Follow the directions. | Tie | |
| Uninstalling Programs | Control Panel. Add or Remove Programs. Select the program wish to remove. Click the Remove button. Follow the instructions. | Drag the Folder or Program icon to the Trash. | Mac | |
| Starting your machine | Press the on button. Log on with your username and password. | Press the on button. Log on with your username and password. | Tie | |
| Turning on the Firewall | Control Panel > Security Center. Click Windows Firewall. Choose the On setting. | System Preferences. Click the Sharing Icon. Select Firewall. Click the Start button. | Tie |
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