Over the last few weeks I've been writing about my shift to Windows from Mac after five years of using a MacBook, and many of you have written to ask what apps I use to replace various Mac-only tools.
- Microsoft Guides Switching to Windows Over the last few weeks I've been writing about my shift to Windows from Mac after five years of using a MacBook, and many of you have written to ask what apps I use to replace various Mac-only tools.
- As for Windows itself, Windows 10 is very solid, and Windows Explorer is more 'malleable' than the Finder in Mac OS. There is also a raft of solutions available to make Windows feel more Mac-like, such as the FastPictureViewer codec, which shows thumbnails for a huge range of image formats, and DJV, which can act as a good media player.
- A Mashable article in 2016 noted that the decision to switch to Intel processors gave many people who wanted a Mac, but couldn't commit to giving up Windows, a way to have both via Boot Camp and a number of virtualization programs, and that Mac, as a computer platform, had a renaissance following the transition, with more apps being developed.
- Over a decade ago Alex Hern switched from PC to Mac and never looked back. Sat 7 Jan 2017 03.00 EST Last modified on Tue 21 Feb 2017. I can guarantee you that within a month of switching to.
As with any new Windows computer, Microsoft requires that you activate your Windows software within 30 days. Switching operating systems. You can go back and forth between OS X and Windows on your Mac, but you can’t run both operating systems simultaneously under Boot Camp.
In general, I've been impressed with the state of Windows apps — it seems like they've come a long way in recent times, and I've found a number of tools that have enhanced my workflow in a big way.
Lightshot
Windows has built-in region capturing now, but Lightshot takes it to the next level. If you want to annotate, add text or even just copy to your clipboard rather than saving a file every time you make a screenshot this app is for you.
This app has been around forever — and works on Mac too — but as a religious CMD + SHIFT + 4 user on Mac, this was perfect for replacing that reflex (I even mapped the same shortcut to work inside Windows, so I can just keep doing it).
Seer
![Switching From Mac To Pc 2017 Switching From Mac To Pc 2017](https://s27389.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/switching-from-pc-to-mac.jpg)
Another one of my reflexes is slamming the space key to see inside a file, rather than opening it. One of my annoyances about Windows is that there's no universal 'Preview' style app that lets you open a large range of files quickly.
Seer makes life a lot easier, bringing back the space-button preview, and making it work well inside Windows. I wish Microsoft would just bundle this behavior right in.
Nylas
If there's anything macOS has a glut of, it's mail apps that look good. On the Windows side it was always a little awful, but life is getting better thanks to Nylas.
It's finally on Windows and provides a super-snappy way to access whatever email service you use, with full search and a bunch of nifty other features. I'm a huge fan of the work Nylas is doing simply because their sync engine is so damn good.
All of this said, I'm also finding myself to be a fan of the built-in Windows 10 mail app. It's well-designed, and works nicely in the background providing push notifications and near real-time updates, along with live tiles in the start menu.
Hyper
If you're a developer and plan to use Bash on Windows like I am, Hyper is an essential download. Built by the fantastic team at Zeit, Hyper is the only Windows terminal emulator that doesn't make my brain hurt.
If you want to get it set up really nice, set Hyper to launch Bash every time it opens, install the ZSH shell, and download zsh-pure.
Chocolatey
If you've used a Mac for a while, you've probably come across Brew, a command-line tool that makes installing basically anything a `brew install` command away. Windows bootable usb on mac. Windows finally has something that fills that gap, and it works great.
Chocolatey is a command-line tool for Windows that rids you of those crappy old-school MSI installers where you click next 1000000 times, and lets you install basically any app by typing `choco install` at the command line — incredibly handy, and works for desktop apps too.
Instant Eyedropper
macOS has a mediocre-but-useful built-in eyedropper tool, while Windows has nothing. Instant Eyedropper is a fantastic, tiny tool that lives in your taskbar making it much easier to just grab a color by clicking it at any given moment.
Wallcat
Honestly, I never know what I want my computer's wallpaper to be, so I'm a huge fan of Wallcat.
It's another tiny little app, but the team curates beautiful screenshots within different themes like 'Fresh Air' or 'Gradients' that mean your background picture is something different every day. It's a small touch, but I like the fresh feeling of a new wallpaper every morning.
Visual Studio Code
There are a million coding apps out there, and you probably have your own preference but since switching across I've become a huge fan of Visual Studio Code.
The team behind the app has been iterating on it really quickly and it's packed with useful features like a built-in shell (where you can use Bash!), fantastic Git tracking and a great plugin architecture.
I never really thought I'd stop using Sublime Text, but here we are.
Lunacy
The most annoying thing for me personally right now is the lack of Sketch on Windows. The company is adamant it's not coming, but a lot of the designers I work with hand me Sketch files that.. I can't open anymore.
I had a virtual machine with macOS inside it sitting around just for Sketch, but it was a pain in the ass to fire it up every time I wanted to look at a design.
I use Lunacy to solve that, which is a Sketch viewer built by a third-party for Windows. It works pretty well, and lets you do what you probably need to do: slice up files.
UWP apps
OK, this is a total aside, but one of the coolest features of Windows 10 right now is that there are native apps for almost every major service, which means you can do things like running the entire Instagram mobile app, right on your desktop.
There's apps I use for Facebook, Twitter, Todoist and many others, which work really well. I think when Microsoft's Fluent Design language is in full swing and starts hitting the store it'll be a fantastic alternative to checking all these things in your browser.
That's it, for now..
I'll keep this post up to date if and when I find something cool. If you've got a recommendation, let me know on Twitter or in the comments on this post.
This post is part of a series I'm writing about switching to Windows:
Windows Migration Assistant transfers your contacts, calendars, email accounts, and more from a PC. It migrates this data to the appropriate places on your Mac. After migrating data to your Mac, authorize your computer for iTunes Store purchases. It’s important to authorize before you sync or play content that you download from the iTunes Store.
Should I Switch From Pc To Mac
![Mac Mac](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/I96nVmnzUqE/maxresdefault.jpg)
If you're migrating from one Mac to another Mac, follow the steps to move your content to a new Mac.
Before you begin
To prepare for a smooth migration:
- Make sure that Windows is up to date. Migration Assistant works with Windows 7 and later.
- Make sure that you know the name and password of an administrator account on your PC.
- Connect your Mac and PC to the same network, such as your home Wi-Fi network. Or connect an Ethernet cable between the ports on your Mac and PC to create a direct network connection. Some Mac models require an Ethernet adapter, such as the Belkin USB-C to Gigabit Ethernet Adapter or Apple Thunderbolt to Gigabit Ethernet Adapter.
- If you're using Microsoft OneDrive on your PC, follow Microsoft's instructions for uninstalling OneDrive before continuing. You can reinstall OneDrive after migration is complete.
Then use the check disk (chkdsk) utility on your PC to make sure that your Windows hard drive doesn’t have any issues:
- Right-click the Start button, then click Run.
- Type
cmd
and press Enter. Command Prompt opens. - At the prompt, type
chkdsk
and press Enter. - If the utility reports that it found problems, type the following, where drive is the letter that represents your Windows startup disk, such as D:
- Press Enter.
- At the prompt, type
Y
, then restart your PC. - Repeat this process until the check disk utility reports no issues. If the utility can't fix every issue that it finds, you might need to have your PC serviced. Then migrate your data to your Mac.
Move your data
This section guides you through migration, post-migration, and what to do if the steps don’t work for you.
How to move your information from a PC to your Mac
- On your PC, download and install the appropriate Windows Migration Assistant, based on the version of macOS on your Mac:
- Windows Migration Assistant for macOS Mojave or later
- Windows Migration Assistant for macOS Sierra and High Sierra
- Windows Migration Assistant for OS X El Capitan or earlier
- Quit any open Windows apps.
- Open Windows Migration Assistant, then click Continue.
- Start up your Mac. Setup Assistant automatically opens the first time you turn on your Mac. If you’ve already set up your Mac, open Migration Assistant, which is in the Utilities folder of your Applications folder.
- On your Mac, follow the onscreen prompts until you get to the migration pane of the assistant. Select the option to transfer your information “From a Windows PC,” then click Continue.
- When prompted, enter an administrator name and password.
- Click Continue to close any other open apps.
- In the migration window on your Mac, select your PC from the list of available computers. Then wait for the PC to show the same passcode that your Mac shows.
- When both computers display the same passcode, click Continue on your PC and Mac.
- Your Mac scans the drives on your PC to build a list of information to migrate. When the scan completes, select the information that you want to migrate to your Mac and click Continue. Learn about some of the data that you can transfer.
You can watch the progress and estimated time remaining on both the PC and your Mac. They tell you when migration is complete.
After you move your data
When migration completes, close Windows Migration Assistant on your PC. Then log in to the new user account on your Mac. The first time you log in to a user account migrated from your PC, you’re asked to set a password. You can use the same password that you used on your PC, or create a new password.
After logging in to the user account that you migrated, your computer for iTunes Store purchases. It’s important to authorize before you sync or play content downloaded from the iTunes Store.
If you have issues moving your data
- Quit all open apps on your PC, then try migrating your content again. For example, you can press Alt-Tab to choose an open application, then press Alt-F4 to quit it.
- If your PC doesn't appear in the Setup Assistant or Migration Assistant window on your Mac, make sure the computers are connected to the same network. You can create an network by connecting a single Ethernet cable between your Mac and PC. If that doesn't help, check for firewall software on your PC and turn it off. Firewall software can block network ports needed during migration. After migration completes, you can turn firewall software on again.
- If Migration Assistant doesn’t open on your PC, turn off any antivirus software on your PC. Then try to open Migration Assistant again. After migration completes. You can turn that software on again.
- If you still can't migrate your information successfully, you can use an external drive or file sharing to manually copy important data to your Mac.
What data can I transfer?
Microsoft word similar for mac. Migration Assistant lets you choose the data to move to your Mac. Here’s what moves over for specific apps and data types:
Email, contacts, and calendar information
Email messages, email-account settings, contacts, and appointments move based on which version of Windows you're using and which accounts you have.
Email messages, email-account settings, contacts, and appointments move based on which version of Windows you're using and which accounts you have.
Switching To Mac From Pc
Outlook1
Data from 32-bit versions of Outlook in Windows 7 and later move as follows:
Data from 32-bit versions of Outlook in Windows 7 and later move as follows:
- People move to Contacts2
- Appointments move to the Calendar app
- IMAP and Exchange settings and messages move to the Mail app
- POP settings and messages move to Mail2
Windows Live Mail
Data from Windows Live Mail in Windows 7 and later moves as follows:
Data from Windows Live Mail in Windows 7 and later moves as follows:
- IMAP settings and messages move to Mail
- POP settings and messages move to Mail2
Windows Mail
Data from Windows Mail in Windows 7 and later (excluding Windows 8) move as follows:
Data from Windows Mail in Windows 7 and later (excluding Windows 8) move as follows:
- IMAP settings and messages move to Mail
- POP settings and messages move to Mail2
- People move to Contacts
Bookmarks
Bookmarks from Internet Explorer, Safari for Windows, and Firefox move to Safari.
Bookmarks from Internet Explorer, Safari for Windows, and Firefox move to Safari.
System settings
What is the new version of mac os. Language and location settings, and custom desktop pictures move to System Preferences. Your web browser homepage moves to Safari preferences.
What is the new version of mac os. Language and location settings, and custom desktop pictures move to System Preferences. Your web browser homepage moves to Safari preferences.
Pictures
Photos and other images move to your home folder. You can then add them to Photos, or open Photos and let it search your Mac for photos to import.
Photos and other images move to your home folder. You can then add them to Photos, or open Photos and let it search your Mac for photos to import.
iTunes content
Migration Assistant transfers your iTunes media as follows: music to the Apple Music app, videos to the Apple TV app, podcasts to the Apple Podcasts app, and audiobooks to the Apple Books app. What happened to iTunes?
Migration Assistant transfers your iTunes media as follows: music to the Apple Music app, videos to the Apple TV app, podcasts to the Apple Podcasts app, and audiobooks to the Apple Books app. What happened to iTunes?
Other files
Migration Assistant also moves these files:
Migration Assistant also moves these files:
- Files from the top-level folder of the currently logged-in user’s home directory
- Non-system files located in the Windows or Program Files folders
- Top-level folders located on the Windows system disk and other attached disks
Switching From Mac To Pc 2019
1. Migration Assistant doesn’t support 64-bit versions of Outlook. You can manually migrate Mail, Contacts, or Calendars from Outlook 2013 or Outlook 2016 by signing in and entering the content on your Mac manually.
2. Migration Assistant transfers only the Mail or Contacts data that belongs to the logged-in Windows user. To transfer data from another user account, use Migration Assistant again while you’re logged in to another Windows account. Each time you migrate, your Mac creates a new user account.