Which computer (1 Viewer)

For many years I have used Windows and at present I am still on Windows 7. I have an HP computer which is pretty good but I am thinking of changing in the near future to Apple. I know Word and such like, will not be available but will I still be able to use Photoshop and similar products.

I would be grateful for any advice or opinions on this please.

As far as I know, microsoft office can also be bought on apple products. Same for photo products from Adobe, ACDSee, etc.

Whether that change would work for you is up to you. Most people who have tried say yes off course. I have only used macs many years ago and back then I could not change the way I am thinking to fit what a mac expects.

Niels

The third party application software is the same, the guts are the same, the only thing that is different is the file management system.

Apple build quality is good but they are expensive, you will get similar build quality in the same price Windows machines.

There is a greater range of software available for Windows, but this can be a curse to differentiate the wheat from the chaff. The bundled software that comes with Apple machines tends to be more capable than that that comes with Windows.

If you are on a budget get a Windows machines.

If you have been used to fiddling around "under the bonnet" of a Windows machine then stick to Windows.

If you have more money to spend and are not a fiddler then get a Apple machine, but do consider the more specced up Windows machines for similar money.

Don't buy the " Macs just work" and the "Macs are better at graphics" tropes. The returns statistics don't back up the former and the hardware underneath has been the same for over a decade!

Thank you for your replies, they have given me plenty to think about. I suppose I have been attracted to Apple because of the simplicity of my iPhone and iPad, and of course Mac owners do seem very convincing that they have the perfect kit.

if you are still on win7 and an old machine then your photoshop etc would also be old versions or run slowly. updating hardware depends on what you want to use the machine for ideally not just what you manage now.

we can best help if we know what you would hope to use it for, which kind of software especially. this is because selection of graphics chips or cards should be thought of. also such things as whether you would use it as a media centre, a games machine, office machine and so on.

a basic system today running latest windows is very different from an older machine running win7 and there is a learning curve to overcome. that leads to the possibility of a simple setup running a Linux operating ststem. just about any use can be found comparably on modern, user friendly Linux which comes in various 'distribution' types presented for diverse users and usually has benefits of faster running and more free memory.

the days when 'mac' apple was worth the extra cash for quality and organisation are sadly gone.

also bear in mind a modern large screen laptop makes a good replacement for most desktop systems today and has the obvious advantage of portability.

to recap, it mainly comes down to intended purpose. systems today are flexible and as an example i use an android tab but can also connect it wirelessly to a proper keyboard and mouse when typing in Word or other word processor or doing spreadsheets. i could also use my 50 in TV screen for videos or graphics work and find all the software i need is available and do not anymore require a PC. I use a 4yr old laptop using Windows when i need to connect into more intensive computing but mainly these days it sits on standby. my router acts as a media server with just an SD card. so again, think of your main usage and base it on that.