PC to Mac - converted! and oh, the iPhone…
I’m part of a movement. What kind of movement will be dependent on your POV; but over the weekend I switched from PC to Mac as my primary machine. I did it for two reasons:
1) My laptop was increasingly fragile - Windows was not launching properly at times, and it took utmost patience (which I have precious little of…) and too much time to boot the doggone thing many mornings. So I knew I had to upgrade.
2) My Blackberry was up for trade-in/renewal on my cell phone plan… and guess what was calling my name? I bit the bullet, walked into the Apple store the day after their one-day-only sale, and upgraded.
The systems (Mac and iPhone) were a dream to set up. Intuitive isn’t the word for it. Automatic is how I would describe it. Those Apple folks have UI design down. I have largely worked the kinks out of moving information between systems. I kept most files on a USB drive anyway, and have for months worked seamlessly between Mac and Windows systems.
My final thrilling acts are pulling bookmarks from Firefox to Safari - a breeze to do myself, thank you. And installing Attensa for Mac for my RSS feeds. I’m so used to my Attensa for Outlook, it’ll be interesting to see how closely they resemble each other on the different systems.
Two Issues (so far..)
I do have a gripe about the Apple Mail application. I can’t figure out (on my own) how to move files from my inbox to folders. Anyone have a clue? I’m stymied, and it just seems as if it should be possible.
My .csv contacts file can’t be imported into Apple’s address book. As I was looking around on the iPhone forums, there were threads about that difficulty, but I haven’t had the time to go back and look into it. I’ve been getting mail (from four accounts - again, easy to set up) and have been adding contacts easily that way.
If anyone has a tip/trick/hint - or a blog/site to go hunting for tips/tricks, please let me know. I’m converted, and am absolutely thrilled to be back home in the Mac world (that I entered in 1984) again.
Welcome! I don’t have my iPhone yet, but I am getting closer. Love to hear how it works for you for email.
To get mail into folders, I just drag and drop. I select the messages I want and drag them into whichever folder. You can do it one at a time or shift click to get a series, or command (apple) click to select individually, then just pull them over. It was probably too simple
Welcome to the wonderful world of Mac users, Janet! Now it’s time to dive into the rich resources of third-party developers.
For Mail, I am totally hooked on MailTags and Mail Act-On. The latter will make it so easy to file away your incoming email. (http://www.indev.ca)
Have you looked at the Address Book help file? Under “importing”, it says you can import CSV files. It is a little confusing, to be sure, that when you click on “Import”, CSV is not an option. But the help says: “Choose “Text file” for a tab-delimited or CSV file.”
One of the most helpful blogs is Hawk Wings. It’s focused on Apple Mail (hence the name, which comes from the Mail icon) and related programs. (http://www.hawkwings.net)
Hi Ladies, thanks so much for the helpful tips! Jean, I should have known you’d be quick to reach out… And Christine, thank you for the note - and introduction to your blog!
So far the iPhone beats my old blackberry - with my aging eyes, I can even see my email without my glasses - can’t believe it!
Cheers… I’m heading out to check out some 3rd party software and try that import again.
Frankly, I’m surprised it took a hip girl such as yourself so long to get an iPhone and a Mac (I think you really need both to get the full benefit of the sync options of the iPhone, such as with iPhoto).