If you’re thinking of switching from Apple to Windows, here are a few things that might make the transition a little easier: The basics—switching from Mac to WindowsIt’s easy to manage two windows side-by-side Mac (macOS El Capitan 10.11 or later) using a feature called Split View. Split your Atom interface into multiple. Easily browse and open a single file, a whole project, or multiple projects in one window. Atom helps you write code faster with a smart and flexible autocomplete. Search for and install new packages or create your own right from Atom.In the past, Windows has been criticized for being far more difficult to use to find things on a computer than Macs, but with Windows 10, that’s gotten a bit easier. For example, ⌘ + V just becomes CTRL + V.Search with the Windows key. On Macs, the simplest way to search your computer is to pull up the Spotlight Search bar (by pressing ⌘ + Space, for the uninitiated) to find any file or application on your device. On Windows, many of the letters are the same, and you just have to press the Control key instead. Here are a few quick pointers:Replace ⌘ with CTRL. On Macs, the standard keyboard shortcuts are the ⌘ symbol, followed by a letter or number. Here’s how.Over the years, some of the most common reasons users gave for being hesitant to switch from macOS to Windows have revolved around fears that the jump from the way Apple computers work to Windows would be too confusing, that it’d be too difficult to swap over after years of using Apple software.While there’s definitely a learning curve, it’s really not that steep, and much of what has made Apple unique over the years can be found on Windows these days.
Head to Settings > System > Display, and turn on the “Night light” function.A virtual assistant. Windows machines also have their version of Night Shift, which softens whites on the computer as the sun sets to protect your eyes. Head to Settings > Personalization > Color and choose the dark setting. Apple fans recently freaked out when the company introduced a dark mode to macOS, which literally turns all the white parts of the operating system to dark colors,but Windows 10 has always had this option. On Windows, the Timeline function does that for the last 30 days, without the need for an external hard drive.Dark mode. You can also use it to search the web, if you’re fine with using Bing.Microsoft The Timeline function on Windows 10.You can still go back in time. Apple computers have the Time Machine software that allows devices connected to compatible external hard drives to recover everything they were doing in the past on their computer. It’s still a pretty big (and unnecessary) hassle.Em dashes, too. The best way to ensure this happens is to set up a OneDrive cloud storage account (which is free up to 5 GB), so that each time you take a screenshot you’ll get a notification that it’s been saved to your OneDrive folder, and you can tap that to get taken to the photo. On Windows 10 machines, you press that same button, and hopefully, it’ll save in a folder like This PC > Pictures > Screenshots. Traditionally, you pressed the “PrtScn” (short for Print Screen) button on your keyboard, opened a program like Microsoft Paint, pasted your screenshot in there, and saved it. It’s super easy to take screenshots on a Mac (and it’s not that hard to organize them, either), but this is one of the few things that remains legitimately more annoying to do on Windows. If you really want to.Screenshots are a little more complicated. So if you need to mess around in spreadsheets, build presentations, or write grant proposals, Windows will have you covered—for an additional fee, of course.And many other third-party work apps will have Windows versions as well, such as Slack, Trello, and Skype (which is now a Microsoft company). You’ve probably even purchased Microsoft Office for your Mac. If you’ve used any of Apple’s iWork suite of apps—Pages, Numbers, and Keynote—you’ll know that they’re often minimalist to a fault, and frustrating to use (barring, perhaps, Keynote). Productivity softwareOne thing that Windows has really always had a leg-up over Apple on is software for getting real work done. But it’s not that difficult to set up a new shortcut on your own. Getting Windows Download ITunes ToYou can access iCloud files from icloud.com, download iTunes to manage your music, and connect your iCloud email account, calendar, and contacts to Outlook, or Gmail (here’s a handy guide on that). The Apple ecosystem on WindowsThere are some parts of the Apple ecosystem that you won’t want to leave, and for the most part, that shouldn’t be an issue. Just about everything else you might need will be found in the Microsoft Store, Windows’ answer to the Mac App Store. When paired up with an Android phone, it can mirror the phone’s notifications to your Windows computer, and even send texts right from the computer. WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Telegram, and Google Hangouts all have desktop apps worth considering.But earlier this year, Microsoft introduced the “Your Phone” app for Windows 10. So if you spent a lot of time answering texts from your computer, you might want to find another way of communicating. Users who’ve left Apple’s embrace for other smartphone makers have found they’ve missed messages. Apple’s proprietary messaging platform, which allows users to effectively text any Apple device from any one of their own devices, doesn’t play nice with other manufacturers. There is sadly no GarageBand app for Windows.One of the biggest sticking points, however, is iMessage. Power pivot excel for macLooking goodOne of the most compelling reasons to switch to a Windows machine right now is that many of them look great, and Microsoft and its manufacturing partners are trying some truly interesting (and potentially innovative) things with PC designs. It’s also relatively slow. But if you want to use Chrome, Firefox, Opera, or even Safari, or whatever browser you’re used to, there’s almost certainly a Windows version available.Just be warned: If you want to install a different browser, Microsoft gets a little… aggressive:And when you try to switch your default from Microsoft Edge to Chrome, Windows will tell you to consider the fact that Edge is “built for Windows 10,” with no real indication of what that actually means. But if you want something with a little more consideration for design, or more power, then you’ll have to look elsewhere.Windows comes with the very average Microsoft Edge browser installed, which is a fine enough option if you don’t mind searching the internet with Bing. There are far more practical and affordable Chromebook laptops, running Google’s Chrome software, that will do the trick for many people. The webBeyond specialized apps and Office software, you’ll likely spend the majority of your time—for work and for fun—in a web browser, so much of Windows’ foibles will fade into the background.Honestly, most people really just need a web browser to run their digital lives—web surfing, news, email, social media, and streaming services all live in the browser now—so it’s worth considering whether you even need a Windows or Mac computer to begin with. Adobe audition for android downloadMicrosoft Hello—its biometric security software for unlocking the machine—is exceedingly fast, and works like the iPhone X FaceID technology (it’s a wonder that Apple hasn’t copied this yet). Also things just crash for no reason:And there’s the fact that Microsoft jams the Start Menu (a holdover from Windows 95 that I really have little use for in 2018) full of ads now:And the fact that Microsoft has relatively frequent operating system updates that bug you into submission to install, and the fact that you really have to use (and pay for) antivirus software to protect yourself on a Windows machine.But there are some legitimate benefits over macOS, too. The setup process is still rather confusing and protracted (I have no idea what ”SmartScreen” is or why Windows felt the need to tell me it was running when I first turn on the machine)—Cortana’s pithy remarks as the computer first turns on are truly insufferable, and navigating the operating system can still be rather laborious. I won’t say I’ve fallen in love with Windows 10. Should you do it?I’ve spent the last few months using Windows machines from Microsoft and Huawei on and off.
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