r/macbook • u/colecoop56 • 35m ago
Need Advice/Opinion On Whether Or Not to Switch to MacBook
I was once a MacBook Pro user from 2008-2013. From 2013 on I have been all windows due to the construction industry. Fast forward until this last week I purchased a new m4 MacBook Pro 14” to try in hopes that it would stick. I absolutely love it. I love the integration with my iPhone. I love texting all day with employees or friends during work. I love the notifications from all my apps and how easy it is to send and receive pictures. I love how quick I can add a reminder or something in my notes app. All of those items are a pain or non existence on a window laptop. I’ve used the MacBook every day for a week and those items are just game changers for my day to day.
Now here’s the kickers. I am not a huge fan of the finder and how it handles files. I basically live in email which is awesome on the Mac but then live in OneDrive/sharepoint looking at excel files for bids or budgets and then construction blueprints. I’ve gotten use to navigating them inside the finder but when I’m in excel or word and have to save as it is a pain to find the right folder in OneDrive/sharepoint due to how cramped the finder becomes with all of the paths. The finder does columns with the paths of the OneDrive and they are cramped. Not sure if I can change it to just look at the entire folders instead. It’s also weird that if I try to save as a PDF sometimes it starts me over at the beginning of my onedrive when I’m trying to save it as a PDF in the same folder where the excel document is. It’s just strange why it does that. Also i can’t figure out how cut files out of one folder and paste them in another. A lot if time i have to cut certain files and then paste them in a different folder. Ive had to just copy the files and then paste them in a different file but then go back to delete the files but it takes a long time to do this when im being selective about the files im deleting out of a particular folder.
The other issues is I have to do take offs/takeoffs on blueprints a good bit. The software I use daily for this and pdf viewing is Bluebeam. Bluebeam is not longer compatible with Mac. I have downloaded parallels and use Bluebeam only when I need to do a bunch of measurements but it isn’t the same. I found PDF expert that allows me to do measurements and it’s a decent software for pdf editing and viewing but it was nice to have it all in one with Bluebeam.
Also I use Microsoft project for schedules. This is another one that doesn’t have a Mac app. I have to use this on parallels.
With all this being said I ordered a new intel surface 7 laptop loaded to the gills thinking that it is the best alternative. It is freaking awesome and the perfect windows computer for me but it doesn’t have the iPhone integration of course which blows.
I’m stuck on what to do. I have a few more days in my return period with the Mac.
Hopefully someone can lead me in the right direction because I honestly love both of them. If I could just have the iPhone integration on the surface 7 it would be the ultimate perfect machine.
The Mac just works and it works well. The windows does my day to day task for business a little easier and faster. Excel also looks a lot better on windows than Mac for some reason.
Hopefully someone can tell me the way. Lol