Help I'm going to buy a Mac!

Simon_idnet · Nov 05, 2009, 14:40:27

One of the top three because I've now got one at work, one at home and a Mac laptop for when I'm in Telehouse

Steve · Nov 05, 2009, 14:54:19

I also have 3
Macbook13
Imac24
Mach3 (in use every morning )

Rik · Nov 05, 2009, 15:29:31

You'll like the new home for this thread then, Steve.

lozcart · Nov 05, 2009, 15:43:50

Yeah a new home

I've got six:
iMac G3
iMac G5
iMac 17" Intel
iBook G4
Macbook 13" Intel Plastic
Macbook 13" Intel Unibody

Tacitus · Nov 05, 2009, 15:46:47

I'm down to two at present. The G5, now 3 years old and still going strong. Can't say it's been 100% as it had a kernel panic when it took exception to a USB card reader. The MacBook Pro had a battery die after 3 months. Took it to the AppleStore in Brum and it was replaced immediately with no questions.

The 8 year old G4 is now with sis who uses it daily. That one never missed a beat, the only work done being a larger drive, some added memory and the transition to OSX. My niece has an iMac with both that and the G4 networked to an HP multifuntion printer.

So no they're not perfect but if those are the only problems I get over the next 8 years I won't be very bothered.

In both cases Broadband is supplied by you-know-who and, like the Macs, it just works.

Tacitus · Nov 05, 2009, 15:54:56

Quote from: Simon_idnet on Nov 05, 2009, 14:40:27
One of the top three because I've now got one at work, one at home and a Mac laptop for when I'm in Telehouse

Friends in Nottingham Uni's Computer Science department, tell me that a lot of people there have gone over to Macs for much the same reason as Simon. They get all the benefits of things like Word/Excel, Photoshop etc, and they also have all the Unix command line stuff under the hood for when they want to do serious work. Like many of the older Unis, they are heavily into Unix so the transition for them is straightforward.

Sebby · Nov 05, 2009, 18:08:58

Mac rules.

Gary · Nov 06, 2009, 07:36:48

Quote from: Sebby on Nov 04, 2009, 23:08:53
The new series only comes in 21.5" or 27".

I have the 21.5" its physically bigger than the the old 20 inch and tbh looks huge, the 27 would be good but as a desktop machine but could be a little overwhelming I think, for my needs the 21.5" having 90% of the pixels of a 24 inch is good enough, although with the 27" you get core i5 and i7 procs but one again for my needs the 3.33ghz E8600 does fine. The led backlighting is very uniform and crisp though, most impressed

Sebby · Nov 06, 2009, 11:49:10

Yeah I'd go for the 21.5" for sure.

Steve · Nov 06, 2009, 13:59:38

Embarrassingly for Apple, Windows runs quicker on one of the 27" iMacs than Snow Leopard. (video drivers issue)

Sebby · Nov 06, 2009, 15:05:02

Yep, but it's just a temporary performance issue on the new iMacs. It'll be fixed.

Den · Nov 07, 2009, 16:23:04

Just to get it straight I am not having a go at a Mac

I went to Chester and once again drifted into the Apple Mac shop on the Rows to see what the fuss is about.

I sat down in front of a Mac and played around for a while and could not really see what you get for the extra outlay and the hassle of changing all the software. It was nice to see a computer that took up less space but in my way of thinking, if the monitor packs in the computer has to be replaced as well.

Must admit I like to see black on my desktop not white so a choice of colour would be a step forward and what the hell is that keyboard.

It's too small (Looks as if it should be on a netbook) and no numeric pad

. Is it possable to purchase a real keyboard or are you stuck with that.

I will make a point of going again when I have more time as I am sure I must be missing something but I just don't know what.

Gary · Nov 07, 2009, 17:44:47

Quote from: Den on Nov 07, 2009, 16:23:04
Just to get it straight I am not having a go at a Mac

I went to Chester and once again drifted into the Apple Mac shop on the Rows to see what the fuss is about.

I sat down in front of a Mac and played around for a while and could not really see what you get for the extra outlay and the hassle of changing all the software. It was nice to see a computer that took up less space but in my way of thinking, if the monitor packs in the computer has to be replaced as well.

Must admit I like to see black on my desktop not white so a choice of colour would be a step forward and what the hell is that keyboard. It's too small (Looks as if it should be on a netbook) and no numeric pad . Is it possable to purchase a real keyboard or are you stuck with that.

I will make a point of going again when I have more time as I am sure I must be missing something but I just don't know what.

New macs are now aluminium (actual metal), not white, and yes you can get a full keyboard, they are on the apple site

Having been a user for over a decade with windows I was unsure about the move, but needed a change. I am glad i did. Its so nice to have the finder not wade through explorer which now looks like an application made in hell, but its what you get used to, finder is easy to use especially when things are icons, so simple. After 6 days usage I like the simper way I can see what is running by looking in the doc for a dot as well as in activity monitor which once again is laid out cleanly and simply, I like the fact I don't need to defrag, that there is no registry leaving behind a myriad of entries, and you can truly remove a program completely.

Time machine is a fantastic back up utility it automatically backs up my mac without me having to think about doing it, and I didn't have to get it as a separate program either it just runs backups in the background and that's that. I like I have spell checking universally, very handy in instant messengers and as you type in mail

There is so much yet to discover but its smooth fast it flows so well, the led display offers outstanding image quality, better than my laptop had and any of my monitors, the colour reproduction is outstanding, what makes me think now is that the laptop was almost as expensive as my Mac in the first place. I like silly things like the screen acting as a flash for the Photo Booth inbuilt iSight camera, clever and boy it works well.

The sound quality is amazing for a small machine, I have it going through a set of Logitech Z2300 speakers with a 8" base drive, pure pleasure to listen to, even without them it sounded great. iPhoto is an amazing photo app it beats what is native in Windows and offers so many features, you really need to use one for a few days to see how even that app works, its chalk and cheese to windows but at the same time not confusing to change over, on a quick play you have no idea what's ahead, and each day I discover something new, and I will for a while. Above all my wife could email and use the machine with ease, Windows confused her, she finds the mac more logical that says a lot as she is technophobic. The capacitive mouse is brilliant gestures on a mouse are a pleasure to use, and nothing to wear out or a wheel to get full of crumbs. I could go on but suffice to say I now would not go back, it took me longer to work out how to get around windows than it has the Mac, everything is pretty much in plain sight. Is that better than windows? Well that's personal choice, and I am not saying my Mac is better then windows, its different, that's the best way to put it.

Oh and should you want you can go buy a keyboard and mouse for the mac quite happily if you don't like what it comes with.

Den · Nov 07, 2009, 18:21:53

Good reply Gary, it's nice to have a reply that explains and not just criticises the other operating systems. I must admit if I told Linda I was going to change she would have my guts for garters but then she would if I told her I was going to update my PC.

bobleslie · Nov 07, 2009, 19:50:35

Quote from: Den on Nov 07, 2009, 16:23:04
..... if the monitor packs in the computer has to be replaced as well.

......Must admit I like to see black on my desktop not white so a choice of colour would be a step forward and what the hell is that keyboard. It's too small (Looks as if it should be on a netbook) and no numeric pad . Is it possable to purchase a real keyboard or are you stuck with that.

The answer to your first point is this. i.e. use your own monitor.

The answer to your second point is something like this.

Can't help with the colour.

Gary · Nov 07, 2009, 21:44:02

Quote from: Den on Nov 07, 2009, 18:21:53
Good reply Gary, it's nice to have a reply that explains and not just criticises the other operating systems. I must admit if I told Linda I was going to change she would have my guts for garters but then she would if I told her I was going to update my PC.

Criticising has got silly recently Den, we all like what we like, I wish you lived locally as I would say come over and get to use it over a cuppa

there is nothing wrong with Windows as far as I a concerned, all I set out to do by changing was to make things "simpler"

As I get older I want plug and play, also on my medication (Morphine and Clonazepam) concentration is hard work, and I chose an iMac so its at a good height yet still all in one, my `osteoporosis and spinal problems make sitting awkward so the added height of the machine helps, also I got the Mac, and Justina got new carpets through out the house, we traded

Platform wars are silly, Windows and macs both have their place, its about how we use our machines and what we need/want out of them. I figure if we talk and explain our wants we help others to understand our choices. The last thing I would is someone moving platforms in any way to crash and burn with their choice, sadly not everyone sees it like that on forums, and fanboys get out of control on both sides, if you search for mac vs windows its dull reading, this forum is a better place than most, and understanding each other and helping out is what we do well on netters, even if we do get a little hot under the collar sometimes, but a good debate is fun, as long as its not a slanging match and I have been a few of them so I'm just as guilty.

I must admit I would like to have a play with a windows 7 machine to see the improvements over Vista, and windows lets people connect cheaply compared with Macs, that's a big plus point and one that seems to get forgotten, Yes Macs are a bit more expensive, but so was my TV, but I don't expect to replace either in a very long time now.