So Saturday night Emily and I went to PF Changs for dinner. To kill time waiting for a table, we hit the Apple store that was nearby. Emily commented she was thinking of getting a Macbook in the future. I added that I was thinking the same thing when the time come when I had to replace my laptop. So we “Oohed and Ahhed” over them and how purty they are. Then I saw the sexy new iMacs. Oohh Ahhh!”
I have always always been a PC person. Part of the reason has always been because I used to love PC games. However the PC games I used to love, well they don’t exist anymore. The classic Sierra games, the Lucasarts Adventure games, Ultima and the AD&D games. The later have all gone online multiplayer ala World of Warcraft, which I just don’t have time to get into right now. I actually really like just playing on my own sometime to be honest, because I enjoy the storylines of the games. Most of my game playing is now done on videogame consoles. I just use my PCs for work and the net now, and the occasional DVD.
With that in mind, I figured I’d probably bite the bullet and try a Macbook next time. I have grown accustom to laptops, I liked the limited space they take up my desk, they can really be stuck anywhere. I would never go with a big ole space hogging tower again. Plus there is the fact I don’t need them really because I’m not a gamer (they are great for gaming and the millions of hardware upgrades you need for games). Well on Saturday I saw the new iMacs and said “Oohh Ahhhh!” It’s like a desktop, but in the nice compact size of a laptop really. Of course it’s not as portable as a laptop, but I liked it!
So I’m giving thought to getting one of these to replace my laptop on my desk, using my laptop only for traveling purposes. My laptop isn’t that old and in great condition, so I don’t need a new one right now. The main problem is the usual one I run into . . . As it stands, my laptop hard drive is filling up and I need to unload it somewhere, but my laptop hard drive is 2x larger than my old desktop (which the BF uses) or my previous laptop (which probably couldn’t even hold my iTunes library at this point). Anyone who runs a Windows PC, especially a laptop knows once your HD gets over half full, Windows starts running like a great big turd. Plus after a year, well Windows users also know crap builds up in Windows and that slows it down too, wiping the HD clean and doing a fresh install (then taking a day to download ALL those Windows fixes again) is often needed. The iMac’s have huge hard drives, and what I really need is a central hub to store crap on. I was originally thinking of just getting a huge portable hard drive, or Apple’s Time Capsule (it’s a wireless/wired router plus a backup disk any PC/Mac on the network can use). With an iMac though I not only have the hub, but a working PC. That way my laptop is actually nice and streamlined for travel (I cannot tell you how annoying it can be and a battery hog when it gets to taking 10 minutes for the laptop to officially finish booting up everything!)
Of course the biggest issue for me as a PC user is jumping to a Mac. I know people who do it sing their praises. I figured someone who reads my blog has to have a Mac, or made the jump. Was it hard? I hear it can take some time to adjust. I was going to try and get to the Apple store and just play with them at some point (leaving my credit cards at home so I’m not pressured or tempted!).
Also I have read you can run Windows through Boot Camp on Mac’s now, in case you have programs that need Windows to run. Does it normally work well enough? That intrigued me, I do have a few programs that I’d rather not lose as I paid good money for them.
Finally as an Office user, would you recommend sticking with Office, or moving to Apple’s iWork equivalent? I’ve also been told not to even buy Office anything, that I can use OpenOffice and it’s free. I have yet to download it or try it. I have Office 2000 (yes I need to upgrade!) on my laptop and desk top as is. I haven’t wanted to squander more space with OpenOffice yet. However one of the reasons I haven’t upgraded is I need the version that comes with Access, and that’s the 500 dollar version of the software! OpenOffice has their equivalent for FREE.
Okay, so you already know I have a Macbook, but I’ll give you some input on a few things…
1. For me, the switch from PC to Mac was not difficult at all. However, I had been using iMac’s for three years prior to purchasing my Macbook. When I first began using iMac’s, I didn’t like the fact that the mouse had only one button, opposed to two buttons on the traditional mouse. There is, however, a keyboard shortcut on Mac’s to “right click.” If you don’t think you want to deal with a one button mouse, then your best bet would be to buy a wireless (or wired) two-button mouse that is compatible with OS X.
2. You mentioned the numerous amounts of downloads that Windows requires you to install (i.e. security updates). OS X sends out updates as well to their system, but far less frequently than Windows.
3. I have not used Time Machine or Boot Camp mainly because I don’t need to run Windows for the programs on my Mac, as a lot of software developers are now producing Mac equivalent software.
4. If you’re not sure whether or not you want iWork vs. Microsoft Office 2008 for your Mac, I suggest you take advantage of the 30-day free trial offer that Apple offers you. For me, I’ve always used Microsoft Office, so I know how to run it best. I have though tried out iWorks, it was okay, but I’m still partial to Office.
A few things you’ll realize with the newest version of Microsoft Office (both Mac and PC version) is that Microsoft no longer uses Times New Roman 12 and single spacing as the default for all documents. You’ll have to change the default style if you’d rather have the Times New Roman 12 and single spacing versus 11 point Calibri or Cambria and 6 point paragraph spacing.
Another big difference is the Microsoft Messenger on Mac’s. It’s no where near as advanced as the version that Microsoft publishes. You cannot audio or video chat, but this has been promised in the later versions of Microsoft Messenger. It takes quite a longer time to receive files on Mac’s. I’ve read where most people think the reason for this is because of the advanced security that files have to go through on a Mac. You can do the basics pretty much, not much advanced stuff.
Overall, I think your choice to buy an iMac is good. I’m very pleased with my Macbook. The boot-up is much faster on a Mac than you would see on Vista, you don’t have to worry about constant virus and spyware threats on a Mac, although there are viruses and spyware that can infect OS X, it’s significantly lower than on a PC. One nice thing is you don’t have to have a lot of RAM to run the operating system as you would need for Vista. And once you get your Mac, you’ll notice that a lot of the designs on Windows Vista came from Mac OS X.
Welcome to the darkside!
I am working on my I-mac and have a PC notebook beside it on my desk. I was in charge of IT at my old job and all of us in the art dept used macs. Anyone who worked with artists eventually wanted to change from the PCs the rest of the office used. Which system you use can depend on what you do with it. The husband is a banker and uses the PC to work on the banks network. When I do work for Microsoft on their powerpoint presentations, I use the PC.
I do not use video chat do not know about that. The mac is very easy to use but my advice has always been to use the same platform at home as you use at work. Since you and I are effectively self employed, It is more a issue of personal preference.
The main recommendation I will make is get the biggest monitor you can afford. the cool thing about imac is the monitor is the whole computer. this really is much better than you can imagine. (actually it is why notebooks are so nice)
Time machine is really easy to use, but that is true of all things apple. everything is just so much easier. Be sure to get a two button mouse (all mice are OK for mac – microsoft makes a great one)
I have always used office for mac because it is the most compatible with other users and microsoft really is best for these type of applications.
I think you will love the mac when you get used to it. It is really nice to have the bigger screen and a normal size keyboard.
Thanks for the comments! I know the new iMac’s come with a wired mouse and keyboard, wireless is optional. I’d stick with the wired keyboard at least, it’s full size where the wireless isn’t. Also the mice both are two button, but there is no button it seems. It senses when you click the right or left side (I have a microsoft mouse kinda ike this, though it does make the clicky clicky sound.
I forgot to mention something. You can also get an educational discount. It’s only $100, but every little bit counts I guess. You can check to see if your school qualifies on Apple’s online store.
I am turning towards Apple too! And I also loved those old Sierra Games!!!
Welcome to the Darkside! I’ve been a mac user for over 22 years… man am I old or what? I also went to college for computer science and wrote my first program in 5th grade… basically I’m saying I use them all, the new macs are better and more reliable than the Vista Pc’s & I agree with Ryan about the design with regards to Vista design and also the virus issue is pretty much void with Mac’s I’ve NEVER had a major issue with viruses.
I think Office is fine, and works for me, most of the PC programs work on macs too, if you HAVE to have a program, there is a software program you can buy that will let you run windows on your mac…
I’m kinda excited to see you convert!!! I absolutely detest my Vista laptop at the point in my life. I actually gave it to my son so he can make machinama halo vids! 🙂
Good Luck, and yes, I have almost every mac & pc known to man!
I saw the educational package, but it only seems to include Excel, Word and I think Powerpoint (maybe front page). They don’t seem to have the full version as an educational discount anymore. I got mine 8 years ago and it was 99 bucks then lol.
i’ve been saying for a long time that i’m gonna get a mac book for my next laptop, well, three laptops later i haven’t done it. why? i guess it’s the fear of the unknown. my brother has a mac book and loves it, he is a photographer and photo editor of a magazine and mac’s programs work best for him. now that you can get microsoft office for macs it’s pulling me closer. the only thing that is absolutly stopping me right now is that i have a blackberry and RIM hasn’t made a mac version of their desktop manager. sure there are third party programs but they don’t work as well. let me know what you do, maybe you’ll convince me.
Office was introduced first for the Mac in 1989 then for windows in 1990. It has always worked well on the mac OS.
Karen, for me at this point I am still on XP on my laptop, I put vista on the desktop just to see lol (I had 2 copies of the upgrade free, don’t ask). Needless to say I decided I wasn’t gunna put it on the laptop for awhile. Hell I still haven’t and I know in he future to buy a new laptop means Vista! I don’t want it, unless they’ve magically fixed it (ha right)
I bought a Macbook last spring, and I will never go back to a PC.
The no right-click does take some time to get used to, but I don’t notice it now. The system as a whole is pretty easy to get used to. When you go to the Apple store, they can show you pretty much anything that you need to do.
I haven’t had to restart my computer yet. The only things that have frozen up are MSN and firefox. MSN is fairly old, but I’m barely using it anyways.
The whole presentation is just so much better as well! Again, going back to PC when I am at school looks so shitty. I also barely get any pop-ups!
One feature that I love is the ‘downloaded files’ section, which saves things that you downloaded….makes it so much easier when you want to check out a PDF file that you got from wherever
GO MACS!
Thatguy, I love my macs!
You can play world of warcraft on them, I know I do all the time!!!
Just do it! You will not regret it! I have an iMac 24″ and LOVE IT!!! My husband has a Toshiba laptop & loves the iMac so much he said when he replaces it he will be getting a MacBook
I just found out I can save almost 300 bucks on the one I want if I buy online with my school discount. It’s getting more tempting lol!
That’s how I bought mine! Got the disscount too! It shipped right to the door with FREE shipping!! Ordered it on a Thursday & had it up and ready on Tuesday. Even got a free Canon printer with it!! Technically I paid for the printer, but got the rebate money back in the mail after I sent in my upc. It was he promotion they had at the time.
They have the printer deal still I think, but I really like the printer I have now (after going through more than I can count!). Plus it’s wireless too 😛
Not an opinion either way on Mac or PC as I don’t have much experience on a Mac (but after reading all the comments I might look into one). I have used Open Office extensively and I do really like it. It can open just about anything. I have only exprienced one problem on it and that was trying to open and change the format on a word doc that was created in the early 90’s. It opened it, but wouldn’t let me change the format. As long as the docs you are using are newer, it should work…and you can’t beat free!
If you are going to do it, take advantage of all of the discounts you get through the school. Jen bought everything she could just before she defended. Saved a decent amount of money. My two cents worth!
WV Nan aka Lin