Apple users?

[BlackDemon87GN]

Thinking about buying an apple notebook/laptop. Our house has one computer with everyone on it, I want my own. For general things, music, bill paying, web surfing, nothing special. Never used an Apple or Mac, what can a lifelong windows user expect?

*The only thing I read that concerned me was a bad review from a windows user trying Apple for the first time. He wasn't able to use certain websites and software he was always use to using with windows.

 

[SouthernCal GN]

I've been building PCs and playing with computers since the late 70s, and I finally got fed up with

• bugs/viruses/trojans
• hardware incompatibility
• software incompatibility
• the "blue screen of death"

Every 3 years or so, I'd rebuild all the PCs in the house- motherboards, RAM, CPU, power supplies, etc. Then, it'd be hours of frustration with getting everything to work once again....

I was getting into that mode last Christmas, when I finally listened to a few friends and my pastor, and purchased the 20" iMac Core 2 Duo. I went hoe, plugged it in (3 wires- power, keyboard, and mouse) and it worked- no drama, no multiple layers of questions- it works. Went back the next day and purchased a miniMac for the kids, and recently bought the Apple Extreme base station. File sharing, printer sharing, networking- all plug and play.

On these machines, I can run either Mac OSX operating system, or Windows XP. With Parallels, I can run both side by side.

If you take a hard look at what programs you really need, I'll bet you find that the Mac has everything you need. The only programs I've added are Office Suite for Mac, and Handbrake (to put DVDs on my iPod).

Downsides;
There aren't as many programs for the Mac, as it's still more or less closed architecture. Since Apple controls a majority of the programs, there are zero compatibility issues. There are workarounds available, though. For browsers, you can get Firefox or Opera.

Mac memory is expensive compared to PC memory. However, since you're not running multiple anti-spyware/anti-virus programs in the background, I find a gig of RAM more than adequate.

Unless you have the Mac Pro, you can't upgrade your video card/add additional internal hardware. I find this rather refreshing

My brother recently went with a MacBook pro, and my dad is doing the same thing. If you can use a windows machine, you'll have no problems using a Mac.

 

[whtT]

I bought my first Mac about 10 years ago now and would never buy another PC again. I convinced my father to buy a Powerbook about a year ago and I've fully converted him - or, I should say the computer did.

Music - iTunes is, in my opinion, the best music program out there. The integration with the iStore, easy to rip and encode CDs, integration with the iPod, etc.

Web Browsing - you can get Firefox for the Mac which is pretty much identical to the PC version. The included browser, Safari, is better than most other browsers out there (waaay better than IE). That being said, each browser has its inconsistencies, and you may notice some odd things on some sites. Mainly smaller sites though - most big players code for both platforms. I'd say that you may run into a oddity about 1-3% of your total browsing experience.

Bill Paying - if you do a lot of online banking, online bill payment stuff you might want to check some of those sites first to make sure that they support a Mac browser. There are some coders out there that are incredibly lazy and will not support a Mac browser. There's some documented cases of some larger companies that just don't care about 5-10% of their customers.

Software - generally anything other than gaming software can be had for the Mac - Word, Excel, Outlook, Quicken, Powerpoint, etc. are all available. As well, Mac does their own software that does the same thing for a lot of that (Powerpoint = Keynote, Word = Pages, Outlook = Mail, iCal) Plus you get Apple's bundled iPhoto, iDVD, etc. which are really nice.

 

[lyonsd]

On these machines, I can run either Mac OSX operating system, or Windows XP. With Parallels, I can run both side by side.

Downsides;
There aren't as many programs for the Mac, as it's still more or less closed architecture.

How is that a downside if you can run Windows on it?

 

[SouthernCal GN]

How is that a downside if you can run Windows on it?

Not a downside. The thing to be aware of is that when you run either Boot Camp (allows you to boot to either XP or OSX as startup) or Parallels (allows both operating systems to run at the same time), you're opening up your Mac to the same bugs that infect Windows.

That being said, it's nice to be able to have the ability to run Windows programs if needed. Haven't found a need thus far....

 

[incubus2432]

I was pretty much in the same boat as you a few years ago. I was sick of viruses, spyware and locking up the screen mid project. So I went out and made a spur of the moment purchase at the Apple store....a G4 Powerbook. I haven't looked back since. I've found programs to do everything I need, OSX (IMO) is more intuitive for a non-techie and the best part is that it always just works like it did the day I bought it. The only issues I have had were self induced so I can't blame Apple for my stupidity.

I have no issue with recommending that you join the Apple/Mac "family". I'll certainly never go back.

 

[BlackDemon87GN]

How about wireless internet? Do I need Apple hardware (The Airport), or can I use the Linksys router my PS3 is using?

Just doing some looking around for now and the prices on ebay between the G3 and the G4 are huge. Anywhere's from $100 for a G3 to $2500 for a G4. Is there really that much of difference between the two for basic internet and computer use?

 

[whtT]

You can hook in to wireless internet using just about anything. As long as your laptop is equipped with an Airport card you're set. I have no trouble getting into our wireless at work and we use all Linksys here (matter of fact, I have no trouble getting on our server and that's all PC based). Never have really encountered any problem getting wireless in a hotel, restaurant, etc. either.

Yes - there's a huge difference in the G3 and G4. Definately go for the G4 or even the new Intel chip if you can afford it. I have a 1GHz G4 iBook that I'm very pleased with. It has no problem with general work and will even run Photoshop, etc. without too much problem. Macs are generally quite happy as long as you give them enough RAM. I'm still running my old dual 800MHz G4 machine from '97 as a desktop and it gets by quite well as long as I'm not trying to do heavy video.

 

[incubus2432]

As far as the wireless goes it will hook up to anything a PC will. The only issue may be if you getting a new wireless system.....just make sure it has Mac software for the setup.

 

[STAGE 2]

I was PC user for years until I jumped ship. I used one all through law school and never had a single problem, and will never go back.

Words can't explain how comforting it is to never have to worry about viruses, unexpected shutdowns and all of the other problems that plague PC's.

 

[SouthernCal GN]

How about wireless internet? Do I need Apple hardware (The Airport), or can I use the Linksys router my PS3 is using?

Just doing some looking around for now and the prices on ebay between the G3 and the G4 are huge. Anywhere's from $100 for a G3 to $2500 for a G4. Is there really that much of difference between the two for basic internet and computer use?

The Airport Extreme is a wireless access point, just like the Linksys- you can use either. The main (and cool) difference is that you can plug a USB hub into the access point and have instant file/printer/ whatever sharing. Alson, the new Extreme is wireless "N" capable.

Bite the bullet and get the Mac with the Intel Core 2 duo chipset. Costs are anywhere from a grand to 2 grand. For basic usage, there's not much difference; however, like injectors, it's nice to have the ability to grow into it, rather than outgrow it.

 

[HvyMtlV6]

I bought my first Mac about 10 years ago now and would never buy another PC again. I convinced my father to buy a Powerbook about a year ago and I've fully converted him - or, I should say the computer did.

Music - iTunes is, in my opinion, the best music program out there. The integration with the iStore, easy to rip and encode CDs, integration with the iPod, etc.

Web Browsing - you can get Firefox for the Mac which is pretty much identical to the PC version. The included browser, Safari, is better than most other browsers out there (waaay better than IE). That being said, each browser has its inconsistencies, and you may notice some odd things on some sites. Mainly smaller sites though - most big players code for both platforms. I'd say that you may run into a oddity about 1-3% of your total browsing experience.

Bill Paying - if you do a lot of online banking, online bill payment stuff you might want to check some of those sites first to make sure that they support a Mac browser. There are some coders out there that are incredibly lazy and will not support a Mac browser. There's some documented cases of some larger companies that just don't care about 5-10% of their customers.

Software - generally anything other than gaming software can be had for the Mac - Word, Excel, Outlook, Quicken, Powerpoint, etc. are all available. As well, Mac does their own software that does the same thing for a lot of that (Powerpoint = Keynote, Word = Pages, Outlook = Mail, iCal) Plus you get Apple's bundled iPhoto, iDVD, etc. which are really nice.

I 2nd that, I've been a long time PC user and was very skeptical about switching over to Mac, but after getting a Mac, that was the best move I ever made, I have a G5(PowerMac) Dual Processor and I have to say it kicks butt "BIG TIME" would never buy anything else, just my 150,000 cents worth