Originally Posted By RoadTrip Now that I am retiring I will lose the home computer that my employer has always supplied over the past 20 years. This means (gasp) I will actually have to buy one. I bought my wife an i-Mac a couple of years ago and we absolutely love it (especially me). I love how much more stable the operating system is, how much more quickly it boots, and how it is nowhere near as vulnerable to viruses and spyware as Windows machines are. I've also found that once I was used to the differences between Windows and OS X, I thought the i-Mac was much more convenient to use. Of course the reason for my question is that Windows machines are quite a bit cheaper. The price differential isn't as big as it used to be, but it is still there. My wife says that if I want to take her i-Mac she would be fine with a Windows machine. That would certainly cost less, but I do like the idea of both of us working on the same platform. Of course the new Macs run on Intel processors, so they can run dual operating systems if that is what we would prefer. That means that even if we had one Mac and one Windows machine, we could trade files and applications seamlessly. I'm still inclined to go with buying another i-Mac even though it is more expensive. Any thoughts?
Originally Posted By skinnerbox Very reliable rumor has it that an updated Mac Mini will be rolled out at MacWorld next week. More powerful CPU, graphics, etc. Purchasing a separate monitor and keyboard (especially non-Apple) with a Mac Mini is cheaper than iMac. We have two Mac Minis and love 'em. VMWare Fusion makes running Windows on Mini virtually painless. Wait till next week. The new Mac Mini is going to be a solid upgrade worth waiting for.
Originally Posted By mawnck Well ... almost seamlessly. Depending on how you're doing the dual system thing, you might need some additional software to get the Dark Side to play nice with the Mac formatted drives. If you plan to install Windows on the Mac, don't forget to figure in the cost of the Windows OS. It ain't included. And remember, if you do run Windows on a Mac, then you are just as vulnerable to all the Windows viruses as everybody else. I'd be in bad shape if I didn't have access to both OS's, but I'd say that if you love the iMac that much and can afford the premium, then the iMac is what you ought to get. No sense in settling for your second choice on something you're going to be using that much.
Originally Posted By ecdc I was a PC man my whole life. Never got the Apple obsession and figured that, even though PC's weren't perfect, I was used to them and never had any real serious trouble. Then, about a year and a half ago, I bought an iPod touch, my first iPod. I bought an iMac a few months later and did so hesitantly, unsure of how it would work out. I still remember as I went through installing programs, how I didn't get it. I'd double-click the icon and it'd just run. I was so used to a lengthy, sometimes painful installation process with Windows, I had no idea you just dragged and dropped the program to the Applications folder. A week later, I ditched my PC notebook and bought a Macbook. Now, even though I work for a rival cell company, I own an iPhone because I love it so much (not AT&T so much, though). I will never, ever go back to Windows. Some things are worth the extra cost. I'm on my Macbook or iMac a few hours each day, so it's totally worth it to me.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip One thing that probably pushed me over to the Mac side... Although my wife has always loved her i-Mac, she has always hated the mouse that came with it. I didn't think it was all that bad, but it certainly did take some getting used to. So I decided to buy her a Logitech wireless mouse as one of her Christmas presents. She opened it and thought it felt really good. Of course the really difficult part was coming. Getting the danged thing installed. I figured I would have to connect it and then go to the Logitech site to download the driver. After downloading the driver I would need to install it and then select the Logitech mouse as the default mouse. Well, those guys at Apple totally screwed up my expectations. I put the two AA batteries into the mouse and then plugged the little wireless transmitter into the USB port. I booted the i-Mac and WHAT THE HELL? The Logitech wireless mouse WORKED!! No download of drivers. No installation process. It was truly plug and play. But that was not the coolest thing. The coolest thing was that all of the Windows right button mouse items were now available on the i-Mac!! No more Apple-C and Apple-V. Now I could use the right-click functionality I had grown to know and love. What is not to love? Yes, it is more expensive. But those Apple machines are truly remarkable!!
Originally Posted By ecdc >>Now I could use the right-click functionality I had grown to know and love.<< When you go buy your new iMac, pick up the Missing Manual: Mac OS X manual as well. In there I discovered that Mac mouses do indeed have a right-click. You have to go into settings and enable it. Then, when you click on the right side of the mouse, you get your right-click - no new mouse is necessary. I learned a ton of great tricks from that book.
Originally Posted By mapleservo I'd get another Mac but I'm a Mac guy. If you want to save a few bucks, you can check out Apple's refurbs on their website. They are basically like new with full warranties. I think there's rumours of a new iMac next week as well. We run Parallels at work for Windows, and while it works well most of the time, it seems a little flakey especially with updates etc. I'm pushing to have us switch over to VM Fusion. I've heard good things about the free VirtualBox too. But Windows is still the big expense. I'm used to using the mac with a one button mouse, and I find using the default mouse as a two button mouse kind of frustrating. You need to lift up your left finger in order to right click, don't you? That's always seemed awkward to me.
Originally Posted By peeaanuut I switched back to macs a few years ago. I have a mac Mini, Blackbook and a 2 Hackintosh systems. Overall the cheapest route were the hackintosh systems but you need a little bit of know how to get them running. I also have 2 apple TVs and plenty of iPods and iPhones to go around. I run windows XPSP2 on both of the hackintosh systems if I absolutely NEED windows, but I have found that I mostly never do. Everything I need to do I do on the mac. I did end up getting MS Office mac because the cross platform to work is easier there, but that has been the only cross platform issue I have found at work. For school I installed XP onto the blackbook in the minimalist I would need just in cause any of my classes are stingy. But when I find that they arent, it will be coming right off. Yes, I am running the same install of XP on all those computers, but I own them all and dont use them at the same time, so I am legal according to their TOS. If you are just looking for a basic computer, get a Mini. But wait for the new ones. They will do everything you need, are extremely quiet and very very reliable. If you must run windows, you can also run it off an external drive and not have it muddle up your Mac formatted drives. Works much easier that doing a partition and having to alter any of your boot records. VMWare and Parallels are also good, but they do have their limiations, just as using BootCamp does. The one hold over I have from my old PCs is my logitech mouse. I have used a 2 button (well technically 3 button with scroll) for so long its tough to go back. The Mighty mouse was a little odd and the scroll wheel always got dirty so I just whipped out the trusty logitech laser mouse and away I went. I hope this helped more than it hurt.
Originally Posted By fkurucz I just reinstalled Windows on my daughters laptop that was so infested with Malware that even Norton couldn't clean it up. I seem to have to do this for her at least once a year. The Malware made her PC virtually unusable. The Mac Mini in the family room has been running fine for two years now.
Originally Posted By mawnck >>I just reinstalled Windows on my daughters laptop that was so infested with Malware that even Norton couldn't clean it up.<< <a href="http://www.malwarebytes.org/" target="_blank">http://www.malwarebytes.org/</a> Free, works swell, and takes care of some nasties that even some pay programs can't handle.
Originally Posted By mapleservo >> I seem to have to do this for her at least once a year. I heard about this on a podcast (Windows Steady State) <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/sharedaccess/whatis/default.mspx" target="_blank">http://www.microsoft.com/windo...ult.mspx</a> Sounds like it does a lot of cool stuff, but one benefit is that you can have the OS drive return to it's original state after each reboot (getting rid of any malware, etc. installed since). I figured if I ever had another Windows box, I'd give it a shot. Anyone ever tried it?
Originally Posted By peeaanuut i will say this, I spend alot of time on my computer. When I had a PC it was 50% work, 50% maintenance and administration with the mac its about 95% and 5% maintenance and administration. Just something to think about.
Originally Posted By mater4 I am thinking about buying a refurbished IMac. I was ready to throw my PC out the window last night. It comes with a one year warranty. Should I buy the extended warranty or will I be fine without it? I typically don't get extended warranties because they are a waste of money.
Originally Posted By mawnck >> Should I buy the extended warranty or will I be fine without it? << I've been fine without them so far.
Originally Posted By ecdc So Macworld came and went without much fanfare. Cool software updates and an updated Macbook Pro, but no Mac Mini announcement. Doesn't mean it can't come later.
Originally Posted By peeaanuut yeah I was a little bummed about no Mini announcement. But there was one dangerous announcement. iTunes music purchases over 3G. Man, Im gonna go broke. lol Plus a lot of the software stuff looks good. I like the changes to iPhoto. Just in time since Picasa was release for Mac yesterday. The new iMovie looks pretty good. Im sure I will get iWork and iLife together.
Originally Posted By DAR Question I currently have a PC, my parents have a Mac. They're going to be buying a new Mac and giving me theirs. All of my iTunes, iPod info is on my PC, is it easy to transfer everything over?
Originally Posted By peeaanuut oh yes, very easy. You can simply move the iTunes music folder onto an external drive. Than reload iTunes on your new computer. I would suggest reloading the actual files, so when you get the new mac, have a fresh iTunes library and than drop in songs from the removable drive. This allows the database to be clean and unmuddles (very maclike). If you need some help when you get the Mac, let me know. I can walk you through it.
