I am so done with viruses, spyware, malware, trojans, slow motion computing, peripherals that appear and disappear, driver updates, windows updates, etc. etc.
I’m thinking about the Macbook Pro, do lots of photography, music editing, cd & dvd burning, etc., need as much power as possible. Any and all suggestions are welcome.
My suggestion would be that you give yourself a pat on the back for having such good sense.
I don’t know if you are familiar with the term, but Googling “Mac Switcher” brings up a slew of hits that speak to the Windows -> Mac changeover. They’re quite welcoming.
Try Ubuntu first.
I’ve already dumped IE, Outlook Express, and Norton and replaced them with the Mozilla browser and email and AVG, which is better in some ways. Does Ubuntu have any additional advantages over Mozilla?
Not sure why Ubuntu came up-while a very nice OS (it is a free Linux variant), but my guess is that the advice is to try Linux before moving to Mac. Certainly one doesn’t have the myriad of viri and malware that infest Windows. My take, even though I am a big Mac user (started with the 128K original Mac), you can load Ubuntu on your existing PC and see what it is like. There is a learning curve though, just like Mac or Windows. You have to decide whether it is worth the investment. Switching to a Mac first increases your chances of only making the investment once. If you are in a hurry and just want to be productive fast, get a MacBook. Load Ubuntu on your old PC if when you want to experiment.
One thing about switching-nothing in life worth doing is painless. There will be incompatibilities, Word and especially Powerpoint have issues. Things tend to be more expensive. The systems are compatible, not identical. So don’t expect completely smooth sailing. Consider, though, the problems you left behind. Enjoy your new Mac. (and go ahead and get a 2 button mouse. I resist them, but I know that PC users are lost without them).
Here’s a tip I learned only relatively recently, that’s very handy. If you drag a file icon down onto the right-hand portion of the dock, then clicking on it will open it. But you can also drag a folder onto there, and if you right-click on that folder, it’ll pop up a menu listing of that folder’s contents. So you could, for instance, approximately replicate the functionality of the start button by creating a folder, filling it with the shortcuts you want, and then dragging it onto your dock. Or you could (as I do) drag your entire hard drive onto the dock, and be able to browse to any file on your system from there.
Also useful (though you’ll probably figure this one out on your own), if you click on the blue apple icon up in the corner, you’ll get a menu of options including “Recent Items”. This is split up into applications, files, and servers, with the ten most recent that you’ve run/opened/connected to.
Recent Items is something I use all the time and haven’t figured out how to replicate in Windows.
Ubuntu is a free and open-source Linux based operating system. It is a much more stable OS than Windows and doesn’t have any of the virus or spy-ware problems. I mention it because getting a Dell laptop with Ubuntu is going to be $500 or so cheaper than a Macbook Pro.
The advantages of a Mac come from it’s highly controlled desktop experience. In other words, programs in Macs are very well integrated. Programs act like each other, and you can drag/drop things from one program to another. This integration comes at the expense of configurability. Macs have the iLife series of programs, and there are more “professional” level programs available such as Photoshop, Dreamweaver etc.
The advantages of Ubuntu is that it’s highly customizable. For example, you can make it look exactly like OSX or however you like it. This comes at the expense of integration, because you don’t have one company controlling the experience. Ubuntu has the synaptic package manager and access to a ton of free, open source software. You can see a picture of it here. You click the checkmark next to the program and it is automatically downloaded and installed. Right now it lists 21,393 programs installable in this manner.
The biggest problem with Ubuntu and other Linux operating systems is the lack of drivers. If you buy a computer from Dell this won’t be a problem because they have picked hardware that works properly in Linux.
If you don’t want to mess around with your computer at all, and are happy with the Mac interface (and don’t mind the money) then get a Mac. If you want more customization and don’t mind spending some time fixing things then get Ubuntu.
One more thing to mention. Your old computer might still have enough power to meet your needs. It wouldn’t hurt to install Ubuntu on it and see how it works. You can download a live CD of Ubuntu from here: http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu
Thanks. There used to be an extension that let you do this with the classic Mac OS, but with a menu at the top of the screen. That’s one thing I missed when I switched to OSX.
If you do a lot of heavy file editing (with your photography and music, etc), then make sure any laptop you buy has a 7200RPM drive (these are standard speed drives on desktop systems but not on laptops). It will really help.
That said, I’d recommend getting an iMac. Specifically the $1499 (mid-range) model…it’ll have a 320GB 7200 RPM drive, plus an absolutely gorgeous 20" screen.
Don’t upgrade the RAM through Apple. Instead go to Other World Computing and buy a 2GB chip made for the iMac. I just did this…and now I have 3GB for less than it costs to specify 2GB of RAM when you order from Apple.
Buy Parallels Desktop so you can install Windows (sold separately) and run your old programs should you need to. The only thing I still run in Windows is QuickBooks because the Mac version of QuickBooks doesn’t support the QuickBooks API yet. But the parallels virtualization is so good that you can watch video in Windows Media Player through it. (I haven’t tried full-screen video under windows yet, but not sure why I’d need to do this anyway. It’s just cool it works at all.)
If you want to run Open Office, don’t run the regular Open Office (which requires X11)…instead, use NeoOffice, which is a OSX Native port of Open Office. It’s also free, but much better integrated into OSX. They just released version 2.2.1, which is a nice upgrade.
Before buying any Apple product, consult the Mac Rumors Buyer’s Guide to see if the product you want will be updated soon. They estimate product updates based on the average number of days between updates for that product. The iMac was just updated on August 7th so 'tis a great time to buy.
Lastly, even though you’ll be much better off regarding viruses, etc on a Mac, no matter what computer you buy you should make sure you’re behind a NAT router to protect yourself.
I got a Mac for Christmas and I lament the fact daily. I just cannot adjust. It’s driving me crazy. I think of all the time I spent lambasting Microsoft and Word…I take it back! I take it back!
No viruses, though, there is that.
You should try Ubuntu also! I’d install Kubuntu as people consider it more like Windows than Ubuntu. It even has a setting to use Windows short cut keys.
Here’s some advice: don’t. I can’t recall the last time I’ve gotten any viruses, spyware, or the like so it’s likely that all that is your fault, not Windows. I’m occasionally forced to use Macs at work and it’s really just a royal pain in the ass. I really just wonder if they spent half the time working on the worthless animations than some of the other stuff.
To each his own, though. Sure you won’t have viruses, and your program selection will also be rather limited too (and don’t ever plan on playing any more computer games!). You also don’t have to worry about upgrading since it’s generally not possible. If you get an iMac you also get the joy of being stuck with one monitor and being screwed if that one monitor goes awry for some reason.
And for the love of God, don’t recommend Linux. That’s even worse. I mean, unless you like to spend half your days trying to get your drivers to work and attempting to find software replacements for all the stuff you already use on a daily basis on a Windows machine. Oh, but there’s no viruses!
I agree that it is worth trying Ubuntu - chiefly because it might offer the desired escape from viruses and trojans etc, at no cost whatever. It’s also a great way to find out just exactly how married you are to Windows - a question you’ll have to face if you switch to Apple anyway, and actually, that’s what I came here to ask; Watcher of the Skies - are there any Windows applications upon which you are heavily dependent, that aren’t available for other operating systems?
The best example of what I’m talking about is the Microsoft Access database program. There are plenty of other database solutions out there for other OS flavours, but none of them are quite like Access, and if you had an existing dependence upon Access, this would make the switch difficult.
Now of course you’re probably not dependent on Access, but is there any specific application upon which you are dependent like that?
Does Access not work at all under Linux? What about other MSOffice applications?
To be honest, I’ve not tried it - it might be possible to get it working with WINE (if the installer wants to play, that is), but it’s one of those things that, if you use it, you don’t want any nagging doubts about whether it’s 100% functional.
In the case of the other applications in the MS office suite, they have quite functional equivalents in OpenOffice - and I think this would be the path of least resistance for most people making the switch.
First it’s <b>viruses</b> virii isn’t even correct in Latin, never mind that we’re speaking English. I’m sick of seeing it.
Secondly,
When it comes to Linux, a lot of people aren’t being forthright with you. Linux is an acceptable alternative, as long as the distribution you have anticipates all of your needs from the get-go.
Want to run multiple displays on linux? Here’s what you’ll end up doing:
http://www.linuxplanet.com/linuxplanet/tutorials/6020/2/
It’s a multi-page tutorial. What would it be for OSX? Most likely,
This is the problem with Linux. You will get along fine if you don’t mind having little bits and pieces taken out of your computing experience. Trivial things can become immensely difficult under linux. Granted it’s getting better, but wireless networking was still a PITA last time I checked.
All of these linux guys really love to hype it up, but the truth is that it needs some work. There are just too many times I’ve tried it where I though, that’s it, I don’t feel the need to have to work, to get an environment no better than OSX.
As far as why people don’t like OSX? It is set up for idiots. I think Finder sucks a lot of times, but there are just too many other ways that it makes me happy. I don’t like Window’s way of notifying me of everything with an audible click. Yes, I realize I’m on the network, I just saw the bar change to green. I don’t need a bubble and a sound effect!
Macs also have much better power management when it comes to sleeping and waking. On my laptop, I have to wait about 2 seconds before i’m on the internet from my computer being asleep.
But yeah, let’s see about some advice you might want…
Take your applications folder and drag it to your right hand side of the dock. You can right-click it and use it as a start-menu type thing.
Itunes is a great app…
Videos are best viewed in VLC, don’t bother with quicktime.
Transmission is a great bittorrent client although azureus is available too.
Did you hate PDFs? I did too, but OSX includes native PDF display, so they will load instantaneously. Also there is a built-in print-to-pdf feature.
Make sure you download Safari 3.0 beta. It isn’t as feature rich as Firefox, but it’s lightning fast.
One thing it’s best to learn is to stop having so much control over the way the computer does stuff. For instance, in Itunes, it’s best to let it move them into its own directory structure. There’s no reason to organize them yourself into your own folders. Itunes can do all of the things you’d want to do with music anyway (including burning CDs, etc.) If you have to manipulate the files, they can be dragged around like normal files.
Try dragging and dropping more. I use iChat a lot, and I am constantly dragging links, files, etc into the window. It automatically handles it between apple apps. you could, say, drag a picture directly from a webpage to iChat and hit enter to send it. No confirmation about sending, etc…
Also, built-in screencap program.
Just a few things that make me like Apple a lot. For my needs it is perfect.
Well, to be fair, that’s why we’re only suggesting to try it - before spending lots of money, possibly unnecessarily. Sure, it might not meet the OP’s needs, in which case nothing is lost except a little time.
It all comes down to what you need to do. I’ve been running Ubuntu for about seven months now and it’s done absolutely everything that I’ve wanted it to (and nothing else, which is crucial to me). Yes, I understand wireless networking is difficult, but since I haven’t needed that, it hasn’t been a problem. If Watcher of the Skies wants that I wouldn’t recommend Ubuntu at this point, except as a secondary operating system to play around with.
It’s stable as a mountain, boots quickly, and has thousands of programs available in one single database from which they self-install. BrandonR seems to have last used Linux quite some time ago, or to have stuck to the ultrageeky distributions. It’s not like that anymore unless you want it to be.
As for Access, I’m not aware of any direct counterpart. Word and Excel are almost exactly duplicated by OpenOffice.org Word Processor and OpenOffice.org Spreadsheet, respectively. I moved from Excel to OpenOffice.org with no learning curve whatsoever.
