# Welcome me to the dark side **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 24, 2010, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-me-to-the-dark-side/540564 "2010-05-24T14:14:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-me-to-the-dark-side/540564/1 "2010-05-24T14:14:04Z")
Well, I finally broke down and did it. Became an Apple owner, that is. For years I had inherited whichever PC my wife and kids discarded as they successively got their brains washed by Mr. Jobs. Eventually, I was the sole hold-out believer in the true faith. When my latest box crapped out last week, I decided to bite the bullet and join with the flow. So tomorrow I will accept delivery of a brand-spanking-new Mac Pro. I can’t believe this sucker will have a screen bigger than my old TV! The guy in the store was astounded at how little interest I had in all of its nifty features. I said, “All I want to do is wordprocess, manage my photos and tunes, and surf the net.” Here’s hoping my in-house IT staff can get it hooked up and keep it running smoothly for me! ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-me-to-the-dark-side/540564/2 "2010-05-24T14:17:50Z")
So what are you going to do with the stickers? ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Onimous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ea5d25/32.png) [@Ann\_Onimous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Onimous)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-me-to-the-dark-side/540564/3 "2010-05-24T14:32:10Z")
Congratulations. I brought cookies! ---
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-me-to-the-dark-side/540564/4 "2010-05-24T15:49:46Z")
One of Us! One of Us! Resistance is Futile 😉 (Ironically, this response is posted from my MacBook…that’s running Win 7 😉 ) Both OS’s are just fine, it’s personal preference really, Win7 and Mac OS X are both great OS’s ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-me-to-the-dark-side/540564/5 "2010-05-24T16:03:04Z")
Good job(s)! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-me-to-the-dark-side/540564/6 "2010-05-24T16:07:25Z")
I can get Microsoft Office 2009 for MAC for $10 thru work. What is really going to suck me in is my new car radio. I drive a 62 Corvair, and just installed an amp, new speakers, and a retro-appearing head unit with MP3 capability. My youngest gave me her oldest and smallest (of 3 or more) iPods. I’m going to run a cable and configure one of my car’s 3! ashtrays into an iPod dock! 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-me-to-the-dark-side/540564/7 "2010-05-24T17:15:09Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > The guy in the store was astounded at how little interest I had in all of its nifty features. I said, “All I want to do is wordprocess, manage my photos and tunes, and surf the net.” Isn’t that what all Mac users do? You don’t own an ipod? Best purchase I’ve ever made. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-me-to-the-dark-side/540564/8 "2010-05-24T18:45:08Z")
[QUOTE=Dinsdale] So tomorrow I will accept delivery of a brand-spanking-new Mac Pro. … I said, “All I want to do is wordprocess, manage my photos and tunes, and surf the net.” [/QUOTE] How did they talk you into a Mac Pro for that? The base 21" iMac would have been more than enough to do that. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-me-to-the-dark-side/540564/9 "2010-05-24T19:00:42Z")
> [@gotpasswords](#): > > How did they talk you into a Mac Pro for that? The base 21" iMac would have been more than enough to do that. Guess it is never too soon to flaunt my ignorance. Whatever the name/model, I got the bottom of the line desktop. ---
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-me-to-the-dark-side/540564/10 "2010-05-24T19:06:42Z")
Bottom of the line desktop Mac? if it doesn’t have a built-in display and is the size of a small lunchbox? it’s a Mac Mini, if it looks like a LCD display with a keyboard plugged in, it’s an iMac, the Mac Pro is the big silver tower with the “cheese grater” front and rear grille and the Pro is the high-end desktop machine ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-me-to-the-dark-side/540564/11 "2010-05-24T19:08:38Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > You don’t own an ipod? Best purchase I’ve ever made. I have one I got in trade and never use it. I have an iPhone that works well. ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-me-to-the-dark-side/540564/12 "2010-05-24T19:10:53Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > Here’s hoping my in-house IT staff can get it hooked up and keep it running smoothly for me! What’s to IT? Plug it in and go. I have owned Macs for many years and have never paid any attention to firewalls, etc and have never had a virus. Macs rarely need IT in my experience. ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-me-to-the-dark-side/540564/13 "2010-05-24T19:25:30Z")
> [@PlainJain](#): > > What’s to IT? Plug it in and go. I have owned Macs for many years and have never paid any attention to firewalls, etc and have never had a virus. Macs rarely need IT in my experience. HUSH! You’ll summon the trolls! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-me-to-the-dark-side/540564/14 "2010-05-24T19:43:26Z")
:: rereads OP :: Wait, wait. You bought a Mac Pro, the high-end desktop? The one that starts at $3000+ before taxes and goes up, up, up? For _email and surfing?_ I bought a top-of-the-line 27" iMac and tricked it out with all the options except 8 gigs of RAM instead of 16 and that was still cheaper than the base Mac Pro. And I’m running VMWare and Linux and Drupal and Windows 7 and Autocad and the complete Adobe Master Collection and doing my work and developing my website and playing games and storing ALL my music and artwork and writing and pictuires and half my movies and… and… the only way I can bring it to its knees is to open a whack of VMs and have them all going at the same time… ---
**Author:** ![LeeshaJoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e8cbc/32.png) [@LeeshaJoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LeeshaJoy)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-me-to-the-dark-side/540564/15 "2010-05-24T19:46:02Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > :: rereads OP :: > > Wait, wait. You bought a Mac Pro, the high-end desktop? The one that starts at $3000+ before taxes and goes up, up, up? For _email and surfing?_ Read Post #9. **Dinsdale** got a low-end iMac and didn’t know what it was actually called. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-me-to-the-dark-side/540564/16 "2010-05-24T19:48:10Z")
> [@LeeshaJoy](#): > > Read Post #9. **Dinsdale** got a low-end iMac and didn’t know what it was actually called. It’s still not clear… the low end of _which_ line. He mentions a large display, but that could be buili in with the iMac or separate with either a Mac Mini or Mac Pro… ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-me-to-the-dark-side/540564/17 "2010-05-24T21:41:27Z")
Whatever it is, they got a Mac, and that’s all that counts. 😃 I’ve got one of the original Intel iMacs and it shows its age whenever I do something daft like fire up Parallels, which I keep around mainly for oddball websites like our external employee portal that only accepts Internet Explorer. Really have my eye on the 4-core 27" iMac, but a Pro wouldn’t hurt my feelings if they ever update that line. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-me-to-the-dark-side/540564/18 "2010-05-24T21:47:48Z")
> [@gotpasswords](#): > > Really have my eye on the 4-core 27" iMac… It’s worth it. Trust me. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-me-to-the-dark-side/540564/19 "2010-05-25T14:14:03Z")
Jesus fuck! I don’t even have the damn thing yet and I already hate you freaks! 😛 Just checked the website. I bought an iMac with a 21.5" monitor, wireless keyboard and mouse, for $1199. Sorry for confusing the cutesy names, but I never know how to order coffee correctly at Starbucks either. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-me-to-the-dark-side/540564/20 "2010-05-25T14:20:13Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > Just checked the website. I bought an iMac with a 21.5" monitor, wireless keyboard and mouse, for $1199. Sorry for confusing… Thanks for the clarification. I was afraid you’d spent way more money than necassary… [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-me-to-the-dark-side/540564.md?page=2)