Mac users....need help/advice

[Tax Kuntz]

I'm going to buy a Mac next week and reformat this PC, buy a wireless router and have both.

Besides online gaming (which I don't play, so I don't care about games)
and PalTalk, what other common programs (Windows) that I'm probably used to will I not be able to use on a Mac.

I played around on my sister's Mac for a while and I really loved it. It seems like I'll be able to do so much more, but I'm not sure what yet.

What's your experience with a Mac after only using a PC?

I will be taking the tutorials available in the Apple store, but nothing beats experience.

[Charlton Heston]

TK - PM me and i'll answer all your migration questions.

but the short answer is, you CAN do paltalk if you invest in / download a copy of Virtual PC for Mac. it "runs" a full copy of windows xp professional for you, so you can take advantage of all the PC-only stuff out there.

however, my guess is, PalTalk will have a mac client in short order - apple is selling a lot of isights and isight-implanted iMacs these days.

get ready for no viruses and great software. Windows is a good OS in many respects but the hell of maintenance / cost of ownership is very high these days, thanks to script kiddies the world over creating trojans and viruses consistently.

[Warfarer]

Other than games, most everything is on both platforms. I looked at Macs for about 5 years until I finally bought one, and I almost never use my PC anymore.

If you aren't used to Mac, the best feature is the fact that you don't have to shut down apps or shut down all the time. You just let her run. Apps running in the background eat up very little memory so you can just let them run.

You might want to wait for a month or so and order a macbook with the Intel in it. Supposed to be much faster than the new G4 powerbooks and I am sure you will be able to actually partition the drive for a dual boot system. Good luck bro.

[Cage]

I use MAC and PC to do all my work and Mac OS X has really amazing features that you don't find standard on a PC and it just takes some time to get used to but MACs are well worth it.

[Tax Kuntz]

You might want to wait for a month or so and order a macbook with the Intel in it. Supposed to be much faster than the new G4 powerbooks and I am sure you will be able to actually partition the drive for a dual boot system. Good luck bro.

I was planning on the imac G5, maybe I'll wait. I have to read more I guess.

Thanks for the help.

[Charlton Heston]

TK - as discussed, here's a great URL for someone considering the switch:

http://www.apple.com/switch/

also, the best part about apple beyond no viruses is the application family from apple - imovie, idvd, itunes, garageband (my favorite), iphoto - they all rock and work fucking awesome.

and yes, very little crashing. also, microsoft office for mac is quite excellent.

i never try to convert people; if you're happy with windows, great. i earn a living in the editorial / marketing / design world (despite my more famous profession of killing apes in the movies, hah), and mac is the only way to go in design / video / audio.

good luck bro

HESTON

[Tax Kuntz]

It appears the Intel is available now, so LETS DO IT!!!


I'm probably never gonna leave this chair.

[poopiebottoms]

According to the MacWorld announcements earlier this week, Apple will switch all of it's hardware over to Intel this year.

The Intel based iMac is available to ship now, and an Intel based laptop is shipping 2/15, but available now for pre-order. The laptop is expected to be the first to use dual processor technology, and it will be the fastest laptop on the market when it hits.:icon_mrgr

There are strong indications that the new Intel macs will run Windows, though the machines haven't hit the street yet so this hasn't been confirmed yet.
The advantage being, for example, a dual-boot laptop with a Mac OS partition for graphics and music and fun-stuff, and a Windows for work, etc.

Personally, I'm psyched... I ordered one of the laptops when they were announced. It'll be my first Mac. Frankly, the more research I've done lately, I wonder why I hadn't switched earlier.:icon_wink

From what I've seen, almost everything I've done on Windows, I have been able to find a version for it on Mac, or a reasonable substitute.

[sinAtra]

Had a friend's G5 (behind-screen motherboard) crash and he still swears by it. After making the switch myself last year, I'm impressed. Easy to use whether you have one window open or ten. Get the biggest HD you can and good luck.