Posted on 09/17/2009 5:23:49 PM PDT by sushiman
Do like the size of my new Mac Mini--2" high and 6.5" inches square. All the new stuff I had for my old Windows machine was plug and play. Didn't have to load any software to use my Microsoft keyboard and mouse. No software needed for the monitor and DSL either.
The other thing that people need to remember about the performance of Macs is since Apple sells full computer packages, most Mac software is written with the Mac models in mind so things generally work well for common Mac configurations for several years.
” don’t remember how far out in the boonies you are. Akihabara is definitely the place you want to go shopping if it’s not too far away.”
Hehe...I am about 2 hours from Akihabara ...by JET ! I live in Kumamoto Prefecture . Nearest Apple Store is 2 and a half hours away by car and $ 80 highway toll fee . When the new & improved iMac comes out my wife and I will take a ride up to Fukuoka to check it out . If the computer I have now dies before the new iMac is released , I may just stick with a PC .
I’m not a unix guy but I have seen some ancient hardware with meager memory running like a champ with linix.
I moved a mac upstairs to the kids room because I could never settle into the OS. You may have the same problem with a unix flavor but the price is right and you loose nothing trying.
Just curious, how much are you willing to spend, that may answer your question.
At this moment , the base 20” iMac is 128,000 yen in Japan - approx. $ 1350 . 2.66ghz , 2GB of RAM ; and a 320 HDD . That’s a lot of dough for a computer with those specs - even a lot of Mac users agree . I’m willing to go that high for a computer but for one with those specs . I could get PC with twice as much RAM ; faster processor and 500 GB HDD for about $ 400-500 less .
I’m willing to go that high for a computer but NOT for one with those specs .
I don’t mind paying more for a Mac , but not that much more for less power . Let’s see what the new & improved iMac comes with .
Windows 7 is nice.
Are there specific Mac recommendations for users who just want the basics: email, internet surfing, watching DVD’s? I don’t need any excessive/expensive options that I won’t use. Thanks.
Takes a licking from Mick and keeps on ticking !
Quickbooks runs on a Mac now.
FYI, there is a learning curve regarding a switch but I still recommend it.
My sister gottired of buying new computers and peripherals every year or less. She's a user like me. She's an RN and needed Windoze for some medical studies. She bought a MacBook, runs windoze, and loves it.
She told me the Apple site has excellent "Switch" online training modules, for free, as usual. If you buy a Mac, but AppleCare, a three year warranty. I DROPPED my older PowerBook, and they gave me a new one at no charge. Period. They even recovered the HD for me FOR FREE.
Click below for :
BUY Applecare (not but)
“...pc’s give you more bang for the buck”
Sure. To believe that, you must simply value
your personal time fixing your PC at ZERO dollars
per hour. Accept that slavery and PCs are cheaper.
After 17 years of time invested in continually
cleaning, updating virus software, fixing windows
foibles, REINSTALLING windows every time it got
corrupted, and on and on, I am now a free man. My
date of freedom was November 1, 2008. I’ve never
looked back.
I regret that I will never get the days or weeks of
my life back that I spent fixing Microsoft’s problems
for free.
good luck whatever you decide - each has it’s pluses and minuses,
ampu
~~~~~~~~~~~
As to long life and ease of use: when I bought my 17" MacBook Pro, I passed my 15" G4 Powerbook (purchased over seven years ago -- well-used from another FReeper, sight unseen) along to my wife. She had used a PC for years at work, and now, in our "retirement office" we sit back to back (using the same Time Capsule for wireless internet, etc.).
The other day, I turned around, and she was doing some very sophisticated page layout stuff. I knew she hadn't asked me for help, so I asked, "How did you learn to do that?"
Her reply: "I don't know -- I just did what seemed to be the right things to do."
That, in a nutshell, is the "Mac experience": Apple's "Human Interface Guidelines" are so well thought out that, even on a old Mac, things "just work like you expect them to". And the darn things just seem to work forever...
My Dell laptop still works fine, but it is, literally, gathering dust -- because there is nothing (including sophisticated GIS for my cartography projects) it does that the Mac doesn't do better, more easily, and more reliably.
~~~~~~~~~~~
If there is " a "Mac premium" or "Mac tax", I have just described why Mac users are more than willing to pay it. Try a Mac; you'll never "go back"...
I am a computer dork. I'm a PC dork. But only because I can also run Linux on a PC, which is so much like running a MAC, I cannot justify the expense of a MAC. I don't have virus problems or trojans or ANY IT expense. So PC makes more sense to me.
BUT, back to the original poster (and thread title), if the OP is REALLY a computer dummy, get a MAC. NOW. I've been trying to sell my neighbors (Computer dummies) on a MAC but they cannot justify the cost either. But they are exactly the market for Macs. They just need something that will work and work. Won't get bunged up.
Hate having to purchase anti-virus protection and get tired of all the annoying , daily updates .
So far AV is unnecessary in Macs, but there may be one day when it is. You don't get daily updates. I don't have a record, but one seems to come out every month or so. You'll just see the system update icon appear in the Dock and start bouncing. Click it when you feel like it. Macs generally do not steal focus from your current work, like Outlook on Windows does about three times while starting.
But PCs give you more bang for the buck , and money is tight for me right now .
You have to ask yourself, "bang for the buck" in what terms? Raw specs only? If that is your priority then PC wins hands-down in the consumer market. The equation gets quite different when the "bang" is your overall computing experience.
If you're not willing to budget enough for a Mac of course, then it's PC. However, one thing I learned during my life was that if there's something I want I go for quality, what I really want, and I'll hold off the purchase until I can afford it. I've been burned too many times buying inferior products and being sorry about it later.
Windows 7 is just around the corner , and by all reports it sounds like a winner
I've been using it since beta. It's a big improvement over XP and Vista and I don't think you'll be sorry for making that choice, as many have been with Vista. But I would definitely not switch back to Windows because of it. IMHO, all factors considered, it's still inferior to OS X, it's still Windows with much of the old garbage still underneath the hood.
But I read just yesterday that Apple will release a re-freshed iMac very soon
Welcome to the Mac world where timing is everything. You should definitely NOT make a decision until the new Macs come out. Rumor is price drops are part of the program. Also, never buy more than the base RAM, as it's much cheaper to buy from the likes of NewEgg.
I am not a gamer . I use my computer mainly for basic stuff like internet , email , burning CDs , and watching Youtube videos . So I am thinking that I would not utilize a lot of the finer things Apple has to offer .
Safari is a very good browser and Mail is a very good email client. And they work together seamlessly. Firefox, Opera and Chrome are also available. Personally, I stuck with Firefox, but my wife switched to Safari in a heartbeat. I like Mail much more than Thunderbird or any Windows mail client I've used, and the setup is brain-dead easy.
Burning CDs is part of the operating system. Macs work with disk images, and that's even how software is generally distributed. You make a disk image with Disk Utility that is the size of your media (selectable from a drop-down), copy your files into it, and burn the image with a click of a button. Making the images bootable is an option. Making an image of a data CD or DVD is also a click away.
As far as the other abilities, some things you may have not been doing because you thought it was difficult you may find yourself doing them on a Mac because they're easy. I've never seen an easier way to organize photos and videos, make a movie with them, and than make a DVD from that.
General opinions as a switcher:
Design. I've found the hardware absolutely flawless, not just in aesthetics but in usability design. Overall the design is very usable, but it's really all the little things that make you think "Wow, they really thought this out, it's like they designed it for me!" You'll take much of the cool stuff for granted, not even realizing they did it. This is the hardware for you if you are in any way anal-retentive or perfectionist, because I swear it was designed by people with severe OCD.
Opening the box. Not something you'd normally think of, but again, "Wow, they thought this out!" They did, they actually test the experience of unboxing, that OCD kicking in again. Thus, no twist-ties for example, no cables half in a bag with tape wrapped around the base and you think you're going to cut the cable as you're trying to cut the tape off just so you can get your damned cable out! Sorry, done that too many of times. From the box to using it can literally be 10 minutes, but you may want to go more slowly and enjoy the experience.
Upgrading software. I started with OS X 10.4, then upgraded to 10.5, then to 10.6. All three upgrades were in-place and happened with no problems or instabilities. In fact, the system is now running faster and more stable than when I bought it. I've never done a wipe/reinstall, which is a regular ritual with my Windows boxes. However, 10.6 has two features my Mac is too old to use, the OpenCL and wake-on-wireless. I don't lose any features, I just don't gain some due to old hardware. Mine also won't do pure 64-bit, but that may change with a firmware update.
Upgrading hardware. Memory is about it on an iMac, so forget about it if you love tinkering. My external Firewire 800 drive is just as fast as an internal, so I don't care about not being able to add hard drives internally.
As far as the pain of switching OSes, if you do go Mac just print out and keep the keyboard shortcut list near you (OS X has a TON of them for everything), and play around. There are various switching resources on the Net, and we here will of course help. Personally, I was up to my Windows speed quickly, IIRC maybe a week or two, and now I'm faster on the Mac even though I still use Windows more at work.
Probably the biggest testament is that I still like it after two years. By now I typically wouldn't have been happy with a PC unless I'd replaced half the innards.
Well this conservative uses a Mac, as does Rush Limbaugh, many Macs are showing up on news desks at FOX as well.
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