I've gone and done it !!
- Thread starter funkylyn
- Start date
Sounds like you're going to be spending a lot of time (and money!) in the apps store Funky -luckily a lot of them are free.
If you listen to talking books you can download them too, its great on a long ride listening to a really good book with the sun in your face and the wind in your hair!
If you listen to talking books you can download them too, its great on a long ride listening to a really good book with the sun in your face and the wind in your hair!
Actually TylerD, thats one thing I havent tried whilst cycling.....but now with my new iPod I certainly will, it sounds safer than music, I always drive far too fast the louder the music, probably the same on my bike....Sounds like you're going to be spending a lot of time (and money!) in the apps store Funky -luckily a lot of them are free.
If you listen to talking books you can download them too, its great on a long ride listening to a really good book with the sun in your face and the wind in your hair!
Lynda
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Cyclezee
Guest
Why Apple?
Why Apple, I just don't get? I have tried a Mac desktop system, iPhone, iPod, but still I just don't get. OK Apple is cool, funky, trendy, but they are just so expensive compared to other products that do the same job a for lot less money.
Computers for example, a high spec Medion PC like this one MEDIONshop UK: MEDION® AKOYA® P5703 D (MD7711) cost less than £1000, the cheapest Mac Mac Pro - Buy Mac Pro desktop computers - Apple Store (UK) costs more than double, why?
I am trying to be open minded and probably missing the point about Apple, so can some one sell it to me?
Why Apple, I just don't get? I have tried a Mac desktop system, iPhone, iPod, but still I just don't get. OK Apple is cool, funky, trendy, but they are just so expensive compared to other products that do the same job a for lot less money.
Computers for example, a high spec Medion PC like this one MEDIONshop UK: MEDION® AKOYA® P5703 D (MD7711) cost less than £1000, the cheapest Mac Mac Pro - Buy Mac Pro desktop computers - Apple Store (UK) costs more than double, why?
I am trying to be open minded and probably missing the point about Apple, so can some one sell it to me?
You just answered your own question John.......
they are COOL FUNKY TRENDY.......they dont NEED to be more BUT.....they are more
mac built to last all components/systems by the same manufacturer....the system works so much better than windows in any old laptop for example built by anyone
Mac are the future not those throw away cheaper systems they last for years built well..........................oh YES YES YES......I have been well and truly appled
Funky
they are COOL FUNKY TRENDY.......they dont NEED to be more BUT.....they are more
mac built to last all components/systems by the same manufacturer....the system works so much better than windows in any old laptop for example built by anyone
Mac are the future not those throw away cheaper systems they last for years built well..........................oh YES YES YES......I have been well and truly appled
Funky
C
Cyclezee
Guest
Sorry Funky,
I'm still not buying the idea, Apple is not immune to obsolescence. How many people are still using a Macintosh?
I'm still not buying the idea, Apple is not immune to obsolescence. How many people are still using a Macintosh?
Ah well....I tried but I dont know anything about them really
I'm sure someone more knowledgable and helpful will be along shortly ......
Funky
Hmmm, I'm not going to disagree with your general point because Apple machines do tend to be *slightly* more expensive than Windoze equivalents, however be careful when comparing like for like and ensure that you are comparing the correct processors, hard drives, chipsets and graphics capability. Windows retailer's headline specs aren't always what they seem and make sure that the Operating System you are getting is equivalent to OS X Lion, because Windoze comes in many flavours.
Because OS X is proprietry in terms of it's operating system, then the OS is tailored for that specific hardware and you will encounter many less compatibility issues, e.g. drivers and the OS will also be optimised for it's performance.
There is some unquantifiable dark magic going on with Apple machines though and it's difficult to explain. When I close my Macbook laptop I can walk away knowing it will work when I open it up again, within 15 secs of opening the lid, I will have logged in and be on the internet, this can go on for weeks without a problem. Every Windows laptop I have used does not work in this way, or if it does, it doesn't last for long, once I wake up a windows machine I have to wait for it to download AV updates, OS updates and generally find where it was before it was put to sleep and then when I do want to close the lid I have to wait for it to update itself before it wants to reboot itself. With Windows this type of behavior is a multiple a week occurrence, with Apple it's once a month if you are lucky. In 3 years of running Macs I've not bothered with AV software, it doesn't need it!!
And what about resale value - generally a windows machine is worthless after a year, whereas people are still selling 4/5 year old macs at 30% of their original price!! And £21 for an OS upgrade every couple of years???
Anyway the Apple vs Windows debate is an age old one and it will continue.
Oh, I almost forgot, because OS X is based on UNIX, it's systems management means that old servers continue to run with very little intervention, I'm sure people are running desktop machines from the 80 & 90's also, albeit for simple tasks such as WP and internet, email. The same is probably true for Windows machines though.
PS I think you'll find that in your example you are comparing a medium end Windows machine with, even in it's basic guise, a high end Apple machine because the processor is a Xeon the MacPro which requires slightly higher end architecture to Core i7 processors. There isn't a direct equivalent in the Apple line-up, the closest would be a Mac Mini Core i7 with Lion Server coming in around £1,100
.....http://store.apple.com/uk-business/configure/MC936B/A?select=select&product=MC936B/A&mco=MjMzOTQ2NTE
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I changed over to Mac machines a couple of years ago. The constant updating of the Windows operating system and the inevitable gradual slowdown just became too frustrating. For me, it's not so much the Mac hardware, it is the Mac software which makes all the difference. To say that Windows is such a popular operating system, the way that it performs is shameful.
I have to run Windows 7 on my Mac via Parallels (accounting software which only runs under Windows) and I dread the rare occasions when I have to fire it up. There are always dozens of meaningless updates and it hangs at random intervals whilst the operating system decides it has something much more important to do than work for me. It's just a woeful experience, sitting there looking at the reflection of my tragic little face in the screen whilst the hard drive goes into melt-down.
By way of contrast, Mac OS is as quick and easy to use today as the day that the machine came out of the box. I will never ever buy another Windows PC based system again. They are dreadful by comparison and the additional premium for a Mac is well worth it.
I have to run Windows 7 on my Mac via Parallels (accounting software which only runs under Windows) and I dread the rare occasions when I have to fire it up. There are always dozens of meaningless updates and it hangs at random intervals whilst the operating system decides it has something much more important to do than work for me. It's just a woeful experience, sitting there looking at the reflection of my tragic little face in the screen whilst the hard drive goes into melt-down.
By way of contrast, Mac OS is as quick and easy to use today as the day that the machine came out of the box. I will never ever buy another Windows PC based system again. They are dreadful by comparison and the additional premium for a Mac is well worth it.
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When my Mac G3 died, I bought a Sony with Windows Vista, expecting to get something really modern and super.
Frankly, it old fashioned and clunky, totally illogical whereas Mac was intuitive.
My son who is a windows fan, rubbished my complaints, but the fact is as I now know, you get used to windows silly ways and begin to think them normal.
Frankly, it old fashioned and clunky, totally illogical whereas Mac was intuitive.
My son who is a windows fan, rubbished my complaints, but the fact is as I now know, you get used to windows silly ways and begin to think them normal.
C
Cyclezee
Guest
Well I have gone and done it now......just picked up the latest 2.5 Ghz Mac Mini today for £600 and a wireless keyboard thrown in. Boy it is dinky and ever so quiet, dwarfed by my 24" Dell monitor. I'm now on a steep learning at the moment, transferring files from my PC and wondering which is the best office suite to choose. I have downloaded trial versions of iWorks, which is not the latest unfortunately, MS Office for Mac and Open Office. I was hoping to avoid it, but if this going to be my main computer, I think I am going to have to run Windows 7 too for some software like Quick Books unless I go for the online version.
Any Mac tips are welcome as I haven't used one for over 10 years.
Any Mac tips are welcome as I haven't used one for over 10 years.
I like iWorks in preference to MS Office. It's a personal thing, but once you get used to it the applications within iWork are much more logical to use.
Mail Act-on adds some useful functionality to the email application.
If you are going to be using Windows, Parallels 6 is good. It allows Windows programs to be opened directly from the Mac Desktop alongside Mac Apps.
The main advantage, as I am sure you know / will find out, is that the Mac will simply work and do things without constantly downloading sticking plasters to patch up a crumbling system.
Mail Act-on adds some useful functionality to the email application.
If you are going to be using Windows, Parallels 6 is good. It allows Windows programs to be opened directly from the Mac Desktop alongside Mac Apps.
The main advantage, as I am sure you know / will find out, is that the Mac will simply work and do things without constantly downloading sticking plasters to patch up a crumbling system.
C
Cyclezee
Guest
Hi Tillson, or should I say Mac Guru
I understand what you are saying, but I have a lot of office docs etc. on my PC and MS Office 2011 for the Mac seems to work better than iWorks...........so far. Quite bit more expensive though.
I am currently migrating docs, photos and music etc. 84Gb of stuff and it is going to take about 7 hours to do it over the network. It took me while to figure out that I had to install software on the PC to get this to work.
I also like the look of Outlook for email etc., just more like what I am used to.
So I have 30 days to decide about software, but it looks like I am going to have to spend a fair bit of money to get setup that I am happy with.
I am hoping that I can manage without installing Windows 7. My biggest issue is accounting software as I dont really want to change from Quick Books.
More advice is welcome.
I understand what you are saying, but I have a lot of office docs etc. on my PC and MS Office 2011 for the Mac seems to work better than iWorks...........so far. Quite bit more expensive though.
I am currently migrating docs, photos and music etc. 84Gb of stuff and it is going to take about 7 hours to do it over the network. It took me while to figure out that I had to install software on the PC to get this to work.
I also like the look of Outlook for email etc., just more like what I am used to.
So I have 30 days to decide about software, but it looks like I am going to have to spend a fair bit of money to get setup that I am happy with.
I am hoping that I can manage without installing Windows 7. My biggest issue is accounting software as I dont really want to change from Quick Books.
More advice is welcome.
As one who rarely has any need to make use of an office suite, all I can tell you is that I still have Micros***e Office for Mac 2004 on all my machines and it works fine. I did flirt briefly with Apple's own iWorks when they supplied a trial version but I never bought the full version as Office provided for all my needs without spending any more money.
A friend who does actually use Office in the course of his business once told me that when Apple asked Micros***e to write Office for the Mac OS, they managed to improve it over the then current Windows software. All I know is that it works fine for me.
Perhaps Tillson hasn't noticed or been affected by it but one sure-fire way to slow down the Mac OS is to run Windows on the hard drive using Parallels. All the things that people dislike about the Windows OS are then on your Mac so my advice is avoid putting Windows on your Mac if you can manage otherwise.
Migrating from Windows to the Mac OS does take a little getting used to but once into the new system, you'll be delighted for all the reasons others have mentioned. If, like me, you have to access a Windows computer occasionally after years on Mac equipment, then you'll understand why Mac converts rarely revert through choice.
All the best with your new Mac Mini John.
Indalo
A friend who does actually use Office in the course of his business once told me that when Apple asked Micros***e to write Office for the Mac OS, they managed to improve it over the then current Windows software. All I know is that it works fine for me.
Perhaps Tillson hasn't noticed or been affected by it but one sure-fire way to slow down the Mac OS is to run Windows on the hard drive using Parallels. All the things that people dislike about the Windows OS are then on your Mac so my advice is avoid putting Windows on your Mac if you can manage otherwise.
Migrating from Windows to the Mac OS does take a little getting used to but once into the new system, you'll be delighted for all the reasons others have mentioned. If, like me, you have to access a Windows computer occasionally after years on Mac equipment, then you'll understand why Mac converts rarely revert through choice.
All the best with your new Mac Mini John.
Indalo
I can't say that I have noticed any slowdown of the system side installing Windows.
There are a couple of pieces of software which I need to run on a very occaisional basis (Memory Map and an accounting program). Now that I no longer own a PC, other than buying something specifically to run these two programs, I have no choice but to run them on a Mac.
Windows installs on a totally seperate disk partition to the Mac OS, so I'm not too worried about Windows interfering with that side of things. I do boot Windows via Parallels only when I need to, the rest of the time both Windows and Parallels are closed. If you are worried about slowing the machine down, you could always re-boot the Mac into Windows mode via Bootcamp on the odd occaision that you need to use it.
I ran Windows 7 for the first time in a couple of months yesterday. It must have taken 20 minutes of hard disk grinding and sticking plaster downloading before it began to run anything approaching smoothly. To say that it is such a popular operating system the performance is absolutely appalling. If you bought any other commodity which behaved so badly, you would be back at the place of purchase demanding your money back. I don't know how or why they get away with it.
Definitely not a Mac Guru, just a convert.Hi Tillson, or should I say Mac Guru
I understand what you are saying, but I have a lot of office docs etc. on my PC and MS Office 2011 for the Mac seems to work better than iWorks...........so far. Quite bit more expensive though.
iWork is worthy of a good period of trial. It has some nice easy to use features, but you can be put off by lack of familiarity. I'm used to it now and wouldn't go back to MS Office. The same goes the Mac Mail, I much prefer it to Outlook. But this is all personal preference and I do own other Mac devices so interoperability / synchronisation is important to me.
MobileMe / the coming soon iCloud are worth considering for mobility of information on mobile devices.
Here's my advice:
Unless you are gaming, don't bother with Boot Camp and use Parallels to create a virtual machine and stick Win7 or XP in there, forget Vista.
There are free office facilities online, MS gives you one with a hotmail/live account, google as well I think. Then there are free downloaded ones, Office.org and Libre Office, all worth a try, there can be compatibility issues with MS Office docs, but you won't know unless you try.
I trialled all the above and iWork and found too many incompatabilities with MS Office and because I need compatibility with my clients I ended up purchasing Office for Mac 2011 which works just as office does on Windows. And because I am a part-time student I bought mine under student licensing for £40, so if you have a student in the family then take advantage of that, otherwise some workplace licensing allows for a copy of MS Office to be installed on a single machine at home by employees, so be sure to check that out also.
I don't use Outlook for my own personal and business mail, it is too difficult to synchronise accounts across computers (or it used to be the last time I looked). I have used Thunderbird for almost a decade, the mail folders are easily transferred between machines, it's very stable, easy to use and customise. Also the mail store can be uploaded to free online storage (Dropbox in my case) and accessed from anywhere, making it very versatile. I keep looking at Outlook because I use it on client's machines but just can't bring myself to use it. It's ideal for the enterprise but SME's don't really need to go to the expense (and hassle) of using Outlook.
Unless you are gaming, don't bother with Boot Camp and use Parallels to create a virtual machine and stick Win7 or XP in there, forget Vista.
There are free office facilities online, MS gives you one with a hotmail/live account, google as well I think. Then there are free downloaded ones, Office.org and Libre Office, all worth a try, there can be compatibility issues with MS Office docs, but you won't know unless you try.
I trialled all the above and iWork and found too many incompatabilities with MS Office and because I need compatibility with my clients I ended up purchasing Office for Mac 2011 which works just as office does on Windows. And because I am a part-time student I bought mine under student licensing for £40, so if you have a student in the family then take advantage of that, otherwise some workplace licensing allows for a copy of MS Office to be installed on a single machine at home by employees, so be sure to check that out also.
I don't use Outlook for my own personal and business mail, it is too difficult to synchronise accounts across computers (or it used to be the last time I looked). I have used Thunderbird for almost a decade, the mail folders are easily transferred between machines, it's very stable, easy to use and customise. Also the mail store can be uploaded to free online storage (Dropbox in my case) and accessed from anywhere, making it very versatile. I keep looking at Outlook because I use it on client's machines but just can't bring myself to use it. It's ideal for the enterprise but SME's don't really need to go to the expense (and hassle) of using Outlook.
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