Taking the iPlunge

[STSF Seiben 0]

Currently, my 2005 HP Pavillion PC is showing signs of terminal illness. From the constant hard drive crashes, system freezes, weird noises coming from the machine, and it being extremely slow almost every day (whether simply turning it on, which can take 2-3 minutes, loading an application or surfing the net), I believe it is time for me to consider a new computer. I've either owned or used every version of Windows since 3.1, and after two years with ME and 18 months with Vista (XP wasn't great either. BSOD'ed and crashed on me almost weekly), I don't really want to go back to Microsoft (even though Windows 7 is due for release soon). As some of you know, I am now for the first time in 16 years of PC ownership, considering the switch to Apple.

 

I am now seriously considering purchasing a new 24" iMac desktop. One of the more higher end models (500GB - 1TB models). Plan to get it around April or May. Saving up for it, and rumours of a new iMac as Apple is overdue to revamp the iMac line, in addition to Snow Leopard, a slight upgrade to OS X to be released in Q1 2009 are the reasoning behind me wanting to wait so long. I can wait that long, as I want to get the newest I can get, and my computer can hold out for a few more months.

 

Which brings me to my question for anyone who owns or has owned a Mac. Since this'll be my first Apple, what are your experiences with it? Did it take you a long time to get used to it, and most importantly, how easy (or hard) was it to access the chat rooms here? I imagine Java has an update for OS X but were/are you able to get into the chat room with little to no difficulties? And how are you liking your computer, especially if like me, it's your first Mac from a PC? Here's your chance for you Apple iFans to give me the final little nudge I need to get off that fence and into the Apple camp.

 

Thanks for your assistance,

 

Seiben

[Grom 0]

As if you could actually leave the collective....

 

Edited January 31, 2009 by Grom

[Samantha_Kent 0]

I gave a similar spiel to this a few months ago when Muon asked a similar question, so my apologies if this sound repetitious to anyone...

 

I was a dedicated Windows user for most of my life, claiming vehemently that I never wanted to switch to a Mac in spite of the cajolings of my father and brother; however, when the time came to get me a laptop for college, my dad got me a MacBook because there was a good deal on them at the time and he thought it would be a better choice. From the moment that I started using the system regularly, I was converted in an instant.

 

I had no difficulty adjusting to the Mac interface -- in fact, it has some nice features, such as Expose to look at all open windows at once, which Microsoft does not have, and the absence of which now makes it actively difficult to use Windows machines. It has a smoother, cleaner look to it which I like very much, and has a preponderance of freeware made for it. The customer service/repair service that I have had need for on it (luckily not much so far) has been excellent and the Genius Bar people in the Apple stores have, in my experience, been very approachable.

 

The biggest downside of a Mac versus a PC (as PC owners will be quick to tell you) is that there aren't many games made for Macs whereas PCs have everything and their dog available to them, but if that's not a problem for you (and I mean, heck, they have the Sims2, Civilization, and Big Bang Board Games, so what more could you want? ;) ) then there's really no other problems that I've ever run into.

 

I have never had any issue getting the chats to run in either Firefox or Safari (and I recommend Firefox) as long as I remember to have Java running.

 

Hope this helps! Welcome to the camp! :-)

[Mreh K'hal 0]

On Sam's point, if you do decide to go Mac and still want to access some windowsy-type programs, there are a couple of good software options available that can create a virtual PC on your Mac. The Apple site actually touted one as one of the reasons to switch to Mac, since it said something along the lines of you can have it both ways and it'll work better than the original. So don't let that be a reason to stop you.

[TKAR 0]

I don,t know about the apple but good luck on what you decide-its a hard to figure what to get -check out computer shopper or ask at work -good luck

[Samantha_Kent 0]

On Sam's point, if you do decide to go Mac and still want to access some windowsy-type programs, there are a couple of good software options available that can create a virtual PC on your Mac. The Apple site actually touted one as one of the reasons to switch to Mac, since it said something along the lines of you can have it both ways and it'll work better than the original. So don't let that be a reason to stop you.

 

Aye, Boot Camp (among others) can let you set up a virtual Windows machine that loads in parallel; I always forget about it because I don't have it on my laptop, but I think it may possible come with Leopard and Snow Leopard (I have Tiger). Something to look into if you're interested.

[Isabeau Delevan 0]

Which brings me to my question for anyone who owns or has owned a Mac. Since this'll be my first Apple, what are your experiences with it? Did it take you a long time to get used to it, and most importantly, how easy (or hard) was it to access the chat rooms here? I imagine Java has an update for OS X but were/are you able to get into the chat room with little to no difficulties? And how are you liking your computer, especially if like me, it's your first Mac from a PC? Here's your chance for you Apple iFans to give me the final little nudge I need to get off that fence and into the Apple camp.

 

I've been using a Mac since 1995 and bought the iMac G5 20" desktop that I'm currently using 2.5 years ago. With my usual excellent timing, I bought it 4 months before the Intel processor models came out but that turned out to be Ok, since none of my old games would have been able to play on the new one. I am now experiencing some *very* occasional problems with overheating and after researching this problem have found that it's not uncommon for the iMac G5 desktop model and popular opinion seems to be that the casing design is just too tight for the machine and eventually will lead to logic board demise. I am also planning on buying a new iMac desktop within the next couple of months because I want this current model to continue to work for old games and I don't want to kill it but I want to find out about the overheating problem first--have they fixed it?

 

Ok, to finally answer your question: I have no problem accessing the STSF or any other Java based chat rooms on Tiger version 10.4.11 and don't anticipate any problems when using Leopard. And I love the Mac computer--I use Windows at work but have always used Mac at home. I also use Microsoft office for the Mac because I bring work home and have no problem doing the work on either computer and sending it back and forth.

 

I guess the most important thing is what do you use your home comp for? As Sam said, if you are a gamer then you might want to stick with PC. They're writing more games for the Mac but nothing like what is available for PC users.

[Chirakis 1]

Why do I sense a preponderance of feline predatory species in Mr. Jobs's ware?

 

::thoughtful pose::

[Kansas_Jones 0]

Why do I sense a preponderance of feline predatory species in Mr. Jobs's ware?

 

::thoughtful pose::

 

Oh, Snow Leopard, Leopard, and Tiger are all cousins of mine! ::is so happy::

[STSF Seiben 0]

Ok, to finally answer your question: I have no problem accessing the STSF or any other Java based chat rooms on Tiger version 10.4.11 and don't anticipate any problems when using Leopard. And I love the Mac computer--I use Windows at work but have always used Mac at home. I also use Microsoft office for the Mac because I bring work home and have no problem doing the work on either computer and sending it back and forth.

 

I guess the most important thing is what do you use your home comp for? As Sam said, if you are a gamer then you might want to stick with PC. They're writing more games for the Mac but nothing like what is available for PC users.

 

 

Thanks for your input everyone. It really helps with my decision. To answer your question, I plan to use it to surf the net, watch movies and TV shows on-line and maybe the odd photo editing occasionally. I don't plan on waiting for Snow Leopard (The guy at the Apple Store told me there's not much difference from Leopard; unless it's released in conjunction with the new iMac, but with Apple, that is highly unlikely). I have a Play Station 3 to handle all my gaming needs, so the lack of games issue for Mac is no longer a concern for me (2009 is supposed to be a good year for games on the PS3). Please continue with your input, I really appreciate it. ;)

[STSF_BluRox 0]

And for his next purchase....

 

The Apple Collection

[Garnoopy 0]

I did the PC to Apple switch a little over two years ago. My PC died and I had always wanted to try a Mac.

 

I bought the top of the line MacBook that was available at the time. I have had no compatibility issues with any file. I can open anything, re-write anything, and save anything.

 

There has only ever been two issues I've had with a mac:

 

1. Does not have internet explorer. My work website requires IE.

2. Will not run some of the really old games I have for PC

 

Both of these issues were resolved by using Parallels and installing Windows XP. Windows XP runs great as a program inside of my mac and I can do anything I need to do.

 

As for your questions:

 

1. Mac's just work. You will know how to use it within an hour. The way you *think* a computer should work, they do.

2. I use my Mac to play the Manticore every Monday. Not one issue using either Safari (Apple's browser) or Firefox (which is what I use)

 

At the end of the day - Mac's just work. They look cool. And they are really reliable. I have never had one issue with my Mac in over two years now.

 

Do your research and if you can, find someone with a Mac that you can play with. Go to an Apple store and say "Hey, can you show me what's so great about a Mac?" Yeah, they're going to show off, but you'll see why we love Mac's and some of the really cool features that you have. Try going into a PC store and saying "Hey, can you show me why I should buy a PC over a Mac?" See what you get.

 

Seriously. Hands on experience that you can have personally is your best bet over what we PC or Mac fans can give you.

[Dumbass 0]

I owned two Macs, but they were both pre-iMac machines. One of them wasn't even internet-capable. My girlfriend at the time used to chat with the latter one but I wasn't into chat then.

 

Sorry, can't help.

[STSF Seiben 0]

Went to the Apple Store and had a little play with the iMac and the finder feature (free flow looks cool). Two final questions, really. Firstly, what's a good anti-virus program to use? From my research, there isn't much offered in the way of Macs and OS X other than Norton really. But, I don't really like Norton as it's slow, hogs alot of resources and doesn't do a very good job. And secondly, price. For you, what justifies spending twice as much on a Mac than a similiarly speced PC? Asked the guy at the Apple Store, he just gave me that whole value for money better engineered deal. (I think he got it straight off the Apple site, if you ask me) so I'd like to get an opinion from a more non-biased source. Thanks.

[STSF Seiben 0]

BUMP! Wanted to update you and let you know that I have got the Mac! Early verdict is that I love it! The small wireless keyboard does take some getting used to, but in the whole I am very pleased with the purchase and sheer performance and ease of use of this machine.

 

Specs:

 

3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo

1TB SATA HD

4GB DDR3 RAM

nVidia GeForce GT130 graphics card

Wireless Keyboard & Wireless Mighty Mouse

1TB Time Capsule (Wireless backup drive and router all-in-one)

[Samantha_Kent 0]

Welcome to the family, Seiben! :o

[Grom 0]

BUMP! Wanted to update you and let you know that I have got the Mac! Early verdict is that I love it! The small wireless keyboard does take some getting used to, but in the whole I am very pleased with the purchase and sheer performance and ease of use of this machine.

 

Specs:

 

3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo

1TB SATA HD

4GB DDR3 RAM

nVidia GeForce GT130 graphics card

Wireless Keyboard & Wireless Mighty Mouse

1TB Time Capsule (Wireless backup drive and router all-in-one)

 

You put those kind of specs into any machine and you better experience "sheer performance." :o

[Travis Kroells 0]

2.50 GHz Intel Core 2 Quad

640 GB SATA HD

6 GB DDR2 RAM

Nvidia GeForce 9600 512 mb video card

 

Which was a major upgrade from my fried system :o

 

1.20 GHz Intel Celeron D

40 + 80 GB HD's

256 MB old crusty RAM

and a 32 MB onboard intel graphics controller.

 

Needless to say I'm in heaven. Though, I'd wished I'd waited a few months, with this recession I would've been able to afford the new i7 processors and mobo's.