Well, against the advice some of you gave, I went for a Windows PC. Should get it all fixed up tonight hopefully (late night very likely tonight I think) Although it seemed as though the Mac came out on top, the arguements weren't strong enough to justify the extra expense, (all new software) and the fact that I'm just used to Windows.
Well, against the advice some of you gave, I went for a Windows PC.
You had good reasons for staying. Personally I prefer Windows on the desktop and MacOS on laptops (largely because the Apple laptops are so well made) but there sure is a big difference in the amount of time spent on stupid administration tasks on Windows versus MacOS.
Just an update.
Had the new system for a week now, & I have to say how straightforward the setup was. Everything installed without a problem, Scanner, Printer, Camera, ADSL, software, etc.... The initial Windows updates took about 15 minutes and has updated once automatically during the week.
Can't seem to upload to smugmug through Mozilla or Firefox even after downloading the plug in from Sun though which is annoying. (i'll post a request for help with the details later).
Thought I'd keep my old system to back up to, and for the kids to use when "I"M BUSY!!" so bought a wireless router/firewall. This has been a nightmare to get going properly, the instructions tend to assume that the person reading them actually knows about networking (big mistake!!!!).
I have now got it working so that both systems can access the web through the adsl and both can see the others drives and printers etc... (Although last night I kept "IP address conflict messages" which knocked the new system off the network. I think I may have sorted this now, but I have absolutely no idea how)
I'm also in the dark about which security settings I should be using, any guidance would be apreciated... let me know if you need anymre detail.
For Smugmug, using Mozilla firebird, I find the only option that works to upload photos is the last one on their list of options. It's labeled "Standard".
My name is Deborah and I am new here. I am a MacHead although we do have a PC set up here in addition to 6 Macs. Ay, caramba! Thisi s a very interesting thread. Congrats on your all new PC it osunds like it is working out well for you, triffic. I work mostly on Mac and as for cameras I have just barely crossed over to the digital world myself about a year and a half ago after many many years in old style film. Actually this ws my question to the forum but being new and all I wasn't sure where to post it. I did some research online but so far no real answer. "Question: my borther is looking for the simplest digital camera in the world. What he means by that is little or no fussing with those scroll through menus. He has beginning stages of Alzheimer's on top of dyslexia and just cannot handle the confusion! W'eve tried looking at so-called children's cameras and point and shoot but many of those are confusing too. Does anybody know of a TRULY simple digital camera that Tom can use to take good digital pictures of landscapes, family, and frends when he goes out?" Then we could help him load the stuff and print it out. Anybody have any feedback?
My name is Deborah and I am new here. I am a MacHead although we do have a PC set up here in addition to 6 Macs. Ay, caramba! Thisi s a very interesting thread. Congrats on your all new PC it osunds like it is working out well for you, triffic. I work mostly on Mac and as for cameras I have just barely crossed over to the digital world myself about a year and a half ago after many many years in old style film. Actually this ws my question to the forum but being new and all I wasn't sure where to post it. I did some research online but so far no real answer. "Question: my borther is looking for the simplest digital camera in the world. What he means by that is little or no fussing with those scroll through menus. He has beginning stages of Alzheimer's on top of dyslexia and just cannot handle the confusion! W'eve tried looking at so-called children's cameras and point and shoot but many of those are confusing too. Does anybody know of a TRULY simple digital camera that Tom can use to take good digital pictures of landscapes, family, and frends when he goes out?" Then we could help him load the stuff and print it out. Anybody have any feedback?
Thanks!
Debs
Hi Deb, I can't answer your question but there will be experts here shortly who will be able to. Sorry about your brother thats really hard to deal with for everyone in a family.
Welcome to the forum, it's a truly great place to visit with loads of wonderful information and very very nice people.
Lynn:D
For Smugmug, using Mozilla firebird, I find the only option that works to upload photos is the last one on their list of options. It's labeled "Standard".
Sid, it does work on my old W98 PC, but not on this one (XP) I end up reverting back to ie to upload!
Sid, it does work on my old W98 PC, but not on this one (XP) I end up reverting back to ie to upload!
How odd. So on the same machine, IE works but Mozilla doesn't? I wonder if this has something to do with the Java stuff that you have to download and install separately for Mozilla (at least, I had to with Firebird. Pain in the padded part that's found below the waist and above the thighs.)
"Question: my borther is looking for the simplest digital camera in the world.
Hi Debs. Any point and shoot camera, when left on its automatic setting, should work fine. As long as no-one moves it off the Auto setting, it will do all the work for you. Really clean and simple.
Kodak, Nikon and Canon all make good versions of simple point-and-shoot cameras.
Assuming you agree, then the only issue is cost. I'm kinda partial to Canon, and think the A-series (A60, A70, A80) or the S-series (S400, S410, S500) are nice point-and-shoot cameras. But you can certainly spend a lot less than that on, say, a Kodak and be very pleased with the results.
The key is to not worry about the extra features on the camera - just don't use them!
How odd. So on the same machine, IE works but Mozilla doesn't? I wonder if this has something to do with the Java stuff that you have to download and install separately for Mozilla (at least, I had to with Firebird. Pain in the padded part that's found below the waist and above the thighs.)
On my windows 98 PC
IE works on option 1 Firefox works on option 4
On my work windows 98SE PC and Home XP PC
Firefox only works on option 5 IE on 1
On my windows 98 PC
IE works on option 1 Firefox works on option 4
On my work windows 98SE PC and Home XP PC
Firefox only works on option 5 IE on 1
I've had good experiences with mail to help@smugmug.com on this sort of thing. They do want to know if these things don't work. They helped me with linux (a little grudgingly); I'm sure they care a lot about XP.
I didnt really take the time to catch the other replys to your question gubbs, but for what you are doing, I'de would absolutely say go with a mac. For multimedia convenience, they are unbeatable. I still use a pc simply for the fact that there are a few programs out there that i still cant find for osx, but besides that, the mac performance is cunning. You can organize your media like you never thought possible. I used to be a "PC to the death" type of person, but was then required to get a mac for video editing (final cut pro). I find that I very very rarely use my pc for anything else if the task can be done on my mac (99% of the time it can). I'm telling you, youll never go back to pc again. One suggestion though, I wouldn't go with the apple "i" series: Imac, Ibook etc... They are impossible to upgrade and your pretty much stuck with an outdated system a year from now. I got myself a 17 inch powerbook and the video editing capabilities (Nothing takes more memory than editing) are uncanny. Unless you can find an excuse like "I cant get this program for my mac" then you really have no excuse. Scrape together 3 gs and go get yourself a powerbook! Good luck.
No time for the old in-out, love, I've just come to read the meter
After a long period of thought and consideration of the Mac versus Win XP question, I have gone and done the unthinkable - I am about to enter the Mac world, despite Rutt's warnings.
I expect delivery in the next few weeks and after I get it all assembled I will report on the experience. The continued onslaught of security flaws in MS WIN XP pushed me over the edge.
After a long period of thought and consideration of the Mac versus Win XP question, I have gone and done the unthinkable - I am about to enter the Mac world, despite Rutt's warnings.
I expect delivery in the next few weeks and after I get it all assembled I will report on the experience. The continued onslaught of security flaws in MS WIN XP pushed me over the edge.
Great news! What mac did you get?
If you need any help, don't be afraid to ask. There are actually a lot of us mac users out there
After a long period of thought and consideration of the Mac versus Win XP question, I have gone and done the unthinkable - I am about to enter the Mac world, despite Rutt's warnings.
I expect delivery in the next few weeks and after I get it all assembled I will report on the experience. The continued onslaught of security flaws in MS WIN XP pushed me over the edge.
Good choice. Any tech support you need, let me know. I've been on a Mac for 16 years. See, I know you won't need much support, that's why I can offer
If you need any help, don't be afraid to ask. There are actually a lot of us mac users out there
Dave
G5 Full boat 23 Cinema display
Thank you for the offer of support. I am lookiing forward to the change. I will keep my XP box, but migrate stuff over gradually and remove the XP box from the web ultimately and just keep it for running my scanners I think.
Walt Mossberg's recent column in the Wall Street Journal pushed me over the edge. I went to the Apple store in Indianapolis last Saturday and spent a couple hours with the staff going over every little thing and got most of my questions answered. Do you really run your Macs without antivirus software?
I was quoted a 5 -6 weeks delivery time from Apple , but then they said it would be more like 10 days, so I do not really know when it will arrive. I am looking forward to it though.
That rocks. I really want a new G5, just waiting for the right time to make a I keep hoping they will come out with a G5 Powerbook, my current one gets me by the G5 would be great for me. I know I may be waiting a long time. I have thought about getting an imac and using it to a degree as a portable computer.
Do you really run your Macs without antivirus software?
I was quoted a 5 -6 weeks delivery time from Apple , but then they said it would be more like 10 days, so I do not really know when it will arrive. I am looking forward to it though.
I don't. (not that I would recommend it) Everything seems ok. I also do have a firewall and do not open unknown email, but if I did I would not worry.
I would think you will get your G5 sooner than later, my friend's G5 DP 2.5 showed up in about four weeks, but he ordered on when they were released.
Walt Mossberg's recent column in the Wall Street Journal pushed me over the edge. I went to the Apple store in Indianapolis last Saturday and spent a couple hours with the staff going over every little thing and got most of my questions answered. Do you really run your Macs without antivirus software?
DO NOT PUT ANTIVIRUS S/W ON A MAC!!
Norton AV in particular is famous for announcing that it found viruses on macs and removed files when there are no viruses and the files it is removing might well trash your system with their absence. I did some kernel support for MacOSX and some of my suggestions for kernel/memory tuning have been incorporated by the various online support pages. Norton was (is?) offered free with a .mac account. Do not install it! It is like a guy taking birthcontrol pills. The condition can not occur anyway and the medicine can only foul things up.
Charles Richmond IT & Security Consultant
Operating System Design, Drivers, Software
Villa Del Rio II, Talamban, Pit-os, Cebu, Ph
Norton AV in particular is famous for announcing that it found viruses on macs and removed files when there are no viruses and the files it is removing might well trash your system with their absence. I did some kernel support for MacOSX and some of my suggestions for kernel/memory tuning have been incorporated by the various online support pages. Norton was (is?) offered free with a .mac account. Do not install it! It is like a guy taking birthcontrol pills. The condition can not occur anyway and the medicine can only foul things up.
CMR that is JUST the kind of information I needed thanks!
Thanks to all you Mac guys David, Patch, CMR, TML ( hope I have not left anyone out) for your patience answering my questions. I will try not to bother you all with newbie questions
After a long period of thought and consideration of the Mac versus Win XP question, I have gone and done the unthinkable - I am about to enter the Mac world, despite Rutt's warnings.
Very cool! Once you switch you will never want to go back. I made the plunge 5 six years ago when I worked for Motorola on the original G4 team. Thought it was cool to buy a product I worked on. Now I've been at AMD for nearly a year and you cannot get me to buy a Windows box again.
Get ready for a computing experience where things just "work".
Norton AV in particular is famous for announcing that it found viruses on macs and removed files when there are no viruses and the files it is removing might well trash your system with their absence. I did some kernel support for MacOSX and some of my suggestions for kernel/memory tuning have been incorporated by the various online support pages. Norton was (is?) offered free with a .mac account. Do not install it! It is like a guy taking birthcontrol pills. The condition can not occur anyway and the medicine can only foul things up.
Don't put anything Norton on your system. Evil.
Get Disk Warrior.
I use a G5 at work, and have one set up at home in addition to my Titanium Powerbook. I love it. I also use the 23" display at home and at work, but I have the older style. One guy in my office has the newer 23" display, and I am very jealous. It's unbelievably gorgeous..
If I could afford it, I'd go mac in a trillionth of a heartbeat. Rock solid machinery. I used a PowerMac 8100 waaaay back in the day and even back then it was nice
Canon Digital Rebel | Canon EOS 35mm | Yashica Electro GSN | Fed5B | Holga 35 MF
If I could afford it, I'd go mac in a trillionth of a heartbeat. Rock solid machinery. I used a PowerMac 8100 waaaay back in the day and even back then it was nice
Depending on what you want out of a system Macs can be surprisingly affordable. Entry level notebook users can find iBooks to be reasonably priced. If you want a high-quality CRT and the ability to burn DVD's, the eMac is a great buy. Compare it to a Dell, with similar features and similar software, the Apple is comparable.
Want a cool LCD? The new iMac is a great buy, considering the power of the G5, the Super Drive, and how awesome Apple LCD's are.
The pitfalls many people have in comparing Apple to PC prices is not configuring systems identically. Either a PC without the software, or LCD's or CRT's of much lower quality, etc.
Depending on what you want out of a system Macs can be surprisingly affordable. Entry level notebook users can find iBooks to be reasonably priced. If you want a high-quality CRT and the ability to burn DVD's, the eMac is a great buy. Compare it to a Dell, with similar features and similar software, the Apple is comparable.
Want a cool LCD? The new iMac is a great buy, considering the power of the G5, the Super Drive, and how awesome Apple LCD's are.
The pitfalls many people have in comparing Apple to PC prices is not configuring systems identically. Either a PC without the software, or LCD's or CRT's of much lower quality, etc.
I actually priced a Dell dual processor Xeon and found Apple Macs very competitive. I find with Windows machines I have to provide new software to REALLY use the CD-R ( Neo Burning ROM rocks - I will miss it for the Mac ) , anti virus stuff , firewall stuff, and DVD player stuff that is never priced into the wintel boxes advertised prices. I am looking for a TOASTER not a hobby with my new computer - I just want it to run PS and let me get on with that rather than spending my evening loading the new security updates and such. You are right - the screens do look lovely.
As I said, after a few months I will report back my opinion in the MAC vs Wintel wars.
I actually priced a Dell dual processor Xeon and found Apple Macs very competitive. I find with Windows machines I have to provide new software to REALLY use the CD-R ( Neo Burning ROM rocks - I will miss it for the Mac ) , anti virus stuff , firewall stuff, and DVD player stuff that is never priced into the wintel boxes advertised prices. I am looking for a TOASTER not a hobby with my new computer - I just want it to run PS and let me get on with that rather than spending my evening loading the new security updates and such. You are right - the screens do look lovely.
As I said, after a few months I will report back my opinion in the MAC vs Wintel wars.
Well, I have had my new Mac G5 about 6 weeks now and like I promised, I am here to report on my experience so far... The short version is that it has gone much smoother than I even thought possible. The hardware G5 - 23 inch Cinema display is lovely. The displays always look nice in a store, but only when I compare it side to side with my previous LCDs do I really appreciate how nice the Apple display is.
Comparing the speed to a Wintel box can be deceiving - because some things seem no faster than my 2.2 Ghz Pentium running WinXP in 1 Gig of RAM. But when I open a 16 bit image in Photoshop and begin running a filter like USM or something the power of the Mac and Photoshop taking advantage of the two CPUs really shines.., The machine just does not slow down - even while I am copying from a CF chip to my hard drive and listen to Internet Radio at the same time and updating the attached iPod.
I feel I am beginnig to sound like a true convert here - but the ONLY software I have purchased for this machine that did not come installed was Photoshop CS - and Adobe told me - after the fact - that I need not have bought it if I was willing to destroy my copy of PS for Win XP - they would send me the MAC version. Ah well.....
I have downloaded Firefox for Mac and find I tend to prefer it over Safari but it is a close call. I did get new drivers for my film scanner from Nikon and it works flawlessly. I used Firefox to load in my favorites and cookies from my Wintel box and that worked just fine.
I bought an iPod to use in lieu of a laptop to store digital images - but I find I do enjoy using it and even am downloading music from Apple's music store. I also find listening to Internet radio is a whole new experience with iTunes rather than Real Audio or Windows Media Player.
I just plugged my Sandisk card reader from my Wintel box into my Mac and it just worked immediately - no drivers to install - no nothing - it just worked. I used some speakers I already owned with a subwoofer and they sound just fine. No drivers, no software - just plug and go....
All in all I have been very pleased - text editing is a little different at first but I am getting the hang of it now - Meanwhile my wife has spent several evenings installing Service Pak II and the subsequent bug fixes for its security flaws on her WIntel laptop....... I have not had any security updates - some of the software updated itself immediately aften intial turning on of my Mac the first time - none since then .
So.... dkapp, DavidTO, Patch, rutt, mercphoto, CMR et al --- thanks for all our help and suggestions - I encourage anyone considering opting out of Windows - come on in the water is just fine!! Like mercphoto said - you won't go back and I think he is absolutely correct.
Comments
Thanks for all of advice,
gubbs.smugmug.com
You had good reasons for staying. Personally I prefer Windows on the desktop and MacOS on laptops (largely because the Apple laptops are so well made) but there sure is a big difference in the amount of time spent on stupid administration tasks on Windows versus MacOS.
You pay one way or you pay the other, TANSTAAFL.
jimf@frostbytes.com
Had the new system for a week now, & I have to say how straightforward the setup was. Everything installed without a problem, Scanner, Printer, Camera, ADSL, software, etc.... The initial Windows updates took about 15 minutes and has updated once automatically during the week.
Can't seem to upload to smugmug through Mozilla or Firefox even after downloading the plug in from Sun though which is annoying. (i'll post a request for help with the details later).
Thought I'd keep my old system to back up to, and for the kids to use when "I"M BUSY!!" so bought a wireless router/firewall. This has been a nightmare to get going properly, the instructions tend to assume that the person reading them actually knows about networking (big mistake!!!!
I have now got it working so that both systems can access the web through the adsl and both can see the others drives and printers etc... (Although last night I kept "IP address conflict messages" which knocked the new system off the network. I think I may have sorted this now, but I have absolutely no idea how)
I'm also in the dark about which security settings I should be using, any guidance would be apreciated... let me know if you need anymre detail.
Thanks
gubbs
gubbs.smugmug.com
Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum immane mittam
http://www.mcneel.com/users/jb/foghorn/ill_shut_up.au
Hello!
My name is Deborah and I am new here. I am a MacHead although we do have a PC set up here in addition to 6 Macs. Ay, caramba! Thisi s a very interesting thread. Congrats on your all new PC it osunds like it is working out well for you, triffic. I work mostly on Mac and as for cameras I have just barely crossed over to the digital world myself about a year and a half ago after many many years in old style film.
Thanks!
Debs
Welcome to the forum, it's a truly great place to visit with loads of wonderful information and very very nice people.
Lynn:D
gubbs.smugmug.com
How odd. So on the same machine, IE works but Mozilla doesn't? I wonder if this has something to do with the Java stuff that you have to download and install separately for Mozilla (at least, I had to with Firebird. Pain in the padded part that's found below the waist and above the thighs.)
Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum immane mittam
http://www.mcneel.com/users/jb/foghorn/ill_shut_up.au
Hi Debs. Any point and shoot camera, when left on its automatic setting, should work fine. As long as no-one moves it off the Auto setting, it will do all the work for you. Really clean and simple.
Kodak, Nikon and Canon all make good versions of simple point-and-shoot cameras.
Assuming you agree, then the only issue is cost. I'm kinda partial to Canon, and think the A-series (A60, A70, A80) or the S-series (S400, S410, S500) are nice point-and-shoot cameras. But you can certainly spend a lot less than that on, say, a Kodak and be very pleased with the results.
The key is to not worry about the extra features on the camera - just don't use them!
Hope this helps.
Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum immane mittam
http://www.mcneel.com/users/jb/foghorn/ill_shut_up.au
IE works on option 1 Firefox works on option 4
On my work windows 98SE PC and Home XP PC
Firefox only works on option 5 IE on 1
gubbs.smugmug.com
gubbs.smugmug.com
Ah, OK, we're in the same boat, then.
Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum immane mittam
http://www.mcneel.com/users/jb/foghorn/ill_shut_up.au
I expect delivery in the next few weeks and after I get it all assembled I will report on the experience. The continued onslaught of security flaws in MS WIN XP pushed me over the edge.
Moderator of the Technique Forum and Finishing School on Dgrin
Great news! What mac did you get?
If you need any help, don't be afraid to ask. There are actually a lot of us mac users out there
Dave
http://www.lifekapptured.com (gallery)
Good choice. Any tech support you need, let me know. I've been on a Mac for 16 years. See, I know you won't need much support, that's why I can offer
Check out these articles, so you can feel smug:
USA Today
it frees users from the worry and expense of battling viruses and spyware, because there has never been a successful virus targeting the Mac operating system, and there is little or no spyware for the Mac. The many thousands of viruses and spyware programs that afflict Windows can't run on, or harm, Macs.
Dgrin FAQ | Me | Workshops
Thank you for the offer of support. I am lookiing forward to the change. I will keep my XP box, but migrate stuff over gradually and remove the XP box from the web ultimately and just keep it for running my scanners I think.
Moderator of the Technique Forum and Finishing School on Dgrin
Walt Mossberg's recent column in the Wall Street Journal pushed me over the edge. I went to the Apple store in Indianapolis last Saturday and spent a couple hours with the staff going over every little thing and got most of my questions answered. Do you really run your Macs without antivirus software?
I was quoted a 5 -6 weeks delivery time from Apple , but then they said it would be more like 10 days, so I do not really know when it will arrive.
Moderator of the Technique Forum and Finishing School on Dgrin
Schwing!
That rocks. I really want a new G5, just waiting for the right time to make a
I don't.
I would think you will get your G5 sooner than later, my friend's G5 DP 2.5 showed up in about four weeks, but he ordered on when they were released.
Norton AV in particular is famous for announcing that it found viruses on macs and removed files when there are no viruses and the files it is removing might well trash your system with their absence. I did some kernel support for MacOSX and some of my suggestions for kernel/memory tuning have been incorporated by the various online support pages. Norton was (is?) offered free with a .mac account. Do not install it! It is like a guy taking birthcontrol pills. The condition can not occur anyway and the medicine can only foul things up.
Operating System Design, Drivers, Software
Villa Del Rio II, Talamban, Pit-os, Cebu, Ph
CMR that is JUST the kind of information I needed thanks!
Thanks to all you Mac guys David, Patch, CMR, TML ( hope I have not left anyone out) for your patience answering my questions. I will try not to bother you all with newbie questions
Moderator of the Technique Forum and Finishing School on Dgrin
Very cool! Once you switch you will never want to go back. I made the plunge 5 six years ago when I worked for Motorola on the original G4 team. Thought it was cool to buy a product I worked on. Now I've been at AMD for nearly a year and you cannot get me to buy a Windows box again.
Get ready for a computing experience where things just "work".
A former sports shooter
Follow me at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/bjurasz/
My Etsy store: https://www.etsy.com/shop/mercphoto?ref=hdr_shop_menu
Don't put anything Norton on your system. Evil.
Get Disk Warrior.
I use a G5 at work, and have one set up at home in addition to my Titanium Powerbook. I love it. I also use the 23" display at home and at work, but I have the older style. One guy in my office has the newer 23" display, and I am very jealous. It's unbelievably gorgeous..
Dgrin FAQ | Me | Workshops
For a while they were offering Virex as a free download, not sure if they still do and I never downloaded it.
Glad to know I have been doing the right thing by doing nothing.
Depending on what you want out of a system Macs can be surprisingly affordable. Entry level notebook users can find iBooks to be reasonably priced. If you want a high-quality CRT and the ability to burn DVD's, the eMac is a great buy. Compare it to a Dell, with similar features and similar software, the Apple is comparable.
Want a cool LCD? The new iMac is a great buy, considering the power of the G5, the Super Drive, and how awesome Apple LCD's are.
The pitfalls many people have in comparing Apple to PC prices is not configuring systems identically. Either a PC without the software, or LCD's or CRT's of much lower quality, etc.
A former sports shooter
Follow me at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/bjurasz/
My Etsy store: https://www.etsy.com/shop/mercphoto?ref=hdr_shop_menu
I actually priced a Dell dual processor Xeon and found Apple Macs very competitive. I find with Windows machines I have to provide new software to REALLY use the CD-R ( Neo Burning ROM rocks - I will miss it for the Mac ) , anti virus stuff , firewall stuff, and DVD player stuff that is never priced into the wintel boxes advertised prices. I am looking for a TOASTER not a hobby with my new computer - I just want it to run PS and let me get on with that rather than spending my evening loading the new security updates and such. You are right - the screens do look lovely.
As I said, after a few months I will report back my opinion in the MAC vs Wintel wars.
Moderator of the Technique Forum and Finishing School on Dgrin
Well, I have had my new Mac G5 about 6 weeks now and like I promised, I am here to report on my experience so far... The short version is that it has gone much smoother than I even thought possible. The hardware G5 - 23 inch Cinema display is lovely. The displays always look nice in a store, but only when I compare it side to side with my previous LCDs do I really appreciate how nice the Apple display is.
Comparing the speed to a Wintel box can be deceiving - because some things seem no faster than my 2.2 Ghz Pentium running WinXP in 1 Gig of RAM. But when I open a 16 bit image in Photoshop and begin running a filter like USM or something the power of the Mac and Photoshop taking advantage of the two CPUs really shines.., The machine just does not slow down - even while I am copying from a CF chip to my hard drive and listen to Internet Radio at the same time and updating the attached iPod.
I feel I am beginnig to sound like a true convert here - but the ONLY software I have purchased for this machine that did not come installed was Photoshop CS - and Adobe told me - after the fact - that I need not have bought it if I was willing to destroy my copy of PS for Win XP - they would send me the MAC version. Ah well.....
I have downloaded Firefox for Mac and find I tend to prefer it over Safari but it is a close call. I did get new drivers for my film scanner from Nikon and it works flawlessly. I used Firefox to load in my favorites and cookies from my Wintel box and that worked just fine.
I bought an iPod to use in lieu of a laptop to store digital images - but I find I do enjoy using it and even am downloading music from Apple's music store. I also find listening to Internet radio is a whole new experience with iTunes rather than Real Audio or Windows Media Player.
I just plugged my Sandisk card reader from my Wintel box into my Mac and it just worked immediately - no drivers to install - no nothing - it just worked. I used some speakers I already owned with a subwoofer and they sound just fine. No drivers, no software - just plug and go....
All in all I have been very pleased - text editing is a little different at first but I am getting the hang of it now - Meanwhile my wife has spent several evenings installing Service Pak II and the subsequent bug fixes for its security flaws on her WIntel laptop....... I have not had any security updates - some of the software updated itself immediately aften intial turning on of my Mac the first time - none since then .
So.... dkapp, DavidTO, Patch, rutt, mercphoto, CMR et al --- thanks for all our help and suggestions - I encourage anyone considering opting out of Windows - come on in the water is just fine!! Like mercphoto said - you won't go back and I think he is absolutely correct.
Moderator of the Technique Forum and Finishing School on Dgrin
When you're ready there are plenty of tips and shortcuts that we could share that will make the experience even nicer.
Dgrin FAQ | Me | Workshops