Challenge - convince me to buy an iMac

ifocus

Let's go, you are welcome to convince me to get an iMac instead of a PC running Vista. Choice of software is open but cost effectiveness is certainly important as I already have Picture Window Pro 4, Bibble 4.9, Raw Therapee, ACDsee 10.

So, is there more benefits to overcome the investment. Convince me ... :huh

JY

RogersDA

ifocus wrote:

Let's go, you are welcome to convince me to get an iMac instead of a PC running Vista. Choice of software is open but cost effectiveness is certainly important as I already have Picture Window Pro 4, Bibble 4.9, Raw Therapee, ACDsee 10.

So, is there more benefits to overcome the investment. Convince me ...

JY

Took one out of the box, put batteries in the wireless mouse and keyboard, plugged the power cord into the computer, and plugged the power cord into the wall.

All done.

p.s. - ran Safari - iMac found the wireless network and asked me for my key. Browsed the web.

DavidTO

ifocus wrote:

Let's go, you are welcome to convince me to get an iMac instead of a PC running Vista. Choice of software is open but cost effectiveness is certainly important as I already have Picture Window Pro 4, Bibble 4.9, Raw Therapee, ACDsee 10.

So, is there more benefits to overcome the investment. Convince me ...

JY

Dude, your username starts with "i". Should be a no-brainer. Just do it.

gluwater

DavidTO wrote:

Dude, your username starts with "i". Should be a no-brainer. Just do it.

Everyones doing it. If you need those windows only programs just load windows through Parallels or one of the other programs that lets you run windows on your mac.

Van Isle

great computer +great monitor in one? Keeps desk clutter-free? Fast, efficient operating system that streamlines a workflow? Great, integrated applications?

Oh wait, you said Vista...wow. Uhm, I would NEVER consider a Vista machine, let alone a vista over a mac.

Macs last longer = reduced life cycle cost (IMO)
no anti-virus ware or yearly renewal fees = reduced life cycle cost
Great support from your local Mac store = free support/training = reduced life cycle costs

sacgarz

iMac vs Vista?

ifocus wrote:

Let's go, you are welcome to convince me to get an iMac instead of a PC running Vista. Choice of software is open but cost effectiveness is certainly important as I already have Picture Window Pro 4, Bibble 4.9, Raw Therapee, ACDsee 10.

So, is there more benefits to overcome the investment. Convince me ...

JY

I dont want to be biased. I say that because I have 15 years of Macintosh experience. That wont help you decide. So lets start with my recent history. Between Christmas and now, I have had the misfortune of purchasing Vista laptops for my 10 year olds AND the joy of both a 20 and 24 inch. iMacs. There is litterally no comparison in the operating systems regardless if you are a business user or a graphics geek. Like another user said, you take the iMac out of the box, plug it in and if you have a wireless network it finds it and you are on. It is that simple. Then, to boot, the management of your network is just as simple. As in any computer system, you do need to set up a workgroup. I had both of my Vista's and two XP machines joined, when I added my Macs, it saw EVERY machine and shared folders on the net. Additionally, it has VNC remote control built in. I can remote control every mac on my network built in. Vista? I have spent more time on the Vista machines uninstalling all the crude, half built applications than I have actually running the machine. For instance, if you purchase an HP with vista, HP has integrated itself throughout the system. Microsoft sold itself long ago to the manufactures, freeing them up to put your system in the tank.

Ok, from a business vs. a graphic standpoint. Of course there is no comparison. You wont run a fortune 500 company on a mac network. But who wants to do that anyway. If you are asking the question, it is because you are into graphics, photography, web design etc. I have used both in both situations. You wont buy a 2-door if you haul wood. You would get the right vehicle for the job. Get a Mac. Its built in file handling, viewing and graphic software(read PHOTOSHOP) operation leaves not just vista in the dust, but EVERY Windows system ever built. I have PC based network certifications, and I have run a digital photo lab restoring photos on a Macintosh network. There is simply no comparison.

I urge you to go to a shop to try an iMac. Though it would be a change for you, it is so clearly a step up that you would hate yourself down the road when the light comes on for purchasing a Vista anythingmachine. Do yourself a favor and get a real license to drive. Get a Mac.

Andy Garza

gus

For 7 years i had PC's & to be perfectly honest with you... i considered mac's to be nothing more than some type of marxist fashion statement for turtle necked university brats with wealthy parents. (you should see what happens when i REALLY pigeon hole someone)

I bought an imac about 3 months ago & i cannot believe how much better life on a computer truly is. Write up a list of everything that bugs you about a PC & then throw that list in a rubbish bin. There is nothing i am wanting for...the mac does everything the PC did only a lot faster but the head ache is also gone...you know that PC headache that never really leaves you.

There is no reason you should not buy a mac, its that simple.

eoren1

I'll chime in with more mac-ammo. I have only ever had PCs. Was happy with them until recently when my desktop motherboard went and I had to decide what to do next. I ended up buying a new board, CPU and case and installed Vista specifically for the Media Center aspect. Two weeks later, I bought a macbook (I had been waiting until the thanksgiving sale).
The Vista install was, in a word, painful. Took three days. Finally figured out how to calm down the overly aggressive security features about midway through the second day. Nothing at all intuitive about it. That being said, the media center is its hidden jewel. The desktop eventually will be moved to the living room to serve as a media center (dvr, etc) and will serve that role well I believe.
The macbook install was...well, there was no install. Bought it, walked over to Barnes and Noble where my two year old could be mesmerized by a Thomas the Train table. I was up and running almost as soon as I opened the lid. Had a few frustrations with Leopard (wifi drop outs, keyboard not being immediately responsive) all of which are now gone with 10.5.2. Application installation is a thing of beauty. It's an oft-repeated phrase but the thing 'just works'. You don't fight with the machine to get things done.
I have XP running on it in a virtualization mode for the one piece of software I still need (MS Money). I also tried Ubuntu on it last night and was less than impressed. After my three months with the macbook, I have found myself convincing friends to buy macs as well. Now I just need to decide whether an iMac or mac mini will be my next purchase.
E

Van Isle

downtime = lost dollars...

I'm 35 minutes into a bi-weekly maintenance session on my XP. I'm ALMOST done searching for sbybots, etc. I still need to cleanup disk, defrag, and repair registry. About the only thing this machine is used for is web surfing, but no pR0n or internet banking. And there's about 2-3 hrs every 2 weeks of downtime just for maintenance, not repair. My macbook has NO downtime for maintenance or even backups right out of the box. No need to buy $20 download here, $20 download there, etc.

BradfordBenn

At work I have a dual core 2.4 GHz Dual Core Windows Machine Running XP Pro (I know not windows) 2 MB of RAM
At home my personal machine I have a dual core 2.4 GHz Dual Core 2MB of RAM MacBook

Amazingly similiar... I can keep going. I have Adobe Creative Suite 3 on both machines. For grins I did the following, I put a PNG file I took on a USB2.0 mem stick. Opened it in Photoshop on the Mac about 1 minute to open. Took same mem stick and put it in the Windows machine. Opened it in Photoshop, took about 2 minutes.

Not very sceintific but telling to me.

For my day job I spend way too much time interacting with Windows and dealing with Vista doing marketing and product management for a software package. Compatibility of software with the "flavors" of Vista is interesting. Some software will not work if the theme is not Classic. The same software runs fine under XP.

I like coming home pressing the start button and have it just go. Is it perfect? Nope, but I have three OS's running at home (Ubuntu, Win XP, and Mac) I use the Mac for most stuff.

KED

ifocus wrote:

Let's go, you are welcome to convince me to get an iMac instead of a PC running Vista. Choice of software is open but cost effectiveness is certainly important as I already have Picture Window Pro 4, Bibble 4.9, Raw Therapee, ACDsee 10.

So, is there more benefits to overcome the investment. Convince me ...

JY

No problem. I am holding several of your closest relatives hostage. Post an image with your purchase receipt taped to the iMac situated on your desk and a local paper with the dateline clearly visible, or else!

Seriously, you really need to convince yourself, but once you see those monitors alone, not much more convincing should be required. I switched a year ago and hate almost every minute that I have to spend in front of my PC at work, relative to when I get home to my Mac.

ifocus

Thanks for your passionate and convincing arguments. If the President would have this kind of support, he would be hell of a leader!!!

Now, what is the best configuration to run Photoshop, lightroom or aperture smoothly for the next 3-4 years? Does a Mac needs as much RAM than a PC?

Cheers

JY

gluwater

ifocus wrote:

Thanks for your passionate and convincing arguments. If the President would have this kind of support, he would be hell of a leader!!!

Now, what is the best configuration to run Photoshop, lightroom or aperture smoothly for the next 3-4 years? Does a Mac needs as much RAM than a PC?

Cheers

JY

RAM is RAM, regardless of OS. The more the better. 4 Gb is plenty for just about anything.

eoren1

well...that wasn't too difficult...
now, the only advice I have is to wait 1-2 weeks if you can. there are pretty strong rumors that the imacs will see new cpus soon. intel is phasing out the current batch in favor of penryns (see the new macbooks and macbook pros). should know more either this or next tuesday.
as far as ram, buy it aftermarket rather than from apple. they put a fair size markup on their ram.
good luck and welcome to mac-land.
e

starky987

For me the most important part of the mac is the service. I just got my first mac 4 months ago and about 1 1/2 months into having it a few of the keys weren't working properly (this was on a laptop so it was an actual problem). Rather than having to contact a customer support number in some other country like I would have had to no my old dell, I just went into the apple store and had someone look it over. They then won me over for the rest of my life by giving me the option with no strings attached to have my laptop repaired for free or replacing it free of charge. On top of that they copied all my files over to the new machine for me. The service associated with owning a mac is reason enough to buy one over a vista machine.

colourbox

ifocus wrote:

Now, what is the best configuration to run Photoshop, lightroom or aperture smoothly for the next 3-4 years?

Stuff it full of RAM (NOT purchased from Apple) and put a big hard drive in it. For Photoshop, attach a FireWire hard drive as a scratch disk, since you can't put another one in the case.

ifocus wrote:

Does a Mac needs as much RAM than a PC?

There is some indication that a Mac needs less RAM than a PC. Take the latest OSs of each company. I've read over and over on the Web that Windows users are not happy with Vista unless they have at least 2GB RAM and a recent machine. Yet you can run the latest Mac OS X (Leopard) on 1GB for general office use, not enough for photography of course. I helped a friend install Leopard on a Mac laptop that's over 4 years old with 1GB RAM and she's been happy for weeks, since Leopard came out. Could Vista be installed on a 4-year-old PC laptop with 1GB of RAM and leave the user happy? That's how I ultimately answer the question.

For photography, though, the question is moot. Mac or PC, you're gonna need a ton o' RAM. 4GB is a nice amount.

Van Isle

Why not max out, regardless? For example: Crucial RAM for just over $100 for 4GB.

as long as you aren't buying Apple RAM, AND are getting a warranty on the RAM, save yourself a few lattes and get max RAM for your machine. Congrats!

VI

sacgarz

ifocus wrote:

Thanks for your passionate and convincing arguments. If the President would have this kind of support, he would be hell of a leader!!!

Now, what is the best configuration to run Photoshop, lightroom or aperture smoothly for the next 3-4 years? Does a Mac needs as much RAM than a PC?

Cheers

JY

Heck, I slam my 2 gigs of ram on my 24 in iMac with up to 20 or so full rez RAW files and it laughs at me. I have never desired more ram. On the other hand, video editing and processing is very RAM intensive. You would want more for that.

SHandDesigns

Help the less technical with a couple of questions on converting to MAC
At the end of the year I'll be retiring from corporate life and "giving" up my windows xp laptop for a MAC. My question is really about software.

I currently run PS CS and want to upgrade... should I wait until I get that MAC? And what about all of the other stuff I use to run my business - quick books, some of the graphics packages I've bought that run with PS?

Am I going to have to now buy everything over for the MAC? I've heard some say that the new system will run my OS programs, but would rather hear from someone who's actually converted from PC to MAC. To me it's not as much a question of whether or not I should convert, but more what else do I need to consider when converting.

And then there's the question about networking with my hubby's dell to share a printer. OK, it's a dell, but will I have problems networking cross platforms?



help please.

DavidTO

If you're going to upgrade to Mac, then my take is to just do it. That is, not install Windows on it, and make the adjustments necessary. You can install Windows, and you can run QuickBooks and all the apps that you're used to running on the PC, but if you can avoid it at all, avoid it.

You'd have to list the graphics packages for us to be any help with those. Others have cross-graded PS from Windows to Mac, and I think it's free, or a nominal charge for the disk. Someone who's done it will probably chime in. I'm not sure if it matters when you jump to CS3. But you could certainly contact Adobe and ask them.

QuickBooks is a tough one. Quicken started as a Mac only program, but over the years Intuit has let it and QuickBooks languish on the Mac in a horrible way. I'm fine with Quicken, but my needs are truly minimal. Quicken is due for an update, and a long-overdue overhaul. It will be native on the Intel processors and the application is supposed to get a major overhaul. QuickBooks will most likely get the same treatment, but the timetable for that seems to be much longer. Of course, once you're retired, you probably don't need QuickBooks so much? In any case, the whole Quicken/QuickBooks thing is a tender area for Mac. It just hasn't been getting the proper support. I've been looking at iBank lately.

SHandDesigns wrote:

At the end of the year I'll be retiring from corporate life and "giving" up my windows xp laptop for a MAC. My question is really about software.

I currently run PS CS and want to upgrade... should I wait until I get that MAC? And what about all of the other stuff I use to run my business - quick books, some of the graphics packages I've bought that run with PS?

Am I going to have to now buy everything over for the MAC? I've heard some say that the new system will run my OS programs, but would rather hear from someone who's actually converted from PC to MAC. To me it's not as much a question of whether or not I should convert, but more what else do I need to consider when converting.

And then there's the question about networking with my hubby's dell to share a printer. OK, it's a dell, but will I have problems networking cross platforms?



help please.

SHandDesigns

Thanks
Thanks for a quick response. Everything I've read and what I've seen here seem to me like "just do it" is probably the right thing. Looks like it comes pretty complete with the usual apps. I read on their site that they'll convert all of the files from the PC to MAC. Then I thought about all of my PS files so I've got a note into the NAPP desk with questions.

I just don't want to spend weeks converting and finding conversion issues. Everyone says it's plug and play, but how much of that is due to not having lots of files...

If there's anyone out there that's moved files from PC to MAC recently, I'd love to hear from them.

Poseidon

I have done it several times now.... I put the PC hard drive into an external drive case, plug it in to USB or firewire, and then copy/paste. Easy stuff. If you want to, you can then reformat the PC drive into a Mac file system, and then move the files back. Now you have all your data on the drive with read/write permissions. You have to reformat the drive or else you only get read rights... Something to do with the windows file system I think.

DavidTO

SHandDesigns wrote:

Then I thought about all of my PS files so I've got a note into the NAPP desk with questions.

I just don't want to spend weeks converting and f

JPEG, TIFF, PSD, etc. are all platform transparent.

ribbon_cable

For years I worked ON my PC. Now I work WITH my Mac. Its that simple.

SHandDesigns

Thanks for the input
It's good to know that I won't have any problems with the files. And all I need to worry about is getting a MAC version of PS.

I can't wait now.:ivar

tchan

Assuming you can put together a computer, have you thought about building your own Mac? I'm on the forums here with my Hackintosh that I finished building last week. It's based off an Intel Core2Duo 2.2GHz cpu...total cost for the parts, about $800 including 4GB ram, 2x750gb and 1x320gb. You can put one together for well under $500 in parts. Time from ordering parts to a working machine, 7 days and that's 6 days of shipping

You could also dual boot the machine as well by modifying grub.

TuttleImages

Adobe will allow you to swap the license for their products - you have to sign in blood that you won't use the PC version (or maybe send them the discs? haven't done it in a long time).

Also - check out the New York Times article about Vista.

My favorite part:

After telling about 3 men who had upgrade or new computers bought w/ Vista, you are then told who they are:

"He’s Mike Nash, a Microsoft vice president who oversees Windows product management. And Jon, who is dismayed to learn that the drivers he needs don’t exist? That’s Jon A. Shirley, a Microsoft board member and former president and chief operating officer. And Steven, who reports that missing drivers are anything but exceptional, is in a good position to know: he’s Steven Sinofsky, the company’s senior vice president responsible for Windows."

Enough said, IMO.

Run Parallels for when you MUST have Windows - works beautifully.

-frank

Ann McRae

Well, my vista nightmare is well outlined on the 'unofficial mac advise thread', but to add to that....today 2/5 computers in our house need repair and trouble shooting. Both PCs. Both recently used by the teenager...

The vista desk top just quit booting up. We think there is some association between a particular game and vista but uninstalling said game, uninstalling and reinstalling video card has not solved the problem. It is running in safe mode now, but will not boot past opening those goofy (delightful) vista add ons that would get turned off if we could get past that point in the start up.

The other, laptop, is an XP machine and has been good. Was hiccuping to start, but I think that it just did (heard the start up music).

My mac, now 6 months in my hands to do all my photo processing, all my web searching, and does get used by the children for web stuff and garage band etc, has never needed a minute of care.

It just works, and I really think that my hubby is about to see the light!!!

They are really nice machines, quick, responsive, intuitive and user friendly.

I am very happy with the decision to go mac, and bet you will be too.