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Andy's Un-Official Unsolicited Mac Advice Thread

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    DavidTODavidTO Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 19,160 Major grins
    edited October 26, 2007
    Andy wrote:
    Parents? headscratch.gif WTF are you talking about?


    You've got to keep up, Andy. umph.gif
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    RichardRichard Administrators, Vanilla Admin Posts: 19,931 moderator
    edited October 26, 2007
    Windows to Mac Migration Questions (long post)
    Time to get a new machine and I'm considering switching to Mac (gasp!). My current Dell Win2K laptop is six years old and is literally held together with duct tape. Despite the cost difference with HP, Dell and others--which is substantial--I am now sufficiently irritated with Msft that I am looking at the MacBook Pro. I apologize in advance if some of my questions have already been answered here, but this thread is over 200 pages long and search was not helpful.

    1) Printing: I have old HP932c which is using an even older Win95 machine as a print server on my network. Don't laugh--it works just fine with the other machines in the house running Win2K, XP and Vista. So the question is, will OSX be able to recognize and use a printer that is managed by Microsoft print sharing?

    2) Software: I use Excel and Word occasionally, but not often enough to justify spending any money on a Mac version. My game plan is to use Open Office (free) instead. Most of my frequently used apps (CS2, XnView, Thunderbird, Firefox) have Mac versions available. Are there any gotchas that I should be aware of in migrating my old data? Does Adobe let you move CS2 from Windows to a Mac without charge?

    3) Screen: I do my photo editing on my Dell, which has a 15" 1600x1200 display. The 17" MacBook Pro is awfully expensive, so I was thinking of going for the 15" model. I am a bit concerned about the lower resolution of the Mac (1440x900). Does anyone out there do their editing on a 15" MacBook Pro? I suppose I could add an external monitor, but I like the ergonomics of working on a laptop in a comfortable chair more than sitting at a desk. Is the 17" model so large that it is uncomfortable to use on your lap?

    4) Mice: I want a wireless one. Are there any third-party mice that are better than Apple's?

    5) Networking: I will need to use my home-built photo database on a Win2K machine while I figure out a new solution for the Mac. From what I have read, OSX should be able to see a Windows shared directory across the network and vice versa. How bad is the performance penalty of accessing OSX files in a Windows shared environment? It doesn't have to be great, but I don't want it to be terrible.

    6) Are there any other issues that people have had in moving from Windows to Mac?

    If you have read this far, you are truly heroicthumb.gif. Thanks in advance for any tips.

    Regards,
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    photobanksphotobanks Registered Users Posts: 182 Major grins
    edited October 26, 2007
    rsinmadrid wrote:
    Time to get a new machine and I'm considering switching to Mac (gasp!). My current Dell Win2K laptop is six years old and is literally held together with duct tape. Despite the cost difference with HP, Dell and others--which is substantial--I am now sufficiently irritated with Msft that I am looking at the MacBook Pro. I apologize in advance if some of my questions have already been answered here, but this thread is over 200 pages long and search was not helpful.

    1) Printing: I have old HP932c which is using an even older Win95 machine as a print server on my network. Don't laugh--it works just fine with the other machines in the house running Win2K, XP and Vista. So the question is, will OSX be able to recognize and use a printer that is managed by Microsoft print sharing?

    2) Software: I use Excel and Word occasionally, but not often enough to justify spending any money on a Mac version. My game plan is to use Open Office (free) instead. Most of my frequently used apps (CS2, XnView, Thunderbird, Firefox) have Mac versions available. Are there any gotchas that I should be aware of in migrating my old data? Does Adobe let you move CS2 from Windows to a Mac without charge?

    3) Screen: I do my photo editing on my Dell, which has a 15" 1600x1200 display. The 17" MacBook Pro is awfully expensive, so I was thinking of going for the 15" model. I am a bit concerned about the lower resolution of the Mac (1440x900). Does anyone out there do their editing on a 15" MacBook Pro? I suppose I could add an external monitor, but I like the ergonomics of working on a laptop in a comfortable chair more than sitting at a desk. Is the 17" model so large that it is uncomfortable to use on your lap?

    4) Mice: I want a wireless one. Are there any third-party mice that are better than Apple's?

    5) Networking: I will need to use my home-built photo database on a Win2K machine while I figure out a new solution for the Mac. From what I have read, OSX should be able to see a Windows shared directory across the network and vice versa. How bad is the performance penalty of accessing OSX files in a Windows shared environment? It doesn't have to be great, but I don't want it to be terrible.

    6) Are there any other issues that people have had in moving from Windows to Mac?

    If you have read this far, you are truly heroicthumb.gif. Thanks in advance for any tips.

    Regards,

    1. Yes you will.

    2. If you have a full copy of widows, the latest MACS let you nativelly boot up in windows, so you can still run MS Office with the copy you already have. I have not come across and issue migrating files over yet.

    3. I have not used a laptop for ages, but if I were to go down that route I would definately have my 23" Apple Cinema display hooked up, as the colours are awesome, and the extra desktop space always comes in handy!!

    4. I love the apple mice... once you have used them for a while and got used to them in my opinion there is not a better one on the market.

    5. I would recommend investing on a High Capacity Firewire 800 drive. Working over ethernet connection will be a lot slower, but it is do-able.

    6. I use both windows and mac at work... when you have used a mac for a while, you will find yourself wanting to dump the PC and have more macs!! They just work straight out the box... no messing!!! But I find I do not have any problems going from PC to MAC and back again, other than font problems. If you are critical on fonts you will need the Open Type version so they work on both platforms.

    Hope this help you.

    Michael
    wings.gifclapwings.gif
    Michael Banks

    www.banksy.me.uk - main website
    http://galleries.banksy.me.uk - smugmug site
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    I SimoniusI Simonius Registered Users Posts: 1,034 Major grins
    edited October 26, 2007
    rsinmadrid wrote:
    Time to get a new machine and I'm considering switching to Mac (gasp!).

    [/B][/I]If you have read this far, you are truly heroicthumb.gif. Thanks in advance for any tips.

    Regards,

    17" is probably more comforatble as you don't have to hold your knees so close together

    My daughters had windows machines ( due to BFs) when here and they hooked up to my mac fine. we used ethernet and the girls Bfs connected them but they said it was really easy
    Veni-Vidi-Snappii
    ...pics..
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    DavidTODavidTO Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 19,160 Major grins
    edited October 26, 2007
    For word processing/spreadsheets, spend $80 on iWork. OpenOffice is ok, but too windowsy. Ugly and cumbersome, IMO.

    Mice: I like the Apple Mouse, others hate it. "Better"? Up to you, you need to find what you're comfortable with, any Bluetooth mouse should work fine.

    There is a way to crossgrade from window to mac, I think you need to call Adobe. I know I've seen ppl on this board that have done it.

    Why are you using a print server? I don't get it, I guess. I just plug my printer into the wireless router (airport) and it's available. Easy Peasy. Is there something I'm missing?

    I would never rely on any laptop screen as my only editing display. They're just not good enough. Period.
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    StevenVStevenV Registered Users Posts: 1,174 Major grins
    edited October 26, 2007
    rsinmadrid wrote:
    Does anyone out there do their editing on a 15" MacBook Pro?

    15" PowerBook here, and I do.
    rsinmadrid wrote:
    4) Mice: I want a wireless one. Are there any third-party mice that are better than Apple's?

    I use a Logitech two-button mouse w/wheel (I don't have it with me right now, I'll try to remember to get the model # tonight) with my Mac and I love it.
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    greenpeagreenpea Registered Users Posts: 880 Major grins
    edited October 26, 2007
    rsinmadrid wrote:
    Time to get a new machine and I'm considering switching to Mac (gasp!). My current Dell Win2K laptop is six years old and is literally held together with duct tape. Despite the cost difference with HP, Dell and others--which is substantial...

    I just had to chime in on the cost issue, because that kept me from buying a mac for a long time. Look at the specs of a mac (hard drive, memory, processor speed, video card (video memory), etc), then go to Dell's web site and build a PC with similar specs. You'll find that there is really very little cost difference between a mac and a dell. When I did this 6 months ago a mac book pro was slightly cheaper than an equivilant Dell XPS, and a Mac Book was slightly more expensive than a Dell Inspiron.

    Dell sells some real low end laptops Apple doesn't.
    Andrew
    initialphotography.smugmug.com

    "The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera" - Dorothea Lange
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    RichardRichard Administrators, Vanilla Admin Posts: 19,931 moderator
    edited October 26, 2007
    Thanks, Michael, Simon, David, Steven and Andrew for taking the time to reply.

    Just a few comments about the comments so far.

    I know there are several ways to virtualize Windows on the Mac, but I don't want to go that route. Boot camp forces you to use one environment at a time, which does not suit my work style at all. Parallels sounds more like it, but as a former professional programmer, I know that there are always little gotchas with virtualization.

    Much as I would love to use a 23" Cinema Display, they sell for almost 1400 USD in Spain. Out of the question on my budget, I'm afraid.

    I am using a print server because there are three machines on my network that need to print from time to time. My wireless router does not have a built-in print server, so I simply recycled an old machine for that. As I said, it works fine, and if Michael is correct, it should work fine with a Mac.

    Regarding price, I configured a 17" HP DV9500xxx to be very close to the Apple MacBook Pro and it was around 900 dollars less. This was about three months ago. I have looked at this often over the years and my personal experience has been pretty consistent that Apple charges a premium for what I want. I just wish that Apple would sell OSX as a standalone product.

    I bought a Mac years ago and was happy with it, but to be honest, I have been perfectly happy with Win2K as well. I have no doubt that OSX is prettier and smoother, but as a long-time Windows user, I know its quirks well enough that they are second nature to me. It is mainly recent news about Vista and irregularities in the Windows update process that are making me consider a switch.

    Thanks again for your comments.
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    DavidTODavidTO Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 19,160 Major grins
    edited October 26, 2007
    Check out the Dell displays. Whatever you do, I'll repeat, don't rely on the laptop display as your only photo editing display. If you do, prepare to be frustrated.
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    DavidTODavidTO Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 19,160 Major grins
    edited October 26, 2007
    Good advice on upgrading to Leopard from MacFixit.com.
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    RichardRichard Administrators, Vanilla Admin Posts: 19,931 moderator
    edited October 26, 2007
    DavidTO wrote:
    Check out the Dell displays. Whatever you do, I'll repeat, don't rely on the laptop display as your only photo editing display. If you do, prepare to be frustrated.

    ne_nau.gif I have done my editing only on my laptop since I started doing photography three years ago. The color, contrast, brigntness and resolution of my 133 dpi Dell screen seemed good enough to me. Of course, things can always be better...I'm sure I would prefer a 40D to my 20D. :D
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    wxwaxwxwax Registered Users Posts: 15,471 Major grins
    edited October 26, 2007
    DavidTO wrote:
    Good advice on upgrading to Leopard from MacFixit.com.
    That's a lot of work for "it just works." :bluduh
    Sid.
    Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum immane mittam
    http://www.mcneel.com/users/jb/foghorn/ill_shut_up.au
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    DavidTODavidTO Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 19,160 Major grins
    edited October 26, 2007
    wxwax wrote:
    That's a lot of work for "it just works." :bluduh


    Yeah, well at least you only have to re-install the system for an upgrade. I haven't reinstalled my system for anything other than a hardware failure or a major system update. Windows users seem to be reinstalling every month or two. ne_nau.gif

    (I know, I exaggerate.)
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    DavidTODavidTO Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 19,160 Major grins
    edited October 26, 2007
    Another good read on Leopard.
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    wxwaxwxwax Registered Users Posts: 15,471 Major grins
    edited October 26, 2007
    DavidTO wrote:
    Yeah, well at least you only have to re-install the system for an upgrade. I haven't reinstalled my system for anything other than a hardware failure or a major system update. Windows users seem to be reinstalling every month or two. ne_nau.gif

    (I know, I exaggerate.)
    :cool I have never, ever needed to reinstall an operating system, winders or otherwise.

    I'm a gonna wait. I simply can't believe it's necessary to go thru the contortions your link describes. It's absurd.
    Sid.
    Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum immane mittam
    http://www.mcneel.com/users/jb/foghorn/ill_shut_up.au
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    DavidTODavidTO Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 19,160 Major grins
    edited October 26, 2007
    wxwax wrote:
    :cool I have never, ever needed to reinstall an operating system, winders or otherwise.

    I'm a gonna wait. I simply can't believe it's necessary to go thru the contortions your link describes. It's absurd.


    Contortions? For a major upgrade? Back up your system, and upgrade. Easy. If you are at all paranoid, then do an archive and install, which will leave a previous system folder which you can grab anything you want from, or just delete.

    I've done the simple upgrade every time I've gone through this. I'm going to do the archive and install this time, because I think it's smart.

    But tell me, how is this more contortious than any other major system upgrade? I really don't think it could be any simpler or more user friendly. You have 3 major options, the easiest and most brainless of them is already selected for you. And what would you gain by waiting? The procedure ain't gonna change. ne_nau.gif
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    RichardRichard Administrators, Vanilla Admin Posts: 19,931 moderator
    edited October 26, 2007
    DavidTO wrote:
    And what would you gain by waiting? The procedure ain't gonna change. ne_nau.gif

    Ever heard the saying "the pioneers get the arrows, but the settlers get the land"? Unless there's something that you absolutely can't live without, it's never a good idea to be the first on your block to get a new piece of software. If I were a current Mac user, I would wait till the .1 revision comes out. There are always issues with a .0 release.
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    DavidTODavidTO Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 19,160 Major grins
    edited October 26, 2007
    rsinmadrid wrote:
    Ever heard the saying "the pioneers get the arrows, but the settlers get the land"? Unless there's something that you absolutely can't live without, it's never a good idea to be the first on your block to get a new piece of software. If I were a current Mac user, I would wait till the .1 revision comes out. There are always issues with a .0 release.


    I know that, but waxy was talking about the upgrade process. If he had said, "I want to wait for the bugs in the system to be ironed out," I wouldn't said anything.

    On that note, however, the two links I posted above contradict each other about the stability of Leopard. One says it was released too early, the other says the opposite, that it's very stable and mature. I'm willing to see for myself. But waiting makes sense, too. My work system certainly isn't going to be upgraded right away, but that's not my call, anyway. I leave that to the tech department here who have much larger issues at hand than just my one computer. :D
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    RichardRichard Administrators, Vanilla Admin Posts: 19,931 moderator
    edited October 26, 2007
    DavidTO wrote:
    I know that, but waxy was talking about the upgrade process. If he had said, "I want to wait for the bugs in the system to be ironed out," I wouldn't said anything.

    An installer is just another piece of software, David. All software has bugs. It's not like sticking a fresh battery into your camera. Anything other than a clean install on a newly formatted disk is enormously complex. It is literally impossible for a vendor to test all the possible combinations of system state and configuration, so while the process is likely to go smoothly for the "typical" user, there will almost certainly be issues for groups using a particular revision of something or other. Apple will undoubtedly need to make revisions to its installer script as well to the OS itself.
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    DavidTODavidTO Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 19,160 Major grins
    edited October 26, 2007
    rsinmadrid wrote:
    An installer is just another piece of software, David. All software has bugs. It's not like sticking a fresh battery into your camera. Anything other than a clean install on a newly formatted disk is enormously complex. It is literally impossible for a vendor to test all the possible combinations of system state and configuration, so while the process is likely to go smoothly for the "typical" user, there will almost certainly be issues for groups using a particular revision of something or other. Apple will undoubtedly need to make revisions to its installer script as well to the OS itself.


    Which is why macfixit.com doesn't recommend the basic upgrade. I've found it to be fine. Future updates of the OS are not going to lower the risk you take in doing anything other than a clean install. The field keeps shifting. The basic OS will become more stable, but I doubt that the installer will be more reliable in any measurable way. Apple is pretty good with that out of the gate.

    But I fully realize how complex it is, which is what my point was in the first place. It's not a minor update, but a major upgrade. It does deserve the respect of caution. thumb.gif
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    wxwaxwxwax Registered Users Posts: 15,471 Major grins
    edited October 26, 2007
    DavidTO wrote:
    On that note, however, the two links I posted above contradict each other about the stability of Leopard. One says it was released too early, the other says the opposite, that it's very stable and mature.
    Egggzacly.

    I'm in no hurry. From your Macfixit link.
    Apple, having allowed this shipment to slip six months already, has had to get Leopard out the door before the end of October by hook or by crook. You may reasonably conclude that this cake is probably not entirely baked. As with Tiger, an early software update (10.5.1) will likely be needed to correct a multitude of issues. Until then, consider yourself a beta tester.
    Sid.
    Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum immane mittam
    http://www.mcneel.com/users/jb/foghorn/ill_shut_up.au
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    StevenVStevenV Registered Users Posts: 1,174 Major grins
    edited October 26, 2007
    the first commenter provides an alternate view.
    Or some alternate reasoning for point one: Apple, having allowed this shipment to slip six months already, has had an extra six months to perfect the OS, therefore you may reasonably conclude that this cake is perfectly baked.

    Having been through releases in many different OS' (DOS, Windows, NT, OpenVMS, OSF/1, Digital UNIX, Mac OS 7, OSX) I suspect the real "truth" is somewhere in the middle. prudence favors the reasonably cautious.
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    wxwaxwxwax Registered Users Posts: 15,471 Major grins
    edited October 26, 2007
    StevenV wrote:
    the first commenter provides an alternate view.



    Having been through releases in many different OS' (DOS, Windows, NT, OpenVMS, OSF/1, Digital UNIX, Mac OS 7, OSX) I suspect the real "truth" is somewhere in the middle. prudence favors the reasonably cautious.
    Don't call me Prudence. umph.gif
    Sid.
    Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum immane mittam
    http://www.mcneel.com/users/jb/foghorn/ill_shut_up.au
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    DavidTODavidTO Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 19,160 Major grins
    edited October 26, 2007
    wxwax wrote:
    Don't call me Prudence. umph.gif


    You got it, Shirley.

    What's your vector, Victor?
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    StevenVStevenV Registered Users Posts: 1,174 Major grins
    edited October 26, 2007
    wxwax wrote:
    Don't call me Prudence. umph.gif

    only if you come in through the bathroom window.

    Hey, anyone seen anything that would indicate there are any differences in Leopard between an Intel-Mac and a Power-Mac? I'm not expecting any, but given that current Macs are all Intel, I'd expect all the "what's new" stuff to ignore any PowerPC omissions if there were any.
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    DavidTODavidTO Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 19,160 Major grins
    edited October 26, 2007
    StevenV wrote:
    only if you come in through the bathroom window.

    Hey, anyone seen anything that would indicate there are any differences in Leopard between an Intel-Mac and a Power-Mac? I'm not expecting any, but given that current Macs are all Intel, I'd expect all the "what's new" stuff to ignore any PowerPC omissions if there were any.


    Here you go. I think that's complete.
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    StevenVStevenV Registered Users Posts: 1,174 Major grins
    edited October 26, 2007
    DavidTO wrote:
    Here you go. I think that's complete.
    so PhotoBooth won't work on my G4, it looks like everything else is ok. Cool, thanks. One of these years I'll get around to upgrading hardware.
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    StevenVStevenV Registered Users Posts: 1,174 Major grins
    edited October 26, 2007
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    DavidTODavidTO Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 19,160 Major grins
    edited October 26, 2007
    StevenV wrote:


    Very interesting.
    Look, if you've regularly followed MacFixIt's advice to lobotomize your system by mixing and matching components from old and new system versions, you've screwed the Installer. There's no way it can anticipate or deduce a mish-mash hacked-up system installation that has parts of everything from 10.4.3 through 10.4.10. If that's the case for you, for whatever reasons you did it, you should either restore all the components back to the current versions before installng, or you should definitely choose "Archive and Install" or "Erase and Install." The Installer can't hope to figure things out if the version of your operating system does not contain the files that it's supposed to contain.


    Otherwise, the normal "Upgrade Mac OS X" installation choice is the default for a reason: it works. The Installer contains a lot of logic to let installation packages specify upgrades, how to replace components, how to upgrade them, and so on. The code is designed and written specifically to automate all the upgrading tasks that you'd otherwise have to do by hand. It knows what files to keep, what files to replace, and what files to add. It just works. There are a few specific reasons to avoid it, as noted above, but there's no need to fear it in other circumstances. It works.
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    wxwaxwxwax Registered Users Posts: 15,471 Major grins
    edited October 26, 2007
    StevenV wrote:
    Thanks Steven. Quite a spat!

    Dummies like me don't know what to to think. So I sits and I waits.
    Sid.
    Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum immane mittam
    http://www.mcneel.com/users/jb/foghorn/ill_shut_up.au
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