[tony]

I ran Macintosh computers when they first appeared, even though
I had been a PC user before that.

Can anybody offer advice on switching now from PC to Mac? What
to consider?

Is the Mac operating system stable? Is shareware available?

:dontknow:

[Villages Kahuna]

• I've been successful in getting four of my friends--all inveterate PC users--to switch to Macs. I spent endless hours telling them about the user-friendliness of the OS and the software, etc., etc. To the person, each and every one of them now ask how they ever put up with the PC platform for so long. They are uniformly ecstatic with their new Macs.
  
  So that leaves me wondering where to start. Try these simple plusses and minuses. I'll begin with the minuses...
  
  Mac Minuses
  
  • There is very little not to like about the Mac. They tend to be a bit more expensive than PC's at the outset. But be careful when evaluating prices. Macs come with a lot more software than the typical PC. So when you really compare Apples and oranges, the difference is not all that great.
    
  • The other argument you often hear is that there isn't as much software available for Macs, or that your existing PC software won't work, requiring expensive replacement. Wrong! All the new Intel-based Macs come equipped with the free Bootcamp application which enables you to run any PC program on your Mac. Many people like another program called Parallels which permits switching between the Mac and PC programs without even re-booting. But it does cost $75 or so.
    
  
  Now, The Plusses For Macs
  
  • Extremely stable OS. I can't remember the last time mine crashed...if it ever crashed, that is.
    
  • Almost impervious to viruses. Satisfy yourself and do an internet search for the most recent incident of viruses infecting a Mac. You won't find any.
    
  • Super user-friendly and well-integrated software. The stuff you can do with a Mac is simply amazing. You want a website? Guaranteed you can have your own up-and-running using iWeb in about an hour. iPhoto is amazing, as is iMovie and iDVD. And you just drag stuff from one program to another in true drag-and-drop basis.
    
  • A beautiful user interface. Count on Microsoft to copy Mac features on about a 2-3 year delayed basis and call their stuff "new".
    
  
  Ahh, that's enough for tonight. Go to an Apple Store (there's a couple in Orlando) and see for yourself.

[LG]

CHECK THIS ARTICLE OUT from MACWORLD

http://www.macworld.com/weblogs/edit...lesandoranges/

[dklassen]

I've been a PC user for over 20 years. About a month ago I bought a MAC Mini just to have something new to play with. Although I am impressed and will probably make the switch I do have holes in my application suite.

I am a little surprised that as "graphical" as MAC is touted to be, their aren't very many photo applications available. I've also been a long time Photoshop user but I can't get myself to cough up the $600 for the MAC version of Photoshop. If you are into heavy photo manipulation there aren't a lot of choices for the MAC. Photoshop is one (big bucks) and probably the second best choice in Gimpshop (free). Gimp isn't too bad but it's no Photoshop for sure. Paintshop Pro is a nice alternative but isn't available for the MAC.

My next application I use on a regular bases is Front Page. Nothing available for the MAC like it. I've been using Nvu and again it's not too bad but it's not even close to FP (not bad for free though).

The third application I use regularly is Compupic Pro which is a image viewer similar to Thumbs Plus. Nothing available like it for the MAC. I purchased a program called QPict and it sort of comes close but still falls short of Compupic.

When you are talking about graphics programs, images viewers, web authoring, etc, I think the MAC falls shot for application choices. There are far more available for the PC. I should say that there are high end programs available in all these categories for the most part but you pay a hefty price to get them. I am running Parallels which is pretty darn cool so I still have my PC applications available but would still like to make the complete switch.

OS X is far superior to Windows in every way which will keep me on the MAC side of the house from now on.

D.

[bogeygolfer]

I recently bought a new Macbook Pro with the Intel processor and I'm very pleased with the quality of the machine. I've been a computer user since you had to build your own on a 50 pin bus and my first real computer was an Apple II. My company went to all IBM PCs so I was converted to Windoze. I eventually became the company computer guru for SE U.S., retired, did corporate computer support, worked for CompUSA, and then opened my own computer retail store. All of the programs I really needed, primarily investment type, and were not available for the Mac, run very nicely on my new MacPro Notebook after installing Windoze and Parallels. Don't even hesitate to buy a Mac. There is a transition, but If you are familiar with Windoze the transition will be fairly easy for you. You will find more and more things you can do on the Mac easier than on a PC with it's wonderful hangups and blue screen. I have Vista on a couple of other notebook computers we have and I wouldn't recommend anyone run out and buy it. Wait for Version 2. :bigthumbsup:

[2Wheels]

And, no need to feed the Microsoft treasury for MS Office programs. Try OpenOffice (www.openoffice.org). It's as good as MS Office in most ways, superior in some areas, reads and write MS file formats and it's FREE (this is an open source programming project). The current MAC version is for OSX and runs in X11 (a UNIX windowing system). There is a native version in the works, no ETA.

Anyway, give it a try, it won't cost you a cent...

[tony]

2Wheels,

I checked that OpenOffice, which i have been using on the PC, and I thought it said it is beta software.

Anyway, I plan to get it sooner or later. Are you using it now? If so, how is it working?

[dklassen]

Better than OpenOffice.

http://www.neooffice.org/neojava/en/index.php

[2Wheels]

I use it on the MACs and a Winders Laptop. No problems at all. The MAC version is built to run under X11, so it doesn't have the look & feel of a MAC app, but it works fine...

[tony]

Darrel,

I saw the NeoOffice and was going to try for it. What do you like about it?

[PierreLiz]

There is a Mac Users group here in TV. The best bet is to contact their President, Jack Kraft.

[JRietz]

Originally Posted by dklassen

I've been a PC user for over 20 years. About a month ago I bought a MAC Mini...

I am late coming into this discussion, but I just joined today. I just wanted to add a few things not covered by others.

PhotoShop Elements is a subset of the full application and offers enough tools for most users for touching up, stitching individual pictures into one panorama picture, create contact sheets, picture packages, etc. It lists for $89, but is frequently on sale somewhere for less.

There is program named ImageWell, which is free, which provides cropping, screen capturing, and marking up with arrows, cutouts, and sending the resulting file to a local disk or web site via ftp. It does have an extras packages for $15, but the basic is great for making tutorial type graphics.

Of course, your Mac Mini should have come with iPhoto which I use as a library. While I can do some quick and dirty fixes, it can also use PhotoShop Elements automatically to do heavier editing.

There are a host of shareware programs, including GraphicConverter. This program converts just about anything to anything and then some. It also does have some editing capabilities. Oh, there is Corel Draw also.

While I do a lot of web sites, I have never used Front Page. I know it is supported all over the place with templates and extensions. I started with a text editor (BBEdit) for my data base web sites, and at some point started using Adobe GoLive. My current version (6), while it works fine, should be upgraded to take advantage of more modern web features. I was thinking of upgrading, but I'm not sure if GoLive or DreamWeaver will be Adobe's mainstream program letting the other go away. So, for less than a quarter of the upgrade price, I got a program named RapidWeaver. It is a great program, reasonable, well supported with plugins and themes, and good community which shares their good expriences.

I don't have a suggestion for Thumbs Up. Although, if the picture files have a thumbnail included in the file, they should show up in the icon view of the finder (the size can be set in the View Options). Selecting a group and opening with Preview, will give you a menu (list) of pictures and can be displayed. I'm not sure what your needs are, but wanted to mention iPhoto again, it does a good job of organizing and viewing pictures.

I'm sure with Parallels you can do anything (I use VMware Fusion for a number of reasons - bigger company for one and I got in at half price during the beta). I use it pretty much for checking my sites with IE6...

Most mainstream applications exist on both platforms and are pretty much equal. It is the small applications which Windows may excel with, but I think the quality of Mac programs, for the most part, is a bit higher (through all the years...).

One other thing, it was mentioned there is a Mac club in The Villages. It meets twice a month - Q&A and basics, Sept 18, at 1:30 pm at the Saddlebrook Rec Center and the main meeting (iPhoto - Quick DVD for Fun) Sept 26, 7 pm also at Saddlebook.

Jim

[tony]

About Parallels, I finally got it going to some extent, but am having a fit Transporting two existing PCs to the two new Mac Minis. Darrel got his going fine, but mine have not gone well at all. I am quite sorry I bought two copies of Parallels. I didn't know that VMware, which I ran on my PC for a long time, was coming out with a Mac version.

As a former corporate systems guy, I have to say that Parallels has the absolute worst tech support of any company I have ever dealt with, bar none. I'm just sorry I have to keep the software. The company tech support still cannot solve the Transporting of my existing machines.

As for web design, I understand the Dream Weaver will be the survivor. Only hearsay form a former coworker who knows such things. He was grumbling about losing GoLive.

P.S. What kind of web sites do you do? Send along a URL so we can go peek.

[JRietz]

I've had tried the Parallels demo, but since I only needed to run Windows was for cosmetic reasons the VMware at half price was a deal. I had also read that Parallels tech support lacked a lot, yet another reason for VMware. And VMware is supposed to be faster, although that wasn't a main concern at the time. I feel a little better with a company that has more than one product.

I figured GoLive was on its way out from the upgrades available - Dreamweaver seems to have more incentive to get upgrades from other programs... except from GoLive. I just looked and GoLive is not listed under "Products" at Adobe.com. I think it is still part of a package or you have to dig deeper on their site.

My main site is http://www.think-different.com, but I'm focusing my video business in on Life Stories and Video Biographies getting ready to launch my http://www.LifeIncluded.com site. I also do web access to 4th Dimension data bases for a few clients in Chicago. Most of them are for the company sales reps and their clients to access the inventory or production. They can get realtime access to many areas of the data base, including creating their own shipments of finished products.

Jim

PS. I moved to The Villages last year and am still trying to find things. This site was a good find, for sure!

[dklassen]

Isn't VMware $190?