A new Mac convert

Hi everyone! My name is Mossimo. I have read so MUCh great info on here on making the switch to a MAC ( thanks Sam ) Just wanted to thank all of you who took the time to write all that great info. It made my life so much easier! OS X is such a great OS, i swear it made using a computer fun again. I don't miss PC's even a little bit. What 's there to miss, a barrage of warning pop ups, blue screen of death, crashes, all those needless clicks! Is it me or do you HATE havingto use a PC even for 5 minutes. Thanks god, i am not forced to use even boot camp, i would even hate to to see a PC screen on my gorgeous mac screen. The question is do you guys have friends or family that talk crap about macs due to an uneducated opinion etc. For example, macs aren't compatible with this or don't have drivers for that. You know the type.

 

Welcome to the wonderful world of Mac

 

Typical PCs don't do the things you've listed........not if everything's normal anyway...My PC doesn't crash, and I've disabled UAC to prevent the warning pop ups. No blue screen in 1 year either lol..Just saying.

 

Thanks, i feel enlightened!

 

Welcome to the world of Mac. I converted about a month ago.

 

Thats the problem, things don't stay "normal" for a long time, and i know I'm not the only one who feels that way. God forbid you need tech support, Good luck with that!! I guess its part of the territory when you have dozens of manufactures using your OS i will say that XP was a pretty decent OS but i don't know anyone who LOVES vista like people who 'love" MAC Thats just my experience. I'm not trying to put down PC's as i am praising the OSX experience.

 

Well I love vista. For me vista was the right step to the right direction, it's only a pitty Microsoft didn't go futher with the OS. I have been using it for almost 2 years and no blue screens, no viruses ( Using free AVG8 antivirus), no spyware, no troubles at all. And yet I moved to Mac just to taste another OS ( I have been using before windows Linux and Unix). So far I can't say wow, but I started to like the Mac. Still have several troubles, and some knowledge to adquire about Mac. But I don't bash Windows or other OS.

 

I repeat, I'm not trying to put down PC's as i am praising the OSX experience. i do have to say that "to each their own" whatever works for you. I was just commenting that the OS X really works for me and that i cant stand windows users that bad mouth apple like bill gates is writing them a check. i have used windows for 15 years and never talked smack about MAC, LINUX, UNIX etc.

 

Hi mossimo, welcome to NBR and congrats on your Mac!

You're very welcome about the guides! I have two more Apple guides to recommend!

www.apple.com/support/switch101
www.apple.com/support/mac101

 

Thanks again Sam. Very well laid out. Very easy to use. Kudos!

 

Heh, wow usually it takes longer than that to become an elitist!:laugh: Congrats on the new rig, although I have to say I don't have those problems you described in Vista

 

Heh...I think this thread's pretty funny =P

The reason I'm looking at the mac boards in the first place is because, though it pains me to admit it, i've become a little jealous of mac users. Let me explain why. I've got a big ol' Sager NP5793...I love the system, but I certainly sacrificed mobility for power...and I got this for college lol. So I lug my 8.5 lbs monster around with me and place it down in a room surrounded by macbooks and macbook pros haha. I begin to feel a little left out, and I can't deny that I wouldn't mind the anorexic chassis of a mac. Plus, if I were willing to give up gaming completely, I guess the OS is kinda fun to play with.

anyway, I'll add in my voice as one who loves vista. the issues that people had with it when it was new were (like what you say about people's "uneducated" opinions about macs) compatibility problems. Since SP1, and even before that, that's really no longer the case though. For the most part, using vista is just like using xp. The UI is a little more aesthetically pleasing, and there are some nice user-friendly new features. As for its poor gaming quality..i've never really experienced that. My rig handles games pretty beautifully =P Anyway, congrats on your conversion, and I'm glad it's working for you.

 

For me, I did run into issues with Windows Vista, unfortunately. And it wasn't around the introduction, it was just last month when I got my new desktop. I originally went with Vista for the desktop, but for some reason, even after all the drivers, two reinstalls and every possible update I could find, I ran into issues of random shutdowns and my computer locking up whenever anything graphics-intensive ran. I tried XP and none of the issues came up, so its not a hardware issue.

Anyway, I liked Vista too, the GUI is much better than XP, I like how things and customizations are laid out more logically now and such. But whatever caused all my problems, I couldn't enjoy it so now I'm back on XP and staying until Windows Seven.

 

the thought of windows seven lingers annoyingly in the back of my mind. I think it's pretty tactless and insensitive for Microsoft to force us to all make the conversion over to vista, then shove a new OS in our faces in 2-3 years...much too short a life-span.

maybe if i have some inexplicable wad of cash around when windows7 comes out, i'll buy a mac and have much less weight to carry around campus -.-

 

Hey Mossimo, congrats on the Mac, and may I just say, you've got one heck of a country there! Love it!

 

That's not vista, that's heat.

 

The thing, its not. I monitored all temperatures at all times, nothing was even close to hot. I've had issues at 50 C, 60 C, 70 C, etc.

 

I have vista too. I don't think that it is as bad as people said that it is. However these are the things that annoyed me about vista.

1) New UI really power hungry and slow down the machine.
2) Microsoft changed thing for the sake of changing thing and make it more difficult for xp user to find their way in the new system. If it is for the better, then I am all for it, but it isn't.
3) I feel like Microsoft is ramming this OS down my throat. If Microsoft has to convince me that it is good, then odds are that it is not.

 

Please let's not turn every single thread on this part of the forums into Microsoft <> Apple debate.

 

Why not complain about Apple shoving a new OS in your faces every 1-2 years? How tactless and insensitive of them! The fact is, a new Windows about every 2-3 years has been the norm for Microsoft... and XP was the exception. (Although some would argue that XP SP2 was really a new OS...)

Anyway, Windows 7 will be using the same drivers as Vista, so the transition should be much less painful.

 

I don't know...maybe over the life span of xp we all got used to the idea of an OS lasting longer. I can't speak for everyone, but from my point of view, upgrading an OS every other year just seems rather drastic. I don't mean to veer this thread too far off from the OP though.

EDIT: also, i didn't address the part of your post that deals with how often Apple cycles through OSs. Sorry...I haven't had a mac since os9, so it didn't really occur to me to think about that =P

 

For what I do today, I could probably get away with Win 2000, netscape, eudora and office 97. It would be pretty stable with only those programs, too.

I am one of those who would prefer to never spend a dime on upgrading an OS but I bought several iterations of Windows. I stopped at XP. I thought it worked well enough. It hardly ever crashed. But it did slow down. I had to expend some effort keeping it unclogged. I didn't stick with 2K because at the time it wasn't stable. I had it running on Fat32 and when it crashed, it took part of the filesystem with it. I found XP on NTFS to be rock solid even with more than 1 or 2 third party programs. Around the time betas of Vista were coming out, I got myself a Mac mini. I guess I figured all my hardware was end-of-life and it was a good time to see what Mac had to offer. I was elated the price of entry was "only" $599. As I mentioned before, when it comes to upgrading, I've tended to be a cheapskate.

I've had a Mac for 3 years now and it never clogged, but in all fairness a Mac wasn't my primary machine until this spring. So I can't say it won't clog up and start to get slow and buggy after a couple years of use. I don't expect it to but I don't know yet.

This evening I spent some time looking at "road machines". Something for me to take along when even my macbook would feel heavy. I looked at the Macbook Air. Sweet looking machine. My first choice if I hit the lottery. I looked at two Asus Linux based models and an HP Linux based model. All under $500 and 2 under $400. The EEE just plain sucked. I never got the web browser to launch. I really wanted it to work. It would have been nice to be able to take along a cheap "3 pounder" on weekend excursions. Alas it was not to be. Perhaps Apple will offer a new lower end light weight machine and I will be all over it.

I also spent some time looking at the vista machines. I didn't spend much quality time playing with them but I wanted to get a feel for the pricing and features. I was surprised how low priced the entry level models are for almost every major brand from Dell to HP to Sony.

I think I'd prefer my "road machine" to be either OS X or Linux. I expect it to be a lot easier integrating a *nix box with my Macs. If I could find a sub $400 Linux machine with decent build quality, I would seriously consider that option. The best one I saw today was a Linux-based Asus Aspire with 8 Gig of SSD for $379. It wouldn't power up, though. You gotta be able to play with it to get an idea if it's any good.

I've picked up all the "free" OS X upgrades for my Macs and I even went and bought Leopard for my old G4 Mini. I don't know if I'll pay for Snow Leopard just yet. I suppose it depends on the "value proposition". If it does something I need or like, I'll go for it.

BTW mossimo, congrats on converting to Mac! I'm sure you'll be happy!

 

My wife is a mac and i am a pc.

I get the blues (BSOD) when i am on a pc (I miss my wife she's an iMac).

I must admit Mac OSX is very good with memory management. Vista cant open a few applications because of memory issues.

 

I'm just switched yesterday so I'm a recent convert as well and so far I am loving it! So far so good...waiting on my XP copy so I can install it via VMWare Fusion just because

cheers

 

PURA VIDA ! Thanks, i'm a very happy ex pat living down in S PACIFIC area. I really love it and thanks for the congrats

 

BTW mossimo, congrats on converting to Mac! I'm sure you'll be happy![/QUOTE]

Thanks, I already am

 

I was reading the one about the dock and was surprised to see this - a little humor from Apple

 

Wow, I never noticed that . Nice touch!

 

Just got converted and now ready to accuse us non-mac users of being "uneducated" eh? You really ought to join some sort of organized religion.

But congrats on your new OS anyhow. I like my gaming and not-overpriced hardware thank you very much.

 

well said lol. but in his defense, it's something new...let him enjoy the novelty of the change =P

 

Huh? That post did not make any sense...I don't understand what you were trying to write...

 

So we're the uneducated ones?

Anyway, this constantly happens...in the end it is personal opinion. You can buy Toyotas and GMs, some prefer GMs other prefer Toyotas. I personally prefer my Mac over my Windows PC, but of course others can prefer their Windows PC and there's nothing wrong with that!

 

I'd love to not have to go to school and still be able to afford a mac.

But I concur. It is personal opinion and/or money limitations.