Would like to check out Mac, any suggestions?

Hello,
This isn't a thread about who's better, I'm just curious about Mac. Lately, I've been really interested in Mac and would like to get my feet wet a little. I'm not looking to replace my pc (but perhaps compliment it?), but really, I haven't used Mac's since I was in elementary school so my knowlege of the current OS is none!
I'm glad that Apple chose to use Intel platforms now, since I'm very knowlegeable in that area it helps. But can anyone make any suggestions, how I can learn more, or perhaps, a good, low-cost Mac to get me introduced to it? I don't want to invest too much into it, to find I don't like it.
Thanks for any help you can provide.
Edit: I'm really interested in the OS, unfortunately since Apple doesn't allow me to use it on non-apple hardware, I'd have to buy a complete system.

 

Well the macbook is a great machine if are looking to get introduced. What do you want to do on this mac?

 

I would buy a macbook from a place like Bestbuy where they have a 14 day no-questions-asked return policy with no restocking fees.

I think in about 5 days of use you will know whether you love it or hate it. Hate it? Then just return it - no loss whatsoever. Love it? Well now you can decide if you want to keep it or upgrade to a macbook pro which is just fantastic IMO and well worth every cent over a macbook unless portability is paramount of course.

 

The best way to learn about Macs is to just play with one. You can check out this link to get some general knowledge. If you have an Apple Store nearby go and take a look. Don't intimidated to play with one. Most likely one of the store personnel will stop by and chat with you. Just let them know that you're interested in learning about Macs not necessarily buying one at the moment. They should take a few minutes to explain things to you. Mac OS and Windows are very similar in many ways so it won't take long to learn Mac OS conventions. If you have any questions afterwards stop by and do a search or start a new thread. Good luck.

 

I'd get an old iBook or something like that to start off with if you just want to dabble around. They can be found for pretty cheap these days. I'm not condoning the use of Mac on non-Apple hardware but there's always Hackintosh if you want to save some money.

 

Pretty much what he said. Make sure you try a little bit of everything, expose, ect.

and of course photobooth for some laughs is always good.

 

Ok thanks for all the suggestions! I'd really like to get something a little more up-to-date, with leopard if possible.

 

Well unless you're getting a refurb Mac, all of them now ship with Leopard.

Any ideas on which Mac you're planning on getting?

 

Go with an intel mac then. powerbooks are okay, but these days macs are the way to go.

 

I do have one question though, and I can't seem to find the answer as of yet. Are macbooks user customizable? I know that's one of the complaints many have about the Air.

 

I'm a bit confused, user customizable? In what way? The interface? The thing about all macs are that they aren't too customizable... desktop image sure, and Doc items, sure, but generally, they aren't too customizable.
If you're looking for icons, there's Candybar, a very well layed out 3rd party application that changes icons for you, for a pretty good price. (Last I checked I believe it was under $20).

 

Sorry. I meant, I can change out the ram, hdd, etc? Or is it locked down like the Air? (seemless chassis).

 

ah. In all the laptops, RAM is definately changeable. Only in the Air is it not. I believe however, replacing the HDD voids the warranty.

 

Yes, both can be changed and are actually very easy to do so on the Macbook. Replacing the HDD does not void the warranty.

 

Yes you can upgrade the ram in the macbook. I think the hdd also. I saw one user on this form who had a 320 gig hdd in his sig for his macbook specs.

 

Ok thanks.

 

No, it technically doesn't, but Apple is not held responsible if the HDD fails or dies. They will not replace it for you even if you're within the warranty.

 

Correct, at that point the HDD would be covered by the manufacturer. This rule would also apply to any third party (non Apple supplied) RAM.

 

The Pro and Air models are the only Apple notebooks that don't allow you to change the hard drive, am I correct?

 

Well, considering the current Apple portable lineup is three notebooks, its easier to say "The MacBook is the only one that lets you change the hard drive" .

Yeah, the MacBook lets you (and its really easy), not MBP and MBA.

 

That just narrowed it down for me! Thanks!

 

DEFINATELY visit an Apple store
better than a big chain store since these apple guys would use them rrrrr pretty much alot....

 

Just one more question. I'm sure it's not a problem, since it's run on apple hardware, but is there any product activation with OSX? That'll be a big factor in my decision, just because personally, I don't feel I should need permission to use a product when I legally bought it.
Not a flame question, just wondering. When I bought my Dell, that was one of the stipulations that I would never have to activate in case I needed to reinstall.

 

No, there is no CD key or activation needed for OS X. However, there are some "locks", I've heard, such as the iMac OS X Install Disc not working for MacBooks, etc.

 

Ok thanks. I would only install it on the laptop it came with so that's no problem.
So I take it, that the default drivers are included with OSX? Because there is a limited set of hardware that has to be supported. Unlike with windows, where hundreds and hundreds of components have to be supported by different manufacturers.

 

Drivers are included, however, you will need to check with your hardware that it will work with the Mac before you buy it. For example, I know for a fact that some of the HP printers do not work with Macs.

 

Does OSX come with a backup utility? ala ghost or windows complete pc backup?

 

Yes it does: Time Machine. You just plug in an external harddrive and it will update it automatically.

Time Machine is a program that remembers every single thing that you've deleted or even moved on your Mac, and it keeps record of it. You can "flip back in time" to look for any missing files, and drag them right back out.


Apple has also just released something called Time Capsule, which is the same thing, except this time it's basically a 'wireless harddrive'. It will back up your Time Machine files wirelessly with wifi. However, while Time Machine is shipped with Leopard, Time Capsule comes in two sizes - 1TB and 500GB, $500 and $300 respectively.

 

Oh ok. No backup to optical media?

 

Hm, I'm not sure about that. But you can probably back up Time Machine to an Optical Drive. Not sure though, I haven't actually heard (or done myself), a backup on an optical drive for a while...

Check with Sam? hehe.

 

Where's Sam?

 

There has to be a way for that but I just looked through Time Machine on Leopard and it kept looking for a hard drive and I cannot see an option for optical media backup.

 

Unfortunately, I do not have Mac OS X Leopard (can't afford it, I'm broke as usual), so I don't have first-hand experience on it.

But doing some searching, according to AppleInsider you will use Backup instead of Time Machine for backing up to optical media:

See if that works for you . But Backup does need .Mac...so that's the issue if you don't want .Mac.

 

Oh I see, so maybe not a complete backup.
Thanks everyone for your replies, you've been very helpful!!

 

Anyway, if you really want to backup properly, I'd really suggest getting an external hard drive...external hard drives are pretty cheap now, and they're practical .

 

That's true, but I always prefered media, just in case the HDD might fail. I usually when doing my backups, make 2 copies.

 

Sounds good.
I know this from first hand experience that you need backups. Stupid USB...

Anyways, let us know how your experience with a Mac turns out!

 

I will thanks, but it will be a little while. Just trying to get information for now.