question about the wife and conversion

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hey guys havent been active on here in a while, but since then I got married and just got back from the honeymoon. woo..

haha,

anyway, my question is this. I do very light gaming, pretty much slim to none anymore, and if I do its on the 360. pretty busy with work and other things so gaming typically takes a back seat.

Anyway, I have a core2quad PC w/ windows 7 and a 22" LCD. Because of where I work I swap out and update my computer pretty regularly, like every few months, and well the wifes over it. I wanted to swap out that PC for a new iMac but she doesnt want to swap PCs again, lol. And also she isnt much of a fan of OSX .....yet. I typically have an Apple laptop but the iPad was more convenient for my work so I got one of those now. ....she loves it.

but now for the question. any ideas how I can get her onboard with the iMac idea and also get her over her fears of how she hates not being able to figure out how to do some stuff in OSX. And get her un-upset about another computer swap.

thanks!
 
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I had the exact same problem. I brought a new MacBook home, put it in her hands called it hers and told her,"The first thing that goes wrong that just isn't a complaint about something being new or different from her PC, I will buy her a new PC of her choice and leave it be".

It's been a year and a half. I only here praises, as I knew I would.
 

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but now for the question. any ideas how I can get her onboard with the iMac idea and also get her over her fears of how she hates not being able to figure out how to do some stuff in OSX. And get her un-upset about another computer swap.

They only way for someone to get comfortable with a something they are not familiar with or have concerns about is to expose them to it. In this case if your wife really is interested in computers (she may or may not be)...then she needs to "play" around with one to get comfortable & familiar.

If she really is not interested in computers (and you are)...and you're just trying to convince her that a Macintosh is a good/great computer...so that she will agree spending a lot of money on it will be ok. Well this just sounds like marriage to me!!!;). Living with the fact that it's better to get your wife to agree that spending a lot of money on things is ok...(before spending the money like you would when you were single)...and getting into a lot of trouble later...is something you got to get used to!!!;)

If you REALLY want to convince your wife that a Macintosh & OS X is a good thing (and if she really cares about computers)...then you could purchase an older Macintosh for around $100-$150 bucks...and let her play with it to get comfortable with a Macintosh and OS X. This way you are only out $100 bucks if she doesn't like it...rather than $1000-$1500.

Hope this helps,

- Nick
 
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Living with the fact that it's better to get your wife to agree that spending a lot of money on things is ok...(before spending the money like you would when you were single)...and getting into a lot of trouble later...is something you got to get used to!!!;)

haha better to just do it and beg for forgiveness, lol. well im past that now :(

yah I was thinking about picking up a white coreduo imac or whatever and setting it up. Part of the justification though is that its not too major considering what the other stuff sells for.

:)
 
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Another possibility is the Mac Mini. That way the keyboard/monitor are the same, only what's on them and what they do is different. My wife accepted that path and now loves her Mac.
 
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the computer in question is in our main room. so part of my logic is the aesthetics. lol, shes pretty proud of her layout and everything in the room.
 
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Once she sees how great it looks I think she'll be more open minded about it. Also, telling her it's easier to use and get and gets no viruses might change her mind too.
 
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well shes used OSX before on my macbook when I had one. She just hasnt gotten used to it yet, and as it sounds so far she isnt interested in learning.

as for viruses, I am the solution for that so it doesn't bother her. Im just going to plan and sabotage my own PC. lol
 
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I got Katie an eMac... showed her the ropes... and now if she has any questions, I'm right here to teach her how to do it. Just get the iMac and show her around OS X.
 

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haha better to just do it and beg for forgiveness, lol. well im past that now :(

yah I was thinking about picking up a white coreduo imac or whatever and setting it up. Part of the justification though is that its not too major considering what the other stuff sells for.

:)

Well...if you start "just doing it & asking for forgiveness later"...this sort of thing gets old after a while!:( After 5, 10, 20, or more years of marriage...your wife won't forgive you anymore...and she will be just mad!!!:(

As far as getting an older Mac. I was thinking something much older & cheaper than a core-duo iMac. These can still cost you upwards of $300+. I see G5 iMacs on Craig's List all the time for $250.

I was thinking something much older like a Power Mac G4 Tower...something at least 867mhz so you can have Leopard (OS 10.5) on it. It won't be real speedy, just something for your wife to "play with" to get familiar & comfortable with Macintosh's & OS X.

If you start spending more than $300 on a "test computer"...that's a pretty good chunk of what a new Mac would cost. A new refurbished Mac-Mini only costs $499, a new refurbished MacBook as low as $749, or a refurbished iMac for around $1000.

Hope this helps,

- Nick
 

pigoo3

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I got Katie an eMac... showed her the ropes... and now if she has any questions, I'm right here to teach her how to do it. Just get the iMac and show her around OS X.

Great idea!:) An older eMac ($50-$75) or even a old G3 iMac ($20 bucks...or even free in some cases if you're lucky)!. Just something for the "significant other" to get a feel for things.

- Nick
 
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I saw some used iMacs (the newest one) on craigslist in my area for around $800.

im gonna look for a G5 in my area first if they are that cheap, I didnt think about it. thats not bad at all.
 
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I have plenty of G4s at work. I dont really wanna mess around with those guys.
 

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I have plenty of G4s at work. I dont really wanna mess around with those guys.

I only mentioned a Powermac G4 because you can pick up one of these for as little as $50 bucks. If you don't mind spending $250 on a G5 iMac for a "test computer" then go for it.

You never mentioned what sort of new Macintosh you were thinking of getting. If you're talking a new Mac Pro for $2000-$2500 then spending $250 on a "test computer" isn't so bad. But if you were talking about a $499-$599 Mac-mini...then $250 for the G5 iMac is 50% of the cost of the Mini.

So it's all relative.

- Nick
 

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I saw some used iMacs (the newest one) on craigslist in my area for around $800.

im gonna look for a G5 in my area first if they are that cheap, I didnt think about it. thats not bad at all.

If getting a used current model iMac on Craig's List for $800 dollars is the sort of Macintosh you really want to end up with. Then spending $250-$300 on a used iMac G5 would seem like a lot of money to spend on a "test computer".

Of course you could always resell the iMac G5...unless this is "enough" Macintosh computer for your needs & you decide to keep it.

Good luck,

- Nick
 
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Oh, maybe as a compromise, keep your core 2 quad machine around just in case.
 
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yah the plan will for sure be to resell whatever. I like to get Apple stuff and play with it then resell. I almost always can sell the laptop or desktop for what I paid for it, sometimes more.

thats why I really like to buy used stuff ;)
 
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Oh, maybe as a compromise, keep your core 2 quad machine around just in case.

that would be what Id do if single. While we have the money to just get one she wont let me spend that on just another toy. so part of the deal would be selling that system to offset the cost.
 
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Alright, well you can install Windows via virtualbox/VMWare/Parallels if she's reaaaally not into it.

Though I'm pretty sure once she plays with OS X, she'll feel better. What does she do on the computer that she can't figure out how to do in OS X?

I mean, I know how the women are with their computers. Well, most consumers, actually, but in the case of we nerdly men, usually our respective ladies. They just want to learn how to do something once and then never have to think about it again. Katie is far from a wiz on OS X, but for what she uses a computer for, I've taught her pretty quickly. :)

Congrats, by the way!
 

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Katie is far from a wiz on OS X, but for what she uses a computer for, I've taught her pretty quickly. :)

Maybe Katie has a great teacher!;)

- Nick
 

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