- Joined
- May 30, 2006
- Messages
- 205
- Reaction score
- 8
- Points
- 18
- Your Mac's Specs
- iMac 20" core duo 2ghz; OS-X 10.4.7; 2gbram; 256mb graphics; 250gbHD; delivered 6/14/06
Info on new iMac to the left with name. (If you recall my exploratory posts from two months ago, I'm the guy that was so anxiety-ridden considering the switch.)
Haven't turned the PC on in two weeks. (2-year-old HP; Pentium4; 3.4ghz; WindowsXP; fast and clean) The iMac is easier, faster, quieter, and even desk-to-desk portable. Still have lots to learn about OS and aps but its going so smoothly (dare I say intuitively?) that there seems no reason to turn the PC on again except to reformat the drive and offer it for sale. Having to spend ZERO time on system maintenance has been a godsend. Included iLife aps cover a LOT of ground. Up and running from a cold start in 37 seconds. Full shut-down in 6. Sleep and wakeup in 3. What a change!
ProCare one-to-one sessions each week at the Apple Store have certainly eased the transition. I make notes during the week as I encounter confusion points and then bring them in along with my machine. Four different "geniuses" have worked with me so far and each has been friendly and very competent. That program alone has been a new world for me compared to previous PC experience -- friendly, knowledgeable, English-speaking people that straighten me out face-to-face, on-the-spot, with my own machine and data.
Couple bones to pick: The optical drive works flawlessly, but I think it is inexcusably slow compared with the rest of the machine. (I regard 24x CD burning as slow) Fast external burners are common and cheap so not a large issue. Required plug-ins in order to access world-standard but MS-based content is annoying. All those should be built in IMHO.
Biggest plusses are 1) zero time spent in maintenance 2) faster than the PC for everything I do 3) dead quiet 4) no seizures or hiccups -- the machine just sits there and runs and allows me to learn and do things. I'm having fun and being productive again instead of wrestling with the machine.
That last is somewhat significant for me. With the PC, I'd come to the point that I was limiting myself to existing programs and knowledge. Every single time I loaded up new software, new problems arose. (Like Roxio CD-6 for example.) Between that repeated experience and various bugs and maintenance, my anxiety level reached a point where I was afraid to buy/try anything new -- not because of the learning curve, but because I could more-or-less depend on whatever install it was messing the machine up again. With the Mac I just wade in, figure it out and do it. Maybe I mess it up and maybe I don't but the machine just sits there and waits 'til I get it without trashing itself in the process.
That's really all I've ever wanted: my machine to do what it's supposed to -- and nothing other. 4 weeks may be too early to say so, but I think I've got it.
Haven't turned the PC on in two weeks. (2-year-old HP; Pentium4; 3.4ghz; WindowsXP; fast and clean) The iMac is easier, faster, quieter, and even desk-to-desk portable. Still have lots to learn about OS and aps but its going so smoothly (dare I say intuitively?) that there seems no reason to turn the PC on again except to reformat the drive and offer it for sale. Having to spend ZERO time on system maintenance has been a godsend. Included iLife aps cover a LOT of ground. Up and running from a cold start in 37 seconds. Full shut-down in 6. Sleep and wakeup in 3. What a change!
ProCare one-to-one sessions each week at the Apple Store have certainly eased the transition. I make notes during the week as I encounter confusion points and then bring them in along with my machine. Four different "geniuses" have worked with me so far and each has been friendly and very competent. That program alone has been a new world for me compared to previous PC experience -- friendly, knowledgeable, English-speaking people that straighten me out face-to-face, on-the-spot, with my own machine and data.
Couple bones to pick: The optical drive works flawlessly, but I think it is inexcusably slow compared with the rest of the machine. (I regard 24x CD burning as slow) Fast external burners are common and cheap so not a large issue. Required plug-ins in order to access world-standard but MS-based content is annoying. All those should be built in IMHO.
Biggest plusses are 1) zero time spent in maintenance 2) faster than the PC for everything I do 3) dead quiet 4) no seizures or hiccups -- the machine just sits there and runs and allows me to learn and do things. I'm having fun and being productive again instead of wrestling with the machine.
That last is somewhat significant for me. With the PC, I'd come to the point that I was limiting myself to existing programs and knowledge. Every single time I loaded up new software, new problems arose. (Like Roxio CD-6 for example.) Between that repeated experience and various bugs and maintenance, my anxiety level reached a point where I was afraid to buy/try anything new -- not because of the learning curve, but because I could more-or-less depend on whatever install it was messing the machine up again. With the Mac I just wade in, figure it out and do it. Maybe I mess it up and maybe I don't but the machine just sits there and waits 'til I get it without trashing itself in the process.
That's really all I've ever wanted: my machine to do what it's supposed to -- and nothing other. 4 weeks may be too early to say so, but I think I've got it.
