I got the Apple bug!

Hello, I finally gave in to my desires and got myself an Imac. Is a second hand one but i' m still very excited even though I dont really know how to use it

I have 2GHz - 2 RAM - 160 HD on Tiger

I would like to intalla parallels too but not sure in which order to do things

Your opinions are highly regarded and apprecciated!

1- Should I upgrade to Leopard?

When installing Parallels is there a criteria to use?
For example am I correct in thinking that you have to
1- Upgrade to Leopard if you wish
2- Install Parallel
3- Install Windows XP or Vista
4- Install MS Office

All done??


thanks again I look forward to your replies

WOOO go you welcome to the wonderful world of apple ^^

As far as parallels goes i'm not sure... The main reason for that is that I don't use it xD

I can tell you that your machine should be able to handle leopard should it want to.

I would recommend leopard, just because of it's brilliance Imagine Tiger but where every single thing is just a little bit better. You get stacks, a redesigned and more intelligent front row, time machine and loads of other stuff

hope this helps

dave

thanks Dave!

Get Window xp for now, as vista is still settling in. parallels is not essential, as rebooting on thes quick computers is REALLY quick. Of cours Mac boots up faster than xp does, but it's pretty simple to set up a dual systm.

ps welcome to mac forums!

Congrats! I agree that going with XP is a better choice. More programs work for it and vista slows even fast computers down a lot. I also agree that going with leopard is the way to go.

As far as parallels: you just put in the install disk or run the install program (Before going through everything I would recommend going to help>check for updates, and updating the entire program as it may cause problems if you don't...but this could be done after you install the OS as well), it prompts you to put in an install disk for windows, installs it, and boots up into it. Once you're running windows you can install whatever onto it. I would recommend downloading the free version of AVG anti virus for the windows side of things since you can still get virus' on that side of things. Just once a week update it and do a full scan just to be sure of things (unless you always have windows open which you probably won't then it can't do its autoscans so do them manually).

I hope I didn't make it sound more confusing than it is....it really is extremely simple

As a switcher that thought they needed to install windows I have to ask...why do you need windows? I made the switch clean a year and a half ago, and have yet to need windows. If you need it for something specific then install XP, but if you think you need it as a safety blanket, trust me you don't

Hello all and thanks for your replies, really apprecciate them.

I wanted to run Windows mainly to be able to open MS words/excel/ power point. But as I have used a PC for the last 15 years I am a bit apprehensive of cutting the cord

I'd stick with Tiger until you've learnt the ropes. That way, if you get Leopard in 6 months or so, you'll appreciate all the new features more.

office for Mac is more a more worhwhile purchase than a copy of windows and a copy of parallels. I run parallels all day long at work but at home it's just imac and me