Fed up with Windows

Hi All,

just to introduce myself, my name is Rachel. I hope you dont mind but I need to put forward a barrage of questions about Mac's but probably mostly about the Mini's. OK. First and most important to you is, I've never used a Mac before, so I don't know diddely squit. LOL

1. Needed for serious usage to replace yet another failing PC, OS Failure and will no longer boot, but all files intact. Is it worth purchasing the 2.0Ghz for an extra 100 as i can get the 1.8 and a mac keyboard and mouse for less.

2. Jaguar, leopard and so on, yep the OS, I've seen these on sale at about £80 a pop, how easy is the installation of all these upgrades i've seen. 10.4 -10.5 , I think the current version on the Mini is 10.4 from the specs, should this be upgraded before anything else. ?

3. Time machine, software in the mini vs the hardward. Are these needed, recomendations please.
Are the machines so bad that they require this. ;-0

4.Can I plug this straight into my home network for immediate WWW access.

5. OS updates, are they like windows, IE services packs and self checking for CRITICAL updates.

6. VIRUS protection, I heard that viruses on the Macs are FAR less than that of PC's, should I still have software protection and if so can you make some recommendations as to what software.

7.In the imortal words of elmer fudd(I think)....Thants all folks.. LOL

Thanks in advance

Rachel

Nice to met you Rachel, welcome to the forum! Glad to hear that you want to make the move to Mac!

So lets start from the top.

Need to know what you mean by "serious usage"? If you not after a lot of speed from the Mac mini and want to get the mouse/ keyboard then get the 1.8 as the jump to 2.0Ghz isn't that great. I would save the move and get the the 1.8

When you buy the mini you will have the latest software on it, Leopard.

Time Machine: the program comes with Leopard but to do auto back ups (at the moment) you NEED to get a "Time Machine" unit as the OS will not see other external HDD's, This said there are ways around this which I wont go into right no. But you can always do "manual" back up's to an external HDD.

Yes you will be able to plug in to the home network and go! Some minor adjustments may be needed but, because of, "the way of the Mac" its made so easy my nan could do it.

Yes the updates are like the windows up dates, OS X checks for updates onec a week (which you can change) and will tell you when there are any available for you to install. Again very easy to use!

For now, no need to worrie about virus protection, Macs don't get them any where as much as PC, because of the way the OS is written.

Hope this helps? And again welcome to the "dark side" ;D. Once you Mac you'll never go back. Might take a while to get used to but give it a shot and you will never look at vista the same way! Not bashing Vista, it just has far to many problems!

Mac mini

Hi there, i'll try and help guide you as best i can.

As an owner of both machines the speed difference is very minor. I actually rather weirdly had some programs launch faster on the slower machine, so i'd say a 1.8 would be fine.

Upgrades on Macs is extremely easy. You've currently got Tiger 10.4 and Leopard 10.5 is a logical upgrade. My most recent 1.8 mini ran Leopard great.

Most common applications (apps) are now fully compatible with Leopard. When you get the Leopard install DVD, you'll be asked if you want delete everything on the machine or simply upgrade so it's really easy. The only thing i'd say is make sure that you set yourself up as an Admin user under systems pref- found under the apple logo in the top left before. Otherwise it might ask you to put in a Admin password which you won't have.

Time machine is one of the standout features of Leopard. The way i'd think of it is remember when you delete something and empty the trash can. Then about 3 months later you think **** i needed that, this is when Time Machine is fantastic as it enables you to go back in time and grab it. This is selling the app short it also is capable of full recovery after say a hard drive fails. The only thing is you need an external usb/firewire drive so there is a bit of added expense. That said Ebuyer have a 1TB Toshiba drive on Xmas special for £64.99.

Network will work straight off. Either plug it in via a network cable or the wifi will be picked up. You might need your wireless security password if you have one setup.

System updates work in the same way as windows. I get on average an update a month. SP are delivered in a point update so 10.5.X . We're on 10.5.5 but 10.5.6 is coming out shortly. However unlike windows, macs also check for installed software updates sometimes too. Like HP printer drivers or say ilife. This feature is set to grow in Snow Leopard the next main OS release.

Virus protection to my mind right now is a waste of money. What i would advise is that you run the latest version of Safari, which is used like IE. The never version has better phishing protection. Over time this situation might change as more people shift to macs but right now you'll be fine. See all viruses right now are written to take specific advantage of Windows flaws. So a Windows virus wouldn't be able to cause any damage on a Mac unless you're running a Windows partition which i'd not recommend. A VM is far better.

Hope that helps.

Matt

Another thing to note: for only an extra £294 you can get the base 20" iMac, which is a much better machine.

Talking of the imac, you could probably get a pre-owned unit on Ebay for less and the beauty of this is you get a screen, faster desktop hard drive and in almost all cases a dedicated graphics card.

also check the apple refurbished store. Great quality machines which are discounted around 17%

Just to point out, OS X software updates are a lot easier to deal with than Windows.

Just go to the Software Update option and you'll get a list of what's new, with explanations and whether they'll require a restart. You can choose what and what not to install.

Much nicer than Windows naggy, confusing system.

satrop said:

Time Machine: the program comes with Leopard but to do auto back ups (at the moment) you NEED to get a "Time Machine" unit as the OS will not see other external HDD's, This said there are ways around this which I wont go into right no. But you can always do "manual" back up's to an external HDD.

Click to expand...

This is not true. Any external Harddrive will work, once it is plugged in and formated in HFS+ (the default file system), you can open up Time Machine prefences and choose 'Change Disk' and it will list your external drive

Smartz said:

That said Ebuyer have a 1TB Toshiba drive on Xmas special for £64.99.

Click to expand...

Link please? Just searched all 2.5" drives, 3.5" externals, portables, couldn't find this drive...

Hey I'm new to Macs as well so I don't have any good answers for you....except that the quote is actually from Bugs Bunny!

Sorry, I'm a big fan of Looney Tunes!

Libitina said:

Hi All,

just to introduce myself, my name is Rachel. I hope you dont mind but I need to put forward a barrage of questions about Mac's but probably mostly about the Mini's. OK. First and most important to you is, I've never used a Mac before, so I don't know diddely squit. LOL

1. Needed for serious usage to replace yet another failing PC, OS Failure and will no longer boot, but all files intact. Is it worth purchasing the 2.0Ghz for an extra 100 as i can get the 1.8 and a mac keyboard and mouse for less.

2. Jaguar, leopard and so on, yep the OS, I've seen these on sale at about £80 a pop, how easy is the installation of all these upgrades i've seen. 10.4 -10.5 , I think the current version on the Mini is 10.4 from the specs, should this be upgraded before anything else. ?

3. Time machine, software in the mini vs the hardward. Are these needed, recomendations please.
Are the machines so bad that they require this. ;-0

4.Can I plug this straight into my home network for immediate WWW access.

5. OS updates, are they like windows, IE services packs and self checking for CRITICAL updates.

6. VIRUS protection, I heard that viruses on the Macs are FAR less than that of PC's, should I still have software protection and if so can you make some recommendations as to what software.

7.In the imortal words of elmer fudd(I think)....Thants all folks.. LOL

Thanks in advance

Rachel

Click to expand...

1. First off, I don't think it is worth it to get a Mac Mini right now, since updates are expected to happen soon in the near future for Mac Mini. And, for a little bit more money, you can actually get your hands on the latest Macbook or the iMac, which I think are way better machines than a Mac Mini. I'd recommend investing a bit more money on better machines at this point in time, truth be told.

2. Well, when you are upgrading from one operation system to another (Tiger to Leopard, for example), the procedures are pretty easy. I recently upgraded my Macbook from Tiger to Leopard, and it really only involved me putting the disc into the computer and then pressing a few buttons. Everything else runs by itself in the background, it really is that easy. And as for version updates for the operating system, Apple drops them through the Software Update every once in a while, and the procedure is pretty much the same. It's really easy, don't worry about it. This is coming from a computer idiot, by the way.

3. Time Machine is great because it backs up everything automatically for you. No computer is perfect, they are bound to fail on you sooner or later. Besides, every once in a while, we tend to delete stuff that we'd like to have back a few months down the road. Time Machine helps you to do just that. Any external hard drive will do for this function, and it isn't because the OS sucks or anything. It's just that it is safer and more convenient for you in times of need. Of course, you can also manually back things up, like myself. Personally I am not using Time Machine on my Mac just yet.

4. Setting up the Internet is a piece of cake on a Mac. Basically you can get everything up and running with an iMac in less than five minutes, guaranteed.

5. Like I mentioned above, it is very simple. They will tell you every once in a while when they have new updates for softwares and stuff like that. Just download accordingly and you should do fine.

6. Well, the only known viruses exist only if you download a certain plug-in, if I am not wrong, from porn sites. If you stay away from those, you should do fine. Anti-virus softwares are not exactly needed at this point, but then I am sure there will be more viruses written for Macs in the future. For now, save your money on those, you won't need them at all.

Thanks all,

Thank you everyone who's posted to my questions, all are very helpful indeed.

Thanks guy's.

Libitina