Thinking about getting my first Mac

Shopping for first Mac (Possibly Mini)

I've recently become interested in getting a Mac Mini. The thing that got me started looking is that I have an iPhone and want to get into creating apps (which you can only get apple's software for that on a Mac). However, after I got into looking at them, there is more that I have found appealing. The setup that I'm interested in is putting it in a closet with my HDTV just on the other side of the wall in the living room. I have access to run my HDMI cord through the wall. I was just wondering if anyone else had around the same setup going on with any tips. I would be getting the wireless keyboard and mouse, and I've been told that they're bluetooth so they should work with my setup situation. Any tips would be greatly appreciated. I figured maybe someone would have thought about something that I haven't. Thanks in advance!

Ok, all my life I've been raised on Windows computers. Recently I've become interested in getting a Mac Mini. My main reasoning was that I have an iPhone and would like to get in to creating apps (which you can only download apple's software for a Mac). As I got into doing a little research, I found other details appealing. However, I'm sure that everything that I'm doing is just basic. It's not something that you would learn from actually owning one. So, I would greatly appreciate any advice on getting my brain in Mac mode when it's used to Windows.

Creating apps for iPhone

Hello all, I've started looking into getting a Mac Mini. Mainly because I want to get into creating apps for my iPhone and the software that you download from apple only supports Macs. I was just wondering if anyone else was into creating apps. I would love any tips that anyone has about any of this! Thanks in advance!!

Just dive right in. I switched 2 weeks ago, from 13 years of PC to Mac. There is no real way to get "psyched up" or anything.

Actually, you will become "psyched-up" once you've taken that Mac Mini out of the box. Of course adding a Apple (Mac) desktop display will only enhance your excitement.

Well, actually, I'll be connecting it to my HDTV and using that as a monitor. But I started getting a little concerned about switching at all when I started reading everyones posts. It seems like there are a lot of issues. But I guess it is more typical to come here when you have problems to get help from people who may have had similar issues instead of people doing a lot of praising. I just got a little nervous and I need to hear a few people say, "OH MY GOSH, I LOVE MY MAC!! I HAVEN'T HAD ANY ISSUES AT ALL!"

Like they already said, there's really no way to imagine exactly what they are like, until you actually fire one up. I really enjoyed Windows 7, so I wasn't coming into Mac as a Windows hater or something, but once I used it for the first time, I really had no desire to go back to Windows. It's not that Windows is bad, Mac is just amazing

These machines just have the feeling that they will last forever. And from online order to this day, every time I have dealt with Apple at all, on the phone about my order, or when I went to get a few programs/accessories from the Apple store, you get the feeling that even if the thing bricked tomorrow, you'd be well taken care of. You're spending more money, but trust me it's money VERY well spent.

I really don't think you'll be disappointed at all if you dive into it I bet you'll find yourself using it for much more than you think you will!

Edit: And really, you're going to sometimes hear people that love Windows or went into a Mac wanting it to be Windows, tell you how awful Macs are. Just like even here, you'll sometimes find people talking about Windows, sometimes just about how awful Windows is. Don't let that scare you from either one. Both are great! It just depends on the user and what they want out of it!

I have been a life time pc user. Have had a MBP 15 going into my second week. I am quite happy with it and intend to keep it. Has the transition been painless? No OS X is different than windows. It takes some time to sort it all out. The applications are different. Better or worse? It just takes some work to get into using it. The hardware and applications just seem less buggy and solid.

Individuals posting here about how much they love their machines are unlikely to convince you, and as you correctly point out most people here only post when they have a problem (even though about 75% of the time it's caused BY them as best I can determine).

But here's some facts to chew on:

1. Consumer Reports rates Apple far ahead of anyone else when it comes to support. The only reason they don't rate the actual computers the best is because they still believe to this day that not INCLUDING Windows with a computer is a point against it (!!!).

2. PC World's highest ranking computers, year after year? Apple. Desktop and Laptop. That's PC WORLD.

3. In the past six years, the Mac's base has gone up 500%, that's NOT including iPods and iPhones et al. Meanwhile, while the combined growth of the entire non-Apple PC market has been about 20% in the same period.

4. Microsoft's stock has risen 0.75% in the last six years. Yes, ZERO POINT seven five percent. It's trading today at around the same price it was trading at in 2002. How's Apple's stock done since 2002? Oh, about 4500% ...

5. Still no viruses, developer conferences that sell out in minutes, millionaires created every DAY in the App Store, yadda yadda yadda. Apple's market cap has actually SURPASSED Microsoft's. How is that even possible? Because even though Apple only sells one out every five computers in the US, their profitability for themselves and their eco-system is HUGE and still growing, and let's not forget the loyalty factor: people who switch to Mac tend not to go back (unless forced to by work). People freakin' LOVE Apple and with good reason. Uncompromised quality, elegance, logic and vision. The other guys just don't have that except (at best) in dribs and drabs. With Apple, it's a work ethic.

And even when something doesn't go exactly as they'd expected (G4 Cube, original MB Air, original AppleTV), it's because they take risks and push the envelope. You don't see a lot of other BIG names in the electronics world doing that so much anymore. Even Apple's "flops" are usually noble flops, rather than goofy, ill-conceived crap.

And if all else fails and you can't open your mind to a new adventure, you know what? Windows isn't going anywhere for a long time. It'll still be there to catch you if you fall. But at least you dared to try, to dip your toe in the pool of something exotic and new, to take a risk and push the envelope a little.

I'll ramble on a switcher story since I have nothing to do, maybe you don't either and you might enjoy it...

My dad got me on the computer kick when I was probably 3; I've always been around PCs. He taught me a lot, I never got too angry when there were problems. I was just so used to it. I started thinking about Macs when my teacher bought a Bondi Blue G3 iMac for the classroom when they first came out. "It was soo cool!" But expensive... That is probably why I never got one until I got a job and bought it myself, or my dad is hiding a hate for Apple(he works for IBM, oh the irony). Later the G4 iMac came out, and I really got obsessed. THAT was cool, still is cool, and in my opinion still better looking than any all in one PC on the market today.

Just about all of my PCs were older PC's that came from my dad's work when they upgraded; I would just upgrade the computers I got. Eventually I had a few piled up. Somehow I met some kid from across town online who had an iBook G4 with a bad HD and wanted a PC desktop. We traded, I spent F O R E V E R replacing the HD in it... What a PITA, thankfully my Macbook isn't like that. It was SO worth it. I was hooked just seeing OSX for the first time with my eyes. I was used to Fisher Price Windows XP, OSX looked like the future. It probably didn't take me an hour to figure the OS out, it is so simple and straight forward. All of the visual effects in OSX that have been around for years are still more appealing than Vista or 7. If I could complain about anything at all, it spoiled my patience for PCs and the bullcrap that goes wrong with them.

Eventually the sound quit working on that, I sold it and around that time I had a job. I bought a Dual G4 Powermac on eBay that I actually used for a main desktop for a while. I painted the grey panels white to make it look like a newer one, there are pics in the setup thread some pages back. Eventually sold it and grabbed a $20 Bondi Blue iMac that came with every OS from the original 8.6 up to 10.2 and some apps(still have them). Then I finally bought my first new Mac, my Macbook . I used it along with my gaming desktop forever until recently, when my gaming desktop passed on lol.

It was giving me so many problems in its last couple months. I have been a Mac user full-time(minus occasionally using my 7 partition) for over a Mac now, and at this point I don't think I care to build another PC. My favorite games are now available for Mac through Steam. I just need to decide which Mac I want to get next. I like using my HDTV as a monitor, so I don't know about an iMac. At the same time, I think the Mini should have a few options for a graphics card. Mac Pro is absolutely out of the question unless I win the lottery. I would really love it if Apple could make a consumer level computer that can be expanded/upgraded(other than RAM or a single HD ya know).

Welp... That is pretty much my switcher story. I guess if there was any actual point to the story, it would be that OS X is simple to learn and hard to put down. lol

This was posted and answered somewhere else. Please don't cross-post.

Nice stoy iBeldar I agree with your statement "Simple to learn and hard to put down"

Note: multiple crossposted threads merged.

I used Windows for years and used to flame Apple and Mac users at every chance I got...

Until I actually had to use a Mac. I LOVE my Macbook Pro and will never go back to using Windows as my main OS ever again. No piece of technology is perfect, but using the Mac has been fun and productive. A few issues I've had to untangle myself but that's because I like to tinker and discover and customize.

I think if you poke around these forums a bit you'll find far more people who love their Macs than people who have endless problems with them. Most problems people come here with are easily remedied or they exist because the user has had a hard time letting go of his Windows habits.

So there ya go!

Short and sweet: You wanted somebody who hasn't had problems. I've had mine for the better part of a year. New user. Not one single problem.

I have been a Mac Mini user for only 2 weeks after using Windows since before "Workgroups for Windows 3.11". I have what would seem to be a similar set up to the one you are planning. I have my Mac Mini installed in a TV unit that sits under the TV which is a 52" plasma screen fastened to the wall. I have just realised that I am seeing the screen via a standard video lead rather than HDMI but I'll investigate that later. It may be because my Sky box is using the available slot. I am also using a wireless keyboard and a Magic mouse combo (bluetooth) which works exceptionally well from my recliner chair at a distance of about 10 feet.
Have there been problems?
Yes there have but they were all my fault and not the fault of the equipment which has worked fandabbytastically from day one. The problems have been things like doing a Right mouse click. It is simple to do on a Mac but I still find myself pressing the CTRL key and then using my middle finger to click the right hand side of the mouse. That's made worse because I am constantly swapping from Mac to Windows all day long and, at my age, I get confused.
It is only that sort of problem that I have found. Apart from that the Mac Mini works just as quickly as my 2.8 ghz Windows box and this is only a 1.25 ghz G4 version of the Mini.
In a nutshell, my simple advice would be, "DO IT"

Sometimes opinion from others is not just enough for you to be convinced, that's why it is much better to try something for yourself. Mac Mini performs well, one significant issue on Mac Mini is disk speed but other than that there's nothing to be any major design flaws affecting performance.

Just to add balance - is OS X good - I suppose it is. Would I rate it any higher that Windows 7 - no I wouldn't. Do I like the Mini - yes. Would I rave about a Mac like a lot of the posters do on this type of forum - no I wouldn't. At the end of the day it's a tool like any other.

You will love owning a Mac. Best purchase I ever made.