Switch ing

hi Andy! you've made a good decision on your Mac. when are you finalizing your purchase? I haven't switched yet either, but like you, I've used Windows all my life and it's the only thing I've ever known. after a close friend of mine bought a Mac Mini a few years ago, I was completely blown away. he now has a Macbook and swears it's the best thing in the world. in the beginning, it might be hard to try and get used to the different OS, but by reading different threads here and looking up helpful sites on the internet (I'm sure you'll get a ton of good recommendations here as well)... you'll be good to go in no time.

Thanks Katie for your kind reply, I will be looking to finalize my purchase in around two weeks. i am worried about the switch as im used to control from the bottom and not the top bar, but its nice to have the dock bar.. il get used it im sure too

Will you be making the switch anytime soon? i think when i make the switch il create a site to show all pictures i take from box to live.. and how i find the switch, so other windows users can see its easy (if it is).

I am unsure if you can answer this but i am looking to use Final Cut on the Imac with 2Gb ram, would this app work smooth?

no problem! I'm cautious about switching too, just because I know it'll be something completely new. but, as with everything else people adapt to, you have to start somewhere! who knows, we could possibly even pick it up pretty fast.

I plan on switching when the time allows. right now, I'm saving my money so that I can purchase my Mac (which will most likely be the MBP for college) all at once. I really, really want to pick one up for myself this year (especially because of the major problems I'm having with my almost 5 year old PC!)... but I just don't know if I'll be able to. DEFINITELY take some pictures and upload them somewhere because I love looking at that kind of stuff, haha. and a review would be wonderful too. people are always searching for those kinds of things.

I'm not familiar with Final Cut at all, but to my understanding, it's what a lot of college students use with their MBP because it's the best program out there. if they aren't having any trouble, I doubt it would perform anything BUT smooth on the iMac!

Hey, My story is similar to yours. I actually just got a macbook pro yesterday...and so far I love it. I mean there are some compatibility issues, like getting all my media to play on the mac after transfering it from the PC. But I finally got through it all and can play all my files from my PC on my mac.

In terms of "starters guide," I'm sure you can find one at your local book store...there's a good guide that stickied in this section of the forum....also I found this GREAT tutorial on the apple website...I would give you the link, but I'm having troubles finding it again...haha.

But anyways, enjoy your mac...so far I've been loving it.

If you are going to buy in 2 weeks, make sure you check out what WWDC announcements happen. WWDC "WorldWide Developers Conference" is August 7-11. There may be some new things released or updated. Also there will be the preview of Leopard (10.5), Apple's next operating system replacing the current Tiger (10.4) so that will be interesting.

You might as well wait until after the conference just in case anything new or updated releases since you are this close to it anyway.

Good luck on your (future) new Mac!

Oh, and don't get 2GB from the factory on your iMac. Upgrade to the single 1GB stick, and you can very easily add the additional 1GB stick yourself, and save a good chunk of cash. It might even be cheaper, depending on where you can get your RAM in the UK, to not upgrade at all from Apple, and then install your own 2 x 1GB sticks and just keep the leftover 512MB for a spare or to sell, etc.

Hi Joeking, i hope you manage to find the link on apples website as it would be nice to read offical documentation

And thank you for the concern Claudius i think i will wait then until the conference is over, is the new Os going to be a massive change? ive done a google search and its competing with Vista.. oh boy i hope its nothing like Windows! Argh

I was debating on buying right away incase the imacs come out with Core 2 Duo?

The changes will be significant, but not so that they will make Tiger obsolete. There are still people who are using Panther (version prior to Tiger - Apple uses big cat names). You can always upgrade to Leopard (I believe $99 is the upgrade price).

It will not be like windows! It will work in the same way as Tiger and previous versions but will have improvements under the hood, most likely an improved Finder, etc.

Most things that Vista is promising has been available in Tiger for well over a year already. Instantaneous search as you type? Spotlight. 'Gadgets'? Dashboard. Eye candy? We got it. Leopard will leave Vista in the dust. On the very far fetched chance that Vista has something overpoweringly desirable, you will still be able to run it on your Mac.

I hope that the improments dont mess around with the usable aspects for a newbie.. i am looking forward to getting a mac but little apprehensive to Leopard.

Is there a realease date for Leopard? il wait til after the conference and hopefully somebody will write reviews from that conference to update us all. it would be nice to know i wouldnt have to wait long for my imac with upgrades.

Core 2 Duo + Leopard would be nice that way i would have brought something new but hey its just a concept till we know whats happening

BlooGrape said:

I will be a total newbie when i do get my Apple Mac as a day watching somebody using it has taught me almost nothing, could you recommend a book or site for basics and config basics?

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Apple's website has some good information for new users.

http://www.apple.com/support/mac101/
http://www.apple.com/support/switch101/

Thanks for the links il give those a read once im back from work

Well im still waiting too buy my imac 17" but am waiting for this WWDC out come. i hope Core 2 Duo processors will be in place this year with 10.5.1 coming out along with it although i DONT like the connection help program they are putting in 10.5.1!

Grr i will admit that i have tryed the x86 Mac and can say its not worth the hassle it comes with, i also think the reason i switched was to make my life easyer and the x86 project is a waste of time. it works but with no graphics and sound! so basicly it dont work the way it was designed.

BlooGrape said:

Well im still waiting too buy my imac 17" but am waiting for this WWDC out come. i hope Core 2 Duo processors will be in place this year with 10.5.1 coming out along with it although i DONT like the connection help program they are putting in 10.5.1!

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I doubt Apple will be making any major announcements for the rest of WWDC, the things they showed at the keynote were pretty big. I'm not sure if you're saying you hope that 10.5 will be out this year, but it won't. They said Spring 2007 for Leopard. And which connection help program are you talking about? The new voiceover features?

unsure if its voiceover.. from a preview you can connect too somebody elses pc and help or share projects. like the microsoft remote assistance.

As for panther what a bummer.. will it cost alot to upgrade when i need too?

Do you thing that core 2 duo will be out at any point this year?

BlooGrape said:

unsure if its voiceover.. from a preview you can connect too somebody elses pc and help or share projects. like the microsoft remote assistance.

As for panther what a bummer.. will it cost alot to upgrade when i need too?

Do you thing that core 2 duo will be out at any point this year?

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Oh, the screen sharing in iChat. I had forgotten about that. What's not to like though? I think it will be very helpful for troubleshooting and collaboration.

When Leopard comes out it will cost £89 to upgrade.

And I think it's a possibility that the Core 2 will be in the iMac this year, but we'll see.

shall i wait for imac core 2 duo or just get the current?

The thing about waiting is that there's always going to be something new just around the corner. The best thing I can tell you is to evaluate what you need in a computer, and if the current specs meet your requirements then get it now. If you think that the benchmarks for the Core 2 are worth the wait and you need more power, wait it out. Personally, I'd just buy it now. But I've been 100% satisfied with the Core Duo. I'm fairly sure that the iMac will be updated at least by Macworld in January, if not sooner. By that time the Intel iMacs will be a year old and overdue for a revision.

well i will be doing web design and photoshop editing along side with Final Cut and Shake. if i get the imac i think it has enough power to run one of those apps at one given time nice and smooth..

Ive come into cross roads of thinking should i splash out on the 20" imac with 2gb ram and the upgraded graphics card. would the 17" standard 128mb graphics card be adequate?

which ever model i go for i will be getting apple factory installed 2gb ram (i know its cheaper elsewhere but i dont want the hassle)

Next mac release will probably be in january, its all up to you.