- Joined
- Jul 14, 2007
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- Your Mac's Specs
- iMac
For those of you who are in the market for a new computer, and are wondering: should I end my marriage to Microsoft and go get me a Mac? I have a review here and what I hope will be a few insights.
Let me start by saying that I am not new to computers. I got my first computer in about 1983. It was a Timex Sinclaire 1000: Check out the specs on THIS baby!
http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=477&st=1
My second computer was an Atari 600/800 xl
http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?st=1&c=27
So, needless to say, I've been around awhile. I've been a dedicated Microsoft user for more than 20 years, since BEFORE windows, back in the good old days of the 'c' prompt.
Finally this year, after years of defending Microsoft, making excuses for Microsoft, buying practically everything Microsoft was selling: I had had enough. I kicked the bum out ... and got me a mac.
It's a beauty. 24" imac? Goodness, this screen is big. Makes me wish the cursor were a little bigger so it wouldn't take so long to get across the screen.
First impression: That's it? I turned on the computer, typed in a few details, and POW, HAL was ready for his first lesson! This thing connected itself to the internet. I don't know how. I didn't do anything but plug it in! Somehow, it just worked. I went back to the manual, I searched online. I was sure I was missing something, that I wasn't doing something right. With WinXP, I had to use an internet connection wizard. Where was the internet connection wizard on a mac? Then I finally got it: Mac doesn't need it, 'cause Mac does it for you.
The beautiful thing about this operating system is that you don't have to think about it. It regularly does in one step what generally takes three to five steps in XP.
I live in Japan. Windows was great because even though my computer was in Japanese (and I came here completely unable to read Kanji), I could still use a PC because everything is in basically the same place.
Mac is great because I don't need to guess what the menu says, and I don't need a special (professional) version of the operating system, or to download MUI GUI packs, or follow arcane rules. I just go to preferences and change the language.
Everything I love about this mac is that the whole OS is designed that way: it is very user friendly, it is very efficient, it is very easy. I hardly even notice how easy it is ... until I get to work and try to do the same stuff on my windows PC at work.
Mac isn't for everybody. I'm not going to bash windows completely. Our relationship has come to an end, but HEY, maybe windows works for some people.
Let me tell you what's been difficult about the mac: it has an OS, and that's about it. There isn't a lot of software on it, and some really basic stuff is trialware. There are no clipart libraries. No texture libraries. My mac is like a green field, and after coming from a PC that was loaded with software, I've gone through some major software withdrawal. It's made worse by the fact that my town only has one store that actually sells Macs and two stores that sell software for Macs, and neither store has a very big selection.
Luckily, if you look around, you can usually find some software that'll do what you want. My computer at work has all my work software. So I just needed a few things for home. Here are a few suggestions to make switching less painful.
Office: I tried iwork, and iwork is great ... but it's really more than I need. I don't do anything very graphics-intensive. I like the interface for Pages, and it's easy to use, but it's just not right for my needs. Also, although Pages will import and export to Word's DOC format, it doesn't handle the format very well. I had to do a lot of cleanup after import and export. Instead, I've started using Neooffice. Check it out.
http://www.neooffice.org/neojava/en/index.php
It's well-designed, and it does the job. I was worried because it says they still have a bug that prevents the suite from printing above 300dpi. However, I printed a few pictures using both Neooffice and Pages: I couldn't see any difference.
So, if you want a cool, easy to use program with lots of options and layouts for text and graphics: I recommend Pages. It's very reasonably priced. If, on the other hand, you're like me and your needs are few and simple: Neooffice.
Graphics: I've used dozens of graphics programs. I'm not a pro, but I've done computer graphics for more than 15 years. The BEST program I've ever used was Microsoft Photodraw. It was perfect for an amateur, and I could do lots of really cool stuff with a few clicks. STUPID Microsoft discontinued it. Nothing can replace it for me. I still have it at work. However, if you're an amateur, and you don't mind reading a few tutorials: Inkscape's not bad. It's free and it'll do some cool stuff. I'm also considering Pixen, but I'm not sure just yet. I'm still thinking.
http://www.inkscape.org/
http://opensword.org/Pixen/
The only thing holding me back on Pixen is that it doesn't seem to have text functions, and I sometimes like a little text in my graphics.
Browser: Safari's all right, but I prefer Firefox. Especially if you're coming to Mac from a PC, Firefox's GUI is comfortingly bloated. Safari's a little minimalist for my tastes.
FTP: Cyberduck. Cyberduck is a really cool, really easy FTP program. I know that there are other programs that are undoubtedly better (I've heard Fugu is good), but Cyberduck reminds me of a program I used in windows: FTP Commander. Let that be a lesson to you: withdrawal from Windows can be easier if you have a few programs that are familiar.
http://cyberduck.ch/
Games: I miss my games. I collected a LOT of cool windows games over the years, and there's a LOT of freeware on the net. However, I've found a few pretty cool games (free, naturally) to kill time with.
SNES9x. If you have any old SNES roms, or can find some: this is a GREAT time-killer, and a real blast-from-the-past.
http://www.snes9x.com/
Spatterlight. Wanna play some text adventure games? C'mon! Don't knock these! This is what we did before graphics (when we weren't playing PONG). Spatterlight will do what no Windows program will do: it will play virtually all text adventure games (so I'm told). That's pretty good engineering!
http://ccxvii.net/spatterlight/
Inform. Wanna MAKE some text adventure games? Try Inform. I haven't used it yet, but it looks promising.
http://www.inform-fiction.org/I7/Welcome.html
MyMahj. This is a nice Mahjong tile solitaire game. Not a lot of options, but HEY! It's free, right?
http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/games/cards_puzzle/mymahj.html
Battle for Wesnoth. I'll admit, I've only done the tutorial on this strategy game, but it looks really cool, so I'll recommend it.
http://www.wesnoth.org/
Aleph One. This is a game engine for playing a game called Marathon. Marathon's a LOT like the original Doom, and there are some other Doomlike games you can play. I tried it. It's cheesy, but I have a feeling it'll be good for days when I want some mindless action.
http://source.bungie.org/get/
Lincity-NG. This is a simcity clone, and I've only played it a little, but again, it looks like it might be cool for rainy days, or when there's nothing else to do (except work).
http://lincity-ng.berlios.de/wiki/index.php/Main_Page
The best, I've saved for last:
GL-Tron. This is the lightcycle game from the movie Tron. It's simple, it's cheesy ... it's also really, really addictive. I love this game. Best 30 seconds of my day!
http://www.gltron.org/
So here's my advice: if you want to switch to Mac, be ready to go digging for programs and games, and be ready to do without some stuff you've gotten used to.
As I said, the 'switch' is not for everybody. However: Unless Microsoft really changes for the better and/or Mac really changes for the worse, I don't think I'll switch back. I think this divorce is final.
Let me start by saying that I am not new to computers. I got my first computer in about 1983. It was a Timex Sinclaire 1000: Check out the specs on THIS baby!
http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=477&st=1
My second computer was an Atari 600/800 xl
http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?st=1&c=27
So, needless to say, I've been around awhile. I've been a dedicated Microsoft user for more than 20 years, since BEFORE windows, back in the good old days of the 'c' prompt.
Finally this year, after years of defending Microsoft, making excuses for Microsoft, buying practically everything Microsoft was selling: I had had enough. I kicked the bum out ... and got me a mac.
It's a beauty. 24" imac? Goodness, this screen is big. Makes me wish the cursor were a little bigger so it wouldn't take so long to get across the screen.
First impression: That's it? I turned on the computer, typed in a few details, and POW, HAL was ready for his first lesson! This thing connected itself to the internet. I don't know how. I didn't do anything but plug it in! Somehow, it just worked. I went back to the manual, I searched online. I was sure I was missing something, that I wasn't doing something right. With WinXP, I had to use an internet connection wizard. Where was the internet connection wizard on a mac? Then I finally got it: Mac doesn't need it, 'cause Mac does it for you.
The beautiful thing about this operating system is that you don't have to think about it. It regularly does in one step what generally takes three to five steps in XP.
I live in Japan. Windows was great because even though my computer was in Japanese (and I came here completely unable to read Kanji), I could still use a PC because everything is in basically the same place.
Mac is great because I don't need to guess what the menu says, and I don't need a special (professional) version of the operating system, or to download MUI GUI packs, or follow arcane rules. I just go to preferences and change the language.
Everything I love about this mac is that the whole OS is designed that way: it is very user friendly, it is very efficient, it is very easy. I hardly even notice how easy it is ... until I get to work and try to do the same stuff on my windows PC at work.
Mac isn't for everybody. I'm not going to bash windows completely. Our relationship has come to an end, but HEY, maybe windows works for some people.
Let me tell you what's been difficult about the mac: it has an OS, and that's about it. There isn't a lot of software on it, and some really basic stuff is trialware. There are no clipart libraries. No texture libraries. My mac is like a green field, and after coming from a PC that was loaded with software, I've gone through some major software withdrawal. It's made worse by the fact that my town only has one store that actually sells Macs and two stores that sell software for Macs, and neither store has a very big selection.
Luckily, if you look around, you can usually find some software that'll do what you want. My computer at work has all my work software. So I just needed a few things for home. Here are a few suggestions to make switching less painful.
Office: I tried iwork, and iwork is great ... but it's really more than I need. I don't do anything very graphics-intensive. I like the interface for Pages, and it's easy to use, but it's just not right for my needs. Also, although Pages will import and export to Word's DOC format, it doesn't handle the format very well. I had to do a lot of cleanup after import and export. Instead, I've started using Neooffice. Check it out.
http://www.neooffice.org/neojava/en/index.php
It's well-designed, and it does the job. I was worried because it says they still have a bug that prevents the suite from printing above 300dpi. However, I printed a few pictures using both Neooffice and Pages: I couldn't see any difference.
So, if you want a cool, easy to use program with lots of options and layouts for text and graphics: I recommend Pages. It's very reasonably priced. If, on the other hand, you're like me and your needs are few and simple: Neooffice.
Graphics: I've used dozens of graphics programs. I'm not a pro, but I've done computer graphics for more than 15 years. The BEST program I've ever used was Microsoft Photodraw. It was perfect for an amateur, and I could do lots of really cool stuff with a few clicks. STUPID Microsoft discontinued it. Nothing can replace it for me. I still have it at work. However, if you're an amateur, and you don't mind reading a few tutorials: Inkscape's not bad. It's free and it'll do some cool stuff. I'm also considering Pixen, but I'm not sure just yet. I'm still thinking.
http://www.inkscape.org/
http://opensword.org/Pixen/
The only thing holding me back on Pixen is that it doesn't seem to have text functions, and I sometimes like a little text in my graphics.
Browser: Safari's all right, but I prefer Firefox. Especially if you're coming to Mac from a PC, Firefox's GUI is comfortingly bloated. Safari's a little minimalist for my tastes.
FTP: Cyberduck. Cyberduck is a really cool, really easy FTP program. I know that there are other programs that are undoubtedly better (I've heard Fugu is good), but Cyberduck reminds me of a program I used in windows: FTP Commander. Let that be a lesson to you: withdrawal from Windows can be easier if you have a few programs that are familiar.
http://cyberduck.ch/
Games: I miss my games. I collected a LOT of cool windows games over the years, and there's a LOT of freeware on the net. However, I've found a few pretty cool games (free, naturally) to kill time with.
SNES9x. If you have any old SNES roms, or can find some: this is a GREAT time-killer, and a real blast-from-the-past.
http://www.snes9x.com/
Spatterlight. Wanna play some text adventure games? C'mon! Don't knock these! This is what we did before graphics (when we weren't playing PONG). Spatterlight will do what no Windows program will do: it will play virtually all text adventure games (so I'm told). That's pretty good engineering!
http://ccxvii.net/spatterlight/
Inform. Wanna MAKE some text adventure games? Try Inform. I haven't used it yet, but it looks promising.
http://www.inform-fiction.org/I7/Welcome.html
MyMahj. This is a nice Mahjong tile solitaire game. Not a lot of options, but HEY! It's free, right?
http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/games/cards_puzzle/mymahj.html
Battle for Wesnoth. I'll admit, I've only done the tutorial on this strategy game, but it looks really cool, so I'll recommend it.
http://www.wesnoth.org/
Aleph One. This is a game engine for playing a game called Marathon. Marathon's a LOT like the original Doom, and there are some other Doomlike games you can play. I tried it. It's cheesy, but I have a feeling it'll be good for days when I want some mindless action.
http://source.bungie.org/get/
Lincity-NG. This is a simcity clone, and I've only played it a little, but again, it looks like it might be cool for rainy days, or when there's nothing else to do (except work).
http://lincity-ng.berlios.de/wiki/index.php/Main_Page
The best, I've saved for last:
GL-Tron. This is the lightcycle game from the movie Tron. It's simple, it's cheesy ... it's also really, really addictive. I love this game. Best 30 seconds of my day!
http://www.gltron.org/
So here's my advice: if you want to switch to Mac, be ready to go digging for programs and games, and be ready to do without some stuff you've gotten used to.
As I said, the 'switch' is not for everybody. However: Unless Microsoft really changes for the better and/or Mac really changes for the worse, I don't think I'll switch back. I think this divorce is final.
.
