need to buy Mac yet!

[Exodist]

Not sure about this option but will look into it. Having my personal files on "cloud" is a bit un nervibg for me. Privacy and all that!

In the end tho as I stated previously, if I am going mac, I will go all the way learning and experimenting on my way!

You don't have to save them on the cloud, you have save and access files from your computer. Its just an option incase your at say an internet Cafe IMHO..

 

[Exodist]

.......Re BootCamp, remember that is not your only option. You can run OS X and use Parallels to run Windows within that and run Windows apps, intermixed on your desktop with OS X apps. Lots of people do that.

..

Jus to piggy back on this, I also have Win7 and Linux running on OSX using Virtual Box from Oracle. Just incase you got that ONE program you can't find for OSX!

 

[lori5060]

hi i am back again. have been doing lots more research and have decided to order macbook air13" soon.
Now as to whether to choose upgrades......

PROCESSOR....basic 128GB, don't plan on doing any fancy movie making nor audio editing [will keep those tasks for home desktop running Win7]. So don't think I need to upgrade here, unless I get some suggestions as to why it would be a good idea.
I will basically do email, browsing web to begin with. later will try to work with pictures and maybe some creating slides work. There are so many applications that I need to learn and probably will want to try some of them out once I get used to new Apple.

STORAGE...I will be keeping a lot of my files on external drive and access them if I choose so I don't really need more storage.

RAM..I plan to definitely upgrade to 8GM. my question is this:
basic macbook air 13" comes with 1.4GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 (Turbo Boost up to 2.7GHz) with 3MB shared L3 cache
what does the Turbo Boost up to 2.7GHz do? when does it Turbo boost?

I culd upgrade to 1.7GHz dual-core Intel Core i7 (Turbo Boost up to 3.3GHz) with 4MB shared L3 cache.....
but don't know if I really need it and don't want to spend money unnecessarily at the moment.
any comments?

 

[joema]

...RAM..I plan to definitely upgrade to 8GM. my question is this:
basic macbook air 13" comes with 1.4GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 (Turbo Boost up to 2.7GHz) ...what does the Turbo Boost up to 2.7GHz do? when does it Turbo boost?
...
I culd upgrade to 1.7GHz dual-core Intel Core i7 (Turbo Boost up to 3.3GHz) with 4MB shared L3 cache.....but don't know if I really need it and don't want to spend money unnecessarily at the moment...

Turbo boost is a built-in feature of the Intel CPU which automatically increases clock rate when possible. It is seamless, invisible, automatic and requires no user action. It's just a way Intel squeezes out a little more performance.

I have both i7 and i5 2013 MacBook Airs. The i5 is a 1.3Ghz and the i7 is 1.7Ghz. For your stated tasks, I don't see i7 as that important. I would suggest getting 8GB if possible, although it will run OK on 4GB.

Using both MacBooks side by side, the i7 feels a little faster sometimes, but it's not that big a difference. I use the i7 for photo editing and light video editing in the field. At home I use my iMac for that. The i5 MacBook Air should fit your needs just fine.

 

[lori5060]

Thank you that answers my question!!

 

[Exodist]

hi i am back again. have been doing lots more research and have decided to order macbook air13" soon.
Now as to whether to choose upgrades......

PROCESSOR....basic 128GB, don't plan on doing any fancy movie making nor audio editing [will keep those tasks for home desktop running Win7]. So don't think I need to upgrade here, unless I get some suggestions as to why it would be a good idea.
I will basically do email, browsing web to begin with. later will try to work with pictures and maybe some creating slides work. There are so many applications that I need to learn and probably will want to try some of them out once I get used to new Apple.

STORAGE...I will be keeping a lot of my files on external drive and access them if I choose so I don't really need more storage.

RAM..I plan to definitely upgrade to 8GM. my question is this:
basic macbook air 13" comes with 1.4GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 (Turbo Boost up to 2.7GHz) with 3MB shared L3 cache
what does the Turbo Boost up to 2.7GHz do? when does it Turbo boost?

I culd upgrade to 1.7GHz dual-core Intel Core i7 (Turbo Boost up to 3.3GHz) with 4MB shared L3 cache.....
but don't know if I really need it and don't want to spend money unnecessarily at the moment.
any comments?

8GB of RAM is best performance. A i7 will not offer much benefit over a i5 unless your heavy into multitasking. But basic web surfing, iPod syncing, minor photo editing or just uploading. The base model is fine. I do recommend a small USB 3 WD external drive. My wives MBA has 128GB of flash storage and it gets filled up quickly..

As far as the turbo boost, if your CPU can boost up to 2.7, which means your cpu will check if it can run cool enough at that temp, if the power is available and of course if the system needs to boost up to that speed. Then it will throttle up to 2.7 as long as it can. This is great design for laptops as it uses less power this way.

 

[lori5060]

Thankyou exodus for more confirmation on items I was querying about.

For storage... I do have a 1TB drive which currently holds my data files. Also have several smaller storage thumb drives anywhere from 1-3208gb.

Being older items when USB ports were 1.0 then 2....... Will they still be okay to use in 3.0 USB ports on mac? I have been using them on my win7 computer which is about 5yrs old now and I do not think it has 3.0 USB ports.

I read in one bit of research that using older ones culd slow things down or cause problem.

How can I tell what generation of USB my products are?
OR is my understanding of USBs totally invalid??

 

[johnnyboy44]

Changing from Windows 7 to Mac is not a problem. I changed a year ago and would NEVER go back to windows.

 

[joema]

...I do have a 1TB drive which currently holds my data files. Also have several smaller storage thumb drives anywhere from 1-3208gb....
Being older items when USB ports were 1.0 then 2....... Will they still be okay to use in 3.0 USB ports on mac?...

Yes they will work fine on your Mac. USB 2 devices are backward compatible with USB 3 ports. However -- be advised there can be a huge performance difference. Whether on a new Mac or new PC, it is often well worth just replacing your old portable storage devices with updated USB 3 versions, which can be relatively inexpensive.

The fastest USB 3 portable HDD I have tested is the HGST Touro S: HGST Touro S | High-Performance Portable Drive with Easy Local and Cloud Backup

Two very fast USB 3 thumb drive I've tested are the Sandisk Extreme Pro 128GB: SanDisk 128GB Extreme PRO USB 3.0 Flash Drive and Lexar P10: Amazon.com: Lexar JumpDrive P10 64GB USB 3.0 Flash Drive LJDP10-64GCRBNA: Computers & Accessories

Those are expensive but there are smaller size versions. The performance difference between an old USB 2 vs one of these is gigantic. Even low-end USB 3 thumb drives can be quite slow.

Re file system compatibility of your 1TB hard drive, Mac can read NTFS but not write it, so if your 1TB drive is NTFS format the Mac can't write to that. Mac can read/write FAT, FAT-32 and exFAT just fine. There is 3rd party software like Paragon that lets Macs write to NTFS (should you even need that): Paragon NTFS for Mac® - First NTFS driver for OS X Yosemite - Overview

Usually for PC/Mac data interchange using exFAT is just fine. That is both for portable hard drives and for USB thumb sticks.

Reformatting an existing drive with data, that must be backed up first because the reformat wipes everything clean. On Macs you reformat using the Disk Utility app, it's called the "erase" function.

 

[jslocks]

I run windows 8 on my iMac through Parallels as I have programmes I like to use in windows format. Works very well for me.

 

[ParamedicDave]

Moving from Microsoft

just joined this forum.

I have been Microsoft user many many years and so my habits are well engrained in my head.

I have been toying with idea of switching to Mac for about a year now for several reasons.

Am very intrigued with the many good things I hear about MAC and yet a little fearful of all the NEW stuff I will have to learn and re train this old brain.

My first concern with Mac was how can I use all my many Word,Excel and PP files without having to buy a lot of software. And can I still do some of my favourite things on Mac and I did on MS PC. I did use a lot of non MS products and have discovered that many of them have MAC versions. So there I am in luck.
After a lot of research, I see that with a little bit of bending here and there, it will be of no big concern.

Recently from library book on dummies...switching to mac...I am even more confused with the basic keyboard functions and how to work with Mac. Connecting printers and scanners, getting drivers and all that techy stuff which I am not too familiar with.

I have put that book aside for now until I let my brain rest.

I plan to pop in and get some feedback as I find out more and more.
I plan to buy a Macbook Air.

My first personal computer was an Apple II back about 1976; prior to that I was on mainframes. Then, I switched to Compaq about 1984, and was a Microsoft user until last year. Only "Creative Ad Agency types" were using Apple in the 80s. I love my Macbook Pro!!!! Yes, I was a little clumsy at first trying to do things the Windows way. But, it's like driving a new car: you will quickly learn where the buttons are. I have no problem accessing my Windows files, including Excel, Word, PowerPoint. As for the cost: $19.99 each with free upgrades ever since. Unlike Microsoft Office, which I paid hundreds for, and then had to pay an upgrade fee every time they came out with a New Version. Software is much less expensive on my Mac. Good Luck, Don't worry

 

[beltman]

Switching to mac

Go for it. You will not regret it. I switched to Mac 18 months ago after arguing with my son who was a confirmed Mac man. I put forward all the reasons why I shouldn't such as cost and not being in full control. Then I gave in and boy am I pleased I did. I love everything about my iMac. Speed, ease of use, everything

 

[Guardsix]

I don't know hold old you are, but I made the switch about 4 years ago at age 60. Bought a MacBook Pro 15" and have never looked back. Now 4 years later, my Macbook is running as well as the day I bought it and I am a much saner person because of the switch! My wife is still on a Windows 7 machine and she can drive me crazy with different every day problems!

The learning curve isn't that steep and soon you'll find that Macs (either a MacBook or an iMac) just work; no muss, no fuss, they just do what you want them to do.

I intend to buy a new iMac 27" Retina desktop just about the same day I start on Medicare - 1 May 2015.

Just do it!

 

[lori5060]

Thankyou joema for info on external drive storage. I have several thumb drives so will try each out and see how they work. I will look into the FAST USB 3.0 tho
OOPS wrong thread!!

 

[Wheelz]

I was using Open Office back when I was a Windows man so there was no transition with regard to Office suite. I use Writer(Word) and Calc(Excel) quite extensively and have had only a couple of Calc files fail to translate successfully. Many of my Calc files require sharing with Windows users and therefor must be exported as .xls and only a couple with awkward functions have failed to carry over completely.
And best of all Open Office is FREE!
Shifted from Windows and bought my 15" MacBook 5yrs ago at age 49 after years of Windows and within a year I was faced with replacing my Win desktop. The purchase of an iMac 27" was a no-brainer and the payback of the higher cost IMO was very short. They are fantastic machines and manage themselves in a way that makes a Windows user ask, "But what about defragging?" "How do Get rid of all those Temp files?" and so on.
In the 5 yrs I've been running Mac I haven't used any 3rd party security software just the built in security and have had no issues.
Battery life on the MacBook - A+++ This was a BIG win being able to go a whole day on one charge under fairly heavy use. This will diminish a little over time of course but I'm still using the original battery.
Like dialup to broadband, I will never return to Windows.
I have to use Windows PC at work every now and then and just HATE it.
Good luck.

 

[lori5060]

thanks joema for your info on USB 3.0. i will check into their cost.
since i have several 2.0 storage devices and I tend to just plug them in and go away for the copy to take place. SPEED is not such a great importance for me.
however, that may be something to consider when I want to use printer or scanner.oops...i see my post to what i thought was wrong thread is showing. sorry for the duplication.

 

[Iatros55]

Go ahead and switch

I just got disgusted with the failures of Win 7 x 64. It seemed that weekly my PC failed in some way to allow me to perform a needed task. I work with my machines, not play games, and I expect reliable performance.

So 3+ years ago, my loving spouse consented to plunk down some $$ for an iMac27. Of course, there is a learning curve, but there are so many resources for self-study and edification of the OSX. Soon I was automatically putting the mouse (then a trackpad) cursor to the left upper corner instead of the right. I began to use and learn the open source OpenOffice, Thunderbird, Mozilla backup, and many other apps that run well on OSX. With much help from the Mac Forums and other writers, I learned how to use the Mac.

For my $$, I would never go back, but I kept the PC because I have a couple of programs that will not run on OSX unless I add virtual PC software. Those include Quicken (OSX version not as well done as PC) and a couple of flight simulators.

My advice is to go for it, if you are even thinking about it. Dedicated OSX MAC users have mostly begun as PC users who went the route I did. (careful what you say, some are fanatical).

 

[ankhseeker]

I was toying with switching too so I bought a used mac mini for $150. Never went back to windows and it does everything I want it to do. Now I have a MBP as well. I am finally happy! ;-)
Just do it!

 

[Collin Bl]

My Tuppence FWIW - having been using Parallels and windows for the last 3 years - max out your RAM - big advantage if you like multiple apps running. I have progressed from 8 to 12 and now 24 on the iMac. Got pretty close to the 12 used on occasion but now with 24 don't even think about RAM

 

[lori5060]

Thankyou all for your valuable comments on your experiences!
I have decided to go ahead and buy MacBook Air upgrading ram to 8gb.