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Switcher Hangout (Windows to Mac)
Switching for Graphic Design
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<blockquote data-quote="jn4jenny" data-source="post: 159440"><p>Seems like you've gotten good advice so far and you've already pretty much decided to switch. Here's some things to think about, though:</p><p></p><p>1. 512 MB of RAM is considered by most Mac users to be the MINIMUM RAM for OS X Tiger. I really recommend that you budget to add more RAM, and that you don't buy that RAM from Apple. Apple gets its memory from Crucial, and you pay less for it if you order it direct through <a href="http://www.crucial.com" target="_blank">www.crucial.com</a>. Or of course, there are many generic and cheaper brands available (try <a href="http://www.dealram.com" target="_blank">www.dealram.com</a> to see price samplings)</p><p></p><p>2. If you haven't investigated The Gimp yet, do so; it's an open source alternative to Photoshop and it's available for both Windows and Mac. If you're used to the Photoshop menus, then consider also trying GimpShop, which is an altered version of The Gimp that practically matches the Photoshop menus one-to-one, so that you won't feel like you're in a different application. You can check out Gimpshop through <a href="http://www.gimpshop.net" target="_blank">www.gimpshop.net</a>, and regular The Gimp at <a href="http://www.thegimp.org" target="_blank">www.thegimp.org</a>.</p><p></p><p>3. Don't buy your software direct from Apple either. It's available much more cheaply through third party dealers, and of course, on Ebay. If the version of MS Office is not important to you, you might save a little cash by purchasing Office v.X, which was the version before Office 2004.</p><p></p><p>4. Definitely get yourself a two-button mouse. I use a regular old Microsoft Intellimouse Optical Explorer with my Mac, which has FOUR buttons (yes, ooooooh) and I can't live without it. Those one button Apple mice drive me insane.</p><p></p><p>5. If your husband is crowing about the cost of the 20-incher, see if you can sell him on the 1.5Ghz 20-incher refurb being sold by Apple for $1149 (original retail $1899). You can still get AppleCare on the refurb machines and this is the iMac model that was discontinued just this past May. It's got almost the same specs as the current 17-inch model but it sports the bigger screen; the only real drawback is that it comes with only 256MB of RAM, so you'd definitely have to drop some extra RAM into it. Nonetheless, it's a steal financially. If you want to seriously consider the refurb, the profiles at <a href="http://www.lowendmac.com" target="_blank">www.lowendmac.com</a> can help you hash out the difference in specs between the available refurb and the current models: <a href="http://www.lowendmac.com/imacs/index.shtml" target="_blank">http://www.lowendmac.com/imacs/index.shtml</a></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="jn4jenny, post: 159440"] Seems like you've gotten good advice so far and you've already pretty much decided to switch. Here's some things to think about, though: 1. 512 MB of RAM is considered by most Mac users to be the MINIMUM RAM for OS X Tiger. I really recommend that you budget to add more RAM, and that you don't buy that RAM from Apple. Apple gets its memory from Crucial, and you pay less for it if you order it direct through [url]www.crucial.com[/url]. Or of course, there are many generic and cheaper brands available (try [url]www.dealram.com[/url] to see price samplings) 2. If you haven't investigated The Gimp yet, do so; it's an open source alternative to Photoshop and it's available for both Windows and Mac. If you're used to the Photoshop menus, then consider also trying GimpShop, which is an altered version of The Gimp that practically matches the Photoshop menus one-to-one, so that you won't feel like you're in a different application. You can check out Gimpshop through [url]www.gimpshop.net[/url], and regular The Gimp at [url]www.thegimp.org[/url]. 3. Don't buy your software direct from Apple either. It's available much more cheaply through third party dealers, and of course, on Ebay. If the version of MS Office is not important to you, you might save a little cash by purchasing Office v.X, which was the version before Office 2004. 4. Definitely get yourself a two-button mouse. I use a regular old Microsoft Intellimouse Optical Explorer with my Mac, which has FOUR buttons (yes, ooooooh) and I can't live without it. Those one button Apple mice drive me insane. 5. If your husband is crowing about the cost of the 20-incher, see if you can sell him on the 1.5Ghz 20-incher refurb being sold by Apple for $1149 (original retail $1899). You can still get AppleCare on the refurb machines and this is the iMac model that was discontinued just this past May. It's got almost the same specs as the current 17-inch model but it sports the bigger screen; the only real drawback is that it comes with only 256MB of RAM, so you'd definitely have to drop some extra RAM into it. Nonetheless, it's a steal financially. If you want to seriously consider the refurb, the profiles at [url]www.lowendmac.com[/url] can help you hash out the difference in specs between the available refurb and the current models: [url]http://www.lowendmac.com/imacs/index.shtml[/url] [/QUOTE]
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