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mcatt66

macrumors member
Original poster
Feb 14, 2007
38
0
Not making this thread to trash mac or be a wiseass just trying to get some feedback. . I know everyone with a mac loves it and Im just trying to figure what is so special about it. I have been a PC guy all my life and just last week bought a new 20 inch Imac . . I dont do any comp graphics or movie or music making. . .Im ur basic download movies, music, browse the internet guy, porn viewing, myspace using user. . .do u think its a waste to have a mac if ur not really into all the extras. . .so far

Positives:
looks real nice asteticly
like the dock on the bottom
compact and wireless
No virus
entertainment remote menu

Negatives

cant open anyhting i download off limewire
cant burn a movie if my life depended on it
Seems like all programs are complicated (could be cause Im so used to windows)
\seems like i have to relearn even simple things

so what do u think. . .this machine cost me about 600 or 700 more than a PC witgh a bigger screen. . .moneys not the issue. . .

Why should I keep it? it was more money and im having trouble doing basic things?
 

Allotriophagy

macrumors 6502a
Sep 5, 2006
917
0
Give it more than a week, at least. Ask for help online with things you are having a problem with. People on here love to tell others how to do stuff the right way.
 

rogersmj

macrumors 68020
Sep 10, 2006
2,161
1
Indianapolis, IN
If you can't play certain videos, get VLC. If you're having trouble burning things, ask for help. You can do anything on a Mac that you can do on a PC and then some.
 

ezzie

macrumors 68020
Sep 7, 2006
2,208
0
Baltimore, MD
have you read through the help files available for each program? what programs in particular are you having issues with?

i'm not trying to downplay your experience, but it is a different operating system. things are done differently. like it's been said, give it time.

i've used both macs and PC's for years, and i have to say i find the macs to be much more intuitive and easier to use.

however, don't blame the mac for having problems with your limewire files. limewire is full of all kinds of bad stuff, so maybe it's better that your mac won't open the files, eh? music and movies can be purchased at iTunes, or other places for that matter. that's just my take on things. :rolleyes:
 

robbieduncan

Moderator emeritus
Jul 24, 2002
25,611
893
Harrogate
If you are used to the Windows way of doing things you will have to relearn some stuff. If you get a new PC you will have to install DivX/XVid codecs, perhaps Quicktime and so on to get all movies to play. The Mac is no different. Install the free Flip4Mac and Perian codec pacs and you can play almost all movies in Quicktime.

In general Mac programs are simpler than Windows you just need to get used to the basic ideas.
 

mattscott306

macrumors 68040
Jan 16, 2007
3,769
0
As far as limewire goes... are you downloading programs? Mac's dont run .exe software (unless you boot up in windows). But yeah, other then that, like everyone else said, give it more time. I guess I was lucky becuase I was already familar with the interface by the time I switched (friends had all switched before me), but most people I hear of have adjustment problems.
 

CEAbiscuit

macrumors 6502a
Jun 28, 2006
534
0
The Kitchen
Limewire is a definite issue... better alternatives out there and there are plenty of threads to help you in this forum. Also be sure to download Flip4mac so that you can run all those wholesome movies you speak of through quicktime.
 

aristobrat

macrumors G5
Oct 14, 2005
12,292
1,403
Install the free Flip4Mac and Perian codec pacs and you can play almost all movies in Quicktime.
Exactly.

mcatt66, if you install the two things that robbie and others have mentioned, then QuickTime will be able to play almost any video that you download.

As for not being able to burn a movie, .. if you want something super simple, get Toast 8.0

All you do is tell Toast that you want to burn a movie (i.e. not a data disc), drag your movies into it, and click Burn.

There's a learning curve to ANYTHING new in your life. Like if you get a new DVD player for your TV, you're going to fumble around with the buttons on the remote for a week or two before it starts to feel natural. IMO, a Mac is the same way. But once it does start to feel natural, I doubt you'll want to switch back to a PC. I say give it a chance.
 

mcatt66

macrumors member
Original poster
Feb 14, 2007
38
0
im going to give it more time. . I have untile Feb 25th to return it. . After hours of trouble and what not I finally figured out how to burn a movie (with this sites help) then i went to watch it in my Xbox and it wouldnt play the movie. . .I dont know what the problem is but I never had that problem before with my xbox. . .I always burn and watch movies on it. . I will try downloading the programs u mentioned. . .and as far as lim ewire. . .every time I download a program ie a zip or rar file it turns out being an exe file and I cant open it. . .there are so many programs that are exe files. . .
 

dukeman

macrumors member
Feb 5, 2007
53
0
im going to give it more time. . I have untile Feb 25th to return it. . After hours of trouble and what not I finally figured out how to burn a movie (with this sites help) then i went to watch it in my Xbox and it wouldnt play the movie. . .I dont know what the problem is but I never had that problem before with my xbox. . .I always burn and watch movies on it. . I will try downloading the programs u mentioned. . .and as far as lim ewire. . .every time I download a program ie a zip or rar file it turns out being an exe file and I cant open it. . .there are so many programs that are exe files. . .

You could always buy programs and movies instead of stealing them off of limewire.
 

clevin

macrumors G3
Aug 6, 2006
9,095
1
for OP, only if u do these things alot, u need to get a windows
1. game
2. browsing website that need ActiveX
3. watching DRM protected WMV
4. need special softwares that doesn't support OSX
5. MSN video conference.
 

SpookTheHamster

macrumors 65816
Nov 7, 2004
1,495
8
London
for OP, only if u do these things alot, u need to get a windows
1. game
2. browsing website that need ActiveX
3. watching DRM protected WMV
4. need special softwares that doesn't support OSX
5. MSN video conference.

Get rid of 5, just because Microsoft's MSN client can't do video chat, it doesn't mean others can't as well.

To the OP, if you're so hell-bent on stealing Windows software, just install Windows under Parallels.
 

Grakkle

macrumors 6502a
Oct 6, 2006
624
2
Earth
i've used both macs and PC's for years, and i have to say i find the macs to be much more intuitive and easier to use.

however, don't blame the mac for having problems with your limewire files. limewire is full of all kinds of bad stuff, so maybe it's better that your mac won't open the files, eh? music and movies can be purchased at iTunes, or other places for that matter. that's just my take on things. :rolleyes:

I agree. The OS X interface is different, but once you're used to it it's much easier to use, not to mention a lot more stable.

And as for the crappy p2p software out there - well, yes, you are likely to have problems with it. But for anything legitimate, the Mac is much better.

Anyway, once you do manage to get something off limewire (which I don't recommend, either) at least you won't be getting a batch of viruses along with it.
 

MrSmith

macrumors 68040
Nov 27, 2003
3,046
14
You could always buy programs and movies instead of stealing them off of limewire.
You guys pop up unwanted like whiteheads. The OP is asking for advice - not a soundcheck on your righteousness.
 

jsw

Moderator emeritus
Mar 16, 2004
22,910
44
Andover, MA
You guys pop up unwanted like whiteheads. The OP is asking for advice - not a soundcheck on your righteousness.
I think you'll find that posts advocating that people not illegally steal software are very well tolerated by the moderators here.

Posts advocating the opposite are not. When I said OS X met his needs, I didn't include the "need" to steal software and music.
 

clevin

macrumors G3
Aug 6, 2006
9,095
1
Get rid of 5, just because Microsoft's MSN client can't do video chat, it doesn't mean others can't as well.

lol, its easy for you to say so, for those who has more than 50 friends on MSN, ur way isn't gonna work.

anyway, I wonder how many (percentage of) mac users have pirate softwares/musics on their machine? if you guys think this question shouldn't be in this topic, then maybe u guys should open a new post discussing piracy issue, rather than ranting here.
 

mcatt66

macrumors member
Original poster
Feb 14, 2007
38
0
i know its not right to steal programs, but its also not right for these billion dollar companies to charge extra on top of an overpriced machine to get things to work. . u drop 2 thjousand on a comoputer it should come with everything, but lets not get off track here. ..we can back and forth about downloading ethics in another thread. . .so if i am a program and movie stealer are u telling me Mac is not for me?
 

eji

macrumors 6502
Jun 8, 2004
402
60
INW
If you're sitting down at a Mac and expecting to use it like a Windows computer, you're going to be really disappointed. Profoundly disappointed. When I've been asked "How do I...?" by new Mac users, I usually say, "You're thinking too much" and that proves to be a good solution. OS X generally tends to be more straightforward than people are willing to believe. Then again, that particular advice might not apply some users.

Like some other posters, my already limited reserve of sympathy drops a few notches when you're running a crappy P2P client like LimeWire and looking for warez, porn and burnable copies of DVD movies. I think it takes some level of savvy to do those things safely and properly, and the number of things that could be wrong are almost infinite. Are you downloading Mac apps, or just anything that strikes your fancy? How are you burning the movies? Do you have the right ports open on your firewall in order to connect to other LimeWire users?

As far as returning the iMac, you should ask yourself: If you were relatively happy and comfortable doing all these things on a Windows computer, why did you ever switch?
 

swiftaw

macrumors 603
Jan 31, 2005
6,328
25
Omaha, NE, USA
i know its not right to steal programs, but its also not right for these billion dollar companies to charge extra on top of an overpriced machine to get things to work. . u drop 2 thjousand on a comoputer it should come with everything,

That is such a crazy argument, it's like saying that I just spent $30k on a car, I shouldn't have to pay for gas to make it work.
 

ezzie

macrumors 68020
Sep 7, 2006
2,208
0
Baltimore, MD
i know its not right to steal programs, but its also not right for these billion dollar companies to charge extra on top of an overpriced machine to get things to work. . u drop 2 thjousand on a comoputer it should come with everything, but lets not get off track here. ..we can back and forth about downloading ethics in another thread. . .so if i am a program and movie stealer are u telling me Mac is not for me?

if you spend $2000 on a PC, does it come with every program?

what in particular are you missing that you think should have come with your mac?

no one's saying a mac is not for you. what some of us are saying is that there are legitimate programs that you can purchase that will work flawlessly. there are also a few legitmately free programs that work great as well.
 
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