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First Mac experience . . .

How did you . . .

  • By ads (all in one, iLife etc...)?

    Votes: 3 1.9%

  • Friends/Family?

    Votes: 59 37.3%

  • Second Hand/Cheap?

    Votes: 6 3.8%

  • Hand-me-down?

    Votes: 3 1.9%

  • Software compatibility?

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Looks?

    Votes: 13 8.2%

  • Generally better than pcs?

    Votes: 35 22.2%

  • OSX?

    Votes: 39 24.7%
  • Total voters
    158
For a long time, I didn't want to have anything to do with Macs since they were proprietary in both hardware and software, and I didn't have anything to run on them anyway.

I fist got interested when OS X came out. I'd been playing around with Linux for a while, and loved the concept, but it was (and still is) not ready for daily desktop use for most people. The concept of a Unix based OS with a complete GUI was very interesting. So I got a mac mini.

After playing around with that for a while, I needed to get a new laptop (I'm on-call for work after-hours, and a laptop is practically a necessity so I can still work from wherever I am instead of having to stay at home constantly...) This was at about the time that the Core 2 Duo's came out, and I wanted to get one of those so the new computer would be usable for a longer time, and I was comparing several different brands, and the mac was cheaper than two of them, and only 3 or 4 dollars more than others for the same hardware, and I can run Windows and OS X on the mac, so I got it. (Macbook Pro Core 2 Duo)
 
A friend of mine introduced me to Macs in 2004. I was a pretty diehard Windows user. I built my own machines, etc. Anywho, after playing with OS X on a 12" Powerbook for a little while, I was hooked. It was sleek, sexy, and just plain elegant. Simple and intuitive to operate, and my learning curve on OS X was ridiculously easy.

Several Macs later, I'm still loving it. My machine is now a 15" MBP Core 2 Duo. Couldn't be happier with it. Runs like a champ. :cool:
 
acearchie said:
Does america have a very big Mac schooling business? Here in the UK nearly every school owns PC's...

Or was it just 15 years ago sort of time?
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A lot of schools probably still use Macs, and my elementary schools and 1 middle school I went to had them, but by the time I was in 7th-8th grade ('01-'02) that's when I started seeing all PC's everywhere I went.
 
Stretch said:
Sometime in the mid to late eighties, I was in sixth grade and we would have computer lab for one period.

It was really cool - there were about 20 macs in a room and we got to sit down and play Oregon Trail. Pretty cool stuff! Green graphics on black background.....I have no idea what Mac machines those were, but I remember the big clunky keyboards, the large wide open floppies and the colorful apple symbol.
Click to expand...

-Stretch
It may surprise you to know that those weren't Macs, they were Apple ]['s or Apple ][PLUS's
 
My first Mac experience was when my father bought our first computer; a first revision iMac G3 Blueberry (the one with the bad tray-loading drive :p). He had reviewed and reviewed computers for years and said 'If I'm going to spend money on a computer, I want a good computer.'
 
Severely lacking poll, how about through business?

I mean, when we first started using Macs, no one had heard of PCs back in the days.
 
about 15 years ago in montasouri(sp?) yea i put the floppy in upside down and thought i broke it. But seriously i say this year i got a macbook for colege. I'm happy!

im 18 btw
 
patrick0brien said:
This'll date me.

1988 Macintosh SE, dual floppy.
....
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Hey, me too. My brother started college in 1988 and that's exactly what we got - the dual-floppy model. Of course, at the time, I was 14 and thought a hard drive was actually a hard disk, hence I thought the 3.5 disks were "hard disks" versus the floppy disks used in a C64 drive.
 
Built a shuttle xpc a couple of years ago (very nice and modded) but then I got a virus which annoyed me as I thought I was protected. I then bought an ipod shuffle for my running and thought it was so cool I bought an i-book G4. I sold the XPC and now use the ibook for my main machine. It is excellent I love the ease of OS X . I just wish Apple would wise up to better graphic cards in their machines, then I would be in heaven! Combo drives? come on! I think if the cards were up to scratch then Apple would get a greater share of the market.
 
Once again im sorry for the severly lacking poll! I tried my hardest but obviously it wasn't up to the standards of everyone else!

JUst a little off topic question:

Do macs retain their value better than pc's?
 
You should have included "just curious" as a poll option. There wasnt really any particular reason why I got a Mac. I got a mini last June to just see what it was all about. Id planned on still using XP in either bootcamp or Parallels. Never installed bootcamp, but did put XP on in Parallels just to see what it was like. Have had no reason to use it though. Only run XP a handful of times.
 
VoodooDaddy said:
You should have included "just curious" as a poll option. There wasnt really any particular reason why I got a Mac. I got a mini last June to just see what it was all about. Id planned on still using XP in either bootcamp or Parallels. Never installed bootcamp, but did put XP on in Parallels just to see what it was like. Have had no reason to use it though. Only run XP a handful of times.
Click to expand...

Sorry I didnt think of that! I ould have thought it to be a too expensive option! LOL
 
Brand new to Mac

I think you are all angels!!! I was getting pretty good on a pc but hated all the problems and decided to make the plunge to the unknown. Trouble is, I'm only 16 days into it (return expired at 2 wks) and terribly frustrated! I bought The Missing Manual and then Mac for Dummies. Every time I want to do something that I used to be able to do easily on a pc, I have to read-read-read and maybe not find the answer. I don't even know any Mac users to ask for simple quick helps - but I just now discovered this forum and "all y'all" have truly thrown me a life-line!! I knew that I would hang in there until I figured everything out, just didn't think it would be so difficult. Feels like I bought a rocket ship and don't know how to fly it. Working with Word has been difficult. I installed Parallels so that I could access work-stuff at home. Parallels cost $80, then $200 for Windows Vista. Then I paid $30 for (per incident!) Parallels help and they always put me on hold for 20 min. (and it's not a free call) at the end of which the recording tells you to leave a phone number and they'll call you back. Three times so far, and not ever a call back. The only reason I haven't told the credit card to stop payment is because I need the help and where else can I go? I intend to search through these forums before I give up. I just know this place will be the answer I've been looking for!
BTW, it's an iMac OS X Tiger.
Isaiah 43:18-19 NIV
 
Optimist said:
I think you are all angels!!! I was getting pretty good on a pc but hated all the problems and decided to make the plunge to the unknown. Trouble is, I'm only 16 days into it (return expired at 2 wks) and terribly frustrated! I bought The Missing Manual and then Mac for Dummies. Every time I want to do something that I used to be able to do easily on a pc, I have to read-read-read and maybe not find the answer. I don't even know any Mac users to ask for simple quick helps - but I just now discovered this forum and "all y'all" have truly thrown me a life-line!! I knew that I would hang in there until I figured everything out, just didn't think it would be so difficult. Feels like I bought a rocket ship and don't know how to fly it. Working with Word has been difficult. I installed Parallels so that I could access work-stuff at home. Parallels cost $80, then $200 for Windows Vista. Then I paid $30 for (per incident!) Parallels help and they always put me on hold for 20 min. (and it's not a free call) at the end of which the recording tells you to leave a phone number and they'll call you back. Three times so far, and not ever a call back. The only reason I haven't told the credit card to stop payment is because I need the help and where else can I go? I intend to search through these forums before I give up. I just know this place will be the answer I've been looking for!
BTW, it's an iMac OS X Tiger.
Isaiah 43:18-19 NIV
Click to expand...

Wow they even sound like pc users when they type! Nah im only kidding welcome to Macrumors! I think youll be happy to know your not the only one having trouble with windows vista out there! I sadly am not on intel so I am unable to help! But try using the search bar and see if you can find anything useful!
 
First computer I ever used was my father's Macintosh LC. It had some nice games and a some sort of a small drawing tablet. It was very nice and it will stay in my memory for a very long time.

After that it was over 10 years of PCs, starting with DOS, then 95 and all the way to XP. I never felt comfortable around Windows and I was constantly thinking about changing to something else. I tried Linux on some occasions, but unfortunately it didn't work out. Macs were too expensive and I didn't have the guts to switch.

Then I started to hear stuff about intel-based Macs and after the MacBook was released, I took the plunge and finally got myself a mac.
 
The first experience I had with a computer was a mac. When I started school, the computer lab had Macs. This was in the mid to late 90's. I think it was the Power Macintosh (the beige ones...) running System 7. Then we got these horrible Gateways around when Windows XP came out. I remember asking my computer teacher why we didn't get the PC's with Windows XP, and she said it was because it had too many viruses or something. Then my friend got a Sony Vaio desktop with Windows XP. Coming from using only System 7, I was amazed. Then I begged and begged my parents for a computer. Finally, my aunt gave us her old Micron PC running Windows 98. This was around 2002. That died, and we got a Compaq Presario running Windows XP. It was great, until I had to re-install Windows XP in 6 months and lose everything I had because something crashed. I had to do that 3 more times. In 2004, I got an iPod Photo. I guess I got a mac because of the iPod Halo Effect. I was browsing Apple.com to read about my new iPod, and I accidently clicked on the Store button instead of iPod + iTunes. I realized that those were macs I was seeing, the new ones. I browsed around online and loved the 12" Powerbook. However, my parents wouldn't hear of buying a new computer, because ours "worked fine". In January last year, my dad came home and mentioned something about Intel Core Duo chips in Macs or something. He had read it somewhere. At this point, I wasn't really obsessed with macs, I just liked them. Until I saw the little icon on apple.com that said "5x faster". Then I became slightly obsessed with getting a mac. I read everything I could about them, and eventually joined here. Then, for Christmas I got my iMac. I think my parents got it for me because they were sick of hearing me talk about it. :) The end.

Oh, and my PC is currently sitting on the floor in the basement.
 
My father gave me his old g4 mini when he upgraded last summer, and within a couple months I drank the KoolAid, bought an Imac, and now wake up every Tuesday like it's Christmas, waiting for new gear I can't afford.
 
I got a mac simply because they look better, and later found out the OS was a million times better than windows. Even though macs are superior to windows, fo some reaon i;m the only one in my school to own one.
 
Cult Follower said:
I got a mac simply because they look better, and later found out the OS was a million times better than windows. Even though macs are superior to windows, fo some reaon i;m the only one in my school to own one.
Click to expand...

I guess I lied my first experience with a mac was in the early '90s, my parents bought a performa with a cd and floppy drive. I remember playing games, working in clarisworks, and messing around in flying colors. It was a bunch of fun. But then for some odd reason they bought a windows box, but we recently switched back for higher quality, better design and increased security.
 
My 1st Mac is 2 weeks old

I got the high end 17" iMac and so far I love it. I also purchased iWork with it and my kids love it for school work.
 
Bought a new imac 20" 2 weeks ago cos i really dont like the thought of whats coming from ms ...vista

Has to be said there seems to be so much i can't do on it that i take for granted in windoze, and what is the problem with photoshop cs2? I spend £1000/$2000 on the near top of the range intel duo, i buy 2 new sticks of 1 gig each memory and photoshop runs like its on a pentium 3 700mhz :(

The other thing is the mouse really P****s me off i have now tried a few of the fixes suggested on this board and its slightly better, so at the moment i would have to say the jury is out on if it stays or goes.
 
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