just need some final info

[Independence]

i've finally decided that a mac would be right for me. for the past few days, i been torn between an iMac and a compaq presario, both of which are very appealing machines to me (i hate it when my mind is in a deadlock). anyway, i have some final questions. one thing i'd like to see is a summary of what software comes with a new imac? and what would be the better video player for mac os x: windows media player or quicktime? and im already assuming printing to an HP Color Laserjet is gonna be slow unless mac os x has extra drivers i dont know about (cups on mandrake linux didnt have exact drivers).

btw: i've decided on a 17 inch imac, 512mb ram

 

[hugemullens]

All the iApps will come, iPhoto,iMovie,iTunes,iDVD,iCal,iSync,iChat, Appleworks (which is great) and basicly anything else you can imagine. Quicktime is VASTLY superior, even on both platforms in my opinion. But its intergrated into the operating system quite extensivly so it will be the player of choice. You;ve made a good choice switching to mac. OS X is the best operating system avalible, and your mac comes loaded with all the software to do almost anything right out of the box. I;ve only bought two programs since i got mine (studio mx; Adobe web collection). Other than that, I got everything i could ever need.

 

[bousozoku]

Mac OS X has quite a few laser printer drivers ready. You'll probably be set once you turn the machine on (and connect the printer.)

As far as WMP or QuickTime Player, who can really say? It's going to depend on what you really view on a regular basis. QuickTime Player is on the system from the start, WMP is a download. There is at least one service I've used that does WMP broadcasts, so you may require it. It looked awful, but I got to see my buddy's band from 1100 miles away!

I would consider more memory, if I were you, but I certainly wouldn't buy it from Apple unless it was particularly inexpensive. The more you have, the better off the system will be, but 512MB is a good start.

 

[Independence]

Originally posted by bousozoku
Mac OS X has quite a few laser printer drivers ready. You'll probably be set once you turn the machine on (and connect the printer.)

it's a network printer. and its huge so i wouldnt be putting it on my desk anyway

I would consider more memory, if I were you, but I certainly wouldn't buy it from Apple unless it was particularly inexpensive. The more you have, the better off the system will be, but 512MB is a good start.

and i thought 256mb was good

@hugemullens: thanks!

 

[skiing squirrel]

well, compaqs just plain suck... No offense to anyone here. Cheap genaric parts... Try and find a brand name PSU in one of those lol. I would take a calculator over the latest compaq.

 

[Macpoops]

Pay the extra money and get the 512 in on a single dimm that way you can max out your ram eventually instead of being stuck at 768

 

[driedapricot]

as for media players, there are linux players that are particulary fast, small and efficient,

like mplayer for osx, which is a linux app ported to the osx. It does all the divx codes, which are a bit tricky for quicktime in apple. but the whole point is that osx as an operating system has significant potential because its unix based, and so you have programmers making good open source programs which get the job done.

 

[scem0]

you will love your mac. Be sure to write your switch story in
the switch forum. . BTW - if you ever want to buy a real
cheap PC, don't get a compaq or a dell or anything like that.
You can get good, cheap PC's of eBay. I got a great deal on my
p4 2.4 GHz.

 

[melchior]

you didn't say what printer you actually have, but if you have a problem with OS X standard drivers check out http://gimp-print.sourceforge.net/MacOSX.php3 they have made my printing experience a dream. especially since i don't own a printer and use other peoples in other offices all day. as long as you've got a usb cable or a network, everything should be sweet. what i haven't been able to do is print directly to a printer shared (different to a network printer) on a windows computer... ah wel.

Gimp-Print - serious good stuff!

 

[Independence]

Originally posted by melchior
you didn't say what printer you actually have

ahh, but i did. it's an HP Color Laserjet. it looks exactly like the Color Laserjet 5 pictured below.

 

[melchior]

but it must have a model number right? you said it looks like a Color Laserjet 5, but it's not a Color Laserjet 5... so what is it? is it the original Color Laserjet? =)

at any rate, i don't think it will be a problem for you

 

[Independence]

its simply "color laserjet". so i guess it could be the original

resolution sucks though.

 

[WinterMute]

We have the laserjet 4 in the office, you can print to them on the network direct from OSX without any new drivers, the colour 'jet might be a different matter, but apple are usually really good with this stuff.

Otherwise Gimp-print has been mentioned, it works.

Welcome to the Mac, you won't regret the switch

 

[MacsRgr8]

Originally posted by driedapricot
as for media players, there are linux players that are particulary fast, small and efficient,

like mplayer for osx, which is a linux app ported to the osx. It does all the divx codes, which are a bit tricky for quicktime in apple. but the whole point is that osx as an operating system has significant potential because its unix based, and so you have programmers making good open source programs which get the job done.

Yep.
Also VLC is superb. So my lineup is:
QUICKTIME, VLC, MPLAYER, WMP, REAL ONE PLAYER.
Somehow I once in a while need 'em all..... thumbs up for standards.

 

[Dont Hurt Me]

Compaqs are cheap, The software that comes with the mac is the best, all the i-aps are very good but if i was looking at a imac i would try for the highend model. it has a better video card, wider screen,faster g4, newer xserve architecture. The 800 model does not get this. I see now after reading your post again the bottom comment about the 17". This is a very solid machine. You will now have your personal studio for film,pictures and music and about a million other things.