My first twenty four hours with my mac

Discussion in 'General Mac Discussion' started by ToddW, Apr 12, 2004.

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  1. ToddW, Apr 12, 2004

    ToddW macrumors 6502a

    Joined:
    Feb 26, 2004
    #1
    Previously.......

    I started out on mac forums to inquire about buying a mac. After doing extensive research, I had everything narrowed down to either an ibook or a powerbook. The laptop was going to mainly be used to compliment my windows PC. I had planned on doing all of music, pictures, video, email, internet and other everday tasks on the laptop and use my pc mainly for games and necessary pc only software that I use for my master's.

    A little backgound on me.......

    I am an electrical engineer who works for a big corporation. My job requires me to travel at times. My primary duties are to design test systems. This envolves everything from hardware to software. Most of the development I do is in Unix/Linux or on a Windows OS enviroment. After a few years of doing this and dealing with developing hardware and software for a windows platform I had found myself dreading to come home and get on my pc to do my every day things, update security and update virus stuff. this as many of you have noticed can be an everyday thing. I found myself spending quite a bit of money to organize my music, photos, movies and other multimedia. I consider myself a windows guru, unix savvy.

    I went down to my local compUSA and played around with the mac, that hooked me. I could not believe how smooth OS X flowed, and how awesome the hardware looked. I haven't been this excited since my iPod.


    Back to the story........

    Well I ordered my powerbook on Saturday April the third. My wife finally let me order one. I decided on the loaded fifteen inch powerbook that was refurbished from the apple store, since I knew I needed additional storage, I acquired a firewire drive as well. My powerbook arrived on Thursday April eighth a day earlier than scheduled. Due to the busy holiday, I was unable to use the powerbook until yesterday. In the the last twenty four hours while extensively using my mac, I could not believe how simple it was.

    I was able to share my windows files with my mac and just copy them over, I was able to see all of my windows information.

    I set up my wireless router and the mac recognized it immedately. So, here I am as I write this sitting in my living room, no cords. Just simplicity. I wonder why I waited this long to discover Apple Computers. I wonder my the rest of the world hasn't.

    A little info about the PB.......

    The powerbook came with evertything, a panther update CD, ilife 04, The PB looks brand new, no scratches or anything. I cannot beleive how silent the operation is. The only thing i can hear are my finger typing on the backlite keyboard.

    I guess the saying is true, you get what you pay for. Eventhough I could have gotten a PC that is arguably faster for a cheaper price, I do not regret my decision one bit.

    Thank you mac forum members for all your advice. You guys definately made my "switch" easy.
     
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  2. rainman::|:|, Apr 12, 2004

    rainman::|:| macrumors 603

    rainman::|:|

    Joined:
    Feb 2, 2002
    Location:
    iowa
    #2
    glad to hear it :) Enjoy your new Mac, you've got one hell of a nice machine there!

    paul
     
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  3. destroyboredom, Apr 12, 2004

    destroyboredom macrumors 6502

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    Location:
    Washington, DC.
    #3
    Good to hear. Some people just don't understand and never will. You really have to own one to get it.

    Alsmost like Volkswagen's new advertising campaign. "Drive it. You'll get it."

    http://www.vw.com/driveityoullgetit.htm
     
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  4. TDT, Apr 12, 2004

    TDT macrumors member

    Joined:
    Apr 4, 2004
    Location:
    University of Iowa - Iowa
    #4
    I, too, am on my first day of using my mac. Right now, I've been using it for about 12 hours. So far, so good. Unfortunately, unlike you, I've run into several problems that kinda annoyed me at first. The problem was because my security is set up pretty heavy here at home, both local, and network/wireless. This really made OSX freak out. Eventually, though, after some 'tweaking', I eventually got the network set up the way I wanted to. The network issue was my largest problem.

    The second largest problem i had was finding a good source of freeish software. I'm pretty big into the OS market, and rather not pay for simple things I had just fine in Linux. Finding basic apps to replace what i've been using was a task and a half. It all worked out, though, I didn't have to spend a penny on software.

    My last problem was actually late in the day, and was one of the most worrying for me - and that was my heat usage on the laptop. According to my temperature guage, I was over 60C...which isn't good. I've been working and installing stuff all day, so maybe i shouldn't be totally surprised.

    I'm fairly happy with the laptop so far. It wasn't quite as 'easy' to get it started as I wished, but I learned a ton in the last 12 hours I worked solid on this. I plan to bring this to college tomorrow, where I can do my work on it and stuff. I am pretty pleased.

    One thing I do want to say is extremely nice about the apple - and that's the display. This LCD is so clear, I couldn't believe it at first. Crystal clear colors, lines, and borders. Few OS problems, plus a fairly fast setup makes this pretty darn nice.
     
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  5. cb911, Apr 13, 2004

    cb911 macrumors 601

    cb911

    Joined:
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    Location:
    BrisVegas, Australia
    #5
    ToddW, congrats on your purchase! :D very nice machine indeed.

    TDT, glad to hear that you've got everything sorted now. and you do know about Fink and DarwinPorts, right? there's a heap of UNIX/Linux software out there that has been ported to OS X. and if you can get the source code of the app (i'm obviously talking about Open Source) i'm pretty sure you'll be able to compile it on your PB.
     
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  6. TDT, Apr 13, 2004

    TDT macrumors member

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    Location:
    University of Iowa - Iowa
    #6

    Thanks CB,

    Yeah, I've heard about the darwinports and fink. I've attempted to use fink some and it doesn't work very well for me (infact doesn't install anything). I went to the opendarwin site, amd basically I need some sort of dev kit or libraries installed to do anything. I haven't got anything done yesterday in that arena, but over the next few days I plan on messing with it until everything is sorted and working very well.

    I have a feeling the process will take a bit of time at first, but hey...just like anything that's good and worth having - it takes time.
     
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  7. ToddW, Apr 13, 2004

    ToddW thread starter macrumors 6502a

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    #7
    I haven't really tried bringing over any of the apps I used on linux yet. I haven't really had a lot of time to go down that route. Maybe soon.
     
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  8. dukemeiser, Apr 13, 2004

    dukemeiser macrumors 6502a

    dukemeiser

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    Iowa
    #8
    Glad to hear about it. Trust me, the experience will only get better. ;)
     
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  9. mooshoo, Apr 15, 2004

    mooshoo macrumors regular

    Joined:
    Apr 14, 2004
    #9
    Hi. I'm a newbie to macs too. Just received my PB three days ago, and haven't stopped using it since. I'm in love. I also notice people pointing and smiling at it whenever I'm at the local coffee shop. The keys feel great, and the screen is wonderful (although not the best I've seen). I was a PC user before this, until my wife let me borrow her ibookg3. I was impressed with the stabiliity of it. Then my Vaio went down. So I went to the Apple store and picked up a 15" PB, with combo drive.

    I'm still trying to get used to the keyboard shortcuts and what not. Software has been a bit hard to find (especially the free ones). I'll prolly need to upgrade the memory too (it comes with 250 i think), as I can see it laboring when I have Office apps going.

    Can you guys tell me if hardware upgrades are Apple proprietary? Meaning, do I have to buy OE stuff? Or can I buy something from another brand? Can you recommend anything? I want to get more memory soon, and set up Airport Extreme equipment (my pb did not have the card installed).

    Thanks a million.
     
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  10. Devilshotrod, Apr 15, 2004

    Devilshotrod macrumors newbie

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    Nov 6, 2003
    Location:
    Los Angeles
    #10
    free software

    For all you lucky new mac owners who are interested in free software, I suggest you bookmark a little site every mac owner needs to have... www.versiontracker.com . You'll find almost every piece of software out there for the mac that is shareware or freeware, and even updates for retail bought software. It's an invaluable place to visit. Welcome to the family!
    DHR
     
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  11. johnnyjibbs, Apr 15, 2004

    johnnyjibbs macrumors 68030

    johnnyjibbs

    Joined:
    Sep 18, 2003
    Location:
    London, UK
    #11
    Glad you like your PowerBooks. I swithced when I got my 12" PowerBook 1GHz last September and, after 7 months of use, the Mac experience is still golden. No problems here and the novelty doesn't wear off!
     
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  12. neoelectronaut, Apr 15, 2004

    neoelectronaut macrumors 68030

    neoelectronaut

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    Location:
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    #12
    http://www.macupdate.com is also a good site for Freebie stuff and updates.
     
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