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Lazzer R1

macrumors member
Original poster
Apr 22, 2008
32
0
Andover, Hampshire, UK
Hi,

Recently my Windows XP machine died again. I am so fed up with it that i decided to go for a mac. The longest i have used a mac for was about 20 mins and was an old OS. So buying a new one is a lot of money to risk, but i'm confident that it is a good decision. I am also quite familiar with Unix systems.

I Primarily use a home PC for Photos, Video editting (For pleasure), surfing and e-mail.

I have bought the 24" iMac with 2.8GHz extreme processor, 320gb HDD and 4GB ram (From Crucial).

I ordered it last weekend and the wait for it is killing me. Hopefully I will receive it before the weekend.

Just thought i'd post this as a warning. I'm sure a lot of dumbass questions will be being posted from me over the next couple of weeks.

Any advise from other PC-Mac converts would be welcome.:D
 
Hello and welcome!
I am a 4 month out switcher, and here are a few things:
1. Congratulations, you made a smart decision.
2. You have found a great site here with a lot of wonderful people and much good advice.
3. Avail yourself of the guides at the top of different forum conferences. They have a lot of info.
4. A few good sites from Apple:

http://www.apple.com/findouthow/mac/
http://www.apple.com/support/mac101/
http://www.apple.com/support/switch101/

5. Please do not compare every little thing that Apple does differently from Windows in a whining tone along the lines of, "Why can't Apple do it like Windows?" (although I am sure you would not have done that anyway). :)
6. When given good advice that works from someone here, please be sure to come back and thank them and mention that your problem is solved.

That's it for now. Again, congrats and welcome!
Morod
 
Dude, the mac you ordered will be better then the perfect computer for what you like to do.

Macs are great for photo and video editing.

some tips

1) USE ADIUM AS YOUR INSTANT MESSENGER CLIENT. If you use Live Messenger, don't bother downloading the windows version. Its awful. www.adiumx.com

2)http://www.apple.com/support/switch101/

3) I don't like office 2004 for mac. Its runs terribly on Intel macs. 2008 might be better, but I think iWork is the most fantastic office suite ever!

4) If its crashing or over heating or some other problem don't just think thats its what computers do. Some switchers think that. If your mac is having tons of problems (like a PC:p) then ask macrumors for a fix ASAP, then if no luck take it to apple.


Enjoy! :)
:apple:
 
Thanks guys!

Those links are exactly what I need!

Just one question though, is it best to buy iWorks or is openoffice ok?

The machine cost a hell of a lot of my hard earned cash, and in order to convince my missus to let me buy it, i had to buy 3 sims games for her. So if open office is ok for spreadsheets and word docs, then i'll try and use that for a while?
 
Instead of OpenOffice, grab NeoOffice - it's basically a native port of OpenOffice and far more Mac-like (albeit a tad ugly). I've been using it as a daily part of my workflow for some years and it should do everything you need from an Office suite.

iWork is nice - a very elegant suite of applications, but if you need MS Office compatibility, NeoOffice is likely to suit you better.
 
Neil321 said:
Loads of stuff to keep you happy when your Mac arrives...
Click to expand...

Nice. I have that page bookmarked for easy reference. There's a lot of great stuff there.

tersono said:
Instead of OpenOffice, grab NeoOffice - it's basically a native port of OpenOffice and far more Mac-like (albeit a tad ugly). I've been using it as a daily part of my workflow for some years and it should do everything you need from an Office suite.
Click to expand...

And +1 from me for NeoOffice. I've tested it out, and it seems great. Next time I wipe and reinstall, Office 04 is not going back on my drive.
 
IMac

You will love your new IMac I sure love mine!! I was like you to a week ago waiting for the fed ex guy But soon enough you will be un-boxing that IMac and its great!!
 
Lazzer R1 said:
Reading all this stuff is making me really impatient.

I WANT IT NOW :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

hehehe - I know just how you feel. I'm sure you'll love the machine, though - we've got a couple here where I work and they're just a pleasure to use. My primary machine at home is a MacBook Pro, but I'm sooooo tempted to buy an iMac as well... :)
 
The worst thing about the waiting is that the delivery status page keeps changing!! I ordered it on the 12th. The Estimated delivery date was originally the 24th, then 26th, now 27th (Which is a Sunday, so i'm sure this will change to the 28th) and the shipment on schedule has changed from the 17th to the 21st.

I don't have a clue when to expect it. I have to admit that I'm not too impressed with Apple so far, but maybe thats just my excitement coming out as anger?! lol

Shipped to ********, GB 17 Apr 2008

Estimated Delivery Date
27 Apr 2008 (Subject to change)

Current Delivery Status
In Transit to Customer

Shipment on Schedule 21 Apr 2008
 
Lazzer R1 said:
Thanks guys!

Those links are exactly what I need!

Just one question though, is it best to buy iWorks or is openoffice ok?

The machine cost a hell of a lot of my hard earned cash, and in order to convince my missus to let me buy it, i had to buy 3 sims games for her. So if open office is ok for spreadsheets and word docs, then i'll try and use that for a while?
Click to expand...

I switched from XP about a month ago and I ended up buying MS Office 2008 after using the trial version of iWorks. iWorks is just fine for personal use, but compatibility isn't all that's advertised--I had several files that wouldn't open up right, especially with Numbers but even with Pages. I was going to go the NeoOffice route, but with a missus that doesn't like change (although she's been mostly happy with Apple, but I do get tired of her constantly comparing to Windows...) and a daughter in high school that has a pretty high need for compatibility, it seemed like the best choice. It's worked fine and I don't have to answer the "why is this different than MS?" questions. :p
 
tersono said:
My primary machine at home is a MacBook Pro, but I'm sooooo tempted to buy an iMac as well... :)
Click to expand...

I was thinking the same thing as you last fall. I was using a 15" Macbook Pro for my primary computer. I decided to get a 24" iMac for my primary use and to tell you the truth, I've only used my Macbook Pro a couple times since then. I do take it when I travel somewhere (which is not often), but that's about it.
 
I got my first Mac (a Macbook) two weeks ago when my Windows computer died (strangely, the Linux partition is still working, but the Windows boot files got screwed up). I had been planning on getting a Mac at some point, but the dying Windows partition spurred me to get a refurbished Macbook.

I absolutely love it, and I'm enjoying all the little things that I've been discovering. You'll probably have a bit of a difficult time of it at first as you figure out how everything works, but it gets much better than Windows once you start figuring everything out. At first I was having a hard time switching between windows in the same application, but I figured out how by using F9 to show all application windows or the great keyboard shortcut Command-` to switch between application windows. Then there is also Command-Tab for switching between applications. Keyboard shortcuts really make life easier, and I would strongly suggest learning them as you go along.

The dock was a little confusing at first, but I soon figured out that it was like the Windows quick start and task bars combined. At first, I didn't noticed the faint blue dot indicating that an application was currently running, but once I did, it became much easier to tell what was going on.

Spaces is also a great feature. I keep XCode and related apps for my development work in one space, and my web browser (I prefer Firefox over Safari, although Safari isn't bad) in another space. Ctrl-Arrow Keys make it easy to switch between them.

I don't know if you do any development, but XCode sure seems pretty nice so far. I'm not sure whether I will end up liking it better than Visual Studio, as I'm still learning how to use it, but from what I've seen so far, it certainly appears more flexible when it comes to project configuration and building. The documentation (I tend to read the PDFs downloaded off the Apple developer website) is so far way better than the crappy, poorly organized documentation that Microsoft puts out. I don't know how the references are yet, but if the tutorials, overviews, and articles are any indication, they should be easy to use.

I installed Windows on Bootcamp and VMWare as well, but I find that I have yet to use them for anything. Other than games that I can't find a Mac version of, I don't foresee booting up Windows in the near future.

I hear really good things about a free application called Quicksilver, which I plan on trying out. It supposedly makes it really easy to do things with a few keystrokes. You might want to check that out.
 
Echoing some of the previous comments:
  • As Morod said early on, you have indeed made a smart decision, based on what you say you use a computer for.
  • You'll definitely want to glance over at Apple's Switch 101 for hints and tips.
And a couple of my own:
  • Based on your comments, I wouldn't bother with setting up Bootcamp, especially if you're not much of a game player. Once you get your photos and music over to your new Mac, you should be quite happy with the various applications included in iLife.
  • I would, however, recommend getting a Firewire external hard drive to use as a Time Machine backup drive, which is ridiculously easy (one or two clicks) to configure. Then, if your new Mac has problems, you can easily recover your system--or just a few documents/photos, if you like.
Enjoy your new iMac, when you get it of course, and drop in as often as you like. I'm a relatively new Mac user myself (November 2007), and the people here have provided some nifty tricks and tips to maximize the Mac experience.
 
dXTC said:
[*]I would, however, recommend getting a Firewire external hard drive to use as a Time Machine backup drive, which is ridiculously easy (one or two clicks) to configure. Then, if your new Mac has problems, you can easily recover your system--or just a few documents/photos, if you like.
Click to expand...

I have recently bought a 500gb Seagate USB external HDD. Will this be ok to use for TimeMachine? Also, does time machine need the entire drive exclusively, or can i also have other data on it?

Also, what is time machine like speedwise? If you were to run a similar product on a Windows machine, it would be constantly chugging away in the background and slow the whole machine down.
 
Lazzer R1,

I'd like to say congrats on your new imac and that I'm actually a new mac user myself. I bought the 2.4 Ghz Macbook 2 weeks ago and it didn't take me too long to adapt to my new system. It's a great machine and just like you, I was a bit of nervous to spend all that money on something I wasn't too familiar with. But it didn't take me long to completely forget XP!!!

Since we're in the same boat, and I went through all of this recently, I want you to know that you've received all the important tips you need for your switch. I had the chance to check out some of those links and they're great and I am still learning something new about my mac everyday.

Also, since i'm a College Student, I rely everyday on my office suits. I am now using iWorks 08 and I'm very satisfied with Pages08 and Keynote08. However I can't comment on Numbers since i didn't get the chance to work with it yet. But it looks like it does the job.

And my shipment arrived 1 day before scheduled, so you never know, maybe you'll be surprised earlier then expected!!

Enjoy


P.S. I'm also waiting for an answer about Time Machine!!!
 
Just a quick user's (non-techie) note about Time Machine: Do your first back-up to your external hard drive via Firewire--much faster than wireless. Thereafter, the default preferences have it backing up every hour. If you leave it at that, it'll just do its quiet little thing in the background. I've not noticed any system slow-up at all. (I'm using Time Capsule as my backup drive and router.) If you don't want to have it back up every hour, just go into the Time Machine preferences and click the switch to off. You can always run it manually once a day or whenever suits. I use a combination of these, setting Time Machine on to hourly backups when I'm working on spreadsheets or writing, and turning it off if I'm just spending time on the web or gaming.

Enjoy your new Mac when it comes! It's a great machine!
 
Time Machine

I use a wired (F/W 800) external drive for TM. The first backup (always the longest) took maybe 15 minutes, tops. I keep TM turned on, and the hourly backups take maybe 30 seconds.
You can watch the icon in the menu bar to know when it's happening, and that's probably the only way you'll know because it does not bog my iMac down in the least. A great feature that will save a lot of people's bacon!
Morod
 
Lazzer R1 said:
I have recently bought a 500gb Seagate USB external HDD. Will this be ok to use for TimeMachine? Also, does time machine need the entire drive exclusively, or can i also have other data on it?

Also, what is time machine like speedwise? If you were to run a similar product on a Windows machine, it would be constantly chugging away in the background and slow the whole machine down.
Click to expand...

That drive will be just fine for Time Machine.

No, Time Machine will not need the entire drive exclusively, though it'll eventually use whatever's provided. What you can do is repartition the drive into two parts: one about 340 Gb for Time Machine (so it will always be able to store at least one full copy of your iMac's HD), and the other for additional storage. Then, activate Time Machine and tell it to use the 340Gb partition for backups. You'll have 140Gb or so for saving your finished movies or other data. Example: I have an external drive repartitioned into three virtual drives: one for Time Machine, one for extra space for OS X, and one for extra space for Windows (I use XP via Bootcamp for a couple of reasons; I use OS X for virtually everything else).

The first backup will take several minutes, so be patient. Afterward, you'll hardly notice it's working, unless you specificially look for the clock in the menu bar (when Time Machine is active, you'll see the clock running backward).

Unlike anything I've seen in Windows, Time Machine does not put a significant performance hit on your computer. Its incremental strategy only touches the documents and application files that have changed since the last successful backup, and by default it avoids certain high-traffic but low-importance areas like temporary directories and Web caches. Only once a week does Time Machine consolidate those incremental backups into one full backup.
 
Thanks DXCT,

I think the partition is the way to go. I have copied everything from my windows machine that i have (Everything from the last 5 years) and its only used 50Gb, so i think i can spare 340Gb for a few years.......well, at least until i can afford an HD video camera :cool:
 
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