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New to Apple, and doubting
- Thread starter Twaize
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andypullen
macrumors member
Questions are welcomed here. At least by me. I like helping people out with this kind of thing.
Anyway, Macs all recognize .doc and .txt files, as well as many other ones. You can open those up with TextEdit, which comes with OS X. You can also open them up with Office for Mac, of which your new Mac will have a Test Drive (a 30-day trial) installed. You also should be able to open those up with Pages, in Apple's iWork suite, or NeoOffice, which you can either download or buy those. They just work. Let us know what other real world questions you've got.
wow, you really shouldn't have those kinds of issues right out of the box. That said, you shouldn't be needing to extract apps from the install DVD either. I would suggest using the DVD to format and reinstall to factory specs, then try not messing with advanced settings. Open each app to make sure it works, but don't screw with stuff.
As much as I want to be nice and welcome you to the community, I have a feeling that you went into this thinking it was a PC and that you could putz around with the innards like you would with Winblows. Try treating it like a Mac, and I bet it will work just fine for you.
As much as I want to be nice and welcome you to the community, I have a feeling that you went into this thinking it was a PC and that you could putz around with the innards like you would with Winblows. Try treating it like a Mac, and I bet it will work just fine for you.
mr.steevo
macrumors 65816
My brother in law was the very same when he got his Mac. He turned it on and started moving applications into new folders and sub folders to make it look like it "should be" (ala Windows). The OS didn't know where any of its programs were and couldn't function properly. He had question marks all over the dock, problems with booting, and made updates impossible.
Once I sorted out that problem he began using the computer with complaints that he couldn't find his pictures, music, and video files. Instead of looking for his files in iPhoto or iTunes, he was rummaging through the folders again.
He was used to a different OS with different expectations on the user. I was lucky in that I didn't have a strong background with Windows to "unlearn", but it took my in law several weeks to understand the differences of OS X.
As for why should you use a Mac? I donno. It's just a computer, not a life altering experience.
s.
Sorry to burst your bubble but people who want to reinstall three times to "properly flush" their system don't have a clue what they're talking about.
gilkisson
macrumors 65816
OK, good point. I also went back and re-read and picked that up, but too late to edit.
There's more going on here than meets the eye. Some folks like to start fights.
dangerfish
macrumors 6502a
Shadow,
I dont think you are looking hard enough for answers. Lots of answers can be found at the following URL and elsewhere on the Apple site.
http://www.apple.com/getamac/faq/
All Macs have wireless. They go to the same internet as Pc's. You can plug them into any router you want. Pretty much all documents created on Pc's can be opened on a Mac and visa versa. The basic TextEdit program even opens the new super lame .docx formats. Save a .doc file on a Mac to a thumb drive and instantly open on a Pc. Make changes to the file and transfer them right back to the Mac without any problems. All the Adobe creative programs are available on the Mac. There are currently no viruses for OS X. No one forces you to use Boot Camp but if you do, you are susceptible to Windows Viruses because it is a real Windows machine at that point. But if it gets infected, it will only affect your Windows partition, not the Mac side of things. Macs and Pc can network easily. Simply open your Finder and any other computers on your network will show up. You can then log into them as you please if you have the appropriate credentials. You can print, burn CD's and DVD's (and open them on a Pc) and listen to music. Software for creating and recording music, creating movies, creating websites and many other things are all included.
Try here too
http://www.switchingtomac.com/
Or just google "switching to mac" and have at it
GoKyu
macrumors 65816
There's nothing saying that you HAVE to install Windows....Win7 is pretty cool, but I'll stick with OS X because I think it's a better OS for what I do.
Even if you do install Windows and you were to get a virus, it can ONLY affect the windows side - it can't harm your OS X partition.
As a previous poster said, Access isn't available on the Mac, but otherwise you can buy Microsoft Office for Mac (Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Entourage (similar to Outlook))
As for Photoshop - Adobe has a cross-grade licensing program - You pay a small fee and they send you the Mac version of Photoshop after you sign some forms saying you've destroyed your Windows copy, etc. Get in touch with them for more details on that.
Yes, pretty much all flash drives are compatible with OS X, and usually even with Linux/UNIX as well.
I was a PC user since around DOS 3.3 myself, all the way up through Vista. Vista was the last straw for me. Even though I really enjoyed WinNT 4.0, Win2000 and XP, they all still had their issues, and Vista was the worst of all (WinME taking a close second place.)
I had been researching Macs for maybe 6 months, and finally decided it was the better way for me to go, and I haven't looked back. Of course, being so ingrained in the tech world, I have WindowsXP in VMWare Fusion for the rare time I may need to run something. I'll also be getting Win7 when it comes out (retail does have its perks once in awhile) just to keep up with what's going on with it.
The combination of UNIX security and stability, plus the ease of use and extremely low maintenance requirements is what really made the OS X experience work for me, and I'm trying to convince my parents to get a Mac as well - the lack of viruses and ease of setup will be so much easier for them.
PinkyMacGodess
Suspended
Regarding Adobe licensing. I switched my Creative Suite license to the Mac.
The transfer doesn't actually cost anything but they only switch current releases so I had to upgrade the windows version to the latest release to get corresponding the mac version. I also had to fax a form back to them stating that I wouldn't use the PC version after the switch and I was done. They shipped me the new DVD set and I was off and running.
That was a lot different than the song and dance from the PC folks that I knew telling me that I'd have to repurchase everything...
The transfer doesn't actually cost anything but they only switch current releases so I had to upgrade the windows version to the latest release to get corresponding the mac version. I also had to fax a form back to them stating that I wouldn't use the PC version after the switch and I was done. They shipped me the new DVD set and I was off and running.
That was a lot different than the song and dance from the PC folks that I knew telling me that I'd have to repurchase everything...
Sorry to crush your dreams, but when a machine force reboots within 3 seconds of turning on (it came with a small window, giving me a 3 second warning), there's not much to do.
I couldn't get help for the non functional preference pane, I think I did right.
But I didn't try to make my machine a la windows, I did things the mac way with applications and such.
I don't know what went wrong, I guess I just had to wrong expectations.
iPhoto importing pictures instead of cataloging them... That did piss me off, but it can luckily be turned off, but even then, I still prefer Picasa.
On Monday I'm arranging a time for my MBP to be picked up (no Apple stores in Denmark), and I'm afraid that's the end for me. When I feel like I have a bigger disposable income, I might try at it again, the difference wasn't big enough for me to splash the money, sorry.
The thread is also getting out of hand, with people posting the same answers about wireless over and over, is there any way for me to lock this thread? One reply please 😉.
neiltc13
macrumors 68040
You are right to return the computer - if it's not working properly then get rid of it. There's no guarantee that a replacement wouldn't have the same issues either.
There are too many people here who think that because they have a good experience with OS X everyone else should as well. Unfortunately, they don't realise that it has a huge number of flaws and is far from perfect.
There are too many people here who think that because they have a good experience with OS X everyone else should as well. Unfortunately, they don't realise that it has a huge number of flaws and is far from perfect.
gilkisson
macrumors 65816
Nothing is perfect. Nothing. All we can do is get as close as we can.
If the OP purchased a new MBP from Apple, s/he is entitled to Apple's guarantee. That will include fixing it, replacing it, or even refunding it. Apple takes care of their customers.
You seem to be saying, "ahh, to heck with it. It wasn't perfect, therefore none of them are good enough."
Everybody DOES deserve a good experience with their purchase. Why would anyone settle for less? No one has to.
MadeTheSwitch
macrumors 65816
I think it's kind of foolish to switch platforms back based on the experience of one computer. If you got a bad lemon car, would you give up driving and walk instead? You must have left the windows platform for some reason. Those reasons will still exist when you return to it.
Don't give up so easily. If Apple were willing to give you a replacement (assuming a hardware issue) and your two week time frame for refund re-started, would you give it another shot? After all in the end these are just electronic gadgets that are mass produced and there will always be issues with hardware.
If so, I would recommend running the out of box configuration for a few days prior to adding any third party programs. Then, add third party programs one at a time, install one program, test to ensure there are no issues before installing another.
If you are still unhappy with the Mac, ask for the refund.
I switched a little over a year ago and will probably never go back to Windows for my personal OS choice. Work may force a different choice for me for my work machine but for now my company allows us to use a Mac on the corporate network and even provides them as an option for our corporate provided pc with the caveat that they are "user community supported".
Pete
If so, I would recommend running the out of box configuration for a few days prior to adding any third party programs. Then, add third party programs one at a time, install one program, test to ensure there are no issues before installing another.
If you are still unhappy with the Mac, ask for the refund.
I switched a little over a year ago and will probably never go back to Windows for my personal OS choice. Work may force a different choice for me for my work machine but for now my company allows us to use a Mac on the corporate network and even provides them as an option for our corporate provided pc with the caveat that they are "user community supported".
Pete
Swiss Apple
macrumors member
I based my decision to buy a MBP purely on hardware, and that made it a lot easier to justify my purchase since I've never had issues with Windows. I've now had my MBP for about 4 weeks now and I'm getting used to Leopard, but the honest truth is that I'm no more productive than I used to be with WinXP. In addition as more and more of my time is spent in a Firefox browser enviroment (youtube, Gmail, google docs, web surfing etc..) the actual OS becomes less relevent.
All in all the MBP 13" remains a great value Notebook with a pretty small price premium over its PC competitors. For a few dollars less I could have got a plasticky Dell, so for me it was a no brainer and therefore the Macbook is definitely staying. Also the Worldwide Applecare warranty with walk in problem solving is not something that Dell or any other company can match.
All in all the MBP 13" remains a great value Notebook with a pretty small price premium over its PC competitors. For a few dollars less I could have got a plasticky Dell, so for me it was a no brainer and therefore the Macbook is definitely staying. Also the Worldwide Applecare warranty with walk in problem solving is not something that Dell or any other company can match.
Frosties
macrumors 65816
gilkisson
macrumors 65816
Um, they didn't redact non-US responses, did they?
No, I read those links, nothing said about US only. What do you have? What is the "true picture" for the rest of the world?
Frosties
macrumors 65816
Just because the study is misrepresented as giving an absolute picture for the world does not make it untrue for US. Just that it gives ONE picture of ONE market, namely the US market.
This is a typical of US based news services that they forget to give valid source material.
"About This Release
The data in this report is based on 1,147 completed telephone
interviews conducted between May 2008 and May 2009. Of the
companies we studied, we collected enough data on Apple, Dell,
and HP to make direct comparisons of the three companies’
support effectiveness.
Methodology
Consumers were recruited online to participate in this study, and
called an alternate toll-free phone number for technical support.
This alternate number forwarded to the company’s published
technical support phone number and allowed Vocalabs to track
the progress of each call. Selected participants were called back
immediately after the end of the support call and interviewed
about their experience.
The full data set, including survey responses and call recordings,
is available to Vocalabs clients."
gilkisson
macrumors 65816
Then please, and by all means, share a study which you feel is fair and is not misrepresented.
I don't know how these could be misrepresented -- they are surveys taken by calling back people who called CS, to see if their issue was solved.
What part of the planet do you feel has been particularly pooped on by Apple?
Edit: Upon reading the rest of your post, perhaps it's not Apple you are upset with. Might this be a political argument?
Frosties
macrumors 65816
This was a US based survey as such it gives a picture of the survey site. What the survey shows is NOT that X was better than Y for us outside the US. It shows what is important for the customer and what is not. For example it showed that it was not so important that the call was answered fast. What was important was that the service call gave a solution and that unimportant information shouldn't have to be given again and again. That gives it is not good to have customer care ending calls because they have to have so and so many calls per hour.
Blake Landau, senior editor of CustomerMananagemetIQ, recently interviewed Vocalabs' CEO Peter Leppik. In the interview, Peter shares insights on the latest results of our Service Quality Tracker research which compares the quality of phone-based tech support at Apple, Dell and HP. Listen to the podcast here.
Sorry for the derailment of the thread.
Regarding doubting the computer purchase it's understandable. If I purchase a product, any product, I expect it to work without having to rebuild it.
gilkisson
macrumors 65816
Still not sure I'm following you. Where, in all the results showing Apple's customer approval rating, does it reveal a pro-US bias? It's country neutral, nation agnostic. Apolitical. Good CS is good CS.
I ask you again -- where, specifically, can you show a US bias?
iTunes Codes
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For everyone overseas who need a vendor to get your iTunes Cards:
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Please post a reply if you purchase and let everyone else know how great it works and how fast your code was sent to you...
Thanks
petermcphee
macrumors 6502a
So get a Dell. If it's going to make you happy (and more importantly, direct you to a different forum for life advice) then I am all for it.🙄
Seriously, these, "Show me the light! I want a Mac to work for me!" threads are ridiculous.
Get a refund.
I have had my share of lemons from apple and it is frustrating. This one guy on the forum always likes to throw that stupid survey out like it is statistically significant. It is actually a horrible survey. It makes my eyes rain when I see it being used as a reason to purchase a mac. If it doesn't work for you return the mac and get a PC laptop. Windows 7 is pretty close to Leopard and runs great on most machines. Really the only difference you might notice will be in the form category. Apple really works hard at making their computers look better and feel better. That is about the only difference if you are computer savvy and running windows 7.
I have had my share of lemons from apple and it is frustrating. This one guy on the forum always likes to throw that stupid survey out like it is statistically significant. It is actually a horrible survey. It makes my eyes rain when I see it being used as a reason to purchase a mac. If it doesn't work for you return the mac and get a PC laptop. Windows 7 is pretty close to Leopard and runs great on most machines. Really the only difference you might notice will be in the form category. Apple really works hard at making their computers look better and feel better. That is about the only difference if you are computer savvy and running windows 7.