So, I'm switching to a Mac, and am willing to spend quite a bit of money to do it. Though, I have quite a few questions before I make the switch; could you guys help?
1. I'm going to buy an iMac. Will I notice any difference between the 2.8GHz and the 3.06GHz model?
2. Will I notice a big difference between the 256mb and the 512mb in the graphics card?
3. What in god's name does a Mac Mini do? Xserve?
4. What's the difference between AirPort Express and AirPort Extreme, besides price? Is Extreme just plain better?
5. What do the ethernet ports do on the AirPort Extreme? Like, is that where you'd plug in your printer to it, and then be able to print to that printer from anywhere in the house? Do I need to plug that into my computer to use it? How good is the range on the Extreme?
6. I'm going to buy either a Macbook, or a Macbook Pro. My only worry with the Macbook (I could care less about the specs, the 2.4GHz model does everything I want x10) but the screen size scares me. I have an HP Compaq laptop right now, at 15" (cost me about $500 for 2GHz and 2GB of RAM, heh) will I notice a big difference between changing to a 13"? I'm sort of doubting I'll care much about the 2" difference, anyone else make the change and have some advice? On the bright side, it would be more portable, right?
7. When buying a Macbook/iMac, does iLife automatically come with it? What about iWork? iWork is a lot better than Microsoft Office, right? Especially Pages.
8. Why should I buy an AppleTV? Can anyone recommend it? The one thing I don't understand about it, is do I buy the movie ON the actual television from iTunes, or do I buy it on iTunes on my computer, and 'send'/stream it to my AppleTV? Is it worth the price, and is there better devices to do this?
9. In regards to the Apple Keyboard. I'm not sure whether or not to buy the wireless, or ... wired ... model. With the wired model, it seems to have a lot more keys (number pad, etc.) is that a handicap, do you wireless users miss it? I know it uses batteries, how often do you have to replace them, I don't want to have to replace the batteries in my keyboard excessively.
10. In regards to the Mighty Mouse. Again, wired or wireless? I'd definitely go with wireless, but the same question I must pose again, does the battery go quite quickly? Like, how many days? What do the buttons on the side of the mouse do - back and forward? Can I right click with it, like I would a normal microsoft mouse?
11. For us old Windows users, does the lack of 'our delete' get annoying? I kinda doubt CTRL+Delete is that annoying, but... yeah.
12. Is there anyway to COMPLETELY maximize the current program running? Like, I know the plus button fits it to the screen, but I'd like it to completely fill the screen like on Windows, can I do this?
13. Would you recommend a Time Capsule? If I buy one of these, do I need an AirPort Extreme?
14. Should I buy refurbished, or from a third-party retailer like MacMall? How do I get the educational discount working on the Canadian site?
15. Do I get a free printer with my iMac purchase?
16. It kicks the crap out of Vista/Windows 7, right? (Mac OS X, that is - especially with Snow Leopard.) It's just a better OS, right? Like, more stable, obviously, almost no viruses (how often does a virus come up?), and a lot more visually pleasing, especially with the dock and the like.
17. For an average Windows user, will I have a lot of compatibility problems switching to a Mac?
18. Do I get a mac e-mail address (@me.com, right?) free? Or do I need MobileMe?
19. What in god's name does Firewire do? Do I really need it? Can I hook up my Macbook( Pro) to a display without it? Will I have compatibility issues hooking it up?
20. What does the Option, Command and Apple key do?
21. Can I open Microsoft Office documents (word, powerpoint, etc.) just for viewing if I don't have Microsoft Office 2008 installed?
22. Is it true that Mac OS X requires 2-4x the RAM of a Vista computer? How much RAM will I need to effectively use a Mac? How much does a gig of RAM cost, I assume I shouldn't buy it from Apple?
23. Convince me why gloss > matte/is suitable.
24. Does the iMac/Macbook models get really hot/fans get really loud?
25. What's overclocking mean?
26. Is iPhoto and iMovie as easy to use as they say?
27. How good are the iMac speakers/will I need another kind?
28. Should I get a carrying case, do they scratch easy?
29. How do I turn the iMac on?
30. Big difference between SSD and HDD? DDR2 and DDR3?
THANKS! I may add more after. I know this is a lot of questions but I greatly appreciate it, and it should be fairly easy for a seasoned OS Xer.
1. I'm going to buy an iMac. Will I notice any difference between the 2.8GHz and the 3.06GHz model?
2. Will I notice a big difference between the 256mb and the 512mb in the graphics card?
3. What in god's name does a Mac Mini do? Xserve?
4. What's the difference between AirPort Express and AirPort Extreme, besides price? Is Extreme just plain better?
5. What do the ethernet ports do on the AirPort Extreme? Like, is that where you'd plug in your printer to it, and then be able to print to that printer from anywhere in the house? Do I need to plug that into my computer to use it? How good is the range on the Extreme?
6. I'm going to buy either a Macbook, or a Macbook Pro. My only worry with the Macbook (I could care less about the specs, the 2.4GHz model does everything I want x10) but the screen size scares me. I have an HP Compaq laptop right now, at 15" (cost me about $500 for 2GHz and 2GB of RAM, heh) will I notice a big difference between changing to a 13"? I'm sort of doubting I'll care much about the 2" difference, anyone else make the change and have some advice? On the bright side, it would be more portable, right?
7. When buying a Macbook/iMac, does iLife automatically come with it? What about iWork? iWork is a lot better than Microsoft Office, right? Especially Pages.
8. Why should I buy an AppleTV? Can anyone recommend it? The one thing I don't understand about it, is do I buy the movie ON the actual television from iTunes, or do I buy it on iTunes on my computer, and 'send'/stream it to my AppleTV? Is it worth the price, and is there better devices to do this?
9. In regards to the Apple Keyboard. I'm not sure whether or not to buy the wireless, or ... wired ... model. With the wired model, it seems to have a lot more keys (number pad, etc.) is that a handicap, do you wireless users miss it? I know it uses batteries, how often do you have to replace them, I don't want to have to replace the batteries in my keyboard excessively.
10. In regards to the Mighty Mouse. Again, wired or wireless? I'd definitely go with wireless, but the same question I must pose again, does the battery go quite quickly? Like, how many days? What do the buttons on the side of the mouse do - back and forward? Can I right click with it, like I would a normal microsoft mouse?
11. For us old Windows users, does the lack of 'our delete' get annoying? I kinda doubt CTRL+Delete is that annoying, but... yeah.
12. Is there anyway to COMPLETELY maximize the current program running? Like, I know the plus button fits it to the screen, but I'd like it to completely fill the screen like on Windows, can I do this?
13. Would you recommend a Time Capsule? If I buy one of these, do I need an AirPort Extreme?
14. Should I buy refurbished, or from a third-party retailer like MacMall? How do I get the educational discount working on the Canadian site?
15. Do I get a free printer with my iMac purchase?
16. It kicks the crap out of Vista/Windows 7, right? (Mac OS X, that is - especially with Snow Leopard.) It's just a better OS, right? Like, more stable, obviously, almost no viruses (how often does a virus come up?), and a lot more visually pleasing, especially with the dock and the like.
17. For an average Windows user, will I have a lot of compatibility problems switching to a Mac?
18. Do I get a mac e-mail address (@me.com, right?) free? Or do I need MobileMe?
19. What in god's name does Firewire do? Do I really need it? Can I hook up my Macbook( Pro) to a display without it? Will I have compatibility issues hooking it up?
20. What does the Option, Command and Apple key do?
21. Can I open Microsoft Office documents (word, powerpoint, etc.) just for viewing if I don't have Microsoft Office 2008 installed?
22. Is it true that Mac OS X requires 2-4x the RAM of a Vista computer? How much RAM will I need to effectively use a Mac? How much does a gig of RAM cost, I assume I shouldn't buy it from Apple?
23. Convince me why gloss > matte/is suitable.
24. Does the iMac/Macbook models get really hot/fans get really loud?
25. What's overclocking mean?
26. Is iPhoto and iMovie as easy to use as they say?
27. How good are the iMac speakers/will I need another kind?
28. Should I get a carrying case, do they scratch easy?
29. How do I turn the iMac on?
30. Big difference between SSD and HDD? DDR2 and DDR3?
THANKS! I may add more after. I know this is a lot of questions but I greatly appreciate it, and it should be fairly easy for a seasoned OS Xer.
