XP vs. X?

[Masna]

Hey everyone. I just bought an Intel-based 20 inch iMac. So far, I really love this thing. And I may never go back to Windows. I was just wondering, does anyone else here use Mac OS? And if so, what do you think of it? Thanks in advance.

[redbullmarky]

[!--quoteo(post=359057:date=Mar 27 2006, 11:53 PM:name=Masna)--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(Masna @ Mar 27 2006, 11:53 PM) [snapback]359057[/snapback][/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--quotec--]
Hey everyone. I just bought an Intel-based 20 inch iMac. So far, I really love this thing. And I may never go back to Windows. I was just wondering, does anyone else here use Mac OS? And if so, what do you think of it? Thanks in advance.
[/quote]

I'm torn on this one.

After years of owning a PC, I bought a Mac PowerBook G4 (not Intel) for music recording at home and on the move. Aside from how it looks, which is never short of perfect, it's been a godsend. Easy to use on the surface, rock solid Unix under the bonnet, no need for drivers for most things, and loads OS X up in no time without then having to wait for the drive to stop motoring before you can resume some sort of normal activity, etc, etc

However, about a month back, things went wrong. Not with warning, but one night I logged out as normal. The next morning I got BAD disk errors. Took it to the nearest Mac 'doctor' about 20 miles away. Was told that the problem is not uncommon for Macs, and I might have lost everything (I never took backups). Two years worth of song demos, company information, etc, lost for no apparent reason.
However, I did get it all back using Disk Warrior, and managed to get everything backed up, but it has made me worry a little.
Whilst it was getting fixed (takes almost a whole day for DiskWarrior to get a bad drive repaired) I got back into my Windows XP PC for work, and actually started to like it again. Not to mention the fact that it forces me to work in my office (and hence get some work done) as opposed to anywhere and everywhere i can take my powerbook which is normally where the distractions are...

So I'm torn on this one still. If I can be reassured that these disk problems are indeed not common for a Mac, and maybe with more warning before the drive goes, then I might revert back 100% to my Mac for work, and not just music.

Cheers
Mark

[Masna]

That's a bit of a shame, but I'm going to have to assume that the "Mac doctor" you saw isn't very up-to-date with his information library. I've been learning Mac to the best of my ability mostly by chatting with long time faithful users on the Apple discussions forums, and I'm yet to see anything of this sort. So far, I'm very very pleased with this machine (but just a bit upset that I'll have to wait another year, for the next release of Dreamweaver, Flash, and PS, so that those may run natively on the Intel chip; Rosetta is good, but not good enough). If I were you, I'd consider the new MacBook Pro, or even a desktop if you'd like to go all out. Also, if you do decide to buy a new computer from Apple, [b]get .mac![/b] You won't regret it. It comes with iDisk, Backup (you really needed this way back when), and much much more. Anyway, thanks for the response, and I do hope Apple will prove to the both of us that these machines are nothing short of godly.

[zq29]

I too have been a Windows user since back in the days of 3.1, and only a month or so ago did I invest in a MacMini for the sole purpose of testing my web projects in. I absolutly love OS X, its an infinite times better than WinXP in both looks, functionality and stability. I am actually considering getting one of the Intel based macs as soon as software such as Photoshop is running on them.

If truth be told, I only ever switch my Windows based computer on to play CounterStrike: Source.

Although I do use an XP machine in my office to code on.

[redbullmarky]

[!--quoteo(post=359803:date=Mar 29 2006, 09:33 PM:name=SemiApocalyptic)--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(SemiApocalyptic @ Mar 29 2006, 09:33 PM) [snapback]359803[/snapback][/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--quotec--]
....back in the days of 3.1...
[/quote]

hahahahahahahahaha how bad was that? but revolutionary. like the SInclair Spectrum or Commodore 64 lol. One for the museum.

Well ... since talking about my Mac in such a negative sense the other day, i've got things back up and running perfectly.

You know what I love about the Mac, aside from all the normal graphics/music power??

Mail.

One unified Inbox for everthing, but with seperate folders in it for all your different accounts. If only Thunderbird did that.

Masna, youre probably right about my MacDoctor. After all he was a receding chap in his late 30's with a ponytail (whoops) but not only that but he had his hair died pink. Says plenty really. I should have realised.

[Masna]

[!--quoteo(post=359803:date=Mar 29 2006, 08:33 PM:name=SemiApocalyptic)--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(SemiApocalyptic @ Mar 29 2006, 08:33 PM) [snapback]359803[/snapback][/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--quotec--]
I too have been a Windows user since back in the days of 3.1, and only a month or so ago did I invest in a MacMini for the sole purpose of testing my web projects in. I absolutly love OS X, its an infinite times better than WinXP in both looks, functionality and stability. I am actually considering getting one of the Intel based macs as soon as software such as Photoshop is running on them.

If truth be told, I only ever switch my Windows based computer on to play CounterStrike: Source.

Although I do use an XP machine in my office to code on.
[/quote]

Thanks for the response Semi. Is the MacMini anywhere near as powerful as, let's say, the iMac or even the Power Mac? When I first went to check out some Apple computers, a few LCD HD screens were hooked up to a MacMini but I didn't really do any hardcore testing, just some web browsing and things of that sort. I just added a gig of RAM to my Intel-based iMac, with a grand total of 1.5 gigs, and it's godly. I literally had every single program on the computer running at once, with no lag what so ever. Can the mini compare? Thanks in advance.

[redbullmarky]

[!--quoteo(post=359848:date=Mar 30 2006, 01:08 AM:name=Masna)--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(Masna @ Mar 30 2006, 01:08 AM) [snapback]359848[/snapback][/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--quotec--]
Thanks for the response Semi. Is the MacMini anywhere near as powerful as, let's say, the iMac or even the Power Mac? When I first went to check out some Apple computers, a few LCD HD screens were hooked up to a MacMini but I didn't really do any hardcore testing, just some web browsing and things of that sort. I just added a gig of RAM to my Intel-based iMac, with a grand total of 1.5 gigs, and it's godly. I literally had every single program on the computer running at once, with no lag what so ever. Can the mini compare? Thanks in advance.
[/quote]

Hi Masna
Sorry to answer a question aimed at someone else but i'm sure SA will have an opinion too on this.
But just like going for a Mac over a PC in the first place, the difference between them all (from what i've seen & tried) all depends on what you want to use it for. the Mac mini is like the ipod mini or nano - it's all about cramming as much stuff into as small a space as possible, which to be fair was why people loved the ipod so much - they looked good and were small. a powermac G4/G5 is always gonna rip the pants off most, but from giving MacMini a blast - not a problem coping with anything whatsoever, even the most intensive programs such as Logic Pro. I'd probably say the mac mini and iMac are on a somewhat even playing field, with the PowerMac/Book being the captain.

one more thing - and i don't see this built in as standard to PC's without some sort of performance screwup - and you may know of this already - go and grab your PC monitor. Dig out that little PC monitor adaptor thingy that came with your Mac. plug it in to your Mac and your monitor. Voila - Dual-screen without ANY effort at all. Works like a dream when coding/doing music/images.

Anyway, I digress.

[Masna]

[!--quoteo(post=359866:date=Mar 30 2006, 01:12 AM:name=redbullmarky)--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(redbullmarky @ Mar 30 2006, 01:12 AM) [snapback]359866[/snapback][/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--quotec--]
Hi Masna
Sorry to answer a question aimed at someone else but i'm sure SA will have an opinion too on this.
But just like going for a Mac over a PC in the first place, the difference between them all (from what i've seen & tried) all depends on what you want to use it for. the Mac mini is like the ipod mini or nano - it's all about cramming as much stuff into as small a space as possible, which to be fair was why people loved the ipod so much - they looked good and were small. a powermac G4/G5 is always gonna rip the pants off most, but from giving MacMini a blast - not a problem coping with anything whatsoever, even the most intensive programs such as Logic Pro. I'd probably say the mac mini and iMac are on a somewhat even playing field, with the PowerMac/Book being the captain.

one more thing - and i don't see this built in as standard to PC's without some sort of performance screwup - and you may know of this already - go and grab your PC monitor. Dig out that little PC monitor adaptor thingy that came with your Mac. plug it in to your Mac and your monitor. Voila - Dual-screen without ANY effort at all. Works like a dream when coding/doing music/images.

Anyway, I digress.
[/quote]

Where should I plug it into? I'm using the iMac.

[b]Edit:[/b] I re-read, and saw you said the adapter came with the Mac. Where is it? Like I said, I have the iMac; are you sure the iMac comes with one?

[redbullmarky]

[!--quoteo(post=359897:date=Mar 30 2006, 05:08 AM:name=Masna)--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(Masna @ Mar 30 2006, 05:08 AM) [snapback]359897[/snapback][/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--quotec--]
Where should I plug it into? I'm using the iMac.

[b]Edit:[/b] I re-read, and saw you said the adapter came with the Mac. Where is it? Like I said, I have the iMac; are you sure the iMac comes with one?
[/quote]

well i'm not sure if the adapter came with your iMac but it came with my PowerBook G4. but had a quick look at the [a href=\"http://www.apple.com/imac/whatsinside.html\" target=\"_blank\"]new iMac specs[/a] and it says it has a mini-DVI output. the adapter youre looking for looks like:

[img src=\"http://80.194.98.132/punchoutcommerce/images/products/cables/25032004104000.jpg\" border=\"0\" alt=\"IPB Image\" /].
(pic from [a href=\"http://www.scotsys.co.uk\" target=\"_blank\"]http://www.scotsys.co.uk[/a] just so they don't get funny about it.)

no major setup required. plug the small end into your mac, the monitor into the big end, turn of 'mirroring' in your display preferences and voila. drag anything you like and stick it on the other screen.

word of warning too. once you get dual-screen and get used to it, you'll wonder what you ever did without it. very useful to have dreamweaver on on screen and drag all your testing browsers, etc onto the other.

[Masna]

Hmm...I see the port in the back of the computer to which that plug would be connected, but I still can't find that cord anywhere. I searched the box like 7 times, and it's no where to be found. Darnet.

[b]Edit:[/b] I just checked the Apple website for what comes with the iMac, and that adapter isn't listed; it is for the PowerBook. That would explain this.

By the way, how do you add a seperate folder for a separate email account with Mail? I figured out how to link 2 accounts, but new messages for both accounts are shown in the same Inbox folder. Thanks in advance.

[redbullmarky]

[!--quoteo(post=360124:date=Mar 30 2006, 08:53 PM:name=Masna)--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(Masna @ Mar 30 2006, 08:53 PM) [snapback]360124[/snapback][/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--quotec--]
Hmm...I see the port in the back of the computer to which that plug would be connected, but I still can't find that cord anywhere. I searched the box like 7 times, and it's no where to be found. Darnet.

[b]Edit:[/b] I just checked the Apple website for what comes with the iMac, and that adapter isn't listed; it is for the PowerBook. That would explain this.
[/quote]

yeah i had a look around too - "sold seperately". they're about £10 here (i think $18 ? ) but absolutely essential :) . looks like since they released the powerbook they've decided to rake in a bit more cash on extras...i've read in a few places that the powerbook one is compatible, but best ask your Mac dealer...


[!--quoteo(post=360124:date=Mar 30 2006, 08:53 PM:name=Masna)--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(Masna @ Mar 30 2006, 08:53 PM) [snapback]360124[/snapback][/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--quotec--]
By the way, how do you add a seperate folder for a separate email account with Mail? I figured out how to link 2 accounts, but new messages for both accounts are shown in the same Inbox folder. Thanks in advance.
[/quote]

just set up all of your accounts as normal (Mail/Preferences-->Accounts). all your accounts should be seperate in the left hand panel.
one you're done, the Inbox has all of your accounts in it as subdirectories. hope that helps :)

[Masna]

[!--quoteo(post=360274:date=Mar 31 2006, 07:10 AM:name=redbullmarky)--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(redbullmarky @ Mar 31 2006, 07:10 AM) [snapback]360274[/snapback][/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--quotec--]
just set up all of your accounts as normal (Mail/Preferences-->Accounts). all your accounts should be seperate in the left hand panel.
one you're done, the Inbox has all of your accounts in it as subdirectories. hope that helps :)
[/quote]

I setup both accounts, but there are no subdirectories in the Inbox. E-mails for both addresses are thrown together in one Inbox folder; I want to be able to tell which is for which.

[redbullmarky]

[!--quoteo(post=360522:date=Apr 1 2006, 02:28 AM:name=Masna)--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(Masna @ Apr 1 2006, 02:28 AM) [snapback]360522[/snapback][/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--quotec--]
I setup both accounts, but there are no subdirectories in the Inbox. E-mails for both addresses are thrown together in one Inbox folder; I want to be able to tell which is for which.
[/quote]

An odd problem. I'm not even sure that Mail gives you a choice in the matter to turn it on or off, otherwise I'd give you an idea of what to check. Unified inbox is one of the most liked features on Mail which is why THunderbird is heavily looked over on the Mac. However, I'm not sure whether each account has any options such as 'use seperate inbox' or not.
Aside from your main window, have you got a slideout 'Accounts' tray? the one that has your list of Inbox/Outbox/Sent, etc? You're looking for little grey arrows next to your Inbox. here's a screenshot from [a href=\"http://www.appleinsider.com/article.php?id=532\" target=\"_blank\"]appleinsider.com[/a] showing what it looks like:

[b]edit:[/b] removed the pic as it was huge ... follow the link i gave instead to the section that says: New Mailbox Bar

[Masna]

That's funny, my Mail looks nothing like that.

[redbullmarky]

[!--quoteo(post=360651:date=Apr 1 2006, 07:03 PM:name=Masna)--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(Masna @ Apr 1 2006, 07:03 PM) [snapback]360651[/snapback][/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--quotec--]
That's funny, my Mail looks nothing like that.
[/quote]

got a screenie you can post? very weird as the main layout of mail hasn't changed since the version I have. I even double checked this one with someone else i know that's just got a new Mac.

[Masna]

[!--quoteo(post=360668:date=Apr 1 2006, 06:56 PM:name=redbullmarky)--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(redbullmarky @ Apr 1 2006, 06:56 PM) [snapback]360668[/snapback][/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--quotec--]
got a screenie you can post? very weird as the main layout of mail hasn't changed since the version I have. I even double checked this one with someone else i know that's just got a new Mac.
[/quote]

Yeah, here: [a href=\"https://www.projectsquared.com/temp2/images/Screenshot_1.png\" target=\"_blank\"]https://www.projectsquared.com/temp2/images/Screenshot_1.png[/a]

[redbullmarky]

[!--quoteo(post=361046:date=Apr 3 2006, 01:11 AM:name=Masna)--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(Masna @ Apr 3 2006, 01:11 AM) [snapback]361046[/snapback][/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--quotec--]
Yeah, here: [a href=\"https://www.projectsquared.com/temp2/images/Screenshot_1.png\" target=\"_blank\"]https://www.projectsquared.com/temp2/images/Screenshot_1.png[/a]
[/quote]

the little triangles on the very left of the screen, next to Inbox, Drafts and Trash - click them and voila! You (should) see all of your accounts within them, all seperate.

[zq29]

Sorry for my late reply here, been very busy recently! As for performance of the Mini in comparison to the other models, I'd pretty much agree with redbullmarky. Although, I haven't used any other Macs before, so I have nothing to compare it to really. I've got the G4 based one and its plently fast for what I use it for. I'd love to give the Intel based one a go though, although my G4 one runs Photoshop CS2 on it perfectly fine. I'll be upgrading the RAM from 512MB to 1024MB in the near future though.

[Masna]

[!--quoteo(post=361143:date=Apr 3 2006, 08:14 AM:name=redbullmarky)--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(redbullmarky @ Apr 3 2006, 08:14 AM) [snapback]361143[/snapback][/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--quotec--]
the little triangles on the very left of the screen, next to Inbox, Drafts and Trash - click them and voila! You (should) see all of your accounts within them, all seperate.
[/quote]

Thanks a lot, it worked like a charm. That is so totally awesome. Anyway, Semi, you should totally get an Intel based Mac; they [b]rock![/b] Even though this is my first, I can tell the performance is far beyond anything Apple as ever released. I'm hoping Apple buys Adobe (LOL) in which case Creative Suite 3 will be released way before the second quarter of 2007. Anyway, thanks for the input guys. Anyone have any final comments?

[redbullmarky]

[!--quoteo(post=361310:date=Apr 3 2006, 08:21 PM:name=Masna)--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(Masna @ Apr 3 2006, 08:21 PM) [snapback]361310[/snapback][/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--quotec--]
Anyone have any final comments?
[/quote]

yes. the F11 key on the Mac is also a godsend too sometimes. Especially when saving links/images from a browser. Just click and hold the mouse over a link or image. Press the F11 key without letting the mouse button go. As if by magic - everything shifts out the way nicely to drop it down.
You may have also noticed the pre-installed webserver with PHP.
And a million other little bits that are just too many to mention here...Enjoy.

M$ Vista is gonna have to be REALLY special to beat some of the OSX tricks.

[zq29]

[!--quoteo(post=361360:date=Apr 3 2006, 10:44 PM:name=redbullmarky)--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(redbullmarky @ Apr 3 2006, 10:44 PM) [snapback]361360[/snapback][/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--quotec--]the F11 key on the Mac is also a godsend too sometimes.[/quote]
Thats the Konspose isn't it? I love that tool, It uses F9 and F10 aswell but slightly different function to F11. I'm in my office at the moment, but if I can recall, F9 spreads all of the widows out on the screen and you can pick one to bring to the front. F10 spreads out all of the windows within the current active application. Love it!

There are a few things that are a bit annoying in OS X though for me...
1) You can only drag a window bigger/smaller from the bottom right.
2) The lack of a # key, I can never remember the key-combo... Is it Option + 3 ?
3) You can't open folders by pressing return on them, that activates the rename command.

There are a few other things too that I can't remember right now, but they are just minor inconveniences that I will get the hang of soon.

Oh, the Genie effect when you minimise stuff is pretty cool too!

[Masna]

[!--quoteo--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE[/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--quotec--]There are a few things that are a bit annoying in OS X though for me...
1) You can only drag a window bigger/smaller from the bottom right.
2) The lack of a # key, I can never remember the key-combo... Is it Option + 3 ?
3) You can't open folders by pressing return on them, that activates the rename command.[/quote]

1, yeah that's a bit annoying, but I've gotten used to it simply by habit.
2, just press Shift + 3, exactly like on a PC keyboard.
3, that took awhile to get used to. I still wish there was a right click option that activated re-naming folders. Oh well.

As for everything else, you just have to get used to it. They come along with the many wonders of OS X, and go with the many reasons it's just better than Windows. As for Vista, psh. (Anybody noticed Microsoft never actually makes anything new, just encase it with a glossier style?) *cough*xbox and 360*cough* *cough*Windows 95 and 2000*cough*

[zq29]

[!--quoteo(post=361686:date=Apr 4 2006, 08:45 PM:name=Masna)--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(Masna @ Apr 4 2006, 08:45 PM) [snapback]361686[/snapback][/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--quotec--]2, just press Shift + 3, exactly like on a PC keyboard.[/quote]
Maybe for your American keyboards, but on a British one, we have a pound (£) sign on our '3' key! And I did get it wrong, its alt+3 for a #, not option+3... On a UK keyboard that is anyway.

[Masna]

[!--quoteo(post=361694:date=Apr 4 2006, 07:55 PM:name=SemiApocalyptic)--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(SemiApocalyptic @ Apr 4 2006, 07:55 PM) [snapback]361694[/snapback][/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--quotec--]
Maybe for your American keyboards, but on a British one, we have a pound (£) sign on our '3' key! And I did get it wrong, its alt+3 for a #, not option+3... On a UK keyboard that is anyway.
[/quote]

Oh, that's interesting. How is it over there in the UK? (Winston really kicked butt against the Lud...eh, German Air Force (in WWII), huh?) - AP European History, sorry!

[jcombs_31]

I personally use windows but support close to 1000 macs at work. I can say that the powerpc has many hardware problems, especially the ibooks and imacs. THe ibook harddrives constantly fail along with the logic boards. I've had numerous video problems and some power supply problems. I have not yet used an intel based mac.

I can say this, the OS has come a long way, and I somewhat like it, but the hardware has been crap. They are getting better with integration with mixed enviroments, and hope to fully use Active Directory with Open Directory soon. Right now I have it in testing in a wireless environment.