General Mac software discussions: Considering the switch to a Mac...
Good to hear you liked it.
by grimgraphix - 8/27/07 8:02 AM In reply to: Went into a local Apple store yesterday.... by Josh KIt's different, and just as a MS box can't do some apple stuff, you will find a mac can't do a few MS things. For instance, I had a professor last year, who insisted on saving web site pages on her PC for reference as a .mht file. Something a mac won't read. The really cool thing when it comes to a mac and saving information is the built in compatibility to save editable or non-editable .pdf files.
Heads up on where to buy. Amazon offers rebates on some models when no one else is (or at least they used to)... Apple offers pretty good open box discounts on some returns... Of course, you may find a great, one time deal in an apple store as well.
cheers
grim
To chime in, Josh
by Angeline Booher
- 8/28/07 7:09 AM
In reply to: Went into a local Apple store yesterday.... by Josh K
(BTW, I was forced to buy before October, but my iMac is ready for Leopard.)
To be honest, I would have been able to do what I wanted right out of the box for $1499.
But I did buy a couple of extra programs. .Mac, for instance, has an AV protection. There is a built-in firewall.
My HP printer would have worked with the iMac, but a paper guide had broken. My old scanner was not compatible. So I bought a low-end HP all-in-one. The print and copy worked fine, but I had to install the HP software in order to send scanned stuff to the computer.
With the 20" iMac, an additional 1GB RAM 2 extra programs, the all-in-one, an external floppy compatible with Macintosh, and AppleCare, I paid less than I would have for the Dell I was considering. Compare the 3 year extended warranty/support for AppleCare with that of Dell. Check with Consumer Reports as to the ranking of satisfaction with tech support.
It comes with an ethernet card. You can fax if you add the Apple internal modem, which I did not.
My PC had WMe, so I never experienced XP. But I find the iMac to be much more sensible, intuitive and logical. And easier to use. Next time you go to the Apple Store, play with "Finder", and notice how neat and tidy everything is, like the applications being in one folder. My son's comment was, "I don't know why everybody can't do that", referring to the IMac being all-in-one. No tower, no external speakers. (Great sound, BTW) The manual is about the size of a CD case, but the Help for each program is there for a click. A feature I like is that the screen is not cluttered with icons.
I am able to open any PDF I receive. And I can send them. What I compose in my word processor can be read by anyone, and I can read theirs. (No, I did not buy the MS Office offer.)
To be honest, the "learning curve" was barely there. The problem is in the mind-set. It just doesn't work like a Windows machine.
If you buy an iMac in October, you will be getting a beautiful machine. I don't know how the screen could be any better than mine, though. 
With Amazon there would be no sales tax. And it does offer AppleCare. However, if you want some extra programs pre-installed, can't do it there. I bought mine locally, so they know me. The local ones also offer free classes.
Angeline
"It just works"
by Josh K - 8/28/07 1:49 PM In reply to: To chime in, Josh by Angeline Booher
The whole PC vs. Mac thing reminds me of the Beta vs. VHS battle. Beta was better in every way (smaller cartridge, better audio and video quality) but the VHS boys had the money behind them and saturated the market, winning the war.
PCs made the most sense for me for years because there was so little software available for the Mac, and because the work I was doing was all PC-based (Access databases, later SQL Server and Visual Studio). It still is but I have a laptop for work now so if I need to work at home I can use that. You also had to choose your peripherals carefully because most were not cross-compatible. Now most of them are. Add that to the "eh" response I had when I got my hands on Vista for the first time and it became easier to consider other options.
I'm sure I'll want to tweak my system beyond the options offered by Amazon, and will end up buying at the local Apple store. We do fax on occasion so the modem will be a must, and I'll want the extra RAM.
Again, my thanks for your impressions.
Josh
iWork vs. Office?
by Josh K - 8/28/07 4:26 PM In reply to: To chime in, Josh by Angeline Booher
Any thoughts?
I'd ask for....
by Angeline Booher - 8/29/07 5:53 AM
In reply to: iWork vs. Office? by Josh K
...... opinions from others who are involved in business.
I bought the old program AppleWorks, because it has a spreadsheet., which iWorks 2006 did not have. However, I see that iWorks 08 now also has a spreadsheet. I suggest you go to the Apple site and read about iWorks 2008.
The 30 day trial run Office for a Mac is 2004. If Apple still offers the trial run of iWorks 2008, then you can compare them yourself. I checked the Apple site to see if those trial runs are still offered. (Go to Store, select iMac, below "What's in the box" under applications). Or you can look at iWorks 08 in the Apple Store.
It was a personal decision for me. I just didn't want Office.What I have does what I did with Office 2000, my latest version.
You could start a new thread asking for this advice. I've seen that some users work with different programs.
Decisions, decisions.
Angeline
The guy at the Apple store.....
by Josh K - 8/29/07 6:07 AM In reply to: I'd ask for.... by Angeline Booher
....said the iMac comes with 30-day trial versions of both, so it will be pretty easy for me to make a decision on that. I was just curious to see what people who have used both might think.
Thanks again!
Angeline about To chime in, Josh
by ChimericPhantom - 8/28/07 10:16 PM In reply to: To chime in, Josh by Angeline Booher
I am pleasantly surprised that you got free classes. They offered them with a discount when I got my Powerbook PC 2 years ago. I am taking the classes again; very helpful. You got a beauty!
Best,
Phantom
In truth, Phantom....
by Angeline Booher - 8/29/07 6:06 AM
In reply to: Angeline about To chime in, Josh by ChimericPhantom
..... my "free classes" have been these CNet Mac forums.
The stores here do offer free group classes (by reservation) . But the store locations are out of my driving range. (Apple Stores came here only less than a year ago. I bought mine from a certified Mac store that has been here for years and has a great reputation. They serve a lot of businesses.)
I wish I could take advantage of them.
Angeline
Response to BrainRusty (I have the name correct.)
by ChimericPhantom - 7/30/07 11:21 PM In reply to: Considering the switch to a Mac... by BrainRustyI switched to Mac 2 years ago. Everything transferred from the PC to the Mac in spite of a security suite that was on the PC that locked up everything like malware; all info was transferred to Mac that I chose. All the data from Outlook was moved to Mac Mail and has worked well. It works well with the Mac Address Book and automatically finds addresses when emailing. I have MS Entourage and have not used it; I liked Outlook on my PCs. Good luck deciding. I also suggest you get the one-on-one training. It is very effective.
Outlook and Entourage
by cysound - 8/3/07 8:12 PM In reply to: Considering the switch to a Mac... by BrainRustyJust to answer one of your questions, when running Microsoft Office, you'll be happy running OS X with it. Entourage is just like Outlook, and I believe they are cross-compatible, as is the rest of the Office Suite.
About peripheral compatibility
by ChimericPhantom - 8/4/07 12:50 PM In reply to: Considering the switch to a Mac... by BrainRustyI bought the Mac in 2005. I kept the 2003 Dell monitor and use it as a split screen with my Mac laptop. I still use the Harman Kardon speakers I got with my first Dell 7 in 1999. No problems with the speakers or the monitor. I bought a scanner-printer-copier all-in-one from HP with the Mac in 2005. I still need to learn the bells and whistles on the HP. Peripherals should be hopeflly good to go. Good luck to you, Phantom.
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