Apple computers...help me out..

[Hazard]

Mac's have a super high tech mouse, I'm intrigued... not really. Everytime I try to get work done on mac, I feel like punching the computer in the face. Simple shit like opening a pdf or word file becomes an extremely irritating experience.

[ALBballer]

I was a big time Apple hater as well. Hated anything related to Apple (not sure why, I guess I hated the 'culture' around them more than anything), but everybody around me had a Mac. I stayed with my custom built pc proudly. But I kept noticing how their Macs were different, in a good way. It was simple basic stuff like installing programs, deleting stuff, the dock, and other stuff that kinda caught my attention. They never seemed to have any issues, and things just worked smooth for them. My boy convinced me to buy a Mac Mini, and I haven't gone back since.

Naturally, Windows has evolved since the XP days, and it's added more features and improved in other key areas. But I still don't see the dramatic change that'll make me wanna switch back. I tried Ubuntu briefly, but it felt unfinished overall.

Try a Mac, and if you don't like it, you can return it or sell it online. Apple products have a higher resell value. But give it a chance (around 2.5 weeks or so). It usually takes 1 week to sorta figure out the basics, and another week and a half to get used to it and some of the apps that replace your fav Windows apps.

If any of you need help, just let me know.

I'm sure I'd get used to it. I was using Ubuntu for a good half year but went back to windows because of issues playing videos and ironically havin some issues with itunes (which I hate using.) I figure I can get use to Apple.

I don't know if it's worth the money. I've never had issues with Apple because they are good products but they're overpriced. I can't get myself to spend $1200 on a iMac. for $1200 I could probably create some bad ass pc. with that said, I think I will make the switch once the new iMac comes out.

[Hazard]

I'm sure I'd get used to it. I was using Ubuntu for a good half year but went back to windows because of issues playing videos and ironically havin some issues with itunes (which I hate using.) I figure I can get use to Apple.

I don't know if it's worth the money. I've never had issues with Apple because they are good products but they're overpriced. I can't get myself to spend $1200 on a iMac. for $1200 I could probably create some bad ass pc. with that said, I think I will make the switch once the new iMac comes out.

Try sharepod instead of iTunes, gives you a lot more control. It just loads your music and you pick which songs you wanna put on.

[andgar923]

Mac's have a super high tech mouse, I'm intrigued... not really. Everytime I try to get work done on mac, I feel like punching the computer in the face. Simple shit like opening a pdf or word file becomes an extremely irritating experience.

How so?

A PDF or a Word doc can be previewed (quick look) by simply hitting the space bar, that's it. Macs also have a built in PDF viewer which is easy to use. Don't see how this could be extremely irritating.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OELah8lf938

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6m62I4N2bf0
Irritating indeed.

[DeuceWallaces]

Built in PDF reader?? Sign me up!

[Hazard]

How so?

A PDF or a Word doc can be previewed (quick look) by simply hitting the space bar, that's it. Macs also have a built in PDF viewer which is easy to use. Don't see how this could be extremely irritating.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OELah8lf938

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6m62I4N2bf0
Irritating indeed.

Clearly the computers at my school did not have it installed. Didn't have a word processor either. Most software and games are built for PC. I do like that it has a terminal, I actually used that more than the GUI cause I found it to be annoying as hell and took forever to load on that piece of shit. Guess they didn't pay for enough to make the thing actually functional. Cheap school should have coughed up a couple more g's then it would at least load up safari in less than a half hour. Oh and Steve Jobs is a dick.

[andgar923]

Clearly the computers at my school did not have it installed. Didn't have a word processor either. Most software and games are built for PC. I do like that it has a terminal, I actually used that more than the GUI cause I found it to be annoying as hell and took forever to load on that piece of shit. Guess they didn't pay for enough to make the thing actually functional. Cheap school should have coughed up a couple more g's then it would at least load up safari in less than a half hour. Oh and Steve Jobs is a dick.

Preview comes built into every Mac, maybe the version of OS you used didn't have this version of Preview.

I do understand that schools usually have crippled Mac versions tho. I hated using them at school, but I'd get around the administrative privileges and change the settings to work like a normal OS. Some don't even have something as simple and basic as 'right click' enabled, which completely boggled my mind.

Under these circumstances I do understand how some might be put off, and it is very common for schools to have the most basic shit disabled.

[DetroitPiston]

I'll just answer what I like about Macs. I grew up using Windows PCs until 2006. Both systems have their upsides and both systems have their downsides. Everything does, really. However both Windows and Apple fanatics fail to see that.

- First off, durability. I've had my Macbook since 2006, only had to replace the hard drive once because it died out. It still runs like new and I've used it every day, several hours a day and have taken it everywhere with me. Still runs nicely. It was the most basic Macbook I bought and compared to most basic models running Windows, mine's still going. (more on that later)

- Accessibility. It's easier to install and uninstall programs on a Mac. You just want to uninstall a program, put it in the trash and then empty it. Same with music and videos and pictures, easier to access.

- No Internet Explorer. (As someone who has to use it at work, I just wanted to put it in there because I ****ing hate that browser) Safari is quite nice but Camino is nice as well.

- If you don't need a laptop, get a Mac Mini. Half the price of a Mac with the full thing but you get the OS and the apps and can hook it up to third party hardware. One job I worked used Mac Minis for such a purpose.

- I know price is a factor and Macs are expensive but so are high end PCs. I mentioned basic models, but I'd rather have the most basic Mac computer than the most basic PC. Too much hassle involved and the constant maintenance needed isn't worth it for me and it's going to be complex to someone who doesn't know what RAM is. Long term, it's worth the price because it's a lot cheaper to manage than a Windows machine.

- MagSafe charger is probably one of the most underrated things about Macs in regards to laptops. It prevents the classic case of tripping over the cord and yanking the computer to the ground. Magsafe cord gets tripped over, it gets pulled out of the computer preventing that.

- Finally, usability. I grew up using PCs, I know what I'm doing, but sometimes all I just wanted was to watch a movie and not have to do different things just to start a DVD. What I like about Apple's OS is that it does what technology was supposed to do, make our lives easier.

Hope this helps, good luck on your search.

[Hazard]

Preview comes built into every Mac, maybe the version of OS you used didn't have this version of Preview.

I do understand that schools usually have crippled Mac versions tho. I hated using them at school, but I'd get around the administrative privileges and change the settings to work like a normal OS. Some don't even have something as simple and basic as 'right click' enabled, which completely boggled my mind.

Under these circumstances I do understand how some might be put off, and it is very common for schools to have the most basic shit disabled.

Yeah no right click as well. I can see how people may like macs for the aesthetics and the simplicity, but still way too expensive and very limited in terms of software. Too bad apple and ms monopolize everything and open source isn't given much room to grow and compete with these two giants. I'm at a point where I refuse to learn .net even though there are tons of jobs for it on the market. Open source software is OS independent and its free, I would much rather hop on that wagon than bust my ass for some billion dollar corporation. Went off on a small tangent, my bad.

[DetroitPiston]

Will add that the Macs are expensive thing is a myth, by the way.

[andgar923]

Yeah no right click as well. I can see how people may like macs for the aesthetics and the simplicity, but still way too expensive and very limited in terms of software. Too bad apple and ms monopolize everything and open source isn't given much room to grow and compete with these two giants. I'm at a point where I refuse to learn .net even though there are tons of jobs for it on the market. Open source software is OS independent and its free, I would much rather hop on that wagon than bust my ass for some billion dollar corporation. Went off on a small tangent, my bad.

I don't see how OS X has limited software when compared to Linux or other open source OS. I can see the argument being made that it has less software options than Windows, but not Linux.

[Hazard]

I don't see how OS X has limited software when compared to Linux or other open source OS. I can see the argument being made that it has less software options than Windows, but not Linux.

I'm talking about windows, I never compared it to Linux.

[andgar923]

I'm talking about windows, I never compared it to Linux.

My bad.

I guess since you were talking about open source I got it confused.

[Hazard]

My bad.

I guess since you were talking about open source I got it confused.

No need for apologies, honest mistake. Open source is very good, but not as user friendly as the corporate software. People have jobs and open source is a hobby type thing to people, so it really cant compete.

[andgar923]

No need for apologies, honest mistake. Open source is very good, but not as user friendly as the corporate software. People have jobs and open source is a hobby type thing to people, so it really cant compete.

Not sure what sort of open source apps you use, but here's two links that have a collection of open source apps for OS X:

http://www.digitaldarknet.net/thelist/
http://opensourcemac.org/

Although, I'm not sure how updated or complete this list is. But from my experience, the apps on OS X have been superior to Windows apps (that I remember), but Windows def has the edge on quantity.