New Computer

[golfchief]

Got a Power Mac G4, seems to be a great machine. Trying to learn my way around since I've only used Windows until now.
It's used,but got it free. No manual came with it,have to got to the store and find a basic book for operating a Mac. I can't even open the CD slot, how funny is that.

[lehighkid]

Welcome to the good side. I am a Microsoft programmer professionally but both of my personal computers are Macs (24" iMac and 15" Powerbook Pro). I wouldn't trade them for the world. Once you settle in you will be blown away with the simplicity. You just have to refrain from the "windows ways"!

Good Luck!

[gogolfing]

Welcome to the Mac world; your stress has just been reduced. I've got a 20" iMac and love it; it's my fourth Mac, with my first bought in 1990.

As for books to help you out, any of David Pogue's "Missing Manual" series are great.

[iacas]

Got a Power Mac G4, seems to be a great machine. Trying to learn my way around since I've only used Windows until now.

A G4? They haven't made those in awhile. You get it on eBay or something?

The eject key on the keyboard opens the optical drive. P.S. Welcome to the enlightened side of computing.

[NCGolfer]

I've been more and more exposed to Apples through friends and family. I may consider picking up a used Powerbook sometime in the far off future. My mother-in-law has a Powerbook and an iMac and has offered her older computers when she's done with them.

Free is always nice...but can't be counted on.

From a mutlimedia standpoint (photography - my other hobby) the things I've seen with Apples are too good to ignore. I've been a PC guy all my life - working as and managing a group of Windows developers.

[Big_M]

I have always said I would NEVER buy a mac...

-they overcharge and admit it (they admit you pay for looks)
-they are incompatible
-they are wierd

BUT alas... I think I am comming around... I'm damn tired of Microsoft and windows and ALL the PROBLEMS associated therewith. Just today I spent an hour and a half with DELL tech support.

Enough of my intelligent and respected friends have convinced me... my next machine WILL be a MAC.

[golfchief]

Thanks for the responses. Will try the Pogue's books. found the eject key
(have to hold down for a second to open door) .
Will learn how to moves thing on to the Mac form my PC.
Will try to get this right;
Power Mac G4
Dual 1.42 GHZ
120 GB Hard drive
DVD-RW
OS10-- Leopard
Wireless
Thats about all I know about this Mac but learning to really like the features,
I will get the hang of it.

[iacas]

I read your statement at the end about switching despite saying you never would, but your "arguments" are pretty common and, really, quite silly. So I'm posting as a general statement to people who share your sentiments...

- they overcharge and admit it (they admit you pay for looks)

Well, you pay for quality. That being said, virtually all of their computers are well in line with industry standards. Build a similar system from another competitor (reputable competitor) and you'll find they run about the same - especially the laptops.

Apple gouges people on RAM, sometimes by like 4x or 5x. Buy your RAM from a reputable store and you'll be fine and save plenty of money. No denying that if you "build one yourself" or buy a cheapie off-brand you can save money. But good luck with that... And Apple has never admitted that they overcharge for looks. The say people appreciate design, but they've never said they charge more for it. Also, Apple has retail stores. Yeah, whoopty... except they provide support at the Genius Bar. Most computers will have you call India. Apple lets you come in and talk with someone.

-they are incompatible

Incredibly, incredibly wrong. Was barely even true 10 years ago let alone today.

Heck, an Apple laptop was named the best WINDOWS laptop on the market by PC Magazine (or something). Which means to say that in the worst case, you can run Windows ON your Mac, either simultaneously with Mac OS X or separately in a dual booting setup. I've been running Windows XP for over a year. That's how I've been testing the Windows version of Scorecard. If you don't want to install Windows on your Mac, well, Macs have Office. Macs have top-of-the-line browsers. Macs have the same software you're going to find everywhere else, and it's usually better.

-they are wierd

So are you. Neener neener.

BUT alas... I think I am comming around... I'm damn tired of Microsoft and windows and ALL the PROBLEMS associated therewith. Just today I spent an hour and a half with DELL tech support.

See? You will be... uhh... dis-assimilated? Un-assimilated?

[ericm]

I have been considering a Mac purchase for a while and have a couple of questions.

Erik mentioned paying for quality. In researching Apple, it seems there is something of a sharp divide on this issue. I have read both enthusiatic supporters and detractors of the quality of the MAC hardware. As I detest extended warranties, this has been a concern for me. Was quality an issue once, but now overcome or is it not an issue at all or still an issue?

I will definetly be loading Windows on whatever Mac I purchase, in a dual boot configuration. Can I seemlessly read files on both platforms or are there configuration issues inside of each OS? Are there two seperate partitions or just one?

[iacas]

Erik mentioned paying for quality. In researching Apple, it seems there is something of a sharp divide on this issue. I have read both enthusiatic supporters and detractors of the quality of the MAC hardware. As I detest extended warranties, this has been a concern for me. Was quality an issue once, but now overcome or is it not an issue at all or still an issue?

Aside from some underpowered Macs (the "Performa" line, among a few others) back in the early to mid 1990s, Macs have used high-quality components. Some people had (legitimate) complaints about how slow Apple was to adopt disc burning drives, but basically every computer they ship these days comes with a DVD-R drive standard.

I'm not going to claim that Apple uses the highest-end parts, because that'd be easy to disprove, but Apple does use the best consumer-level parts available to them. They use Western Digital, Seagate, etc. hard drives. They use high-quality RAM and chips. Good motherboards. Good wireless chips. Solid optical drives. The area where I will say Apple is on top of the league (except for the super-small-niche stuff) is the fit and finish of their computers. They all feel solid and look like they're put together really well. Apple makes computers that feel like the car door closing on a very good car. Apple's had a few problems with their hardware. Jeff Smith (on this site) had a problem out of warranty with his iMac - Apple covered it for him because it was a known issue. Apple has been very good about extending warranties for known issues, and the number of problems they have is well below that of others. A bit of disclosure: I've been a long-time Mac user. I like to think that I'm just using the tool that best suits what I do and enjoy, and that I'm free of the fanboy crap most people have. I've worked FOR Apple, in retail (Mac Genius) as well as in engineering, and I continue to use Macs to this day and write software for them. Even won an Apple Design award a few years ago. PCs have their purpose... One of the big reasons used to be gaming. Now more than ever I think that's the realm of consoles.

I will definetly be loading Windows on whatever Mac I purchase, in a dual boot configuration. Can I seemlessly read files on both platforms or are there configuration issues inside of each OS? Are there two seperate partitions or just one?

If the goal is to transition from Windows to the Mac, you probably don't want to dual boot. You'll probably want to install Parallels (parallels.com) or VMWare. You can run Windows in a window, as it is. I do this. Sharing files this way is very easy.

My hunch is that, with even a teeny bit of effort, you'll being using the Mac side more and more and the Windows side less and less as time goes on. If you want to boot only into Windows or Mac OS at any one time, you'll have separate partitions, yes, and use Boot Camp (free from Apple): http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/bootcamp.html

[ericm]

Erik,

Thanks for the info. Do I use NFS to see across the partitions from Windows? What about from Mac to Windows?

I anticipate using the Mac side often, but with my job there is no way I can give up on Windows completely.

[iacas]

Erik,

If you use Parallels or VMWare, it'll "mount" a little hard drive. You can drag and drop copies of files back and forth or set up shared folders (I like to do that with my Downloads directory).

If you're using Boot Camp, I'm not sure. I haven't used it.

[marpr]

I read your statement at the end about switching despite saying you never would, but your "arguments" are pretty common and, really, quite silly. So I'm posting as a general statement to people who share your sentiments...

I agree. I've had mac all my life due to our family members being from a design background.

I've had a Mac G5 Powerbook for 5 years and it's still going strong.

[mat4020]

Do I use NFS to see across the partitions from Windows?

If using bootcamp you can use a handy program called

MacDrive in windows to see and write to your osx partition.

What about from Mac to Windows?

It's a bit tricker going the other way around. OSX can read NTFS, but cannot write to this. There is, supposedly, a way to get it to work, but I could never get it to work (but I didnt try for too long).

I used bootcamp for awhile on my MBP to game, but soon got rid of it for the ease of Parallels.

[muskegman]

Thought I should chime in here. I've really enjoyed my G5 iMac purchased in 2005 (I think). I like it because it works and works well. It stays out of the way and lets me do what I do... internets, email, word processing, image manipulation, a little gaming from time to time, music, organizing graduate school, and killing time. The compatibility issue doesn't apply most of the time.

The only thing that I've run into is trouble with sights designed around Microsoft proprietary software. There was something in grad school I could only access on a windows machine because the school drank the Microsoft Kool-Aid.

I have had a very positive experience with Apple warranty and care service. As Erik mentioned, I've had this box in twice for motherboard work (free both times).

[michaeljames92]

i build my home computers and desktops i can save about 1/3 of the price if it build it myself.