Mac or not, that is the ?

[Desertdude]

Too early for me to comment

Displayes are incredible, no time with the apps yet.

Needs a right mouse button

Note; the mighty mouse has right and left click ( not physically seen) as well as the two buttons on the side - and a scroll wheel

 

[Desertdude]

Not a PC/Mac debate just my Apple experience

I have a stable full of Apple products - I am always humored by the fear of not enough SW or how expensive Apple products are ( even Garmin is soon to work with Apple) -

Apple always includes in the box and installed many iApps of SW you need to have fun - create or do business - and things just work easily -

Plus you have a company that is driven to constantly improve and upgrade - the OS is in constant improvement - and with Apples Software Update the app finds the latest Apple updates and installs with ease - (read no effort) -

At http://discussions.apple.com/index.jspa you can read and learn about what's right and what is wrong with an Apple product or just search/post a question and get near instant help

There are some business SW that I would like to have not found on the Mac - problem is I can not get into the hardware offered ( laptop/desktop) and when I view the Windows OS it feels and looks like 1985 - not the year 2006 - for me personally if I can't do what I need/want to do on a Mac - then I would rather not go there :088:

in the end there will always be some Hardware/SW issues due to quality control - just a bad batch - or something not quite ready for prime time - Apple has the best CS and has helped me out on a few occasions - I give a call to Apple care - they send a box and pick it up - they fix and send it back in a few days turn around - somethings under warranty some things are on my dime ( and caused by me)

If you do go for a new iMac - I would suggest budgeting in Apple care - gives you three years of peace of mind and plenty of support along the way

Also: fill that thing with as much operating ram as you can from Apple

and... last but not least - head down to your local Apple store and have fun with one before you purchase :victory:

 

[Jonathan Hanson]

From the Washington Post. No comment needed:

"Patch Tuesday October 10 2006 has marked a new high in water line of flaws discovered in Microsoft software. In all, a record 26 flaws covering both Windows and Office products have resulted in Microsoft issuing 10 patches, six of which carry the most severe critical tag.

Some of the patches also apply to Windows Vista and two apply to Office on the Apple Mac. The Apple patches are rated as important but not critical, while information the specific Vista patches is still not available at the time of writing.

Of the most critical updates, four were for the Office suite. All of the main Office products - Word, Excel and PowerPoint - required updates to serious vulnerabilities that if exploited could hand over control of the computer to an attacker. One update affects the entire Office suite."

 

[Ursidae69]

The search button works great! I was wondering about laptops and this thread came up. Having never owned a Mac or even used one, is it hard to change over? Also, are there any recommendations from anyone for a Mac laptop?

 

[Gear]

Scott, (or any new Mac owners) any feed back on your new Mac. I am in the market. What did you get exactly and if you had to do it over would you buy the same model.

Thanks

 

[Freezer]

VMware is going to release their workstation software for Mac in the near future. It enables you to run multiple operating systems simultaneously.

VMware

It't kinda cool because you can separate your OS and SW from your HW so you can run any HW platform you want.:jumping:

 

[DaveInDenver]

VMware is going to release their workstation software for Mac in the near future.

This is certainly a huge development. But, FWIW, Apple gives away Boot Camp, which allows Windows and OS X to co-exist on the same machine. This is natively running Windoze, not emulated like Virtual PC used to be.

 

[goodtimes]

This is certainly a huge development. But, FWIW, Apple gives away Boot Camp, which allows Windows and OS X to co-exist on the same machine. This is natively running Windoze, not emulated like Virtual PC used to be.

That is nice and all, but lets all come back to reality for just a minute and type in English.

Lets say someone (me) is considering options for a laptop. I'm no rocket scientist, certainly no IT guru, and I have absolutely zero interest in becoming one. I like user friendly applications that don't take 6 months to learn to use. I don't want to spend hours configuring a bunch of BS that I don't even understand. I want to do my work, then go away (preferrably down some dirt road)

Seriously, I consider my knowledge regarding computers about "average" (I know just enough to be really, really dangerous). I have very few requirements, none of these are negotiable, they simply must exist on the next machine. These requirements (in no particular order) are:

1. Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, Power Point, Word and Project)
2. Wireless access to the internet and a printer with no external cards
3. No hardware upgrades to get what I want beyond adding some RAM
4. Adobe Acrobat
5. Ability to transfer files (primarily .XLS, .PDF, and .JPEG) to/from a PC desktop (Sony Vaio).
6. Physically robust (this will spend time in my jeep and on my bike where dust and vibration are constant)

This machine will be used for business as well as processing/storing digital images, GPS track data, etc.

Will a Mac do what I need without much pain and suffering on my part?

 

[Desertdude]

Will a Mac do what I need without much pain and suffering on my part?

yup and I can give yo a demo on it anytime on my MacBookPro or the other two powerbooks laying around home

there is basically nothing to do but work...

Accept for not being able to get iChat to work with Scott on his new iMac( now that is embarrassing) - everything works easy with no BS

I use the office suite - Adobe CS2, Acrobat, Ai, PS, Golive, Indesign

I am in a coffee shop right now on Wifi - it automatically detects Wifi anywhere and connects automatically - transferring and networking to other computers ( PC or mac) easy

I have used Apple powerbooks for the past 8 years - they may look pretty and the do, they are also very tough first 11 months warranty on all hardware is free - 3 year extended through Applecare is also cheap insurance

 

[goodtimes]

OK, here is the biggest annoyance I had on my old PC laptop. The damn thing was flimsy. Seriously it would bend and warp if you picked it up from one side and not both. Really annoying and I was always afraid of physically breaking the damn thing in half. How are the Mac's? I've considered one of the Panasonic toughbooks (you know, the PC's with the magnesium case...) just because this thing WILL get beat up.

How well are the Mac's sealed? Granted, there will always be a vent for airflow across the processor, but dirt/dust still worries me (with both PC and Mac).

Maybe I should go find a apple store (or maybe I shouldn't...)

 

[Desertdude]

Maybe I should go find a apple store (or maybe I shouldn't...)

uh oh...

They are not sealed between the lid and the keys so they can breathe a bit

they seem to hold up well day to day - but I would not use mine on the beach or in a sand storm - or in the rain for that matter

I have an older "Pismo" powerbook that is built like a battleship but it is only a G3 and limited ram and storage

I always keep my MacBookPro in a small lift out sleave which has a velcro folded cover - keeps out the elements

 

[bigreen505]

I'll second all the Dude's comments. I can't say that the new books are flimsy, but they are not built any heavier than necessary. I would say it is a happy medium between the flimsy Ti-books (which could lose battery contact when you picked them up) and the super heavy Pismo G3's, but the old G3's have an elegance and form follows function approach to them that is completely missing in Apple's current line-up.

Honestly if you are at all worried, get the PC. You see a lot of dented powerbooks around and they can take some abuse but they are designed more for business travel than third-world travel, but I think a monitor protector and keyboard protector could go a long way in making them more field worthy.

 

[DaktariEd]

I have 4 Macs at home: used them all...but only 3 right now.
One is ready to donate to Goodwill.

The 4 year old Titanium PowerBook G4 is my take anywhere laptop. It's been to Africa a couple of times, multiple camping trips, ExPo trips. I use reasonable precautions, still got a couple of dings in the case, but it has never failed in the field. I did have to replace a Superdrive once.

My 17" Aluminum PowerBook G4 is my take to work everyday laptop, and will soon become a field laptop perhaps.

Bottom line is that they are not flimsy...not at all...

 

[Ursidae69]

The moeny is the thing holding me back from Mac right now. It's about double the cost. Oh, and ESRI doesn't work so well in a Mac, but I might be abee to get around that.

 

[adventureduo]

Im a PC guy switched to Mac. We are all Mac here at the office and i have a G5 imac and ibook at home... won't ever go back to pc. We just picked up a macmini to run both windows/osx on in our warehouse (UPS is PC only). :mixed-smiley-030: