Discussion
Changing my laptop soon (Sony Vaio A297XP) and have been thinking about a Mac instead of a PC.
Just wondered if I am going to miss anything from the PC ? (I know viruses won't be missed)
Also, my Ipod is configured for PC so does that mean I will have a problem exporting my Itunes library from PC to Mac ?
Any help much appreciated..
Just wondered if I am going to miss anything from the PC ? (I know viruses won't be missed)
Also, my Ipod is configured for PC so does that mean I will have a problem exporting my Itunes library from PC to Mac ?
Any help much appreciated..
PC formatted iPod will work fine on the Mac.
I come from the UNIX/RISCOS world so Macintosh was an obvious fit for me. It really depends on what you want to do, but certainly taking a look at a Mac won't do any harm. Perhaps a visit to a Mac Store is in order?
Edited to add: rumours are that the first Intel PowerMacs are to be released early next year, but then that doesn't mean they actually will be...
>> Edited by page3 on Tuesday 8th November 07:31
I come from the UNIX/RISCOS world so Macintosh was an obvious fit for me. It really depends on what you want to do, but certainly taking a look at a Mac won't do any harm. Perhaps a visit to a Mac Store is in order?
Edited to add: rumours are that the first Intel PowerMacs are to be released early next year, but then that doesn't mean they actually will be...
>> Edited by page3 on Tuesday 8th November 07:31
page3 said:
Intel PowerMacs
Why on earth would you get a Mac with an Intel chip? Is this the death of Mac hardware? Will "Mac" shortly just mean "the Mac Shell" - not even an O/S in its own right (as now its UNIX underneath anyway).
I'm not a Mac person - but I've always admired them. This does seem a bit sad. Is this a "new" Intel 64bit chip?
Mac hardware will stay the same, just a different processor underneath. It's cos IBM can't make PPC chips run cool enough for laptops and similar.
All PPC apps will still work due to an emulation layer.
It does mean that one day Mac OSX may be available for all PC's. When this happens, it'll (hopefully) be the death of Windows!
Oh, and on Windows, the iPod is formatted differently to the mac so you'll have to reformat it and resync it with iTunes on the mac.
All PPC apps will still work due to an emulation layer.
It does mean that one day Mac OSX may be available for all PC's. When this happens, it'll (hopefully) be the death of Windows!
Oh, and on Windows, the iPod is formatted differently to the mac so you'll have to reformat it and resync it with iTunes on the mac.
beaver said:
my Ipod is configured for PC so does that mean I will have a problem exporting my Itunes library from PC to Mac ?
page3 said:
PC formatted iPod will work fine on the Mac.
then jimothy said:
on Windows, the iPod is formatted differently to the mac so you'll have to reformat it and resync it with iTunes on the mac.
Gotta love this forum!
I came from a pure PC background and fancied a change so bought an Apple Powerbook. I only needed Word and Excel as I was at uni at the time so it worked faultlessly.
I bought it over 3 years ago and its still my personal laptop. It still runs as fast as the day I bought it and i can't find many faults. The paint has chipped a bit but the way I treat it thats fine. Only issue is they get quite hot so you can't work with it on your lap for long but that doesn't bother me.
Unless you're using Windows only software, I'd go for a mac
I bought it over 3 years ago and its still my personal laptop. It still runs as fast as the day I bought it and i can't find many faults. The paint has chipped a bit but the way I treat it thats fine. Only issue is they get quite hot so you can't work with it on your lap for long but that doesn't bother me.
Unless you're using Windows only software, I'd go for a mac
rico said:
I came from a pure PC background and fancied a change so bought an Apple Powerbook. I only needed Word and Excel as I was at uni at the time so it worked faultlessly.
I bought it over 3 years ago and its still my personal laptop. It still runs as fast as the day I bought it and i can't find many faults. The paint has chipped a bit but the way I treat it thats fine. Only issue is they get quite hot so you can't work with it on your lap for long but that doesn't bother me.
Unless you're using Windows only software, I'd go for a mac
Pretty much same story for me.
beaver said:
Changing my laptop soon (Sony Vaio A297XP) and have been thinking about a Mac instead of a PC.
Just wondered if I am going to miss anything from the PC ? (I know viruses won't be missed)
Also, my Ipod is configured for PC so does that mean I will have a problem exporting my Itunes library from PC to Mac ?
Any help much appreciated..
I switched to Apple a couple of years ago, after a few Viao's and Toshiba's.
Unless you really need to use Windows for business hardware/software compatibility issues, then Apple Mac is light years ahead. The design of the hardware, the 'Tiger' operating system, the free iLife suite software - all brilliant.
Downsides, you'll need to buy Microsoft Office for Mac, which is a bit pricey.
I'd go for one of the latest 15" PowerBook G4
http://store.apple.com/Apple/WebObjec
Now ducks for cover as the PH anti-macs wake up.
800 said:
Yup, I use Virtual PC for some CAD software. Its very spooky watching your gorgeous Mac turn into Windows and it does do what it says on the tin.
However, I have to admit that if you do the majority of your work using a PC emulator then it kind of defeats the object.
It's also glacial in terms of speed. I would recommend waiting till January if you are not in a hurry and see what is announced at MacWorld. This has traditionally been an event used to launch major product upgrades...
Just kidding 
If you are tempted by a Mac, then you will love it.
The first thing you need to consider is what programs you use. It is worth doing the research
- What do you use?
- Check your CDs to see whether they are in fact dual-format.
- Is there a Mac version? In most cases there is
- If there isn't, is there a Mac equivalent? In 99% of cases there is.
- Do you really need the full functionality? If you only use Photoshop for basic cropping and cleaning, you could get cheaper, and shareware products that do a very good job indeed.
- How much are you going to have to spend on new applications? It's one thing to spend a £100 or so extra for a Mac over an equivalent Wintel, but another £500 to replicate app's is pushing it a bit.
If you have any questions about specific apps, you can ask here.
In a similar vein, and assuming you plan to carry them over, you should check your peripherals (printer, scanner) are Mac compatible. Most major brands are, but it's worth 10 minutes on the internet to be sure.
If you must run PC-only programs. There are a couple of options:
- As you have spotted, VirtualPC from Microsoft. As already mentioned, it is really for emergencies only.
- Could you maintain your old PC as a slave. An ehternet cable and the hassle of start up may be better than £300 on a once-a-month app.
As to which laptop, my understanding is:
- Both Powerbooks and iBooks have recently been jazzed up, but don't expect earth shattering performance gains over PC laptops.
- There has been a lot of webchatter about Mactel laptops being launched in January, even though the new generation Intel chips are still being reported unavailable until Q3. Are the new chips ahead of schedule, or would they drop in an old Intel chip as a stopgap? On the other hand, IBM have just announced an ultra low power version of the PowerPC chip that would be an ideal laptop chip. So are the rumours true about everything except the processor?
- Either way, you can reasonably expect (on past performance) that Apple will maintain good support for PowerPC machines for a two years at least.
So if you do need to make a decision now, and you don't need the full danglies, you may as well jump now, and consider the value models, either the higher spec iBooks or 15" PowerBook. It should serve you well, and by the time you come to replace it the whole Mactel thing will have all settled down.
The first thing you need to consider is what programs you use. It is worth doing the research
- What do you use?
- Check your CDs to see whether they are in fact dual-format.
- Is there a Mac version? In most cases there is
- If there isn't, is there a Mac equivalent? In 99% of cases there is.
- Do you really need the full functionality? If you only use Photoshop for basic cropping and cleaning, you could get cheaper, and shareware products that do a very good job indeed.
- How much are you going to have to spend on new applications? It's one thing to spend a £100 or so extra for a Mac over an equivalent Wintel, but another £500 to replicate app's is pushing it a bit.
If you have any questions about specific apps, you can ask here.
In a similar vein, and assuming you plan to carry them over, you should check your peripherals (printer, scanner) are Mac compatible. Most major brands are, but it's worth 10 minutes on the internet to be sure.
If you must run PC-only programs. There are a couple of options:
- As you have spotted, VirtualPC from Microsoft. As already mentioned, it is really for emergencies only.
- Could you maintain your old PC as a slave. An ehternet cable and the hassle of start up may be better than £300 on a once-a-month app.
As to which laptop, my understanding is:
- Both Powerbooks and iBooks have recently been jazzed up, but don't expect earth shattering performance gains over PC laptops.
- There has been a lot of webchatter about Mactel laptops being launched in January, even though the new generation Intel chips are still being reported unavailable until Q3. Are the new chips ahead of schedule, or would they drop in an old Intel chip as a stopgap? On the other hand, IBM have just announced an ultra low power version of the PowerPC chip that would be an ideal laptop chip. So are the rumours true about everything except the processor?
- Either way, you can reasonably expect (on past performance) that Apple will maintain good support for PowerPC machines for a two years at least.
So if you do need to make a decision now, and you don't need the full danglies, you may as well jump now, and consider the value models, either the higher spec iBooks or 15" PowerBook. It should serve you well, and by the time you come to replace it the whole Mactel thing will have all settled down.
jimothy said:
It does mean that one day Mac OSX may be available for all PC's. When this happens, it'll (hopefully) be the death of Windows!
You can be assured that this will never happen. Apple will do what is required to ensure that although you might be able to run Windows on your Mac, you won't be able to run OS X on your Dell.
Depending on OpenFirmware would do it, I reckon. There's no PC going to have that, ever.
CommanderJameson said:
You can be assured that this will never happen.
er...actually it's already been done.
http://buildyourownmac.com/node/59
Instructions on how to do it are here: http://osx86.theplaceforitall.com/how
>> Edited by arcturus on Tuesday 8th November 17:28
pdV6 said:Yeah, but I'm right
my Ipod is configured for PC so does that mean I will have a problem exporting my Itunes library from PC to Mac ? page3 said:
PC formatted iPod will work fine on the Mac. then jimothy said:
on Windows, the iPod is formatted differently to the mac so you'll have to reformat it and resync it with iTunes on the mac.
Gotta love this forum!
FAQ here
arcturus said:
You can be assured that this will never happen.
er...actually it's already been done.
http://buildyourownmac.com/node/59
Instructions on how to do it are here: http://osx86.theplaceforitall.com/how
>> Edited by arcturus on Tuesday 8th November 17:28
On a pre-release development version, sure.
Apple is a hardware company; they want to sell Macs.
Plotloss said:
No real difference, just depends on if you can be arsed learning a new way to interface with a computer...
It's not exactly a new way to interface, rather a a variation on a theme. Most tasks your average person is going to do are very similar. My mum & mother in law use OSX now & get on with it & if they can, anyone can.
[quote=HiRich]If you are tempted by a Mac, then you will love it.
The first thing you need to consider is what programs you use. It is worth doing the research
- What do you use?
quote]
Thanks everyone for the replies, I think I'm going to stick with the PC route for the time being, and see what Apple bring out next year..
The first thing you need to consider is what programs you use. It is worth doing the research
- What do you use?
quote]
Thanks everyone for the replies, I think I'm going to stick with the PC route for the time being, and see what Apple bring out next year..
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