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tiw wrote: Another example is things like games which rarely run on macs

Games on the Mac are getting a lot bigger, now that Macs come with Intel Chips. There was an article in MacFormat about it, I'll see if I can find it.

Edit: I see it was in MacFormat Issue 186. If anyone else wants to scan the article and put it up, you can, but if not, I could get it up.

Having bought my first mac........ 6 days ago, im going to recommend.... the mac! Its so easy to use! I opened the box and was set up immediately with no problems at all! I am already addicted to it! I find myself working up reasons to use my new machine just because i can!

id like a mac but im not hardcore enough to care about changing from my trusty PC...

I've used a mac all my life.....(17 years ) and never wanted to get a Windows PC. Now this could also be because I grew up with a mac so I'm not used to PC's as much and I can run any PC program or software on my mac anyway. I would definitely recommend a Mac. Even if Macs become more popular (which it seems is happening) There won't be any viruses for the mac. People can write all the viruses they want for macs but the mac is built differently so viruses don't work. You'd have to come up with a totally different way of hurting the computer....like pouring water on it....haha

Misanthropy wrote:http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=macs_cant

Heheheheheheh

I read similar things written by people who say "Why is your Maserati so blooming great... my Mondeo gets me from A-B and yet I just don't boast!"

Trouble is, to love a Mac is to own one. Even richard-heads like they guy who wrote that 'comedy' stuff would agree if they could afford to

I hate macs and I'm not afraid to admit it, The only times I've ever used one is at college and I didn't even know how to turn it on because the button is on the side instead of the front (why?) and was frustrating because the mouse doesn't even have a right click instead you have to hold down shift or control (I forget which) and click
and whoever said macs were better than PCs fact isn't a fact its a opinion, theres a difference

Misanthropy wrote:I hate macs and I'm not afraid to admit it, The only times I've ever used one is at college and I didn't even know how to turn it on because the button is on the side instead of the front (why?) and was frustrating because the mouse doesn't even have a right click instead you have to hold down shift or control (I forget which) and click
and whoever said macs were better than PCs fact isn't a fact its a opinion, theres a difference

Just to help clear those things up...

The power button is hidden usually, because you don't need to switch the Mac off. In more recent times, the Mac will perform filesystem cleaning whilst you're not using it, and therefore it pays to leave the computer on. It will 'sleep' and go into low-energy mode.
My office Mac has been on for at least 3 weeks now without a reboot. And my Home Mac has been on for about the same—and that's only because we had a powercut. So you see, why make a feature of the 'On' button, when its' not even needed that often?

And yes... Mac's DO have two buttons. In fact, as standard, they now have Left click, Right click, 360° scroll, 3rd click, and fourth click buttons. Enough for anyone!

Gotta love your Mac!

Thanks for all the replies to this post. I am feeling that the tide is carrying me towards | Mac decision.

A question though which is relevant to my job. I sometimes have to work at home on Excel spreadsheets. Normally I use my work laptop but there are occasions when I need to use my own PC. Is there a way Mac will cover this? I took some advice in PC world yesterday, I was told about the new Macs dual booting (mentioned somewhere else in this thread) but I would appreciate hearing about the experience of anyone who has to both use Excel and has a Mac.

What the PC World people were vague about was how easy it would be to make my current printer and scanner Mac compatible and whether j peg photos stored on my PC will be directly downloadable (horrible word!) on to a Mac

Johnny:

1. JPEGS, pictures etc. are supported very thoroughly by the Mac's own system. And the new Leopard system gives even speedier, better control. Windows pales in comparison. So yes, all your pictures etc. will work fine.

2. Using iWork (or even MS Office) you can interoperate between your old/new file formats. I use Excel for building database table structures on the Mac, because it's the favourite way PC files are sent to us. However, I now use the much slicker and 'built for the mac' iWork application which is cross-platform.

3. Yes... ALL newer Macs are capable of running Windows. You can either use BootCamp to dual-boot (i.e. load up EITHER OSX or Windows) or use Parallells to run BOTH OPERATING SYSTEMS side by side... enabling you to have literally the best of both worlds.

4. In the last few years, I rarely use the PC for anything more than connecting to old parallel or serial devices, such as our telephone exchange.

5. Worried about peripherals? Unlike PCs, which usually need drivers and a ruck of grief, just plug a USB device into your mac and 9 times out of 10 you will get instant usage from it. All modern printers, and most scanners are supported directly by the operating system. People don't believe that it's so simple to get up and running, but it really is... in the Mac vs PC war, this is one of the very strong points.

6. Don't take advice at PC World. They're pretty much clueless. Take a trip to an Apple Store near you and check out the Genuis Bar. They'll tell you everything you need to know, and won't BullSheet you on things you DON'T need to know.

7. Viruses DO exist for the Mac... the poster here who said otherwise is naive. Viri and Trojan horses are becoming rife on the Mac... however, usually Mac users are a little more discerning and aware of not opening an email which says "OPEN THIS EXECUTABLE ATTACHMENT AND WIN $100000000". Nuff said.

8. Transferring files from your PC to Mac is as simple as getting a large external USB drive and moving files from one to the other... or just plug an ethernet crossover cable between the two and do it via transfer.

seige wrote:The power button is hidden usually, because you don't need to switch the Mac off....
My office Mac has been on for at least 3 weeks now without a reboot. And my Home Mac has been on for about the same—and that's only because we had a powercut...

My home Mac has been on for more than 6 months... it just goes to sleep when I'm not around and wakes up when i return... it has never crashed although I hv had to "escape" from safari (Mac web browser) 3 - 4 times in that period... never ever had a virus... ever...

Hi Siege,

Thank you very much, an absolutely comprehensive answer.

I was economical with the truth when I said that the PC Worl guys were vague, they were as you say clueless. They couldn't even give me prices on most of the machines on display.

I am as good as sold on the Mac, so many colleagues and aquaintances are moving to them and not one has ever said, "wish I hadn't done that".

Now, as to e mails carrying viruses, I would appreciate your help on the subject of the awfully nice man who wants to transfer several million pounds in to my account which he is currently moving from Nigeria to Switzerland, I sent him all my bank details but so far no money has turned up......................