OT - just curious - who uses Mac and should I switch from PC?

We use Macs, and have done since 1984. I've also used Unix machines and Windows at work.

The only disadvantage I can think of is in dealing with documents from Windows users. Some Excel and MS Word documents are hard to make any sense of unless you have the same sort of machine as the person who wrote them. (There are also less games available, but as far as I'm concerned not having to deal with that timewasting crap is an advantage). Advantages of Macs:

- cheaper (you don't need to spend anything like as much on extra software, what comes in the box does most of what you need)

- more secure (there are no viruses or other malware that create a real problem, I've had no infections in 20 years despite not running any antivirus software at all)

- waste less time (they boot up faster; you never need to reinstall the operating system; no need to keep fighting with anti-virus software since a regular Apple software update every few months will deal with anything that comes up; you spend much less time trying to work out ways to do simple tasks)

- easier to adapt to work the way you want (no two Macs are set up in quite the same way)

- they last longer while still doing useful work

- the user community is friendlier and more helpful

You get a lot of those advantages with Linux too, but with that you can very soon find yourself needing very deep wizardry to make things work once you want something a bit more than the basics.

==== j a c k at c a m p i n . m e . u k === ==== Jack Campin, 11 Third St, Newtongrange EH22 4PU, Scotland == mob 07800 739 557 CD-ROMs and free stuff: Scottish music, food intolerance, and Mac logic fonts

Howdy!

god, yes.

It's how computers are supposed to work.

Entourage for mail & newsgroups

How to Do Everyth> Though I'm not currently having any problems, the recent posts about

Newer (intel-based) Macs can actually run Windows and Windows-based programs.

You can use Boot Camp, which allows you to boot up into Mac or Windows,

OR

You can use either Parallels or VMFusion to be able to run Mac and Windows at the same time. There is even a Yahoo group specifically for EQ on Macs (coincidentally named EQonMacs); I believe there is even a link to it now from the EQ website.

I use Parallels to run Windows XP with EQ6, Excel, Word, and the occasional PowerPoint etc.

I use my Mac side to do all things internet (web browsing, email).

Bert in Rice, WA

Sandy Foster uses a Mac and is a great advocate; but she will be in Houston at the moment - or just coming back. . In message , Musicmaker writes

I really appreciate the input - Lots of reasons to switch as far as I can see, based on your replies. I don't understand parallels, though. Do you actually install windows on a mac so that you can run it, or is it some special software just made to make non PC software accessible without all the memory hogging Windows stuff? again thank you thank you thank you for the answers and links.

Musicmaker

Yes, you actually do install and run Windows on the Mac, so if your intent is to totally get away from Windows, then running Boot Camp, Paralleles or Fusion would not achieve your purpose. I should have been more clear from the beginning.

I leave my Mac on all day long but only run the Windows side when I need to use one of those programs (although once I have started it I don't shut it down and it has not been a problem with speed, crashing, etc). Not doing any Windows operations on the internet gives an extra layer of peace of mind.

Bert in foggy Rice, WA

I've never had a PC but from what I understand it's a lot easier to switch to a Mac than to a PC *from* a Mac! I'd never use anything else but the prices sometimes does make it tempting! I don't need a laptop - I want a laptop! But I can't justify the price of one!

Judy from Mass

Not only is Mac easy to use, but with the Intel chipped Macs (basically, every Mac since late 2005), you can run Windows software as well. (Sandy in Henderson is running EQ this way).

Haven't had a Mac virus since about 1987, never had spyware, never seen a blue screen of death. No need for special software to burn CDs. No need to worry about drivers. What's not to love?

I've had this problem on my work PC as well... :(

On Sat, 1 Nov 2008 10:59:27 -0600, Musicmaker wrote (in article ):

I do think my Mac is easier to use than the Windows I have at work. I love the whole drag and drop thing, and I'm constantly forgetting at work that I simply can't move my files that way. Plus, almost no viruses for Macs.

But you probably won't be able to get away from Microsoft entirely. I use a Mac version of Word, although the built-in TextEdit program is a pretty spiffy little word processor these days. You can even save what you do in TextEdit as a Word doc or pdf. If you read the ng using Outlook, you'll have to have a Mac version of that too. But I pretty much just us Mac's Mail program for email and read the ng using a shareware program called Hogwasher. I'm sure there is something better out there, but I'm used to Hogwasher now and am too lazy to search for and learn to use something else

It's true that there's no Mac verison of EQ and probably not of any software you'd use if you have an embroidery machine, but on the new Macs you can install a copy of Windows using Bootcamp or Parallels and run things that way. I even save all my files in a folder shared with the Mac so I can email them to people, etc. without ever having to boot into Windows. The only time I ever work in Windows is when I'm actually using EQ6.

Maureen

That last sentence is important. Windows running on a Mac using Parallels, BootCamp or whatever is just as insecure as Windows running on a PC. To avoid malware you will need to take exactly the same precautions as any other Windows user, i.e. waste ludicrous amounts of time and money on anti-virus utilities trying to keep up with the whole malignant army of virus writers working for the mob in Russia or Florida. It's much safer and less hassle to stick to importing Windows-created documents into MacOS applications that can deal with them, even if not quite perfectly.

You also have to *buy* Windows to run it on a Mac. Not my idea of money well spent.

==== j a c k at c a m p i n . m e . u k === ==== Jack Campin, 11 Third St, Newtongrange EH22 4PU, Scotland == mob 07800 739 557 CD-ROMs and free stuff: Scottish music, food intolerance, and Mac logic fonts

I've just been back for a couple of hours now! Houston was wonderful (what else is new?) -- but I'm glad I didn't mark all of these messages as having been read before noticing this thread.

Musicmaker, I've been using Macs since about 1985, and I love them. (I'm ot *too* prejudiced, am I? ) With the newer Intel Macs, it's so simple to run whatever Windows software isn't available in Mac form (EQ and a French-English dictionary are the two I use) that it's almost laughable. I never go online from Windows; instead, I download whatever new EQ patterns (or whatever) I want from the Mac part of my setup. Then I simply store it in the shared folder I've set up, and it's accessible from either Windows or my Mac. In fact, I can double-click on an EQ file, and both Parallels and EQ6 open automatically. Easier than pie! :)

I believe, I think, I understand everything so far. Now, what if I keep my pc laptop but disable all of it's wireless capability so it won't ever connect to the internet, but keep my windows applications on it for non internet use...can I connect a mac laptop to a pc laptop to transfer information, like, via usb, that I have downloaded or received in email? So that my pc laptop would be like a large external drive that's actually running windows, or something like that. Or am I making a simple situation complex from a lack of understanding?

Musicmaker

That should work, except that newer versions of Windows need to be registered over the net, don't they? (With XP it was pretty common for people to get virus infections in the first few *seconds* they were online, before they'd had a chance to finish setting their machines up).

If you use the Windows machine wirelessly, it can still connect to your Mac and your Mac can prevent it from sharing its own internet connection. It's very easy to set that up.

==== j a c k at c a m p i n . m e . u k === ==== Jack Campin, 11 Third St, Newtongrange EH22 4PU, Scotland == mob 07800 739 557 CD-ROMs and free stuff: Scottish music, food intolerance, and Mac logic fonts

On Tue, 4 Nov 2008 09:41:59 -0600, Musicmaker wrote (in article ):

You should be able to easily transfer files between the two using something like a USB flash drive. There is also a way to set up a home network that allows the two to talk to each other. I'm not sure how complicated that is though. We've got a network here, but Dave and I are both Mac people. All we had to do was plug in and set up our airport and change a setting or two on our Macs and we were good to go.

If you do decide to go with a Mac, I recommend by a copy of the OSX: The Missing Manual (or something like that--my copy is downstairs right now) by David Pogue. It explains how to do almost everything you want to with the Mac and I believe there is a section on networking Mac and Windows machines.

Maureen

I know that lots of people have home networks, which is what you're describing. You can have your Mac connected wirelessly and your PC connected via a wire (since you're planning to disable the wireless there). I don't know exactly how that works, since my Mac is the only computer in our home, but I do know that lots of people do it and seem to think it's pretty easy. If you buy a Mac, the people at the Apple store will be able to give you lots of good advice.

One thing you may want to consider is AppleCare. That's what the warranty is called. All Macs now come with one year of AC, but it only includes 90 days (I think) of free phone support. You can buy two more years of AC anytime before that first year is over, and I think it's well worth the cost, if only in terms of getting to call tech support for free with any teensy (or confusing, or big, or whatever) question you might have during that three years in total. In addition, any Apple peripherals you may have (keyboard, mouse, Airport router, etc.) are usually covered under the same account, which makes life lots easier. My external Apple mouse (I use that more often than the touchpad on my MacBook) had some little glitches, and they replaced it with no questions asked, even though it was out of warranty itself; it was covered as part of my MacBook.

Have I mentioned that I love Macs? ;)

On Tue, 4 Nov 2008 12:34:52 -0600, Sandy wrote (in article ):

I have to second AppleCare. It's well worth the money. We get it with everyone of our Macs and the phone guys are great. If they can't help you over the phone, they direct you to a local guy to work on the computer. I've had to do that once or twice and usually all I end up paying for is labor. Parts, etc. have almost always been covered by AppleCare.

Maureen

so...Jack...when are you coming to IL to prove how easy it is? Just kidding of course - I'm so accustomed to the problems that a pc presents I just expect the worst.

Thanks for your help - when I actually make the purchase you'll be hearing from me again - if only to celebrate!

Musicmaker

thank you Maureen - I'll do that

Musicmaker