Apple
 

Ok, so this isn't a news flash for many, but i just converted from PC to Mac and have to confess I've been blown away by the performance out of the box.

Bought a Mac Mini (~$600 USD) plugged it in and within 15 minutes was up on the web with all the drivers automatically loaded for the printers (without me having to do anything other than input my personal info).

Compare this to my experience with a NEW PC with Windows Vista 2 weeks ago...

Had the PC hard wired into my router and couldn't get on line. Had TWO Computer Technicians out to the house and still couldn't get online. Without online, couldn't load printer drivers etc. Packed it back up and returned the POS to the store.

Can't even tell you how FAST this Mac mini is...I hit the page and it opens...almost no wait for pages to upload. Great stuff.

I'm sure COL Jack will think I'm telling stories, but this is the cat's meow.

We'll see how much I love it after a month or so figuring out the other features, but from my first 1/2 day ... I love it.

Welcome to the Mac world! It will only get better! You'll never go back to the Darkside! :eek::D

You wont be disappointed even after years of using it. I bet you will change your lap top too . I made the switch 5 or 6 years ago and my G-5 still runs as fast as the day I got it. And I haven't had to de-frag every month nor have I had to re-do the system or run any number of virus, ad blockers or scrubs for things that have attached themselves to my hard drive. everyone I tell this to always says it's just a matter of time until the hackers get into the OS for Mac's but, I haven't seen it yet despite the hippies belief that Apple has sold out "to the man". Different system without all of the avenues of approach into my life.
Good luck.
P.S. one weakness I have seen is that the Office for Mac bundle doesn't have Access. But the MAC PP and Word has more options then the Windows versions. And if you run Windows for Mac, you also run the risk of a virus attacking the Windows portion of your HD. I'm not willing to take the risk and honestly besides the game Total War, I don't miss anything Windows had. (Well, except Access)
My 0.02 cents.

My daughter swears by hers, but when there is a problem it always seems to be a major problem and she hauls it back to the "Mac" store. But then she probably get's her cyber challenged genes from me:D Of course, as I am on dial up for at least the next year or two, speed is not a concern. By the time you get this msg you will probably be on your way to your next assignment.
I will be interested in what you think after you have worked with it for a while. I have become more dependent on this box than I ever thought I would have and it seems that you just cannot take care of day to day business with anyone without having an internet connection. Especially being out in the woods, it saves a lot of time and travel for just about everything.

I bought an iMac for the house about a year or so ago. For this deployment I picked up a MacBook. I will never again buy another windows machine.

The learning curve really isn't that steep and have found that just about everything about the software and hardware subscribes to the form follows function mantra.

I think you will be very pleased with your purchase.

I agree about Mac computers. The computer I purchased is one piece. No tower and monitor combo. It fits nicely on a desk, and doesn't take up much space. When I pulled it out of the box, I was up and running within 5 minutes, and was on the internet shortly after. It has Airport, which enables to be wireless if you prefer, so now my computer is on my wireless router. Also no downloads for my printer, and no crashes.

There are two problems that I have ran into. One is that trying to use Rosetta Stone through the Army's Skillsoft version, the Adobe Flash has an error I still haven't been able to work out, even with tech support. The other is not having powerpoint. They have the Word for Mac version for $189, but I haven't heard enough good news about it yet, so I am holding off. The nice thing is that when I type documents, they are transferable to PC's in RTF (Rich Text Format), and I can save them as PDF documents!

Also as a side, if you like to record music, Garage Band is top notch. To get a similar program off the shelf you would pay upwards of $800.

Oh, and widgets are cool, I have the Chuck Norris joke widget. :D

You can purchase the full version of Office for Mac direct from Microsoft for $20 through the Army Small Computer Program. All you need is a .mil email address.

I am a recent Mac convert and cannot imagine having to go back to a PC. But if you have programs that will only run on a PC, there is a Mac fix for that as well. Bootcamp will allow a Mac to run Windows at boot up and Parallels will allow windows to run inside a separate window within a Mac window. Very cool.

If you need to plug this into an Army network, good luck. Mac's drive most IT people crazy, let alone Windows running within a Mac.

I've heard tons of great stuff Re: MAC, have never used one. Any problems running PC software?

RF 1

On my Mac I run parralels and windows xp. I do not have any issues with windows software on the Mac. I can even drag stuff from the windows screen into the Mac screen.

I doubt I will ever buy PC for hardware again. With bootcamp I can choose to boot in Mac or Windows. Try doing that on a PC platform. Plus I think that Mac hardware is superior to PC hardware.

Just my $.02.

69harley,

My understanding of MAC is that graphics are head and shoulders above PC.

I'll have to do some price shopping.

Anyone look at online availability and pricing.

Thanks!

RF 1

69harley,

My wife and I both have Macs,she is running XP and Vista on her PC depending on the programs she has installed. I'm running Linux and XP on mine. OS 10.5.7 is on both of our Mac sides. She's heavy into Photoshop and it's far superior on the Mac side then on her PC. We've owned Macs for over 15 years now and you can't beat the big difference between the two....Go Mac :D

GB TFS:lifter

Let me be the odd man out here.

I have used Macs several times over the years.

Last time was a MacBook Pro for a year in 2006-2007.

It had limited applications, and locked up hard in less than 60 days. Apple tech support wanted me to ship it back to them, but they could not guarantee when it would be returned, and I needed it for business. Alternate plan was to drive 70 miles to the nearest Apple store, where the zit-boy working the "Genius" counter was absolutely one of the stupidest people I have ever met, finally said they would ship it back to Apple for me. After two hours and getting the store manager involved, they troubleshot it and told me that it was a burned out controller board, they did not have any in stock, did not know how to get one, and they would have to return it to Apple. After more negotiations, they finally agreed to replace the entire MacBook with another one, and begrudgingly swapped my hard drive with the existing data into the new system. This basically took an entire afternoon, and did not endear Apple to me.

I subsequently turned the Apple in and bought a Dell for a lot less money. I have been very happy with the Dell system and their customer service seems significantly better than the Mac. OTOH, the connectivity, audio, and graphics programs for the Mac were much better than the PC counterparts. For gaming, it just flat out sucks.

The reason that there are few viruses and security issues with the Apple is that it is a low-density item, and the majority of overseas hackers do not have access to them. The first serious threats are just beginning to emerge, and I anticipate more as the systems become more popular and widespread.

Been there, tried it, did not like it for the money it costs. YMMV.

TR

Exactly.

I've been in the IT business since 93 and have done just about every job from desktop support to network engineering and haven't run across anything a Mac would do better than my PC.

Macs are great for graphics. Then again, if you purchase the right PC you'll have the same thing for less money. Most of the graphics on this and other websites came from my PC. There's hardly any software worth a damn out there for Macs. If you have to run an application that lets you run PC software, why even use the Mac? If I want a game I get it when it's released, not a year later when everyone stops playing it.

A Mac equivalent to my current PC would cost well over 4K; I paid less than a grand for what I'm using now. If something breaks I go to compusa and get a new part. That won't ever happen with a Mac.

But to each his own.

I've used Mac's since '83 and my first IIe (due to a family member high up in the food chain at Apple) - but am primarily on PC platform now - mainly due to work. Apple Tech Support has deteriorated drastically over the years, especially in the last five or so. If you have to go into one of the Apple stores, good luck getting anyone to even CARE about your computer - it seems all they are interested in is the iPod/iPhone.

I've used Mac computers for at least 10 years now. Back then there was not as much software compatible with Macs' compared to the Microsofts. Now pretty much every software is backwards compatible between Macs' and Pc. I rarely come up with a problem when it comes to that.

On the flipside I also have Microsofts' pc. I have recently converted to Vista and was not impressed at all. I had to crash the computer twice and start from scratch, Not very fun to say the least. While the computer did run, It ran in safe mode. Then I Partitioned my computer so I could start up with either XP or Vista. Still had problems, So I ended up getting rid of Vista all together. What A Wonderful Waste Of Money :D. Back to XP I go.