ep35rja - I just switched to an iMac and I've been very happy with my change. It does take some getting used to as far as keyboard changes and menus, but after having it a month now I can't say its a big deal at all. The hardest part for me is using the Mac at home and XP at work and the changes from the Ctrl Key to the Command key.
So far the pros for me are not worrying about viruses at all on the Mac. I'm sure in time that may change, but for not I don't worry. I was able to setup Firefox on the Mac and import all my bookmarks, all of the add-on's worked as well. I said no to Microsoft Office and downloaded the NeoOffice (mac version of Open Office) and it does everything I need and can't beat the price. Personally I didn't care to learn iWork as I've used OpenOffice already.
I promised myself I wouldn't load XP on my Mac for at least 90 days, thus forcing me to learn the Mac and not go back to what I knew already. So far there are only two applications that I haven't found decent mac equivalents for. These are the GPS program I've used, Delorme Street Atlas and MS Streets & Trips, the other area was my familiarity with Cerious ThumbsPlus - I've found a couple apps that may replace ThubsPlus though.
The only other thing that took a while was getting a keyboad & mouse that I liked, to work. I personally didn't care for the iMouse, but after some irritation with Logitech's lack of good driver support I have a Logitech Keyboard and Mouse working fine and programed.
The big plus is the thing just works. I was very impressed that from the point I turned it on, to being able to get on the internet only took me about 5 minutes. Setting up my printer was a breeze as well, and our other computers networked just fine too. I like the all-in-one setup of the iMac 24" that I got, I don't have cables running everywhere either.
Would I buy another one? I can't see any reason, so far, that I wouldn't buy another Mac, but I'll hold off final judgment for about 8 months.
Forced Family Fun... They'll thank you later for it! Have you checked out the new RV.net Blogs?
I bought my first Mac, an iMac, in December of 2006. Since then I've bought a MacBook and two MacMini's. Suffice it to say, I LOVE the Macs. I've been a MS user since the early 80's. There is an adjustment, some things are almost identical and others are a bit different. Many of my problems trying to adjust to the Mac were caused by me "forcing" it to work like a PC. For so many things (installing/removing software for instance) the Mac way is so much easier it's hard to believe ANYONE prefers the PC. Spotlight, "Quick Look", Time Machine, iLife all make using the Mac a joy.
I run WinXP on each of them (through Parallel's) although I'm finding less & less need for it. Occasionally you stumble upon a website that only works right with Internet Explorer, and my Garmin GPS software needs XP to run. When I need XP, I click on the icon, wait for XP to load and I'm running a complete PC. Once the virtual machine is running, switching between OS X and XP is a 2 second change.
~Rick
2005 Georgie Boy 3625 DS on a Workhorse W-22 (Class A)
Rick, Gail, 1 girl (12-Angel), 1 girl (7), 2 boys (8 & 5), 1 plump Golden Retriever.
2001 Honda Odyssey with Demco Aluminator tow bar & tow plate, SMI Silent Partner brake controller.
I have been dual booting XP and Vista Ultimate for almost two years with zero problems on my homebuilt Core 2 Duo PC. My wife uses XP and I use Vista Ultimate SP1.
It would be silly to multiple boot Windows operating systems since you legally would have to purchase multiple copies of all of your software, and. even worse have to maintain multiple copies of security software because of keeping them exposed to the internet.
A virtualizer like VMware or Parallels that runs your 'must have' applications under a secure system like MACOS or Linux is by far the safest and easiest to manage way to go. Exposing a Windows operating system to the internet is either going to cause you a lot of 'free' work for Microsoft's inherent security problems, or, cause you grieve because of them. Windows captured in a virtual macine is the only way to go.
isataTS wrote: ... Exposing a Windows operating system to the internet is either going to cause you a lot of 'free' work for Microsoft's inherent security problems, or, cause you grieve because of them. Windows captured in a virtual macine is the only way to go.
Oh bosh. Stuff and nonsense. Horsefeathers. We've got a couple of pc's "exposed" to the internet and have no, repeat, no viruses, malware, spyware, etc. We do not run anti-spyware constantly, and only check for malware/spyware a couple times a year maybe. Always comes up zero, except for tracking cookies which is a non-issue. I do run Avast on one and AVG on the other for anti-virus, and I run Zone Alarm on mine and the Windows firewall on the other. We use a router of course.
These two machines and the laptop just run, no problems, no crashes, no issues. All are running XP. Keeping a Windows computer running well is not necessarily a problem. I assemble my own computers and have no interest in a Mac/Apple.
* This post was
edited 04/16/08 09:16pm by an administrator/moderator *
isataTS wrote: ... Exposing a Windows operating system to the internet is either going to cause you a lot of 'free' work for Microsoft's inherent security problems, or, cause you grieve because of them. Windows captured in a virtual macine is the only way to go.
Oh bosh. Stuff and nonsense. Horsefeathers. We've got a couple of pc's "exposed" to the internet and have no, repeat, no viruses, malware, spyware, etc. We do not run anti-spyware constantly, and only check for malware/spyware a couple times a year maybe. Always comes up zero, except for tracking cookies which is a non-issue. I do run Avast on one and AVG on the other for anti-virus, and I run Zone Alarm on mine and the Windows firewall on the other. We use a router of course.
These two machines and the laptop just run, no problems, no crashes, no issues. All are running XP. Keeping a Windows computer running well is not necessarily a problem. I assemble my own computers and have no interest in a Mac/Apple.
Aren't we the lucky one.
* This post was
edited 04/16/08 09:17pm by an administrator/moderator *
I just received my 17" HP Laptop with Vista Premium , Core 2 Duo, 3GB RAM, 320GB HD, Blu-Ray HD DL drive, Nvidia 8600 GT 512mb, HDMI,ATSC tuner etc. It was loaded with tons of junk from Norton,AOL,HP etc so I deleted all the junk and updated to Vista SP1 , IE8 beta , Microsoft Office 2007 Ultimate SP1 and it runs perfect. I was watching some blu-ray movies using the remote control and everything worked fantastic. I bet most people blame all that junk on Microsoft when it's the PC vendors like HP, Dell etc that load all that junk on and it slows it down and makes the desktop look like Hwy 22 in Union NJ. It's amazing how Microsoft gets all the blame for stuff they had nothing to do with.
isataTS wrote: ... Exposing a Windows operating system to the internet is either going to cause you a lot of 'free' work for Microsoft's inherent security problems, or, cause you grieve because of them. Windows captured in a virtual macine is the only way to go.
Oh bosh. Stuff and nonsense. Horsefeathers. We've got a couple of pc's "exposed" to the internet and have no, repeat, no viruses, malware, spyware, etc. We do not run anti-spyware constantly, and only check for malware/spyware a couple times a year maybe. Always comes up zero, except for tracking cookies which is a non-issue. I do run Avast on one and AVG on the other for anti-virus, and I run Zone Alarm on mine and the Windows firewall on the other. We use a router of course.
These two machines and the laptop just run, no problems, no crashes, no issues. All are running XP. Keeping a Windows computer running well is not necessarily a problem. I assemble my own computers and have no interest in a Mac/Apple.
Aren't we the lucky one.
Probably more the norm actually. The vast majority of viruses are brought into a system due to the operator giving permission by clicking on something stupid or reading an email attachment that has not been virus-checked. It's pretty rare that a virus "magically appears" on any system.
Dave
Life doesn't come with a safety fence around it... enjoy it anyway.
Probably more the norm actually. The vast majority of viruses are brought into a system due to the operator giving permission by clicking on something stupid or reading an email attachment that has not been virus-checked. It's pretty rare that a virus "magically appears" on any system.
Dave
It's common for people to get and pass on viruses that haven't made it into the current definitions download. There is a lag time before these companies detect a virus and put it up for a current download. This could range from days to weeks.
I would make the switch to Apple but I can't justify the expense for what I use a computer for (e-mail, spreadsheets, internet, etc. - just the basics).
Online
Spotlight, "Quick Look", Time Machine, iLife all make using the Mac a joy. 
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