New PC or Mac? Advice please. (2 Viewers)

makems

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I've always used PCs. Except for a brief period when a software company I worked for used Macintoshes which I hated. They soon changed to PCs so I was happy again
Now Gwen and I have a laptop each and I also have a desktop all running XP which is no longer supported by MS.
We have both recently acquired iPads which we both love and never use the laptops anymore except for things like managing our photos because I haven't found software on the iPads (yet) that will do all the stuff that I want.
The desktop I use mainly for maintaining some quite complex spreadsheets to manage investments and pension funds, and financial records for tax return purposes. There are interlinked spreadsheets and macros.
I have a WD Mybookworld Network disk drive which stores all the spreadsheets, Word documents, our photos and a big music collection. All the PCs and the iPads access this shared drive.
I am now wondering if it's time to ditch my MS prejudices and buy a Mac to replace the desktop and just get rid of the laptops.
If I bite the bullet:
A)what Mac should I go for (I know zilch about Macs)
B) what problems am I likely to encounter in migrating?
Advice gratefully received as serious effort (and money) could be involved!
 

Jim

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My advice. If you are going for a desktop then a Windows machine will be fine. If it's a laptop you want, nothing compares to Mac. They just go on and on. Typing this on a 2011 year old Macbook Pro, that boots just as fast now as it did the first time. Not got any anti-virus on it, never has (though I'm careful) This Mac has outlived a couple of hard working Dells, though one of those now has a new lease of life loaded with Linux.

A 13inch i5 Macbook Pro while expensive is a superb machine for travel, light and extremely strong, with an excellent screen. (y)
 

mariner

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As a Mac user of many years, I have a Macbook Pro, an iPad, an iPod and of course an iPhone.

I use the Macbook Pro as my PC, my iPad for most of my browsing and the iPhone for browsing when out and about.

The iPod is my main music provider.

I had iMac desktops for a number of years but don't miss them, as my Macbook does everything my desktops did and it is also portable.

I can't see any real problems migrating as Microsoft Office for Mac takes care of your office needs, and you don't need to pay shed loads of money for it.
Would I ever go back to MS?
No, never!

:cooler:

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Oct 1, 2007
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If you fancy a mac

Go to an apple shop
I've found they know all there is to know
About their products and encourage you to try them before purchase
((((((((((((((I believe you can return them within 30 days if you dislike them)))))))))
(((((((((( check before you rely on that statement please)))))))))

Bear in mind it's a slow walk to the back to pick up your new toy

Bored the good lady wife to tears in lakeside apple shop
When she bought me a iMac 3 yrs back
Not used a Microsoft since
I pad I phone I mac all talk to each other
With m/soft office on the mac

Wish I had done it years back would of saved me a fortune

But then I don't use them much except for surfing emails
Music and snaps
 
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Macbook Pro every time,ditto Jim they just run and run,don't get bunged up with updates and every other bit of crap from Microsoft,and will run Word,Excel and other programs.
 
D

Deleted member 29692

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Macs all the way for me. We both have Macbooks for home use and I have another Macbook and Mac desktops (for the 27"screens) at work. Apart from hating Windows with a passion the big reason for me is that Adobe products (Photoshop, Illustrator etc) just don't work very well with Windows. I had to, very reluctantly, buy a Windows desktop last week as we have a new machine with control software that isn't available for Mac. I went overboard and bought a far higher spec computer than I needed (very powerful, touchscreen, all toys) to give Windows a chance, but it's still horrible! It will only ever run the software for the new printer. Everything else, all our other work, accounts, correspondence etc is done using the Macs. I think Pages and Numbers are far nicer to work with than Word and Excel.
I can also echo everything else said about MacBooks. They never slow down as they have solid state Flash memory instead of hard drives to wear out and get clogged with crap from Microsoft. Even the desktops with 4 or 5 year old hard drives start up far far quicker than any new Windows machine I have used. I also have never felt the need for any security software on any of my Macs.
Tofo is right - go to an Apple store or the Apple online store. Don't buy one from PC World or anywhere like that.

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Allanm

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Macs seem to run forever. I have a 2012 MacBook Pro that replaced my 2008 MacBook Pro, that is still being used at home every day. We also have 3 MacBooks around 2007/8 vintage, running faster than the day they were bought with memory upgrades.
Never had a virus, never had a blue screen, never lost any data and nothing has broken on any of them, apart from a charger on one a Macbook.
I use Pages and Numbers ( won't have any Microsoft programmes installed) but did have Windows 7 installed on Bootcamp to run a Win only programme, that now runs on my Mac. I haven't fired Win 7 up in over a year.
You can use iPhoto, Aperture or Lightroom to manage your photos. Apple is releasing a replacement to iPhoto and aperture soon, but I am sure it will be as good if not better.
Of course, most Windows machines will work fine too and will look cheaper.
Allan
 

magicsurfbus

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A dissenting voice here:

I bought a MacBook laptop 5 years ago when I thought I might end up working supply in schools with Macs. As it happens I didn't. For some reason, after 30+ years working daily with school computers and many different operating systems I've never 'got' Macs - I know they're particularly favoured among the arty/creative community but I personally don't find the OS as intuitive as Windows. I can usually muddle through most Windows-based software without a manual but I'm frequently clueless about what to do next when experimenting with my MacBook. It's a definite shift of mindset that seems less logical than Windows.

I have to confess I've never liked laptops that much and won't contemplate anything smaller like a pad. I hate smartphones with a vengeance and don't use portable MP3 players. Maybe that's the Mac problem for me, but after so long of working with Windows I don't want to reinvent the wheel and re-learn an OS simply because my Macbook is smooth, white, expensive, integrated and unbearably smug.

Another problem with Macs is iGuilt - they constantly make you feel second class because you're not 'synching' with other expensive iGadgets. That irritates me immensely - it's like you've got to buy into the whole Apple philosophy like some sort of hi-tech Hare Krishna monk. I always feel like you can use Windows any way you like, but with Macs there's the way, as decreed by Chairmen Jobs and Wozniak, and I don't like having to conform.

Anyway, I take my Mac in the MH and use it mainly for storing photos from my DSLR, and the occasional bit of interneting if there's free wi-fi but I much prefer using my desktop PC for serious stuff.
 

Jim

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Why pay all that money for a Mac? Does it do anything that a PC can't?

To my mind, Apple is religious extremism.

Yes, if you are a heavy user, they keep working where cheaper laptops don't.

I am certainly no apple fanboy, I use computers as tools and the best for the job is the one that will get used. I have an android phone, and windows and Linux machines. Fact is, Macbooks in my house have outlived 10 cheaper windows laptops, (3 kids 2 each for a start) all crocked after 2 years. Samsungs that won't turn on x 2, the rest are Dells. Windows somehow kills laptops!

The build quality and architecture on the Mac laptop for whatever reason makes for a long lived machine and that is the reason I would recommend it and like you say, it does everything a PC does.
 

scotjimland

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I was a Mac fan for many years .. had several iBooks , first one around 2002 .. then Jan got one and finally Paul.. then in 2005 I bought the top of the range 17inch Powerbook.. aluminum case.. cost around £2k ..and I loved it to bits.. what a beauty it was.. but in 2009 .. at just 4 years old the screen developed wide vertical lines down one side.. I still used it but gradually the lines got wider until it was next to useless..

I priced up a new screen to fit myself but it was going to cost about £400 .. and with it now long in the tooth with the new Intel processor ones out .. didn't think it worth while.. so it's now in the cupboard.

At present I have a bespoke desktop by PC Specialist and it is just amazing.. the same spec iMac would have cost at least £2k..

During that period I've also had a Dell laptop that Charlotte now uses, Jan is on a second Dell which is going strong.. her old one now runs Linux.. and I also had a small Sony for traveling .. also on Linux

Will I buy another Mac laptop ???

Yes.. probably, .. I still look at them with an envious eye.. they are just so good .. almost like a drug..once you have owned one.. you get hooked.
 
D

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Why pay all that money for a Mac? Does it do anything that a PC can't?

To my mind, Apple is religious extremism.

Yes, if you are a heavy user, they keep working where cheaper laptops don't.

I am certainly no apple fanboy, I use computers as tools and the best for the job is the one that will get used. I have an android phone, and windows and Linux machines. Fact is, Macbooks in my house have outlived 10 cheaper windows laptops, (3 kids 2 each for a start) all crocked after 2 years. Samsungs that won't turn on x 2, the rest are Dells. Windows somehow kills laptops!

The build quality and architecture on the Mac laptop for whatever reason makes for a long lived machine and that is the reason I would recommend it and like you say, it does everything a PC does.

And on top of what Jim says it is a misconception that you have to pay more for a Mac. It is certainly possible to but if you do a proper spec comparison on say the entry level Mac mini at £499 you will find that it is comparable in price to a similar spec windows machine.

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magicsurfbus

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Funnily enough, when the first Apple Macintosh computers were rolled out in 1984, the very striking '1984' TV ad campaign was based around breaking IBM's monolithic corporate mould. Now I wonder if AppleCorp themselves have replaced IBM in that respect:



Take for example the compulsory download of U2's latest album to iTunes - they've now had to release a patch to remove it as if it was a virus. Apple will decide that you listen to U2...
 
D

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Take for example the compulsory download of U2's latest album to iTunes - they've now had to release a patch to remove it as if it was a virus. Apple will decide that you listen to U2...

I keep hearing about that but I think it might be a bit of a myth. I have my iTunes account registered on 3 devices and it hasn't downloaded anything to me. Shame really, I would have had a listen.
 
Apr 13, 2012
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Started off with a Mac Performa - cost me £1000 secondhand in 1996 !! , moved up to iMacs and an old G3 , which I still use.
When kids went to school I was told the school used PC's - so I bought a PC so they could do their homework on it.
Hated the PC and Microsoft software
Just bought an old G4 Macbook to get me back into Macs and out of PCs



(y)(y)(y)

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Last edited:
Jan 11, 2010
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Well that`s our 13th year & still loving it.
We have just ditched our Windows based pc`s just too much trouble, bought an Apple Mac Book Pro and an Imac, have set up a home network, run our Apples with Apple tv, via Apple airport Extreme router and Apple Time Capsule.
The bt homehub wasn`t powerful enough to send a signal round our house, the Apple signal strength is amazing.
Very easy to set up and hasn`t been any trouble, (touch Wood).
 
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makems

makems

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Thanks for all the replies.
I think I will go for the desktop mac because with my poor eyesight I need a big screen to be able to use spreadsheets.
Will I need to replace my Network Attached Storage? (Shared disk drive) is there a real advantage in going all-Apple?
 

scotjimland

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You won't need to replace the NAS drive..

just be aware that none of the new macs, including the iMac desktop, have an optical drive. If like me you still use DVDs for movies, backing up pictures, etc. you need to buy a separate drive.

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makems

makems

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I didn't get any iTunes downloads of U2 or anyone else, that I haven't asked for.

I wonder who did.


:cooler:
I did, so,did Gwen and both my daughters. It's on all of our iPhones too.
Just opened Music, recent downloads and there it was.
Haven't bothered listening to it yet
 
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makems

makems

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with Macs there's the way, as decreed by Chairmen Jobs and Wozniak, and I don't like having to conform

That was the reason I hated the old Macintoshes. Apple knows best what you can and can't do and how you should do it. You WILL do it the Apple way!
Coming from a MS background where you could pretty much whatever you wanted how you wanted it really annoyed me.
However I have been seduced by the iPads where everything just seems to WORK.
 

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