shut down / sleep / mac / windows

triple h

just a question i have to ask, maybe because i had a dud computer that shut down and had to be replaced is why i am asking. It may have put fear into me. I am so afraid it will happen again.

anyway, is it really best to leave your mac asleep rather than shuting it down. now i use my computer about 1-2 hours every day. The most it would be used in a day would be 3-4 hours, but that is only days here and there. some days ( that would be, i guess) once every 7 or 8 days i would not even go near the computer.

now i downloaded windowns xp unto my computer and is running grand. I have two web sites i have to go to on the windows cause they dont support mac. When i switch from windows to mac or mac to windows i have to shut down the computer. Then i said to myself ' you know maybe this shuting down business is not so bad, it might be better than sleeping' AM I RIGHT OR WRONG HERE?

or is shuting it down and jumping from mac to windows to much, bad for it. I only plan to use windows every secound day.

xebec

I haven't read much of this, but it's a thread on the same topic.

Sad Professor

Hey there triple h, hope the imac is going well.

My mac is on all the time, I only ever restart when I have to. When its not doing anything it just goes to sleep by itself. I have had my ibook for 3 years and only ever shut it down completely 3 or 4 times, just restarting for updates, never had any problems. Same with my old imac.

Apple put the switch at the back of the imac because they say you don't need to shutdown, just sleep. But if your gonna be away for a week and if your imac isn't doing anything (downloading, etc) then shutting down might be a good idea in case there was lightning/power surge or something. Personally I'd just leave it on.

Restarting for bootcamp/xp is fine.

Its user preference really.

uncle_sam_ie

I only shut down my Mac when I have to, like for a software updates or routine maintenance. When I walk away from my Mac I'll just put it to sleep. OS X is based on UNIX and was designed for this. What do you mean by websites that don't support your Mac? If you mean they wont support Safari then just download Firefox or Opera. If you must run Windows on your Mac, you might want to take a look at Parallels. With Parallels you wont need to reboot all the time.
http://www.parallels.com/

Gordon

I shut down every day and sleep in between. The reason for this is the sucky external modem that comes with the new iMac. For some reason on first startup it connects for 50seconds and then disconnects. And after a few connections / sleeps, it doesn't connect and the disconnect script fails and you can't connect at all until full restart.

Tanabe

Is it just me or does Windows on a Mac seem wrong?

Anyway, no I don't ever shut down my i-Mac, if you're gonna be away from it for a day or less, let it sleep always. If it's gonna be idle for a week or so then shut it down.

Urban Weigl

I second uncle_sam_ie, check out Parallels. It's a lot more convenient than having to restart.

I never shut down my Mac, preferring to put it to sleep. It's not because I fear shutting it down could damage it, but simply because it's more convenient: I dislike having to wait even 20 seconds for my computer to start up, I want it there instantly. And thanks to the way sleep works in Mac OS X, the iMac only uses a few watts of power while in sleep (I think I measured it and it was below 5 watts as I recall). That's less than my VCR when it's switched off but still plugged in!

Gordon

Tanabe wrote:

Is it just me or does Windows on a Mac seem wrong?

Not if you are a webdesigner.

triple h

thanks for your replies people.

uncle_sam_ie = there is one program i have to use in windows. Before i even bought a new computer i asked and was told "no we dont do macs because you need a C drive for this program" I tried , for the laugh, one day to use it in mac and i had no joy.

I was wondering will more people leave windows and join mac, like what i did. I hear it is 85% pc and 15% mac, Do you reckon it will be 50-50 some day?, like next year. if that were to be the case maybe some people will have more respect for mac.

Now i know its early days. i am only new to mac, i love it. I bought the intel mac beacuse i knew i could also get windows. I am happy i downloaded windows onto my mac, but i dont love it and will only use it when i have too. Also if some of my family come to my house they can use windows if they feel more comfortable with it.

K.O.Kiki

Quick jottings:

1. Windows programs won't work in OS X, silly! :rolleyes: You sure there's no Mac version/Mac-equivalent of the program you need?
2. It's prob more like 85% PC, 5% Mac & rest *nix and "other" -- and I don't see that changing much soon (mind you, Macs have a huge share in new laptops, particularly in US -- ~50% this year IIRC). But expecting respect from Windows fanboys?
   Yeah right! :rolleyes:
3. Don't let your family use Windows in your home -- they'll learn some OS X & they'll bloody well like it!