From Windows to Mac.....?

s.a.man

I am thinking of getting rid of my windows laptop and make the transition over to mac, but first I need to know a few things before I make the big step.

I have two seagate external hard drives, I am afraid that it wont work on mac and also watching movies from the macbook over to my tv screen (at the moment I use hdmi)

Can anyone help me?

Thank you.

Tom Dunne

Moved from AMD forum.

ashleey

The external drives will be fine. Mac osx can read and write to windows formatted drives but the mac standard is hfs which will not work with windows. A friend of mine uses a mac mini solely for tv downloads via iTunes. He uses a display adaptor to connect though and it is awkward to use other formats for video but not impossible.

Sad Professor

s.a.man wrote: »

I have two seagate external hard drives, I am afraid that it wont work on mac

Yeah, any usb or firewire external drive should work fine with a Mac. The filesystem is the issue. How are they currently formatted? Macs can read but not write to NFTS, but there are temporary work arounds for this. FAT32, however, will work fine.

and also watching movies from the macbook over to my tv screen (at the moment I use hdmi)

To connect to the hdmi on your tv you will need a mini displayport to dvi adapter (about 30 euro from Apple) and a dvi to hdmi cable to take it the rest of the way. Audio will have to be carried separately.

Carsinian Thau

Sad Professor wrote: »

Macs can read but not write to NFTS, but there are temporary work arounds for this. FAT32, however, will work fine.

Macfuse with an NTFS driver is a perfect one to use apparently.

(Or so I'm told, I haven't actually made the move myself yet ).

ProperDeadly

Sad Professor wrote: »

To connect to the hdmi on your tv you will need a mini displayport to dvi adapter (about 30 euro from Apple)

or about 6 euro from ebay

s.a.man

Sad Professor wrote: »

Yeah, any usb or firewire external drive should work fine with a Mac. The filesystem is the issue. How are they currently formatted?

Its formatted as NTFS.

Oh_Noes

Don't do it!

I changed to mac once and it felt like I was moving down to some kinda fisher price "my first computer" type deal. From the first use of your new mac you will begin to develop a habit of thinking "Oh, can't do [insert thing you like to do] on a mac"

They are marketed as being simple and easy to use. Before you buy one you should ask yourself if you need something simple and easy, or if you feel competent enough to use a machine that requires being able to figure things out for yourself.

Also consider where your nearest Mac repair shop is, they are usually few and far between in Ireland, and despite what Apple want you to believe, they do break.

Ipods, i-phones, mac seem to be genuinely producing a good product, but to me a mac just feels like a crappy product with fantastic marketing.

Sad Professor

Oh_Noes wrote: »

I changed to mac once and it felt like I was moving down to some kinda fisher price "my first computer" type deal.

Really? That's what people who have never used one usually say, or believe what they read on pc blog sites.

From the first use of your new mac you will begin to develop a habit of thinking "Oh, can't do [insert thing you like to do] on a mac"

Such as? Details please, or I'll just assume you are talking crap.

Also consider where your nearest Mac repair shop is, they are usually few and far between in Ireland, and despite what Apple want you to believe, they do break.

Where does Apple say that Macs don't break? If you have a problem within warranty Apple will collect your Mac and repair it for you. Outside warranty there are many places that provide repairs.

Ipods, i-phones, mac seem to be genuinely producing a good product, but to me a mac just feels like a crappy product with fantastic marketing.

Nonsense.

Did you really ever use a Mac? What model? For how long did you have it?

Oh_Noes

Sad Professor wrote: »

Really? That's what people who have never used one usually say, or believe what they read on pc blog sites.


Such as? Details please, or I'll just assume you are talking crap.


Where does Apple say that Macs don't break? If you have a problem within warranty Apple will collect your Mac and repair it for you. Outside warranty there are many places that provide repairs.


Nonsense.

Did you really ever use a Mac? What model? For how long did you have it?

Bought a MacBook Pro in 2007, it broke three times in the first year. I live in Athlone and had to drive to Galway everytime I needed to get it fixed. Ended up dumping it, it was a turd wrapped in shiney paper.

Things you can't do on it? Run most Microsoft software (which is a hell of a lot of software), along with a huge amount of other software. You have to get mac-specific versions of everything, if there are mac-specific versions available. Everytime you buy/beg/borrow/steal something (hardware or software) for your computer you have to go through the debacle of figuring out if it will work. Hence this thread.

Sad Professor

Oh_Noes wrote: »

Bought a MacBook Pro in 2007, it broke three times in the first year. I live in Athlone and had to drive to Galway everytime I needed to get it fixed.

You got a lemon. That was bad luck but could happen with any computer. It is not a reflection of the experiences of most Mac users. After the third repair you would have been well within your rights to demand a replacement.

Things you can't do on it? Run most Microsoft software (which is a hell of a lot of software), along with a huge amount of other software. You have to get mac-specific versions of everything, if there are mac-specific versions available.

Eh, yeah, because it is a different operating system. So obviously it won't run Windows software. Sorry, but it is not the Mac's fault that you did no research before buying.

Everytime you buy/beg/borrow/steal something (hardware or software) for your computer you have to go through the debacle of figuring out if it will work. .

Of course. You were new to the Mac and needed to learn how it works, which it seems you weren't willing to do. So it's probably for the best that you went back to what you are used to. I assume the OP realises there will be a learning curve.

Oh_Noes

No, no and no.

I had been using them in work, and still do, for years, and still think they're sh1te.

Obviously it's a different operating system, but it's operating in the same market/internet as all of the non-mac computers.

I got a Lemon? That's your argument? Please.

How many lemons does Apple sell? These things are expensive. Do you want to take that chance?

nohopengn

Oh_Noes wrote: »

Don't do it!

I have to agree with Oh_Noes..... my reasons for not getting one - they are overpriced, accessories are very expensive. If you have a problem - and 'Murphys Law', when you do it'll be out of warranty, it can be a real pain to sort out.

If you're going to move from Windows - move to Ubuntu or PCLinuxOS.

You'll save a shed-load of money in the long run.

Sad Professor

Oh_Noes wrote: »

Obviously it's a different operating system, but it's operating in the same market/internet as all of the non-mac computers.

What does that mean? That it should use the same exact software as Windows?

I got a Lemon? That's your argument? Please.

And what's your argument? That you got a faulty machine and therefore they must all be faulty?

How many lemons does Apple sell? These things are expensive. Do you want to take that chance?

Oh I don't know, how many lemons do HP, Dell, Sony, etc sell? This is why we have warranties. We take that chance with every piece of technology we buy. For what it's worth, I've been using Macs for 15 years and never had any hardware problems needing a repair.

maccored

ive been using macs since 1995 and I cant agree with ohnoes. Right now Im using one here at work, which is a windows environment. XP runs fine using Parallels so I dont get the whole 'cant use MS software' thing. Nor the bit about not being able to do as much with a mac compared to a windows box. Quite the other way around really.

So OP - I'd take what ohnoes says with a pinch of salt.

Sad Professor

nohopengn wrote: »

my reasons for not getting one - they are overpriced,

They are expensive, yes, but they also have fantastic resale value, way better than any other PC brand. If you are worried about it failing outside of warranty, you can get Applecare which will cover you for 3 years and will also add to your resale value if you decide to sell.

maccored

cant say they're over priced. great hardware plus theres no f*c*ing about when you want to do something. Ubuntu is fantastic but its a hellofa lot more awkward than the mac os - just try getting a webcam on ubuntu to work in livestream. theres none of the 'i need to download a driver for that' which you get in window land.

Freddie59

maccored wrote: »

cant say they're over priced. great hardware plus theres no f*c*ing about when you want to do something. Ubuntu is fantastic but its a hellofa lot more awkward than the mac os - just try getting a webcam on ubuntu to work in livestream. theres none of the 'i need to download a driver for that' which you get in window land.

I'm currently awaiting delivery of an i7 27" iMac. I'm going into it with my eyes wide open. I have operated one in a house recently and they are so far ahead of a Windows PC in terms of speed of operation and sheer display quality, it's unbelievable.

I'm going to run Windows 7 through bootcamp/parallel 5.0, so it should be fun, to say the least. I've had a Windows PC since 1998, and while they are fast at the start, once they get older, well, they're just dire.

OK - I might regret it. Hopefully I won't. But it's one of those things in life that I want to try - so here goes!:D

I'm not going to get into the whole Mac v PC thing. I'm buying it because:

1. I want it!:D

2. They have a great reputation.:) And I've read extensively about them on the Internet.

3. My main hobbies are video/photography. And my three year-old Dell Optiplex 745 just vomits when I run Pinnacle Studio on it. And that's with 3 GB RAM and a dedicated 7200 RPM 1TB Hard Drive.:mad:

Yes you will get lemons everywhere - even in PC land (and it's happened to me).

Luck of the draw I suppose.

DualFrontDiscs

Freddie59 wrote: »

I'm currently awaiting delivery of an i7 27" iMac. I'm going into it with my eyes wide open. I have operated one in a house recently and they are so far ahead of a Windows PC in terms of speed of operation and sheer display quality, it's unbelievable.

I'm going to run Windows 7 through bootcamp/parallel 5.0, so it should be fun, to say the least. I've had a Windows PC since 1998, and while they are fast at the start, once they get older, well, they're just dire.

OK - I might regret it. Hopefully I won't. But it's one of those things in life that I want to try - so here goes!:D

I'm not going to get into the whole Mac v PC thing. I'm buying it because:

1. I want it!:D

2. They have a great reputation.:) And I've read extensively about them on the Internet.

3. My main hobbies are video/photography. And my three year-old Dell Optiplex 745 just vomits when I run Pinnacle Studio on it. And that's with 3 GB RAM and a dedicated 7200 RPM 1TB Hard Drive.:mad:

Yes you will get lemons everywhere - even in PC land (and it's happened to me).

Luck of the draw I suppose.

I've the 27" i7 and I love it. I use Parallels 5 to run Windows 7. The 'Coherence' mode provides really nice integration into the Snow Leopard environment. I also use VirtualBox to run Ubuntu and some other *nix OSs. Nice application and free.

OSX is a great platform for video and photography.

Enjoy.

Sad Professor

Freddie59 wrote: »

I've had a Windows PC since 1998, and while they are fast at the start, once they get older, well, they're just dire.

That's really down to Windows rather than the hardware. So much rubbish builds up in the system. But I think you'll be very pleased with Mac OS X in this regard. I've never had to do a clean install due to slowness. Most problems are easily fixed without have to resort to that. You don't really need to worry about system maintenance either.

OK - I might regret it. Hopefully I won't. But it's one of those things in life that I want to try - so here goes!:D

I'm sure you'll be grand. I've never actually "switched" myself, so I'm probably terribly unsympathetic to the difficulties that switchers encounter. But to be fair, getting used to a new system can be frustrating and no one likes feeling like a novice again. I guess the hardest thing is unlearning the Windows way of doing things. You really need to have an open mind as to how Macs work.

Enjoy the i7 iMac - I'm so jealous.

Hobbes

Oh_Noes wrote: »

I had been using them in work, and still do, for years, and still think they're sh1te.

I find this hard to believe tbh. I have three macs at home. Number of times I have had a serious issue = once in a space of a year. That was getting a scanner working. I have parallels as well and use it for some work related development stuff (Domino/Notes/Eclipse). They run fine.

Prior to that 3 windows machine. Number of times I would have to deal with an issue. 2-3 times a week.

How many lemons does Apple sell? These things are expensive. Do you want to take that chance?

I have had no issues so far. I have had to call Apple support twice on other related issues but the support was good.

Compare to my dealings with Dell. Which is actually what prompted me to move to a Mac when it came to upgrade.
http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055025918

Sad Professor

Hobbes wrote: »

That was getting a scanner working.

A HP scanner by any chance?

Type 17

Sad Professor wrote: »

... I guess the hardest thing is unlearning the Windows way of doing things. You really need to have an open mind as to how Macs work.

Another thing to be aware of is that the Mac OS doesn't molly-coddle you with pop-up balloons reminding you of things, and asking you are you sure, etc.
As a Windows user, you may find Mac OSX frustrating, as it seems a bit obtuse at first.
But if you take the time* to find out how stuff works, where it is, etc you'll find it a lot slicker in the long run - Windows is great for new PC users, but treats you as if it's your first day forever, unless you do a lot of customisation - I find using a default copy of Windows very "patronising"...

*There's great stuff here: http://www.apple.com/findouthow/mac/

Carsinian Thau

As someone who's also hoping to make the change soon, what antivirus program would you advise? This seems to be the best I could find: http://www.iantivirus.com/


Also, is there really such a difference in how you use all the different OSs? I can remember a friend on mine being surprised that I was able to use OSX before but I genuinely didn't think it was that different to using Windows. Things were in different places and I found the right click thing kinda weird at first, but apart from that, I can't imagine it taking much to learn to use it.

Hobbes

Sad Professor wrote: »

A HP scanner by any chance?

It was. In Snow Leopard the scanner software for HP stopped working and they had changed how you scan a document.

Type 17

Carsinian Thau wrote: »

As someone who's also hoping to make the change soon, what antivirus program would you advise? This seems to be the best I could find: http://www.iantivirus.com/

There are no real Mac OSX virusses in the wild at present (although that could change). None of the Mac-compatible antivirus apps are all that relevant, and some actually screw things up, slowing the OS down.

The real dangers for Mac users come from issues with browsers, plug-ins like Flash, and from not paying attention to what you're doing - being fooled by phishing attempts, etc.

Ensure that the firewall is turned on, and don't click on anything dodgy and don't say yes to installing any software unless you trust its source, have different, high-quality passwords for different levels of accounts on various sites, email accounts, etc, and you have it mostly covered.

Freddie59

@sadprofessor: thanks for the words of encouragement. What the heck. I'm 50. The kids are reared. I need a challenge!!:D

@dualfrontdiscs: great news about the vid & photos. Looking forward to it now!

@Hobbes. It's good to hear from a 'switcher'. Hope I'm as successful as you were!

Sad Professor

Carsinian Thau wrote: »

As someone who's also hoping to make the change soon, what antivirus program would you advise? This seems to be the best I could find: http://www.iantivirus.com/

What Type 17 said.

Imo you don't need any. Viruses are currently not a problem on the Mac. That may change one day, but in the meantime running AV software is a waste of resources. They are mostly a placebo for Windows switchers who feel naked without one.

Every time I say this, of course, I get assaulted with links to some blog site babbling about some obscure trojan that everyone forgets about a week later and which an AV app wouldn't properly protect against anyway. To be sure, Macs are not invulnerable to viruses or other security threats, but they aren't currently a target. When they become one you'll hear about it. Until then, my advice is not to worry about it. Don't carelessly download software and don't carelessly enter your admin password for software you don't trust and you'll be fine.

But by all means, install one and run a scan from time to time if you want, just turn off the background scanner/protection.

Also, is there really such a difference in how you use all the different OSs? I can remember a friend on mine being surprised that I was able to use OSX before but I genuinely didn't think it was that different to using Windows. Things were in different places and I found the right click thing kinda weird at first, but apart from that, I can't imagine it taking much to learn to use it.

Obviously the basics of the filesystem, desktop, drag and drop, etc are similar, as are things like web browsers and other applications. But there are many subtle differences that add up to a very different user experience. I would discourage the thinking that OS X it just a slightly different version of Windows, because it might be a barrier to you embracing the other, potentially better ways in which the Mac works.

The problem many switchers have is they go looking for a certain Windows feature and get very upset when they don't find it. For example, OS X has no maximise button. This has never bothered me, but it is a source of endless annoyance to ex-Windows users. OS X instead has "zoom" button which makes the window smaller. This is a reflection of the multitasking, multiple window experience that Apple designed Mac OS to be. Windows in contrast kind of encourages its users to focus on one program at a time.

Carsinian Thau

Type 17 wrote: »

There are no real Mac OSX virusses in the wild at present (although that could change). None of the Mac-compatible antivirus apps are all that relevant, and some actually screw things up, slowing the OS down.

The real dangers for Mac users come from issues with browsers, plug-ins like Flash, and from not paying attention to what you're doing - being fooled by phishing attempts, etc.

Ensure that the firewall is turned on, and don't click on anything dodgy and don't say yes to installing any software unless you trust its source, have different, high-quality passwords for different levels of accounts on various sites, email accounts, etc, and you have it mostly covered.

I changed all my passwords to very long ones after the boards hack. I actually can only remember my GMail and Twitter ones. The other ones are saved as text files on my desktop and iPod and I have to either copy and paste them in or read them off the screen if on a different machine (that's probably not very secure is it? I should probably change them into a password protected pdf or something....).

Is there a firewall included in OSX or would I have to get my own one? I know there's a firewall in Windows but I use a 3rd party one instead. I actually don't know if I have one on Linux, must look that up.

Sad Professor

Carsinian Thau wrote: »

I changed all my passwords to very long ones after the boards hack. I actually can only remember my GMail and Twitter ones. The other ones are saved as text files on my desktop and iPod and I have to either copy and paste them in or read them off the screen if on a different machine (that's probably not very secure is it? I should probably change them into a password protected pdf or something....).

When you get your Mac, buy 1Password. Amazing app. It creates random passwords for you, saves them and integrates with almost any web browser. Can't recommend it highly enough.

http://agilewebsolutions.com/products/1Password

Is there a firewall included in OSX or would I have to get my own one?

Yes. OS X has a built in firewall.

Type 17

Carsinian Thau wrote: »

I changed all my passwords to very long ones after the boards hack. I actually can only remember my GMail and Twitter ones. The other ones are saved as text files on my desktop and iPod and I have to either copy and paste them in or read them off the screen if on a different machine (that's probably not very secure is it? I should probably change them into a password protected pdf or something....).

If I forget a password, I can always look it up in the keychain app, where you can also store secure notes. There is also an app called 1Password - I haven't used it, but people who do say it's great.

Carsinian Thau wrote: »

Is there a firewall included in OSX or would I have to get my own one? I know there's a firewall in Windows but I use a 3rd party one instead. I actually don't know if I have one on Linux, must look that up.

There is one there already, and it works well. Unless you have specialist requirements, I don't think any third-party ones would be much better.

Fol20

Like others,im making the big switch,iv been a pc user for the past 10years, and am looking forward to the change.

Its something new and im looking forward to tinkering with the system.

I definitely know ill be coming back to you guys when im having trouble with some stuff

nesf

Made the switch recently to an i7 27" iMac. Honestly, apart from relearning a few things it hasn't been that big of a change for me. With BootCamp and VMWare I can use all my old MS software seamlessly. Hardware wise the machine is very well built and is pretty. After 15 years of PCs it was a bit of culture shock but there's quite a bit of info out there for switchers and generally a little time spent in Google can find the answer for how to do things the "Mac way" rather than the "Windows way." The only thing that really bugs me is the switching of @ and ", after 15 years of typing one way it's hard to change!

Freddie59

nesf wrote: »

Made the switch recently to an i7 27" iMac. Honestly, apart from relearning a few things it hasn't been that big of a change for me. With BootCamp and VMWare I can use all my old MS software seamlessly. Hardware wise the machine is very well built and is pretty. After 15 years of PCs it was a bit of culture shock but there's quite a bit of info out there for switchers and generally a little time spent in Google can find the answer for how to do things the "Mac way" rather than the "Windows way." The only thing that really bugs me is the switching of @ and ", after 15 years of typing one way it's hard to change!

Great news!:D

Hrududu

I should be making the switch myself soon. Just a quick question about AppleCare. Do most people get it when they first buy their macs? Or would it be better to wait until the year's guarantee was nearly up to buy it?

And I know everyone will have their own preference but in general which way do people prefer to run Windows? Boot Camp? Parallels? etc. I wouldn't need to run Windows often but for when I do some input into people's favourite ways would be nice.

Sad Professor

Hrududu wrote: »

I should be making the switch myself soon. Just a quick question about AppleCare. Do most people get it when they first buy their macs? Or would it be better to wait until the year's guarantee was nearly up to buy it?

It makes little difference except that by waiting you miss out on free telephone support after 90 days. I suppose you could wait and see if your Mac shows any problems and, if not, give Applecare a pass. Or just wait and get it from Ebay. But any time within the first year will do, so there's no rush.

And I know everyone will have their own preference but in general which way do people prefer to run Windows? Boot Camp? Parallels? etc. I wouldn't need to run Windows often but for when I do some input into people's favourite ways would be nice.

I have it installed on a Bootcamp partition, which VMWare also uses (instead of an image file). I mostly use it via VMWare but having it on Bootcamp is handy incase I have any computability problems or if I wanted to play a game.

nesf

Hrududu wrote: »

And I know everyone will have their own preference but in general which way do people prefer to run Windows? Boot Camp? Parallels? etc. I wouldn't need to run Windows often but for when I do some input into people's favourite ways would be nice.

VMWare or Parallels will leave you do almost anything without restarting your machine except play most computer games. For computer games you need BootCamp.

aidan_walsh

nesf wrote: »

VMWare or Parallels will leave you do almost anything without restarting your machine except play most computer games. For computer games you need BootCamp.

Or if they are Steam enabled, grab the Mac copy of that and see if they have been updated for it. Some have, many haven't, but more are coming all the time.

nesf

aidan_walsh wrote: »

Or if they are Steam enabled, grab the Mac copy of that and see if they have been updated for it. Some have, many haven't, but more are coming all the time.

Few games on Steam are Mac enabled, so far anyway. We're a long way from the Mac being a gaming platform of note tbh. I doubt it'll ever happen to be honest.

aidan_walsh

Given how easy its supposed to be to port games to the Mac using the new version of the Steam Engine, I'd be surprised if we don't see more coming. Macs of old used to be great for their games back in the day before it moved more to Windows. Even now there are good indie games, but not so much in the mainstream.

nesf

aidan_walsh wrote: »

Given how easy its supposed to be to port games to the Mac using the new version of the Steam Engine, I'd be surprised if we don't see more coming. Macs of old used to be great for their games back in the day before it moved more to Windows. Even now there are good indie games, but not so much in the mainstream.

Yeah but every Mac user can use Windows through BootCamp to play any Windows game without porting. While yeah it'd be handy to be able play game X on OSX, I'd not not buy a game I wanted because I had to use BootCamp and I'd definitely not delay buying a game a few months to wait for a port when I could just play it using BootCamp.

kaedan

I'm also making the switch

Just have a few questions I wanted to ask Mac users :

Is it worthwhile to install some kind of AV? I know there are some for mac. ( Many new java based attacks, java runs on pretty much anything, oh noes )

Whats a good free alternative to MS Office? Anyone have experience of actually using some of the free suites to create docs for college/work?
Was thinking of OpenOffice.

A lot of my work requires MS DOS. Is there any kind of sim for Mac? (Cygwin- Bash on Windows) Or will I be stuck with having to use VM/Dual boot? This isnt a major issue.

Are there any tips you might have for someone that will be using a mac in a mostly windows work environment?

Mr. Presentable

s.a.man wrote: »

I am thinking of getting rid of my windows laptop and make the transition over to mac, but first I need to know a few things before I make the big step.

I have two seagate external hard drives, I am afraid that it wont work on mac and also watching movies from the macbook over to my tv screen (at the moment I use hdmi)

Can anyone help me?

Thank you.

Is there a particular reason you need/want to change OS?

Given you will spend a lot of time using Windows emulators to run programs and/or games, would you not be better buying a top of the range Windows laptop for the price you'll pay for a mid-range Mac OS laptop.

What I am saying is, have you a strong justification for changing, like some of the things Macs are good at: Video editing, Publishing etc?

mathepac

Carsinian Thau wrote: »

As someone who's also hoping to make the change soon, what antivirus program would you advise? This seems to be the best I could find: http://www.iantivirus.com/
...

Have a look at http://www.ClamXav.com . It's free and virus definition updates are provided daily (also free). I've used it for years.

I believe this is important for anyone using a multiple OSs under OSX as with shared files / folders / volumes conditions may exist where cross-contamination can occur, one OS / environment to another. The commonest form of attack that I've detected is the ubiquitous ".exe" as an attachment to an email.

I'm not denigrating the software in the link quoted above as I've never used it, I'm just offering an alternative.

Freddie59

nipplenuts wrote: »

Is there a particular reason you need/want to change OS?

Given you will spend a lot of time using Windows emulators to run programs and/or games, would you not be better buying a top of the range Windows laptop for the price you'll pay for a mid-range Mac OS laptop.

What I am saying is, have you a strong justification for changing, like some of the things Macs are good at: Video editing, Publishing etc?

OK. I have been using the iMac for just over two weeks. I'm running my PC side by side, as I cannot do video editing on the iMac yet. (awaiting a firewire 400/800 adapter, which, given the price of the machine, should really have come as standard).

My experience:

* Parallels 5.0 runs seamlessly. Absolutely no problems at all. All Windows based programmes working perfectly. The only issue is Pinnacle studio 9, which is incompatible with Windows 7.

* The Mac is really, really fast. No two ways about it.

* The screen definition and colours on the Mac display far outperfom anything I've ever had on a PC.

* Sixty seconds from switch-on to Mac OS desktop.

The only one slight issue is that the upper/lowercase can sometimes become inverted when using Windows. Not a deal breaker.

In short - no regrets. At all.:D

Hobbes

nesf wrote: »

VMWare or Parallels will leave you do almost anything without restarting your machine except play most computer games. For computer games you need BootCamp.

To expand on this as I set it up a few days ago so my son could play lego batman.

You can create a bootcamp image and then in parallels hook to that bootcamp image. This means you can use all the windows apps in OSX without taking up extra space for a VM.

When you need to go graphic intensive just reboot into bootcamp/windows.

Hobbes

nesf wrote: »

except play most computer games.

With the new macs if you have enough memory (>3GB) then you can make quite a lot of existing games through parallels. All but the most graphic intensive.