Apple computers.

Dry_bean.

Any of our members using a late model Apple Mac desktop machine?
My wife and I are long time Windows users, love the look of Apple stuff and the much smaller footprint taken by , stuff.
We are still going to be looking at using Office programs, mainly Word, Excel and Outlook, at a base price of a bit over $2000 however I'm concerned that getting the thing configured and running the way I want it may add a lot of extra dollars.
Of course we will be looking at a couple of complete systems so will be an expensive exercise.
Thoughts.  :question:

askthecoffeeguy

I'm a mac user and I have an IMac 8.1 thats a couple of years old now but still a newish computer - I'm pretty sure mine came with the software already installed - but even so, ebay is your friend as you can purchase the latest software from the States for a fraction of the price of what you'd pay here And as a former PC man I could not go back and wouldnt want to - not the least of all because the Mac links up effortlessly with my iphone / ipod etc I find Mac very intuitive to use and the operation system does not treat the user like an idiot - once  you've tried Mac there is no turning back - welcome to the dark side hahahahaha!  >:D >:D >:D

Kelsey

I generally buy off the apple store, but in the refurbished section. It means you're a year behind the curve, but you pay less for a machine that is usually only marginally slower than the current option. They also come with a full warranty. As a Mac tends to hold its value much better than a PC, you also get good resale later down the track. As to additional expenses: I never buy Apple RAM as 3rd party is generally just as good and much cheaper. I also don't buy MS Office - iWork is much cheaper and has the features a casual user will need. If you're a hard-core office user tho, you'll need the real thing. Most other peripherals are 3rd party too, and you have your pick of them both in quality and price. OSX has a vibrant and very professional indie app development scene. There are truly insane numbers of cheap (or free) apps that are functional, good looking and useful. I was a windows tech guy for many years in a cross-platform shop. It's what convinced me to go Mac! Feel free to ask any specific questions.

UNM

For office software, I use openoffice. I prefer it to msoffice. My kids hate it though and insist on me paying the microsoft tax. :head:

Dry_bean.

on 1322900546:

I'm a mac user and I have an IMac 8.1 thats a couple of years old now but still a newish computer - I'm pretty sure mine came with the software already installed - but even so, ebay is your friend as you can purchase the latest software from the States for a fraction of the price of what you'd pay here And as a former PC man I could not go back and wouldnt want to - not the least of all because the Mac links up effortlessly with my iphone / ipod etc I find Mac very intuitive to use and the operation system does not treat the user like an idiot - once  you've tried Mac there is no turning back - welcome to the dark side hahahahaha!  >:D >:D >:D

Thanks Pat, I have no need to link to other devices and don't see this changing. My main concern is being able to access ALL data, images and records saved over the past 20 years without drama's, I know I can do it on a new PC, unsure about the Mac, I also use a couple of stock market programs that Apple seems not to cater for. Must admit I'm yet to be convinced to make the change, at this stage I'm still leaning toward Mr Gates and his motley crew. :-|

RichardM

Bit of background - I have had 7 years in IT, and three years of that I was a full time Apple Tech specialising in Apple Laptops and OS X (note this is in the past. I no longer work directly in IT support...thank god). I currently have a Macbook as my main laptop (three years old) and two Windows 7 machines. Personally, I love the Apple UI. It's great for web browsing, chatting, all the basic "normal" things that most people do on a computer. It's robust, well built, and pretty. It's also incredibly expensive comparatively. Sure, there are Sony Vaio's etc that are similarly priced, and there are $399 laptops, and everything in between. The reason I went mac when I had this laptop was because I wanted a small form factor with a 13" screen. At the time, you would pay a HUGE premium for that in all windows based PC's. These days, you can get 13", 15", 17" with no real premium (I'm looking. The choice is incredible, and I can't see any reason why you'd pay, in a lot of cases, around double the price for an Apple based computer, unless you KNEW it was going to make your life easier. Personally, if I had to replace this machine, I'd get a Lenovo E320/420/520 or similar for around half the price of the Apple equivalent. In terms of your concerns such as accessing all old stuff, you're no worse off with a mac than you would be with a Windows machine, but your concerns of certain sharemarket software not working might mean the cost of a virtual machine program and a windows licence anyway.

Dry_bean.

on 1322900678:

I generally buy off the apple store, but in the refurbished section. It means you're a year behind the curve, but you pay less for a machine that is usually only marginally slower than the current option. They also come with a full warranty. As a Mac tends to hold its value much better than a PC, you also get good resale later down the track. As to additional expenses: I never buy Apple RAM as 3rd party is generally just as good and much cheaper. I also don't buy MS Office - iWork is much cheaper and has the features a casual user will need. If you're a hard-core office user tho, you'll need the real thing. Most other peripherals are 3rd party too, and you have your pick of them both in quality and price. OSX has a vibrant and very professional indie app development scene. There are truly insane numbers of cheap (or free) apps that are functional, good looking and useful. I was a windows tech guy for many years in a cross-platform shop. It's what convinced me to go Mac! Feel free to ask any specific questions.

G'Day Kelsey, will be buying new (gotta have the latest and greatest) resale value is of no concern to me, once a PC has reached it's use by date (they seem to last me about 4 years) I destroy the hard drive, so the system is a total write off, I am very security conscious. What I need from a system is not bells and whistle, i.e. apps, but durability, processing speed and reliability, up to now Windows has met these parameters without problem. Add to this the fact that we have used Microsoft Office exclusively and extensively in business over the past 20 years it's difficult to to make the break without having reservations. :-|

Dry_bean.

on 1322902534:

Bit of background - I have had 7 years in IT, and three years of that I was a full time Apple Tech specialising in Apple Laptops and OS X (note this is in the past. I no longer work directly in IT support...thank god). I currently have a Macbook as my main laptop (three years old) and two Windows 7 machines. Personally, I love the Apple UI. It's great for web browsing, chatting, all the basic "normal" things that most people do on a computer. It's robust, well built, and pretty. It's also incredibly expensive comparatively. Sure, there are Sony Vaio's etc that are similarly priced, and there are $399 laptops, and everything in between. The reason I went mac when I had this laptop was because I wanted a small form factor with a 13" screen. At the time, you would pay a HUGE premium for that in all windows based PC's. These days, you can get 13", 15", 17" with no real premium (I'm looking. The choice is incredible, and I can't see any reason why you'd pay, in a lot of cases, around double the price for an Apple based computer, unless you KNEW it was going to make your life easier. Personally, if I had to replace this machine, I'd get a Lenovo E320/420/520 or similar for around half the price of the Apple equivalent. In terms of your concerns such as accessing all old stuff, you're no worse off with a mac than you would be with a Windows machine, but your concerns of certain sharemarket software not working might mean the cost of a virtual machine program and a windows licence anyway.

Thanks Richard, I'm not sure you've made my task any easier, or perhaps you have, your words have tipped the scales decidedly in the direction of Windows, I suspect it's a little like the Nikon/Canon debate, once you've adopted one or the other there is no turning back. ::)

RichardM

on 1322903176:

Add to this the fact that we have used Microsoft Office exclusively and extensively in business over the past 20 years it's difficult to to make the break without having reservations. :-|

FYI Microsoft Office for Mac will open anything that Microsoft Office for Windows will open, so that probably should be the lowest concern.

RichardM

on 1322903590:

Thanks Richard, I'm not sure you've made my task any easier, or perhaps you have, your words have tipped the scales decidedly in the direction of Windows, I suspect it's a little like the Nikon/Canon debate, once you've adopted one or the other there is no turning back. ::)

Well I'm an odd one, because most people say that once you've gone one way you can't go back. I'm quite happy either way. Don't get me wrong, if an Apple computer was the same price as the same equivalent windows based machine, I wouldn't hesitate for one second - I'd get the Apple, but if I can get an equivalent cheaper, I'd spend the money on a new roaster :D

Dry_bean.

on 1322903611:

FYI Microsoft Office for Mac will open anything that Microsoft Office for Windows will open, so that probably should be the lowest concern.

Fair enough, but it is taking an old guy a long way out of his comfort zone, fear of the unknown and all of that stuff.

Dry_bean.

on 1322902534:

your concerns of certain sharemarket software not working might mean the cost of a virtual machine program and a windows licence anyway.

This is a major concern, once committed there is no turning back Metastock http://www.equis.com/products/faqs/ specifically indicates see, section 20, that their software is not supported when installed on a Mac machine. They indicate tacit support (MetaStock will make every effort to provide support for running our software on a Mac and help customers troubleshoot issues they encounter; however as we have not officially tested MetaStock in this environment, we are unable to guarantee support beyond a reasonable effort.) however when your making financial decisions based on the program you need a little more than this.

Kelsey

Now that I know stock market apps are a priority, I'd say stick with Windows. My Dad's running a few stock market apps via Parallels on his Mac - it works and he now loves his Mac, but why deal with two operating systems when one of your most critical needs is met by one?

Dry_bean.

on 1322913536:

Now that I know stock market apps are a priority, I'd say stick with Windows. My Dad's running a few stock market apps via Parallels on his Mac - it works and he now loves his Mac, but why deal with two operating systems when one of your most critical needs is met by one?

Thanks mate, very helpful. The thought of a new Apple system is fading.

Kelsey

Don't get me wrong, I love my Mac(s) for a lot of reasons, but I'm not one of these fanbois who advocate it as the only possible choice. You've always got to pick the right tool for the job and in a few specific cases (such as this one!) they're not.

Dry_bean.

I hear tell that if your an arty creative type Apple will suit you down to the ground. My artistic streak is limited to photography (I've got just under 65 GB of images on my drive) and use programs like Nikon Capture, Photomatix etc, Windows seems to handle these with ease.

Kelsey

Certainly that's the conventional wisdom. I don't agree with it tho. I believe Apple is a better 'general computing' choice - if you just want to surf the web, email and do general office tasks then you'll probably have a more seamless and pleasant experience on an Apple. "It just works" isn't a catchphrase. If you have specific tasks in mind, then you have to make a choice - stock market or games? Windows for sure. The Mac has some great scientific apps and there is definitely a legacy of creatives using Apple. I'm a designer, but a very data-driven one. Some of my best work has come about using Apple's Numbers spreadsheeting app, which allowed me to track down the individual average (and specific) cost of customers from dozens of sites across hundreds of millions of pageviews, tracked by multiple different payment types and metrics. I couldn't have presented the data in Excel the way I did in Numbers. There's less and less difference between the OSes these days, but Apple still has a tremendous advantage with its tight integration of hardware and OS. In all cases, the hardware is 100% known. This is an ongoing problem that Windows will always grapple with. It's limiting in one respect - which is why I built my own low-profile, low-power, Linux based media centre - but liberating in that I believe I experience fewer crashes and other general niggles. I don't have to work 'on' my computer, just 'with' it.