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Have I told you guys lately how much I love my Mac? - Page 2

post #31 of 59
4/14/07 at 6:14pm

Re: Have I told you guys lately how much I love my Mac?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Rob Gillespie
I'm not a fan of the iMac - I want a case I can put under the desk and that I can open and put a 2nd, 3rd or 4th drive into. ...

It's like they've just left a big gap in their product line - you either get an all-in-one which you can't change much with, or spend biggo money on something beyond what is required. Odd.
Rob, I've argued the same thing. But apparently Apple has determined that a general purpose, upgradeable mid-range box doesn't fit in their sales plans.

Nonetheless, I've decided to drink the koolaid next computer purchase, despite price and upgradeability concerns.
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post #32 of 59
4/14/07 at 11:11pm

Re: Have I told you guys lately how much I love my Mac?

I agree there is a huge gap in Apple's product line as well. The Mac Pro was great, but I'm not dropping 2k+ on a machine. I didn't consider the iMac, because I already had a 24" Dell widescreen panel. My only remaining option was the Mac mini, even though I'd have happily paid $1500 for a standalone upgradeable tower.

I have a dual-Opteron monster in my office, and it's collecting dust, because I bought the Mac mini. I would love more power than my mini, but Apple is making it really hard for me to hand them money.

CJ
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post #33 of 59
4/15/07 at 11:49am

Re: Have I told you guys lately how much I love my Mac?

Go back 2-3 gens to a dual 2.5 or 2.7 and you can acquire a nicely fitted G5 for well under 2k. Real world performance gap to a current Mac Pro is smaller than benchmarks would lead you to believe.
Many sellers have upgrades on the drives and memory.

Just a thought

E
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post #34 of 59
4/15/07 at 12:36pm

Re: Have I told you guys lately how much I love my Mac?

Quote:
Originally Posted by ErichH
Go back 2-3 gens to a dual 2.5 or 2.7 and you can acquire a nicely fitted G5 for well under 2k. Real world performance gap to a current Mac Pro is smaller than benchmarks would lead you to believe.
Perhaps I've incorrectly assimilated benchmark performances, but it seems the C2D substantially outperform previous generation CPUs -- weaknesses in current mac performance are due to non-native software, rather than hardware performance. (Everything I saw placed G5 performance around the Pentium 4 class.) (If you've got numbers to counter my opinion, please correct me.)

If a guy finds new Apples too expensive, I don't think he'll be attracted to over-priced, outdated used hardware.


On a more intriguing note, the Apple store is down for updates...

[edit] Bah, it's only Final Cut Pro.
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post #35 of 59
4/22/07 at 7:29pm

Re: Have I told you guys lately how much I love my Mac?

Wow. This is cool. I haven't checked in here for a few months and not only is there a new Apple forum but Ron is a recent convert! Glad your enjoying your new found appreciation for easy to use machines and excellent unbloated software Ron. You know your exactly the kind of switcher Apple is targeting? Get you to switch with the lure of being able to dual boot and then before you know it the Windows crutch it gone!

I've been a Mac user for over 15 years (personal and professional) and currently have 3 Apples in the house, an Intel Macmini for HTPC duty, a G5 iMac and an older G4 Powerbook laptop (I'm posting this on it). The cool thing is my Powerbook is only 800mhz and is running the latest version of OSX and is still a great machine. Show me see a 4yr. old Win laptop that can run a full version of Vista! Anyway I haven't been talking HT much lately but I love to talk Macs guess I'll be checking in more often now!

-EJ
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post #36 of 59
4/23/07 at 1:41am
Thread Starter 

Re: Have I told you guys lately how much I love my Mac?

Eric,

Welcome Back!

I am extremely happy with my Mac Pro and Macbook Pro.

It's a wonder that people use Windows anymore
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post #37 of 59
4/23/07 at 1:27pm

Re: Have I told you guys lately how much I love my Mac?

Congrats to the new Mac guys who have made the switch. My PowerMac G4 is getting a little long in the tooth so I need to get a new MacPro eventually. I'm waiting until Leopard is released in the fall. I'm hoping they keep BootCamp a boot manager and not an "emulation" piece. I want to be able to boot into Windows and play games.

I go to MacRumors.com regularly to find out the inside skinny on what Apple is up to next. Check it out.
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post #38 of 59
4/23/07 at 3:31pm

Re: Have I told you guys lately how much I love my Mac?

I have a G4 mini and Of Course love it. If I were to buy another Mac it would probably be an Upgraded mini, if they release one with a Core Duo 2, or a Macbook. I'm just not a fan of the all in one design, so Imacs have never done much for me, and I could'nt mortgage my house to get a Mac Tower.
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post #39 of 59
4/24/07 at 7:53am

Re: Have I told you guys lately how much I love my Mac?

I'm with you Ronbo... Will never ever go back to PC....
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post #40 of 59
4/25/07 at 8:40pm

Re: Have I told you guys lately how much I love my Mac?

OMG, I love my Mac! When I had a PC, I remember spending all weekend trying to get it to just recognize my bluetooth phone. A friend had a Mac, and I had the whole thing setup and exchanging files with my phone in a few minutes. That was it for the PC.

I'm constantly discovering little touches that make it so great. Like how a window that is partly off screen will move completely onscreen if you drag a file over it and hover for a second. And then moves it back to where it was.

"Gee, my master might want to drill down into the icons off screen, so I'll move them onscreen for him. When he's done, I'll move it back."

I recently got .Mac and have been using iWeb. Say what you will about free alternatives to .Mac being available, nothing makes publishing slick web sites, syncing, and backing up to the web easier.

Next up: a home theater built around a new Mac when the new revisions are out. I'll be sure to publish photos (using iWeb and .Mac) when it's all set.

(By the way, to the poster pointing out that he wished there was a midrange Mac that would enable him to add a second, third, fourth drive, the Mac way is plug and play. Just plug a second, third, fourth drive into the (speedy) firewire port. Firewire 400, let alone 800, blows away USB 2.0.)
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post #41 of 59
4/26/07 at 5:55am

Re: Have I told you guys lately how much I love my Mac?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Oren
I recently got .Mac and have been using iWeb. Say what you will about free alternatives to .Mac being available, nothing makes publishing slick web sites, syncing, and backing up to the web easier.
My wife used iWeb and her .Mac account to create her website http://www.halodesigns.net , and I'm impressed with what she accomplished with it. If you want an entry-level web design tool, iLife is worth the $80-$100 just for iWeb. And $100 a yr for .Mac isn't bad for a person who wants a website up and running without fooling around with the complexities/vagaries of domain hosting or FTP.

Although I helped my wife set acquire a domain name and point it to her .Mac account for a more professional website.
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post #42 of 59
4/26/07 at 6:19am

Re: Have I told you guys lately how much I love my Mac?

Quote:
Originally Posted by DaveF
My wife used iWeb and her .Mac account to create her website http://www.halodesigns.net , and I'm impressed with what she accomplished with it. If you want an entry-level web design tool, iLife is worth the $80-$100 just for iWeb. And $100 a yr for .Mac isn't bad for a person who wants a website up and running without fooling around with the complexities/vagaries of domain hosting or FTP.

Although I helped my wife set acquire a domain name and point it to her .Mac account for a more professional website.

Wow, that is a slick site! I'm going to have to work on mine a bit more....

I get the impression that redirecting with masking is pretty common (I do it too).
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post #43 of 59
4/26/07 at 8:48am
Thread Starter 

Re: Have I told you guys lately how much I love my Mac?

Very nice site, Dave. Your wife should be proud.

I actually designed our HTF Las Vegas Event Page using iWeb as well.

iWeb is pretty decent, but far too basic in functionality. I would
rather it allowed for more elaborate web designs. I tried using
the huge Adobe web designer software, but could not figure it out.

At the very least, I wish iWeb offered more templates. I tried
doing a search for templates on the Internet, but found next to
nothing. I hope that iWeb is improved somewhat in iLife 07.
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post #44 of 59
4/26/07 at 9:17am

Re: Have I told you guys lately how much I love my Mac?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ronald Epstein
At the very least, I wish iWeb offered more templates. I tried
doing a search for templates on the Internet, but found next to
nothing. I hope that iWeb is improved somewhat in iLife 07.

Ron, there are some at http://11mystics.com/blog/store/ (some are free too). That's the number one hit on google, so perhaps you already saw them and were unimpressed. And there's these ones too: http://lamiavia.com/Lamiavia/Welcome.html.

Also, everyone should know about iwebmore (http://iwebmore.ctrl-j.eu/iWebMore.html). "With iWebMore you can embed HTML in your iWeb pages and finally have those flash animations, applets and google ads on your website." And check out the various iweb tutorials at http://karreth.com/iweb/iWeb.html.

I'm not affiliated with any of them.
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post #45 of 59
4/26/07 at 2:33pm

Re: Have I told you guys lately how much I love my Mac?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ronald Epstein
Very nice site, Dave. Your wife should be proud.
Thanks for the kind words Ron & Oren -- I passed them on to her, and she was very pleased to hear them.
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post #46 of 59
4/27/07 at 9:15am

Re: Have I told you guys lately how much I love my Mac?

Ron,
Try using Dreamweaver... It's fantastic...
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post #47 of 59
4/27/07 at 9:18am
Thread Starter 

Re: Have I told you guys lately how much I love my Mac?

Steve,

I am certain it is the definitive web design program.

However...

See my comment in my post above.

That program is extremely elaborate and rather complicated
for those of us that chose not to pay to get tutored on it by
the folks at the Mac Store.
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post #48 of 59
4/27/07 at 10:03am

Re: Have I told you guys lately how much I love my Mac?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ronald Epstein
I am certain it is the definitive web design program.
It pretty much is although some of us still do it the old fashioned way!

For those of you finding iWeb a little lacking you may want to check out Sandvox by Karelia software. I've never used it myself but I've heard good things about it and it apparently is iWeb-ish in ease of use but is more robust in features. http://www.karelia.com/

-EJ
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post #49 of 59
4/27/07 at 11:29am

Re: Have I told you guys lately how much I love my Mac?

Dreamweaver does have a GUI design mode that allows you to build a site very easily. Obviously the power is in the raw code but you don't have to know HTML in order to use Dreamweaver. My wife now uses it instead of FrontPage to do her webpage and while she'll come to me for issues by and large she's doing it all in the GUI mode.
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post #50 of 59
5/3/07 at 1:03pm

Re: Have I told you guys lately how much I love my Mac?

I hope this doesn't sound like a rant, but my work Windows PC just frustrates me to no end. Finding things is a real pain and quite offen I need to find particular emails. On the Mac, Spotlight is absolutely fantastic. It's fast, reliable, comprehensive, and easy to use.

Searching on a PC is a disaster. The built in search is extremely slow. I tried Yahoo Desktop, but it wouldn't index all my PST (outlook) files. I tried Google desktop, but its interface is horrible and difficult to navigte. I'm now using Cpernic desktop search, but it is proving unreliable (not comprehensive).

It has been a few days since I said how much I love my Mac, so let me just say that I miss it dearly, every day.

"Friends don't let friends buy Windows"
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post #51 of 59
5/3/07 at 7:48pm

Re: Have I told you guys lately how much I love my Mac?

Microsofts downloadable desktop search tool isn't too bad and it should index your email...its not SpotLight but its better then the others IMO.
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post #52 of 59
5/5/07 at 10:57pm

Re: Have I told you guys lately how much I love my Mac?

Quote:
Originally Posted by DaveF
Perhaps I've incorrectly assimilated benchmark performances, but it seems the C2D substantially outperform previous generation CPUs -- weaknesses in current mac performance are due to non-native software, rather than hardware performance. (Everything I saw placed G5 performance around the Pentium 4 class.) (If you've got numbers to counter my opinion, please correct me.)

I wouldn't know about a P4
By real world I mean running basic apps and feeling the speed. Between the G5 Dual 2.5 PPC and my new Quad 3.0 Intel, running Draw apps like Freehand or illustrator are so close, it's a wink of the eye. Photoshop CS3 is a different story. The way to bog down a G5 is to run a big copy in the background and have a large download going with Photoshop doing math on a large action on multi files. The Intel will share the load much better with 6-8 apps open and half of them running a task.

The 3.0 is silent and the PPC was a wind hog. It boots a little faster and yes you can notice a speed difference in many places, BUT it's nothing to write home about unless you're pushing it hard. Most of us do not opperate that way on a day to day basis.
I tend to stay in the top range of almost every series, but if I'm honest about it, the speed/performance bumps in the last 3 years have been minimal compared to the amount of revisions.
Bottom Line - G5s are still great boxes and half the price of a MacPro. A good choice for someone wanting to get in without sticker shock.

E
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post #53 of 59
5/6/07 at 7:27am

Re: Have I told you guys lately how much I love my Mac?

Ron, glad to see you made the jump... heck, leap. I switched over in '02 and have never looked back. Whenever my friend asks for recommendations on a new computer yet rejects the mac, I just tell her to get something that rhymes with hell. She'll eventually get just that.

Oh, and I sure as heck don't miss those "missing .dll file" messages I used to get back in the day. That's what drove me to a mac.

Welcome aboard sir.
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post #54 of 59
5/6/07 at 8:59am
Thread Starter 

Re: Have I told you guys lately how much I love my Mac?

Hey buddy!

Long time no hear.

You?! A Mac person?

I'll tell you a quick interesting story....

Have a friend I met through the Internet that used to
hang out with me at my old apartment some 15 years ago
and basically taught me most everything I know about
PCs.

He was a hardcore PC user and went into a career that
had to do with website support.

Anyhow, I talk to him now and then and have been afraid
to tell him I went MAC. I thought he'd be insulted.

Well, finally yesterday, I broke the news to him over an
instant message. He wrote back and told me that he switched
to Mac years ago and thought that they were FAR superior to
PCs.

....and it's wild....I have rarely spoken to anyone that has
regretted going over to the MAC side.
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post #55 of 59
5/6/07 at 10:13am

Re: Have I told you guys lately how much I love my Mac?

Quote:
Originally Posted by DaveF
My wife used iWeb and her .Mac account to create her website http://www.halodesigns.net , and I'm impressed with what she accomplished with it. If you want an entry-level web design tool, iLife is worth the $80-$100 just for iWeb. And $100 a yr for .Mac isn't bad for a person who wants a website up and running without fooling around with the complexities/vagaries of domain hosting or FTP.

Although I helped my wife set acquire a domain name and point it to her .Mac account for a more professional website.
Dave, I probably should just keep my mouth shut, and I hate to rain on the parade, but effective web production involves far more than a good looking design. BTW, the design of that site is very nice and I particularly like how she was avoided the need for vertical scrolling on most monitors. The problem is, the site is virtually invisible to search engines. Much of the most important factors of how productive a web site is are hidden behind the scenes and your wife's site is completely lacking those parts. Unfortunately, building a site entirely with frames, as that site is, typically has severe disadvantages in this aspect, so there is no easy fix. My suggestion is that she either do some reading and research on how to make web sites completely effective from a commercial standpoint, or stick with her strengths by doing the visual design, then passing that on to a web developer who lacks her visual skills, but knows how to make the site perform.

I only say this because when you decide to do web development for pay, you really need to go beyond the purely visual and know how the entire process works.
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post #56 of 59
5/7/07 at 10:36am

Re: Have I told you guys lately how much I love my Mac?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Andrew Pratt
Microsofts downloadable desktop search tool isn't too bad and it should index your email...its not SpotLight but its better then the others IMO.

Thanks for the tip. Not spotlight is an understatement! This morning I installed it, and after it said indexing was done I did a search for an email (open ended - results are known to exist). It said there were no results.

So I open up the options for it, select advanced, select file types to index (because, you know, that's an *advanced* concept), see that out of the listed HUNDREDS of file types PST is NOT checked, so I check it, and tell it to index the contents. (I mention all this to indicate how cumbersome it is - no need for tech support.) I wait, it's done indexing, do a search, and no results. Arrrgh!

This is yet another example of how PCs may be penny-smart but pound (dollar) foolish. In my other post, I mentioned how I spent two days trying to get my PC to see my bluetooth phone (never worked), and spent two minutes doing the same thing on a Mac. What good is (or, rather, was) a faster processor in a PC when it still couldn't get the job done?? And now that processor advantage is gone (and price advantage too). Macs are penny-smart and pound-smart.

Now, how much time have I spent fussing with this? Sigh.
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post #57 of 59
5/7/07 at 9:09pm

Re: Have I told you guys lately how much I love my Mac?

Quote:
Originally Posted by JohnRice
Dave, I probably should just keep my mouth shut, and I hate to rain on the parade, but effective web production involves far more than a good looking design. ... The problem is, the site is virtually invisible to search engines.
John, thanks for the comment. Her interest is print-based graphic design, not web design. The website is purely an online business card. That said, I wasn't paying attention to issues of searchability when I helped her with it (she did the design and creation; I consulted on some technical issues ). I'll take a look at that with her and make sure we at least have ALT tags set, along with META data, and other such things.
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post #58 of 59
5/8/07 at 9:09am

Re: Have I told you guys lately how much I love my Mac?

Quote:
Originally Posted by DaveF
John, thanks for the comment. Her interest is print-based graphic design, not web design. The website is purely an online business card. That said, I wasn't paying attention to issues of searchability when I helped her with it (she did the design and creation; I consulted on some technical issues ). I'll take a look at that with her and make sure we at least have ALT tags set, along with META data, and other such things.
Those are some of the things I am talking about. Make sure to have a good description included, taking care to include lots of words people are likely to search for. Plus, using the domain as the title of the main page is completely wasting a valuable resource.

I understand the idea of the web site as a place to direct people interested in her services, but the greatest benefit is getting work from people you never met who are searching for a designer. It's like finding money on the street.
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post #59 of 59
5/8/07 at 11:06am

Re: Have I told you guys lately how much I love my Mac?

Its interesting that MS Search doesn't get your email as it finds Outlook Express messages out of the box without any extra settings.
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