[squrly wrath87]

ok i have a question about OSX, well macs in general really. ok i am thinking on switching from windows to mac and i was wondering, is OSX easy to use? how different is it from XP? i mean i know theres many differences but will it be easy for a person thats new to macs?

[ghporter]

Welcome to MacNN's Forums!

To answer your questions:
1) Very easy to use-and very easy to switch to.
2) Quite different, but that really doesn't matter, because you won't have to "mess with the OS" anywhere near as much as you do with XP. It really is easier to use, with a few differences that you'll notice but eventually just know are there.

Take a look at Apple's Switcher Page to see some details.

[squrly wrath87]

Thank you so much. youve been a big help. one more thing............. about OSX, like do you ahev to update it, i mean sorta like windows update? and what do you do if it freezes (if it freezes)?

[analogika]

Originally Posted by squrly wrath87

Thank you so much. youve been a big help. one more thing............. about OSX, like do you ahev to update it, i mean sorta like windows update?

Well, "have to" is a little strong.
It will search for updates weekly automatically, and if you wish to update the system manually, you can select "Software update..." from the Apple menu.

and what do you do if it freezes (if it freezes)?

It doesn't.

[squrly wrath87]

ok...and thanks......i hate when this stupid computer freezes.

[Catfish_Man]

Originally Posted by squrly wrath87

ok...and thanks......i hate when this stupid computer freezes.

Expanding on his answer, it *usually* doesn't. Sometimes an individual program (rather than the whole system) will freeze or crash, in which case you can choose "Force Quit" from the Apple menu. It's pretty rare, though. OSX is quite stable in general.

[analogika]

Yeah, there is the equivalent of the Task Manager, accessed either through "Force Quit..." from the Apple menu or via Apple-Alt-Esc - or by click-holding (or right-clicking) on the hung program on the Dock and selecting "Force Quit".

But I haven't seen a complete system freeze in YEARS on my machines, and the only ones at work that I've seen lock up in recent times had hardware problems, like defective memory or so.

[B Gallagher]

Yes, specific programs will freeze from time to time, but the OSX is very unlikely to freeze. Even when a program does freeze, it's a piece of cake to Force Quit it. It means you can get back to what you were doing almost immediately.

Have you ever used Macs or OSX before? If not, I strongly suggest you go down to a nearby shop which sells Apples, whether it be the Apple Store or somewhere else, and have a play. Don't worry if you take half an hour, or an hour mucking about on one of the store demo computers - worry about feeling comfortable and being in a friendlly working environment with the OS. Try to understand how it works, and decide whether the way it works is one which you are comfortable with.

I'm sure you will like Macs and OSX, but this is the old rule - it's better to try before you buy.

Good luck.

[squrly wrath87]

yeah i was gonna do that. i dont even have one yet and i like them

[B Gallagher]

Awesome man. Any questions feel free to post them here - I've found that the NN is very helpful.

And by the way - that's a good sign.

[squrly wrath87]

for the ones who have macs (most likely all of you) what is startup like? it has to be way different then XP

[CaptainHaddock]

Start-up on a Mac is very fast, maybe 20 seconds.

There's no weird text-mode BIOS screen during start-up, because Macs don't use an archaic BIOS designed for 8086 machines like PCs do. Instead, they use Open Firmware, which allows all hardware drivers to be initialized before the OS starts. This allows for cool hardware functions like target disk mode (your Mac can boot as a Firewire hard disk) and Bluetooth waking from sleep. You never see the firmware on start-up, and you never need to tinker with it.

The desktop is usable as soon as it appears. The Mac doesn't keep loading system components in the background for 2 minutes after the desktop appears like Windows does.

Note that if you own a Mac, you will not be booting very often. Many Mac users, myself included, only reboot every few months when there's a new OS update.

[squrly wrath87]

oh great. on my computer it takes 5 minutes to load XP and 10 to load Windows 98 on my laptop

[squrly wrath87]

when i do get my mac, i am going to get office but before i do, is there any word processing program already on OS X (kinda like WordPad on Windows)?

[Love Calm Quiet]

OS X comes with TextEdit. Not super: but basic. And can export to .doc format, although its default is .rtf.
You may be able to score MS Word for Mac cheap as an educational item if you qualify.
Welcome!

[mattsgotredhair]

textedit

[Gavin]

Text edit is like word pad but better. It comes with the machine.

I just realized it's hard to tell exactly what software comes with a mac. The demos in the stores all have a boatload of demo software on them. I'll say that Macs come with plenty of basic stuff that makes 'em useful out of the box. Web browser, graphics viewer, text editor, etc. It's usually less flashy than what you might get bundled with an HP or whatever but its usually less hoaky too ( who's really going to use "Recipe Organizer 2002, Limited Edition ? ). And there is a lot of decent stuff available free for download.

Apple sells something called Pages that might work for you.

Open Office is an open source MS Office clone. Does about 85% of what office does and it's free. It's worth checking out.
http://porting.openoffice.org/mac/
http://www.neooffice.org/

[squrly wrath87]

ok, and last question, because i know im being annoying and asking too many questions but,


for thoes who have an iBook or PowerBook, how hot does it get on ur lap? and for the ones who have/had the older ones, any difference from the newer ones?


thanks.

[TheIceMan]

Best thing is to go to the nearest Apple store or place where they have Apple computers/laptops and try them out for yourself. Truth is, we (most of us) are Mac fans. We love it for its simplicity, for its security, for its beauty, and most important because "it just works." I was on a Dell desktop running Windows XP back in 2002. Man, that seems so ancient now. For me personally, I got so sick of XP and the blue screen of death. Unlike some, I was really good at keeping my computer in shape by updating/downloading the latest Windows update and running antivirus softwares.

None of that matter because it STILL didn't work right. Today, three years later, I look back and laugh because I was suffering when I didn't need to be. Anyways, that's just my take on it.

[squrly wrath87]

oh, will i be glad when i get my mac. im sick and tired of the BSoD and i hope the AirPort card thing can have a strong signal from distances away, beacuse my WiFi card, within 5 minutes, loses connection 10 times. i will be glad when i get a mac

[wataru]

If wireless reception is important to you, you should probably get an iBook not a PowerBook. Last I heard, the metal body of the PowerBook causes reduced reception as compared to the plastic iBook.

[squrly wrath87]

k thank you everyone, you have been the biggest help. i think im gonna like this fourm

[B Gallagher]

Hey man - don't worry about asking lots of questions. That's what we're all here for.

[Nai no Kami]

Welcome.
About how hotter does a laptop get, I can bring you the following information. I own a PowerBook 12', the model prior to the last one introduced weeks ago. I personally do office related stuff most of the time, so I set my processor performance to "Automatic" a mode that lowers the processor cycles unless the task you need to do is very processor intensive.
This keeps the fan off even now in summer with temperatures over 30ºC (86ºF). However, if you do processor intensive tasks, the temperature will rise surely. At least my computer model dissipates heat through the underside (and aluminium is good for that).
Now, if you not only do processor intensive tasks but also GPU intensive tasks like flying from KLAX to KLAS in X-Plane, the case can reach very hot temperatures and your Mac will turn into the most expensive, beautiful and versatile hairdryer ever*.
The upper side, particularly where the mic resides, gets pretty hot. I have not experienced, however, the keyboard to be uncomfortably hot, and not even the wrist zone (which holds both the battery and the HD, and gets warm). Some posters, here, vary in their opinions.
On the whole, I'm pretty much comfortable with my computer.

*My former job "assigned" me an IBM ThinkPad R51. Although sturdy as a battle tank (and heavy as an anvil), it would produce a current of hot air through the exhaust at the side capable to be used to remove the paint job off of a door or a frontispice, even when doing the most menial tasks.

PS: You have quite interesting spelling habits: you don't use caps at all, but managed to capitalize iBook, PowerBook, AirPort and even Windows, BSoD and WiFi correctly. Amusing.

[rehoot]

Originally Posted by squrly wrath87

when i do get my mac, i am going to get office but before i do, is there any word processing program already on OS X (kinda like WordPad on Windows)?

You don't need MS Office unless you are have to get it for compatibility with MS Access Databases at work or you are doing very technical stuff in Excel or publishing documents on behalf of a large corporation. Putting MS Outlook on your Mac is undoubtedly the best thing to do if you want to get viruses. This statement is not just a consequence of my personal hatred of Microsoft, I read through the viruses identified by Symantec and the ones that have actually caused problems are related to Microsoft products.

The best FREE suite of office software is NeoOfficeJ, which runs on Mac OS X (native) and has clones of Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Draw and other goodies (no database). It is slower than MS, but it is free. This is the latest version of the OpenOffice software, but the NeoOffice J is tweaked for the Mac:

http://www.planamesa.com/neojava/en/download.php

If you do graphics work and don't have much cash, try GIMP (download it using Fink as described below). If you do database work, you may want to use MySQL and use PHP for the front end, but there is a very steep learning curve for this.

If you want to create professionally typeset documents, you can spend money on PageMaker, Quark, Illustrator (?) or others, or use LaTeX with the Emacs text editor (both are free -- I use the version of Emacs from www.mindlube.com) There is a very steep learning curve for using LaTeX if you want to create highly customized documents, but the output is very good.

To search for some good, free programs for your Mac, download the Fink Commander program and be sure to download "BINARY" files (since you will probably have difficulty compiling the source programs). This program makes it easy to install free programs and keep them updated.

[wataru]

If you want to use GIMP, the best solution is Gimp.app. I also use the open source Adobe Illustrator alternative Inkscape.

[zign]

Originally Posted by rehoot

You don't need MS Office unless you are have to get it for compatibility with MS Access Databases at work or you are doing very technical stuff in Excel or publishing documents on behalf of a large corporation.

i don't think you can get MS Access for MacOS.

[zign]

Originally Posted by squrly wrath87

when i do get my mac, i am going to get office but before i do, is there any word processing program already on OS X (kinda like WordPad on Windows)?

I believe Tiger comes with Apple Works, which has Word Processing, Spreadsheets, Database, Drawing, Painting, Presentation. It is compatible with MS Word. I am not sure about spreadsheets. Databases would most likely not be compatible with MS Access.

[Chuckit]

Tiger doesn't include AppleWorks. Some computers have had it bundled, but it's never been installed as part of the OS, as far as I can recall.

Anyway, TextEdit is much more equivalent to WordPad.

[zign]

Originally Posted by Chuckit

Tiger doesn't include AppleWorks. Some computers have had it bundled, but it's never been installed as part of the OS, as far as I can recall.

Anyway, TextEdit is much more equivalent to WordPad.

It came with my iBook and iMac. Maybe all new computers get it as a bonus?

[Gavin]

Originally Posted by wataru

If wireless reception is important to you, you should probably get an iBook not a PowerBook. Last I heard, the metal body of the PowerBook causes reduced reception as compared to the plastic iBook.

I'd say that's true. My iBook has better reception than my dad's powerbook. My thanksgiving horror story was listing to the complaining as his internet connection kept dropping out while mine is going fine.

even so, the built in antenna on the powerbook is still better than most pc's


The powerbook gets uncomfortably hot after a while. Like, have to put a pillow under it hot.

the iBook is too warm for shorts but OK with pants (still feels warm) - it's weird, actually it doesn't feel hot so much as it feels like someone is yanking out a leg hair.

[msuper69]

Originally Posted by rehoot

You don't need MS Office unless you are have to get it for compatibility with MS Access ...

MS Office for the Mac does NOT have MS Access.