New Imac User needs Help

[greentrees]

Afternoon All..
I recently purchased an imac (only ever used pc before) and would appreciate some valued help and advice should there be any imac users out there..

Thank You

[*Martin*]

Did you try the iMac before buying it?

Is there a specific reason you bought one over a PC?

You may want to be a bit more specific in what it is you're looking for. I could tell you how to switch it on, load the internet and navigate to meatspin (but I doubt ANYONE would want that)

[RecQuery]

Did you try the iMac before buying it?

Is there a specific reason you bought one over a PC?

You may want to be a bit more specific in what it is you're looking for. I could tell you how to switch it on, load the internet and navigate to meatspin (but I doubt ANYONE would want that)

No need to spin him around with technical terms now.

With stuff like this, just ask. Don't ask if you can ask, just ask.

[Kodiak]

I would say just sell the Imac and buy a good PC. My Son just bougt a 8 Core X 2,8 GHZ with 16GB Ram, 1 GB Graphics Card, 1 TB HD PC for £325. Much better than any IMac.

[greentrees]

No i didn't try one before buying one, have recently got a ipad and think its great, as my pc needed replacing urgently and reading lots of reviews about the imac i thought it would be better and more trouble free.... i'm not sure how to transfer my files over...

[*Martin*]

Could you post a link to where your son got that deal?

I wasn't saying don't get an iMac, I'm just curious as to why someone would get one over a PC especially without trying one.

Greentrees I'm assuming you wish to transfer pics and music? Can you not just borrow a USB HDD and copy and paste?

-----------------------------
Rec, once again I'm forced to spread the love around before repping you some more!

[John Little]

I've got IMAC - and it's great.

Welcome to the world of computers that work.

[Green_not_greed]

.... i'm not sure how to transfer my files over...

I've had Macs for years and echo what JL says - they are far more reliable and robust than pcs.

If its only file transfers that you need to do then as Martin suggests a USB HDD would be ideal. The Mac will immediately recognise the HDD and files.

If thats too small for your needs, or you dont want to buy one, then its relatively easy to set up the Mac as a server on the pc either through a hub or an RJ45 switcher cable. Depends what Mac OS you are running. See http://guides.macrumors.com/Networki..._with_Mac_OS_X

Good luck.

[squidge]

I'm just curious as to why someone would get one over a PC especially without trying one.

They are so beautiful

[Nettie]

I've got IMAC - and it's great.

Welcome to the world of computers that work.

Well said! could not agree more. Persevere with the iMac and you will never touch a PC again!

[Photographer]

Hello newby. & 'welcome' to the fold. Apple are well aware of the problems that ex Windows user have when they first encounter the Mac.
So I would add to the sound HDD advice so far a good read of the information available on the Apple website http://www.apple.com/uk/support/
To avoid (most) annoying comments about your use of a Mac try using the forums on the Apple support page or (usually a bit more fun) the forums on 'Mac Rumours' http://forums.macrumors.com/
New mac users are welcomed on both with open arms.
Happy to help on PM if really desperate. ;-)

[greentrees]

Thank you mac users for all your support, it does kinda feel like joining a new family. I'm just fed up with crash's, virus's and slow slow processing etc etc.. there seems so much to learn, does anyone have an opinion on wether the magic mouse or trackpad is better, i've only ever used a mouse before?

[TAFKAL]

To all those dissers of macs - how long does you pc take to start up? My mac takes 8 seconds to start from cold and is instant from standby. That's a good a reason as any... I hate the computers at work where you switch it in, go for a brew and it's still thinking about starting when you get back.You will love your mac - its a computer that just, well, works. Get some antivirus software. Although macs generally don't get viruses there are a few that they are susceptible to. Nothing like what a windoze computer gets though without antivirus I had 2 in 6 years

[billmoseley]

my wife uses an imac and leaves her nice and smooth works really well on hair removal

[pumkin]

Apple = Rolls Royce
PC = Rusty old bike

People go for Mac's because the craftsmanship & technology it offers is quite simply put, beautiful.

If anyone would prefer a PC over a Mac, they need their head examined.

[EDDIE]

The downside with buying a mac is there twice the price of a pc the upside is they last twice as long and are more reliable the thing with apple products the hardware is built for use with there software thats why its so reliable were with pcs there is so many people building with different bits of hardware and there trying to get windows to run on it perfectly but they just cant nail it on the head.
When me laptop breaksdown next time im going to get a mac and u can buy software for the mac so u can run software thats designed for windows so u can u have the best of both worlds.

[RecQuery]

Couple of things to clear up regarding the whole Mac vs PC thing. It's a misnomer really, both are common names for hardware and now that Apple have dropped PowerPC (architecture/CPU) and they only run on i386/x86-64 - basically Intel stuff - then Macs could technically be classed as PCs as again the term is used to denote architecture/hardware not operating system. At one point you could buy what was called a Hackintosh which was basically the same components used on 'Macs' packaged into a different box. The same plant making motherboards/CPUs/graphics cards for a 'Mac' is also making the same components to the same specifications for other companies (not all of them but some). If anything due to the small form factor and restricted air flow of an iMac - not a Mac Pro or Macbook/Macbook Pro - you could argue that they have a lower hardware life.

Moving onto the operating system OSX is based on BSD with some fancy graphics on top and it's own applications. BSD itself is based on Unix. Linux is also based on Unix.

People throwing around anecdotes about boot speed and performance are really being disingenuous. So much about it is based upon hardware and configuration. The system I'm on right now for example can do a cold boot (everything turned off, not hibernating or sleeping) to a usable OS (Linux Mint 12) in 5 seconds. The same system can boot to Windows 7 Home Premium in 7 seconds. Conversely I've seen OSX installs that have dragged to a crawl.

Basically what I'm saying is that it all depends on the individual user, the hardware they have and how they have set their machine up.

EDIT: I prefer PCs or rather Linux and Windows over OSX for many reasons, but not the usual propoganda that you hear. It's more to do with company ethos, practices etc. That being said in terms of technology OSX is fine, perhaps a bit lacking in the gaming department but it's getting better and it barely exists in the server market.

A system that someone has built themselves with good components or from a high end manufacturer (Not base Dell or Sony etc) will work just as well as 'Mac' hardware and be about 30% cheaper. The average PC however is built using cheap commodity OEM components and ships with a lot of crap those same companies install by default on top of Windows. Plus the average PC user is more careless with their hardware. That's where a lot of the better-build-quality myths come from.

We need to compare like-for-like with stuff like this, not your 5+ year old work computer managed by idiot sysadmins or the computer your friend got for £200 and lets anyone use.

[secrets in symmetry]

Afternoon All..
I recently purchased an imac (only ever used pc before) and would appreciate some valued help and advice should there be any imac users out there..

Thank You

Please feel free to ask as many questions as you like about Macs and OS X. Many of us can answer the simpler ones, and RecQuery can answer the geeky ones.

Don't be put off by RecQuery's geeky post. He really knows what he's talking about, and he can also keep it simple for the non-geeks.

Geeky postscript....

I wouldn't say "BSD itself is based on Unix" - unless you take the fundamentalist view that "Unix" is what came out of AT&T in the 1970s, and everything that everyone else did was "based" on that.

Geeky tangent....

The NeXT Computer "cube" was a cool machine.

[Photographer]

In general terms if you own a computer then it is a PC (Personal Computer). So I would say that my Apple machine is an Apple PC. Simple really.
Like many other I started with a Windows machine, seven of them to be precise; most of which ended their lives in a blaze of glory flying out of one window or another. I will not say that it was hardware or software or me that caused most of the problems but more the dreaded trilogy.
To go digital as a photographer I was pretty much forced into the PC world and despite hours of study and effort I struggled to find a set up that would produce the final product (image) with any consistency at all. I know others have a different history but this is mine ;-)
On a whim or out of despair I purchased the now legendary 12" MacBookPro. Within and astonishing 2/3 months I+it where cruising through photo shoots, image production, accounting and communication and the Windows machines, about £3000 worth where turned off, despatched to 'ebay' and I never looked back.
I understand in the broadest sense the software variations beneath the bonnet that Linux, Unix and others bring to the equation but in reality I now know that if something goes wrong with the processing of an image the likelihood it is MY error. It probably was with the old machines but it was impossible to be sure, hence the frustration. Now almost by default I check what I have done first.
The Apple ethos has bought me reliability, style (underrated) and most of all the peace of mind to stretch myself knowing my machines can handle it even if I cannot.
They (Apple) are not for everyone, for sure. However I will say that if you put creating and producing your ideas over all they are the methodology to go for.

With all due respect.

Photographer

[secrets in symmetry]

does anyone have an opinion on wether the magic mouse or trackpad is better, i've only ever used a mouse before?

In my opinion, it's a matter of personal taste, and also a matter of what you're used to:

I find the magic mouse less flexible if I've been using the trackpad for a while - but the mouse requires fewer fingers....

I find the trackpad needs too many fingers if I've been using the magic mouse for a while - but the trackpad is more flexible....

As others have said, an external hard disk drive (HDD) is good for transferring files from your old PC to your new iMac. You can then use the HDD for backups using Time Machine - assuming it's big enough.