Newbie Questions
Hello...
Ive been W98se user for the last 6 years.I didnt like XP so didnt bother to upgrade.From what i see and read about Vista I dont like that either.Ive also noticed that macs have come down in price and this has given me an interest in getting one of them instead of a windows machine.Ive been looking at this one...
http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/product/seo/688555
However I dont know anything about them so please forgive me if some of my questions seem ridiculous.First of all would there be a problem with my adsl bb connection or ISP using a mac?, are the router settings the same?.Obviously i guess i would have to install mac drivers that comes with the router.
Secondly i would only be using the mac for browsing (not gaming),and i do a lot of internet banking.If the banking site accepts firefox (which it does under windows) would it also accept it running on a mac?.
Thirdly i occasionaly use microsoft word and excel (office 2000) for letters a few spreadsheets etc.Is there a decent mac equivalent of these?.Finally would i be able to convert the document and excel files i already have into a mac equivalent? ,and still use them?.
Sorry once again if the questions seem foolish,
TIA
ellison
Ive been W98se user for the last 6 years.I didnt like XP so didnt bother to upgrade.From what i see and read about Vista I dont like that either.Ive also noticed that macs have come down in price and this has given me an interest in getting one of them instead of a windows machine.Ive been looking at this one...
http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/product/seo/688555
However I dont know anything about them so please forgive me if some of my questions seem ridiculous.First of all would there be a problem with my adsl bb connection or ISP using a mac?, are the router settings the same?.Obviously i guess i would have to install mac drivers that comes with the router.
Secondly i would only be using the mac for browsing (not gaming),and i do a lot of internet banking.If the banking site accepts firefox (which it does under windows) would it also accept it running on a mac?.
Thirdly i occasionaly use microsoft word and excel (office 2000) for letters a few spreadsheets etc.Is there a decent mac equivalent of these?.Finally would i be able to convert the document and excel files i already have into a mac equivalent? ,and still use them?.
Sorry once again if the questions seem foolish,
TIA
ellison
Comments
.Ive been looking at this one...
http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/product/seo/688555
Since that website is .uk, I am going to assume you're from the UK. That iMac is a nice machine. However, you should upgrade the RAM from 512MB to 1GB.
According to that site, that iMac's basic stats are:
If you're going to basically only be browsing the Internet, you could go with a slighlty smaller 17" screen (still fairly large,) a smaller 160GB HD (which is still a lot of space for doing web browsing and some text document stuff as your main computer uses) and spend an additional £30 to get a newer iMac with 1GB RAM and a faster 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo processor.
Of course, the choice is yours. Slightly larger 20" screen and larger 250GB HD (which you probably wouldn't even need)? or slightly smaller 17" screen, smaller 160GB HD, faster processor, double the RAM in a brand new iMac for only 30 more £'s?
Personally (for your uses) I would go with the newer 17" iMac with the faster 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo processor and double the RAM, for only £560.
Main iMac page -- http://www.apple.com/imac/
U.S. Apple Store iMac Selection Page -- http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore?family=iMac
However I dont know anything about them so please forgive me if some of my questions seem ridiculous.
No Apple/Mac related questions are ridiculous.
First of all would there be a problem with my adsl bb connection or ISP using a mac?
lol No.
are the router settings the same?.Obviously i guess i would have to install mac drivers that comes with the router.
I don't know, but if they are, they probably won't be drastically different and should be very quick and easy to figure out, as is the norm with most Mac/OS X basics.
As far as I know, you shouldn't have to install any drivers.
Secondly i would only be using the mac for browsing (not gaming),and i do a lot of internet banking.If the banking site accepts firefox (which it does under windows) would it also accept it running on a mac?
Of course. You can use Firefox or Safari (the browser that comes with OS X.)
Thirdly i occasionaly use microsoft word and excel (office 2000) for letters a few spreadsheets etc.Is there a decent mac equivalent of these?
There are many choices. I'll offer a few.
1. With CrossOver Mac 6.0 by Codeweavers, you can directly install Office 2000 and run it inside OS X without even having to install Windows.
CrossOver Mac 6.0 main page -- http://www.codeweavers.com/products/cxmac/
CrossOver Mac 6.0 Office 2000 page --
http://www.codeweavers.com/compatibility/browse/group/?app_parent=1545" target="_blank">
http://www.codeweavers.com/compatibility/browse/group/?app_parent=1545
2. With Desktop for Mac by Parallels you can install Windows and run Windows/Windows apps inside OS X.
Parallels for Mac -- http://www.parallels.com/en/products/desktop/]
3. With NeoOffice you can do word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, and drawing. It's free.
NeoOffice main page -- http://www.neooffice.org/
Finally would i be able to convert the document and excel files i already have into a mac equivalent? ,and still use them?
I believe that you can open, use, save files such as those with Apple's iWork program Pages.
Apple iWork Pages -- http://www.apple.com/iwork/pages/
A Mac will work fine on your Net connection. I have stunned lots of IT people by plugging in a surfing away with no other changes. The banking question is one you might want to check into; some banks do not support Mac, so give them a call (Mac has Fiefox, Safari, and other browsers, so one likely will work). Better to be safe than sorry on this one.
There are Mac versions of Word and Excel, but for only limited use, you may want to use Apple's Pages (which is great) and some other app for the spreadsheet. Apple unfortunately does not make a ggreat spreadsheet app at the moment (AppleWorks is a bit dated but it does a good job for some).
http://www.marinersoftware.com/sitepage.php?page=14
Mariner makes a word app as well as an office bundle. Don't use them myself so I cannot say how they work, but now you can do a little exploring. Personally, when I had cheaper access (i.e., when I was still a teacher nd had an academic discount) I use Excel for all of my grades and such. Everything integrated perfectly with the school's PCs and I never had to fiddle with anything.
With a Mac, you will likely find that your interests widen and that you will start using the machine for more things than you originally had planned. The iLfe apps are really great and allow you to do lots of interesting things really easily. They come pre-installed on your new Mac.
The one thing you will need to do is upgrade the base machine's RAM to at least 1GB. It is not a major outlay of cash and will make things really work smoothly.
If you have more questions, ask away. Also, take a minute to look around AI as manny newbies have come here asking lots of questions, so you may find some answers to questions you haven't even thought of yet.
Hello...
and i do a lot of internet banking.If the banking site accepts firefox (which it does under windows) would it also accept it running on a mac?.
ellison
Hi,
I'm a UK user - and I too do a lot of internet banking. I can confirm that FirstDirect and Citibank are Mac friendly through Safari, as are Barclaycard, MSDW and Banque Postale (french). However, FirstDirect do not offer the account consolidation service to Mac users just yet as they use, I believe, and ActiveX command/function whic is PC only.
Nationwide would not work through Safari, but is OK on Firefox.
In other words, internet banking generally works fine on a Mac, though occasionally you may need alternative browsers.
Regards,
David
@..Ø®£Z...
I hadnt thought about the presentation of my post..i am a little lazy in that respect ,but i would admit that the presentation in your reply does look much better
@ everyone else..
Thank you all for your suggestions and knowledge too.
I am definitly going to get a mac ,but im thinking of waiting for the leopard version that ive been reading about.I guess it will be preloaded on machines later this year.I dont know by how much this would affect prices though?.Everything i can do with windows seem to be ok on the mac too.I will want a dvd writer ,which i note that some of the 17" models only have the cd writer.
Thank you all once again ,and im sure you can look forward to me ,asking quite a few more questions ,in the not to distant future.
ellison