Windows vs Mac: Detailed Experiment
So, I'm a long time Windows user who has never owned a Mac. I've set out to find out what the Mac is all about and if the saying of "It just works." really holds true. Start at the beginning and follow my journey into the world of Apple.
http://macmyth.blogspot.com/
http://macmyth.blogspot.com/
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Web Surfing
Internet Explorer 7 -> Mac: Safari
Use Safari3 Beta, Firefox latest, and/or Camino
Email
Outlook 2007 -> Mac: Tige rMail 2 or Outlook 2004 for Mac?
You mean Entourage Office 2004 for Mac. You may like Tiger Apple Mail
Office Applications
Office 2007 -> Mac: MS Office 2004; What about Access? I guess this may be the one thing I would be forced to boot into Windows for?
Firstly, try iWork'08. Pages whips Word, Numbers is killer, and Keynote makes PowerPoint look infantile. Don't boot into Windows, explore Parallels and VMWare Fusion.
Chatting
Trillian Astra -> Mac: Adium?
Various opinions abound, but Adium is an interesting start
Web Development
Macromedia DreamWeaver 8 (compatible for Mac OS X)
for Adobe, use CS3 suite for best experience. It's smooth and fast.
Music
iTunes (duh, it's compatible)
...and nicer than the Windows version... you'll see.
Photo Management
Picasa 2 -> Mac: iPhoto looks like it will have all the features I need, plus there is a Picasa plug-in for iPhoto that will let me upload my pictures to my Picasa Web Albums that I use frequently.
Nice. Get up to speed with iPhoto '08, and check for Picasa Web Albums compatibility. There are also various plugins for different online photo hosting stuff, I believe.
Photo Editing
Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.0 (compatible for Mac OS X)
You can pretty much use iPhoto '08. Otherwise, PhotoshopCS3. I hate to sound like a Mac Snob, but Photoshop Elements is .... heh...
Video Editing
Adobe Premier Elements 3.0 -> Mac: iMovie; It looks like Apple has some pretty decent movie editing/creation software out of the box. I am anxious to test this out.
I think you will be blown away by iMovie '08. Be sure to get a FireWire or "i.Link" camcorder for best experience...
Remote Desktop
I use Windows Remote Desktop client frequently to control a remote server. Microsoft has a beta version of the client out now for the Mac which will allow me to accomplish the same tasks.
I would suggest explore free or paid options from www.realvnc.com. Also note the VNC viewer "Chicken of The VNC" ... http://sourceforge.net/projects/cotvnc/
PDA/Phone Sync
Now called Windows Mobile Device Center in Vista, I need some software for Mac that will sync my MS Mobile Windows 5.0 phone/pda to my computer. I am going to try this one out first: The Missing Sync for Windows Mobile
Yup, try out Missing Sync... Eventually, get an iPhone ??
Financial Management
MS Money 2007 -> Mac: Quicken? I'm not excited about having to change.
...Hmm... changing to the Mac will prove worth it overall, I think.
What I would strongly recommend is you run WindowsXP2Pro in Parallels Desktop 3.0+ or VMWare Fusion 1.0+ . Bootcamp is useful for gaming, no doubt. But in non-gaming areas, having your Mac side by side with Windows apps will provide you a smooth transition and provide a large margin for peace-of-mind.
At this stage, mostly either one would stick with Office2004, or simply switch to iWork'08. I know I have.
The middle ground of the laggy and memory hogging Office2004 (well, admittedly because of Rosetta), or Office2008 with no macros, VBA, and whose main feature is "compatibility"... yeah, Office2004/2008 will be pretty irrelevant by end of 2008. Which is probably when Office2008 will probably be released
Yeah, either iWork'08 or full Office2003/2007 in Parallels or VMWare. Or both.
The latest iMovie in iLife '08 is a movie-organization tool (think iPhoto for clips), which the old iMovie was *completely* missing, but the actual editing features have, apparently, been reduced a bit. Apple is offering the old iMovie '06 for free as a download for those who need/prefer the old editing tools. RHI that the new iMovie will be getting those tools RSN, but just FYI.
Obviously, that last sentence needs more acronyms. And, a disclaimer: I don't own iLife '08, so I'm going by hearsay here.
Apple is offering the old iMovie '06 for free as a download for those who need/prefer the old editing tools.
I think iMovie HD is being offered for free because the system requirements for iMovie '08 are so steep, a G5 or Intel processor, that people with a G4 powered mac wouldn't purchase iLife '08.
I think iMovie HD is being offered for free because the system requirements for iMovie '08 are so steep, a G5 or Intel processor, that people with a G4 powered mac wouldn't purchase iLife '08.
Not according to what Apple says. It is only for those who have purchased and installed iLife '08. Now when you download iMovie HD 6, has Apple inserted a check to see if iLife ?08 is installed and if not then iMovie HD 6 will not run?
About iMovie HD 6
iMovie HD 6, previously distributed with iLife ?06, is available for download for those who have purchased and installed iLife ?08
System Requirements
* Mac OS X 10.3.9
* Mac OS X 10.4.3 or later
* Mac OS X 10.4.4 recommended
* iLife '08
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