Mac G5 for me? (Newbee needs help)

Comments

• Reply 1 of 10

  ijmac Posts: 40member

  November 26, 2004 4:41PM

  http://www.apple.com/uk/switch/
  
  
  
  This site might be able to answer a lot of your questions.
• Reply 2 of 10

  mpw_amherst Posts: 563member

  November 26, 2004 9:36PM

  I have an iMac G5. It is the best Mac I've ever owned. I'm also a student, working ina PC centric enviroment and cans afely say that in the answer to all your questions is - you should have no problems. There is MSN and ICQ available for Mac, I receive and send documents that I read and write in Mac Office. The Mac, in my opinion, is by far the ebst solution for music, videos, photos and internet.
  
  
  
  However, beware - the enw enviroment will take a bit of getting used to. However, in the end it is much more intuitive and reliable. As long as you have your PS2 for games you won't regret it - and with the iMac G5 you can watch DVDs in widescreen too!
  
  
  
  Mike
• Reply 3 of 10

  sworthy Posts: 71member

  November 27, 2004 12:46AM

  Quote:
  

  
  Originally posted by MacforMe
  
  [BI'm gonna use it mainly for surfing the web. Writing. Manage photos and video's.
  
  I'm not up for a load of programs, tuning and tweaking. I want a fast and trustworthy computer.
  
  I've had enough of small hick up's on my pc.
  
  
  
  Nobody I know uses Mac's so I need to be able to communicate in a easy way with pc's.
  
  
  
  1: If I get files from a pc, can I play and work with them on the G5?
  
  
  
  2: Is there a IM for Mac who works with MSN and ICQ?
  
  
  
  3: Can I send/mail files, articles, photo's and video etc. to a pc so the reciver can get it hassle free?
  
  Can I recive files, articles, photo's, video etc from a pc without trouble?
  
  
  
  4: Can I download stuff from the net and use it the same way a pc can?
  
  
  
  5: If i download something can it be used on a pc?
  
  
  
  6: Will the G5 be faster than my current pc?
  
  [/B]
  

  
  

  
  
  I'll take a shot:
  
  
  
  1. .jpg's, .pdf's, and all the other file formats are 100% compatible, if you mean .exe (windows applications, the answer is no)
  
  
  
  2.Yes, search macupdate.com or versiontracker - there are a few options
  
  
  
  3. Yes - and with Apple's iLife software it's much easier as well. For example there is a button in iPhoto that emails the selected pictures, and will even resize them for you so the email will be a much smaller size (useful for those with 3mb email accounts).
  
  
  
  4. Of course. Though remember, applications are either for windows or for macs, so make sure you download the right one.
  
  
  
  5. Of course. Though remember, applications are either for windows or for macs, so make sure you download the right one.
  
  
  
  6. Yes, it should feel faster, though probably not by a lot. Remember, the iMac is a consumer machine, if you're really looking for speed, go with a dual processor powermac. However, it's certainly stable, fairly quick, and a great deal - especially for a mac! Take the plunge, you won't look back. And if you ever have any questions, you've found a great resource here.
• Reply 4 of 10

  macforme Posts: 3member

  November 27, 2004 2:50AM

  Thanx for the ansvers!
  
  
  
  I'm going for a iMac G5 1.8 with the 20" screen.
  
  
  
  Don't get enough cash until the beginng of january...
  
  Gonna be a sad Christmas...
  
  
  
  My extern harddisc, my scanner and printer are grey and ugly. Does matching harddisc, scanner and printer exists?
• Reply 5 of 10

  danielctull Posts: 586member

  November 27, 2004 4:10AM

  For printers (and maybe scanners), I'm hoping HP to come out with white variants soon as they seem to be sitting very close to Apple at the moment and have launched their small photo printers in an elegant white.
  
  
  
  This is purely a guestimate from where they're sitting at the moment though.
• Reply 6 of 10

  robin hood Posts: 513member

  November 28, 2004 9:30AM

  I recently got an 20" iMac G5 for my sister, and she could not be happier with it. It is a speedy machine, but I do recommend upgrading the memory to 1GB (2GB is a bit expensive) to get the most out of it. I paid $138 for two 512MB chips, and installed them myself in under 5 minutes. No bother.
• Reply 7 of 10

  macforme Posts: 3member

  November 28, 2004 11:06AM

  Yes, I'm hoping that HP or others will come up with a printer and scanner to match the iMac.
  
  
  
  Guess I have to wait and see...
• Reply 8 of 10

  maccrazy Posts: 2,658member

  November 29, 2004 8:44AM

  YES YES YES GO FOR IT!
• Reply 9 of 10

  kenaustus Posts: 924member

  November 29, 2004 9:44AM

  I've totally moved from the PC to the Mac over the last 2+ years. The last piece of the puzzle was a 20" G5 iMac that I ordered the day it was announced - at 6 AM no less.
  
  
  
  I do have one proprietary app that requires XP and I run that under VPC - slow, but workable.
  
  
  
  In terms of software, MS Office is available for the Mac and is considered better than the Win version. iLife is great for basics, but I use PhotoShop Elements 3 when repairing old family pics. FinalCut Express is available at a discount price of $99 when you buy the iMac, which will take care of the videos. Pics and videos are going to be a joy on the iMac. I am, however, in the camp that says you need a gig of memory minimum for pics and videos.
  
  
  
  As for other software, there is more than you will be able to use. The Apple site has a listing as does:
  
  
  
  http://osx.hyperjeff.net/Apps/cats.php
  
  
  
  Hyperjeff appears to be a guy who is making the list of 11,000+ OS X apps (freeware through commercial software) because he enjoys the challenge - no ads on the site! Between now and when you get your iMac you can spend hours going through the site and making a list of apps that you what to play with.
  
  
  
  Remember that when you get the iMac you can sell the old PC on ebay to help pay for it. Boost the HD as much as possible when ordering the iMac, Bluetooth has to be ordered with the computer in order to get an internal option and memory is too expensive from Apple - plan on a 3rd party vendor, such as Crucial, for boosting RAM. Other options are the wireless keyboard and mouse and, most important for me, AppleCare.
  
  
  
  Have fun anticipating the iMac - you're going to love it!
• Reply 10 of 10

  benroethig Posts: 2,782member

  November 29, 2004 6:02PM

  Quote:
  

  
  Originally posted by MacforMe
  
  Yes, I'm hoping that HP or others will come up with a printer and scanner to match the iMac.
  
  
  
  Guess I have to wait and see...
  

  
  

  
  
  It'd be nice Apple would have HP build Apple branded versions of the 3740, 5740, and PSC1350. The 3740 would be bundled as standard with eMac and iMac.