Mac

[dragonyphoenix]

The time has come, the walrus said, to speak of many things ... like dumping Windows and buying a Mac. I'm thinking laptop because I don't want to be stuck to one room. Any Mac users out there willing to give me tip on what I should look for and/or avoid with a Mac? I'd appreciate it.

Thanks!

Comments

[velvetwhip.livejournal.com]

I am just happy you're able to get yourself a new computer. Yay!


Gabrielle

[dragonyphoenix.livejournal.com]

I pretty much have to. Less than two months and Dad's old computer is so slow it's hardly bringing up sites at all.

[velvetwhip.livejournal.com]

I know what you're going through. *hugs*


Gabrielle

[dragonyphoenix.livejournal.com]

Thanks. Non-working computers, so very frustrating!

[snogged.livejournal.com]

I switched from Windows to Mac. I have a MacBook Pro. I found it refurbished thru the Apple Store. I do love it, but it took some getting used to.

Good luck!

[dragonyphoenix.livejournal.com]

Thanks. That's the second rec for a MacBook Pro I've gotten. reassuring, that. ;-)

[rebcake.livejournal.com]

If you're close to an Apple store, I recommend taking advantage of the free workshops as often as possible. Getting the one-to-one membership is a great idea, also. Totally worth the money if the geography allows you to get there at least once a month.

http://www.apple.com/retail/learn/one-to-one/

P.S. Apache Open Office works great if you're used to MS Office and don't want to buy a new version for the new computer.

[dragonyphoenix.livejournal.com]

Thanks, there's an Apple store down the road, ten to fifteen minutes away.

And I love Open Office. It's what I use now (other than for word count which is sadly messed up in Office.) But, yay! Something will be familiar! *huge grin*

[rebcake.livejournal.com]

FWIW, I think word count works okay in Open Office on my Mac Mini. I haven't double checked against anything else, though. I know I get widely different word counts depending where I post things, though. Everybody counts … differently?

[dragonyphoenix.livejournal.com]

In my copy of Open Office:
This is 2 words: "Hello
This is 1: Hello"
This is 3 Hello - there

And, yes, everybody counts differently. ;-)

[futterwackens.livejournal.com]

You might be updating to Libreoffice.... It's the newest version of Openoffice.:)

[dragonyphoenix.livejournal.com]

Huh, I hadn't heard of that one.

[futterwackens.livejournal.com]

Well both openoffice and Libreoffice are opensource.. and a majority of Linux users use them as their wordprocessors. here is a link to the updated program.:)
https://www.libreoffice.org/download/libreoffice-fresh/

[dragonyphoenix.livejournal.com]

Thanks.

[futterwackens.livejournal.com]

You are so welcome .:)

[feliciacraft.livejournal.com]

I recently went through this exercise and found this article pretty helpful:
http://www.imore.com/macbook-air-vs-macbook-pro-which-macbook-model-should-you-get

If you have another monitor at home to plug the laptop into, then screen size may not be a big issue. If you intend to travel a lot with it, then light-weight may be a priority. If you do anything requiring intense processing like video editing (which...I'm not sure you do?), then the fastest CPU with a large memory bank is likely a must-have. A small hard drive (small is apparently 128 GIG these days, which is a lot unless you're a video/image creator) can be easily offset with an external hard drive.

I second what rebcake said, best see them in person if you can. I would recommend getting one with Retina display if possible...your eyes would thank you.

Anyway, the best laptop for you of course depends on what your needs are. A general computer rule of thumb is: Hardware specs (CPU, hard drive, memory size, screen size), weight, and cost--choose any two. :)

[dragonyphoenix.livejournal.com]

Thanks. That article is extremely helpful.

Would my Mac work with a Dell monitor?

No video editing. I write, mostly fanfic, and surf the web. I can save everything off my computer onto an 8G drive. I know because I backed it up two switch from my roomie's old computer to my Dad's old computer.

[feliciacraft.livejournal.com]

Most monitors (including Dell) will be compatible. You may need a new cable or adapter to connect the monitor to the Mac laptop which has either a USB or a Firewire connector (or something similar), depending on which laptop you get. Not a big deal. It's a standard cable that any computer supplies store will have and the sales "genius" at the Apple store can help you with.

[dragonyphoenix.livejournal.com]

Thanks. Good to know.

[futterwackens.livejournal.com]

I use a mac book pro. They are streamline and have more memory.:)

[dragonyphoenix.livejournal.com]

I'm getting a lot of recs for the MacBook Pro. Thanks.