Questions for Mac Users (Vanity)

I use photoshop for the Mac and it works great!

I would steer away from Paint programs as the ones I have seen want to save files at Bitmaps.

“. . . but I seem to recall that CompUSA went belly up.”

They were going to declare bankruptcy, and then Global Computer Supply/Tiger Direct bought them out. They’re going to rename the whole combined company CompUSA, much like when SBC bought AT&T and kept the more famous name. Global is my supplier at work, and I’m stoked about getting an official Apple reseller.

Some states insist you pay the omitted sales tax on mail order when you file your state income tax return. Your results may vary.

Got a MacBook refurb from www.macconnection.com with a warranty for around $800. Works great,using it right now and never going back to pc.

1) Is there a good, reputable Apple specialty store somewhere around Yonkers, NY (White Plains, etc) where she could go for a good demo, and that employs knowledgeable people? I seem to recall that there's a CompUSA near Central Ave and 119, but I don't know if it's one that sells Apple, and more importantly, I wonder how good any of their sales reps are...

CompUSA does sell Macs, but the knowledge level of the staff is hit or miss. Most CompUSA stores have a section dubed the "store with a store" with Mac hardware and software.

I was surprised to hear that you had a bad experience at the Apple store. In my experience, the folks there have been knowledgeable and helpful. But I've been using Macs for 20+ years, so I wasn't very demanding. And I'm sure it varies depending on how busy the store is at the moment -- the sales reps can't always sit with a customer for several minutes straight.

My advice to anyone thinking about switching to a Mac is to sit down with one and take it for a spin. An Apple store is okay for that, but better would be if you have a friend who could bring one over and walk her through it, say, over lunch or dinner.

2) How dangerous is using mail order to save some money on the MACs?

Not dangerous at all. New or factory-refurbed Macs haven Apple warranty, and you can buy AppleCare, the extended warranty. I'm not usually a fan of extended warranties, but I'd recommend it for a laptop.

Has anyone used dealmac.com?

Many, many times. Note that dealmac is not a retailer -- just a price-comparison site. The sister site for stuff that isn't Mac-specific is dealnews.com.

Are there any reputable mail order MAC dealers?

Anyone listed on dealmac.com is probably a safe bet. They drop dealers from their listings if there are enough unresolved complaints. I've done business with smalldog and a couple of others whose names I can't remember at the moment.

Mac prices tend to be fairly uniform, but you can still save a considerable chunk of change with mail-order. The law is that if you have a "business presence" in a given stat, you have to collect sales tax. If you buy from a smaller reseller with no presence in your state, you can escape the tax.

I bought a G3 iBook a little over 4 years ago, factory refurb, and the price direct from Apple was the same as the price from a third-party reseller. About a thousand bucks. But by going with the out-of-state site, I saved nearly a hundred bucks in sales tax.

Are there any issues to watch out for when buying a new MAC mail order? What about warranty issues? What about going with a refurbed system?

I have had no problems with Apple refurbs. Just make sure that it's a factory refurb, and not a vendor refurb -- Apple's warranty only applies if they did the refurbing.There is a section on the online Apple store where they sell refurbs and discontinued models.

3) Does the MAC come with a paint program? How does it compare with some of the freeware/shareware or even commercial PC programs? Are there any freeware/shareware "paint" programs for MACs? Any decent (but simple) commercial paint programs?

I use Photoshop, and I don't know all that much about the competitors. But the GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) is a popular paint and photo-editing program. It made its fame on *ix, but it runs on OS X. Freeware, open source.

http://www.gimp.org/downloads/

4) How is file compatability between PCs and MACs?

Pretty much a non-issue these days. If her files are in a standard format, no worries -- and if they're in an oddball format, you can export from the PC or find a translator.

I figure that I'll either burn all of her work to CDs or maybe copy them onto a flash drive to move to the MAC. Are MACs OK with bitmap (.BMP) files? I'm sure that they're probably OK with TIFFs, PCX, GIF, and JPG (or am I assuming too much?)

No problem with any of those. And if you're comfortable with popping open the PC case, it might be less hassle to just buy a firewire or USB external drive enclosure and hook the PC drive straight to the Mac.

5) She would like to be able to use some of her existing hardware if possible. She's got an HP Office Jet 6110 "All in One" and according to the HP web site, it should work. She's also got a Wacom graphics tablet, a CTE-430/W. I really couldn't find anything much about this on the Wacom web site. I did find a reference to the Graphire3 in a google search based on the model number. However, I don't know if this is a USB or a serial interface

I had no luck with a model number search -- all the google hits are in Japanese. Did she get the tablet in Asia? The closest i got was the CTE/b1, and it indeed is supported on OS X. The printer/scanner should be just fine and dandy. I think all HPs are supported on the Mac.

Mac/PC file compatibility is basically a non-issue (except for MS Office files sometimes). Macs are standard for the art-related departments of pretty much every school I’ve seen, and most graphics-oriented businesses I know of use them extensively. They come with a pretty nice assortment of basic music/movie/graphics program, though if you want a paint-like program Photoshop Elements works beautifully as one, and has a lot of options for things like brushes, textures, etc, and is really easy to use for just making ‘pixel art’.

Re: MacMall. Sales tax.

Doesn’t work for me. We’re both in California.

Thanks to everyone for all the terrific advice!!!

Mark

1) Is there a good, reputable Apple specialty store somewhere around Yonkers, NY (White Plains, etc)

Yes - Apple Store in White Plains

Store Address

125 Westchester Ave.
White Plains, NY 10601
(914) 428-1877

2) How dangerous is using mail order to save some money on the MACs?

Mail order? Amazon is a top-notch Mac retailer. MacZone and PCZone are not quite so high on my recomendation list.

Dealmac.com is not a retail sight - it is a bargain listing sight as well as a message board for mac related and general “deal” related discussions. I have received some good technical help on the dealmac message board from time to time.

3) Does the MAC come with a paint program? How does it compare with some of the freeware/shareware or even commercial PC programs?

Corel Painter, and Painter Essentials (”light” version)

Art Rage (free)

Sketch Book Pro

Studio Artist

And there are others

4) How is file compatability between PCs and MACs? I figure that I’ll either burn all of her work to CDs or maybe copy them onto a flash drive to move to the MAC. Are MACs OK with bitmap (.BMP) files? I’m sure that they’re probably OK with TIFFs, PCX, GIF, and JPG (or am I assuming too much?)

If it is a graphic file, the MacOS can handle it. For any photo-related stuff (and some artistic stuff as well), check out GraphicConverter - it is a bit more consumer-friendly photoshop alternative. Pretty powerful and can open/manipulate literally ANY graphic file format.

5) She would like to be able to use some of her existing hardware if possible. She’s got an HP Office Jet 6110 “All in One” and according to the HP web site, it should work. She’s also got a Wacom graphics tablet, a CTE-430/W. I really couldn’t find anything much about this on the Wacom web site. I did find a reference to the Graphire3 in a google search based on the model number. However, I don’t know if this is a USB or a serial interface model (the Graphire3 mentions USB), and that question is WAY beyond what my step mother is able to answer for me. She’s afraid to follow the cable and tell me what the connector looks like. If it is a USB model, it should work with no problems. I don’t know about a serial model.

Serial model will not work, USB probably will.

Apple refurbs (actually from Apple) are a good deal - and have the exact same warranty (1 year) as new machines - and are also eligible for AppleCare warranty if you so desire. I have owned both brand new and refurb Apple machines - and I couldn’t tell the difference. In fact, my desktop look absolutely perfect without a single scratch or other mark.

I’m both a Mac and PeeCee guy. A friend of mine faced the same dilemma for his in-laws. He got them an iMac and hasn’t seen them since. He’s very pleased with his purchase.

http://www.ifoapplestore.com/stores/apple_stores.pdf

I'm very surprised at her not getting knowledgeable Apple reps in an Apple store...

I'm not. Some of the sales reps at our local store never seem to know as much as those at the genius bar. If I ever have any serious questions, I go straight to them and bypass the sales reps.

“Doesn’t work for me. We’re both in California.”

Does MacConnection also operate out of California?

Re: Macconnection

I think they are out of New York or New Jersey.

“1) Is there a good, reputable Apple specialty store somewhere around Yonkers, NY (White Plains, etc) where she could go for a good demo, and that employs knowledgeable people?”

Apple stores are the best place for that. If the one in White Plains wasn’t of help, suggest that she get on the train and go down and check out the fancy new Apple Store in midtown Manhattan.

“2) How dangerous is using mail order to save some money on the MACs? Has anyone used dealmac.com? Are there any reputable mail order MAC dealers? Are there any issues to watch out for when buying a new MAC mail order? What about warranty issues? What about going with a refurbed system?”

A _large_ percentage of Mac sales are mail order (got the Mac I’m typing on that way).

One of the best places to buy from right now (assuming that you just want a “stock” configuration) is amazon.com. Free shipping, no sales tax, AND, many of the Mac models qualify for an amazon rebate, as well.

One “issue” might be RAM. Apple gouges for factory-installed RAM, but you can buy and install it yourself and save some money. I like http://www.datamem.com (no financial interest).

Macs come with a 1-year warranty. During the warranty period, you can either take a problem to an Apple store, or return the computer to Apple. I’ve never had to do that, but I understand they’re pretty good about getting things fixed and back to you in a short period of time.

You can extend the warranty from one two three years by buying “AppleCare”. I’d recommend it for Mac laptops and iMacs. You don’t have to buy it directly from Apple - better to buy from an outfit like http://www.lacomputercompany.com/cgi-bin/rpcart/index.cgi?command=dispitem&type=sku&sku=10123 - cheaper!

You can get refurbished Macs directly from Apple by going to the online Apple store and clicking the “special deals” area (look for it on the Apple Store page towards the bottom). Apple refurbs come with a one-year warranty as do new Macs. Most folks seem to report very good experiences with them. Not every single one, but the majority. BUT - in some cases, you can get the same item NEW from a place like amazon.com, because they give you a rebate and don’t charge sales tax (which Apple will charge whether you buy new or used).

“4) How is file compatability between PCs and MACs? I figure that I’ll either burn all of her work to CDs or maybe copy them onto a flash drive to move to the MAC. Are MACs OK with bitmap (.BMP) files? I’m sure that they’re probably OK with TIFFs, PCX, GIF, and JPG (or am I assuming too much?)”

The flash drive method of transferring files would work fine. You will find that most Mac graphics apps are very “accomodating” when it comes to importing files created on a PC. The shareware graphic app/utility called “Graphic Converter” should handle _almost_ anything she can throw at it.

“5) She would like to be able to use some of her existing hardware if possible. She’s got an HP Office Jet 6110 “All in One” and according to the HP web site, it should work”

OS X comes with drivers for many printers pre-loaded. If the 6110 is supported by the OS, it’s pretty much just a matter of plugging it in and running through a simple setup.

One other thought: If she is going to be doing graphics, she might prefer the bigger screen of the iMac to, say, a MacBook. Of the 2 iMac models out there, the 24” is the one to buy. The quality of the display (core LCD screen) is considerably better. And plenty of working room, too!

- John