Posted on 02/04/2002 6:39:48 AM PST by gratefulwharffratt
David Coursey,
Executive Editor, AnchorDesk
Monday, February 4, 2002
It's been a week since I started using a new iMac as my full-time desktop and a PowerBook G4 as my portable PC, all as part of my month-long challenge to see if I, long a loyal Windows user, could make Apple the center of my computing universe. There are still a few problems--specifically related to getting PDA data in and out of Microsoft Office.
But besides that, I've made a very smooth transition. I have even started using the Apple key instead of the Control key when cutting and pasting.
None of the photos I've seen do the new iMac justice. It's hard to take a picture of a white computer with a clear frame around the screen and make it look good. It is especially difficult to do this against a white background, as Apple is prone to do. They had the same problem with the iPod, which people thought was much larger than it is because they had seen it only on a billboard. Now, they didn't think it was that big, but...
If you are trying to show off the iMac base--about the size of a big salad bowl turned upside down--it's hard to have the monitor in a normal position. This is probably why the best pictures of the new iMac, such as they are, have been taken from the side. That shows off the arm that connects the screen to the base rather nicely.
IN USE, the base of the iMac, which contains the computer itself, essentially disappears from view, hidden by the screen. The screen--a 15-inch flat panel--has all the predictable benefits of LCD displays, but the mounting mechanism is really special. This is the first time I've been able to position a screen precisely where I want it.
Mac OS X also does an excellent job of driving the screen, with great graphics performance. I am not quite so wild about the characters that show up while I am typing using Word or the other Microsoft Office apps. Microsoft has yet to fully implement the features of OS X that put great-looking fonts onto the screen.
This was likely lost in the rush to get a version of OS X to market and will be resolved in a future release. The "poor" quality of the Microsoft fonts is noticeable because the rest of the computer looks so great, not because it's putting my eyes out or anything.
The iMac has no fan--actually it has a fan, but I've never heard it--meaning my office is quieter than it used to be. The fan is thermally controlled, so it turns on only if the machine heats up. The iMac also has a very small footprint, leaving me with a lot of unused desk space.
If I were making any changes to the iMac, I'd increase the screen resolution (1024x768 is standard) or go to a 17-inch screen. The higher resolution is a personal preference (I need more open windows sometimes), and boosting the screen size would make the machines too expensive. To think of it, so would the increased resolution.
I'VE DISPENSED with the Apple one-button mouse that came with the machine. I replaced it with a Microsoft optical mouse with all the buttons and a thumbwheel. I just plugged it in, and it worked immediately. While the stock Apple mouse--with its single button--doesn't support right clicking, all the iMac apps seem to. This gives me access to a wide range of shortcuts I've grown used to under Windows. "Real" Apple users know you can control-click the one-button mouse to access the right-button features, but I still like my extra buttons and the thumbwheel.
The transition to the Mac way of doing things has been pretty easy, once I got the hang of the docking bar that is the OS X equivalent of the Windows start menu. Now that I have all my frequently used apps in the dock, I am a pretty happy camper.
Based on my experience, I have no reservations whatsoever recommending an iMac as a family's new or next home computer. Only really hard-core gamers would have trouble with a Mac, and those people should be looking at the new gaming consoles anyway.
I'M TEMPTED to say that Apple should have waited to make OS X the standard operating system for its consumer Macs, at least until there was better support for things such as Palm PDAs, media players for Windows Media, and Real Networks file formats. But as Steve Jobs told me on Day 1 of my Mac odyssey, there are some things that simply won't happen until the OS becomes the Apple standard.
I can't really disagree with that logic, so this is more a warning that you may find yourself working in classic mode from time to time. I am doing my very best to remain totally in OS X, so I have to admit that my concerns about this issue may be inflated.
As for working from the iMac, I can only hit the corporate Exchange mail server using a POP client or a Web browser. This isn't a problem for me, but it may be for a few of you. I also have not tried to find a VPN client, so I need to call our IS department and inquire.
The lack of OS X support for both Palm and Pocket PC devices is, however, troublesome. I think this will be worked out, at least for Pocket PC (and only with the help of a third-party developer) in a few weeks. Palm OS support will doubtless come, though I cannot today tell you when with any level of confidence. Six months seems likely.
I'VE HAD NO trouble exchanging files with colleagues, sending and receiving e-mail, or browsing the Web. And the free mail client Apple provides, though lacking a calendar function, works very well. Actually it's a better pure mail client than Microsoft's Entourage, its office productivity suite for the Macintosh platform.
It's for this reason that so many Mac users have separate calendar, contact management, and e-mail programs. The single-solution approach, àla Outlook and Entourage, is very attractive, but I am looking at other options as well.
The iPod is a fantastic MP3 player, and iTunes does a good job of managing my music. I want to find a "disco" software package, which I believe exists, to do some mixing, but the basic dubbing of music from CD (or Internet) to computer to iPod works very well.
THE MORE I USE IPHOTO, the more useful I find it. The program is not a photo editor, although it will allow you to crop a photo, correct red eye, and convert color images to black and white.
But iPhoto really shines in managing a large photo collection, thanks to its ability to vary thumbnails of the photos from very tiny to full-screen. This means you can zoom back and easily scroll through hundreds or, more likely, thousands of photos and then zoom in to pick the one you want.
iPhoto is also great for sharing your images. While the program does not have an easy way to resize and e-mail an image, it does a very nice job of collecting photos into books, which you can print at home or have commercially printed by Apple ($30 for 10 pages, and the books are really quite nice). iPhoto can also be used to create slide shows, HTML photo pages, and, of course, order prints.
OVERALL, I'D RATE the Macintosh photo "experience" significantly superior to Windows XP, although XP has the basics covered.
I have not played with iMovie, but finally have an idea for a home movie project (lacking kids, I have no ready players), so I am planning to compare the Mac and XP cinematic experiences this weekend.
Another area in which OS X has a little maturing to do is support for streaming media. Microsoft Media Player doesn't support all its formats on the new OS, meaning I can't listen to a number of online radio stations. Real doesn't seem to have announced an OS X version of RealPlayer, though I suspect one will appear.
So that's where things stand after the first week of "Mac Month" here in my office. About the only thing I am still using the XP box for is some instant messaging (especially during the radio program) and to keep the Outlook telephone directory open when I need to make a quick phone call.
Pleased to make your acquaintance, Mr. Thorne. You sound like a fine, upstanding, community pillar sort of person.
To further shatter the effete misconceptions held by the bigoted MS minions, I have PHOTOGRAPHIC evidence of my heterosexuality, and even MORE shocking, I actually live on a farm.
They wouldn't be so fast to make these accusations in person. After all, the stereotypical wintel bigot IS the pencil-necked geek, wearing a pocket protector. They only want some, when it is electrons being put in danger.
Seems to me I'm being guided to a higher power, so to speak... I see upgrade in my future (add eerie background music)
= )
Especially with Deer Hunter engraved in my mind. That's what's made me a bit of a loony on this. A man picked his platform based on a virtual deer hunting game. Great googly moogly.
I mean, graphics OK, CAD programs OK, but Deer Hunter??
Gates named his company Microsoft 'cause he figured that described the willy of his OS's typical user.
Real men don't use Macs. They really are sissy little machines. Petite little keyboards, little dainty mice. Cutesy little icons. Girly color schemes. Everytime I see an iMac with its "fruity" colors, I picture it some some girl's sorority house with a poster of N'Sync on the wall behind it.
Are you admitting to plant abuse here in a public forum??
Oh wait, you are an MS fan, I should have known.
Now, that's funny -- not true, but funny enough for a comedy club routine.
The real reason is obvious to anybody with any marketing sense.
"Apple" is mysterious from that perspective. Whimsical, but it conjures up more negatives than positives. Some are crisp, but most are pithy. Some are pretty, but most of them have blemishes. They're fragile and need careful handling between tree and mouth. Their wells are seldom free of dirt, and they always need cleaning before using -- pesticides, you know. Thing is, if it weren't for pesticides, you'd never be the first to eat any particular one.
It certainly had great marketing and financing at the beginning, but without the whimsy and personality cult, where would Apple be now?
Maybe successful...?
One of the hardware geeks at work assured me last week 80% of most modern computers' computational horsepower is never used.
Truth to tell, I'm not looking forward to switching from OS 8.6.2 to 10.1.1, but am sure I'll like it after I've accustomed myself to the glitzier look and feel.
I really don't have anything against MS. I prefer Macs, much of which had to do with early experiences with DOS and Windows 3.11 and generally good experiences going back to System 5 and the Mac Plus. The newest G4s are absolutely fantastick.
But I have no pathological hatred for Wintel and one fellow a few post back expressed quite reasonable reasons for going that route.
And I know Gates didn't name his company after the weenies of his target customers.
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