bit the bullet after long time of agonizing about updates

[eat me]

Alright, so, after much of backuping and dragging the files between my old PC and new iMac, I'm back with reports!

Got my iMac the next day, delivery was super prompt and efficient, good on Apple.

The experience so far:

iMac

+ man, the 27" screen really is gorgeous. It takes up my whole table, where a 22" used to sit. I tell you, it's one thing checking it at Apple Store, and another when it sits on your table. In fact, the whole machine really is top notch design. And I am an aesthete, so it's a joy.

+ it's really quiet, you can barely hear it running most of the time

+ I love the keyboard. I love chiclet keyboards in general, but this one is really good.

+ I love that there are wifi, ir and bluetooth already in, and iSight, although horribly outdated in terms of resolution, is a nice thing to have

- the screen arrived without any yellowing, thank God, but I found one dead pixel stuck off-centre on the left. While initially I thought of returning, now I think I'll wait and see if I can live with it, as I understand i can return it at any moment while my AppleCare is active. I'm also not sure if they'll change it, if it's only 1 black dead pixel. And if they will, no guarantees it won't come with yellow circle . Ahh, the iMac's vicious circle.

- there is a slight smudge on the base, it doesn't come off, but it's not really noticeable, and it's a refurb, so I expected some marks.

- as much as I love the keyboard, I really miss Home, End and Delete keys. Also, the cmd, the alt, the fn, the shift, the ctrl? I'm sure they could've thrown one of them away, the alt maybe.

- the mouse. As everyone in the PC world knows, Apple got it completely wrong on the mouse, and they are stupid and stubborn in their reluctance to learn from Windows. The trajectory and curve path of a mouse in OS X is rubbish. I've spent a bit of time finding some other driver and settled with MagicDriver. It's far from perfect, but at least you feel some control over what's going on with your pointer.

- sometimes the back start to vibrate from either fans or HDD, I'm not sure which, or what's causing it either, but it can be a bit worrying. When I lightly press my finger against the back, it disappears, but then when I take the finger off, comes back on. It doesn't happen often, but when it does, I'm kind of thinking there might be something wrong with it.

OS X

+ it's super polished. I was expecting it having used the iPod Touch, and awaiting the white iPhone, but man, it is polished. I was worrying about not getting an alternative for ACDSee which I used on PC for viewing images, but Preview does same job better and prettier (apart from small thing - you cant right-click a folder and select "Preview" or something)

+ system settings are a breeze. Windows should learn.

+ the column view in Finder can very useful

+ Spotlight and Expose are fantastic, what a convenience!

+ installation of apps is a breeze too. There are no million different folders where programs keep their files all over the drive (at least, as I understand it, only Library and where you keep the apps) and there's no registry! There are some plist bits lying around, but that's ok compared to the mess you can get yourself on a Windows machine after some time of using and installing/uninstalling stuff. BTW, I really can't get over the fact of uninstalling apps on OS X. I always have the feeling that after I dragged the app to the thrash and deleted plists, there's still something there and I don't know what. Maybe this phobia will go away with time .

+ Time Machine is brilliant. Got my STORY drive set up and it's quietly backing up on full-auto, no headache, and I've got myself covered just in case. Cool stuff.

- somehow Finder thinks that when I select to sort by "kind" it is acceptable to put files before folders. Annoys me a bit (I have a slight OCD). It should be folders first, everything else second, like in Windows when you sort by "type".

- drag and drop? Really? This struck me as outdated, that I have to use d-n-d for a lot of operations (maybe it'll annoy me less when I'll learn the shortcuts). I got used to deleting folders and files with "Delete", and CUTTING things, and pasting them somewhere else. I couldn't believe there's no CUT option in OS X, you guys are seriously missing out.

- despite all the polish, some OS elements seem really outdated graphic-wise. Like when I use Safari, these sad little grey bars and tabs on top, and some other things as well. Bring on OS XI.

- stupid bell chime when you start or restart your computer. I have to remember to mute the system every time.

***

Overall, there's still a lot to process and I've probably missed some things I wanted to tell you about, but maybe I'll add them later.

Cheers!

ps - do I regret not waiting? Hell no, the moment I've got it running properly, I've been loving it since. Perhaps when the new no-issues-screens with leaked touchpad and HD iSight and newer graphics will come out I'll be upset a bit, but I'm sure it won't last long .

 

[dudeofblokes]

BTW, I really can't get over the fact of uninstalling apps on OS X. I always have the feeling that after I dragged the app to the thrash and deleted plists, there's still something there and I don't know what. Maybe this phobia will go away with time .

there is a wonderful app out there called appzapper (probably more but i love the simplicity of this app) instead of dragging/sending an app to the trash you drag it into this app and it completely removes all traces of the app ever being there, hope this helps.

 

[eat me]

^ brilliant, thanks!

 

[dexthageek]

You think? I kind of figured with 2560x1440 resolution that poor old little ATI that's stuck in there will choke. I hope I'm wrong.

You don't have to run your games at the iMac native resolution. I am running Steam games at 1920x1080 on my i7 and it runs everything flawlessly with high settings.

I also have bootcamp installed, my library of C&C games run flawlessly at native res

 

[eat me]

I know guys, it's just as soon as you're running games at resolution other than native they start to look like you play on a console, which in my book is no good.

Still, better this then nothing. Still have to decide whether I want to install W7 at all. I mean, all I' really waiting for is StarCraft II, Diablo III & Portal 2, and those should be available native. On the other hand I just know, as soon as Modern Warfare 2, Mafia 2 and similar blockbusters will hit the floor I will be anxious to install Windows.

 

[eat me]

Found another dead pixel and also discovered that I do have a slight yellow tinge towards the bottom.

Return or wait? Maybe I'll decide in a year, when the AppleCare is going to start to come to an end.

 

[Warbitrary]

- the mouse. As everyone in the PC world knows, Apple got it completely wrong on the mouse, and they are stupid and stubborn in their reluctance to learn from Windows. The trajectory and curve path of a mouse in OS X is rubbish. I've spent a bit of time finding some other driver and settled with MagicDriver. It's far from perfect, but at least you feel some control over what's going on with your pointer.

You are simply used to and/or prefer the Windows trajectory and curve path, but it doesn't make it rubbish. I like the OS X way!

+ installation of apps is a breeze too. There are no million different folders where programs keep their files all over the drive (at least, as I understand it, only Library and where you keep the apps) and there's no registry! There are some plist bits lying around, but that's ok compared to the mess you can get yourself on a Windows machine after some time of using and installing/uninstalling stuff. BTW, I really can't get over the fact of uninstalling apps on OS X. I always have the feeling that after I dragged the app to the thrash and deleted plists, there's still something there and I don't know what. Maybe this phobia will go away with time .

The files left behing by most apps installed without installers can be:
Databases and misc files (i.e. save points in video games) in ~/Library/Application Support
Caches in ~/Library/Caches
Preferences in ~/Library/Preferences

All these files are absolutely harmless. I delete them because if I re-install the application later, I want it to start from scratch. Also, some caches and app support files can take significant hard drive space, but most are under 10MB.

- somehow Finder thinks that when I select to sort by "kind" it is acceptable to put files before folders. Annoys me a bit (I have a slight OCD). It should be folders first, everything else second, like in Windows when you sort by "type".

It sorts the Kind column by alphabetical order (Fi before Fo). I'm not saying it's the best way, but it's just the way it is.

- drag and drop? Really? This struck me as outdated, that I have to use d-n-d for a lot of operations (maybe it'll annoy me less when I'll learn the shortcuts). I got used to deleting folders and files with "Delete", and CUTTING things, and pasting them somewhere else. I couldn't believe there's no CUT option in OS X, you guys are seriously missing out.

Command-Backspace (⌫) to trash files with the keyboard. A little more elaborate than "Delete" but harder to hit by accident.

- despite all the polish, some OS elements seem really outdated graphic-wise. Like when I use Safari, these sad little grey bars and tabs on top, and some other things as well. Bring on OS XI.

Not sure what you are talking about, but I find Safari's gray gradient theme very polished. It certainly looks less cheesy than the old 2D brushed metal theme .

- stupid bell chime when you start or restart your computer. I have to remember to mute the system every time.

Try Psst or StartupSound.prefpane.

 

[eat me]

Command-Backspace (⌫) to trash files with the keyboard. A little more elaborate than "Delete" but harder to hit by accident.



Not sure what you are talking about, but I find Safari's gray gradient theme very polished. It certainly looks less cheesy than the old 2D brushed metal theme .


Try Psst or StartupSound.prefpane.

yep, discovered the cmd+backspace, was very happy . These two programs that you've suggested didn't work, unfortunately. And yes, this polished grey somehow doesn't look too good. But it's not that crucial.