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Bought first iMac yesterday (former Windows user)

A

AppleCandidate

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 11, 2007
94
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So after seeing Vista crash on me time after time I'd thought I'd give a chance to Apple and got myself a new 24", 2.4 iMac.

THE GOOD STUFF:

The machine simply works as expected. With only 1gb of memory at this time, it runs faster than my brand new PC with Vista and 8GB of memory, including readyboost. It reboots and closes in a snap, amazing! The interface is clean and easy to navigate.

The glossy screen is actually totally fine, it doesn't disturb anything, and it pretty much enhances your picture. I'm really very picky about image quality and those kind of things, so trust me on this one, if you don't have a direct source of light right behind you, it should be just fine.

The keyboard is actually pretty neat, very relaxing to type on this.

Soundless - yes, this machine makes no sound, awesome!


THE NOT SO GOOD STUFF
This 24" thing is really huge, i'm considering getting the 20" instead - almost as if the 24" is more for printing but really unnecessary for web related stuff like I do (websites, banners, etc) what do you guys think? It takes a while to move the mouse across the screen and it seems a bit overwhelming and tiring after a while. Like sitting in a cinema on the first few rows....

I was worried about Apple's font display and I'm sorry to say, that they do look pretty bad in many cases (not all). It really depends on the font used and the size, though. Verdana for example can look really bad at size 8 or 9 while Lucinda, Georgia and others are OK. Also, some fonts display with the wrong kerning and the letters are too close, it does look like an error and I can even misspell something.


So I'm deciding about downsizing, what do you think? Can the fonts be enhanced any other way other than through system preferences?
 
AppleCandidate said:
So after seeing Vista crash on me time after time I'd thought I'd give a chance to Apple and got myself a new 24", 2.4 iMac.

THE GOOD STUFF:

The machine simply works as expected. With only 1gb of memory at this time, it runs faster than my brand new PC with Vista and 8GB of memory, including readyboost. It reboots and closes in a snap, amazing! The interface is clean and easy to navigate.

The glossy screen is actually totally fine, it doesn't disturb anything, and it pretty much enhances your picture. I'm really very picky about image quality and those kind of things, so trust me on this one, if you don't have a direct source of light right behind you, it should be just fine.

The keyboard is actually pretty neat, very relaxing to type on this.

Soundless - yes, this machine makes no sound, awesome!


THE NOT SO GOOD STUFF
This 24" thing is really huge, i'm considering getting the 20" instead - almost as if the 24" is more for printing but really unnecessary for web related stuff like I do (websites, banners, etc) what do you guys think? It takes a while to move the mouse across the screen and it seems a bit overwhelming and tiring after a while. Like sitting in a cinema on the first few rows....

I was worried about Apple's font display and I'm sorry to say, that they do look pretty bad in many cases (not all). It really depends on the font used and the size, though. Verdana for example can look really bad at size 8 or 9 while Lucinda, Georgia and others are OK. Also, some fonts display with the wrong kerning and the letters are too close, it does look like an error and I can even misspell something.


So I'm deciding about downsizing, what do you think? Can the fonts be enhanced any other way other than through system preferences?
Click to expand...
If you're picky about image quality, you won't like the 20", because it uses a lower quality display.
 
I don't know if we can convince you about the screen size as this is all about personal preference. I never have an issue about how long it takes to move the mouse cursor across the screen but again that's personal preference. In system preferences you can increase the speed of the mouse as the default is a bit slower.
I can tell you first hand that the 24" panel is better at viewing angles over the 20" It's actually a big difference so make sure you can see this in person before returning your 24".

Fonts again are a personal preference. When you are coming from the Windows side the Mac OS X fonts can appear a bit fuzzy. Apple uses an extensive amount of font smoothing but I actually like it and I prefer it over how Windows renders fonts. To me Windows fonts look like they were created using a very fine pen and somewhat like a 1st grader drew them so I welcome the heavier font smoothing in OS X.
It's purely OS X that handles the fonts so it won't matter which Mac you use, they will all look the same.
But anyway, congrats on your new machine, glad to hear you are happy overall. :)
 
Welcome to the family! :)

No input regarding downsizing... the 24" also seems very large to me, but then, given the desk space for it, I might have gone with it also.

Regarding fonts, I personally would recommend letting your eyes accommodate for a few days. A lot of Windows users note this instantly, but after a little while, OS X is the only font smoothing system I've felt really at home with, and although I found it awkward for a couple of days, now I find it much easier to read than Windows or Linux font smoothing. However, I know that not everyone agrees with this. There are a few options, including this fairly simple way of turning it off completely, if you so desire.
 
AppleCandidate said:
THE NOT SO GOOD STUFF
This 24" thing is really huge, i'm considering getting the 20" instead - almost as if the 24" is more for printing but really unnecessary for web related stuff like I do (websites, banners, etc) what do you guys think? It takes a while to move the mouse across the screen and it seems a bit overwhelming and tiring after a while. Like sitting in a cinema on the first few rows....
Click to expand...

That's interesting, I'm thinking the same and yet I need to decide.
From which screen size are you coming from?

BTW I've read in some other posts that somebody saw 20" new iMacs with a better panel, without color shifting. Can anyone confirm it?

Thanks

Raf
 
I ordered my iMacs last Friday and they came directly from the factory in China. The colour shift is still present but minimal. Much less, IMO, than what I have seen at retailers and FWIW the viewing angle is not a big deal. My MB has a far worse viewing angle.
 
what colour shift are you talking about? I came from a 20 inch apple display fed from a pc - i did feel a lot more comfortable at that size - this size feels odd - not sure how far or how close to sit to this thing - regardless, it feels wrong

I can see a 24 fitting well in a design firm, i can't say this is the ideal to do your emails, internet etc - unless you want it for games, tv, movies...
 
Firstly, welcome! You will undoubtedly have some issues at first and will wonder why you switched, but persevere and everything will open uo as it did for me and probably countless others. All of a sudden you have a machine that works with you instead of one that you have to work with.

Regarding your screen size question. I too have the 24" and I agree with you that the screen is very large indeed. Sometimes it feels too large but it's not. You just need to get used to it. The occasional having to turn your entire head to go from one side to the other is well worth it when you work on a magic project that needs a larger area of real estate.

I've thought of going smaller too but would regret it. That said, I know people that have 30" displays, and I can't imagine that. if 24" is borderline, can you imagine 30".

I can't really contribute much to your unhappiness with the fotn display. Mine are crisp and sharp and I wouldn't have them any other way.

Again though, welcome.

Cheers.
 
AppleCandidate said:
what colour shift are you talking about? I came from a 20 inch apple display fed from a pc - i did feel a lot more comfortable at that size - this size feels odd - not sure how far or how close to sit to this thing - regardless, it feels wrong

I can see a 24 fitting well in a design firm, i can't say this is the ideal to do your emails, internet etc - unless you want it for games, tv, movies...
Click to expand...

If you display a single solid colour on the entire display, you will see the shade of the colour change from top to bottom. Usually lighter on bottom.
 
so basically the 20 inch is buggy - oh boy..... i compared this display to the old imac - which a friend has and his just feels like a better fit for work

i get that you probably get used to anything - however, after working today on this thing for half a day - i realized i feel a lot more tired than when working on a smaller display - whats your experience?


a fellow canadian ;)
 
AppleCandidate said:
so basically the 20 inch is buggy - oh boy..... i compared this display to the old imac - which a friend has and his just feels like a better fit for work

i get that you probably get used to anything - however, after working today on this thing for half a day - i realized i feel a lot more tired than when working on a smaller display - whats your experience?


a fellow canadian ;)
Click to expand...

it really sounds like you're not comfortable with the size of the 24". i think you should change it for the 20" if you're that uncomfortable. sure the screen isn't as good quality as the 24" but check it out first. go to the shop, try a 20", do the things you normally do on a computer, and if you're fine with it (most people are) then swap. assuming the shop will do that for you.
 
I talked to the store and I have 14 days to decide- for now, im going to give it a serious test over the next few weeks and see ow it feels - i may purchase the 20 inch to compare and then just return the one that i don't want

in the past, i've bought 3 or 4 monitors just to compare them and then return them - thanks God for the return policy
 
AppleCandidate said:
so basically the 20 inch is buggy - oh boy..... i compared this display to the old imac - which a friend has and his just feels like a better fit for work

i get that you probably get used to anything - however, after working today on this thing for half a day - i realized i feel a lot more tired than when working on a smaller display - whats your experience?


a fellow canadian ;)
Click to expand...
I wouldn't say its buggy but its not the best 20" panel out there as far as colour evenness goes. Its certainly not enough to stop me from buying it. I would say its comparable to other 20" panels in the $250-$300 price range.

I'm off to Tim's for a double-double....
 
I was a bit skeptical about the 24" I ordered, mainly because of the same reasons you gave. But looking at the screen now, it really isn't that bad! Hell! I could go for something bigger as well :) The distance of mousemovement is OK-is as well, especially with the Logitech I have attached, but from the bit of experience I had with the Mighty Mouse, it wasn't that bad anyway.

And seriously, the quality of the screen is amazing.
 
Welcome!

I too was a bit thrown off by the size of the 24". When I took it out of the box and put it on my desk I stood back and thought 'this was a mistake.' When I turned it on and started using a few programs I was not used to having a window only taking up half the screen and beeing more then big enough to use.

After a few days it grew on my though, and now I couldnt imagine going back. I say give it the full 14 days to decide, cause you may turn out to love it.

The fonts thing to I was a bit unsure about. I noticed a big change from windows. But now when I go to use a windows machine I think it has the bad fonts. Another thing that grows on you.

So give it 14 days and see how you feel then.
 
Thanks for the advice, yes, I'll give it the full 14 days before deciding. Today I discovered a problem with my screen though - if I open a full size blank page, i notice that the white on the left side is stronger than the one on the right - the right side as some brown tint to it - this is mostly noticeable when the brightness is not to the fullest - would any of the guys here with the 24" try this and let me know if this is just my machine or a faulty design from Apple?
 
this is a bit funny,
i sold my 20'' iMac and bought the 24'' cuz it was small to me

i think u can adjust the resolution, u can use some configuration which make your screen look small

(try adjusting the 1920 by 1024 stuff related to display) i am in a temporary loss of memory (i cant remember what this is called)

welcome to the family.
 
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