Its been 4 days since I finally set up my 24", 2.8 refurb. Now that I'm fairly comfortable with it, I thought it was time to present a report.
FIRST: You need to know where I'm coming from. My first computer was a Commodore 128. I went from there to a series of PCs, from Windows 3.1 > Windows 5 > Windows 98 > Windows 2000 > finally, > Windows XP. I would have upgraded to Vista, but I was afraid. With each upgrade I also upgraded the hardware. Each time I upgraded it was a desperate move. The PC had become outdated and the operating system so bloated and unreliable, that I feared for my work. I became proficient at scouring help forums and other outlets for answers to my computer problems. With each upgrade the whole system became slicker and smoother and more reliable; until, it bogged down and I was forced to upgrade. However, I became used to it, and thought it was simply growing pains.
In the past year my high quality PC started to again become unstable (BTW - I'm convinced that loading anti-virus stuff adds to the problem, and I'm wondering what will happen to Macs when they require anti-virus stuff as well) I again worried about the thousands of work photos I could not lose. It was then I started to lurk on Mac boards and considered switching.
I waited until the new Macs came out, and I was chagrined to see that the new models weren't all that much of an upgrade, and more importantly, the glossy screen wasn't upgraded. So, I went for the refurb as the price was too good to pass up, and I had decided to use my PC monitor (calibrated to my liking) as a second monitor. I spent hours and days preparing the move. I posted in these forums, contacted all of my app vendors, and made sure everything I needed was transferrable to the Mac; not everything was.
Now, here I am. 95% of what I needed from my PC is on my iMac, and I have the same or comparable programs to use them.
This computer is fantastic! Everything works together so seamlessly. What I want happens almost instantaneously. The iMac screen is gorgeous, stunning, brilliant. NOT GOOD FOR HIGH QUALITY PHOTO EDITING. The screen is simply too bright and cannot be properly calibrated. The decision to use the second screen was a good one. The gloss is hardly ever noticeable. I situated the screen in a place without much background glare, and when I'm working, I don't notice it, or if I do, it is not bothersome.
I was able to import all of my screen names into Mail. I love the stickies.
What I did notice is that some programs are not as full featured or laid out as nicely as in Windows. For example, my printer driver options. In Windows, a suite opens up and everything you can choose is right there. In the Mac, I have to go through menu after menu to set up the printing as I like. I don't understand why its set up that way, but it is a bit of a hassle.
I haven't figured out yet what I want to do with the mouse. I'm constantly squeezing the sides and dashboard opens. I don't know what I want the right click to be. I'm not making use of the keyboard shortcuts yet; I'll learn.
In short, I love the Mac; very happy to have divorced Windows. This is a very classy, elegant computer and operating system. Assuming this computer continues to function as it does now, it was well worth the price.
BTW: If the iMac didn't come in a plain white box, I'd have no way of telling it was refurbished.
FIRST: You need to know where I'm coming from. My first computer was a Commodore 128. I went from there to a series of PCs, from Windows 3.1 > Windows 5 > Windows 98 > Windows 2000 > finally, > Windows XP. I would have upgraded to Vista, but I was afraid. With each upgrade I also upgraded the hardware. Each time I upgraded it was a desperate move. The PC had become outdated and the operating system so bloated and unreliable, that I feared for my work. I became proficient at scouring help forums and other outlets for answers to my computer problems. With each upgrade the whole system became slicker and smoother and more reliable; until, it bogged down and I was forced to upgrade. However, I became used to it, and thought it was simply growing pains.
In the past year my high quality PC started to again become unstable (BTW - I'm convinced that loading anti-virus stuff adds to the problem, and I'm wondering what will happen to Macs when they require anti-virus stuff as well) I again worried about the thousands of work photos I could not lose. It was then I started to lurk on Mac boards and considered switching.
I waited until the new Macs came out, and I was chagrined to see that the new models weren't all that much of an upgrade, and more importantly, the glossy screen wasn't upgraded. So, I went for the refurb as the price was too good to pass up, and I had decided to use my PC monitor (calibrated to my liking) as a second monitor. I spent hours and days preparing the move. I posted in these forums, contacted all of my app vendors, and made sure everything I needed was transferrable to the Mac; not everything was.
Now, here I am. 95% of what I needed from my PC is on my iMac, and I have the same or comparable programs to use them.
This computer is fantastic! Everything works together so seamlessly. What I want happens almost instantaneously. The iMac screen is gorgeous, stunning, brilliant. NOT GOOD FOR HIGH QUALITY PHOTO EDITING. The screen is simply too bright and cannot be properly calibrated. The decision to use the second screen was a good one. The gloss is hardly ever noticeable. I situated the screen in a place without much background glare, and when I'm working, I don't notice it, or if I do, it is not bothersome.
I was able to import all of my screen names into Mail. I love the stickies.
What I did notice is that some programs are not as full featured or laid out as nicely as in Windows. For example, my printer driver options. In Windows, a suite opens up and everything you can choose is right there. In the Mac, I have to go through menu after menu to set up the printing as I like. I don't understand why its set up that way, but it is a bit of a hassle.
I haven't figured out yet what I want to do with the mouse. I'm constantly squeezing the sides and dashboard opens. I don't know what I want the right click to be. I'm not making use of the keyboard shortcuts yet; I'll learn.
In short, I love the Mac; very happy to have divorced Windows. This is a very classy, elegant computer and operating system. Assuming this computer continues to function as it does now, it was well worth the price.
BTW: If the iMac didn't come in a plain white box, I'd have no way of telling it was refurbished.
