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UK PC User About to Switch!

T

Tonerl

Guest
Original poster
From what I can see on the various discussion groups that I've been observing, the iMac freezing seems to be tamed, Leopard problems are being dealt with, and the 'gradient problem' is the only nasty in the woodshed.

Having had a close look at several (US read 'multiple') models I'm considering getting a 24" model with 2.8GHz CPU and 1GB RAM, probably in the next few weeks.

My peripherals will be an Epson Perfection 4990 scanner, HP Photosmart D7160 printer, and a UnoMan USB media-card reader. I shall need to buy a USB hub as the iMac has too few for my needs. Though I have a Seagate USB HDD, I may buy a new one for the iMac. My present PC runs off a UPS (APC model); will the iMac do likewise?

Any helpful advice from the wise and learned contributors to this forum - especially those with UK experience - would be gratefully welcomed. Thank you in anticipation.
 
Glad to hear you're making the switch! I don't see why a Mac wouldn't be able to run on a UPS. Also, concerning the external hard drive. If you do end up getting a new one, I'd recommend getting one that has a Firewire connection.

Here's a great site that lists a bunch of the most popular open source Mac software: http://opensourcemac.org/

Hope you enjoy your new iMac!
 
Good move - once you make the switch you really won't look back.

I bought my iMac from John Lewis - the prices are competitive, and they throw in a 2yr warranty for free.
 
Go for it! I made the ‘switch’ almost two months ago and I have no regrets. I bought me a four-port powered USB hub just for the same reason. I have a Sitecom multi card reader that worked right away although the sales person in a computer store (PC only) said it wouldn’t. (Kudos to Apple for the plug-and-play concept, even in Open BSD). Just make sure there are OS X alternatives for the software that you can’t do without :D
 
Thanks for that link to the software. Should prove useful.

I'm a very recent switcher myself and was "fortunate" enough to buy a Macbook Pro first and be totally disillusioned with it. The screen suffered from the yellowing issue and the lid was a bit bent, so it was going back.

I then found myself looking for PC laptops, realised that I'd be better off throwing my money at an iMac, so went to my local computer outlet (PC World in the UK) and bought a 2.4GHz 24" iMac.

My biggest problem with this model is it comes with Leopard pre-installed, or rather didn't (as it clearly stated on the box), but was merely included in the box as an add-on disk. Bit of a pain should I need to reinstall from scratch, because it needs Tiger installed before it will upgrade. I think I might be borrowing a friend's full copy of Leopard should that need ever arise though.

Apart from that slight bugbear using it has been a joy. It's pretty quiet (but still audible) the screen is nice and bright and it runs a lot better than my 2GHZ Core 2 Duo PC running XP ever did. I can launch Photoshop in about 3-5 seconds. Fantastic stuff.

My only warning will be this. If you order the Mac online, order RAM for it instantly from a reputable supplier (I use Crucial). The speed difference you will receive more than justifies the extra cost. I've got 4GB in mine now and it feels like a beast. It can launch Windows XP in Parallels in roughly 8 seconds which is shorter than the time it takes my real PC to get past the BIOS Post. With 1GB in, it took up to a minute, depending on what I have open. 1GB is just not enough, so be warned.

I'm a happy switcher though and I'm looking forward to just being productive instead of swearing at my computer.
 
Go for it pal.

I switched last month. Although everything didn't go perfectly at first, i can honestly say that having a mac and using leopard is sheer bliss.

My only bit of advice would be to max it out if you can afford to. I've always built my own PC's and upgraded along the way, but you can't do that with the mac.

Go for a 2.8 24" with 1Tb HD and 1Gb RAM then upgrade Ram yourself.

You won't be disappointed!
 
AVR2 said:
Yes, of course. Macs don't use special Apple-brand electricity ;)
Click to expand...

If Apple sold it (iVoltage), it would make their RAM seem cheap in comparison.

To the OP, go for it. Just upgrade the RAM as noted, and you'll be fine.
 
My thanks to all who replied.

I had, I think, worked out that iMacs use ordinary electricity but was concerned that the interaction between UPS and iMac might cause the latter to 'throw a wobbly'. My 30+ years of experience with computers tells me that the oddest things can upset computers.

I shall certainly get 2GB RAM.

Now, the adventure begins!
 
WPA network security

Uh, oh! Just when everything was going so well, I find that some Mac users are having problems with WPA security.

I have a Belkin wireless router that my wife's Dell PC works fine with - good signal strength, speed, etc - and wish to use wireless networking between my proposed iMac and the Belkin router. If I could not use WPA on my iMac, I might as well keep my PC!

What do my friends on this forum know about the problem (I found it on an Apple support discussion)?
 
I'm also a recent UK switcher and I haven't looked back once. I'm an IT professional and work with PC's and windows servers every day. The last time I used a mac was in the days of System 7.

All I can say is that OSX has been a fantastic experience. I've been motivated to get in to photography, and it even integrates with the rest of my network fine.

Go for it!
 
I've been using WPA for a few years, on a couple of machines including a new imac, both tiger and leopard. Never had even a hint of a problem. Netgear access point though.. guess there could be problems with specific access points if they're not supporting the protocols properly.

OSX has excellent wifi in general, problems are very rare compared to windows (actually window wireless networking is the bane of my life at times, as I have to set it up a lot - the macs will ALWAYS connect instantly, while the PCs require endless configuration and then might work if you're lucky :( )
 
I wouldn't bother with the 2.8Ghz. Unless you're video encoding, it's no faster than the 2.4 in real terms.

Get 2Gb RAM instead.
 
I've had my dual G5 attached to an APC UPS for three years with no problems. It's automatically recognised by OSX (when attached via USB) and shows up in the Energy Saver preference pane with all the normal UPS options.

No problems here with WPA (Netgear).

I've read elsewhere that the 2.8 iMac is as rare as hen's teeth at the moment, but if you can get one I'm sure you'll love it.
 
I've ordered a 24" 2.8GHz, 2GB RAM, 500GB HDD iMac from Apple UK.

Thank you all for your help and encouragement.
 
Tonerl said:
I've ordered a 24" 2.8GHz, 2GB RAM, 500GB HDD iMac from Apple UK.
Thank you all for your help and encouragement.
Click to expand...

Just about to make the move myself...I work in IT and have used PC's for donkey's years.....I get enough of them all day at work so I'm going to get a 24" 2.4Ghz.

I might get it on the way home from PC world actually...does anyone know if PC World stock has Leopard pre-installed? If not then I will order it from Apple instead...

Cheers,
Mark
 
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