Help a girl out

[jaguarr]

Using that now actually- http://osx.portraitofakite.com/

When Im forced into booting into XP

I knew someone would know. I leave my XP install at work pretty well alone as the IT guys pitch a holy fit when you muck with it too much. It fries their brain enough when they see that I've reconfigured the desktop icon placement and toolbars to more resemble the Mac interface.

jag

 

[twylight]

You are woman, we hear you roar!

Look forward to seeing you in the Mac User Support thread in the near future.

jag

Watch me now get a PC because I can get the same specs for cheaper...>.<

And to be honest the main thing to propel me towards getting a Mac was that HP and Dell now sell PC's exclusively with Vista..which I do not want.

See what Vista is doing? I'm switching teams...

 

[jaguarr]

Well, you're gonna do what you want, I know that. But having a system that lets you run Mac AND XP so you can take on pretty much whatever you need to has to be pretty darn attractive.

jag

 

[twylight]

It is....it is so very attractive...

I hate being so wishy washy about it, but I've never been one to make choices easily. I tend to agonize over them, *hugs the thread*

But I'll go up to the Apple store this weekend and let ya'll know what happens.

 

[wiegeabo]

As much as it pains me to say it, being a die hard Windows lover, don't get Vista. It's not ready for prime time. And it probably won't be until at least the first service pack comes out later this year.

By that time, Microsoft will have a few months of complaints and requests behind them. Not sure how much they'll fix, but it should be worth it by then.

 

[wiegeabo]

Watch me now get a PC because I can get the same specs for cheaper...>.<

And to be honest the main thing to propel me towards getting a Mac was that HP and Dell now sell PC's exclusively with Vista..which I do not want.

See what Vista is doing? I'm switching teams...

Dell has finally started selling 'clean' PC's. The hard drives are unformatted, so you can put any operating system on them.

 

[jaguarr]

Dell has finally started selling 'clean' PC's. The hard drives are unformatted, so you can put any operating system on them.

Dell is only one letter away from Hell. This is not a coincidence.

jag

 

[twylight]

hahaha


I couldn't find an unformatted Dell on their website...

 

[wiegeabo]

hahaha


I couldn't find an unformatted Dell on their website...

They're called Open-Source computers. The n-series of some of their systems.

http://www.dell.com/content/topics/segtopic.aspx/e510_nseries?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs

 

[Fran]

Dell is only one letter away from Hell. This is not a coincidence.

jag

I agree 100% with that. Had a horrible experience with those a-holes.

 

[wiegeabo]

Never had a problem with Dell.

You couldn't pay me to use HP. Can't stand them. Horrible systems.

 

[Kritish]

Seriously, who the hell uses Linux? I haven't ever even seen a program that will work with it, and I work at Staples.

 

[wiegeabo]

That's because Linux programs usually aren't sold. They're usually free from the internet.


One more piece of information. You can set your Mac to boot into Windows automatically. In which case, you hold Alt at startup to boot into OS X. Not the other way around.

 

[Kritish]

Damn, I just found a screenshot of the first Windows...

 

[wiegeabo]

Ha! Haven't seen a pic of Windows 1.0 in a long time. Never used it until 3.1 myself.

 

[Kritish]

I don't get the Linux fan base, there's dozens of little operating systems that nobody uses. Either go with a Mac or Windows.

 

[wiegeabo]

Linux isn't a small operating system. Companies, and even governments, are moving to various versions of Linux. Even though it's market share is small, it's probably number three in the world outside of scientific users. (Unix dominates the sciences.)

The beauty of Linux is that it's free and open source. This means there are developers around the world working to fix problems and make it better, rather than a single company like Microsoft and Apple. And, like Apple, Linux does not suffer from viruses and malware.

I used Linux (Redhat) a few years back, and liked it. But it wasn't ready for normal users. Now I'm thinking about trying out Gnome or KDE because they've reached the point where normal users can use them, but they still have the power tools that hardcore users like.

 

[Kritish]

Except most people don't know how to use a Unix product. Most people could figure out a Mac within a few hours.

 

[wiegeabo]

That's why Linux is so far behind. For so many years only power users could handle it. It was never friendly enough for the masses.

Now it's more like Mac and Windows. A desktop that should be familiar. Simpler installation of programs. And the ability to power use the Linux underneath like Mac users can power use the Unix underneath.

 

[Kritish]

I thought about getting a Mac, I'd rather stick with something that I'm used to (Windows).

*Hides from Jag*

 

[jaguarr]

Except most people don't know how to use a Unix product. Most people could figure out a Mac within a few hours.

I thought about getting a Mac, I'd rather stick with something that I'm used to (Windows).

*Hides from Jag*

Wow...you must be super lazy. You acknowledge that it's possible to learn how to use a Mac in a few hours but won't switch to one because you'd rather stick with something you're used to?

Sadly, you're not alone. Most people are afraid to ever try something new or try to break free, even though what they have is painful, complicated, unreliable and difficult to learn and maintain in of itself. I view that as a warning sign of Stockholm Syndrome. All I will say is that anyone who's afraid to step outside of their comfort zone to try something new, especially something that might be better than what they have now, deserves what they get: mediocrity. Most Mac users have been forced to use Windows and know all too well what it's all about. I've found that the reverse is very rarely true with Windows users.

As far as Linux distro's go, Ubuntu is aces. I've used it a little bit and was impressed. aptget uses it pretty steadily, I believe.

jag

 

[twylight]

Does anyone know about this:

http://www.microsoft.com/mac/products/office2004/office2004.aspx?pid=office2004

and does it work?

Also, *sorry for the questions* can my Word documents be stored with other documents I would be making on the Mac? Or do I need to put them in a different HD or something?

*right now I'm just trying to convince the 50% shareholders in this endeavor*

I know I could ask the people at the Apple store, but I feel more comfortable with people I 'know'.

 

[wiegeabo]

The Office 04 test drive on my Mac seemed to work fine. I have more experince with the previous Office.

As for hard drive compatibility, I have no problem directly sharing documents from Windows to Mac. You obviously need the software to open the files, but sharing documents isn't a problem any more. If you have the latest Office on both computers, then they'll open each others files. I've done it with Adobe files too.

What documents are you wondering about?

 

[twylight]

Excel, *Publisher will be an issue I know since I need the windows software of it to work* and Word.

Excel and Word mostly, especially Word..I would be just a *few* seasons short in my RPG's if I lost my Word documents in transition.

 

[jaguarr]

Your Word, Excel and Powerpoint files will all work fine with the Mac version of Office.

jag