Moving to a new Mac - Advice needed

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HiTekJH

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Sep 6, 2007
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I've decided that with all the issues with Windows Vista and Microsoft pulling the plug they say in June 2008 that it's time to shop Mac in 2008 for a new PC.

This PC will be used mainly for home and home office type use and will require it to be on my home network. I've read many articles online and am a little nervous. I'm convinced it will be for the best once I learn the new OS.

Main questions are:

1. If I buy an "Apple certified" hard drive or other products to upgrade like on the PC, is it easy to do or does it require special tools.

2. If it's still under warranty and I'm upgrading, can you do it yourself WITHOUT voiding the warranty IF you buy Apple Certified products?

3. If they are not an official "Apple Certified" product can I still upgrade parts if I'm willing to void the warranty?

4. How is the OS to learn compared to say Windows XP?

5. Where do I get new parts to upgrade when I need them and is it as easy as the PC?

6. If going with an iMac, I want to be able to expand the USB ports which I assume you can with most any USB hub like for the PC?

7. Can the iMac be upgraded by yourself for adding a new hard drive or more memory or does it require special tools or to take to an authorized Apple store? Basically, is the iMac a very closed design compared to say the Mac Pro or can I upgrade basic parts on the iMac myself?

8. As I understand it, I can use the program like "Parallels Desktop 3.0 for Mac" and use most ALL my current software such as Microsoft Office WITHOUT having to buy them again on the Mac? If so, that would be GREAT because I can't afford to invest in all new software.

I'm looking at the iMac VS the Mac Pro for home office and home networking use, NOT games. I still want 5.1 channel sound and it looks like the iMac just has on input. I have Klipsch 5.1 speakers on my PC going to the 3.5mm audio outs of the PC Creative Labs sound card. BUT, the sound card has more than 1 3.5mm jack for 5.1 speakers on it. How do I get 5.1 with the iMac?

Thanks for any tips and buying advice.
 
1) It depends on the model. G5 iSight iMacs and newer (2003+) are a royal pain in the ass to get at the hard drive, but memory is a snap to upgrade. MacPros look pretty easy, but I've never been inside one. Memory and hard disks are pretty easy on PowerBooks/MacBooks, you just need some tiny little Torx drivers (T-5 down to T-00).

2) Technically, the only way to upgrade a Mac and keep the warranty is to have an Apple authorized service center or Apple Store do the upgrade. However that being said, hard drives (MacBook, MacPro), Memory (all) and video cards (MacPro) are pretty simple upgrades and Apple should have no problem covering everything else in the computer that you didn't touch. YMMV. ;)

3) Yes. :)

4) Depends on the learner, frankly. OS X is pretty easy to use though, it's just a matter of finding where Apple hides stuff (hint: Macintosh HD -> Applications -> Utilities). ;)

5) Again, it depends. Hard drives/memory/CPUs = commodity parts. Video cards I think still have to have an Apple-compatible firmware on them, but do not have to be purchased through Apple.

6) Yup. USB hubs are universal.

7) Again, servicing/upgrading newer iMacs is the technical equivalent of shaving your sac with an Epilady - excruciatingly painful. MacPros look pretty easy though. Memory is a snap on any Apple computer.

8) I prefer VMware Fusion for Macintosh, but yes - that's correct. :) Buy lots of memory regardless of which product you choose. Boot Camp is also pretty robust (dual-boot).

9) Check your speaker documentation for 5.1 sound from a single jack. Some speakers support it, some don't. If the speakers are good for it though, the iMac audio jack can output surround sound. It also supports digital output.

Hope this helps. :)

-Brian
 
Firemane/Brian:

Thank you for taking the time to post a very nice reply and help me out. I'm pretty good with the PC and have learned what I need there for upgrading, but the Apple OS and upgrades is uncharted for me. Your advice has helped though and I have just a few more for you please:

1. What are some of the best books to learn the current Apple OS? I have used the "Dummies" before and thought they were OK for the PC but do you have any to recommend? I would prefer something with good pictures too.

2. I have been told to hold off if I can until a few months because a newer Apple OS is coming out soon next year and the new iMacs and maybe a new Pro will be out after January 2008 at the Mac Expo. Is that true and where can I read more on this? Is the new OS totally new or just an update? In other words, can I buy some books now to read up on the OS and still be able to use the basic skills on the new OS?

3. This is most IMPORTANT for me. I honestly think the iMac would do it for me, but I want to use the iMac display for BOTH PC and iMac use. Is there a way to use the iMac display for this and toggle between the two? I have a KVM switch now for 2 PCs, but wanted to toggle between the iMac and a PC using just the iMac LCD. Otherwise, I would assume I would need to go Mac Pro and use a separate LCD with a KVM switch for the Mac Pro and PC correct?

Thanks for the input and advice.
 
1. I would say dont get a book, the easiest way to learn is to play with osX yourself, I found the switch from dowz osX very easy, the only thing i had to get used to is that I had to use apple+tab (does same as alt+tab in xp/vista) and had to use expose a lot more (takes all your open windows and shows them all on the same scree). I had to use these alot more because there is no "taskbar" that shows you every open window. Besides that tho, osX was very easy for me to learn. You will soon be customizing shortcuts and hotkeys, etc. But really, I think you should just dive head deep and just learn by trial.


2. The last date I heard for os 10.5 is mid octoberish.. i think.. dont hold me on that, i dont check up on news all that much. I played around with my friends beta of leopard and i really loved it. I don't think it is a major update (like win 2k to xp), but it does have some nice enhancements, check it out on the apple site. linky. If you bought books to help you learn OSX, yes your knowledge will still be usable, its still OSX, just has some new apps and some nicer graphics.

3. Honestly I have no idea, but unless the imac has another video input of some kind, I would say there is no way, but really dont trust me, I have no idea.

Overall, I would say go with the mac. I still use os X (macbook) and vista (desktop) daily, however my desktop got raped by spyware... so i said f* this, and havnt used my desktop in days. I think im gonna sell my macbook and desktop and get a MBP. Im loving OSX and linux more and more every day.
Hope this helped a little.
 
Agreed - for someone coming into OS X from Windows, digging through a book < just using it and learning on-the-fly. If you simply must have a book though, I'd recommend The Missing Manual and/or The Mac OS X Bible.

Yeah, I've heard October 15th bandied about, but I think mid-October-ish is a reasonable guess at any rate. If they pushed Leopard back any further than that at this point, I think a torch-and-pitchfork-waving mob would form in Apple's corporate lobby... :p As for what Leopard entails versus Tiger, k1ng is spot-on. :) At the end of the day, it's still OS X, just with a few more widgets and a shinier coat of paint. ;)

Regarding new Mac models, there is a growing suspicion/rumour/hope/wild-ass-guess that Mac World will herald a new MacPro and MacBook Pro. The MacPro is in desperate need of a technical refresh (GeForce 7300's and ATI Radeon X1900's?! OMGWTF!), and the MacBook Pro needs a good cosmetic overhaul (or so the consensus states - I think my new MacBook Pro is dead sexy, personally:)). I would be shocked however if an iMac update is announced - they just released the new design last month. The Apple Cinema Display refresh is also anticipated, and it wouldn't kill them to improve the sync functionality of the AppleTV IMO. For more Apple rumour goodness, check out Mac Rumors' Buyer's Guide and main page.

Regarding #3: I've heard passing rumors of software that will allow you to do this, but the only thing I personally have experience with that would be remotely workable for an iMac is to access the PC via the MS RDP client. Simply enable remote connections in any version of XP/2000 or later, and you can have full access to the Windows desktop from any networked computer via the RDP protocol. This is basically how I get through the work day with my Mac (I'm a Windows system engineer by day). But that won't work for gaming though, so if that's your need a USB KVM + MacPro is your only other "simple" option IMO. Now, you can connect an external monitor to the iMac and use the external one along with your keyboard & mouse with a KVM switch, but I suspect that would be rather cumbersome and kind of defeat the purpose of the iMac...

-Brian
 
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Brian:

About #3, you are right in that would sort of defeat the whole iMac thing with consolidation and the sexy look of the iMac. I guess if I have to go MacPro I will, but I would rather try it via network as you mentioned. I will look into this some more to see what the details are before I buy.

I will most likely wait until the first of November to buy in order to see if the new OS shows up. I would rather have it installed if they are coming out with it that soon.

Since both of you seem to know Apple pretty well, can you maybe give me a small list of the top Apple sites to go to for software such as Browser cleaners, firewalls like Zone Alarm and such? I just can't help but feel strange if I don't use a software firewall like Zone Alarm for outbound apps and antivirus. Maybe it's a mistake but I just feel naked without them. Any other good sites with forums for tech talk about Apple help and others you may recommend?

Thanks again to you and k1ng here for the time to be nice and reply to this topic. The advice is good and clear so I hope to learn some more before switching over. You are both good posters and are kind to make up for some of the radicals so cheers to both of you for the help. :)
 
This MacFixIt page would be a good place to start I think. If there is one "must-have" utility though, it's "SuperDuper!". Worth every penny - the simplest, most convenient single-host backup software I've ever used. :)

Regarding a firewall, remember - OS X is built around NetBSD and other *BSD Unix variants, and there are many similarities on the back-end between them. One of these similarities is that a firewall is included with OS X! On the *BSDs, it would be known as 'ipfw'. In OS X, they've made it very accessible and easy to configure in the System Preferences. Simply open "System Preferences", go to "Sharing", then click on "Firewall". Et voilá! :D

On to antivirus. Seriously, I wouldn't worry too much about antivirus from the perspective of your system being at-risk. While there have been examples of "proof of concept" virus code demonstrated, nothing 'in the wild' can infect your system unless you actively and intentionally allow it to execute and install. However, if you receive an infected email or file, while it won't affect your system, without antivirus there is nothing to prevent you sending the infection back out via email or file transfer. Thus for antivirus, ClamXav is a popular choice for OS X, as is McAfee Virex.

Don't forget though, if you run Boot Camp, Parallels or VMware Fusion, Windows will still need antivirus regardless of how it's being run. For that, my first choice is Grisoft's AVG Anti-Virus, followed by McAfee ViruScan.

And finally, as a starting point, Mac Rumors has a pretty decent discussion forum that I browse occasionally. Also, don't discount Apple's support forum either - it really is very useful, if occasionally prone to <ahem> "discretionary editing".:rolleyes:

Thank you for the kind words, by the way. Always glad to help where I can. :) I've been using, supporting and repairing Macs for 17 years now, so I know a little bit about them - and try and pass some of that experience along when I can. ;)

-Brian
 
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