Moving to an Apple

[VicO]

Nah, have been very happy with Fusion though I'm sure Parallels works well as well. I don't use it that much in all honesty, probably haven't opened it in 6+ months.

 

[Dry Rot]

I wouldn't bother with a maxed out Air (unless you are ditching your desktop which I wouldn't recommend), just the base model is more then enough for the 13".

Disagree. The MBA is an amazing piece of hardware, albeit one full of compromises. To future proof it as much as possible, max it out ie chip and SSD size.

An example: the i5 and i7 chips aren't the same (or as powerful) as those in MacBook Pros - they are special Intel low voltage ones. Get the i7. Especially since it only has a not so good integrated Intel graphics card.

It has a limited number of ports. I have been helping a friend spec an MBA (she brought it today) and she will be getting a Thunderbolt hub Apple monitor - suggest you consider this if you will be using your MBA for significant time at a particular desk/work station. Very useful.

Watch out for strange Lion features (which can be changed back) like unnatural reverse scrolling and no HD icon on the desktop.

Understand that you leaving the dark side of mainstream drones and joining a funky cult. What that means in practice is that stuff you take for granted with a Windows machine may not hold for a Mac.

Probably every site works with Explorer, but not with Safari (Mac's web browser) so you need Firefox. Likewise, getting Flip4Mac let's you watch .wmv files in Quicktime. Likewise sometimes Acrobat Reader is useful rather than Preview. Likewise, Lion ships without a Flash player (you'll need to download and install it yourself).

If do you get a MBA, then I'd recommend you download these apps:

- Firefox

- Flash

- Coconut Battery (useful utility for battery life)

- Perian (does useful stuff with video I can't remember)

- Flip4Mac

- Acrobat Reader

- Windows Media Player

Dunno if Lion still has widgets but if it does then these two are useful:

http://www.radocaj.com/TheBom/

http://www.islayer.com/apps/istatpro/

Dunno if any of the above have Lion versions, but you can check here:

http://roaringapps.com/

Apple folk: Are there other useful apps Caesar should have?

 

[Jafa]

Never understood why people by an Apple and then install parallels to run windows. Makes no sense.

 

[Dry Rot]

Never understood why people by an Apple and then install parallels to run windows. Makes no sense.

A mate has to use special CAD software only for Windows.

Otherwise, unless you have a really special need, I totally agree.

 

[absy]

Not sure I agree with that, better off saving your $450 as you won't notice the difference one bit between an i5 and an i7 apart from slightly less battery life and it running hotter. The difference in speed for the MBA 13" is only around 8% more from the upgrade. Not worth it!!!

Future proofing is great, but we all know next year the new MBA will have 8GB of ram and be a crap load better.

Parallels is average imo, but passable. Some things you just need windows for... (even microsoft access...)

 

[Caesar]

I think I will need to dual boot if I move 100% to a Mac. Even if I didn't use it for work, from a purely prosaic perspective there are a number of legacy programs that I use that just don't transfer. I use Quicken for my personal finances, for example.

 

[grizzlym]

I swapped to Mac 8 years ago and have never looked back. I love them. They just work. And work beautifully. Been through 4 laptops and 3 desktops, in that time.

I currently use a specced out Mac Book pro for my daily work. It really flies. Plus I've currently got an Air for travelling.

My laptop is probably on 18 hours a day, every day. And while I mostly do word processing and surfing the net, I do have to get into more processor hungry programs sometimes. I've flipped around in-design files with artwork for entire walls before (big, big file) and it just chews it up.

 

[Dry Rot]

Not sure I agree with that, better off saving your $450 as you won't notice the difference one bit between an i5 and an i7 apart from slightly less battery life and it running hotter. The difference in speed for the MBA 13" is only around 8% more from the upgrade. Not worth it!!!

Future proofing is great, but we all know next year the new MBA will have 8GB of ram and be a crap load better.

Parallels is average imo, but passable. Some things you just need windows for... (even microsoft access...)

FWIW the i7 upgrade is only $100

Processor
Enjoy incredible performance from the latest dual-core Intel processors — the Core i5 and Core i7 — that boost MacBook Air performance up to two times faster than before. Choose the speed and processor you want.
Learn more

1.7GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i5
1.8GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i7 [Add A$ 100.00]

http://store.apple.com/au/configure/MC966X/A?select=select&product=MC966X/A&mco=MjMzOTQ0OTU

 

[Dry Rot]

I think I will need to dual boot if I move 100% to a Mac. Even if I didn't use it for work, from a purely prosaic perspective there are a number of legacy programs that I use that just don't transfer. I use Quicken for my personal finances, for example.

A question I'd put out to Apple dual boot folk (I don't do this): Is the small SSD an issue here?

BTW, Apple's Bootcamp seems to work well re Parallels etc arguments

 

[sblack]

How big is the SSD?

 

[Dry Rot]

How big is the SSD?

Either 128 GB or 256 GB.

 

[sblack]

Not at all, plenty of space. A windows install will take ~11GB. Can't comment on an OSX. But its plenty of room. A 256GB SSD is a huge drive in SSD terms. Regular user would get a 60 or 120GB drive.

Should still store Movies/TV Shows on an external drive however. SSD have a limited life span, and constant writing to the disk will deteriorate it quickly.

 

[red+black]

Don't overlook the alternative to Parallels and VMWare Fusion, VirtualBox

http://www.virtualbox.org/

I think I will need to dual boot if I move 100% to a Mac. Even if I didn't use it for work, from a purely prosaic perspective there are a number of legacy programs that I use that just don't transfer. I use Quicken for my personal finances, for example.

You would probably only need dual boot for gaming or CAD, otherwise set up a virtual machine and run them side by side when you need to.

And yeah, definitely get iStat Menus. I'm not 100% sure how it differs from MiStat: http://bjango.com/mac/

 

[King Elvis]

Never understood why people by an Apple and then install parallels to run windows. Makes no sense.

In my case, I've got an accounting program and an industry specific CAD program which are Windows only.

I want to move our entire work IT structure over to Mac, it's those two programs which are the only sticking points.

I think the guys that do the intensive CAD work (includes crunching thousands of components for machinery optimisation) will initially stay on PC, but everybody else, I'm going to shift over.

The latest version of Parallels seems to be the best option available - and I like that for the more computer illiterate people, I can have an icon on their desktop that opens straight into the Win program they need.

 

[FIGJAM]

Watch out for strange Lion features (which can be changed back) like unnatural reverse scrolling

I've gone over to the dark side and go for Apple's inconsiderately named 'natural' mode.

Takes some getting used to, but actually ends up making more sense once you realise you are moving the page up or down, rather than paying any attention to the scroll bar.

Funnily enough I have no issue switching between the MBP and the Windows machine at work.

 

[Jafa]

In my case, I've got an accounting program and an industry specific CAD program which are Windows only.
I want to move our entire work IT structure over to Mac, it's those two programs which are the only sticking points.

I think the guys that do the intensive CAD work (includes crunching thousands of components for machinery optimisation) will initially stay on PC, but everybody else, I'm going to shift over.

The latest version of Parallels seems to be the best option available - and I like that for the more computer illiterate people, I can have an icon on their desktop that opens straight into the Win program they need.

So why not simply stay with windows? Does parallels allow you to run windows applications without installing the underlying operating system?

 

[King Elvis]

That's why I haven't pulled the trigger yet, because I'm still debating the pros/cons

Why not stay with Windows? Sick of the issues and problems with it, and people who don't know how to use computers requiring constant tutoring. The simplicity of Macs is a major appeal; but that's tempered with the need for Parallels or similar. Plus, IPads are becoming a major part of our business, so better integration of them would be nice.

Not sure which direction we'll go in yet.

 

[Jafa]

I have just spent the last hour browsing around and the Parallels/Ipad app looks very interesting. I have an Ipad 2 that I am trialing for MYOB invoicing (RDP app) and it works ok but is not without it's issues. Something like this might be a solution.

Vmware also has an app as well.

 

[red+black]

So why not simply stay with windows? Does parallels allow you to run windows applications without installing the underlying operating system?

This might (?)

http://winebottler.kronenberg.org/

 

[red+black]

FYI re OSX, the ATO consistently refuse to release a Mac version of eTax.

 

[Caesar]

On a semi-related note, is there a decent small business accounting software that works on Macs? A friend of mine was asking and I couldn't tell him.

Apparently Quickbooks and MYOB Premier are no bueno.

 

[azreal]

FYI re OSX, the ATO consistently refuse to release a Mac version of eTax.

This is the only real problem I have with macs. Once a year I have to borrow a laptop to do my tax.

I use a MacBook for work and an iPad. The only trouble I have had is a battery problem with the MacBook but I get a new one in 2months, the change over from windows is very easy.

 

[BigKahunaBlue]

So why not simply stay with windows? Does parallels allow you to run windows applications without installing the underlying operating system?

Sure does.

I have a friend who is a web developer and he uses a mac. He only uses parallels as IE is not available on a mac and he needs to test stuff on IE.

 

[Dry Rot]

I've gone over to the dark side and go for Apple's inconsiderately named 'natural' mode.

Takes some getting used to, but actually ends up making more sense once you realise you are moving the page up or down, rather than paying any attention to the scroll bar.

Funnily enough I have no issue switching between the MBP and the Windows machine at work.

OK, now makes sense with the new mouse, trackpad etc

 

[red+black]

I am seriously considering buying an AirBook

b) How well will an AirBook talk to a desktop PC?

d) Are there any other problems with the AirBook that I should be aware of?

I obviously missed it before, but it's not called an AirBook, it's called a MacBook Air (MBA).

Then there is the big daddy, the MacBook Pro (MBP). And the MacBook has been retired.