windows guy going to macs

[loki]

Are there any good forums out there for mac discussion? I'm a windows guy who is making the switch from windows/dos for the past 22 years (started on a comadore 64 when I was 4) to a mac for the first time. My fiacee really wants one and I figure if we have one in the house I'm going to need one so I know how to fix her laptop when she screws it up. But rather then playing catch up when they get here I'd rather hit the ground running and have a working knowledge of what's going on with the OS and what some must have problems are. I'm already getting VMware so that I can still run my old copy of office....hey I'm cheap that's a couple boxes of cigars I can buy with what that softwear would cost.

Thanks all

[King James]

congrats! I switched 4 years ago with no regrets.

macrumors.com is a good site. Also alot of good information reading around the apple.com website.

[tenbaseg]

Originally Posted by King James

congrats! I switched 4 years ago with no regrets.

macrumors.com is a good site. Also alot of good information reading around the apple.com website.

Macrumors and the Apple site are the forums I frequent. The only thing you have to watch out for is that the Apple forum is censored by Apple. Rumors and speculation on future products discussions don't last too long on there.

Appleinsider.com is another one to try as well.

[Smokin Gator]

I have been a Mac user since 1987. If you need anything shoot me a PM.

[macpappy]

Congratulations.
Macs are easy to use and there are very few viruses or worms that have been written to attack Macs so that is a good thing. The bad news is that it does happen occasionally so you'll still need anti-virus software.

My first recommendation is to buy the Apple Care warranty. It will cost you a couple of hundred extra but it is worth the money as it covers just about anything that can go wrong with your computer. It also gives you good telephone tech support access and from my experience these people know what they are doing.

[GWN]

Mac user since 87 as well. Feel free to PM with any questions. The forums at apple.com are a great resource as well. Just like here, lots of FOGs willing to help a newbie without giving any attitude with the answer. In terms of what's new, etc, I keep an eye on tuaw.com and macnn.com

[goalie204]

Use both a mac and a windows pc for many years, if you need any help feel free to pm

[loki]

Originally Posted by macpappy

Congratulations.
Macs are easy to use and there are very few viruses or worms that have been written to attack Macs so that is a good thing. The bad news is that it does happen occasionally so you'll still need anti-virus software.

My first recommendation is to buy the Apple Care warranty. It will cost you a couple of hundred extra but it is worth the money as it covers just about anything that can go wrong with your computer. It also gives you good telephone tech support access and from my experience these people know what they are doing.

i was planing to get the applecare after the ne that comes with the computer runs out. what are some must have programs for a mac? im getting vmware what else do i need who makes a good skin for a macbook? thank god for internet on cell phones since the net at work is down

[Buckeye Jack]

Long time Mac user here....I have always enjoyed macmentor.com as well....seems as though it is down right now for updates.

[mmblz]

for general news, macintouch.com

Originally Posted by Smokin Gator

shoot me.

Will do... LINUX FOR LIFE!!!

[macpappy]

Originally Posted by loki

i was planing to get the applecare after the ne that comes with the computer runs out. what are some must have programs for a mac? im getting vmware what else do i need who makes a good skin for a macbook? thank god for internet on cell phones since the net at work is down

Buy the Applecare when you buy the computer. There are things it will cover that the normal warranty does not. As for what else you need it depends on what you are going to use the Mac for. I use both my desktop and macbook pro for work 90 percent of the time so I mainly just have the apps I use for work. I hear iLife is good but I have no experience with it since I use Office for Mac and the Adobe Creative Suite (Indesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, etc).

As others have posted, the Apple website is a good place to start and most of the Macintosh specific forums will give you some good information.

[Blueface]

Well, the comedy with Mac and me is well documented.
However, can't see myself going back to PC.

I love my mac and the simplicity.
I love Time Machine as a very simplified way of backing up the entire computer and being able to go back at any point in time and recover anything I may suddenly need again that I had deleted.
I love the way my iPod, iPhone and MacBook all sync and MobileMe.
I love iPhoto and iMovie and the simplicity of use.
I love that to delete a program......well......you do just that........you take it to the waste basket. Hmmm......what a novel idea.
I love the SUPPORT and constant feeds with tips. They take you to a tutorial video that even I can't mess up. There is a tutorial video for just about anything you need, or at least it seems that way.

I am now trying to figure out how I can get rid of my PC to buy the big screen desktop as these "old" eyes can use a big screen break once in a while and away from the 13" laptop and I can then totally kiss the PC world completely good bye.

[The Professor]

I'm a longtime member of "All Things Macintosh" over at DSLR. It's a pretty good community.

http://www.dslreports.com/forum/macdsl

Welcome to the Dark Side.

[loki]

Originally Posted by The Professor

I'm a longtime member of "All Things Macintosh" over at DSLR. It's a pretty good community.

http://www.dslreports.com/forum/macdsl

Welcome to the Dark Side.

i thought the DARK SIDE was the cuban slope lol. who makes a good macbok skin frank told me one but i forgot what the name is

[macpappy]

Originally Posted by GWN

Mac user since 87 as well. Feel free to PM with any questions. The forums at apple.com are a great resource as well. Just like here, lots of FOGs willing to help a newbie without giving any attitude with the answer. In terms of what's new, etc, I keep an eye on tuaw.com and macnn.com

The first Mac I used was a 512Ke with an external floppy drive and a blazing processor speed of 8Mhz. I was really flying with my Mac SE30 with its 68030 chip and 16Mhz. processor speed.

I now have an aging Mac PowerPC Dual 2.0Gb desktop I bought two months before the switch to Intel chips and a Macbook Pro Core 2 Duo (Penryn) 2.4Ghz processors.

[The Professor]

Originally Posted by loki

i thought the DARK SIDE was the cuban slope lol. who makes a good macbok skin frank told me one but i forgot what the name is

they're both about as expensive and addictive.

skin? SKIN?!? why would you clothe something so beautiful naked? I've never covered up my macs -- just be sure to store them well when you travel. if your bag doesn't have a good laptop compartment, get a neoprene case for it. just go to best buy or an apple store and you should be able to pick one up for $15 or so.

Windowz is the dark side.

[loki]

Originally Posted by The Professor

they're both about as expensive and addictive.

skin? SKIN?!? why would you clothe something so beautiful naked? I've never covered up my macs -- just be sure to store them well when you travel. if your bag doesn't have a good laptop compartment, get a neoprene case for it. just go to best buy or an apple store and you should be able to pick one up for $15 or so.

eh white gets dirty it an get scratched ect id like to get a blue or black or red skin for it

[GWN]

Originally Posted by macpappy

The first Mac I used was a 512Ke with an external floppy drive and a blazing processor speed of 8Mhz. I was really flying with my Mac SE30 with its 68030 chip and 16Mhz. processor speed.

I now have an aging Mac PowerPC Dual 2.0Gb desktop I bought two months before the switch to Intel chips and a Macbook Pro Core 2 Duo (Penryn) 2.4Ghz processors.

SE was my first, (upgraded it with a 20MB external, woohoo) though I worked on a plus before that. Now new Intel iMac (plus an eMac and Spring 2001 iMac) at home, MacBook Pro at work.