h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

After years of dithering, I've finally made the leap from PC to Mac with the purchase of an iMac.

Okay, so I know people who have Macs tend to love their machines more than PC users do - I mean really *love* as oppose to a mere obsession - but it's not difficult to see why. The instructions to set it up were hilarious: Pop on a flat surface, plug in, add keyboard and mouse - hurrah, you're done! For a cable-tangled idiot like me, that was a great relief.

The strange thing is, it seems to have had an effect upon everyone else I deal with. I called my telephone/internet provider to ask for a new modem and it arrived this morning as they promised without any hassle. A book I ordered from one of Amazon's market dealers turned up in exquisite form just 48 hours after I ordered it. Last night, I bought a new mattress and was astounded that - unlike everyone else I'd been to, who said it would take upwards of a week - they could deliver tomorrow!

I know my Mac friends said that converting would make my life easier, but this is a little more dramatic and far-reaching than I expected.




... and then this morning, a designer who works near to me reminded me that Douglas Adams bought the very first Mac in the UK (his friend and my idol Stephen Fry apparently bought the second). Seems I'm in very good company here...

Apart from being able to set it up easily, and the mysterious brotherhood of the iMac (I get stuff from Amazon Marketplace all the time and it nearly always turns up the next day), are there any real benefits? Or is it just a nice colour?

B

I don't just love my PowerBook... he and I have a level of mutual understanding that PC'ers couldn't understand

Flowers will smell sweeter, your co-workers will look more attractive (insert your own joke here), you'll feel just a bit more full after eating breakfast... Macs will do that for you.

"co-workers will look more attractive"

I think if I had to look at Paully every day, then this might be a decent investment.

B

See, if I'd have known B was in this thread, I would've resisted the temptation and said something like 'Sheep will be less smelly'.

Vincent.

I was a bit annoyed when my PC didn'T work anymore - but my Mac dying, that was traumatic! Also, working with a mac at home has gained me respect at work after we converted, as they all don't know how to use one - mine's always faster because I know to quit programs, not just close the window...

I'm sure there are benefits to the Mac apart from that whole-hand mouse-click being less arthritic than its multi-buttoned cousin, or the space it saves in being a monitor, hard-drive, USB hub in one. And some of the benefits might just be to do with this machine being more powerful than my PC, but BOY does it move music at a rate and a half!

The initial benefits I've experienced are really superficial though - like when you set it to sleep and it just DOES, like a well-behaved puppy or child, as opposed to taking forever to do so like my PC.

Mmmm... shiny whiteness...

Oh, rub it in - unfortunately I've had to go back to PCs at home.

The only real drawback to a Mac is having to come to w*rk and use a PC. The keys on the PC are just wrong enough to drive you mad. Plus before I fixed my desktop, the trash can on my PC was forever in the wrong place.


The general lack of crashiness will more than make up for the drawbacks however.

My problem is the software i have to use for Uni...

I'm a Mac virgin so I couldn't possibly comment

I grew up with Macs - I even learned hypercard!

*accidently falls and puts her hand on Jims keyboard*



*unfortunately, she's been eating jam butties*

Now, this is where universal binary oppositions come into play, only to create something wonderful.

iMac - now with added jam.



(I'm still enough of a Mac newbie not to flinch at such a virtual disaster. And fortunately, my iMac is mushroom-proof, so you won't be able to poison me with a mushroom-smeared palm.)

Now - anyone able to explain Widgets to me?

*spits in her hankie and wipes VV's face clean*

So sorry Jims

Can't take this child anywhere!!

Jims!!! If you don't know what Widgets are, then I'm worried!




all men have one </>

Only if they've a can of beer in their hands.

Hmm...beer...

B

No no, mac owners drink

Ah well done Jimster!

I'm posting from home from our very nice G5 Mac. Very white and shiny indeed. They're kind of friendly and gorgeous, not like a PC.

Now your Douglas Adams story. I also had one of the very first Macs in the country, back in 1984. It was a Mac 128k with one single-sided single-density floppy disk drive - that ran the system file, as well as the programs, so you had to swap disks all the time.

I got one because I worked for the ad agency BBDO and we had the Apple account. One day the people from Apple came in with all these little white boxes, with a computer for all of us to try. They looked weird, but I loved mine - it was positioned to be one of the first portable computers, because it came with a carrying case with a shoulder strap, but it was pretty huge for carrying.

I set one up on my bosses desk, and when she came in she liked it, but suggested getting a little table to put it on, because it was cluttering up her desk, she thought it was bit impractical putting it there!

I've always had one, and loved them, since then. So welcome to the Mac club!

I want my Mac!