My Mac Review

[teacher]

Now that I have been a Mac User for one month, it is time to reflect on what I have learned and how I feel about my Mac. It was pointed out to me that I have not done a review of it yet. So here it is – all in one.As most of you are aware, I agonized for a few short minutes to decide which MacBook Pro to purchase. There was no doubt in my mind that i wanted the MacBook Pro. Part of my reasoning has flown out the window but that's okay as I am having fun. I went with the 15†version as that was a screen size I find to be quite comfortable without being too bulky. It is wide enough for anything I want to do. I have looked at the smaller sizes and been left without any desire to go small. I also just could not find a real reason to justify the larger 17†version. Once I had decided upon the screen size, it was a simple matter to decide upon the processor speed. I obviously went for the fastest I could afford – the 2.16Mhz. I have had absolutely no qualms about the speed of my Mac. It does just great. I have yet to feel like it was lagging in any area related to processor speed.That left the decision of RAM. I always want the most you can get. Practicality won out. I went with the single stick of 1GB. This gives me an empty slot to add in another stick to get to the maximum allowed. I have not found a need for another stick yet but I plan to buy it anyway. I can pick up that second stick for around $100 versus the $300 Apple wanted for it.Performance:The performance has been great. I have had one or two glitches where an application froze. I was able to go in and use the activity monitor in utilities to stop the process. Each time it was related to beta software I was running. The one in particular that has given me problems is Audacity. I have tried two versions of Audacity – both the 1.3 version and the newer version are in the trashcan. I had some issues with sound. I was getting a static when I tried to record my voice. It was overpowering. It was in both Audacity and GarageBand. I bought a new headset – despite it being inexpensive it has taken my music enjoyment to a whole new level. It was a basic version of the Altec Lansing over the ear microphone/headset. It took care of 95% of the background noise so I don't know if the rest is hardware or software related. Learning Curve:The learning curve has been slight. I feel like I am using Gnome in Linux with the banner menu across the top of the screen. I have had to learn to make sure I close applications using this and not by clicking in the upper left corner of the application. I have also had to learn about the delete key. It is located where the backspace key belongs and works the same way. My problem has been seeing the label and wanting to use it to delete to the right of the cursor. It does not work that way. Another part of the learning curve has been the right click. I have found new ways to do things other than the right click. I learned you can put two fingers on the pad and click with a third to get a right click. That does not always work. Learning to use the Apple key rather than a control key took all of about two nanoseconds. I am finding that key combinations do take a second or two to adapt. One of my biggest ones is the send email combination. The help menu shows what resembles a backslash key and the apple key along with the letter d. I have tried everything I can think of and can not figure out what that almost a backslash key is trying to represent. That is really very trivial.Software/Programs:This has been one of the easiest things to figure out. I have found a lot of open source software that meets my needs. I am learning to use GarageBand rather than Audacity. NeoOffice is a the Mac equivalent of Open Office. I purchased the MS Office for Mac but have not had a need to install it yet. I installed X-chat Aqua to do my IRC chat. I use the iChat that came with the computer to do instant messaging. I was using Trillian before and they are very similar. I have alternated between Firefox and Safari. Right now I think Firefox still has the edge. The email program is fine. I have no real beefs with it. My only concern is the lack of a text only setting that I can find. Since this is a Mac this is not the concern that it was in Windows.My Address book did an acceptable job of importing addresses once I figured out to use cards to import rather than the other options. I do have a bunch of blank addresses where it turned an entry into two. Someday I will sit down and convert those. PhotoBooth has been fun to play with. My daughter and I have posted dueling flicker pages of PhotoBooth images. It is fun to do at neighborhood gatherings and then post on flickr. And where would I be without my iTunes. Although I was able to copy all of my iTune files over I had to reregister my iPod and reinstall all the songs to be able to use the MacBook Pro as my primary device. That too is ok because I already had a DVD with all the songs on it. My library remained intact on my laptop, it was just a reinstall to the ipod. Weakness:There is one area that I find the Mac to be weak. That is the wireless connection. I have not located the source of the problem yet. I am not sure if it is hardware, operating system, Safari or Firefox. There are times when it just seems to stall out despite the wireless manager indicating I am connected and at full strength.Changed Plans:Can you tell I am happy with my new MacBook Pro? My intentions were to dual boot with Linux but I have changed my mind on that. With the Unix based OS I am finding no need to install Linux. All of my favorite open source applications also have Mac versions. It would be redundant to install a Linux distro on my laptop. That does not mean I did not try to run a live CD. That was another adventure. It would not work without some missing files. Maybe I will try that again later. At this point, I have no interest in running BootCamp or Parallels. I do plan to pick up Quicken for Mac and Turbo Tax for Mac in December once the sales begin.Outlook:Can I see myself going back to a PC? No I can't. I can not see any reason that would take me back to the PC. The initial outlay for my Mac was a bit more than my last tablet. That's ok because I have needed less software. Everything is working great. Even though I teach Windows I find that I am happier running my Mac. I don't have so many issues to deal with. I would definitely recommend anyone new to computers that can afford it to go with the Mac rather than a PC based computer. It is just easier to operate. Even installing software is easier. I mean really, can it actually get any easier?

[Marsden11]

Execellent review!

[roger2002]

Great review Teacher! I'm glad your experience has been so positive. I keep an eye on a few websites that seem to go out of their way to make sure that everyone knows about potential problems on Mac's and I know that is necessary but it's nice so see the other side of the picture. My own experience with a G5 iMac has been outstanding. I still keep the old PC's that I have running PCLinuxOs but I find that it is really nice to not have to fiddle with getting things to work on the Apple. I have to say that Linux has replaced Windows on all my families computers except where work dictates otherwise and it is far superior to that mess of spyware removers and antivirus programs,but my Mac shines! I bought it just 2 weeks before the Intel versions came out and I still don't know if I should have waited for them. I guess that you just have to bite the bullet sooner or later and then don't look back. I'd have to agree with you in that it is any easy change to switch from Linux to Mac. I can hardly wait until I can find the justification to buy a new MacBook I have to agree with you about the wireless weakness. I have never had it go down but it does seem to fluctuate from 36 to 54 Mbps (full strength) for no reason that I can find. I use an Airport express to send music to the stereo from the iMac and also to connect to my wired network but it is less than 30 feet away. I had started to wonder if there was someone in my neighborhood with a pre-n router causing interference but I can't seem to find it if there is. My only gripe with the computer is the lack of tools available to trouble-shoot issues that you are having. I guess that I got spoiled by the almost infinite possibilities available to the Linux world!

[Dard]

Can I see myself going back to a PC? No I can't. I can not see any reason that would take me back to the PC.

Now that says it all. Maybe it's apples DRM that is keeping audacity from working. Can you make .ogg and .mp3 with garage band?Excellent review, Thanks Julia!

[Peachy]

Methinks it's the Atheros chipset in the AirPort wireless. Does Apple have drivers for the Intel wifi chipset? I find it strange that Apple didn't go with a full Centrino configuration. People often say the Intel chipset sucks, but I think that has more to do with Windows XP than the hardware itself. My Centrino notebook wifi is rock solid in Linux: it never drops out once you have a connection.

[teacher]

Can you make .ogg and .mp3 with garage band?

No GarageBand seems to like m4a. That is why I have been looking at other programs. i have tested several and come up empty so far. I really need to be able to save in one of those formats.

[RichNRockville]

I am also in the mood for a Mac book pro.I bought one of the first Mac-Mini's and spent a lot of time getting to knowhow the OS worked. I have reformatted and re-installed Tiger at least 5times where I ended up in a hole where I could not see the sky. I use a XP laptop and I am now just waiting for the new Mac OS and the dualcore laptops so that I can run xp and the new Mac os.I loved your review, good information and to the point.Rich

[bjf123]

I have also had to learn about the delete key. It is located where the backspace key belongs and works the same way. My problem has been seeing the label and wanting to use it to delete to the right of the cursor. It does not work that way.

It does if you hold down the Fn key! At least, it works that way on my PowerBook.

[teacher]

It does if you hold down the Fn key! At least, it works that way on my PowerBook.

Thank you! I am going to have to experiment a bit more with the function key. Does it also make the end go to the end, etc.?

[bjf123]

Does it also make the end go to the end, etc.?

It depends on the app. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't.

[zlim]

Julia, a very nice review. Since I don't run XP and have no intention of running Vista, this give me food for thought about what to purchase when I want a newer computer.

[teacher]

Glad it was of some use. It gave me reason to stop and think about what I have learned and how I have changed in my use. I just figured out that pressing the Alt nad the delete key together removes one word at a time to the left. bjf123 - That trick did not work for me. I am having fun exploring to see what key combinations do what tasks.

[Neil P]

Learning Curve:The learning curve has been slight. I feel like I am using Gnome in Linux with the banner menu across the top of the screen. I have had to learn to make sure I close applications using this and not by clicking in the upper left corner of the application.

Cmd+Q will close applications the "right" way, instead of going to Quit.

Another part of the learning curve has been the right click. I have found new ways to do things other than the right click. I learned you can put two fingers on the pad and click with a third to get a right click. That does not always work.

You should be able to double click by using two fingers on the touchpad. I've never done it, and can't confirm it, because I don't have a MBP Check in the settings, there should be an area dealing with that.

Learning to use the Apple key rather than a control key took all of about two nanoseconds. I am finding that key combinations do take a second or two to adapt. One of my biggest ones is the send email combination. The help menu shows what resembles a backslash key and the apple key along with the letter d. I have tried everything I can think of and can not figure out what that almost a backslash key is trying to represent. That is really very trivial.

That weird slash thing is the option key. I don't know what it's trying to represent. I guess it's like a path diverging, giving you an "option".

Thank you! I am going to have to experiment a bit more with the function key. Does it also make the end go to the end, etc.?

Do you mean go to the end of the line when you're in a text box? Try cmd+arrow keys, those should take you to the beginning/end of a line. Option+arrow keys seems to move a single word at a time.As for GarageBand/mp3, you have to use iTunes to convert the files.

[teacher]

You should be able to double click by using two fingers on the touchpad. I've never done it, and can't confirm it, because I don't have a MBP Check in the settings, there should be an area dealing with that.As for GarageBand/mp3, you have to use iTunes to convert the files.

Thank you! I will try that. I must admit I looked at it but not that far. I will go open a m4a and see if I can convert it in iTunes. I have tried the two fingers and clicking with a third finger. Sometimes it works but not in all applications. It really is a learning process to make it work right. Sometimes it just works and other times I scratch my head wondering what the easier way is to do something. I love to do things with shortcut keys rather than mouse clicks. I guess that goes back to my old days in DOS.Any and all tips are welcome. That's one reason I started the thread on tips so we could share these with each other.