Computer Gear Thread

[Fishcop]

Hi Guys

A couple of the recent threads highlights the fact that even the latest computers crash... it's a fact of life. I guess we wouldn't expect to buy a new car and expect absolutely faultless operation without at least a little service attention. I am not an IT person, nor have I played one in a movie, and I don't sell the stuff...

Anyway, the previous year has seen me chew up two PC laptops and become really dissatisfied with PC overall. Anyway I threatened to jump to Mac after the first failure... after the third crash on my second laptop, I jumped. I get to salary sacrifice one laptop per year, but Mac is still considerably more to purchase than most PC stuff, and coining up still hurts.

I thought I'd note my pleasure at my new running gear... MacBook Pro 2.4hertz and 2meg RAM, and the best bit of gear... "Time Capsule" which is PC compatible but made by Apple. It is a 1 terrabyte hard drive with a N spec wireless protocol 'base station' function. Basically it is my wireless router for my home network and it automatically (and wirelessly) backs up each computer on my network to its hard-drive several times a day. It is a $600 odd jobbie, but in the really unlikely event of an Apple crash - I always have a backup

Feel free to chime in with your set ups and any advice that helps us stay online!

Cheers

[John S]

John thanks for the info, sounds like a good set up you have there. Someone will be coming around to set up something similar for me here, although PC based. How do you find running with Mac in a PC world, any issues?
Hope that is not a stupid question, I really know very little about the technicalities of computers, barely enough to get me into trouble ....

[griffiths_r]

hmmm... my mother is a mac person... and constantly complains that all it creates is problems (but never changes to pc!). may have something to do with mac, and the rest is that she has not a clue about what she is doing. and with mac's you can't just grab the nearest 14 year old boy and ask him nicely to fix it!

my 2 cents: mac is like the rolls royce of computers... expensive, not that many people have them so nothing is compatible and not many people know how they work, you can't buy parts at super cheap auto, and they still break down like any other car.

my home set up is a cheapie dell desktop - have had it almost 2 years and only rebuilt it once (only takes a couple of hours). I bought a 160gb 2.5" external hard disk off ebay to do back ups. I keep the hard disk at work in case the house burns down. if you partition the hard disk; 1 section for applications and the second section for data files (like a gazillion digital photos), when you rebuild you only need to rebuild the application "drive". also, when you are backing up, you only backup data, not applications. seems to be more efficient. also have adsl2+ through a wireless modem...

my ultimate set up at this point in time would be an ibm/lenovo laptop with 12.1" screen, 20" widescreen desktop monitor and external keyboard. the ultimate in flexibility!

anyway, sorry to all those mac-lovers out there. i am most definitely not one of them.

rich

ps. but i think i'll be looking for an i-phone shortly!! :-(

[CamBiscuit]

Crikey, this is mostly way over my head...

Anyway I run a HP laptop at home that has a huge screen (seemed like a good idea at the time but it weighs a ton when I go interstate...)

The wife managed to drop it off the laptop table the other night when she was adjusting it. Touch wood the thing still runs like a charm..... I hope it continues that way but I suspect an external hard drive might be the way to go for all of the photos and videos I have saved...

[IXXI72]

My computer doesn't have gears, but it's got a keyboard AND a mouse.

[T-DUB]

Mac = No viruses, EVER !



I've been a Mac user for almost 20 years, the lastest OS is fully compatible with PC's. I use Microsoft Office with word, excel, powerpoint, outlook etc. It also has a program called Bootcamp that will run any PC exe programs.

Time Machine is amazing - The name is a perfect description of it. TM automatically backs up your system hourly. It then allows you to 'scroll back in time' and restore any individual document or your entire system to that specific time. Your desktop is displayed to you exactly as it was on that day, like you've just gone back to that day! Amazing technology.

The intergration between programs on a Mac is so simple. Your photos, files, music and websites all communicate seamlessly. The cost is obviously more than a PC's because Apple won't licence third party companies to produce them. This explains why you get such a variation in quality and reliability with PC's.

Once you've had Mac, you'll never go back.

PS Did I mention the Apple iPhone!

[griffiths_r]

Tom

happy to agree to disagree on macs generally. it seems that it is one of those polarising issues. love them or hate them, nothing in between!

as for the iphone - have you got one? i'm tempted to cross to the dark side for one when they come out here... and only after about 36 seconds of playing on one!!

rich

[Paul W]

The ‘new’ intel based Macs are great and in my experience fully compatible with the XP platform. I run a 2.6gh Macbook pro with 200gig 7200RPM hd x 2 screens (17+23”) at home and a P4 XP at work. Even run my PC remotely from the Mac. Yet to have any version conflicts between graphics or ‘Office’ files.
Also have a 16gig iphone which I can’t rate highly enough – the only smart phone I’ve ever owned that works. Syncs with both my home and work computers and independantly checks email on 3 different accounts. Also have the workshop manuals & PET stored in there for emergencies!

[T-DUB]

The Dark Side

iPhone is coming, very soon. Like you, I played with one for a few minutes and was blown away!!!! You know the iPhone is your first step towards the dark side....... Use the force Richard, use the force.

[Jeff Eelkema]

Sorry for the hi-jack but.....

Now that all the IT gurus are reading this thread, can someone please explain (in simple, plain english terms) for luddites like myself, how to set up the header and signiture on posts. I see there is a reference to avartars etc but this jargon means nothing to me. Until I joined this club I have never had any need or inclination to comment on-line. I could probably spend hours surfing trying to find the answer, but I'd rather look at old Porsches.

Cheers
Jeff

[mj911e]

Jeff (aka Luddite), if you go to the top of the page & in the "wheel" in the center are a series of icons, search, home, FAQ, etc one of them is "User CP" which I guess stands for Control Panel, click on that & then you will be able to play with your signature, header, & Avatar (I think it's the little picture), etc.
cheers
PS Rich I like my Mac too!

[Paul W]

Tom, the Iphone is here if you don't mind buying it outright. Unlocked and fully functional. Bought one for myself and Angelina.

Very intuitive piece of gear. To illustrate the point it doesn’t come with any manuals other than a quick start guide – because it either sets itself up or you work the rest out very simply. First time I switched it on it logged itself onto our wireless LAN, sucked my contacts and mail settings off Outlook and bookmarks off my browser. Did have a little messing around getting my bigpond account to work with it but that’s more to do with Telstra’s failings than anything else. Few little things that bother me about it but after 2+ months still love it.

As an aside, I thought I recognized your car; I live virtually around the corner (in Elwood anyway) and have seen it around.

[Fishcop]

LOL, my intention wasn't to start Mac vs PC war (plenty of websites for that), it was just about identifying some issues with our computers - seeing as they are so essential to this site

I had Hayden Burvill (Wevo) visit just before christmas (is the year that far gone?!), he had his new iPhone with him - awesome stuff! Is it basically the iPod Touch with phone capability?

Rich, honestly I was ambivalent on my computer preference - didn't care what it was, I just wanted a reliable working system. After a little learning curve I genuinely prefer the Apple over PC now. My favourite thing is the the 1,2,3 finger track pad - one finger moves the cursor, two fingers scrolls the page, three fingers 'turns' the pages of the website. Intuitive and brilliant!

[Paul W]

John, haven't played around with the ipod touch but from first appearances it appears a highly stripped down version of the iphone. In the context of this site I find the iphone browser fantastic and will usually log on using that instead of the computer @ home, as it is either being used or needs to boot up. In the time it takes to have a coffee in the morning I can have a look at new posts, check out the Age headlines and share prices. For mine the biggest feature is the WIFI and GSM internet usability.

Mac vs PC, never been able to understand why people get so passionate about it. I use both daily and prefer the Mac OS and hardware as it’s a lot more robust and intuative. Having said that, if it disappeared tomorrow it’s not the end of the world.

[Andrew B]

Once you go MAc you never go back !

When I left school in the 80's (showing my age), I was employed in a shop that IBM and Apple. I was employed as a IBM salesman, within 2 weeks I was a Mac salesman. They're like a P car to drive... sexy, responsive, quick and very impressive in humble hands.

PS just got an Apple I phone, very sexy !