Re: Newbie (/ possible convert) Questions
From: Jim Gordon MVP (goldkey74_at_WarmerThanWarmMail.com)
Date: 09/02/04
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Date: Thu, 02 Sep 2004 19:43:10 -0400
Hi Z,
Good questions! Glad you asked. I hope my answers are helpful (in line
below).
-Jim
-- Jim Gordon Mac MVP MVP FAQ <http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;EN-US;mvpfaqs> Z wrote: > Hi, > > I'm a current windows/pc user looking into the new iMac G5. > > I've got a few basic questions to help me decide if I should make the > switch: > > Are there any compatibility issues between Windows Office (including older > versions) and Microsoft OfficeMac 2004? There are some. There are lots of threads about them in the newsgroups. Office versions 97 through 2004 all share the same file format. Most of the time you'll probably have no trouble at all. Each version of office has its own set of features, however, so you might find some differences. Primary areas: multimedia (PC uses Windows Media Player, Mac Office uses QuickTime). Visual Basic Macros that are poorly written are will not cross platforms, but ones that were properly thought out will. PC Office supports open source Active-X controls. Mac Office does not support Active-X. Office 2004 has new features such as PowerPoint presenter view, soft shadows, compatibility checker, WordNote, and Project that are not yet supported on the PC side. Word 2003 supports digital signatures, but Word 2004 does not. PC Outlook and Entourage support both support digital signatures and Exchange server. > The iMac G5 runs Panther OS, does Windows Office Mac 2004 take advantage of > the 64bit processing? No, not directly. > How do users find the upgrade path of software etc for Mac app's? Is it good > or are you hung out to dry at every OS or hardware upgrade/release? As far as Office is concerned, at one time Microsoft tried to alternate between new versions for Mac and Windows. The idea was each would leapfrog the other and Office would continually grow. That idea got messed up along the way because of OS introductions. So Office v.X was mostly a port of Office 2001 from OS 9 to OSX. But Office 2004 was the largest new set of features of any new release of Office either Mac or Windows IHMO. > I am using the usual word and excel apps and some video editing now and > then, and music ripping, photo editing, but no gaming, will the 512MB RAM > and the 128GeForce card sufficient with the iMac G5 processor/machine? A gig of RAM would be better. Like Windows, Mac OS will start using the hard drive as RAM, which is really slow, once it runs out of real RAM. > How good are the standard apps provided with the base package? much is > mentioned about iLife etc but do people really use it or do you usually buy > some other 3rd party apps (as you have to do for Windows). What additional > app's are usually found on a typical users computer for: eg photo editor (eg > Photoshop), music manager/ripper, office applications (eg word & excel), > video editing (eg premier). are the standard apps sufficient at all? I like the standard apps. I think they are a cut above the standard Windows apps. They are not "pro"-level, however. TextEdit is better than NotePad. iMovie is better than the XP movie tool. But like Windows you have many alternatives to choose from that run the gamut from barely better than the standard apps all the way to the highest end Pro apps (Maya, Final Cut Pro). > What AutoCAD equivalent is there for the Mac, is it compatible with AutoCAD > (I.e. PC) files? I don't know much about autocad. I saw some companies at MacWorld selling CAD stuff. This link might help: <http://www.architosh.com/features/2004/2004-mwsf-index.phtml> > How will the iMac compare to the big G5 powerMac in speed etc, what > compromises have been made to fit it into a small chassis? Single processor vs dual processor. Smaller hard drive. Possibly 25-35% slower than a dual processor. A lot depends upon what you're using it for. > Can I buy non apple upgrades like RAM, bigger harddrives etc? I am a bit > concerned that I will be at the mercy of proprietary hardware that is more > pricey than the same thing for a PC. Something new and different like the new iMac might have some funky things in it. Generally you can buy generic parts like RAM, many PCI cards & drives. > Along the lines of proprietary hardware, does the airport wireless equipment > work with pc based wireless servers etc? are there any issues that will > limit me from working with PC infrastructure? This question is backwards. Apple + Lucent created the 802.11 hardware standard, so of course Apple hardware works with it. All of the PC wireless stuff I've encountered works OK even though it's Apple/Lucent technology they are using (while generally oblivious to that fact). > How does the G5 processor compare to say a Pentium 4 3GHz machine with lets > say 512MB RAM & same(or similar) FSB speed? In raw computing power the G5 probably greatly exceeds the P4. Consider how cheaply you can build a word-class supercomputer with off the shelf G5 boxes and you'll appreciate the power that's inside. <http://www.apple.com/hardware/video/virginiatech/> > Sorry about the plethora of questions, but it's a big step as you can > appreciate....if there is a good FAQ that someone in my position (i.e. a > possible Mac OS convert) would find useful, please let me know. OK <http://www.apple.com/switch/> That site does not list my own #1 reason to suggest switching, which is: Windows: Tens of thousands of viruses, popups, adwares, & spywares. Macintosh: No known OSX viruses. I've not enountered any popup, spyware or adware applications that tried to serruptitiously install themselves onto any Mac. The only virus I know of that runs in OSX is Office Macro Virus which is fairly tame, and I haven't seen one of those on a Mac in years. This alone, to me, makes the decision to switch to Mac a no-brainer. > > Cheers > > >
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