[rawr]

Mac OS X is based on Unix, which is considerably less amenable to virus and other malware attacks

Haha, oh wow. I had to giggle at the naivete of that statement. Putting it kindly, it shows the triumph of hope over experience.

[twitch]

Officially the most boring thread on this forum

[metalmania]

Mac vs PC, fight again.

Anyway if the OP want a Mac, don't buy Mac Mini. The new 13" Macbook Pro with i5 is much better and only cost $999 if you have a Microcenter nearby.

I have the 2010 version, bought for my wife for her design work.

[enoxatnep]

LOL. Only by perception. Mac people see it that way because hardly any of them run any anti-virus or a decent firewall.

Mac = computer = vulnerable. Especially if you use a web browser, email client, run Skype, IRC, read PDF's, play Flash, run peer to peer etc, or generally connect to the Internet.

But I digress. Sorry.

Are you a Mac user? I've been one for 6 years and only started using a hardware firewall (wireless router) last summer when I bought my MacBook Pro. Before and since that time, no viruses, no problems, and my original Mac (a 6-year-old Mini) runs as smoothly online and offline as the day I bought it. If viruses are indeed written for Mac, I've never gotten one and it's never affected me. But I suppose my experience is totally unique; nevertheless, I thought I'd mention it.

Whenever I share things like this with Windows users who've never used a Mac, the response is usually incredulous, as though existing virus-free is impossible. I'm not saying that I won't get one in the future, but I am saying that I've heard doomsayers warn of Mac viruses since before I bought mine 6 years ago, and the rumors and warnings have yet to be substantiated. If there's a Mac user out there who HAS been affected by a virus, I'd like to know about it.

[boriscleto]

If there's a Mac user out there who HAS been affected by a virus, I'd like to know about it.

I got a virus once....in 1998.

AutoStart 9805 Worm (a.k.a. "Hong Kong" virus)

And once I left an open FTP server running and someone filled up my limited hard drive space with a DVD movie. That was in 2000 or 2001. It is fun to run a virus scanner on your Junk email folder and see how many PC trojans it can find.

[kbrede]

I actually moved from Linux to a Mac not too long ago. I bought the Mini 2.40GHz and put 8GB of RAM in it. I've never run Lightroom on any OS before so I have nothing to compare it to, but here are my impressions:

I've got the K-5 and process raw with Lightroom and Photoshop. I have Lightroom render minimal previews for the raw files on import. It takes a few seconds for a photo to load for view and a few seconds more to generate a 1:1. I think I read you can have Lightroom pre-render some of these views but of course that slows down the import. At any rate what I'm experiencing wouldn't be considered "snappy."

There have been times where I've used the adjustment brush extensively on a photo where the editing process becomes stop and go. There just isn't enough horsepower available. So you sit waiting. If you do some research online, you'll find others have had this problem with Lightroom. I've stopped using the adjustment brush, except for small things, in Lightroom. If I want to selective sharpen or underexpose an area, I now do that in Photoshop, which handles these tasks with ease.

You asked for "in general" impressions about OS X. As I mentioned I'm a Linux user and have been since about 1990. I've also used Windows 95 through 7. Moving from those operating systems to a Mac isn't a huge deal. There are some basic things like installing programs, keyboard shortcuts, window handling, etc. that are different and must be learned. It really comes down to personal preference and the only way to discover *your* preference is to use the OS. But if you're reasonably computer savvy, you shouldn't have any problems. I moved from my Linux workstation simply because I wanted to run Adobe products and OS X runs on a Unix base. So being a command line type guy I naturally gravitated to a Mac. I suspect the next one I purchase will have more horsepower though.

[Coeurdechene]

Macs are just overpriced machines (where the aditional hundreds of bucks are payed for design reasons..), since they got the same hardware as PC..so do yourself a favor, instead of buying another computer just install MacOS on your fine machine.
MacOS is better than windows, but as with anything it needs a certain degree of involvement to tweak and learn to use it to really get the most out of it. You will still have to learn better practises to avoid rootkits, worms,etc...and learn the difference between user and administrator (it's one of it's strongpoints, and the thing that is less understood by newcomers...i inherited a Ibook plagued with filth because the former user wasn't carefull with user/admin difference).
Buy the 40$ dollar OS instead of the 1000$ computer since you already own a powerfull machine.

[Jimmy637]

We purchased an Imac 21.5 last month. I have used a PC from the days of DOS.
We purchased the imac for our photgraphy and because of the great reviews about using a Mac.
Let me tell you I had it back in the box ready to get my money back by the second week. But I told myself that everyone tells me how easy and great the Mac is and I was determined to learn how to use this great computer.
Well let me tell you the truth. Mac's are slow and are not logical.
They hang up and require restarts to get them to work.
As far as organizing your photos, well it does it you alright, but forget trying to correct anything because you have to have a degree in computer science to try to reoganize the mess.
The mouse and track pad are another thing. Great idea but they are too intermittent in thier actions. And what’s up with the Dock being on the main screen. Anytime you get near it jumps into action and interferes with you actions.
PC's may have a bad rap but at least with a PC you will get things done that you want get done. One more thing about the Mac, the key board, how do you delete forwards in a sentence?

[Coeurdechene]

Mac's are slow and are not logical.
They hang up and require restarts to get them to work.

Probably a failure in YOUR machine....and Mac handling may not seem "logical" if you have learned on a PC (much more if you come from the day of DOS).
I agree that the rep that Mac has comes from almost magical assumptions, it comes with trend and fashion, now Mac is trendy so it is superior,safer,etc.
Mac has, historically, made better workstations (hardware wise) and has a better OS...but today Mac machines are the same and the OS is better if you take the time to learn how to use it.

[séamuis]

They hang up and require restarts to get them to work.

im no mac fanboy by any means, but its blanket statements like these that I really hate, because people try to pass a single personal experience as the ‘general’ experience of any user of such a system. its stupid.

my 13” macbook pro (what im typing this on now) has been up and running with zero problems for a grand total of 42 days. according to the system profiler: 42 days 5 hours and 13 minutes. I run lightroom 3, aperture 3, photoshop CS5, Nik Silver Efex Pro, Skype, safari (with no flash installed). zero problems, zero hangups, zero restarts. nothing but smooth easy uninterrupted use. the last time I restarted was due to a system (apple) software update.

[boriscleto]

One more thing about the Mac, the key board, how do you delete forwards in a sentence?

With the forward delete key just like on a PC. You just need a keyboard with a numeric keypad. If you have the wireless keyboard without the numeric keypad hold the fn key and hit delete (backspace on a windows keyboard).

I think the PEBKAC.

[Jimmy637]

Thanks for your encouragement.
But this is the problem.
I keep reading about how well they work?
Just got off the Imac. I'm trying PSE organizer.
I down loaded an SD card and tried to put the photos into an album.
I select them all and slide them over to the album. They gust slide back out. Earlier today I tried to send a large Jpeg photo with email and it took a long time for the coloured ball to stop spinning. Never got sent. Tried sending it as an attachment and it resized the photo which was not what I wanted to do. It seems every time I ask the Mac to something it only does what it wants not want I need? But I just keep trying and trying because of great things I read.

[boriscleto]

Thanks for your encouragement.
But this is the problem.
I keep reading about how well they work?
Just got off the Imac. I'm trying PSE organizer.
I down loaded an SD card and tried to put the photos into an album.
I select them all and slide them over to the album. They gust slide back out. Earlier today I tried to send a large Jpeg photo with email and it took a long time for the coloured ball to stop spinning. Never got sent. Tried sending it as an attachment and it resized the photo which was not what I wanted to do. It seems every time I ask the Mac to something it only does what it wants not want I need? But I just keep trying and trying because of great things I read.

From what little I know about PSE Organizer, you don't drag files from a SD card to the album. You drag them into the main window, then you drag them from the main window into the album. I used iPhoto for years, now I use Aperture. I avoid Adobe as much as possible. It's not Apple's fault the Adobe doesn't follow the Human Interface Guidelines.

It may not be possible to send a large JPEG as an email because of attachment size limitations. This is where MobileMe comes in handy. Upload the JPEG to your iDisk, then use the iDisk web interface to share the file. If you don't have a MobileMe account use an email service that allows large attachments, like gMail.

[Ash]

It may just be PSE organiser.
The PS/Bridge setup on Mac is very intuitive and a joy to use - streamlines the workflow absolutely brilliantly. I'm sure it's the same for the PC version. It's software that shows its monetary value over and over again with each use.

[Jimmy637]

Great tips.
Thanks for your encouragement.
I will try resending the Photos later to-night.
Just to leave on a positive note about the Imac, it is stylish and the fact that it is an all in one unit is great when it is being used in area that’s not an office.