Comments on: The road to Macdom http://www.accmanpro.com/2007/09/25/the-road-to-macdom/ Thu, 09 Feb 2012 10:01:51 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Andy Piper http://www.accmanpro.com/2007/09/25/the-road-to-macdom/comment-page-1/#comment-4113 Andy Piper Mon, 01 Oct 2007 09:29:40 +0000 http://www.accmanpro.com/2007/09/25/the-road-to-macdom/#comment-4113 Since we seem to have focussed in on the issue of my neighbours' PC... I didn't waste more than an hour or so trying to "clean" the machine before taking it into custody (carrying it downstairs!) and going for a reinstall. Fact is that it did still take an entire evening to reinstall; patch; apply SP2; repatch; apply IE 7, WMP 11, etc; repatch... and of course install the basics like Firefox, Flash, Java, etc. Oh, and there was indeed the effort to recover personal data onto an external drive that I could then restore it later. Again, I'll be interested to see what happens with Leopard. I'm assuming that the upgrade will be fairly straightforward. I like the fact that OS X can easily backup an entire OS image to another device, and then I can choose what to boot from... something that I've had to use something like PartitionMagic to achieve under XP in the past. Since we seem to have focussed in on the issue of my neighbours' PC… I didn't waste more than an hour or so trying to "clean" the machine before taking it into custody (carrying it downstairs!) and going for a reinstall. Fact is that it did still take an entire evening to reinstall; patch; apply SP2; repatch; apply IE 7, WMP 11, etc; repatch… and of course install the basics like Firefox, Flash, Java, etc. Oh, and there was indeed the effort to recover personal data onto an external drive that I could then restore it later.

Again, I'll be interested to see what happens with Leopard. I'm assuming that the upgrade will be fairly straightforward. I like the fact that OS X can easily backup an entire OS image to another device, and then I can choose what to boot from… something that I've had to use something like PartitionMagic to achieve under XP in the past.

]]> By: chris dalby http://www.accmanpro.com/2007/09/25/the-road-to-macdom/comment-page-1/#comment-4112 chris dalby Sat, 29 Sep 2007 13:46:24 +0000 http://www.accmanpro.com/2007/09/25/the-road-to-macdom/#comment-4112 As owner of a Microsft Certified Partner firm in the UK, we have long had an affinity with using Microsoft software and Operatig Systems. With more of my time being focussed on video and audio, I too am thinking of making the switch to a Mac Book Pro. A major factor is the excellent quality of the audio and built in webcam which completely kicks the ass out of any windows webcam quality I have seen. Combine that with Quick Time Pro only supporting a small number of Windows webcams for recording (if anyone finds the list of windows webcams supported by QTP, let me know) and the fact that there really isn't video recording software that good for the PC and you have a good reason to buy a MBP. I've had conversations with Microsoft staff that now use Macs and run Paralells. So it seems there is a switch happening and Microsoft should beware. Especially given the network compatibility issues with Vista, a MBP is probably just as compatible as a Vista PC. On the point of Andy stuggling with the XP re-installation. I saw the tweet come in when Andy said he was helping a neighbour de-virus his XP PC. At the time, I suggested Andy should not bother trying to remove the virus and just re-install. This is by far the fastest way. Andy wasted an evening try to fix rather than re-install immediately. For me, I can format and re-install XP and my basic software setup in a couple of hours. This is often very painful for home users that regularly haven't got anything backed-up and usually have lots of sotware they don't want to loose or haven't got the CD to re-install. Formatting and re-installng is a cleansing experience and best left to a saturday afternoon with a glass of wine. Use a seperate hard drive for all your data files and get into the habit of never saving anyhing on the C drive. This will speed things up and make life alot easier. As owner of a Microsft Certified Partner firm in the UK, we have long had an affinity with using Microsoft software and Operatig Systems. With more of my time being focussed on video and audio, I too am thinking of making the switch to a Mac Book Pro.

A major factor is the excellent quality of the audio and built in webcam which completely kicks the ass out of any windows webcam quality I have seen. Combine that with Quick Time Pro only supporting a small number of Windows webcams for recording (if anyone finds the list of windows webcams supported by QTP, let me know) and the fact that there really isn’t video recording software that good for the PC and you have a good reason to buy a MBP.

I’ve had conversations with Microsoft staff that now use Macs and run Paralells. So it seems there is a switch happening and Microsoft should beware. Especially given the network compatibility issues with Vista, a MBP is probably just as compatible as a Vista PC.

On the point of Andy stuggling with the XP re-installation. I saw the tweet come in when Andy said he was helping a neighbour de-virus his XP PC. At the time, I suggested Andy should not bother trying to remove the virus and just re-install. This is by far the fastest way. Andy wasted an evening try to fix rather than re-install immediately.

For me, I can format and re-install XP and my basic software setup in a couple of hours. This is often very painful for home users that regularly haven’t got anything backed-up and usually have lots of sotware they don’t want to loose or haven’t got the CD to re-install.

Formatting and re-installng is a cleansing experience and best left to a saturday afternoon with a glass of wine. Use a seperate hard drive for all your data files and get into the habit of never saving anyhing on the C drive. This will speed things up and make life alot easier.

]]> By: Andy Piper http://www.accmanpro.com/2007/09/25/the-road-to-macdom/comment-page-1/#comment-4111 Andy Piper Wed, 26 Sep 2007 06:52:34 +0000 http://www.accmanpro.com/2007/09/25/the-road-to-macdom/#comment-4111 I switched in February, and you're right, I wouldn't look back. The XP incident you refer to here was the result of some neighbourhood tech support where I was fixed someone else's borked machine... mind you, after that experience, I wouldn't mind if I never have to go near the XP install sequence again. I assume Leopard will be an easier proposition. There appears to have been a wave of switching in the last 6 months or so - Luis is just one of my colleagues who has made the change. I switched in February, and you're right, I wouldn't look back. The XP incident you refer to here was the result of some neighbourhood tech support where I was fixed someone else's borked machine… mind you, after that experience, I wouldn't mind if I never have to go near the XP install sequence again. I assume Leopard will be an easier proposition.

There appears to have been a wave of switching in the last 6 months or so – Luis is just one of my colleagues who has made the change.

]]> By: Justin Kestelyn http://www.accmanpro.com/2007/09/25/the-road-to-macdom/comment-page-1/#comment-4110 Justin Kestelyn Tue, 25 Sep 2007 19:35:32 +0000 http://www.accmanpro.com/2007/09/25/the-road-to-macdom/#comment-4110 Leopard 10.5's baked-in Bootcamp is really the deal maker for me. Just waitin' to pull the trigger when this is in the wild. Leopard 10.5's baked-in Bootcamp is really the deal maker for me. Just waitin' to pull the trigger when this is in the wild.

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