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Thread: I Ordered a new iMac 24” w/M1chip

  1. #1
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    Question I Ordered a new iMac 24” w/M1chip

    I’ve been a PC user since the late 80’s. I’ve been noodling a full-on switch to the Appel ecosystem for a while. My wife and I are both happy iPhone & iPad users so the Apple environment is not new to us. How big of a learning curve should I expect switching to iOS? The actual file migration from PC to iMac looks straight forward enough, I’m more concerned with navigating the new-to-me graphic interface. Are there other things I should also worry about?
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    The best part about owning a Mac. Is you don’t have to worry!
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    I did this a few years ago at home. The iMac is a pretty nice machine, but as cutting edge as the user interface is supposed to be, it's really not. Two click tasks in Windows take five clicks in IOS. File management (Finder) is really clunky compared to MS explorer. Configuration/customization of the GUI isn't as easy or flexible. The Photo app is unfriendly as well. Finding things is difficult. I use the MS Office software suite instead of the Apple product and use Chrome instead of Safari.

    On the plus side it's fast, makes a good web browser, and if you're willing to surrender control of everything to the Apple mothership I guess it works OK. It's basically impervious to virus attack. The backup software (Time Machine) is second to none. I use an iPhone and an iPad and the compatibility/connectivity is really nice. My wife and daughter swear by Macs. I use PC at work and can go either way.

    To be fair (and we must be fair) I would be farther ahead if I'd received some training in IOS and navigation, etc. I've been using PC and windows since they were first introduced and it's second nature. I went to the Apple store to enquire about classes and was really put off by the condescending whelp with the red t-shirt and dismissive attitude. YouTube has some decent help vids.
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    I used Mac, PC, and Unix-based desktop machines interchangeably from about 1980 up until about 5 years ago when I retired and we went to an all-Apple system in our household. My "desktop support" challenges in keeping everything up and running have dropped ten-fold. Everything talks to each other, seamlessly. They all talk to my cars, to my TVs, and to my sound system without a hassle. Almost no regrets.

    I'll admit the mac was always my favorite, from my first one in 1985 until now. I have occasion to use a PC on a laser cutter sometimes and find the current version of Windows to be utterly bewildering. Everything is there, somewhere, but I just can't seem to find it or understand how the UI is supposed to work. The Mac is Unix-like enough under the hood to allow one to do lots of useful things from the command prompt.

    I will agree with Rob that the Finder simply sucks as a means of finding things--and always has. I use MS Office out of habit and familiarity, as well as Lightroom/Illustrator/Photoshop for graphics. I have several web browsers, as far as I can tell they are functionally equivalent, they all work and I have no reason to choose one over another, so I end up using both Safari and Chrome. I use Lightroom as my photo app, perhaps the best product Adobe has ever produced.

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    Congratulations Bruce, I expect that you will not have any problems adjusting to the new iMac since you are already an iPad user.
    I found a program called Commander One Pro for my iMac that mimics the old Total Commander for Windows that I use. It's a dual pane file manager, check it out.

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    I'm kind of confused why finder is clunky. Most of the time I hear that it's people trying to not let it be what it is, and try to use it like something else. Start leveraging the Metadata and it's pretty useful for finding things. BTW, it's not unix-like, it's BSD based, so it's Unix
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    Quote Originally Posted by mike stenson View Post
    I'm kind of confused why finder is clunky. Most of the time I hear that it's people trying to not let it be what it is, and try to use it like something else. Start leveraging the Metadata and it's pretty useful for finding things. BTW, it's not unix-like, it's BSD based, so it's Unix
    No offense intended, but that's what the condescending kid in the red t-shirt said. Kind of like "just pretend it's what you want and it will be what you want".

    Like I said: "if you're willing to surrender control of everything to the Apple mothership I guess it works OK". I use file storage and retrieval methods I've honed since the Jurassic era. They're intuitive and they work. What's most important is that I'm comfortable with them.
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    You will not likely have too much of a learning curve, Bruce, especially if you are comfortable with Win10/Win11. The Finder (file/folder browser) works a little differently than the equivalent on Windows, but other than that, it's largely "business as usual". It's not "clunky"...it's just different. The search function works well at "finding" things for me, and routinely at that. MacOS and Win11 have a very similar look now with Microsoft adopting the down center "dock".

    One thing to keep in mind is that Windows VM support for the M1 system is very much in flux from a "what's supported" standpoint if that matters to you. There's generally no need for that other than for specialized applications. One example is Vectric software for CNC which for me, means I'll be sticking with my Intel based MBP for a long time. It's the only Windows application I use and I prefer to do my design on my very robust, multi-monitor Mac setup.
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    I've been a happy Mac user since 2006 or so. We had a few Windows computers before then but they kept dying, and the older Macs seem to hold up better, to me. I am currently using a laptop I bought new 6-3/4 years ago and it still works great even though I use it a lot, every day. The H key is getting a little tippy, but other than that. I haven't used any of the later Windows versions, but certainly it felt easier using whatever Macs had back then after using Windows XP.

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    Jim, I’m a slow adopter, I’ve never used Win 10, or 11. In PC terms, I’m 3 or 4 steps behind the times. I have 2 Win 7 machines (1 house & 1 shop cnc). I also have a vintage XP that I keep just for some old, but pricey software that I occasionally use but too cheap to upgrade. Part of my apprehension is the GI “jump”. Lol

    I am aware of the VM “flux” with the M1 chip and I’ve read that Parallels and the others are working at making it compatible. I wish Vectric would release an iOS version of Aspire but I don’t see that happening anytime soon.

    Lol, I’m banking that the expression “Once you go Mac, you’ll never go back” holds true!

    Thanks for the feedback.
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  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rob Luter View Post
    No offense intended, but that's what the condescending kid in the red t-shirt said. Kind of like "just pretend it's what you want and it will be what you want".

    Like I said: "if you're willing to surrender control of everything to the Apple mothership I guess it works OK". I use file storage and retrieval methods I've honed since the Jurassic era. They're intuitive and they work. What's most important is that I'm comfortable with them.
    None taken, but trying to make something be what it's not never works out. For you, I would suggest not changing platforms. It'd be nothing but a headache.
    ~mike

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  12. #12
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    The doorbell just rang and the mac is in the house. There's no turning back now!
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  13. #13
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    A bit off-topic, but so it goes...

    I'm a bit confused: I thought iOS (iPhone/iPad) and MacOS (iMac/Macbook) were completely different animals. Is that not so?
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    Similar, but still different.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lee DeRaud View Post
    A bit off-topic, but so it goes...

    I'm a bit confused: I thought iOS (iPhone/iPad) and MacOS (iMac/Macbook) were completely different animals. Is that not so?
    I've read Apple is trying to meld them, somewhat favoring iOS. My only exposure to Apple if requiring an iPad to run a certain very important app. In that market niche, iPad has at least 90% of the market, probably more.

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