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dirtyjeffer0
Posers don't use avatars.
Premium Member
join:2002-02-21
London, ON

dirtyjeffer0

Premium Member

[Beginner] New iMac 27"

Just got my new iMac 27" today. I'm sure in the next few weeks, I may pop by with some questions, but so far so good. The display is gorgeous and set up was a breeze (my first mac). Any tips or suggestions for noob are welcome and appreciated. Been a Windows user since the beginning, so I am pretty new to this stuff, but a few of my friends switched over the last few years and haven't looked back, so I figured I would try one as well.

Metatron2008
You're it
Premium Member
join:2008-09-02
united state

Metatron2008

Premium Member

Get parallels for gaming
MichelR
join:2011-07-03
Trois-Rivieres, QC

MichelR to dirtyjeffer0

Member

to dirtyjeffer0
said by dirtyjeffer0:

Just got my new iMac 27" today. I'm sure in the next few weeks, I may pop by with some questions, but so far so good. The display is gorgeous and set up was a breeze (my first mac). Any tips or suggestions for noob are welcome and appreciated. Been a Windows user since the beginning, so I am pretty new to this stuff, but a few of my friends switched over the last few years and haven't looked back, so I figured I would try one as well.

I'm still getting used to some things after 8 months. Some UI decisions are downright stupid/antiquated, but overall things run well.

One of the first things I did was get Parallels to run Windows software. That's an everyday thing. Some software just isn't there on the Mac, or is vastly inferior. Parallels does a good job of integrating the Mac and Windows applications. When you run it in Coherence mode, the Windows applications are just "like"(sort of) Mac applications running on the desktop - i.e. you don't have to deal with a full Windows desktop alongside the Mac one.

If you decide to buy Parallels, I noticed that there are often "package deals" sold cheap that include Parallels. Can't remember which one(s) at the moment, but I'm sure someone here will.

Oh and look into Path Finder. It's what Finder should have been.

Black_Mage
iMage
Premium Member
join:2012-09-12
USA

Black_Mage to Metatron2008

Premium Member

to Metatron2008
said by Metatron2008:

Get parallels for gaming

Why not VMware?

dellsweig
Extreme Aerobatics
MVM
join:2003-12-10
Campbell Hall, NY

dellsweig

MVM

said by Black_Mage:

said by Metatron2008:

Get parallels for gaming

Why not VMware?

Agreed - after using both on my Imac - I feel VMware offers the most seamless and best performance (mem, cpu).

I have also taken my Imac (2011) to 32 gigs RAM and added an SSD as the system disk.

One screaming machine

HiVolt
Premium Member
join:2000-12-28
Toronto, ON

HiVolt to dirtyjeffer0

Premium Member

to dirtyjeffer0
I still prefer a PC for my desktop, simply for the hardware freedom, and cost benefit...

I had a Mac laptop for many years and it was fine...

not quite right
I'm not cool enough to be a Mac person
join:2001-06-23
Puyallup, WA

not quite right to Black_Mage

Member

to Black_Mage
said by Black_Mage:

said by Metatron2008:

Get parallels for gaming

Why not VMware?

Or don't get either, and get an Xbox for gaming.

dellsweig
Extreme Aerobatics
MVM
join:2003-12-10
Campbell Hall, NY

dellsweig

MVM

said by not quite right:

said by Black_Mage:

said by Metatron2008:

Get parallels for gaming

Why not VMware?

Or don't get either, and get an Xbox for gaming.

I dont do gaming on my computer at all - never have. BUT there are some applications that are either not avaiable for OSX or just dont port well. I run my weather station along with its DB, a Sirius/XM streamer (no OSX version) and some network logging softwre in a VMware fusion environment on my Imac. These are 24x7 applictions and I have the displays for these on a seaprate wall mounted display

dennismurphy
Put me on hold? I'll put YOU on hold
Premium Member
join:2002-11-19
Parsippany, NJ

dennismurphy to MichelR

Premium Member

to MichelR
said by MichelR:

Some software just isn't there on the Mac, or is vastly inferior.

Such as?

Curious what software isn't there... never been a Windows user.

My desktop history is from the Commodore 64 to DESQview to OS/2 to Linux to OS/2 to Solaris to OS/2 to Mac OS X. Never did the Windows thing.
dennismurphy

dennismurphy to dirtyjeffer0

Premium Member

to dirtyjeffer0
said by dirtyjeffer0:

Just got my new iMac 27" today.

Congratulations and welcome! You're going to love it... Best advice I can give you is to let the Mac be the Mac... don't try to make it feel like a Windows PC and you'll be fine. Let the Mac do its thing, and it'll serve you well.

kerriskandie
join:2001-10-09
Coram, NY

kerriskandie to dirtyjeffer0

Member

to dirtyjeffer0
If you don';t game, and just the occasional impossible to find Mac version> Windows 'Program'....like me, use the free, and fast, and excellent VirtualBox..........
kerriskandie

kerriskandie to dennismurphy

Member

to dennismurphy
said by dennismurphy:

said by MichelR:

Some software just isn't there on the Mac, or is vastly inferior.

Such as?

Curious what software isn't there... never been a Windows user.

My desktop history is from the Commodore 64 to DESQview to OS/2 to Linux to OS/2 to Solaris to OS/2 to Mac OS X. Never did the Windows thing.

TuneECU.......never coded for 'Nix, never (likely) will be

buckingham
Doylstown Pa
Premium Member
join:2005-07-17
Buckingham, PA

buckingham

Premium Member

Quicken is another example...the Mac version is really substandard and with a decade or more of data, no way would I give it up for something less capable. I also have some work things that require Windows so Parallels with Win7 satisfies my need to accomodate that. (I chose Parallels, but I'm sure that the VM Ware solution is nice, too, and have coworkers who use it)

Black_Mage
iMage
Premium Member
join:2012-09-12
USA

Black_Mage to dellsweig

Premium Member

to dellsweig
said by dellsweig:

I have also taken my Imac (2011) to 32 gigs RAM and added an SSD as the system disk.

I have a 2011 iMac. I had no idea it can take so much RAM. So how did you install a SSD? I thought there was a temp sensor on the hard drive.

dirtyjeffer0
Posers don't use avatars.
Premium Member
join:2002-02-21
London, ON

dirtyjeffer0 to Metatron2008

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to Metatron2008
said by Metatron2008:

Get parallels for gaming

going to install SC2 when i get home tonight...the game is a few years old now, but i still play it...i also have BF3, but it is for PC only...i still have my old PC so i can still play it on there...i am curious how the iMac will handle some heavy SC2 games (maps) i play...my PC would bog down with lag on a few heavy maps and would output a TON of heat...i am curious if the iMac is more efficient and handling the processes and keeping things cooler.
MichelR
join:2011-07-03
Trois-Rivieres, QC

1 edit

MichelR to dennismurphy

Member

to dennismurphy
Quicken has been mentioned. I actually looked into Mac alternatives this past week and they didn't come close (plus most did not support Canadian-specific stuff, unlike Quicken).

Mp3Tag
StudioTax
AssetCat
BookCat
Catraxx
CatVids
Windows Home Server Console (I have a Windows Home Server-based NAS)
Visual Studio
MediaMonkey
Microsoft Access for some barebones app I want to replace while learning to program the Mac

I'm probably forgetting some, but those are the main ones.

Basically, if it hadn't been for something like Parallels, I'd be typing from a Windows-based machine at the moment, and not in this forum.
MichelR

MichelR to kerriskandie

Member

to kerriskandie
said by kerriskandie:

If you don';t game, and just the occasional impossible to find Mac version> Windows 'Program'....like me, use the free, and fast, and excellent VirtualBox..........

The advantage with Parallels is all the integration efforts. I assume VirtualBox doesn't do that? (but hey, for free, if you don't care about the extra integration, why not).

dennismurphy
Put me on hold? I'll put YOU on hold
Premium Member
join:2002-11-19
Parsippany, NJ

dennismurphy to MichelR

Premium Member

to MichelR
said by MichelR:

Quicken has been mentioned. I actually looked into Mac alternatives this past week and they didn't come close (plus most did not support Canadian-specific stuff, unlike Quicken).

Mp3Tag
StudioTax
AssetCat
BookCat
Catraxx
CatVids
Windows Home Server Console (I have a Windows Home Server-based NAS)
Visual Studio
MediaMonkey
Microsoft Access for some barebones app I want to replace while learning to program the Mac

I'm probably forgetting some, but those are the main ones.

Basically, if it hadn't been for something like Parallels, I'd be typing from a Windows-based machine at the moment, and not in this forum.

The majority of that list could be FileMaker, Bento or Delicious Library. MP3 management - SongGenie.

The Winders-specific stuff of course is Winders-specific.

Thanks for reassuring me - I'm not missing anything.

I think VMware is amazing and a fantastic addition to the Mac, but I do think that for 99% of cases, there is a Mac-native solution. Granted, stuff like ECU tuners that talk to a specific piece of hardware may not exist, but that's why we have VMware (and VirtualPC before that ...)

dellsweig
Extreme Aerobatics
MVM
join:2003-12-10
Campbell Hall, NY

dellsweig to Black_Mage

MVM

to Black_Mage
said by Black_Mage:

said by dellsweig:

I have also taken my Imac (2011) to 32 gigs RAM and added an SSD as the system disk.

I have a 2011 iMac. I had no idea it can take so much RAM. So how did you install a SSD? I thought there was a temp sensor on the hard drive.

»eshop.macsales.com/item/ ··· 27SSD11/

The SSD goes UNDER the optical
RAM - the only real limit is avaiable sims - I plan on bumping it up to 64G as soon as the 16G cards get a little cheaper - I have 4 8G cards in there now

When you boot up first time with the SSD it asks what you want to do. I installed a clean system then went into bash and sym-linked anything I wanted to keep on the slower hard drive. All done I have 99G free (256GB SSD) on the SSD and 2TB on the HDD
MichelR
join:2011-07-03
Trois-Rivieres, QC

MichelR to dennismurphy

Member

to dennismurphy
said by dennismurphy:

said by MichelR:

Quicken has been mentioned. I actually looked into Mac alternatives this past week and they didn't come close (plus most did not support Canadian-specific stuff, unlike Quicken).

Mp3Tag
StudioTax
AssetCat
BookCat
Catraxx
CatVids
Windows Home Server Console (I have a Windows Home Server-based NAS)
Visual Studio
MediaMonkey
Microsoft Access for some barebones app I want to replace while learning to program the Mac

I'm probably forgetting some, but those are the main ones.

Basically, if it hadn't been for something like Parallels, I'd be typing from a Windows-based machine at the moment, and not in this forum.

The majority of that list could be FileMaker, Bento or Delicious Library. MP3 management - SongGenie.

The Winders-specific stuff of course is Winders-specific.

Thanks for reassuring me - I'm not missing anything.

I think VMware is amazing and a fantastic addition to the Mac, but I do think that for 99% of cases, there is a Mac-native solution. Granted, stuff like ECU tuners that talk to a specific piece of hardware may not exist, but that's why we have VMware (and VirtualPC before that ...)

Hey, you asked. The software you mentioned doesn't hold a candle - not for me anyway. FileMaker? Seriously? Why not dBASE II for MS-DOS. Also, not a fan of SongGenie.

Unfortunately MP3 player alternatives are limited on the Mac due to the blind iTunes following (one of the worst software I've ever used in the 30 years I've owned computers). MediaMonkey works relatively well under Parallels, though I'm currently giving Clementine a try. So far, so good. Not nearly as powerful as MediaMonkey, so I still need it for a few things.

There are native Mac solutions to almost all of these, but they just don't measure up - I won't compromise just to "go native". It's not like I haven't tried. I do keep my eyes open for new versions or new entries on the software market. In the meantime, at least Parallels allows me to run those pretty much trouble-free.

dennismurphy
Put me on hold? I'll put YOU on hold
Premium Member
join:2002-11-19
Parsippany, NJ

dennismurphy

Premium Member

Please don't take offense - I'm genuinely curious.

I haven't had a need for most of that, and fail to see what's wrong with FMPro, at least if you're talking about Access. I'd take FM over Access any day, any week. Of course, what I'd REALLY prefer is my old standard Nutshell Plus for DOS, but I'm a dinosaur.

But all that aside ... This is the beauty of virtualization - you really CAN have your cake and eat it too.

I haven't had the iTunes problem so many others have but again, I've been Mac-native with it all that time. iTunes on Mac is a very different beast.

To each their own, but I can't say desktop databases are somewhere I've found lacking.

J E F F4
Whatta Ya Think About Dat?
Premium Member
join:2004-04-01
Kitchener, ON

J E F F4 to dirtyjeffer0

Premium Member

to dirtyjeffer0
Depends on what exactly you're looking for. But once you go Mac, you never go back.

I do run CrossOver for Mac for a couple Windows programs, it allows you run certain Windows programs without installing Windows (Parallels, VMWare, Virtual Box or Boot Camp). It's a paid version of WINE, which is the best way I can describe it. (WINE: Wine Is Not (an) Emulator) I also have Parallels. I've owned both VMWare Fusion and Parallels, and each will be better than each other depending on the release date. IMHO.

Other than that, head to the App Store and see what you can find that you like. Boom Audio is one app that I like if you have a low volume video/song and need to hear it better. Remember to set up Mission Control so you can use your hot corners. SMC Fan Control is another great app for controlling fan (though more ideal for MacBooks), and Meteorologist is awesome for looking at weather, as it stays in the menu bar.

If you like playing with Photo's, the App Store has a crapload of photo apps.

Handbrake for converting movies from DVD...(the ones you own..duh)

Transmission for downloading torrent files from legal sources.

Not sure what else to add..
MichelR
join:2011-07-03
Trois-Rivieres, QC

MichelR to dennismurphy

Member

to dennismurphy
said by dennismurphy:

Please don't take offense - I'm genuinely curious.

I haven't had a need for most of that, and fail to see what's wrong with FMPro, at least if you're talking about Access. I'd take FM over Access any day, any week. Of course, what I'd REALLY prefer is my old standard Nutshell Plus for DOS, but I'm a dinosaur.

But all that aside ... This is the beauty of virtualization - you really CAN have your cake and eat it too.

I haven't had the iTunes problem so many others have but again, I've been Mac-native with it all that time. iTunes on Mac is a very different beast.

To each their own, but I can't say desktop databases are somewhere I've found lacking.

No offense taken - I'm just tired, so my replies can sound a bit direct, I guess.

I'm actually not looking for a replacement for Access (which I hate, by the way). 10 years ago I was working on a project at work and it had been written in Access and needed a quick and dirty app here, so I used that. That was a temporary thing, "just for a few months until I write a real application to do this". D'OH! Really hoping to sit down and write a decent replacement this year. I tried FileMaker a few years back and wasn't impressed, but then again when it comes to databases I usually deal with the big guys running on servers (Oracle, SQL Server). Here Access is just a very cheap and dysfunctional interface to a MySQL database.

I gave iTunes a chance but it did some really nasty things, so I only tolerate its presence on my machine. I don't actually use it.

dennismurphy
Put me on hold? I'll put YOU on hold
Premium Member
join:2002-11-19
Parsippany, NJ

dennismurphy

Premium Member

I draw a hard line between work & home. My DB tool of choice at work lately has been Vertica - wickedly cool column-oriented database.

But for the desktop, something with a pretty face is fine for my minimal needs - FM or even Bento for most of what I need. Or, even better, SQLite from the command line

buckingham
Doylstown Pa
Premium Member
join:2005-07-17
Buckingham, PA

buckingham to dirtyjeffer0

Premium Member

to dirtyjeffer0
The bottom line is that with a Mac, you can have your cake and your pie on the same plate. Where "native" makes sense...it can be da best. Where there is a good or personal reason to retain a particular Windows application...you can do that, too. And with Parallels, VM Ware Fusion or other virtualization software, everything can run side-by-side for convenience. I like that about my Macs. And I was the proverbial Windows guy for many, many years...

dirtyjeffer0
Posers don't use avatars.
Premium Member
join:2002-02-21
London, ON

dirtyjeffer0

Premium Member

was just playing some SC2, and found the text and graphics to be a little "off"...after the game was done, i went into settings and fixed it...the graphics were at a default setting of medium and the screen res was at 1280x1024...i bumped everything up to high and set the screen to 2580x1440 and it was crystal clear afterwards.

one thing i do really notice is i find the text (forums, news articles, etc) to be much easier on the eyes...the whites don't seem to be so overly in your face white...the screen seems to have a more natural look to it...whatever they use for screens, they must be pretty decent.
DarkSithPro (banned)
join:2005-02-12
Tempe, AZ

DarkSithPro (banned)

Member

said by dirtyjeffer0:

was just playing some SC2, and found the text and graphics to be a little "off"...after the game was done, i went into settings and fixed it...the graphics were at a default setting of medium and the screen res was at 1280x1024...i bumped everything up to high and set the screen to 2580x1440 and it was crystal clear afterwards.

one thing i do really notice is i find the text (forums, news articles, etc) to be much easier on the eyes...the whites don't seem to be so overly in your face white...the screen seems to have a more natural look to it...whatever they use for screens, they must be pretty decent.

What video card did you pick with your iMac?

Metatron2008
You're it
Premium Member
join:2008-09-02
united state

Metatron2008 to dirtyjeffer0

Premium Member

to dirtyjeffer0
said by dirtyjeffer0:

was just playing some SC2, and found the text and graphics to be a little "off"...after the game was done, i went into settings and fixed it...the graphics were at a default setting of medium and the screen res was at 1280x1024...i bumped everything up to high and set the screen to 2580x1440 and it was crystal clear afterwards.

one thing i do really notice is i find the text (forums, news articles, etc) to be much easier on the eyes...the whites don't seem to be so overly in your face white...the screen seems to have a more natural look to it...whatever they use for screens, they must be pretty decent.

is that in bootcamp or prallels/vm fusion?
Metatron2008

Metatron2008 to Black_Mage

Premium Member

to Black_Mage
said by Black_Mage:

said by Metatron2008:

Get parallels for gaming

Why not VMware?

Coherance, and parallels supports dx10, and is better at gaming then vmware.

dirtyjeffer0
Posers don't use avatars.
Premium Member
join:2002-02-21
London, ON

dirtyjeffer0 to DarkSithPro

Premium Member

to DarkSithPro
said by DarkSithPro:

What video card did you pick with your iMac?

the GTX 680MX (top one available).