Mossberg's Mac FAQ

After a long personal hiatus...

In today's Wall Street Journal, personal technology expert Walter Mossberg lists reasons for buying a Mac or sticking to a PC.

Q. Who should consider a Mac?

A. Pretty much every average consumer using a computer should at least look at the Mac. It combines gorgeous hardware with an operating system I consider superior to Windows, with better built-in software. It can even run Windows programs if you buy and install a copy of Windows. And unless you do that, you won't be vulnerable to the vast array of viruses and spyware that threaten Windows users. Only a handful, so far, have been written to run on the Mac operating system, OS X.

Q. Who shouldn't consider the Mac?

A. People who spend much of their time playing cutting-edge games should stick to Windows computers, because there are far fewer games written for OS X. Apple doesn't offer hardware tuned for serious gaming. People looking for the lowest-price PCs should also avoid the Mac, because Apple's cheapest model, the Mac Mini, costs $599.

Another group that should shun Apple's computers are people who depend for support on corporate IT departments that are either ignorant about, or hostile to, the Mac. Finally, if you know and like Windows, and expect mainly to use Windows programs, stick with a Windows PC.

Q. Can I run Microsoft Office on a Mac?

A. Yes. Microsoft makes a Mac version of Office, which uses the same file formats that Word, Excel and PowerPoint for Windows have used for years. A new version of Office for the Mac is due in January and it will handle the new file formats Microsoft introduced this year. But the Mac version of Office omits Outlook. It has a similar program called Entourage, but Entourage can't use Outlook data files. If you want a Mac but must have Outlook, you will have to install Windows.

Q. Can I use all my Windows files on a Mac?

A. Out of the box, Macs can handle all the common file types Windows machines create, including text files, pictures, songs and Adobe PDF files. The Mac even comes with a simple word processor that can open Microsoft Word files.

However, some specialized Windows programs create files that the Mac can't handle out of the box. And the Mac version of Quicken has a difficult time properly handling Windows Quicken files. If you are a Quicken fan, install Windows and run the Windows version.

Q. Can I mix Macs and Windows on the same home network?

A. Macs can plug and play with most brand-name wired and wireless routers, and can share Internet connections with Windows PCs.

Q. How are Macs at Web surfing?

A. Fine. Apple's built-in Safari browser is very good and the Mac version of Firefox is essentially identical to the Windows version. However, Macs lack an up-to-date version of Microsoft's Internet Explorer, so you will have to install Windows if you need IE.

Q. Can Macs run standard peripheral hardware?

A. Macs can run nearly all keyboards, mice and printers that use USB connections, even ones that don't explicitly say they run on Macs.

Q. What desktops does Apple offer for consumers?

A. Apple's main consumer desktop is the one-piece iMac, which I regard as the best consumer desktop on the market. It comes in four models, with built-in 20-inch or 24-inch, flat-panel screens at starting prices ranging from $1,199 to $2,299.

Q. How about Mac laptops?

A. There are two. The entry-level MacBook has a 13-inch screen and a starting price of $1,099. The high-end MacBook Pro comes with either a 15-inch or 17-inch screen and starts at $1,999. Apple currently doesn't offer a smaller laptop for road warriors, but there are persistent rumors that it will do so soon.

Q. What minimum specs should I look for on a Mac?

A. All Macs come with at least one gigabyte of memory -- twice the minimum required for the new version of OS X, called Leopard. If you can, get two gigabytes. Apple charges a lot for extra memory, but you can buy it for less at stores and online providers.

Macs use the same dual-core Intel processors and graphics systems as many mainstream Windows computers; and, as with Windows, I wouldn't pay extra for greater processor speed.

The iMac comes with at least a 250-gigabyte hard disk, and Mac laptop hard disks start at 80 gigabytes. Mainstream Windows desktops typically start with larger hard disks. But Apple offers much larger disks as options, which you should consider if you store a lot of photos, music and video files.

Apple Shares in Correction, Down 21% from Peak

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) lost 2.38% today to close at $117.05. It reached an intra-day peak of $148.92 on July 27. Its record closing high is $146 on the 26th of July. Apple is off by 21.4% from the intra-day high and by 20% from its closing high. Time to buy???

In this market, it is anybody's guess. What I have seen is the argument being made that nothing fundamentally has changed, especially about tech stocks.

Apple, Mac Blogs List

I'm putting together a list of Apple, Mac blogs. I've been meaning to do so for some time. I actually haven't come across a good list of Apple, Mac blogs or even one that ranks them in terms of popularity. Please leave any suggestions in the comments. Thanks!

The Unofficial Apple Weblog

The Apple Blog

Byte of the Apple

CNET News Blog "Apple"

ZDNet Blog -- The Apple Core

Applepeels

AppleInsider

iTodd Central

and of course -->

Hello Mac, Bye PC

I had to throw the last one in there...

Control-Alt-Delete on a Mac = Command-Option-Escape

Interestingly, my iBook runs stable enough that I have not yet needed to reboot the system due to a system freeze or any errors. That's impressive. Even my considerably newer Microsoft Windows-based PCs require what feels like frequent use of Control-Alt-Delete (Ctrl-Alt-Del), if not for a reboot, then at least to close some programs or processes that hang the system.

So if you were wondering, like I have been, the secret keyboard shortcut is Command-Option-Escape for Mac OS X.

This is similar to the old quest to find the Mac equivalent of Alt-Tab, which as I posted earlier, is Command-`. The Command key being the Apple character key. The "`" being right next to #1.

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Apple Announces The New iMac: "You can't be too thin. Or too powerful."

According to Apple's website:

The all-new, all-in-one iMac packs a complete, high-performance computer into a beautifully thin design. Available in 20- and 24-inch widescreen models, it includes built-in wireless, Mac OS X, and the new iLife ’08. So within minutes of opening the box, you’ll be doing everything from sharing photos to creating movies to building websites. And it starts at just $1199.

More details here at iMac All-in-Wonderful.

Apple's stock lost about 0.2%, closing at $135.03, but is up 0.64% at $135.90 in the After Hours. Apple was pretty volatile, hitting an intra-day high of $137.24 and trading as low as $132.63.

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New iMac Announcement Coming?

Larry Dignan of ZDNet (courtesy of Seeking Alpha) says AppleInsider and Gizmodo "noted last week that Apple had been calling analysts and media members to give them a heads up on the shindig at the company’s Cupertino headquarters. Folks were told that the event is Mac related."

His article on Seeking Alpha goes on to say, "Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster notes that the iMac hasn’t been updated in 334 days compared to the product average of 168 days. In other words, the iMac is overdue for a refresh."

Another article on Seeking Alpha by Notable Calls discusses Munster's research note. He maintained his Outperform and $211 target according to the article.

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) is up 1.1%, $133 at 1:06p eastern.

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Solved: Windows Alt-Tab = Mac OS X Cmd-`

This one had me stumped for a while. Alt-tab is a neat trick that years ago few Windows users at most offices knew about. Teach someone alt-tab and it was like showing them magic. However, since I've been spending time on my Mac more these days (having just began using a Mac for the first time two weeks ago), the alt-tab that I'm used to with Microsoft Windows, only let me toggle through each open application, not the separate windows of each application.

Well, MS Windows' alt-tab is cmd-` (the key next to #1). That won't take long getting used to. And as a bonus, cmd-tab, actually toggles only through the open applications, not the individual windows themselves. This is great, especially when you have a lot going on. Granted, my iBook doesn't allow me to do as much as I like, but when I eventually buy a Mac Book or whatever I get, I'm sure I'll be taking full advantage of it.

Have a great weekend everyone!

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Genuinely Happy with Mac, Wean Off Windows Continues

I just wanted to make a quick post to say it has been only a couple of weeks since I started using a Mac (iBook 600MHZ 256 SDRAM OS X 10.4.10) and I am really pleased with the overall performance of both the hardware and software, despite the obvious aging of the system.

I have grown accustom to using the Apple (command) key to control a number of the functions the CTRL key does for Windows. Initially, that was the annoying thing trying to navigate the operating system and mainly Safari.

As for Safari, it has been a very stable and rather fast browser. I am a big fan of Firefox and although I haven't added anything to Safari, have to say there's not much difference. Obviously, as I spend more time on the Mac, I have to figure out had to add some of those important add-ons/extensions that enhance the browser for crashed session recovery, advanced copy-paste capability and some Japanese language reader tools.

I hope to spend some more time exploring the operating system. So far I like the dashboard feature and want to update it and use it more.

I'm pretty surprised how nice OS X 10.4 is, considering there's still such a large portion of computer users who are stuck on Microsoft Windows 100% of the time, and don't get to enjoy the already available features, which are only available to Windows users now who update to Vista; clearly something I'm not interested in with 3 Windows machines, given the notorious difficulty with device drivers.

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Apple Stock Commentary

This evening, Jim Cramer at TheStreet.com, had the following comments about Apple:

I felt that there was a lot of unfair stuff said about Apple yesterday. ... I think the raids are over. I think Apple's ready to resume its climb. I am not backing away from Apple at $135. Now, when it gets to $145, I'd do some schnitzeling.

Seeking Alpha explains Apple Shares Drop on iPhone Cutback Rumor, but Apple shares did rally today $3.24 (2.5%) for a $135 even close.

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Long Mac OS X Boot Times Resolved

Thanks to a couple of members of Apple's Discussion Board, I was able to solve the problem of my long boot times, sometimes around 7 minutes each!

First, I learned that the flashing folder/question mark button meant the system was looking for a "network start-up" as opposed to a "disk start-up."

Since my iBook is used, it had another wireless and wired network associated with it, in addition to my own networks.

So, the first solution: "Check you have the correct Startup Disk selected in System Preferences > Startup Disk."

My boot time after doing that was cut from 5 minutes - 7 minutes before to just over 2 minutes, after.

Second step was to do a "safe-boot" in order to check the hard disk. This boot takes longer than a normal boot, by default, as it is checking the disk and apparently will correct any disk errors before booting into the GUI.

After doing this, my boot time was just over 1 minute!

I asked for any additional tweaks. One response was to boost the RAM from 256MB and max it to 640MB. I've considered this and probably will if I can come across a very good deal since this machine is already old and I don't want to drop much money into it. Instead a Mac Mini would be nice ;-).

One last suggestion, which I haven't had time to test, is to System Preferences -> Accounts -> Login Items, to see what I have loading at startup? Similar to Windows, there could be some junk in there that can be removed and likely increase the speed somewhat.

Finally, one respondent pointed out the obvious in that 600MHz won't deliver the speed we're accustomed to on the faster systems out today. That's certainly true. I'm just trying to learn Mac OS X and then when Mac OS X 10.5 "Leopard" comes out with faster hardware, I'll probably drop the money to buy a new computer.

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Books for Switching to Mac -- Part 2

After posting a question to the Apple discussion board, I received one reply recommending the "Switching to the Mac" book by David Pogue, which I had posted about earlier. The person responding said, "I found it to be very helpful when I made the change." Also, "Mac OS X Tiger Edition--The Missing Manual" by the same author was suggested and called an "excellent resource." I was unable to find this book available for sale on Amazon.com.

Another respondent pointed me to Apple's free resources including:

Switching from Windows to Mac OS X

Basic Tutorials on using a Mac

mac os x

Mac Sales Up 33% Y-o-Y in Q3, MacBook Leads Rev Growth, Desktops Pace Unit Growth

The following summary of Q3 Mac sales is from MarketWatch:

Apple sold 1.76 million Macintosh computers during the quarter, a record for Mac sales in one quarter and up 33% from the year-earlier period. Mac sales included 1.13 million MacBook and MacBook Pro notebook PCs and 634,000 desktop Macs.

Analyst Andy Hargreaves of Pacific Crest Securities said several factors, such as "back-to-school sales, expanded distribution and a likely refresh of the iMac product lineup," should help Mac sales rise about 30% in the current quarter. Hargreaves rates Apple's stock buy; he raised his price target to $175 a share from $130.

So MacBooks are outselling desktop Macs nearly 1.8:1. And the analyst above expects approximate sales growth of 30% again in Q4.

Digging for more info, Mac desktop sales accounted for 17.7% of total sales versus 16.1% in the same quarter last year and 17.3% in the prior quarter.

MacBook sales accounted for 29.1% of total sales versus 26.6% in the same quarter last year and 25.7% in the prior quarter.

MacBooks are clearly growing fastest in unit sales, but desktops are on par in terms of revenue growth. MacBooks' revenue/unit sold has been declining, while desktops' has been increasing. See Apple's Q3 earnings summary data.

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Typing in Japanese and Other Languages on a Mac

It was surprisingly easy to set this up, much more so than Windows, at least using XP or prior versions. All I had to do was (1) click the Apple symbol at the top-left of the screen, (2) click System Preferences in the drop-down, (3) choose International in the first row of buttons associated with Personal, (3) choose Input Menu button, (4) select your language -- in my case I added Japanese by clicking "Kotoeri."

It looks equally as easy to add Korean and Chinese support.

Now just look for the U.S. flag floating at the top-right of the screen and click to switch languages. This is similar to the IME in Windows, but a much easier install, not requiring a download and possibly needing MS Word. One difference may be the strength of the function, which IME offers the ability to handwrite characters for recognition and input. I haven't found this on Mac yet.

Comments and suggestions are always welcome .....

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Long Mac OS X Boot Times

So far the only disappointing thing I've found using a Mac (iBook 600mhz 256MB SDRAM OS X 10.4.10) is the long boot times. I'll have to time it next time I boot up. My Sony Vaio sub-notebook (mobile P3 900mhz 512MB RAM) by comparison -- and it's definitely not apples-apples -- boots pretty fast, not much slower than my AMD Turion 64 1.8ghz 1GB notebook.

I've heard Mac is based on Unix and I think these systems take longer to boot, but offer a more stable and secure operating environment.

Any thoughts on this or ideas to boost the boot time. By the way, would it make much of a difference if I increase the RAM to 640MB (max)?

mac os x

Books for Switching to Mac

So far the following book on switching from Microsoft Windows to Apple Mac OS X appears to be the best based on a ranking of best-sellers at Amazon.

Any thoughts? Any suggestions?


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1st Post: In The Process of Ditching PC for Mac

Thanks for visiting "Hello Mac, Bye PC."

I am a new Apple Mac user, having used PCs for about 20 years. I've received a 600mhz iBook and am up and running. Surprisingly this little machine with 256MB SDRAM runs fast when compared to a Sony Vaio sub-notebook I have running on a 900mhz mobile PIII with 512MB RAM.

I have so many questions related to transitioning from PC to Mac and about Mac OS X, my iBook is using 10.4.10.

In the beginning I plan to use this blog as a means of asking and answering these questions after I find the solutions. Hopefully there will be decent traffic and readers offer their help as well. We'll see.

For starters, I'll use Google and probably go buy a book on Mac OS X. At this point, the biggest challenge is how to switch between open browser screens, like ALT-TAB in Windows. I have tried "Apple (Command) + Tab" but it takes me from application-application, not the individual screens. I have found that you can drop-down in the Window menu and access the open browser pages. Also, I was having trouble using CTRL+Copy as in Windows, but have found the APPLE+C (or V) does the trick.

mac osx