[Closed] Just accquired a Mac

They where better than the PCs of their day though ?

Lets. nor get into W10 w've sone that before at length

It took me maybe 3 months to get comfortable wirh my fist mac in 2006, I bought my second in 2009 and its still my main and only computer (although in fairness had Apple brought out a decent Mini update I would have bought one)

@Daffy IMO key driver for Mac take up was the end of the Windows monoply on software especially around rhe web, Office is about the only thing that's really keeping the compnay in business

I tried it

It was shit!

So I went back to the machine that was not only not shit, but actually really really good

Which bit are you struggling with Molls?

binners - Member
Well... either that or the fact that every time I tried to do anything with a large multi-layered photoshop file it froze up, then keeled over sideways, had to be restarted, then repeated the same process ad nauseum

That's it then, you once used a shit computer to try and do something. conclusive! 😆

I acquired a Mac and was also frustrated at the amount of stuff that was different just for the sake of it.
I also had a few problems with it and a quick google soon pointed out that those who repeat the mantra "they just work" are in fact, liars. 🙂
I'm sure it wouldn't take long to get used to a Mac, but when I can get a perfectly useable Windows machine for a *tenth of the price, why would I bother?

*I've just checked. 😯

Macs had me till OS X Photos replaced iPhoto.

All they had to do was add a cloud sync'd copy of my library, but they just couldn't resist fiddling with the whole thing .. now it's taking up an uncontrollable portion of phone storage as well as not supporting cut'n'paste direct from Photos into another app. W10 back for day to day use on the household PC.

Still use a Pro for music recording though, it isn't exactly brain surgery switching between W10 and OSX, even hour by hour.

the end of the Windows monopoly

Could I record radio shows using Garage band?

Whose ever used Garage Band ?

Which bit are you struggling with Molls?

The shitness of it.

They where better than the PCs of their day though ?

Yeah probably. But back then they didn't have the range of software they do now, so that was more of a hindrance.

Office is about the only thing that's really keeping the compnay in business

You don't seem to have much of an idea as to what Microsoft actually do 🙂

And there's also this, 2016 market share

[img] [/img]

molgrips - Member
The shitness of it.

I only said that to annoy binners.

Tbh I have not used it yet, just went through the startup thingy. But the keyboard layout, that is really f'in stupid. Why do that?

And there's also this, 2016 market share

a better indicator of usuage.

Pie charts are out?

molgrips - Member
I only said that to annoy binners.

Tbh I have not used it yet, just went through the startup thingy. But the keyboard layout, that is really f'in stupid. Why do that?

change it to american that'll give ye yer @ & " back. can even change your modifier keys is you want to swap the apple and control buttons to be like a pc.

I want my " \ | and @ in the right places.

I also got a MacBook recently, it's a nightmare, at least it was second hand. The OS is so dumbed down, the screen isn't bright enough to use on a sunny day near a window, there's terrible image retention on the screen. As far as I can see to install software you have to open the dmg file, then click and drag an icon in a pop up window, then there's no confirmation that anything has happened and that window stays open, then I have to open something else to open my software. The finder thing is terrible compared to windows explorer. The magnetic cable pops out constantly. It gets too hot to sit on my lap and sounds like an aeroplane taking off. I can't connect things like my android phone or mp3 players etc to it, I wouldn't be able to connect it to a projector in an office meeting either.

It makes a good tray for putting my plate on for tv dinners though and I'll look really cool in a café if I wasn't too embarrassed to take it out in public.

I also got a MacBook recently, it's a nightmare

Send it back then? Although the fact you bought it seems surprising, as you seemed intent on hating it out of the gate.

I wouldn't be able to connect it to a projector in an office meeting either.

The magnetic cable pops out constantly.

Oh and there's a separate bar that appears at the top of the screen with half the controls of your software, eg in iTunes half the controls are on the gui then half of them are up in this menu bar at the top! And there doesn't seem to be an equivalent photo viewer which you can just use to scroll through photos looking for the one you want. And drop down menus in chrome seem to be very clunky.

Although the fact you bought it seems surprising

I want to use Logic, so kind of had to commit to Mac.

And there doesn't seem to be an equivalent photo viewer

And you can tailor the Dock however you please (position, size, automatically hide etc.

the screen isn't bright enough to use on a sunny day near a window, there's terrible image retention on the screen.

You can make it as bright as you like, or have it adjust to light automatically

Then go to system preferences > displays > colour

Where you can set different colour profiles, until you're happy with it

Why can't I have a screen full of icons I can click on like an iPad or my old laptop?

Why can't I have a screen full of icons I can click on like an iPad or my old laptop?

Highlight the file - press the space bar.

Why can't I have a screen full of icons I can click on like an iPad or my old laptop?

From inside any application, just hit CMD and the tab key to choose any application you like

How well would a phone sell if you couldn't have icons on the screen?
It's just silly.

What does pressing the spacebar do? Some kind of preview?

Is there a list somewhere of these kinds of gestures?

@bigjim sounds like your Mac has a series of faults. There should be no ghosting on the screen, no modern computer of any kind should run hot with fans on all the time, and Mac screens should be top notch.

Is there a list somewhere of these kinds of gestures?

They only tell you after you've taken the solemn vows, and we get your initiation ceremony out of the way. It can be traumatic, but it's worth it in the end

"Why can't I have a screen full of icons I can click on like an iPad or my old laptop?”

its called launchpad, the button with six squares on it, you can probably assign a hot corner or a trackpad gesture for it too.

[img] [/img]

What does pressing the spacebar do? Some kind of preview?

yeah, previews any type of file. Can't believe there is no Windows equivalent for this. It's one of the things I really miss when I'm on my work PC!

What does pressing the spacebar do? Some kind of preview?

Can I have launch pad as my home screen? Can I put a STW icon on it?

launchpad...trackpad gesture

Pinch your fingers to the centre of the trackpad.

Edit : You can find the trackpad gestures in System Preferences/Trackpad.

And then there are Spaces too - a great way of organising different areas of work/home etc. For example, I have a desktop working in applications, a desktop for my browser, desktops for apps (such as Slack, Front etc) and all I need do is press ctrl + (left/right) to swipe between them. Or two figure gesture on my magic mouse.

Four-finger side swipe on a Macbook. (For Molgrips)

Also, to see how good the trackpad and software is integrated, I like to pinch/squeeze the Launchpad screen so you can barely see it, then release and it just pops back. All stages of "ghosting" to full image are there and lend themselves to pissing about.

Sad, I know, but pretty neat...

🙂

How would you look your architect mates in their rimlessly glazed eyes?

Can't believe there is no Windows equivalent for this. It's one of the things I really miss when I'm on my work PC!

There's a preview panel in explorer

And then there are Spaces too - a great way of organising different areas of work/home etc. For example, I have a desktop working in applications, a desktop for my browser, desktops for apps (such as Slack, Front etc) and all I need do is press ctrl + (left/right) to swipe between them. Or two figure gesture on my magic mouse.

Windows 10 has that. Also Linux has had it for what must be decades...

They only tell you after you've taken the solemn vows, and we get your initiation ceremony out of the way. It can be traumatic, but it's worth it in the end

😆

Actually beginning to wonder what I am going to do with this thing. I spent ages getting my working processes set up nicely on the PC, and to start again is a bit of a PITA. Also we do have some Windows only software that I *may* need to work on, so there'll be VMs involved, which means a Windows license, and blabla. May not be worth it tbh.

There's a preview panel in explorer

ffs 😆

3 years I've been swearing at least once a day at the fact that I can't even preview an audio file without loading some poxy music player 😆

May not be worth it tbh.

probably not, why would you waste time learning a new OS for zero gain?
if somebody gave me a windows PC (i have used macs exclusively for 25years) i wouldn’t waste my time on it but pass it on to somebody who would benefit from it as it certainly would be of no use to me.

probably not, why would you waste time learning a new OS for zero gain?

Some of us have to use more than one OS for our jobs.

All my word docs are littered with ":w" where I've tried to save it.....

It was literally going begging, so I thought I might as well give it a go out of curiosity if nothing else. And I do like learning new things.

It's just needless difference for the sake of it that pises me off. I've no problem learning new gestures and features. I've even used unity on Ubunty FFS and I liked it. I got used to the close buttons being in the opposite corner.

All my word docs are littered with ":w" where I've tried to save it.....

When I use textedit the absence of hjkl navigation really irritates me for the first 5 seconds.

It's just needless difference for the sake of it that pises me off.

Absolutely, that's what I really hate about Windows computers.

I support Windows at work, have done for years. I use a mac at home. Sometimes I manage to use both in the same day without getting mixed up. I can even find # without having to Google it.

And I do like learning new things.

*raises eyebrow*

v

yeah it's the same as f1 and f2, but if I sit by the window on a bright day it just doesn't go bright enough. My dell laptop before did.

The spacebar preview is just that, a preview, in fact it's a preview of preview, you can't rotate an image for example without clicking again to go to full preview.

There's no rgb port on my macbook pro - this has always been a bit of an essential for meeting room projectors in my experience, though it's been two years since I had to so maybe they've all been replaced with hdmi or whatever this thing uses. I've managed to avoid a good dongle collection so far!

Obviously you get familiar with what you use, but so far windows just seems to work where as this needs more steps to do basics.

I'm dreading buying a new car, all the buttons will be in different places for no reason!

What will I do if I turn on the air con, but I actually meant to change the radio station?

I'm done for.

I fear change of any sort. It's why I never leave the house and spend a lot of time curled up in the corner rocking back and too, gently crying

Luckily the government has decided to take us back to the 1950's, so I won't have to worry about any of this any more

Phew!

yeah it's the same as f1 and f2, but if I sit by the window on a bright day it just doesn't go bright enough. My dell laptop before did.

Take it back if not suitable.

The spacebar preview is just that, a preview, in fact it's a preview of preview, you can't rotate an image for example without clicking again to go to full preview.

It's actually called Quick Look. Works on videos, audio so does exactly what it's meant to do.

There's no rgb port on my macbook pro - this has always been a bit of an essential for meeting room projectors in my experience,

Again, why did you buy it if it didn't have a feature you needed?

though it's been two years since I had to so maybe they've all been replaced with hdmi or whatever this thing uses. I've managed to avoid a good dongle collection so far!

You'll be able to get an appropriate cable. What outputs do you have? i.e what model MBP is it?

Obviously you get familiar with what you use, but so far windows just seems to work where as this needs more steps to do basics.

It really doesn't. It's just learning how to use the tool. Look at it like the first time you drive somewhere, you'll probably follow all the main roads etc. Go there a few times, you'll learn shortcuts, best roads to use to get there quicker etc.

I guess I should add I am system agnostic. I dislike Apple as a company for many reasons, but when it comes to the laptop market they've been given a pass by MS and their OEMs being a complete shitshow. This has improved recently, with MS doing what it should have done years ago and built it's own hardware, but even then the prices are not much different and stuff like support and release dates still lag behind. For example, [url= https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/jul/26/what-are-the-best-macbook-pro-alternatives ]this article[/url] lists alternatives to the MacBook Pro. But when are half of them in the UK? I contacted most companies, and never even got replies. The Razor is nice tho.

They'll all still have inferior trackpads tho 8)

They're great for drawing pickchures though

So is MS Paint...

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I converted to a Mac a few years ago (October 2011 the receipt is dated, same machine, still going, still as good as it ever was....) , some things are different, some aren't.

What I did was sit and learn how to use it, and how to do things I wanted to do. It's not hard.
I'm not really a computer person*, the reason I bought a Mac was that I was jeffed-off with Windows crashing and fouling up all the time, having to bugger around with it all the time, the Mac fixed that, so I was happy, and I still am.

I'm also glad I opted for the trackpad, it makes a LOT more sense as it replicates how a lot of stuff is done on a touchscreen device.... But again, you need to learn it. (I like learning) Mrs PP doesnt like the trackpad and struggles with it, opting to try and click stuff on the screen, like with a mouse, rather then use the gestures that have become second nature to me.

*That said, I've actually been an IT trainer (SAP) for a while and the bloke that taught us also taught us a lot of keyboard shortcuts and I do use a lot of these even now. It's quicker.

I'd say, personally, that it's more the use of a mouse that seems old fashioned to me, they just feel clunky and slow compared to the trackpad, and they lack functions. Using the Windows machine at work always feels like a backward step to me because of the mouse. I'm also used to both systems, but W10 isn't as clear to me as OSX. Too crowded, too much going on, too many buttons to click.

But that's just me. 🙂

It really doesn't. It's just learning how to use the tool.

Not really. When you type or do other things quickly your fingers get trained in a certain way. For example, the close buttons I are in the top right of the window in Ubuntu and the top right in Windows. It was months and months before my mouse stopped going to the top right to close a window.

It is possible to learn two systems instinctively, but it's a pain and it takes longer.

It's just perverse of Apple to make their keyboards different to the way everyone else does.

Not really. When you type or do other things quickly your fingers get trained in a certain way. For example, the close buttons I are in the top right of the window in Ubuntu and the top right in Windows. It was months and months before my mouse stopped going to the top right to close a window.

?+W. Always quicker.

It is possible to learn two systems instinctively, but it's a pain and it takes longer.

Just bootcamp it then?

It's just perverse of Apple to make their keyboards different to the way everyone else does.

Nice to have options sometimes. It's like BMW offering people a car that goes sideways in the snow. They should just copy everyone else, but it's good there is choice.

Yeh that is a fair point, I can switch between windows and various mainstream Linux flavors pretty efficiently for day to day productivity.

Put me in front of a Mac and I have to google basic stuff like copy and paste.

They are a bit backwards in that respect, and they are PC's anyway in all but OS. And they are too expensive.

Therefore I'm not interested in macs at all, I'd gain nothing from getting one other than an annoying learning curve.

Right. For the next 10 mins post your Mac questions.

A lot of it is very simple. Just swap CTRL for ? (Command Key) and in most case keyboard shortcuts are the same.

So ?+C = CTRL+C etc.

Molls. It works both ways. I never look at my keyboard. And the stuff I do all the time I couldn't tell you what pull down menu they're in. I just know the command keys for everything. Using, say, illustrator on a Mac involves holding down any combination of keys to do fundamental stuff. CMD/shift/alt keys mainly, in conjunction with another key. So when I get on a PC everything is now in the 'wrong place'.

I hate PC's! HATE THEM! Agricultural equipment IMHO. Like getting out of a Ferrari and being handed the keys to a tractor

You hate Macs

Please just put it back where you found it. Or even better, send it to me 🙂 we've 3 Macs in the household at the moment - Mrs Binners is a recent convert who now also regards PCs with equal disdain - but there's always room for one more

What is this track pad you talk of?
I have googled it and I'm still none the wiser.

I find it amusing how anyone could hate either.

Ok I'll go first, wtf is

?

It's witchcraft. That's what it is

Jamie - Member

I find it amusing how anyone could hate either.

We need to get back to discussing the real issues, like flats vs clips, 29 vs 27.5, petrol vs diesel, petrol and diesel vs electric, cyclists vs drivers, republicans vs democrats, labour vs conservatives, people vs dogs and middle class people vs their neighbours.

I don't hate it, it's just different and simple processes seems more complicated. I don't think their cult like following is justified.

I remember that little squiggly key from the macs we used at school in the early 90s

[img] [/img]

Ok I'll go first, wtf is

?
and why is it necessary?

It's the Command key, and it's for initiating shortcuts. Like the Control key does for windows.

It's in roughly the same place as the Control key, and has been around for nearly 40 years.

It's witchcraft. That's what it is

[img] [/img]

Have i been transported back to the late 90's or early 2000's....

OS Fanboys need to move on.

They are both really good mature operating systems, with their own quirks and slightly different user paradigms. There is much more in common between them, than different.

The only things about windows 10 which annoys me is the amount of data it sends home about what you do, and i find the default settings around the task bar and start menu, massively cluttered. However you can get rid of all that and you can kill cortana eventually. Turning on my new laptop to be presented with adverts for candy crush, really is not on for a product which i paid for.

This is true, having to spend an hour or so configuring a fresh win 10 to stop sending data back to the mothership is a pain in the arse. And then checking it again every time you get an update, very sneaky like that.

In all honesty I'd use Ubuntu or mint full time but I like to game a bit too so windows is the only option for that.

Put me in front of a Mac and I have to google basic stuff like copy and paste.

I think you mean Xerox where Steve Jobs saw the GUI and he didn’t license it, he just made his own.

The copy/paste actions, both on the keyboard and via the GUI, have remained exactly the same since the 1984 launch of the original Mac OS. That’s an extraordinary level of consistency in the IT industry.

Rachel

Running Win on my mac laptop in Bootcamp I fall foul of some of the key remapping - I use alt-arrow key a lot to move around text when I'm editing (skips a word at a time),

Do that with the right hand alt key on a mac and it changes the screen orientation. Kit it quickly 5 or 6 times and the screen just sits there for 10 seconds flashing at you until you can get back control

Jamie - Member
I find it amusing how anyone could hate either.

I find it amusing how anyone could hate either.

It's easy to hate Windows as its been so enormously cr@p for the longest time. Each new release was supposed to be the greatest thing except they weren't, later to be slagged off by some of the same fanbois. Oh Win 10 is great if you don't mind buying new peripherals as your working-perfectly-under-Win-7 devices no longer function.

A lot of it is very simple. Just swap CTRL for ? (Command Key) and in most case keyboard shortcuts are the same.

So ?+C = CTRL+C etc.

This. Like Jamie says, I am sure they did this on purpose.

.

Yip, both are shit.
The produce of nerds who were bullied at school and are now taking their vengeance out on normal people.

Reading some of your posts, I feel you could benefit from a basic IT course, or maybe the dummies books could help?

p.s If you cannot use Windows or Macs in their simplest terms, then you're outside of the normal my friend.

So, I've hit my first problem. Well - my second. My first was that I set it up then went on holiday for two weeks so forgot the password of course. No matter, there was nothing on there so I can just use the recovery partition to reinstall the OS.

So I've deleted the encrypted partition, re-created a new unencrypted one and used the recovery utility to reinstall macOS Sierra. Nice and easy, except it's not working. Just sitting there, the progress bar has not left the blocks and it still says 6 minutes remaining as it did when I started.

Any ideas?

Is it downloading itself from the internet? Without telling me?

Good job I'm not on a metered connection!

quick google pops up this, not sure if relevant, haven't read it all, just a quick scan. I'll let you read it! 😆

https://www.easeus.com/mac-file-recovery/macos-sierra-update-stuck-or-fail.html