I got my new computer on Friday. A Mac Pro, single quad core 2.8 CPU, 8800 GT video card upgrade, otherwise base specs. Added an additional 750GB hard drive and 4GB of RAM to bring the total up to 6GB. I feel like I should have made a case for a second CPU, no it's absolutely not needed now but I expect to be using this computer for the next 3-4 years and the additional CPU would have increased the long-term value of the computer for a relatively small increase in cost. It also looks like one of the few cases where the cost from Apple would have been cheaper than it will cost to upgrade it myself later, prices for the xeon CPUs at places like newegg are crazy.
I played with Mac OS X long enough to install the latest updates and run Bootcamp. Split off a 60GB partition for Vista and installed Ultimate 64-bit. Bootcamp is very impressive, why can't Dell offer driver updates in a similar way? However, it didn't seem to include the latest nvidia drivers. The included drivers work, but for something like a video card there can be a huge difference between the latest release, so it's odd that Bootcamp doesn't include them.
In Vista the computer ran great, just as I would expect from a computer given it's hardware. The hard drive bays are awesome, except for the fact I can't install a velociraptor.
Mac OS X is a bit awkward to use though. Is there some hidden equivalent to alt-tab for changing between windows? Where is the cool stuff? I remember hearing all about the cool 3-D effects built into the UI that put windows to shame, but I don't actually see anything special.
One particular "quirk" I have noticed that really annoys me, is how action prompts are delt with for applications that don't currently have focus.
This is what I am talking about:
I'm using iTunes and ripping some CD's while I am making this post. I put a new CD in, and it takes 10-15 seconds for iTunes to recognize and and prompt me to copy it. No problem, I just switch back to Safari and continue typing my post. But then iTunes pops up the prompt, steals focus, yet it doesn't let me click on the prompt! It's grayed out. I click on iTunes and it gives an annoying error sound and won't let me change focus that way either. Through trial and error I eventually found I have to click on iTunes at the bottom on the dock, THEN I can click on the popup prompt. It works, it isn't a huge deal, but it seems so backwards. If there is any way to disable all automatic focus changes and enable focus changes by clicking on applications instead of only by using the dock, I'd love to hear how you enable it.
Other than that issue, Mac OS X has been fun to use. I'm not sure if I could use it as my primary OS outside work, but it's no worse than learning Linux.
I played with Mac OS X long enough to install the latest updates and run Bootcamp. Split off a 60GB partition for Vista and installed Ultimate 64-bit. Bootcamp is very impressive, why can't Dell offer driver updates in a similar way? However, it didn't seem to include the latest nvidia drivers. The included drivers work, but for something like a video card there can be a huge difference between the latest release, so it's odd that Bootcamp doesn't include them.
In Vista the computer ran great, just as I would expect from a computer given it's hardware. The hard drive bays are awesome, except for the fact I can't install a velociraptor.
Mac OS X is a bit awkward to use though. Is there some hidden equivalent to alt-tab for changing between windows? Where is the cool stuff? I remember hearing all about the cool 3-D effects built into the UI that put windows to shame, but I don't actually see anything special.
One particular "quirk" I have noticed that really annoys me, is how action prompts are delt with for applications that don't currently have focus.
This is what I am talking about:
I'm using iTunes and ripping some CD's while I am making this post. I put a new CD in, and it takes 10-15 seconds for iTunes to recognize and and prompt me to copy it. No problem, I just switch back to Safari and continue typing my post. But then iTunes pops up the prompt, steals focus, yet it doesn't let me click on the prompt! It's grayed out. I click on iTunes and it gives an annoying error sound and won't let me change focus that way either. Through trial and error I eventually found I have to click on iTunes at the bottom on the dock, THEN I can click on the popup prompt. It works, it isn't a huge deal, but it seems so backwards. If there is any way to disable all automatic focus changes and enable focus changes by clicking on applications instead of only by using the dock, I'd love to hear how you enable it.
Other than that issue, Mac OS X has been fun to use. I'm not sure if I could use it as my primary OS outside work, but it's no worse than learning Linux.
... In the meantime, I'm going to get an iPhone 
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