I finally did it - bought a Mac

[randomlinh]

Originally posted by: Pabster
Mozy seems to be a good choice, although I much prefer Carbonite. Unfortunately, their Mac version won't be ready until Summer.

Why do you like Carbonite more? I was put off by it not having an option to use your own encryption key.

Originally posted by: Kaido
My biggest problem was on my wife's Mac...she has gigs and gigs of photos from her shoots and it takes foreeeeeeeeeeeever to back up to Mozy. I mean, that's a given - your upload speed is only so fast. But in the beginning it just never finished. If you have a lot of data, be prepared to spend days (literally) uploading.

It may be more worthwhile to do manual backups to a $5 FTP server like IXWebhosting (unlimited disk space). I actually upload encryped zips of some of my more important projects just for safe-keeping that way

heh, I'm prepared for it. In fact, I would estimate it might take a month or so... heh. Part of the reason I don't do some cheap web host is because mozy supposedly does block/bit level stuff for larger files, which would be nice to have. That and I have more faith in something backed by EMC than cheap web hosting

 

[Parasitic]

I think .Mac is one of those novel things where if you had multiple Macs it'd be nice to have, if not just for iDisk.

I signed up for a trial and played with it for 20 minutes. Got bored already. I had several email addresses so the @mac.com one wasnt really all that useful.
Plus I'm not a blogger person or have multiple Macs.

 

[bearxor]

Originally posted by: randomlinhI've done a few small test restores w/o issue (not too happy the web restore gave me a DMG) but trying to see if any other mac users were out there. It's hard enough finding windows feedback, heh.

HFSExplorer is free and associates itself with DMG files on Windows.

Downside it's a java app so it's a bit... weird...

It's also read-only... No writing to HFS partitions.

But I have no problems with it so far. I have a 120GB External hard drive (my Mac's old HD) that I keep formatted with 20GB FAT32 and 100GB HFS and I keep HFSExplorer on the FAT partition and the bulk of my files on the HFS drive.

Oops, the link for HFSExplorer:
http://hem.bredband.net/catacombae/hfsx.html

 

[randomlinh]

Originally posted by: bearxor
HFSExplorer is free and associates itself with DMG files on Windows.

Thanks for the tip, that can be useful. But in the case of Mozy, it's an encrypted DMG. I'm not sure how to decrypt it without the mozy mac client (unsure if the windows utility will do it). The image can mount and be read, but all the files are garbage, heh.

 

[alm99]

Congrats. I too am looking to go the Apple route entirely. Currently have a mac mini running bot camp, the only thing holding me back really is my $$ funds and the fact that my HTPC runs off Snapstream Beyond TV for windows that works flawlessly. The comparable Elgato eye TV stinks in comparison, but I love the mac.

 

[bearxor]

Originally posted by: randomlinh

Originally posted by: bearxor
HFSExplorer is free and associates itself with DMG files on Windows.

Thanks for the tip, that can be useful. But in the case of Mozy, it's an encrypted DMG. I'm not sure how to decrypt it without the mozy mac client (unsure if the windows utility will do it). The image can mount and be read, but all the files are garbage, heh.

Ah, I didn't know. I might try it.

 

[Pabster]

Originally posted by: randomlinh
Why do you like Carbonite more? I was put off by it not having an option to use your own encryption key.

They will soon allow you to keep the encryption key.

I prefer Carbonite because it is pretty much one-click set it and forget it. It's fantastic for machines with novices in particular.

It's also unlimited storage.

 

[Megatomic]

According to FedEx tracking, my blackbook will be delivered by 4:30 tomorrow! Apple is fast with the shipping.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: Megatomic
According to FedEx tracking, my blackbook will be delivered by 4:30 tomorrow! Apple is fast with the shipping.

One of my professors has a blackbook. Despite the increased price, I really, really want one lol. The matte black looks amazing on them! I'm holding out for the LED screen upgrade this year, though.

 

[randomlinh]

Originally posted by: Pabster

Originally posted by: randomlinh
Why do you like Carbonite more? I was put off by it not having an option to use your own encryption key.

They will soon allow you to keep the encryption key.

I prefer Carbonite because it is pretty much one-click set it and forget it. It's fantastic for machines with novices in particular.

It's also unlimited storage.

heh, how is that really any different than mozy? I've used the windows interface for carbonite (albeit it's probably been a good year since I have seen it). It doesn't really seem all that different from setting up mozy. I'd argue at the time, it seemed more bloated even. But the encryption key thing was the killer for me.

 

[budda]

I have to say .mac is not worth the money. I had it for a year and I actually forgot that I had it. Your better off buying the extended applecare warranty than .mac

As for Office, I am still up in the air. I just graduated so my paper writing is finished until grad school. Right now I use office 2008 and iworks and I love both. I did use entourage for a while but I ended up switching back to mail.app and calendar.

I just wish there was a better syncing option for my blackberry other than pocketmac and missing sync.

 

[aphex]

Originally posted by: budda
I have to say .mac is not worth the money. I had it for a year and I actually forgot that I had it. Your better off buying the extended applecare warranty than .mac

As for Office, I am still up in the air. I just graduated so my paper writing is finished until grad school. Right now I use office 2008 and iworks and I love both. I did use entourage for a while but I ended up switching back to mail.app and calendar.

I just wish there was a better syncing option for my blackberry other than pocketmac and missing sync.

Welcome to the Forums!

 

[budda]

Thanks

Here is a suggestion when you receive your macbook, get a program called smcfancontrol. It will allow you to manually set what fan speeds it will minimally run at so the blackbook will not get to hot. I have mine set for 3000rpm and it is still quiet and not as hot as 2500,2000 etc.

 

[EGGO]

Originally posted by: Megatomic

Originally posted by: EGGO
Anandtech actually has a review on Office 2008 in the Apple section. As for .mac, it depends on what you'd use it for.

Thanks, I'll look for it after breakfast.

You and I are the newest recruits here it seems.

Awesome. Do you have your Mac yet? If so, what do you think so far?

And thanks Kaido and Pabster. I'll check into those alternatives as I wait for my Mac to arrive.

Not quite yet. I ordered it last Monday and they said that it'd be ready within the week. Looks like it still hasn't made it to the store. Here's hoping for tomorrow!

 

[Megatomic]

Originally posted by: budda
Thanks

Here is a suggestion when you receive your macbook, get a program called smcfancontrol. It will allow you to manually set what fan speeds it will minimally run at so the blackbook will not get to hot. I have mine set for 3000rpm and it is still quiet and not as hot as 2500,2000 etc.

Neato, I'll check that out if I notice that my computer is running too hot for my liking. Thanks for the tip. :thumbsup:

 

[budda]

No problem. I can give you a lot of suggestions for little tweaks and the likes if you need it.

 

[Megatomic]

w00t, first post from safari. i'm installing a ton of software updates right now, when that's done i'll install firefox and thunderbird. so far, my impressions are:

1. dang this computer is tiny!! my dv6000t is much bigger and heavier.
2. the blackbook runs a lot cooler than my dv6000t does. fan barely runs, too.
3. the screen is very bright. i had to turn it down to 80% right off.
4. even with just 1GB of RAM it seems pretty nimble. do I really need 2GB after all?

my first impressions are all positive, my wife is relieved.

 

[bearxor]

Skip Firefox. If you have to have another browser download Camino. Firefox on the Mac kind of... sucks.

Then again, I'm perfectly happy with Safari in OS X and IE 7 in Vista, so what do I know?

If you're using it for just basic tasks and such, a 2GB upgrade really isn't necessary. If you do a lot of higher end video work, graphics/rendering work, gaming or want to dabble in virtualization I would go to at least two. I mean, let's face it, 2GB of RAM is only $48 bucks.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820148086

Hell, 4GB of RAM is only $88.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820227247

 

[Megatomic]

camino is another mozilla project isn't it? is it seamonkey for os x?

i just learned how to scroll - drag two fingers on the trackpad. easy.

 

[budda]

Camino is basically firefox for osx. It is built on Mozilla's gecko engine which renders the pages.

If you want aim,msn,icq etc, get Adium.

And remember, the apple button is your "ctrl" button

 

[Megatomic]

can i use my firefox profile in camino? i'd hate to have to recreate all my bookmarks...

 

[erikistired]

firefox 3 beta 3 is quite nice. been using it for a few days. rocks faces. i've never been impressed with camino.

and you can export your bookmarks from firefox and move them into any browser.

 

[Megatomic]

cool, thanks fisher. i just got thunderbird installed and got my mail set up. very easy stuff so far.

hey fisher, is ff3 running well on os x? i've been reading and it seems that ff2 and earlier ran poorly on intel macs for some reason.

 

[erikistired]

i think so. i was having a few issues with ff2 (it was randomly locking up, tho i think it was flash related). i went back to safari but it has a few small issues i can't live with, so i downloaded ff3 beta 3. it runs great imho, even better after running x slimmer (GREAT PROGRAM) and ditching the ppc code.

some other free programs to try out: seashore (os x based gimp), appcleaner (i paid for app zapper but i've been using this freebie lately), clamxav (antivirus, might as well), liteicon (let's you change your icons out).

also, x slimmer is a cool program, as mentioned above. it removes the ppc code in programs, slimming them down and in some cases improving performance.

 

[TheStu]

What issues were you having with Safari? I have been running it as my browser of choice for over a year now, and don't really have any complaints.

XSlimmer is a great app, I agree, I have been using it since I got my mac, liked it so much, I bought 3 licenses for it (1 for me, and 1 each for my 2 mac using friends)