I'm a Mac user!!!

[James Bond]

I haven't been this excited about a toy since.... well, my iPhone

I'm sure there are a million guides and threads about this, so I won't go into tons of detail on my install. I did run into a couple issues, but within a few hours everything was sorted out and I was up and running. MyDellMini forums are VERY comprehensive - all questions I had were answered in previous threads.

I'm now up and running in 10.5.6, just finishing a few patches now. It's been years since I've used a Mac, I really forgot how streamlined they were.

Spaces ROCKS. I know it isn't anything new, but it was very well implemented IMO.

Anything I should know about? Right now I'm just checking out a bunch of Mac tips websites, trying to catch up on stuff I should already know.

 

[Kmax82]

Best advice: Play around. That's what I do, and I continually find new and wonderful things in OS X.

 

[Kaido]

Congrats! Did you do a full retail install on your 32gb SSD?

 

[James Bond]

Originally posted by: Kaido
Congrats! Did you do a full retail install on your 32gb SSD?

Yeah, I did. I ended up using my Dad's OS X disc which had one extra "license" on it (although, I didn't have to enter any serial number or anything).

 

[TheStu]

Originally posted by: James Bond

Originally posted by: Kaido
Congrats! Did you do a full retail install on your 32gb SSD?

Yeah, I did. I ended up using my Dad's OS X disc which had one extra "license" on it (although, I didn't have to enter any serial number or anything).

You never have to enter a serial. The licenses are based on the honor system since to the best of my knowledge there is no difference between a Retail Leopard disk and a Retail Leopard Family disk.

Good luck with the HackinLap.

 

[James Bond]

Originally posted by: TheStu

Originally posted by: James Bond

Originally posted by: Kaido
Congrats! Did you do a full retail install on your 32gb SSD?

Yeah, I did. I ended up using my Dad's OS X disc which had one extra "license" on it (although, I didn't have to enter any serial number or anything).

You never have to enter a serial. The licenses are based on the honor system since to the best of my knowledge there is no difference between a Retail Leopard disk and a Retail Leopard Family disk.

Good luck with the HackinLap.

I see. Thanks for the explanation

Great thread btw, Stu, just finished reading the entire thing. The applications you linked seem awesome, especially the uninstaller one! (That was *always* an annoyance for me)

 

[theblackbox]

when i sold my mini 9 i was a little sad, but i had fun with it.
i was surprised how well it ran logic anf fcp, even though i could only capture and edit sd, i could edit hd but i had to bring it in off my macbook pro.
logic was awesome, although i was never able to get mainstage to load.

 

[James Bond]

Originally posted by: theblackbox
when i sold my mini 9 i was a little sad, but i had fun with it.
i was surprised how well it ran logic anf fcp, even though i could only capture and edit sd, i could edit hd but i had to bring it in off my macbook pro.
logic was awesome, although i was never able to get mainstage to load.

Unrelated question:
Why are Mac's often considered better for Video and Audio editing? I know that the hardware isn't very different, so is it just that they have better software, or are more "ready to go" out of the box?

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: James Bond

Originally posted by: theblackbox
when i sold my mini 9 i was a little sad, but i had fun with it.
i was surprised how well it ran logic anf fcp, even though i could only capture and edit sd, i could edit hd but i had to bring it in off my macbook pro.
logic was awesome, although i was never able to get mainstage to load.

Unrelated question:
Why are Mac's often considered better for Video and Audio editing? I know that the hardware isn't very different, so is it just that they have better software, or are more "ready to go" out of the box?

The way they handle memory (and to an extent, multi-tasking) is a better approach than what Windows has done in the past, making it a smoother and more reliable system. Also Final Cut Pro and other tools are considered among the standard in the industry. I mean if you're going pro video, you're pretty much either going with FCP or Avid. Premier of course works on both platforms, as does all the other Adobe stuff (Photoshop, Illustrator, etc.).

From a user standpoint, it's an appliance - take it out, plug it in, run updates, install software. No hunting for drivers, installing security software, etc. It "just works". So less hassle to the end-user, who may be more artistically inclined than technically inclined and thus prefers something that simply works OOTB. If you're a nerd, you can easily get by on either system

 

[theblackbox]

Originally posted by: James Bond

Originally posted by: theblackbox
when i sold my mini 9 i was a little sad, but i had fun with it.
i was surprised how well it ran logic anf fcp, even though i could only capture and edit sd, i could edit hd but i had to bring it in off my macbook pro.
logic was awesome, although i was never able to get mainstage to load.

Unrelated question:
Why are Mac's often considered better for Video and Audio editing? I know that the hardware isn't very different, so is it just that they have better software, or are more "ready to go" out of the box?

well, in my case and my opinion here is what i think:

audio wise, Logic Studio is hard to match for audio work. it's a very robust and complete package that has been around and offers a lot to audio editing and production. pro tools is a great program, but even with the latest version, i prefer Logic.

video wise, final cut pro and final cut studio (although getting a little long in the tooth) is one of the most complete editing packages.

The biggest thing is that since apple controls the hardware, apple software can be developed around it's strengths, and the software isn't apt to problems that could result from using different hardware. in terms, there are no hardware incompatibilities since apple controls the whole environment.

while adobe premiere is getting better, it's still just not up to the same level as avid ro fcp. the only part of the adobe production package that excels is after effects. i really like after effects for it's layered approach over Shake and it's node approach. even though shake is more powerful, after effects is friendlier and sometimes more fun to use.

so out of the box, they offer more because you have the confidence they will work on your system without drivers, hardware concerns and the such.

i think apple needs to get a new final cut out that takes better advantage of ram and system usage. since 10.6 will offer better cpu core distribution, i hope fcp or fcs3 offers the same.

 

[Kmax82]

Also to note, I feel that movie compatibility is much better in OS X. I have had more issues with videos not playing, or rendering improperly in Windows than I have ever had in OS X.

 

[mshan]

Anyone know if all of the updates via Software Update are safe to install from 10.5.6 (type11 install method)?

 

[theblackbox]

you should have no problems doing any and all upgrades so far. i never had a single problem and everything worked like a charm for me.

 

[SickBeast]

Hey OP can you do a battery life comparison between Windows and MacOS?

 

[James Bond]

Originally posted by: SickBeast
Hey OP can you do a battery life comparison between Windows and MacOS?

I didn't run Windows on it, unfortunately. It came equipped with Ubuntu (8.04) out of the box, but I didn't play with it enough to kill the battery.

Running OS X, battery is decent but not stellar. Usually lasts for 2.5-3.5 hours of solid use before I plug it in.