Six Weeks with Mac

I have now spent about 6 weeks using a Mac and still Love IT! During this time I have discovered some things that others may run into so here is what I know:

Safari vs Firefox: I have found that I like surfing the Internet with Firefox better than with Safari. It is nice to have both as an option, but more pages and sites download with Firefox. The strange this is that I like the Bookmarks Menu bar on Safari, so I still use Safari frequently. However, if I really want to make sure that I can access something I go with Firefox. On Safari, I can't open or even find most websites unless I use the google tool bar to search and find them.

Groupwise Attachments: I have discovered that when I open Groupwise on my computer, desktop or iBook, I cannot attach a document from a removable storage device. Your document must be in the "documents" file on the computer and not a zip or flash drive. However, I have found that if you open groupwise via the Internet you can attach a file that is saved on removable storage.

Groupwise Mass Mailing: Sometimes if I try to send and e-mail en masse to a large group I get the message that "some of the e-mail addresses were undeliverable. I know that my e-mail addresses are correct, so I believe that this is another glitch in the Groupwise/Mac compatibility.

Opening an Attachment in Groupwise: I cannot open an attachment in Groupwise. I have to save it to my computer or removable storage before I can open it. I think this is a problem with Groupwise. I haven't tried to see if I can open an attachment if I access Groupwise on the Internet. I will try this.

Forward Delete on iBook: Craig helped me figure out that if I want to forward delete I have to press the function key at the same time as the delete key. I believe that this is the same for PowerBook or iBook. This was a big deal for me.

Graphics: I love working with graphics on a Mac. The visuals are clear and look better than they do on my PC. In fact, I was working with a document in Freehand that looked like a completely different graphic on my PC.

Opening Corel Documents: Craig gave me some software that allows me to open any type of document that is sent to me. This was helpful because my Mac wouldn't open Corel documents.

Page Break: I cannot figure out how to do a page break in word on my Mac. On a PC I hit control and enter at the same time. This doesn't work on the Mac. I need help with this.

Ram: My iBook does not have enough Ram to complete the tasks that I ask it to perform. Craig has ordered me more Ram.

RSS Aggregator: I don't know about anyone else but I am a big reader of blogs and RSS Aggregators makes that a lot easier. I used to use SharpReader on my PC, but it won't work on a Mac. So I have found a good one for Macs at http://rancero.com/netnewswire/

SPSS: I need SPSS, I don't even know if you can use it on a Mac. Anyone, anyone.

iMovies: I am playing with this and love it's potential. I would love to see the potential that this holds for academic purposes.

Laptop Battery: The battery on my laptop lasts for less than five minutes.

Fewer Glitches: My PC freezes up a lot, expecially when I am working with graphic programs. However, I don't seem to have this problem with my Mac, iBook or desktop.

Endnote: I need to repurchase this software if they make it for Mac operating systems. I have this for my PC and really need it for my graduate studies.

Floppy Drive: I don't have a floppy drive on my Mac. This doesn't bother me so much but I have a lot of students that bring me documents on a floppy disk. This is a little inconveinant.

Printer: I was able to connect to other Rendevous printers (only becaue of Craig's wizardry).

Network: I don't believe that a Mac can be netwrked with the University system.

Printing of e-mail: I can't seem to print off my e-mails on the Mac.

That is all for now!

My First Couple of Days with a Mac

I have agreed to be part of a research project that focuses on the logistical realities of transfering computer platforms from PCs to Macs. I now have a great new Macintosh computer on my desk at work and have been using it for three days. While I am excited to have a Mac and can definitely see that it is superior in many ways to a PC, I have discovered some stumbling blocks.

1. I am not able to utilize the following programs on it: Microsoft Visual Studio, Frontpage and Access.
2. I have to order new software: the Macromedia suite software.
3. I have discovered that my Mac can read the Word document that I have created on my PC, but my PC cannot read anything created on my Mac. Perhaps there is a way that I can save these documents for a higher degree of compatibility.
4. Some of the documents that are PC created will not print out the same when printed from a Mac.
5. I need a new webcam.
6. I have a dearth of USB ports.
7. Safari often times does not connect, however if I switch to Google I am okay.
8. I have not been able to interface my PDA with the Mac.

The following are the things that I am enjoying about the Mac:
1. Instant messenger works great and I love the iChat.
2. The Mac offers iMovie and a better pictures structure than my PC.
3. The Mac screen seems to offer a higher degree of resolution and has a sharper look to everything.
4. I love the "stickies" feature.
5. The Mac seems to be easier to use, I did not even have to load software for my printer, once I hooked it up to the Mac, it immediately recognized it and was ready to go.
6. I love the way that you can stack and transfer things on the desktop.

These three days have been interesting for me and I have learned a lot. I have not tried to Blog from my Mac, hopefully there will not be any problems with this. In the next week I will try to solve a lot of my software issues and try to run my HP scanner on the Mac and work with transfering graphics. I need to figure out what I can do on a Mac without Microsoft visual studio, since I need this software for my dissertation project. This could be my biggest hurdle, that and the Frontpage. I teach a lot of students about web authoring and the most ubiquitous program that they have access to in their homes is Frontpage.

I am hoping that with this Blog some of the Mac geniuses of the world will impart their knowledge to me so that I can more fully utilize my Mac to it's full potential. Come back and visit as I move through my experiences with Mac and shift my paradigms on computer platforms.