Should i switch? - Page 2

Instead of that, when Finder is the active application, click the Go menu, then click Applications.

You can if you choose to just move the icon, however this would be somewhat the equivalent of moving the entire "Program Files" folder for that application in Windows. I would instead CTRL+Click(Or right click on a two button mouse), and select MAKE ALIAS. Then drag the alias instead to the desktop, it is a better way of doing things IMO.

Seablade

you go to the Applications folder in the hdd....there is really no launcher panel. for your most frequently used programs you just create links in the dock or as desktop icons.

seablade...never got why they use "alias" for what windows calls "Send to Desktop (Create Shortcut)" ... call it what it is. its a damn symbolic link damn it! "ln -s /dir/file1 /dir/file2" ftw!

if u have a few most accessed folders u can also drag the folder to the left column of your finder window and drop it in there. i'm lazy, so i like to just tab to the finder and command+N. i'm spotlight phobic i guess.

ABF you are pretty much correct, for all intents and purposes all they are, are symbolic links. I havent checked to see if it might be a hard link or something more to it, but whatever the case, three different names for the same freaking thing is a bit annoying at times I prefer the linux links name myself, as I am fairly sure you do as well. Yes, yes they are, but IMO they are worth it. Seablade

have you considered student/academic discounts?

what is your budget? what kind of system are you looking for?

Because people will pay that much.

Not to be to blunt there, but to go into any other type of explanation would be the equivalent of trying to answer the meaning of life without knowing the question around here....

Seablade

your new macbook will reward your patience tenfold. I was in your situation last semester, when my old laptop fried.

so while you wait and save up, i recommend looking into some other threads here so you can get an even better idea of where your large future investment is going, since it seems like you are a little new to OSX. Play with it for 2-3 hours and you'll be a pro.

42....

Seablade

i laugh everytime i see a "should i switch" thread.

harhar

In the applications folder. One of OSX's few flaws. Many of us have the applications folder in the dock.

Of course, Apple invented that idea.

The decision to switch should be based entirely on what apps you use because 90% of your time is spent in an app and not putzing around an interface. For fear of the mac users who get angry when you question the OS then I won't mention any specifics, but for seasoned PC users then theres alot of little things that Windows actually does do better and its hard to break some old habits.

Anyway, I switched back a bit ago and while I love my Mac, I quickly realized that alot of my favorite Windows programs are non-existant (to me). Heres my short list of apps that i've been hunting down for way to long now.

-Video/Audio IM client. iChat is incredible for mac to mac but most people i know are PC. Skype does good audio but no video. Yahoo is the opposite. AIM cant do video with iChat.

-Picasa. Probably my biggest missed app. I respect iPhoto for what it does but anyone open-minded enough to give Picasa a try will admit that its the simplest (and cheapest) photo organizing software on ANY platform. Thats really an app that mac users should lay down the pride on and demand Google to make for us.

-Hello. Theres a ton of photo sharing options out nowadays but this integrates right into picasa and for those who send alot of pictures then its such an easy photo sharing app to use.

-DVDShrink. If you've got kids you know the importance of backing up your DVD's. Well, so far I've yet to find something on mac that does all the right compression/burning that DVDshrink does.

-RSS Reader. I know theres a ton, but for some reason none of them have a tiny feature that I find important. "Mark as read when leaving channel". I have a few hundred feeds organized in catagories and I just glance at titles and move on most of the time. But I've tried everything and nothing lets me just click on the next feed and mark them all as read. Its making me crazy because I'm stuck using online apps instead and its dog slow sometimes with that many channels


Again, I'm not meaning to attack the mac. i've switched and love most of it. But I do understand that old argument on the PC side that they have more apps. It doesnt matter if most of them are bad, if theres just one that fits your needs then more apps is good.

Skype for Mac does video.

I prefer iPhoto over Picasa, but I do think Google should release a Mac version of it.

I share my photos with Flickr and the Flickr Export plugin for iPhoto; very easy.

There are a couple dvd shrink like programmes for Mac but they're commercial and won't rip protected content, which is why you have to pre rip before ripping and converting. Luckily I don't do much DVD copying, but I do completely agree about DVD Shrink...I wish there was a Mac version.

I do all my RSS reading through Livejournal so I have nothing to say about that.

Mac the Ripper is a nice DVD rip utility. It also compresses and burns. But yeah, DVDShrink is a nice program. Definitely give Mac the Ripper a try.