6 posts shown.
A few years back, I tried getting a $333 overdraft through Chase as part of their Student package. They went all in on questioning me, asking for my full credit history at other banks—loans, lines of credit, everything—plus proof of enrollment. And since I was just some kid back then, they actually asked for a co-signer for that $333 because I already had a Mastercard student card with them (with a $667 limit). They basically told me I was too much of a risk to let them tack an extra $333 onto my existing lines, even though I had a campus job that could've easily covered both if I maxed them out. So, in this "package" that’s supposed to include both a card and an overdraft, they made me get a life insurance policy to act as a guarantor just in case.
Anyway, that’s how "quietly" we settled that overdraft deal, which, by the way, was supposed to be renewed every academic year using my student ID, despite them having that "guarantor" on file. I'm pretty sure they didn't even view it as security; the teller was probably just chasing her commission.
I don't know... I've got a 1394 port on my Mac, but maybe that isn't Thunderbolt or whatever.
Can I use this Dell UltraSharp Monitor with a Mac? Not a mac.
The GPU? Who knows. 😛 Buying a new computer in June. Any recs would be cool, I guess.
Just wondering if the monitor actually works—like, will I run into that issue where I can't adjust the Contrast, which I've seen people complaining about on other forums (though those threads are ancient, back when the Microsoft logo was totally different. Seriously)?
Thanks.
~Larry Johnson38
Alright, thanks. That makes way more sense now. 🙂
And NO, I'm not buying an iMac just for gaming. A PC handles that fine, which is what I was arguing about in that other thread. 😛
Noah Sanchez39, this helped a ton. Thanks. You're a real one (I guess I wouldn't have that much patience to write all that out myself)!
Fine. Guess I'm getting the iMac. (Just not right now—maybe late June. *starts humming some pop song*)
Later!
~Larry Johnson38
Alright, thanks for the replies!
Noah Sanchez39, seriously? An old Mac with only 1GB of RAM? Those white ones that aren't even aluminum? Wow... 🙂
Anyway, here are my questions:
What’s actually the deal with the different OS X versions? Like, what’s the difference between Panther, Snow Leopard, Lion (I think I heard someone mention Leopard without the Snow too...)? It all sounds the same to me. People keep arguing about whether they'd rather use XP or 8. (In my case, it's XP. 8 seems just as bad as 7, except it has those widgets and a different log in, and now you supposedly need a Hotmail account... give me a break. I guess it starts up faster, but who knows since we've only seen betas...)
Thunderbolt. I read on the Apple site that it’s basically a mix of FireWire and USB, using FW speeds with USB capabilities... WTF? What is this "Thunderbolt" thing even for? What kind of gear uses it? My current old computer has about a 60GB HDD; the system takes up maybe 15%, while my other drive ("D:") has over 50% free space, and that whole drive holds everything I need—so I don't really see the point of these high-speed external HDDs. Neither does the Thunderbolt Display (I don't get why it's hyped so much; I assume colors will look fine if it's plugged in via HDMI and connected through Thunderbolt). And the refresh rate—which I guess is measured in Hz—isn't going to magically increase beyond the monitor's limit anyway. To me, the whole Thunderbolt Display thing and the port itself just seem kind of pointless.
crimsonstag84 mentioned that the HD 6970 m is way different from the other one (which I noticed because of the memory). Are both cards actually decent for heavier games (like The Sims 3 plus expansions, which basically require "The Sims 3 minimum configuration multiplied by 3")? Or should I wait until I get an iMac to try the even beefier ones?
What’s it like working on an iMac? If you compare Microsoft Office to whatever similar software comes with the iMac, which one is better? Or is Office for Mac highly recommended?
And about this Magic Mouse... okay, Noah Sanchez39, you have a Mighty Mouse (that's the wired one, right?)... but does anyone actually own a Magic Mouse? Looking at it, it seems... non-ergonomic... like you'd get blisters after long sessions... and I read it's harder to do those two-finger gestures... anyone actually use the MM? 🙂
Then there's the wireless keyboard... okay, which *second time in this post, Larry Johnson38?!*?! I mean, it's smaller than the one on my laptop! Where are the Insert, Home, End, Page Up/down, and Delete keys!? And even if I somehow change my mind and stick with this tiny keyboard, is there any chance it comes in an American layout? Like, are the symbols in the right order, or am I just guessing where things are? Or is it all just English, in which case I'll just buy an American keyboard myself.
Roughly how long do the batteries last on the MM and the wireless keyboard? (Assuming I turn them off every time I shut down the Mac.)
This might be a dumb question... how long does it take for an iMac to go into standby ( Sleep)? How fast does it wake up? How long for a fresh boot versus a full shutdown? (I don't know why, but I'm curious! 🙂 )
Oh, and... Boot Camp. Or the non-Boot Camp stuff... Okay, so if I hate OS X, can I install Windows XP (or okay, Windows 7... but let's call it "XP" here) over the OS X partition (like, a full format and then XP), so the iMac boots straight into XP? Second option: make a partition and install XP there, so I can pick XP from the boot screen? Third option, which is the same as the second but XP runs in a window alongside OS X?
If someone used to be on a PC and recently switched to OS X, would you recommend OS X or staying on the Windows platform?
Can I even run programs on OS X? (Totally stupid and unpolished question, I know.) I read somewhere that OS X has way fewer viruses than Windows. Or maybe none at all. So... usually viruses come in an *.exe format, so... does OS X just refuse to open *.exe apps entirely, or does it just block ones from the internet and send them over to Apple for investigation?
Does OS X even support games on CD? Like homemade CDs (games downloaded from the web and burned to a disc, complete with a crack—thanks, neighbor! ^^)? *Sorry if we aren't supposed to talk about that here.*
Or is everything supposed to be downloaded from the App Store (or whatever)
?
That’s pretty much it for now. 😁 I know you guys were probably expecting something quick and simple, but that's just how I roll... 🙂
Thanks for the help. 🙂
I'm looking into Macintosh machines (iMac, Mac Pro, MacBook Pro, Mac mini... basically anything from Apple), but I don't know anyone who actually uses one, so if any of you Mac owners could help me out with a purchase, I'd appreciate it.
I'm mostly eyeing the iMacs. MacBook models aren't really built for heavy gaming, and the Mac Pro is just way too expensive and overkill. These specs caught my eye:
• 2.7GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5
• 21.5 " glossy LED display 16:9 (1920x1080)
• 4GB (2x 2GB) 1333 MHz DDR3 SDRAM
• 1TB hard disk
• 8x SuperDrive
(DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
• AMD Radeon HD 6770 m
with 512 MB GDDR5
• FaceTime HD camera
• 4 USB 2.0 ports
• 1 Thunderbolt port
• 1 FireWire 800
• 1 SDXC slot
• Stereo speakers, microphone
• optical audio in/out
• 10/100/1000BASE-T
• AirPort Extreme (802.11n)
• Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
• Wireless Apple Keyboard and Magic Mouse
PRICE: $4120
and this one:
• 3.1GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5
• 27" glossy LED display 16:9 (2560x1440)
• 4GB (2x 2GB) 1333 MHz DDR3 SDRAM
• 1TB hard disk
• 8x SuperDrive
(DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
• AMD Radeon HD 6970 m
with 1GB GDDR5
• FaceTime HD camera
• 4 USB 2.0 ports
• 2 Thunderbolt ports
• 1 FireWire 800
• 1 SDXC slot
• Stereo speakers, microphone
• optical audio in/out
• 10/100/1000BASE-T
• AirPort Extreme (802.11n)
• Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
• Wireless Apple Keyboard and Magic Mouse
PRICE: $5396
(Got the info from Best Buy.)
Which one is actually worth the money? Thanks. 🙂
PS Please don't give me that "I wouldn't recommend it, but that's just my opinion" stuff, especially if you're a PC user. Experienced Mac users only. 🙂 (Hope I don't sound too intense.)