Personally I think this is one of Apple’s best “Get a Mac” ads because it makes the statement that “Mac’s operating system and hardware are all made by the same people” and this is the reason why the Mac just works, It’s not the PC’s fault he has issues…

I use Leopard’s built in Networking features a fair bit around my home and I really like the way OS X Leopard shows a very accurate preview iCon of all the connected Macs available on your network. The best way I can explain this is by showing you the actual images you would see in the “Get Info - Preview” area.

So here is a sample of all the Leopard network iCons I have at home and a few on some of the networks I visit:

Airport Extreme - AirDisk

iBook G4

MacBook

MacBook Pro

iMac G5

Power Mac G5

And now for the PC…

PC Blue Screen

No word of a lie, I was over at a friends and when I went to connect to his network I noticed the iCon for his PC looked a little different, when I got info and previewed the image I just about fell out of my seat!! Looks like some of the folks over at Apple snuck a Windows Blue Screen Network iCon in for good measure! Good for them…

Review by wraith2021

This is the first game review I have ever done, that is not to say I don’t play games, I have for many years, but this is one of note because this is a Mac game.

Shock! Horror! Macs don’t have games! I hear you cry. Well, they do now, and they are identical to their PC counterpart with exactly the same graphics.

I will start by saying that Macs do not have as good of a reputation when it comes to games, this is because of the minimal market share the Mac had in the past, and the limited capabilities of some of the older Macs. Since the switch to Intel however things have been looking up for the Mac; market share is ever increasing, Macs are on par with PC’s hardware wise, and Macs are now picking up on the game front too.

After playing the demo I found myself wanting to get this game, this is not to say that the Mac had any real impact over say playing the demo on the PC, but the game is identical in every way to its PC counterpart.

I will start by saying I am running this game on a 24″ iMac, 2.8GHz Core 2 Extreme, 2GB Ram, ATI 2600HD 256MB. Basically a gaming Mac with a big glossy screen.

The first thing I did when I installed the game (When I say installed, I mean I dragged the Icon from the DVD to the Applications folder.) was to set all the settings to Maximum to see how it performed. I must admit the graphics are smooth and amazing My Mac had no trouble running this game with all the bells a whistles turned on. Read the rest of this entry »

What some people will do for a Mac… Found Here

This joke came up in our S2M Forum just recently, I thought it was worth posting. It was originally found here:

“Apple vs. Microsoft”
Three Microsoft engineers and three Apple employees are traveling by train to a computer conference. At the station, the three Microsoft engineers each buy tickets and watch as the three Apple employees buy only a single ticket. “How are three people going to travel on only one ticket?” asks a Microsoft engineer. “Watch and you’ll see,” answers the Apple employee. They all board the train. The Microsoft engineers take their respective seats, but all three Apple employees cram into a restroom and close the door behind them. Shortly after the train has departed, the conductor comes around collecting tickets. He knocks on the restroom door and says, “Ticket, please.” The door opens just a crack and a single arm emerges with a ticket in hand. The conductor takes the ticket and moves on.

The Microsoft engineers saw this and agreed it was quite a clever idea. So after the conference, the Microsoft engineers decide to do the same on the return trip and save some money. When they get to the station, they buy a single ticket for the return trip. To their astonishment, the Apple employees don’t buy any ticket, at all. “How are you going to travel without a ticket?” asks one perplexed Microsoft engineer. “Watch and you’ll see,” answers an Apple employee. When they board the train the three Microsoft engineers cram into a restroom and the three Apple employees cram into another one nearby. The train departs. Shortly afterward, one of the Apple employees leaves his restroom and walks over to the restroom where the Microsoft engineers are hiding. He knocks on the door and says, “Ticket, please…

Obviously this is not a true story, it’s just a joke, please no flame wars. If it makes you feel better you can substitute the MS Engineers with the Apple Engineers.

Are you lucky enough to be going to Macworld next week? The Joy of Tech has made a handy Macworld Expo Celebrity Checklist so you can keep a record of who you saw!

Here a few Christmas Mac downloads to help make your Mac a bit more festive just in time for Christmas:

MacLampsX will give your Mac that Christmas glow by placing a very nice boarderlike string of lights around your screen.

Snö is pretty much what the name says, snow will fall all over your desktop and where I live it may be the only snow I may see on Christmas.

X-MasTree is a Christmas tree for your Mac, great if you don’t like fire hazards and pine needles or tinsel all over your house.

Christmas Wallpaper from Vladstudio so you can decorate your Macs desktop with a unique Christmas wallpaper.

I tested all of them on a Leopard Power PC iBook and a Tiger Intel MacBook Pro and everything worked for me just fine.

“Thanks again to Wraith2021 from our Switching To Mac Forum for pointing these out for us!”

So your not sure if you should get a Mac or a PC? One way to help you find out is by taking this short Mac or PC Computer Personality Quiz and see if your personality is more suitable to a Mac or a PC.

For each question, make sure to write down the number of the statement that is most suitable to what your own response would be. (Hint: It will be a 1 or a 2)

Question 1:

1. I’m a follower, I prefer to base my decisions on what others do and not on my own ideas. If my friends buy something, more than likely I’ll end up buying it too. Good or bad at least where all in the same boat together!
2. I like to look at the big picture and do my own research and due diligence, I prefer to try things out for myself and see if they work for me, I don’t mind doing things my own way if I feel it is a better way.

Question 2:

1. I prefer to make my purchases based on price, it’s more important that I save some money and fit into a set budget than whether or not I get exactly what I want. If I can save a buck and still have a computer that does most of what I need it to do some of the time then I really can’t ask for much more.
2. When I buy something I make sure I get what I need and want, quality is important to me even if I pay more for it. I see a purchase as an investment in something, mostly my time.

Question 3:

1. I like playing around with my computer just to see what I can do with it. I love the challenge of troubleshooting problems. At the end of the day it doesn’t really matter if I actually get anything done, just as long as I learn something new.
2. When I sit down at my computer I like getting stuff done so I can get on with the rest of my daily life, you know the important stuff…

Question 4:

1. To me a computer is just a tool, it doesn’t really matter how it looks or even if any thought went into it at all. I guess the byproduct of grabbing a bunch of miscellaneous parts and slapping them together to make a computer system isn’t always going to look pretty! Did I mention beauty pageants should be judged on personality too?
2. What’s inside the computer is most important to me but I have to admit I just might be slightly influenced by appearances! If the outside matches the inside then what’s so wrong with that. Sex sells, what can I say…

Question 5:

1. I like to have a huge selection of software to choose from, that way I can test drive a bunch of the no-name titles and see which one of them sucks the least. At the end of the day it’s kinda fun seeing if any of them where actually worth the bandwidth to download. As it turns out going with the more expensive software tittle was the way to go, who would of thought??
2. I don’t have the time or the patience to weed through a bunch of junky software, I just want the one that does what it’s supposed to do and gets the job done. Here’s my credit card now give me my program!

Question 6:

1. I loves the games! The best part is the tones of money I spend trying to upgrade my entry level PC to get the best frame rates possible. I don’t even mind much when my recently purchased  $400 video card gets replaced by an even faster one, as long as I can get a few more FPS out of it then I’m in! The only problem is, with all the system modding and game playing I don’t seem to have much time for anything else… Is that the sun coming up?
2. Sure I like games, after all I try to make sure I have time for a balanced life, and when it’s gaming time I like to sit down at the couch with few good buddies, my beverage of choice in hand and my favorite console game I know won’t be out of date for years to come. It’s almost like these games where made for my system…

Question 7:

1. One thing I love is the element of surprise! Will my computer boot-up today, I wonder who sent this eCard? Hey look, my web-browser has been hijacked again, I wonder how much my Antivirus and Spyware subscription are going to cost this year… It all just warms my heart.
2. Surprise can be a good thing like when there’s a police car with its light and sirens on behind you and then he drives around you and pulls the guy in front of you over for speeding. Or you go to the drive-though window and they accidentally give you the other persons order… and it was for a family of 10 boys. Or your girlfriend tells you she is late this month and then clarifies she meant with the rent. I prefer to keep surprises and computing completely non-related, thank-you very much.

Question 8:

1. Lets get real, Windows is the end all be all operating system, why would you ever need anything else, Windows can do it all as long as you have the time, patience and willingness to coerce the myriad of programs into communicating with each other. It doesn’t really matter if the audio and video in my movie are synced up, it’s the thought that counts. Besides it’s all about the business applications. Music, Pictures, Video and Website stuff is way over rated!
2. Sure I need to do my business stuff, I got to pay for my computer somehow! I just want to make sure I can do more then work on my computer, with all this power under the hood, surely isn’t a computer meant to do more than make bold text and render pie charts. I’ve got all these photos, videos and music sitting around taking up space on my hard drive, why not do something fun and creative with it all? Hum, should I make an iMovie, a Webpage, an iDVD or a Podcast today… Did I mention a Mac can run Windows too?

Congratulations You’re Done!

• OK, now add up all your totals.
• If you scored an 8 you are clearly a PC Personality type. So sorry?
• If you scored  a 16 you are a clear Mac Personality type. Deal with it!
• If you scored somewhere in between then the one you are the closest to is your likely computer personality type.
• If you’re right in the middle (that would be 12) then average up and go with the Mac!
• If you scored below 8 or higher than 16 then you are an idiot, so get a Mac too it might just help and it comes with a really nice calculator application.
• If you are a PC person who didn’t find any amusement in this Mac or PC Computer Personality Quiz then take a breath and remember where you are… This site is called “Switching to Mac”!! Don’t worry there are lots of PC-fanboy sites that share your passion for all things Microsoft. Go and find one…

OK Mac people.. Stop fighting it and get a Mac, do it now or maybe tomorrow sometime…

Here’s a good place to start

OK, this has nothing to do with “Switching to Mac” or Apple… It’s just really fun and free and will give your family and friends a chuckle, isn’t that what life’s about?

Here’s a link to me and my family getting Elfed. If you like it, just wait till the end and you will be given the option to make your own personalized version. It takes a few minutes to upload your photos and setup but it’s well worth it!

This would by far be the coolest mail box on the block!