Lionheart Creations goes Apple iMac!

[Lionheart]

Hey guys,


Well, after losing the 3rd unit this year, I have gone with a Mac this time, the iMac.

I'll try to keep you all up to date on this for those that might be curious.

Hearing Feng talk about the resolutions of the monitors, and the fact that I spend about a hour total each day at Apple.com looking at things, I decided to go check them out again. I got snagged and ended up getting the 24 inch iMac desktop.

What an awesome computer!!!! I cant believe this thing, lololol.... Its a huge iPod! Thats all I can say.. its an iPod! lmao....

I feel like I am in front of a plasma TV. My face is hot.

I have been getting everything running on it. Alot of programs (like Opera and Yahoo IM) are Mac so I have been getting things up to speed. Next will be Win-XP Bootcamp.

Sometimes disasters turn out to be blessings...


Bill

[simkid22]

Having done bootcamp on my macbook its pretty easy and straight forward but time consuming. Yay making driver disks!

[Panther_99FS]

My brother-in-law works for Appe - I think you'll enjoy your new rig :santahat:

[Lionheart]

My brother-in-law works for Appe - I think you'll enjoy your new rig :santahat:

Man... This thing is amazing!!! lol.... I cant believe it.


I have it now set with both Leopart and WinXP. I have Opera and Yahoo IM on both. Utter sweetness..... Quiet, huge, fast.. Just have to load up FS9 and FSX on it now.. I will be using an external drive for them.. Hopefully that will not be a huge issue.


I'll tell yah. If I hadnt purchased the iPod Touch, I dont think I would have done this. The software and quality on the iPod was so amazing, that I started looking into Apples... Glad I did...


Bill

[FengZ]

hehe, welcome to the world of Apple. I've been both a PC/Apple user for years (have to for work), and i love both sides.

Apple sure knows how to do UI. Their stuff is just beautiful. Plus the system is extremely stable. Photoshop has NEVER crashed on me on a MAC....for the past 10+ years. It's pretty amazing...

-feng

[Lionheart]

Thats good to know Feng.

You had commented on the screens in another post. Man, you werent kidding. This thing is incredible.



Bill

[Lionheart]

Well... I just got FSX and FS2004 running on Win-XP / Boot Camp on this 'wild thing' (or GIANT IPOD), and dang if it doesnt run FSX at a steady 20 FPS..

I have never beheld such a sight.

Thats on a 24 inch plasma like screen, thats with high resolution, thats with traffic settings at default (including ground traffic), thats with full extreme scenery complexity (extra buildings, trucks, etc), thats with 2.x low to med water....

Dang....

I feel like I have seen something odd, something I cant explain, something amazing... Like as though it werent real.

:isadizzy:

I... I feel.. happy! :d

One thing it doesnt do well and seems to cough on is 'anti-aliasing'. With it off though, its running smoothly.

And FS9 is briliant also. Maxxed out settings..


Odd that presently only has 2 gigs of RAM and could run FSX like that. I never dreamed it would be able to run FSX well at all. You never know what lies around the next corner...


Bill

[stiz]

FSX Junkers then Bill? :icon_lol:

[hey_moe]

Bill welcome to the world of apples. The Apple Laptop I brought a few month back has been outstanding. Never has had a burp and like you said the graphics are sweet. Apple has limited software and the software that Apple offers are a tad bid higher than Windows software but as far as I am concerned it is worth it. I have been thinking hard about going to the full blown Apple set up but I have to much invested in this set up. Maybe later on. BTW...bootcamp is sweet....it's a shame Windows doesn't offer the same.

[Willy]

How does FS9 run on it? Inquiring minds want to know :d

[Lionheart]

How does FS9 run on it? Inquiring minds want to know :d


Willy,


Like glass.... Like buttahhh..... Smooth. And that is with only 2 Gigs of RAM. Must have a pretty powerful graphics card. I just bumped it up to 4 Gigs today. Going to see if that helps FSX. (It runs FSX dang good with 'starter' settings, max. scenery complexity, but I have to have Anti-Aliasing off). Hopefully this will cure that though.


Bill

[Lionheart]

Bill welcome to the world of apples. The Apple Laptop I brought a few month back has been outstanding. Never has had a burp and like you said the graphics are sweet. Apple has limited software and the software that Apple offers are a tad bid higher than Windows software but as far as I am concerned it is worth it. I have been thinking hard about going to the full blown Apple set up but I have to much invested in this set up. Maybe later on. BTW...bootcamp is sweet....it's a shame Windows doesn't offer the same.

Hey Moe


I totally agree.

A brass guy at Apple told me that the reason they dont have OSX for regular computers is that control of parts is unmaintainable. Thus there are many problems with PC computers running windows because many parts are super low quality and thus dont 'sync' well in the system.

Sounds like the graphics cards issues for the past 2 years.....


I noticed today at Frys Electronics, that alot of parts now say 'for PC and Mac'. I also found that MS makes MS Office 2008 for Mac also. :d


All of that aside though........... I now have a good platform computer (with... a plasma screen looking display!), Win XP, Apple's latest OS.. Now I hope I can get some good work done. 3 computer losses in one year is just not good....



Bill

[Panther_99FS]

Some time next year, I plan on getting my wife & son a Mac Mini for them to share :mixedsmi:

[stiz]

All of that aside though........... I now have a good platform computer (with... a plasma screen looking display!), Win XP, Apple's latest OS.. Now I hope I can get some good work done. 3 computer losses in one year is just not good....


i give you a month :icon_lol: :ernae:

[hey_moe]

Bill one thing you will like about a Mac is you don't need any security or spam filters. It also starts and shuts down faster. At first I didn't like it but after a while it grows on ya. The way they have the control area set up is nice. You can also go to there Apple store on line and instead of buying there software and testing it you can download a trial ver. to see if it does what you want. All the people who have knock now the Mac has never owned one. If they have that would have seen it is made better and run better than a windows set up. Them top dog towers that Mac offers is a tad bit high but those monitors put all other monitors to shame. I brought Linda one of those 24 inch monitors for her pooter and it doesn't put out no heat and everything runs on very low voltage.It has never given us a problem and the screen speaks for itself.

[Lionheart]

those monitors put all other monitors to shame. I brought Linda one of those 24 inch monitors for her pooter and it doesn't put out no heat and everything runs on very low voltage.It has never given us a problem and the screen speaks for itself.

Oh man! I have never seen such a cool monitor. I was stairing at it last night while migrating files over to it, the tool bar, the icons, the wallpaper, is such high resolution, I cant explain it. I was going to take a screenshot, and realised that wouldnt represent it well enough, lol.. Have to have the monitor to see the resolution, lol...

The tower is overpriced, but the platform isnt. I guess its like a Ferrari. Its a super computer and thats the price one pays. I hope to get one though. 32 Gigs of RAM capability!, lolol... A must have.

I purchased RAM for this by the way. Everyone said parts were expensive. Nope.. Cheap. Got 4 Gigs for under $50.00. Alot of manufacturers are making Apple parts now and are available at most stores.

I spent a bit of time doing short cuts, learning the system. One thing I want to learn is Mail. It has post it notes built in. Looks cool.

Another is Time Machine. I purchased a T-Drive for autobackups.

Another is MobileMe. With iPod, which got me into all of this, it has the ability to link with MobileMe to your main frame and laptop. I signed up for the 60 day free trial. Going to see how it works when I get a brake from getting everything sync'd.


So far, it runs FSX fine. :d. I wasnt expecting that.

Bill


EDIT: Sorry, I cant quit talking about it, lol... I was chatting with a friend who also has one, the iMac flat screen. She compares it, (from the change over from vista to apple, she really hated vista), that its like getting a new car. You have to learn where the new controls are and get used to it. I hadnt thought of it that way.

Another cool thing is how its designed more friendly in looking through files. vista was designed to hinder that. Everything was locked up, hidden, etc. Even windows explorer was hidden. I would always have to link it to the Start Menu. With Apple, 'Find' is the front, main nav panel program, (like windows explorer) and enables you to see Apps (programs) like as though they are album covers in an iPod, lolol.. lmao... its a huge, freaking iPod, lol....


Bill

[Lionheart]

Hey Moe,


Just learned a new trick. When 'maximizing' a program that is minimized down on the dock, try holding down 'shift' key, 'then' click on the program.

Slow-Mo maximization. :d


<---- hung out at the Mac store today getting a part installed. talked apple with the guys. found out alot...


Seems that the big thing with OSX is easability in finding files and folders. Click 'space' key and Command key, that brings up 'Spotlight'. Type in your search, and a huge list should quickly appear on all relevant files, etc.

I guess Widgets were originally 'Apple'. I need to find some more for my rig. I like how you can bring up 'widget' mode with the click of a button. (sorry, thats 'dashboard' mode).

New toys to learn about... :d


I was looking at this unit last night, wondering how they would get into this computer to install things. I figured the back was hermitically sealed or they go in through the bottom with a microscope, lol.. Nope.. They have glass suction cup handle things, the plug them on the face glass (yep.. the front is scratch resistent pure glass), and pull quick, and the glass pops loose. Its held in with magnets, lololol.... I got to see how its done. Freaking amazing.. Giant iPod, lol....

[naravac]

Apples arn't bad machines. I have heard good things about them, however can you run fs2004/fsx on an apple?

[Lionheart]

Apples arn't bad machines. I have heard good things about them, however can you run fs2004/fsx on an apple?

Yes and no.

FSX and FS2004 cannot run in the Apple OS system, even with 'WINE' and 'Cross Over'.

But....... Apple now has 'Boot Camp', a program that allows you to have Windows XP or vista on the same HD. You click the drive you want, it reboots into that OS. Thus, you can have WinXP on one, have FS in it, and reboot into XP and do a flight.

The beauty of Macs is that they fly fast 'out of the box' (well made, well engineered), and you can load WinXP on them, where the other manufacturers of computers wish (require, force) you to use vista instead of XP.



Bill

[codeseven]

Hi Bill.

After hearing me complain about Windows for the past few years, Santa (my Wife) surprised me with a MacBook Pro! My first Apple computer!!

Guys, I have to agree with Bill. The workmanship, look, feel and overall quality is way beyond any PC I have ever seen!! Including the custom, 'best of everything' (at the time) PC I built myself several years ago.

She (bless her heart!) made sure it was the newest version of Apples Macbook Pro series currently available and it has all the upgrades. This thing puts my ol' custom homebuilt PC to shame! I'm blown away a 'laptop' could be such a powerful little computer. It has an Intel Core 2 Duo 2.8GHz 1066MHz frontside bus with 6MB L2 Cache, 4GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM, Nvidia GeForce 9600 GT with 512MB of GDDR3 memory, 320GB Hard Drive and Apples newest OS X Leopard operating system, sheesh!

She even included a 500GB Time Capsule 802.11n Wi-Fi Hard Drive and a copy of made for MAC Call of Duty 4 Modern Warfare! (I gotta give the Sales person at the Apple store a big hug for suggesting to my wife that a video game would be good for learning about the new OS!) Which I promptly loaded up and watched in absolute amazement!! Cant wait to see FSX via Bootcamp on a remote widescreen monitor!!!

If anyone out there has thought about going the Apple MAC route rest assured you will not be dissapointed!


Codeseven

[Lionheart]

Hey CodeSeven,

Awesome... Congrats and welcome to Apple.

(thumbs up)

Airport and Time Capsule! Nice! When you get Time Machine up and running, check out the moving stars, and how you can 'move back in time' through the backups via the arrows.. Pretty wild.

In 'Find', you can go to Help (very top toolbar) and search for keyboard shortcuts. This will help you to start cooking through the various programs.

All the main programs, as you probably know, are in Find/Applications. There are a ton of freeware programs and widges at Apple.com, with most of them being freeware. Tons of basic games. When you download one, it may be an 'image' (different from a Zip file). Just select 'Open' and in the folder, drag the App. (program or EXE file) out into the Find/Applications folder. From there, if you really like the program, you can drag it to the bottom Dock.

If you plan to run FS on it, make sure you do the Boot Camp soon. Note that you can put FS on a external drive so you dont use up all the HD in your laptop. But.. You'll need that external drive if you go on a trip and intend to fly at night on the lappie.

Ive been eyeing those Mac Pro books... Very nice. The 17 inch isnt retooled yet like the 15's and 13's. The 15's and 13's have a full glass to edge screen like the iPods. The movie at Apple that shows how the Mac Books are made is worth the watch. Its milled out of a block of aluminum. Pretty solid chassis.



Bill

[codeseven]

Thanks for the tips Bill, I'll check them out tonight!


Codeseven