on the subject of all things Apple... can Mac accessories be used on pcs?, e.g. the mac usb keyboard on a pc?
I've never had problems running PC and mac keyboards and mice on either machine. I've been running an old 'blue' g3 into the same (old 1995 Dell) monitor as my PC through a switcher and never had any snags, even using old PCI wireless network cards in a non intel mac with next to no problems! I'd not hesitate to buy a mac and run boot camp, just for the odd things I cant buy for Mac. I have tried Parallels, which Mike mentions, and it seems OK but never pushed it very hard. Boot camp is free download from apple anyway, just need a copy of windows.
so i could run a mac keyboard on my pc - the windows driver will be ok? is that how keyboards work - are they just 'generic' keyboards, and the driver( mac or windows) then makes them specific to a system?
to my understanding yes! there is the lack of 'windows' key on a mac keyboard but the 'apple' key does just as well from memory, it was a while ago I used to run an old ADB (ancient apple only type interface) keyboard on a PC with a small adaptor, it worked fine despite being totally incompatible on the face of it. Just remembered, the quotes and @ symbol are reversed as its American layout.
Cool In this decision making process, i would still like to know how Apple justify their prices? Is it on some sort of exclusivity value alone? How do justify a GRAND for a 20" monitor (more annoying that it costs 300 in Usa too )
First things first - In My Opinion Macs make my eyes hurt. We've got some 20" iMac's in work (I'm an IT Advisor in a University), and whenever i have the misfortune to have to use them, they hurt my eyes because they're so bloody white! OSX doesnt feel intuitive to me, Windows does, but thats probably from using windows based PC's for years. If i have to use the Mac i chuck away the mouse and use a Microsoft 3 button mouse. Even though the newer mac mice DO have 2 buttons in one, it just doesnt feel right. We have the Macs dual booting with OSX and XP. I always choose XP...pretty much negating the purchase of the Mac. The keyboard is nice though. Viruses, security and reliability on XP. I've never really had any trouble with it. It breaks if you break it. occasionally it breaks itself, live with it. Macs break too, and when they do...yikes. This pretty much says it all for me :-p http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=macs_cant
Yeah, i use it when new PC's come in without PS2 ports. It works, but the apple key acts as the windows key. Another annoying thing though is that the keys dont have writing on them (Home, End, Pg Up etc.) just stupid symbols! But to confirm. The Mac keyboard we have, works fine with any XP/vista machine we have. Not sure on 2000 but im nearly 100% that it's be fine. No external drivers needed.
What about a mac mini? they're pretty cool. diddy little things, could be the perfect evolution for you into a mac user? http://store.apple.com/Apple/WebObjects/ukstore.woa/wa/RSLID?mco=6A2AA4B0&nclm=Macmini * 1.66Ghz Intel Core Duo * 512MB memory * 60GB hard drive1 Ready to ship: 24hrs Free Shipping 399.00 (339.57 ex VAT)
that would be ok, but im sure it cant be 399 delivered to your door inc of taxes, and their cheapest monitor (20") is almost as much as the mac at 399!!
I think they really are that cheap. But they dont come with monitors, peripherals or anything. just the base unit! My cousin bought one before his iMac and it was a nice peice of kit, tricky to upgrade but possible.
hmmm, still a lot if upgrading the unit will be difficult and looking at the spec of the mini, it'll def need upgrading asap suprising also(kinda) that the mac store prices are much cheaper than john lewis too.
