You aren't going to have any major issues with any of that. What did you decide or have you yet?

 

I spent two hours Saturday at an Apple store testing products. The only surprise was I do not like their mice. The new mouse is great for scrolling - just scratch it anywhere like petting a cat and it purrs. However, their mice all require way to much hand movement to move around a page. So much that I decided against the larger 27" monitor. I will reconsider if they will let me try a Logitech mouse and it does what I am used to.

I'm not keen on their small flat keyboards due to the arthritus in my hands. They found a solution with the Microsoft 4000 that should work. The Logitech Mk350 might also work but likely lose some features.

I have converted my WordPerfect documents to Word (took 6 hours). A friend with a Mac test one to ensure it could be opened, edited, etc. and everything worked in iWorks Pages. So that issue is solved.

I found a $39 download to convert my Publisher 'books' to PDF's easily and quickly but I won't be able to add or edit them. I wish I could find a better solution.

I plan to let Apple transfer my files since it's part of the $99 year long training program.

But they said they won't transfer Picasa and I have 5,000 photos stored in Picasa. I need to find the best process to switch from Win XP to Picasa for Mac.

As soon as I can resolve Publisher and Picasa I plan on getting the 21.5" iMac with 1Tb HD plus the extended warranty and one-on-one plan. If I find a mouse solution it will be the 27".

 

Do you know you can adjust the mouse tracking speed?



Left to right on my 30" panel takes 1 to 4 inches of mouse movement (magicmouse) depending on how fast I move it. The speed is not linear on Macs, faster = farther.

I recommend you stick with stock unless you find, after some time, the supplied KB and mouse don't work for you, then change them. The KB + mouse are going to take some getting used to and you might end up liking them after a short adjustment time. You've used yours for so long the Mac's KB probably feel foreign right now.

I like the flat keyboard. The flatter profile means straighter wrists and less finger movement to activate the keys but there is enough feedback that you can be pretty confident you pressed the one you wanted to. You might end up liking or hating it but you've got simple options to change it.

You can use just about any USB or bluetooth keyboard or mouse. There are some key differences you'll need to overcome but I think they are fairly minor.

Again, you can move the cursor from corner to corner on a 27" display in only an inch or two, you just move the mouse quickly to go further, faster. It becomes second-nature after a short time. The other choice is the trackpad which is pretty slick tho I still like a mouse.

I suggest you reconsider and go with the 27" model over the 21". The extra real estate is gold you can't add back in later. That is especially true if you want to see things a little bigger

This is another option for your Publisher convertion woes: http://blog.zamzar.com/2008/01/25/convert-...t-rtf-and-more/ There are several more online services that will also convert to word or similar format.

Picasa shouldn't be a big issue and you'll probably end up using iPhoto anyway, everyone does, which is why you probably won't find a lot of alternatives. There are some very good Picasa/iPhoto plugins which make using the Picasa client a little redundant for most people.

Here is a link to someone who explained how they migrated their windows picasa install to Mac Picasa: http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/Pica...2404eb446&hl=en

HTH and happy shopping

 

^^ What he said. And if you still don't like the way the MM acts, there's a free app. called MagicPref you can use to adjust the settings more to your liking.

 

Yes, I had all three on the highest settings. Here's a comparison to your experience using my Logitech cordless and a 19" monitor. I can move the curser from side to side without moving the heel of my hand. By merely rocking my hand and my fingers the mouse tip moves 1/4" to 1/2". That's all it takes for border to border. Really, there is no comparison. Wife and I were shocked at the difference. I tried the track pad but it was not sensitive enough (ie, not like my iPad) and I didn't care for it.

An Apple sales person told me the mouse use to be faster/better but was slowed because of complaints. Longtime Mac user friends tell me they use Logitech but they are on older Mac OS. So I was not sure if I could load my current mouse. It would be a very interesting test to try it . . . maybe they will let me try.

As to the keyboard, both my current Logitech and new one I just tried keep my wrists straight with my elbows resting on the chair arms and my wrists resting on the wrist rest. Extremely comfortable long term. Also I am at an actual pc desk with the lower shelf for the KB. Using the flat KB on the Toshiba laptop was no where as comfortable.

Having now been told that any keyboard and mouse might work I am sorry I took the waive KB and mouse back that I bought for the laptop. I tried to get it back but was told it was moved out the night I returned it.

Since there is only a couple hundred difference I will get the 27" model if I don't have to move the mouse excessively. But if I do, it's out. I'll use zoom instead.

THANKS for suggestions and links. I will check out your links. Thanks again C.

 

PS- I did see the Picasa link you listed last night. Also found this one which sounded pretty good.
http://mollysmiscmusings.wordpress.com/201...o-a-mac-picasa/

 

I honestly can't explain your experience. I've got a wireless magic mouse, settings as shown and I can move the cursor left to right edge to edge as you describe, heel of hand on the desk, moving left and right for about one inch in one second, certainly not a stretch or a reach.

I'm pretty sure the 27" iMac has almost the same res as my 30" HP LCD.

Still, if you can't get what you want from the magic mouse you can use pretty much any USB mouse, even many of the wireless ones. My point was that the machine comes with so you can try them and if they need replacing you can choose from basically anything on the the best buy shelf and sell your apple kb and mouse on eBay for more than your replacements cost almost certainly.

Get the 27, even if you need to buy 10 mice to find one you like. Those extra pixels are worth it.

 

The store said I could load my current mouse & s/w and try it on a 27".

 

Nice! Good luck.

 

Good thing that's not on your "to do" list right not!

How are you doing with the Mac?