BleepingComputer.com: Seriously thinking of a Mac

Hello Freinds
I always take a look at the “Am I infected “ forum .I recently counted 46 topics in an 8 hour period. Seems like a storm of malware. Mac forum on the other hand is showing 14 topics since February!
Even though I have ant-virus/ software and I am careful where I go I have a feeling it is just a matter of time before I get infected.
I have a small business and I use Word, Excel, and other Windows office programs. I know that there is a MAC version.I also use Windows Paint for small mechanical drawings and to edit pictures that I send to clients and vendors.
Been using Paint so long I have learned the tricks and nuances so that using it is second nature. I know that Mac does not have a similar program. I tried some of the free ones that folks have suggested but they don’t seem as full featured. I am not editing movies or anything like that. I would not mind paying for a program ($200-$300) that does everything Paint does and maybe more. Any suggestions? This is the last hang up I have before deciding to buy a MAC
Thanks in advance for any information.
Best Regards
Nawtheasta

MS Paint? Umm... are you sure you mean MS Paint? This anemic thing here:



Surely, you can't be serious.
(Don't call me Shirley)

Hi Amazing A
That’s it. In all its simple glory!
Ok I admit that my computer skills are a bit pathetic But it came with the computer and when I needed a tool to draw with there it was. I use it for parts drawings or I can take a photo of a machine part open it with paint and reference the areas that need attention.
You can enlarge an object or shrink it, move things around, make mirror images. It’s also a lot easier to work with for finer details when you increase the magnification.
One feature that is lacking is the ability to incrementally rotate an object. It’s ok to rotate 45 or 90 degrees but not by single degrees.
I know it is simple but it does most of what I need and to not have it on a MAC would be a problem as I need to use this type program regularly.
Best Regards
Nawtheasta
P.S. Sorry for the double post. Things didn’t seem to be working so I hit my back button but apparently it had already gone through. Feel free to delete my error

save yourself the money and just install linux.

im not a linux or mac fan, but i would hate to see you lose money over such a simple operating system.

GIMP is a good program to use for drawing. It's free and cross-platform.

More info here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GIMP

Amazing Andrew, on Oct 28 2009, 12:12 PM, said:

I love the reference!

MadDawg, on Oct 29 2009, 10:41 AM, said:

yes gimp is a great program(like photoshop)
and its on linux

linux has to be the best thing ever!!!!(i got ubuntu)

i would try ubuntu(easy OS) before buying a mac(ubuntu is so much better then mac lol)

In spite of all of the completely unqunatified, fanboy "X is better than Y" posts, the better question is what your requirements? Macs are not immune from malware, and neither is Linux; At the same time, there are many people that run Windows without becoming infected. If you fail to update your operating system, regardless of the operating system, you can be compromised. Applications, regardless of the OS, can be compromised. I am not going to get into a debate about how the various security models work becuase frankly, there are only about 3 people on this site that can intelligently and unbiasedly discuss the pros and cons of each. And for the record, GIMP is not at all like Photoshop.

The only security I have on my system is AntiVir and the default firewall. I have not been infected in ages.

Dang, I have to go to class. I will try to finish this later.

I'm gonna say words i rarely say. In the Windows v. *nix (as Linux, "Mac", and BSD are all "based",not going to delve any deeper into this, on Unix), It's all about what makes you comfortable.

Per Capita I'd say the Apple user community gets infected just as often as the MS users do. it's just there is a lot less Apple users (MS counts for over 75% of computers, I can't remember the exact number). Linux and BSD are probably close too It's just there are even less of us (was actually reading about how you can be infected with windows Viruses via WINE).

Yep, MS sells MS Office for Mac. My brother bought a copy when he bought his new MacBook. Though if you prefer other options are available

As for replacing Paint, i can't think of anything that simple and useful for small simple stuff 9unless Apple has its own paint program). The big image manipulators GIMP, Photoshop, PaintShop Pro are complex to use well. It's almost like MS Paint is a throwback to the days of drawing a Big smiley face, and using it as a wallpaper just because you got tired of looking at the ones Windows 3.1 came with and you couldn't download anything bigger than an email. All the other programs have moved on to bigger and better things but it still does the job in a simple efficient method.

The best thing to do is try a Mac out and see if you like one. Borrow a friend's for an hour or so or visit the Apple store (provided there's one closer to you then there is to me, 3+ hours away)

@BlackSpyder, you summed that up nicely. Since we are talking (sort of) about graphics software, has anyone seen Splashup? It is a bit more complex than Paint, but much easier to use than Gimp or Photoshop, and it is just as free as Gimp.

The only other thing left out of this conversation is that while it might be great to install Ubuntu (or whatever flavor of *nix is the soup dejour) just to be able to use a free graphics application, there are other considerations. One of the things that makes 'nix based systems frustrating is the dizzying array of available software. The problem is that there are differences between the various distros (BlackSpyder and AA would be more authoritative about this) and applications compiled for one platform or kernel may or may not run on a different distro. For someone that just wants their software to work, this is gets to be a pain in the ass. There is software to help manage the installation of applications which sort of addresses this problem, but if the software that you want is not in available, you have few options. One, you can find the source and try to compile the application yourself, or you go on an information hunt and try to figure out how to make the application run on your platform. The amount of information is overwhelming, and unless you have some idea of what you are doing, you could spend a ton of time trying out solutions that are not even applicable to your problem.

However, if you are a bit adventurous and curious, Linux can be fun. There is a ton of help available, but I have found that one has to take the time to do their research before asking a question. Like many other forums, people tend to be snotty towards people that have not put in the legwork to at least try to help themselves. I have found Linux help forums particularly acerbic. There are a ton of free applications available, and it can be particularly rewarding when you get something to work. Linux tends to be more stable, unless you fuxor up an installation.

I used Linux on my server for quite awhile, and I also developed on it for quite awhile. For some purposes, Linux is a good choice, but as was already mentioned, it depends on what you are comfortable with.

Hi Everyone.
Thanks for the great feed back. A little more background. I have a small business ( Just Me) I sell machines and spare parts to industry. Usually I am in my shop or using the computer to contact and deal with customers and vendors. 4-8 hours a day on this little electronic box. In the course of the day to day operations it is regularly necessary to send drawings or photos of parts. I am going to try and insert an example here of a drawing with a photo incorporated . First time I tried this so I hope it works .

http://i939.photobucket.com/albums/ad238/S...ingexampleA.jpg

Some of the programs mentioned seem more appropriate to manipulating photos. To be honest the talk of Linux , Unix etc. is a bit beyond me. I just like the computer to work for what I need

Again I Thank All for the Feed back. I can always count on BC for help and insight
Best Regards
Nawtheast

groovicus, on Oct 29 2009, 06:00 PM, said:

Theoretically, any program built in compliance with the Linux Standard Base ought to run on any distro using a standard kernel. Now running and working are two entirely different things Trouble is, probably the only non-trivial piece of code out there that is in full compliance with the Linux Standard Base is the Linux Kernel

[quote name='groovicus' post='1477172' date='Oct 30 2009, 05:46 AM']
for the record, GIMP is not at all like Photoshop.



quote from cnet.com:(hes talking about the gimp )
One of the most powerful general-purpose image editors around, the upgrades make the GNU Image Manipulation Program eminently comparable to Photoshop.
from ::http://download.cnet.com/The-GIMP/3000-2192_4-10773601.html

It is all fine and good to quote the opinions of others, but since I have used both, I'll speak from experience. "Eminently comparable" means just that, comparable. I think a more accurate comparison would be to compare it with Essentals. Photoshop has a much larger (and richer IMHO) plug-in base, a huge community of very helpful users, and a much cleaner interface. Photoshop has smart objects that allows transfer between Illustrator and Photoshop, and allows non-destructive editing. Umm, let see; layer options are much more robust, and that is pretty much all I can think of off the top of my head.

So, in your opinion, how is Gimp like Photoshop? For what it is worth, Microsoft paint is like Photoshop also since you can edit pictures in both. Granted, I have not used Gimp in almost two years, so I have to assume that you know more about Gimp than I do and can educate the rest of us. I for one am always open to learning something new, which is what forums are all about. I tried to see what improvements have been made, but I have not been able to get on gimp.org at all. I would also be interested in hearing about gimpShop.

Nawtheasta have you considered trying a CAD (computer aided design) program? When I fabricate parts or pieces of equipment I usually just use a "Scratch Pad", since it's only for me to get a good idea of the end product, but a few friends of mine who work in machine shops or sheetmetal fab shops use various CAD's to aid in showing prototypes and programing CNC machines. Alot of them also use tablets like this one http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16823102014 to make life a little easier too.

Splashup looks nice but I'm not a fan of browser based apps.

Hi Blackspyder
I thought that a CAD program may be the way to go. I haven’t used one but know people that do. I am not sure if you can work with or include scanned images like I show in post #10. Thanks for the link to the G pen device. I use to make sketches and fax them to customers and vendors. At the time I really had not used paint that much. Using paint allows me to store the drawing in a customers file. It is very handy to pull up something quickly that I may have drawn years ago when a customer needs a reorder.
It is a bit frustrating that so much software offers a free version and if you pay more get a
version with more options. Even if you had to pay for it a better version MS Paint could be a very handy program.
Again thanks for the input. If anyone is familiar with a simple CAD program that would be suitable for the type drawing shown in my post # 10 I would be glad to hear about it.
Best Regards
Nawtheasta