So I might convert to mac...some questions.

OzyOly · 11 Jun 2008 at 15:49

Hey there. I'm getting very tempted to so buy an iMac. I'm just setting up OS10 on a pc, to try it out, but from what I've seen so far, it takes all i love about windows and all I love about linux and puts it into one.

I'm pretty much sold on the idea and will buy a 24" iMac this summer.

I've just got a few questions about it. Currently I have over 800GBs worth of data on my pc. what space is there on an iMac (physical space that is), can I put my existing hard drives (formatted as NTFS) in my iMac or not. Also, there only seems to be 5 USB ports, is there anyway to upgrade them to maybe 10?

And finally, is the optical drive upgradeable, because I have a blu-ray drive and a speedy DVDRW in my pc at the moment that i wouldn't mind thwacking in there.

Cheers all.

mdjmcnally · 11 Jun 2008 at 16:01

Sadly No.

The iMac is an all-in-one box so not upgradeable as such.

You would need to put extra disks on externally, either firewire or usb, will need an external usb hub to do this if more then 5 required.

Also BluRay etc is a no no.

The upgradeable Mac as such is the MAC Pro which is a beast of a box, still no BluRay though.

I would suggest that build a NAS box with your existing storage and access your data that way. Use your NAS box to put BluRay disks onto disk for viewing on the iMac.

OzyOly · 11 Jun 2008 at 16:03

mdjmcnally said:
Sadly No.

The iMac is an all-in-one box so not upgradeable as such.

You would need to put extra disks on externally, either firewire or usb, will need an external usb hub to do this if more then 5 required.

Also BluRay etc is a no no.

The upgradeable Mac as such is the MAC Pro which is a beast of a box, still no BluRay though.

I would suggest that build a NAS box with your existing storage and access your data that way. Use your NAS box to put BluRay disks onto disk for viewing on the iMac.

Would I be able to put my blu-ray drive into a mac pro?

If so i might go down that route.

J1234 · 11 Jun 2008 at 16:05

You can put it in, but OS X lacks Blu-ray support so it would be pretty much useless.

OzyOly · 11 Jun 2008 at 16:08

Justin said:
You can put it in, but OS X lacks Blu-ray support so it would be pretty much useless.

Hmmm. So blu-ray only works with windows so far? seeing as linux is out of the questions with it being open source and so not allowed to play blu-ray.

I keep getting rid of reasons why I HAVE to use windows, then another draws me back in and makes me use it.

mdjmcnally · 11 Jun 2008 at 16:10

Apple haven't moved to BluRay yet, and the software doesn't support it yet I believe. However I am happy to be shown to be wrong by the experts.

It will be interesting to see what Apple do regarding BluRay as they have the iTunes Store and AppleTV so not sure if they are going to do BluRay Media drives.

At the moment Apple don't need BluRay for Software distribution so I wonder if they will miss out the drive and just use iTunes/AppleTv to do the HD stuff.

Scythe · 11 Jun 2008 at 16:15

That's very strange, wasn't Bluray supported by Apple?

J1234 · 11 Jun 2008 at 16:20

Scythe said:
That's very strange, wasn't Bluray supported by Apple?

It's supported by them, but not yet integrated into their software as far as I know.

I think you can use some certain Blu-ray drives with certain software hacks and mods but not too sure.

danbroad · 11 Jun 2008 at 19:52

here's a reason to buy mac...

I just took delivery of my Macbook Pro today, and it just reeks of quality design. There's no PC laptop - sony, dell, IBM or otherwise - that can hold a candle to its understated elegance. Good design on the outside is perhaps a fickle reason to buy a computer, but plenty of folks buy cars on the same premise; the Mondeo is as well built now as an Audi A4, but the A4 is a bigger seller, even though it's more expensive..

Any other reasons? After an iMac, I moved to a Vista gaming PC, and even though computer-savvy, I have begrudged every minute spent troubleshooting the Windows machine. OS X is just a far nicer place to sit in front of..

As for the BluRay and storage issues, well OCUK sell a number of decent NAS devices, or configure your own using an IDE enclosure.. Put the NAS in a cupboard along with your printer and enjoy a clutter-free workspace...