Anyone here use a Mac?

I have the opportunity of getting a new MacBook, and my intention would be to use it for writing. As things stand I use an old pc laptop which has XP installed. For script writing I use the free Script Smart software.

I have heard good things about the Mac but I believe you can't use Script Smart. So I would either have to use something like Celtx, format MacWord myself, or should the pennies allow purchase something like Final Draft or Movie Magic.

If anyone uses a Mac, what do you do to write and what are your thoughts on Mac's overall?

Def.

I use a Mac, I love it. I'd never go back to Windows. No more viruses, adware, spyware and computer slowly grinding to a halt! Plus it's an aesthetically nice OS to work with, and if you're a geek (I am) it's got super-powerful UNIX under the hood with which you can make it do anything.

As for scriptwriting software -- up till now I've been writing using MS Word for Mac, which is perfectly fine. ScriptSmart doesn't seem to work on MSWord Mac, but then I know some people with PCs which can't run ScriptSmart successfully either (I guess it depends on the exact version of Word you are using, also whether you are running Vista). I've never sent a document to anyone that they couldn't read, or had any problems with. (Unlike when I used to use OpenOffice on Linux which occasionally caused problems.)

I've also got a copy of Final Draft for Mac and that works too, up to a point (it tends to crash occasionally).

Celtx is certainly an option, also there are plenty of Mac-only screenwriting packages worth exploring like Montage and Scrivener.

PS There is a bit of a learning curve when moving from Windows to Mac, not a massive one by any means, but I do know one writer who took his new Mac back after 2 days because he didn't have the patience to learn how to use it.

PPS Yes you CAN use a two-button mouse with a Mac contrary to what many people believe!

Macs are ultra-reliable, smart as Hell and never (or hardly ever) get viruses. The problem you will come up against though is software availabity in the high street. There's next to nothing in this country for Mac - although there's shitloads on the web.

If you do get a Mac, give me a buzz and I'll send you a copy of Final Draft over. Although to be honest those programmes are a waste of time and money in my opinion. You really don't need them. All your scripts need to be is clearly typed and easy to read. If they get to production stage they'll be retyped in the house style by a secretary anyway.

What you actually need and what I write on.

http://www2.b3ta.com/heyhey16k/

Quote: Griff @ October 6 2008, 10:28 AM BST

PPS Yes you CAN use a two-button mouse with a Mac contrary to what many people believe!

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I love the little trackball scroll "wheel" on the newer Macs. That rocked my world the first time I used one.

I use a dark brown overcoat..

Quote: Perry Nium @ October 6 2008, 10:33 AM BST

If you do get a Mac, give me a buzz and I'll send you a copy of Final Draft over.

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That's nice of you Perry. Do you just happen to have free copies lying around? Don't they cost something like £140 a go?

Further Questions to all:

Is it true I could copy an MS Word document written on a pc to my memory stick and it will open ready to be worked on within Mac Word? And vice-versa?

Internet - Could I just pop a cable between the Mac and my BT router and connect to the internet (just like you can plug your PS3/Xbox into your router and bam - your online) or do you need to sign up to something?

Def.

Quote: Deferenz @ October 6 2008, 11:05 AM BST

Further Questions to all:

Is it true I could copy an MS Word document written on a pc to my memory stick and it will open ready to be worked on within Mac Word? And vice-versa?

Internet - Could I just pop a cable between the Mac and my BT router and connect to the internet (just like you can plug your PS3/Xbox into your router and bam - your online) or do you need to sign up to something?

Def.

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1 - yes you can open an MS word document from a PC on your Mac and it won't know the difference where it came from. (HOWEVER - be careful with the memory stick. Some of them use a Windows-specific EXE to handle the password protection which Mac won't be able to run. So if you've password-protected the memory stick, you need to switch it off before using the memory stick on the Mac).

2 - yes you can just connect your Mac to the router using a normal network cable and away you go. You might have to mess about with Network Settings on your Mac (to set up passwords or proxy addresses), but I doubt it. Also of course your Mac will have wireless built-in, so you can just log onto your wireless network anyway without need of a cable.

When my PC packs up... which seems likely soon. Probably next year I shall buy a MAC. Do you recommend an iMac Grif or going for one of the bigger fellows? I fancy one mainly for making some shorts and alos for the reliability factor.

I use a Mac Mini for my desktop and an iBook laptop. I did a bit of video work on my Mac Mini - using iMovie to edit DV footage from a camcorder - and it was a bit slow. But it's three years old, and wasn't the top of the range.

From what I hear the iMacs are pretty good. I can't imagine you'd need to shell out on a top end Mac Pro, nice though they are. I know the new MacBook laptops are terrific, my neighbour has one, and it goes like lightning.

Quote: Griff @ October 6 2008, 11:32 AM BST

I know the new MacBook laptops are terrific, my neighbour has one, and it goes like lightning.

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I have a Macbook and it doesn't react too well to having multiple programmes running. If there's flash content on a website it tends to go berserk regardless which browser you're using. (Also, not having a backslash key is slowly driving me mad.)

I think whether this is something you can live with depends on how you're going to use it. I love my Macbook dearly for its practical design, but I want to use it basically around the clock without many restarts and usually have a handful of applications running at the same time between which I want to switch swiftly. That kind of user behaviour is all too often too much for the little fella. And once you get the rainbow coloured beachball of death it's somewhat unresponsive. So I find myself pressing ALT+APPLE+ESC just as often as I'd press CTRL+ALT+DEL on a PC.

Oh, and if you have a problem with your Mac that you want fixed, don't expect to find quick help on the internet. Those Mac forums are vicious and unhelpful. In the best case they only shout 'Heretic!' at you before they come after you with brooms and shovels.

HERETIC!

One thing that causes Macs to run slowly is the version of the application you are running. If you are running a new Intel Mac (which I think all the MacBooks are) but running an old "PowerPC" version of an application (because, perhaps, you *found* your copy of MS Office on the Internet rather than shelling out a million pounds for a copy...), then it has to run those applications in emulation mode. From what I've seen, if you are using the latest up-to-date Leopard-compatible Intel versions of all your apps, it's fine. But you might well tell me otherwise?

(I have a dodgy PowerPC copy of Adobe Creative Suite which my Intel Mac runs in emulation mode, and it's almost unusably slow.)

Quote: Griff @ October 6 2008, 12:01 PM BST

HERETIC!

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Will you come after me with a broom now? Please.

I was careful only to get those versions of applications that were compatible with the Intel processors (though at the time I bought the thing most apps weren't available yet for the Intels).

And the browser problem still hasn't been fixed (I'm currently using Firefox, I'm in double-digits now with the number of browsers I've tried).

I'm not saying the thing is bad or unusable, it's just not perfect and it has faults that may be more problematic to certain kinds of users than to others.

Oh, and I do love the little routine I have to perform in order to make one bloody square bracket.

I'm looking forward to seeing how Google Chrome shapes up on Mac when it eventually comes out.

Well if you are running Intel apps on an Intel machine, it's a bit disappointing if it keeps beachballing.

Presumably you don't have an Apple keyboard? Mine's got square bracket keys on it? (But then I do have to do some special voodoo to produce the # symbol.)

* fetches broom *

Quote: Finck @ October 6 2008, 11:56 AM BST

but I want to use it basically around the clock without many restarts and usually have a handful of applications running at the same time between which I want to switch swiftly. That kind of user behaviour is all too often too much for the little fella.

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You need more memory! I used to run adobe photoshop, illustrator, quarkxpress, dreamweaver all at the same time, and my mac couldn't cope and would slow down incredibly.

Go to this site: http://www.crucial.com/uk/ and it will scan your computer and tell you what memory you need. Get the highest amount of GB that you can afford. Problem solved.