Apple Time

This year January 2016 I finally took the plunge and opted to change my desktop and lap top with its familiar windows operating system to kit myself out entirely with Apple gear... Namely the 27-inch iMac with Retina display (also opting for the faster Fusion Hard-drive) and also the new MacBook Pro with Retina display for when I am out and about. ....and I could not be happier :-) I already have an iPad, an iPod, Apple TV and the iPhone 6 Plus so already familiar with Apple products and these devices are all compatible with my new set-up, especially handy that I can use my iPhone for a 4g connection for my MacBook Pro when not near a WiFi source.

Needless to say this new iMac is quite a machine... The display is amazing, 25% more colours than standard monitor screens. Text and icons are increased in size thanks to OS X El Capitan’s brilliant scaling, so you get the benefit of a sharper screen without having to squint at the interface. Due to the thinness of the screen, all of the ports are round the back of the screen. It’s a little inconvenient if you spend a lot of time plugging in memory cards and USB devices, but the iMac swivels easily on its base, so the ports are fairly quick to get to when you need them. At the back you’ll find four USB3 and two Thunderbolt 2 ports, alongside a Gigabit Ethernet adaptor (there’s built-in 802.11ac Wi-Fi), an SDXC card slot and a headphone output: in other words much more than I will ever need to use.

The Keyboard and the mouse are both wireless and rechargeable via the ports at the back of the screen. Chatting to people using FaceTime has to be seen to be believed, truly amazing. I can also now use "Airdrop" transferring pictures from and to any device, especially handy putting photos from my iPhone onto my iMac and the Apple Cloud offers secure backup and more storage. One of the deciding factors was learning Microsoft office is now available for Apple so I have Office 2016 installed on both machines and works like a dream easily passed from Apple PCs to Window operated PCs.

The Macbook Pro is simply gorgeous, its slim but sturdy and a delight to use. I used the Apple support team to set up some more complex software I wanted installed and their service was really good. I also got a Apple wireless mouse for the Macbook Pro too but I don't use it to be honest as the TrackPad is just amazing and so easy. Apple products are much more expensive but they do hold their value more and you do get what you pay for, malicious viruses are less of a worry, and "boot up" speed is great and the Retina display on both machines are a delight, I am extremely happy with my new computer kit and would recommend Apple to anyone what ever their computing needs are. I also recommend investing in a good Laptop bag if you get the Macbook Pro (or Mac Air) I found a beautiful leather on on Amazon from "Jammy Lizard" and also got a hard shell to protect the MacBook Pro.

I still have my Windows operating PC and laptop but much prefer the sleek design of Apple and the intuitive operating system.