Spent a few years working with a three-button mouse on a Unix machine doing CAD stuff, so I know what you're saying. The downside was that I developed carpal tunnel from that and had to [sob] retire.
New iMac
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Spent a few years working with a three-button mouse on a Unix machine doing CAD stuff, so I know what you're saying. The downside was that I developed carpal tunnel from that and had to [sob] retire.
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Re-read some of this thread and hoping you (Midpack), can give us an update. Wondering if you loaded any software and what you thought of it and the process. Thinking of Excel (Office) and TT though probably too early for that.
I used to do a lot of number crunching. I taught myself to use the mouse in my left hand so I could navigate the spreadsheet and then enter the data using the numeric keypad (basically a 10 key) without having to move my hands from keyboard to mouse so much. Worked pretty good.
Midpack
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Early? I downloaded our Microsoft 365 subscription on day one after my initial setup. It was a breeze. I have Excel, Word and PPT on my dock. I'll probably use Pages and Keynote instead of Word and PPT from now forward, but Numbers isn't nearly as useful as Excel for me - and though I've figured out convoluted ways to get my existing spreadsheets to work in Numbers, I'm not going to spend the time dumbing them down and I'm staying with Excel for the foreseeable future.
I haven't downloaded any other apps so far.
I am still absolutely thrilled with the iMac.
My only complaint, and no one at Apple seems to have an answer either. I got the Magic Keyboard w Numeric Keypad (top in pic below), and it has F13 thru F19 function keys. They don't have any purpose that I can find, and they're not programmable without a third party app - that seems very odd to me.
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Early for Turbo Tax.
Thanks for the update. I’m in no hurry, but thinking about this for my next computer.
Midpack
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Sorry I missed that. I'll be downloading TT in Dec/Jan too.
programming F keys
"My only complaint, and no one at Apple seems to have an answer either. I got the Magic Keyboard w Numeric Keypad (top in pic below), and it has F13 thru F19 function keys. They don't have any purpose that I can find, and they're not programmable without a third party app - that seems very odd to me."
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I have programed my F keys 13-19 to do various things for me quickly.
The one I use very frequently is F19 which I changed to activate taking/saving a
screen shot of a selected area.I have my trackpad next to my keyboard so it's just a matter of moving my finger about an inch or 2 to activate.I don't know if this is the kind of thing you were talking about-that's Very simple. No need for an app.System preferences>Keyboard>shortcuts.
"My only complaint, and no one at Apple seems to have an answer either. I got the Magic Keyboard w Numeric Keypad (top in pic below), and it has F13 thru F19 function keys. They don't have any purpose that I can find, and they're not programmable without a third party app - that seems very odd to me."
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I have programed my F keys 13-19 to do various things for me quickly.
The one I use very frequently is F19 which I changed to activate taking/saving a
screen shot of a selected area.I have my trackpad next to my keyboard so it's just a matter of moving my finger about an inch or 2 to activate.I don't know if this is the kind of thing you were talking about-that's Very simple. No need for an app.System preferences>Keyboard>shortcuts.
I’m also using CleanMyMac and I’m finding that it does help. It tells me when an application is stuck and offers a Force Quit.
I also downloaded another one called https://www.drbuho.com it was on sale for a lifetime license for $4.99 so I thought I’d try it.
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Midpack
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Since my last post, I have figured out how to program my F13-F19 keys. Problem is I don't know the actual commands for what I want to program. If I want to program a function key to mimic a word command like "File->Paste" or "View->Zoom In" it's easy enough. But I want to mimic how the F2 and F4 keys work in Excel using F13 & F14 on my iMac. If there's a word command for either of them I haven't figured it out. It's not "Edit" or "Enter" as Excel shows.
That said, I still LOVE the iMac (glancing over at my WinPC sitting on the floor)...
Out of Steam
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Have been using a 2012 MacBook Pro laptop I bought refurbished in 2014. The new M1 chips interest me, and I will probably replace my old one within a year.
I like the Command-space search shortcut, haven't used it before.
I like the Command-space search shortcut, haven't used it before.
eytonxav
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
I use Apple's mail, pages, numbers and keynote applications, although I much prefer Microsofts which I used during my working career. The Apple one's are decent, but my proficiency is not nearly as good.
Midpack
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
I used Excel, Word, PowerPoint & Outlook constantly for decades and I agree Numbers isn't close to the capability of Excel. But Pages & Keynote seem just as capable IME, though my use of Word & PowerPoint may have been more pedestrian than my Excel files.
I have three active email addresses, and I find the Mac OS/iOS Mail app much better than Microsoft Mail in terms of meshing multiple email addresses - and sharing across my iMac, iPad & iPhone. MicroSoft Mail (and Outlook) were a PITA on my PC for handling three email addresses.
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So I was at Costco and they had the new Mac on display. None in stock, but that didn’t matter. I was just looking. I was struck by the keyboard. It looked very cool, but I think I would have a hard time getting used to it. About a year ago, I got a mechanical keyboard and I think it’s great. It’s just so much different from the Mac keyboard, I wonder if anyone can comment on how they like or dislike the feel/functionality of the Mac keyboard.
GalaxyBoy
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I used to like using mechanical keyboards on PCs (remember the IBM PC/AT keyboard?). I’ve gotten used to the iMac’s Magic Keyboard, but I have to say the small keys and lack of contrast between the key markings and background is a case of form over function. I’m sure there are options out there, but my complaints aren’t quite big enough to make me go out and get one.
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Is the Magic Keyboard backlit? That would be something I’d really hate to give up.
GalaxyBoy
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No. And the characters are gray on white. I guess one of the best decisions I made in high school was to take typing class and learn to touch type. It was before computers but I figured if I was to become an enginerd I'd be using one someday. Heh, who could have guessed then how much we'd use them today?
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