Switching to Mac OS X - Hardware issues
Andy Clayton writes
This page lists my hardware and any issues I had when migrating from Windows XP to OS X. You may also like to read my Migration Blog to get an idea of how it all went, generally...
Samsung SyncMaster 900NF (last updated 23 December 2006)
You may not think that a computer monitor would be mentioned here. However, a display is a very important part of the whole computer experience and is even more critical with Apple's Mac Mini as unlike the iMac it doesn't have a display built in.
When I bought my first generation G4 powered Mac Mini my first impression after setting it up was how dark the on-screen display appeared to be when compared to Windows XP. I know this isn't a Mac thing per se as I had used other Macs at work and not found this to be a problem. However, there is an issue with the original Mac Mini, not admitted by Apple but widely accepted in user-land, that the display looks dark... well, more "washed out" really... on certain monitors. This appears to be a problem specifically with anologue (ie. VGA/CRT) monitors and not TFT digital displays. For this reason, I purchased a Dell 2005FPW widescreen TFT monitor which (hooked up using a DVI-D cable) makes the Mini desktop look fantastic! I'm a little annoyed that I had to go out and buy a new monitor when my old one was OK, but on the other hand having widescreen is useful and the display clarity is out of this world.
It's worth pointing out that the Mac Mini has been upgraded several times since then and I haven't heard of this problem with the current Intel line of machines.
Buffalo LinkStation HD250-LAN (last updated 8 July 2006)
A 250GB NAS storage device that was connected straight to my router until mid-2007. Is formatted in FAT32 and I don't think I can change it. Would be better as a proper Mac journaled filesystem, but is fine (very good in fact) for network storage so I'm not complaining.
Hewlett Packard LaserJet 5L (last updated 23 December 2006)
For some reason I originally reported that this printer didn't work under OS X. Either I was wrong or Apple did something in Tiger to improve things. Whatever the reason I used this for a quite a while before upgrading to a Lexmark C522n colour laser.
Epson Stylus Photo 750 (last updated 23 December 2006)
This is a colour inkjet printer and was connected straight to my Mac Mini. It was shared successfully over my network so I could also print via my MacBook laptop. No longer in use as I now have a Lexmark C522n colour laser printer.
Lexmark C522n colour laser printer (last updated 23 December 2006)
This is a network based printer connected to my router. Works flawlessley with my Mac.
Epson Perfection 2400 Photo Scanner (last updated 1 October 2005)
This is a nice flatbed scanner. Epson are pretty good about supporting the Mac and they have a Twain compatible driver which works fine under OS X. This hardware is connected straight to my Mac via USB.
Quickcam Messenger (last updated 20 May 2008)
This is a webcam I used on a previous incarnation of my website. Using the Macam open source driver this camera works under OS X. I have a built in webcam in my MacBook and find this is fine for video conferencing with iChat or Skype.
Netgear DG834Gv2 Router (last updated 1 October 2005)
This is a network device. Works fine under OS X.
Cambridge Soundworks 4.1 surround sound speakers (last updated 20 May 2008)
Not useful on a Mac Mini as it has a single audio jack. Works fine with a "bigger" Mac (such as my Mac Pro).
Click one of the links in the panel on the left to find out more...