Originally Posted by
rrz518
I am considering switching to an Imac. Apple has a word for that (a "switcher"). Any of you have any thoughts regarding macs, more specifically switching from a PC to a Mac? (I used to be a Mac fan and consumer, long long ago). Aside from email, I use the PC to make slideshows of still photographs, as well as stitching together video clips. I use Ulead for the former, and Pinnacle for the latter on the PC.
all macs come with the ilife suite which includes iphoto and imovie.
Can the Mac read all of the files I've got stored on external hard drives? (.jpg and .avi)
absolutely. macs can read and write standard formats such as jpeg. in fact, the included textedit application can read and write microsoft word documents. macs can also read pc formatted drives directly, just plug it in (usb or firewire).
the mac will also file share in either direction with your old pc and there's also a third party tool that can import your pc's settings such as network configuration, email configuration, etc. as well as copy your personal documents. if you buy the mac at an apple store they'll even do that for you.
note, however, that avi files, like mov files, aren't a specific format, but rather a container that can hold a variety of compression formats. normally avi and mov files use standard compression formats (e.g., mpeg, h.264), but sometimes a third party codec must be installed.
flip4mac mentioned in another post is free and will provide for playing windows media files (wmv) in virtually any application that supports quicktime (which is more than just a player). there is also a divx plugin that lets you play divx movies. with both installed, there's very little that won't play properly.