Finally getting a Mac! :)

LLBDTiberio

LLBDTiberio

LLBDTiberio

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Joined
8 Jan 2007
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1,118
Location
Glasgow
Hi guys, some of you might remember me from way back when I asked advice on getting a Ipod, well the mac family will be growing soon:).
Today I put up my PC for sale and with the money I will be buying the 17" Macbook Pro.
I will upgrade the screen to the highres one because I have a lot of HD media I want to play on it.
Anyway, question time!
- Should I spend the extra 55£ on Iwork, still at uni so need to write the essays with something, or does OpenOffice do the trick?
- Will I have a problem connecting the Macbook to a monitor that isn't Apple?
- Will I have a problem with my Ipod seeing as it used to run on a PC before?
- Any recommendations on good programs to use with it?

I will probably have loads more once I start thinking about it, but thanks to all you guys and your great advice in other threads I've read, I think there will be:p.
 
LLBDTiberio said:
Hi guys, some of you might remember me from way back when I asked advice on getting a Ipod, well the mac family will be growing soon:).
Today I put up my PC for sale and with the money I will be buying the 17" Macbook Pro.
I will upgrade the screen to the highres one because I have a lot of HD media I want to play on it.
Anyway, question time!
- Should I spend the extra 55£ on Iwork, still at uni so need to write the essays with something, or does OpenOffice do the trick?
- Will I have a problem connecting the Macbook to a monitor that isn't Apple?
- Will I have a problem with my Ipod seeing as it used to run on a PC before?
- Any recommendations on good programs to use with it?

I will probably have loads more once I start thinking about it, but thanks to all you guys and your great advice in other threads I've read, I think there will be:p.
Click to expand...

You say you're at uni, are you aware that you qualify for HE discount, getting you about 14% off MacBook Pros.

NeoOffice is good, but I would get iWork simply because it fits in if you know what I mean. Also, HE discount gets it for £35.

Any monitor will work.

You will need to format the iPod to use it with Mac and re-sync it from the MacBook Pro.

Good programs? Depends what you want. What will you be using the Mac for?
 
LLBDTiberio said:
- Should I spend the extra 55£ on Iwork, still at uni so need to write the essays with something, or does OpenOffice do the trick?
Click to expand...

OpenOffice works fine however i find that Iwork has some cool features so i ended up buying it.

LLBDTiberio said:
- Will I have a problem connecting the Macbook to a monitor that isn't Apple?
Click to expand...

Nope i have my MacBook connected to my 22" Acer

LLBDTiberio said:
- Will I have a problem with my Ipod seeing as it used to run on a PC before?
Click to expand...

No but you mite have to put all you music back on again, think it has to resync.

LLBDTiberio said:
- Any recommendations on good programs to use with it?
Click to expand...

- Skitch
- Adium
- CoverSutra


Edit: Pfft ^^ beaten!
 
LLBDTiberio said:
- Should I spend the extra 55£ on Iwork, still at uni so need to write the essays with something, or does OpenOffice do the trick?
- Will I have a problem connecting the Macbook to a monitor that isn't Apple?
- Will I have a problem with my Ipod seeing as it used to run on a PC before?
- Any recommendations on good programs to use with it?
Click to expand...
  1. No, if you're going to spend extra on an office suite, it might as well be Office for Mac since compatibility with MS products are pretty much a necessity for most people. OpenOffice is very nice but the OS X port of it requires X11 and is rather nasty looking. NeoOffice is a Cocoa-native port of OO.o that is more at home on your Mac.
  2. No, get the Mini DVI to DVI or VGA adapter and have at it.
  3. No, it will continue working just fine. If you need to restore it, however, you'll have to switch it to the Mac filesystem or restore it on a Windows machine.
  4. There are loads of good program in the various threads and stickies regarding that. :)
 
Thanks for the replies so far, so I'd need the mini-dvi adaptor thingie to use with the monitor.
I will get iWork then or MS office, all I worry about is compatability, which format does the mac save word documents in?
I have all my music on an external harddrive anyway, so will just do a restore/resync.
The macbook will be used as my workstation mainly, but it will also be used to watch dvd's and various media, does Quicktime play most formats or do I need to convert files to a format it accepts, can't I just use VLC?
Another feature I will be using is Garageband, I'm getting a replacement guitar soon after a friend managed to break mine, it will be nice to record my own stuff I think.
I will check out the mac software threads and make a list of the stuff that seems interesting.
Oh, and does the Timecapsule thing work with any external harddrive?
Thanks for the heads up with the discount, it makes it a lot cheaper than the 1800£ I thought i'd be paying :p.
 
The connections on the MBP's are just standard. If the HDTV has a PC input you'll be able to connect it. Most likely with a DVI-VGA converter.

I believe the latest MBP's have Dual-DVI on them, so you can run a 30" monitor.
 
LLBDTiberio said:
Thanks for the replies so far, so I'd need the mini-dvi adaptor thingie to use with the monitor.
I will get iWork then or MS office, all I worry about is compatability, which format does the mac save word documents in?
I have all my music on an external harddrive anyway, so will just do a restore/resync.
The macbook will be used as my workstation mainly, but it will also be used to watch dvd's and various media, does Quicktime play most formats or do I need to convert files to a format it accepts, can't I just use VLC?
Another feature I will be using is Garageband, I'm getting a replacement guitar soon after a friend managed to break mine, it will be nice to record my own stuff I think.
I will check out the mac software threads and make a list of the stuff that seems interesting.
Oh, and does the Timecapsule thing work with any external harddrive?
Thanks for the heads up with the discount, it makes it a lot cheaper than the 1800£ I thought i'd be paying :p.
Click to expand...

Timecapsule? :p Its Time Machine and it works on all my external drives that i have and i have many!

Yes you can use VLC i think most people do
 
Justin said:
You will need to format the iPod to use it with Mac and re-sync it from the MacBook Pro.
Click to expand...

No you don't - the Mac will read a Windows (FAT32) formatted iPod just fine. You will however lose whatever is on it when it re-syncs, so you might as well restore it as Mac format.

If you need to get existing music off the iPod, have a look for a utility called Senuti. It'll copy the music off an iPod and reimport it into iTunes with the playlists and other data intact.
 
Hi everyone, just thought i'd post a quick update to the whole thread.
I've decided to change course a bit and am in a new dilemma instead.
I'm either getting the black Macbook or the low-spec pro, but it rests on, well music.
I have an electric guitar and plan on using the mac for recording, can the black macbook run Logic studio well enough or should I be looking at the Pro?
 
The pc is still in the process of being sold in bits so don't have an exact estimate at the final price for it.
So far I stand at the 800 or so mark :P
 
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