Thinking of getting a MacBook

JustaJourno

Hey all,

Have been seriously considering buying a new laptop and am thinking of switching to a Mac. So, firstly, please excuse my 'newbie' questions!

Ive a hefty Dell 17" laptop with Vista which I only got last year, but Im fed up with it and want to get something more compact.

Few questions though:-

- Are all important file formats (eg. .doc, .xls, .pdf etc etc) fully functional with Mac, and do they have the likes of Office available? Or, can you install Office etc onto the Mac?

- Are they good laptops for voice calls and webcam calls to keep in touch from around the world? Also, do they have wireless functionality?

- In general, is it tough getting used to a Mac? And, is it worth it?

- Wheres the best place to buy one? (online, or in various shops?) US is not an option for me Im afraid.

Sorry for such basic questions, but Id appreciate if someone could help me out.

Sad Professor

Hey, JustaJourno.

JustaJourno wrote: »

- Are all important file formats (eg. .doc, .xls, .pdf etc etc) fully functional with Mac, and do they have the likes of Office available? Or, can you install Office etc onto the Mac?

Yeah you can get Microsoft Office 2008 for the mac, there are also other alternatives such as OpenOffice and NeoOffice. You shouldn't have any problem with major file types such as those you listed.

Are they good laptops for voice calls and webcam calls to keep in touch from around the world? Also, do they have wireless functionality?

Yes and yes of course. Macbooks have a built-in webcam called iSight. The Apple chat app is called iChat but you can also get Skype, MSN, etc. The mac's wireless implementation is called Airport and is also built in.

- In general, is it tough getting used to a Mac? And, is it worth it?

As long as you're open minded, willingly to unlearn the Windows way of doing things and don't mind feeling like a novice again for a while then you shouldn't have any problems. Learning a new OS takes time and patience but is it worth it? Absolutely. And there's plenty of switchers around here who will testify as such.

- Wheres the best place to buy one? (online, or in various shops?) US is not an option for me Im afraid.

Direct from Apple:

www.applestore.ie

Just get any extra RAM from crucial or somewhere else.

Good luck and feel free to ask any other questions.

Dont be at yourself

I second everything that the Sad Professor has said.

nialler

JustaJourno wrote: »

Hey all,

Have been seriously considering buying a new laptop and am thinking of switching to a Mac. So, firstly, please excuse my 'newbie' questions!

Ive a hefty Dell 17" laptop with Vista which I only got last year, but Im fed up with it and want to get something more compact.

Few questions though:-

- Are all important file formats (eg. .doc, .xls, .pdf etc etc) fully functional with Mac, and do they have the likes of Office available? Or, can you install Office etc onto the Mac?

- Are they good laptops for voice calls and webcam calls to keep in touch from around the world? Also, do they have wireless functionality?

- In general, is it tough getting used to a Mac? And, is it worth it?

- Wheres the best place to buy one? (online, or in various shops?) US is not an option for me Im afraid.

Sorry for such basic questions, but Id appreciate if someone could help me out.

Hi Journo

Prepare to become obsessed.

Microsoft is the biggest software producer for mac, Office is available and Office 2008 (wouldn't use it just yet) is compliant with the new oxml format of Office 2007 on PC, but office 2004 should do you if that's what your office is using.

PDF first appeared on macs many many years ago created by adobe. As sadprof said there's free versions of office available or near enough to office.

I could be wrong but I'm nearly sure that macs were the first to come with wireless as standard and webcams built in, some versions strangely enough still only had a cd writer (no dvd) that was a long time ago. I use skype all the time, live messenger, AdiumX and ichat for video/voice chat. As for functionality you will not believe how easy it is, actually you'll overcomplicate matters in the first couple of weeks.

As for getting used to, you'll be fine, you'll be flying in a week or two and we're here to help for any of the silly questions you may ask.

the applestore is probably the best but buy your ram elsewhere as apple kinda mark it up hugely.

BTW what type of Dell do you have (not advocating hacking but you can install osx on some Dells).

Velvet Vocals

I made the switch last year and I'm a little bit in love with my macbook. I had a mac mini for a few months before I got the macbook so I'd had a bit of time to get used to it. But you are making the right move.
Good luck. !

JustaJourno

Thanks for the replies everyone... seems to strengthen my idea to get one!

Good to hear those programs are compatible, I thought a lot may not have been. I use OpenOffice here too so at least I wont be fully lost

Rest assured Ill probably come up with a few more questions before (and certainly after!) I get one.

Cheers!

JustaJourno

Another quick question;

Do Macbooks have ports for digital camera cards (eg. xD, SD cards) built into the laptop like others do, or do you have to purchase an external thing?

Creamy Goodness

buy an external reader that connects to usb.

Roen

I think Screenway in Galway are usually cheaper to buy macs from than Apple, they came in a few hundred quid cheaper for the xserve I bought a while back, even after Apple applied our customary discount.

Apple actually came third when we put out a tender for Apple products there a while back. Don't ask me how though!

ec18

Just got one two weeks ago....brilliant!

Drapper

ec18 wrote: »

Just got one two weeks ago....brilliant!

sure are great! and no FAT like Vista!! it just works!

btw just got office 2008 for MAC and its excellent!

looking for a nice NAS setup now at home.........

Cabaal

Made the switch to my MacBook in May 2007 and really love it, its the simple stuff I like, I take photos in raw and OSX will preview and display the photos without any extra software.....windows is another matter

ozt9vdujny3srf

If use use Open Office then Neo Office will suit you down to the ground. I have had my Macbook now for about 7 months and I bought it without being a mac user.

A few things I learnt:

Were I to buy again, I'd by the cheapest MBP at the refurb store, although the macbook is good, the MBP is a better machine, in particular I found the screen to be far superior.

Office 08 is nowhere near of the calibre of Office 07 for windows, which is a fantastic piece of software. It has been my biggest irritation since switching to mac, because I really loved the new UI on office 2007 for windows.

Software wise, there is a lot of very good software out there for macs. The only downside is that although Firefox has a mac version, it is nowhere near as good as its windows counterpart. On the upshot Safari(the built in browser) is excellent as is Camino (which renders web pages the same way as Firefox).
Unless you need extensions in Firefox though this shouldnt be an issue, because safari and camino are good browsers.

In terms of usability, I'm loving my macbook. I love features like expose, dashboard and in particular, spotlight. Also stacks(new to leopard) is a fantastic feature.

Another windows app I miss is Picasaweb, iphoto is not as good as picasa I feel.

For IM stuff, Adium is a fantastic client, and better then anything I've come accross on the windows platform

One annoyance was Matlab having to run through X11 on my mac.

Overall though, I love the laptop, the hardware is excellent, and if it turns out you really cant live without windows, you can just install it on your macbook.

"right clicking" ona macbook is also dead easy. just 2 fingers on the mouse pad + click.

Photoshop on the mac is excellent, similar to its windows counterpart. The only difference being you cannot get a 64bit version of photoshop. This is annoying becuase if I want 64bit in the future I will have to pay for the new version

as has already been mentioned, preview is excellent, and supports a fairly wide range of file types.

For PDF's there is an excellent piece of software called "skim" which love, it lets you put your own notes into PDF files.
http://skim-app.sourceforge.net/

Hugh_C

JustaJourno wrote: »

Sorry for such basic questions, but Id appreciate if someone could help me out.

One thing I don't see addressed in this thread - I've had a MacBook since last May (I think) and it's a great machine with one slight exception - I'm not wild about the keyboard and the key action - there again I'm sh1te at typing anyway, but I'm getting even more typo mistakes than usual. Previously I used a PowerBook which had a superior keyboard.

Nothing stopping you hooking up an external USB keyboard though ...

Try a MacBook in the O2 Experience on Grafton St or any other outlet - see what you think.

Hugh

JustaJourno

Thanks again for all the replies guys.

One final question (I hope) - Can 'Bootcamp' be used on a normal Macbook? I believe this is the program needed to run Windows? Only reason I ask is because I heard that it can only be done on the Macbook Pro?

I only ask because Ive been informed a program in the school where Im going apparently does not work well with a Mac, and usually requires Windows.

Cheers,

JustaJourno

Whoops, never mind.. if I looked two threads down I would have seen this: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055286351

Sorry!

deevey

If you intend running windows, highly recommend parallels unless you need full power for gaming or the likes.

Im running sql server happily in the background for work stuff with xp on parallels on a second "spaces" screen and it rocks and runs quite fast.

It just saves the need to shut down the laptop every time to boot-camp.