Some MAC questions I have.

Ok, I finally made up my mind and put aside funds to get a MacBook Pro after Leopard is released.

My first Question would be:
160GB Serial ATA Drive @ 7200 rpm
OR
250GB Serial ATA Drive @ 4200 rpm
Would a higher speed increase the chances of the HD to fail? Or is more storage space better than the increase of HD speed? I'm impartial to either HD, but would like the best choice.









I've had 4 laptops in my life, and all were Matte screens. I want to go glossy this time. What are positive & negative aspects of glossy? Is the High-Res Display Option they have for Matte & Glossy worth the extra $100?

Is the Quote absolutely TRUE?








I also plan to get Office 2007 Mac version, would I be able to SYNC my Windows Mobile smartphone with Outlook on Mac? What's a good or the best active sync replacement? Even if it doesn't sync to Outlook but to Mac address book, calendar, etc, I'll be ok with that.








Do I get an Actual OSX (leopard) disc? Is it a Full version or a reinstall version? Also, is there any bloat ware?









Third-Party Mac apps VS Windows apps?








And lastly .....
I use Ubuntu alot, how similar is it to Mac?

 

My first Question would be:
160GB Serial ATA Drive @ 7200 rpm
OR
250GB Serial ATA Drive @ 4200 rpm
Would a higher speed increase the chances of the HD to fail? Or is more storage space better than the increase of HD speed? I'm impartial to either HD, but would like the best choice.

what do you plan on doing with the computer? if you are doing some sort of editing, i would go for the faster speed, less storage, since you would want to be save your work to a bigger external drive. also, with a faster hdd, comes more heat.

but again, depends on what you are doing with the laptop..if its just word and email, you could even get by with something smaller.

I've had 4 laptops in my life, and all were Matte screens. I want to go glossy this time. What are positive & negative aspects of glossy? Is the High-Res Display Option they have for Matte & Glossy worth the extra $100?

i am the wrong person to answer this. i do have a macbook with a glossy screen and i think its pretty nice. other then that, i have no other information to give you on this topic.

Just about everything works with Mac — even the stuff you used with your old PC. All you have to do is plug it in. A Mac has USB drivers for printers, external drives, digital cameras, input devices, iPod, and more. It can see Bluetooth cell phones and headsets, as well as FireWire cameras. No rebooting, no hassles
Is the Quote absolutely TRUE?

for the most part yes. with iPhoto, i can plug in my A620, take photos off it, delete photos, and even use my macbook to take pictures when my camera is connected via USB....all without drivers. with my printer, i installed a driver simply because i chose to not have the drivers installed from the tiger dvd.

I also plan to get Office 2007 Mac version, would I be able to SYNC my Windows Mobile smartphone with Outlook on Mac? What's a good or the best active sync replacement? Even if it doesn't sync to Outlook but to Mac address book, calendar, etc, I'll be ok with that.

not 100% sure. my blackjack connects to my macbook via bluetooth, and i can transfer files pretty seamlessly...but i havent had time to sync any contacts yet.

Do I get an Actual OSX (leopard) disc? Is it a Full version or a reinstall version? Also, is there any bloat ware?
you get the full disc. only bloatware that comes with it (that you CHOOSE to install) is language packs, drivers for just about everything ever in existance, and the applications (iLife).

Third-Party Mac apps VS Windows apps?
what do you need your mac to do? mine wakes me up at 6:30 every morning and has my breakfast waiting for me.

And lastly .....
I use Ubuntu alot, how similar is it to Mac?
apple is pretty simple to use. most things are easy to figure out. everything pretty much "just works" out of the box. there is a program out there (the name escapes me right now), but it gives you 4 workspaces like linux.

hope you get some relevant information out of this.

 

I can sync my windows mobile smartphone with outlook 2007 via parallels (a virtual machine program that allows you to run Windows (and basically any other OS on Mac OS X)). Office 2007 is not out for the mac. If you want to avoid windows you can try using missing sync to sync your smartphone. I have heard great things about missing sync but I have not used it because I am perfectly fine using parallels and also because missing sync costs $.

 

Thanks guys, Most of my questions were answered.

As for the harddrive, I will be doing everything under the sun, from simple surfing to heavy tasks. So I'll take the heat factor under consideration when choosing a HD. How is the heat on macbooks anyway?

I have also heard of missing sync via a google search. At least I have options.
And of course I will end up running a VM of something.