Some advice for a mac newbie please

So I'm finally ready to convert to Mac after having 4 PC laptops die on me in the last 2 years. However, I'm a complete Mac newbie. I'm planning to get a 15 inch Macbook Pro and am still trying to decide between the fastest i5 or the i7 processors (this would be mainly for writing, browsing, email and some light gaming like the Civilization games). I'm planning to upgrade to the 7200 rpm hard drive - seems like a no-brainer for just $50 extra. I'm planning to skip Apple Care but may add it within the first year if a problem occurs (in my experience, most problems occur within the first year or after 3+ years, so I want to see if I can skip the $350 extra for AC, especially because I'm already going way over budget...).

Is there any advice you'd give in terms of software to add, features to look for, peripherals to add, and so on? I'll need an Office-type suite (word processor, spreadsheet program) and am not sure whether iWorks is incompatible with the PC world, so thinking about Office for Mac.

 

i5 will more than suffice.

Sound reasoning on skipping AppleCare initially.

iWork is almost 100% compatible with MS Office formats. Little things that an advanced user would encounter but that a novice or average user wouldn't. But if you think that 100% format compatibility would suit you in the future, then get MS Office.

Other than that, there really isn't much to be on the look out for. There are a lot of free resources that might interest you when you get the notebook. Look around the forum for ideas and useful advice.

Worse come to worse, you can always partition and install windows until you are comfortable with OS X. See sticky thread in this section about installing windows on a Mac.

 

Given the usage, the i7 seems unwarranted.

 

Thanks! One of the reasons I was looking at the i7 is because it comes with the 512MB graphics card rather than the 256 one in the i5, and I do some light gaming (although not the very graphics-intensive FPS-type games). Otherwise, I'm told there's not a huge difference between the dual core i7 vs. the fastest i5. (On the other hand, I hear the i7 runs a lot hotter, and 2 of my last 4 PC laptops died from overheating, so if i5 is sufficient and likely to be sufficient for a few years, that may be the way to go... )

Re: iWork - can it open and save .doc files?
EDIT - I just figured out it does. Nice. I may just go with iWork so I don't have to see a single Microsoft logo again

Also - any other software you'd recommend as essential for the Mac? Anything else a new Macbook Pro owner might need that I'm probably not aware of?

I've been browsing the Mac Switchers Guide - very helpful.

 

I bought my first mac 3 weeks ago, I bought the base model 15 inch (which is also what I'd suggest for you). I use MS office, I don't have the time to make sure iWork saves as .doc or docx... I'd rather just have it all work. that said iWork CAN save and read .doc files... it's just not the native format. I'm a student and it's the same cost to get MS office as iWork so... it's a no brainer to me.

my number one piece of advice: set aside a weekend to learn the OS, its not windows - not even close... after putting tens of thousands of hours on windows I had a hard time getting used to it. Make sure to put it through it's paces. run a torrent, watch a movie, view a youtube vid. write an email -do what you normally do.

you will find things that will drive you crazy. like you can't cut and paste files and folders in OS X ( still think this ridiculously stupid of apple). but other things like 2 finger scrolling is epic. just be prepared for the learning curve. it's pretty big.

oh, as for HD I'd consider an aftermarket one... much cheaper (if you get the base model) which I recommend.
this is the config I'm talking about:
http://store.apple.com/us/configure/MC371LL/A?mco=MTc0Njg1OTY

oh, and your not going to get 9hours I get about 5 with 100% brightness on the screen.

 

Thanks for the info! Yeah, I expect a bit of a learning curve with the OS, but in a way that's part of the fun for me. (I'm the kind of guy who has as much fun reading the manuals of a strategy game as actually playing it.) No cutting and pasting files and folders? Ye gods. That's unbelievable, and will take some getting used to.

iWork is on sale for $49 now, vs. $199 for the student version of Office, so that's why I'm leaning that way. I may just go for OpenOffice though - but have never used that either. Right now I pretty much do everything in Google Documents so it's not like I need the advanced functions of Office.

5 hours of battery life is still excellent - I get barely 2 on my Toshiba now. I also rarely work in 100% brightness, so that'll improve it I hope. And anyway - my laptops serve as desktops 95% of the time, I rarely ever move them, but I like the option of doing so when needed.

Other things I'm concerned about but hope to be able to do is import my Firefox profile (bookmarks, passwords) from Windows to Mac, and likewise my iTunes library (including ratings and playlists). I have to think both of those are possible.

This is the configuration I'm looking at now: Configure - Apple Store (U.S.)

 

you do know there almost ZERO diffrence between the 2.53 i5 and the 2.4? most benchmarks won't even show the difference. it may also be an idea to uprade the disk your self you could save a pile of money on that... a 500GT momentus XT is like a 110$ and it's a SSD/HDD hybrid drive (so it's quite fast).

as for iWork at 49$ is cheaper but office 2011 professional academic version is 100$ CDN so it's probably 90$ for the US.

I don't recommend Openoffice it's slow and has it's fair share of compatibility issues at least from my experience.

here is the canadian office deal page... just so you know
http://www.microsoft.com/student/office/en-ca/default.aspx?wt.srch=1

 

I recommend getting MS Office 2011. I have tried to use iWork and although it is OK...there are always small issues that I run into when converting between iWOrk and Office. I frequently send out MS docs from 2011 to word 2007 PC users and they have zero issues with the files I send. With iwork, I always several people email me saying they can't read the file properly or some jibberish.

For personal writing I'd say iWork is alright, but for word proceesing for business, MS Office 2011 is very, very good.

 

I'd hold back on iWork right now. The new iLife suite just came out and the rumor is that iWork is next (maybe with the new Mac app store). There are issues with some iWork files opened in Office but it all depends on what you are doing. I think iWork is easier to use and if you don't need to share the file it is much better. Power users are better off with office. Open Office is worth a shot though if you want to wait for a couple of months on iWork.

As for OS X: I was a PC since DOS and 8 Mhz processors and hated Apple until Vista's headaches made my wife request a Mac when her notebook died. I was pleasantly surprised by the Mac and a domino effect started. All the PC's but one have been replaced in my house and we couldn't be happier. It wasn't much harder than going from XP to Vista. You'll have to relearn where settings are and how to close a window but defrags and the registry are not a part of Apple's world. I enjoy getting to work with my system more than on my system like I needed to do in Windows. Its not for everyone but if you have an open mind and like to explore new things, you should be just fine.

 

If you're a college student, check with your school to see if Mac Office 2011 is part of their Select Agreement and available to students. Here it's about $56 for the Academic version.

 

Thanks everyone. In response:

- I'll probably go for the faster i5, just because I want the 500 GB drive. I know the drive can be replaced and that it may be cheaper to do so, but I'm just not comfortable enough to do that myself.

- Based on your feedback, I'll probably skip iWork for now. I have an old Windows machine with MS Office to tide me over, and anyway, I do almost anything in Google Documents. I figure I can always get iWork or Office for Macs later, and probably pay less than I would at the Apple store.

So the way it's looking now: 15 inch Macbook Pro, i5, 4 GB RAM, 500 GB 7200 rpm hard drive, hi-res matte screen - $2,399. And hopefully I can talk them into giving me the student discount

Anything else a complete Mac noob should know?

 

A decent case to go with the mac would do some good.

 

and student discount is 100$.

 

Thanks. I'm just about ready to purchase, just trying to get over the sticker-shock. At well over $2K, this machine is about twice what I'd spend on a PC laptop, and that's even without the Apple Care. Yikes.

 

^ its all worth it mate, trust me. I could never go back to a windows laptop

 

well you could order the 2.4Ghz version with the 500GB that could save some $$$.

so long as your ready for a change you will more than likely love your macbook pro 15. I still like mine and I've already put 300+hours on it.

 

I've considered going for the slower processor, but I hate to spend a large chunk of money on something and then feel afterward that I didn't get exactly what I wanted. I also like to buy the higher end of whatever processors are available because that usually means the machine will be current longer as software gets more and more demanding - today's i7's are tomorrow's i3's, and so on. I've learned to compromise on the initial RAM purchase, because memory gets cheaper as time goes by, so I can upgrade in a few years for half the price of what it'd cost me when I buy the machine. But upgrading the processor is another matter... So I'll probably go for the higher end i5 or the slower i7 anyway (also because I like the 512 MB GPU better than the 256 MB one).
I'm definitely ready for change and don't mind the learning curve. I just have to get over the sticker-shock

 

yah... I almost failed a lab before I was willing to dish out that kind of money... glad I did... it would have cost me a lot of marks if I hadn't.

Alcohol can help with sticker shock

 

Just called in to the Apple store, and found out they don't carry the exact configuration I want (15" MBP with the 7,200 RPM drive and the high-res non-glossy screen). So I'll have to order from the website anyway. Bleh. I was hoping to buy it there and take it home.

 

Two more questions:

1) will my Windows iTunes library file (.itl) also work in Mac? I have a pretty huge library with ratings and custom playlists and so on, and would like to avoid losing all of this when I transfer? In the past, when switching from one version of Windows to another, I've just copied the entire iTunes folder into the new system - will that work here too?

2) Anyone have experience with Time Capsule? I just read the description on the Apple site and it looks pretty amazing. Could replace my aging Linksys router. However, if I already have a 1 TB hard drive for backup, would it make more sense to just get the Airport Express, or will that not do the automated backup like TC?