07-17-2008, 08:55 AM
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Originally Posted by davenz
Ok, heres the deal,
I'm a university student studying accounting and finance. I currently own a Dell inspiron 6400 which has worked fine for me in the past (bought it 1.5 years ago). However, my uni just got a whole lot the new 24 inch imacs and there amazing. I'm considering a macbook pro, unless of course you want to recommend something else. How does the MBP differ from the MB?
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* Larger screen (15.4 vs. 13.3) and choice between glossy and matte.
* Backlit keyboard
* Discrete video card with true GPU (good for playing games and running 3D software)
* Express card slot
Those are the primary differences.
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-I've heard that macbook pros can heat up alot, is this true with the new ones?
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All modern notebooks run warm and the MacBook Pro is no exception. Personally, I never find it uncomfortable to use on my lap, but I've heard complaints from others. If you're used to using an Inspiron, you'll probably chuckle at the relative heat output of a MBP.
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-I have an external hard drive for my dell. Will this be able to be used with a mac.
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Yes, although you might need to format it in FAT32 instead of NTFS to maintain full R/W compatibility between both OSes. Otherwise, Mac OS X can read NTFS, but can't write to it.
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- Will a mac be good for business related stuff? Excel and stuff all work ok. Anything which i would be better off with a PC?
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Yes, it should be fine. There is a version of MS Office for Mac. Worst case scenario, if there is a Windows-only program you need to run, you can always pop Windows on your Mac and run it from there.
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-Are they quiet. One of the things which annoys me about my dell is it makes a ticking noise like a hard drive. It never did it when it was new.
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Yes, very much so. Mine is virtually silent.
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-How do i make it so i can choose windows or mac OS? Do i just install boot camp and then get a choice?
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Yes, Boot Camp preps your system for dual-boot between Mac OS or Windows. Additionally, you might consider VMWare Fusion or Parallels Desktop, which allow you to run both simultaneously (the better option IMO).
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-On my dell, i use a software called yagoon. Its a calendar like program which lets me put my uni timetable on it and add events, which it pops up and beeps when i have something to go to. Its amazing, i dont know if i can have a computer without something like this as i am busy and it pretty much organizes my life.
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iCal (built in) or Entourage (part of MS Office 2008) can both do these things.
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-Are all files transferrable between mac/windows.
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Yes.
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thats pretty much it for now,
Thanks, Dave
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Welcome to the forums, Dave - good luck and let us know what you choose.