06-29-2009, 12:01 PM

So I have an HP laptop that recently just went haywire. First the media card reader went out, then the webcam went out and then the wireless started acting up. I did a full system restore and everything works again except for the wireless. After all this, I'm finally saying to heck with Windows. I'm tired of downloading updates all the time and I'm tired of my computer asking me if I want to download updates, lol! A few questions:

1) How is iWork? And can you open and save Microsoft Office document?

2) I have a 120gb Zune and I don't think you can run Zune on Mac yet unless you have Windows on your Macbook. Should I go that route or would it just be all around better for me to get an iTouch and be done with it?

Tonight I am heading on over to Best Buy to get my Macbook. I'm tired of fighting with Windows, haha. I'll put pictures up tonight when I can.

Amy

06-29-2009, 12:13 PM

itouch. its worth it. just my two cents

as far as i know for iwork you can save a iwork file as a office file (word file excel file etc) i think u can open them too. the senior members should be able to confirm that one

06-29-2009, 12:56 PM

Or you could just use Open Office, which is free and is compatible with MS Office.

06-29-2009, 01:00 PM

I can confirm that iWork will open and save MS Office files as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files. You can also save files as PDFs if you so desire.

06-29-2009, 01:08 PM

Originally Posted by MtReload

2) I have a 120gb Zune and I don't think you can run Zune on Mac yet unless you have Windows on your Macbook. Should I go that route or would it just be all around better for me to get an iTouch and be done with it?

I've never used a Zune with a Mac, but I think it's worth pointing out that a 120 GB Zune and an iPod touch have different feature sets. For one thing, the largest iPod touch available is 32 GB. In addition, while music is certainly possible (and very enjoyable) on the iPod touch, it also focuses on various other features like personal information management. A more comparable iPod would be the iPod classic, which does come in a 120 GB form and focuses primarily on media.

Having said all that, I don't mean to discourage you from buying an iPod touch. I have one and love it, and I think it would serve you well. I just thought you would like to know that it's not necessarily a direct replacement for the Zune. Overall, though, I would say that your experience of using an iPod of any sort with a Mac would be better than with a Zune as it is meant to work as such. If you're willing to put out the money, go for it.

06-29-2009, 01:13 PM

No Zune unfortunately doesn't work on Mac, but I used to run windows xp in Parallels and it synced fine even on a virtual machine, the Zune is a really nice mp3 player so think about it before giving it up and getting a iPod touch, the touch is nice but it seems these days that everyone has one, its good to be different

06-29-2009, 03:15 PM

Originally Posted by MtReload

So I have an HP laptop that recently just went haywire. First the media card reader went out, then the webcam went out and then the wireless started acting up. I did a full system restore and everything works again except for the wireless. After all this, I'm finally saying to heck with Windows. I'm tired of downloading updates all the time and I'm tired of my computer asking me if I want to download updates, lol! A few questions:

1) How is iWork? And can you open and save Microsoft Office document?

iWork is in its infancy compared to MS Office. It's really geared toward casual/home use and does a decent job with MS documents. In my opinion, I'd give the free OpenOffice 3.0 a try before you spend money on iWork or MS Office for Mac.

2) I have a 120gb Zune and I don't think you can run Zune on Mac yet unless you have Windows on your Macbook. Should I go that route or would it just be all around better for me to get an iTouch and be done with it?

It depends on what you do with your Zune. If all you do is listen to music, the iPod Touch is a very different beast that is more like a PDA with music player capability. You can still use your Zune with Windows as you pointed out, but I think in the long run you might be happier with an iPod Classic as a replacement if you need that kind of capacity and you just use it for music and/or as a video player.

Tonight I am heading on over to Best Buy to get my Macbook. I'm tired of fighting with Windows, haha. I'll put pictures up tonight when I can.

Amy

Good luck. I would more readily recommend an Apple Store if there is one near you, even if it is a bit of a drive. You can set up a free "Personal Shopper Appointment". They'll spend at least an hour going through all the models, demoing features and answering any questions you might have. And there's no obligation to buy. It's WELL worth it, in my opinion.

06-30-2009, 12:25 AM

I did end up going to Best Buy although my mom wanted to go to the Apple Store but couldn't because it closes too early over here. Did manage to snag up the last MacBook at Best Buy .

All in all, I'm using my MacBook right now and love it. I got the $999 white model and it works great for me. There was a 5 minute learning curve and I'm not yet used to no right click but I'll get over it. Installing applications is also very different but I found it pretty cool. Thanks for all the replies so far. Just found out they sell Microsoft Office at the campus book store for a discounted price also. That's something I want to look into tomorrow and decide between that or iWork. But until then all I need is a simple word processor?

As for my Zune, I'm just gonna hold onto it and maybe sync with a PC in the house or somewhere along the line install Windows on my MacBook. Thanks again for the insight.

06-30-2009, 12:40 AM

^I'm glad you could get one, but I would NEVER try to buy a mac at Best Buy. Everybody there probably thinks MacBooks are junk!

06-30-2009, 12:46 AM

I got mine from Best Buy, mainly because by using their credit card my MBP is covered for theft, which AppleCare doesn't cover, plus if I'm traveling, in some places it's easier to find a Best Buy than an Apple Store if I have a problem. They were quite helpful, they have a "mini Apple Store" and pointed me in the right direction.

06-30-2009, 01:13 AM

Yea man, there IS a right click. I wonder when people will realize this without having to be told. This is the switcher forum though, so I guess I can relax. You can either hold command (apple) while you click, or do the smart thing, go to system prefs>trackpad and set A) tap to click, and B) 2 finger secondary tap.

06-30-2009, 02:01 AM

Originally Posted by cwa107

I'd give the free OpenOffice 3.0 a try before you spend money on iWork or MS Office for Mac.

I totally agree. I've been using OpenOffice since I bought my Mac, and it does everything I need it to do.

06-30-2009, 02:20 AM

Originally Posted by DarkestRitual

Yea man, there IS a right click. I wonder when people will realize this without having to be told. This is the switcher forum though, so I guess I can relax. You can either hold command (apple) while you click, or do the smart thing, go to system prefs>trackpad and set A) tap to click, and B) 2 finger secondary tap.

Ah, did not know that. Definitely is still different than what I'm used to but it works. Thanks for the tip.

06-30-2009, 12:40 PM

Yea it's different, but you adjust pretty quick. I was used to an actual right click with my logitech mouse on all of my previous macs (they were desktops) so I had to figure it out when I got my MacBook a few months ago, but it's pretty intuitive. I don't know if your model supports it, but have you tried to scroll by sliding 2 fingers up and down the trackpad? That's handy too.

06-30-2009, 04:55 PM

To help you get started/familiarized:

Symbols

Keyboard shortcuts

Snoop around on the Apple site. Use the search and the Support Tab.