03-25-2007, 09:28 PM

I have a sister who is going to school in the Carribean and recently had her DELL Windows Laptop stolen. She is looking at a replacement and is thinking of going with a MAC. I am TOTALLY new to the MAC world and this forum so pardon me if I ask some silly questions. I have always thought about getting a MAC to at some point so I will be informed about these questions too.

- She wants to know what the main difference is between a Mac Book Pro and a regular Mac Book. Is it just really speed and expandibility?

- Can MACs run on a home network that is mainly occupied by Windows based PCs? If so, can files (mp3s, video, photos, etc) still be shared between all the PCs including the MAC?

- I thought I remember hearing or reading something a while back about how the new MACs can run Windows applications somehow. SOme sort of dual booting or something. Is this correct? If so, is it standard when buying a MAC or is it sort of a homegrown application?

- I'm sure this board can come up with a TON, but what other REAL advantages are there in owning a MAC over a Windows based PC?

03-25-2007, 09:39 PM

1. Yes, the MacBook Pro just has better specs and bigger screen.

2. Yes, you can share files and internet connection easily.

3. The application used to run Windows on intel based Apple computers is called Boot Camp. It is still in beta and isn't fully supported. You will have to buy a full version of Windows to use it, keep that in mind.

4. They come with a lot of really good applications, such as iPhoto, iMovie, iCal, and some others. Also, 2-finger scrolling on Apple notebooks is the greatest invention ever. I am sure others will come up with a better answer.

03-25-2007, 09:40 PM

Ill answer them in the order you asked:

MBP and MB are quite different. apple.com is the best place for their differences. Unless she is doing some heavy image,movie editing or high ammounts of 3D gaming, a macbook is going to be better.

Yes. All of those files can be shared between macs and windows machines. All new mac laptops come with builtin airport which is a wireless internet card basically.

Yes, the new macs that have the Intel processors can run Windows. It is dual booting if you use bootcamp. You can also use a program to emulate windows within OS X called paralells. Both take a valid copy of windows though.

This whole board is full of the differences between mac and windows. If your sister just wants a computer to surf, listen to music, type papers, and check email on; a mac is a good choice. With a mac you get a very easy to use computer in which OS X just works and it is very user friendly.

03-25-2007, 10:19 PM

i think everyone correctly answered the first three questions...

but to add on the 4th question.. i will say:
A lot of PC-goers claim that PCs are far superior, which is not the case. Even though Macs cost a bit more compare to the equivalence (in PC world), the service of Apple and the durability is worth it. Also there are virtually almost no viruses for a mac (they can be counted on 1 hand), All the important programs that you want on a PC, are available for the Mac as well. It's just that there aren't 20 different types to choose from (such as on a PC).

03-26-2007, 09:43 AM

biscuitboy, welcome to Mac Forums!!

There are a few key technical differences between the MacBook and the MacBook Pro.

1/ The MacBook Pro (MBP) has a dedicated graphics card. The MacBook uses shared memory graphics. This means that the MBP is a better machine for video intensive work such as video editing, gaming, etc.

2/ The MBP has a larger hard drive - these days, that is important. I don't know about you, but I have about 40 GB of media (music and video) on my hard drive, not to mention that 6 GB or so of photos.

3/ The MBP is available with faster processors. Your mileage will vary here, as the differences aren't that extreme.

Also, per previous posters, yes Macs live happily on mixed LANs. I run mine on a home network along side my Linux workstation and my Windows laptop (my employer is not as enlightened as I am! :dive.

03-26-2007, 03:29 PM

One thing I just noticed is that if you get a MBP you get 1gig of ram it's 1 stick where as the Macbook is 2 512's. If you want to upgrade ram in the MBP you just buy one more gig, and with the Macbook you have to buy 2 1gigs to jump up to 2gigs.

03-26-2007, 04:04 PM

Originally Posted by buscuitboy

I have a sister who is going to school in the Carribean and recently had her DELL Windows Laptop stolen. She is looking at a replacement and is thinking of going with a MAC. I am TOTALLY new to the MAC world and this forum so pardon me if I ask some silly questions. I have always thought about getting a MAC to at some point so I will be informed about these questions too.

- She wants to know what the main difference is between a Mac Book Pro and a regular Mac Book. Is it just really speed and expandibility?

- Can MACs run on a home network that is mainly occupied by Windows based PCs? If so, can files (mp3s, video, photos, etc) still be shared between all the PCs including the MAC?

- I thought I remember hearing or reading something a while back about how the new MACs can run Windows applications somehow. SOme sort of dual booting or something. Is this correct? If so, is it standard when buying a MAC or is it sort of a homegrown application?

- I'm sure this board can come up with a TON, but what other REAL advantages are there in owning a MAC over a Windows based PC?

I can definitely recommend MacBooks and MacBooks Pro to the audience. The MacBook Pro is really a notebook, which can survive a lot of situations, which are deadly for those "plastic" notebooks around us. Also, as it includes all the possible accessories inside it can bring a lot of fun to the owner. With this notebook, you really do not need any additional accessory and you can enjoy the full potential.

Luke

03-26-2007, 05:51 PM

Originally Posted by mac57

biscuitboy, welcome to Mac Forums!!

There are a few key technical differences between the MacBook and the MacBook Pro.

1/ The MacBook Pro (MBP) has a dedicated graphics card. The MacBook uses shared memory graphics. This means that the MBP is a better machine for video intensive work such as video editing, gaming, etc.

2/ The MBP has a larger hard drive - these days, that is important. I don't know about you, but I have about 40 GB of media (music and video) on my hard drive, not to mention that 6 GB or so of photos.

3/ The MBP is available with faster processors. Your mileage will vary here, as the differences aren't that extreme.

Also, per previous posters, yes Macs live happily on mixed LANs. I run mine on a home network along side my Linux workstation and my Windows laptop (my employer is not as enlightened as I am! :dive.

Well said, but to add one more key difference (and this was a biggie for me):

4/ The MBP has an ExpressCard/34 slot, the standard MB does not. I currently use mine for a 5-in-one media reader, but they can also be used for things like Mobile Broadband cards, USB hubs, and more.

By the way, the term "MAC" is an acronym for "Machine Access Control" which is a layer of networking, commonly used when referring to a MAC address. Mac (small 'a' and 'c') is the correct abbreviation for a Macintosh. Just a little pet peeve of mine....

03-26-2007, 08:52 PM

Funny enough, in my short time in the Mac community, that's one of the first things I knew. How much "MAC" drove Mac folks batty. I knew I was starting to belong when it started bothering me. Heh, heh.

03-26-2007, 09:10 PM

lol the thing i hate is when people are like o ya on the weekend i got an "apple macintosh"