Potential Switcher - rookie questions

Hi - appologies for my TOTAL lack of MAC knowledge!!!

Thinking of switching my old tired desktop PC for a shiny new MacBook Pro 15.4, with 2Gb RAM. My biggest concern is my current investment in PC software. I am an amateur digitial photographer (part of the rationale to switch to a laptop), and currently use the PC version of Photoshop CS2, along with other PC photo utilities.

Questions:
1. Will PC programs run in some sort of "emulation mode" under OS X on an Intel-based platform?
2. If I installed PARALLELS, with a Windows XP instance, would CS2 execute at anywhere near the speed of a Mac version? Would it work well enough to be practical in the field?
3. Data files. I have a LOT of Microsoft Office-based data files. Is there an analog in OS X, which would be able to open PC-based documents?
4. USB 2.0. I have many USB external devices - does the MacBook Pro provide sufficient current to drive most portable drives? Will external drives currently used on my PC be recognized automatically, or will some configuration be required.

I appologize for the "rookie" questions - I'm trying to make sure that a switch is practical for me.

Thank you all in advance....!!!

..nvm

AZMark said:

Questions:
1. Will PC programs run in some sort of "emulation mode" under OS X on an Intel-based platform?

Click to expand...

That would be possible using Parallels.

2. If I installed PARALLELS, with a Windows XP instance, would CS2 execute at anywhere near the speed of a Mac version?

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Not really, you would be running under emulation either way, if you used the Windows version under Parallels or if you used the Mac version under Rosetta. CS2 is not Universal yet... so on an Intel machine there is a possibility of some lag and/or delay in those apps as they need to run under emulation.

3. Data files. I have a LOT of Microsoft Office-based data files. Is there an analog in OS X, which would be able to open PC-based documents?

Click to expand...

Just use MS Office for Mac. Alternatively, you could any number of the OpenOffice applications out there to run them. There is not such a thing as a PC-based document... if it is created in Office, then it makes no difference what the OS platform is... it is an Office document.

4. USB 2.0. I have many USB external devices - does the MacBook Pro provide sufficient current to drive most portable drives? Will external drives currently used on my PC be recognized automatically, or will some configuration be required.

Click to expand...

Chances are that whatever USB devices you have, they will work under OS X. Just plug and play... as opposed to the Windows plug and "pray".

kman445 said:

should have asked in the "SWITCHER hangout" section

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This is fine here. Technically he hasn't switched yet, so there is no problem with it being in Anything Goes. :black:

in response to the hard drive issue...

i pulled the ntfs formatted 80G 2.5" HD from my last 17" notebook. it was not partitioned, so it was my boot drive. i mounted this in an adaptec usb case. it works fine attached with only one cable (though it did come with a double ended cable so if you had underpowered usb ports, you coul use two to power one device).

the issue i had was that i couldn't modify or delete files with the ntfs file system; i could access it just fine though. i moved everything i wanted to save off the drive, and reformatted with mac's disk utility as fat32 (so i could still attach it to my work laptop - runs xp pro).

Thanks for the tips, guys.