Going to buy a MacBook...but...

Well I've been currently an XP user for...gosh too long. Anyways, all I do is surf, word, powerpoint, excel and watch movies. I also like to download torrents and every now and than burn a game. Does Daemon Tools work on a mac? Does the new MB overheat? I'm worried if I keep it on too long, it'll start to overheat. My previous Dell and Compaq all overheated because I left it on for 10 hrs a day. So if someone could me answer these questions that'd be great. I checked it out in stores today and it was so sexy just looking at it. I can't wait.

On more question, is Open Office just as good as MS Office? I use powerpoint and word a lot to create slide shows for my rounds. Thanks.

Open Office is good. I keep my MBP on for well over 10 hours a day, so I don't think you will have any problems. Daemon Tools, what do you need it for? It is a Windows program, but you can find something else that does it's job more than likely.

I've heard of many cases of the MB overheating. And if you're keeping it on for that long, you're probably going to see that happen. I haven't heard of this problem as much with the $1k white MacBook that would do everything what you want: use internet (has AirPort card built in), watch movies, and use Office documents. MS Office has always been the best except for the new 2008 version for Mac has compatibility issues. iWork has Apple equivilants of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint and lets you open MS Office docs and save projects as MS Office docs or PDFs. It's only $80 opposed to Office:MAC which starts at $150. Since you're a PC user now, if you have the installation disks for the programs you like, you can run them like they're Mac programs by getting VMWare Fusion for $80. You can also run Windows on the Mac with BootCamp. Both require a disk copy of XP or Vista though. Your best bet would be iWork. Hope that helps!

I'm going to try to stay away from XP if possible

Oh, and I forgot to add I also want to be able to play games. I heard COD4 (awesome on PS3) can be played on it? Albeit I'm gonna assume on low settings. And Spores too! Also hoping for maybe some counterstrike and StarCraft 2 when it comes out. If I have time of course. But I like to keep my options open in regards to games. Anyone else game on their new MB?

Edit: I just read that COD4, if I play multiplayer, I'm only playing with other people on a MAC? Not other PC users?? Is that true?

aquariaguy said:

I'm going to try to stay away from XP if possible

Oh, and I forgot to add I also want to be able to play games. I heard COD4 (awesome on PS3) can be played on it? Albeit I'm gonna assume on low settings. And Spores too! Also hoping for maybe some counterstrike and StarCraft 2 when it comes out. If I have time of course. But I like to keep my options open in regards to games. Anyone else game on their new MB?

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http://www.mac-forums.com/forums/ap...l-macbook-gaming-thread-late-2008-models.html

If you have the disks for your XP programs, you can run them like they're Mac OS programs using VMWare Fusion. You could also play Windows-only games and not have to be running XP if that makes sense. There are videos on YouTube explaining it as well.

tjbackstage said:

I've heard of many cases of the MB overheating. And if you're keeping it on for that long, you're probably going to see that happen. I haven't heard of this problem as much with the $1k white MacBook that would do everything what you want: use internet (has AirPort card built in), watch movies, and use Office documents. MS Office has always been the best except for the new 2008 version for Mac has compatibility issues. iWork has Apple equivilants of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint and lets you open MS Office docs and save projects as MS Office docs or PDFs. It's only $80 opposed to Office:MAC which starts at $150. Since you're a PC user now, if you have the installation disks for the programs you like, you can run them like they're Mac programs by getting VMWare Fusion for $80. You can also run Windows on the Mac with BootCamp. Both require a disk copy of XP or Vista though. Your best bet would be iWork. Hope that helps!

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Length of time has nothing to do with overheating. It is all about the processor load, GPU load, etc. If you keep your MB on for 24 hours a day but only surf the web and it overheats, take it back because something is wrong.

The new macbook is the coolest running macbook to date NO HEAT!

If the computer is heating for any reason and you keep it on for a long time, the amount of heat will slowly increase. It also depends on the surface you're placing it on. Placing it on wood or on your lap tends to make it more likely for the computer to overheat and shut down. If that problem happens soon after you buy the computer, then it's Apple's default and you'd need to try returning it. If it begins doing that after a few years or so, it's just how things are. I don't know if Apple Care covers that or not, but pathedically that $250 only covers 3 years but 1 year of that you already get by purchasing the computer. You'd need to talk to somebody at an Apple store first to see about that.

newer macbooks have better fans and heatsinks. i have a first gen/version macbook when they were first released. mine gets uncomfortably hot to the touch, if i sit it on my lap for long periods of time. i downloaded smcFanControl, so i boost my fan upto 6200rpm if im staying on the MB for a long period of time, helps keep the bottom cool.

but all of the MB's produced since my version have had this problem taken care up.

Dont buy a used 1g (core duo) make sure its 2nd or 3rd gen Core2Duo, just because of the updated firmware bios and better cooling system.

ive turned mine into a desktop

Cool, thanks for the replies. Planning on buying it next week when I have some time. So excited.

Which one will you be getting?

I seem to remember from my windows days that Daemon tools is used to mount disc images as a drive, right? If that is what you use it for, no worries. This is built into OSX.

aeiou said:

I seem to remember from my windows days that Daemon tools is used to mount disc images as a drive, right? If that is what you use it for, no worries. This is built into OSX.

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This neat feature amazed me the most probably.

tjbackstage said:

Which one will you be getting?

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Will be picking up the MacBook 2.0 GHz for $1300 minus the $50 educational discount, plus I'll be getting one of those printers, not sure which one, AND the wireless remote...just because Oh, and I'm going to buy Call of Duty 4 for it hehehe. I REALLY hope it doesn't lag!!

Anyone know of any other discounts? Or should I wait till thanksgiving? Does Apple usually give deals during Thanksgiving?

So OS X has a "Daemon Tools" like function built-in? Wow. Cool!

aquariaguy said:

Will be picking up the MacBook 2.0 GHz for $1300 minus the $50 educational discount, plus I'll be getting one of those printers, not sure which one, AND the wireless remote...just because Oh, and I'm going to buy Call of Duty 4 for it hehehe. I REALLY hope it doesn't lag!!

Anyone know of any other discounts? Or should I wait till thanksgiving? Does Apple usually give deals during Thanksgiving?

So OS X has a "Daemon Tools" like function built-in? Wow. Cool!

Click to expand...

For most discs this will work. There are some where it will not though, such as my Rosetta Stone program. For that I had to use Toast to mount the images.