Any advice for a Prospective Switcher??

1. What AFFORDABLE (</=$200) software would be the Best alternative to Corel DRAW X3 on a mac?
2. What IS the BEST CAD software would you suggest as an Alternative to AutoCAD? (my budget is same as mentioned above)
3. Will my HP Photosmart C4288 Printer, my BlackBerry Bold 900 Smartphone, AND my Nokia E72 Smartphone work with Mac?
4. Will I be able to use/join a pre-existing Windoows Wi-Fi network with my Mac?
5. Will I be able to share Printers and Files over a Windows network? And If so, then HOW?
6. Will my new Mac be able to read data DVDs written on Windows? If not, then HOW can I get around the obstacle?

madananteshwar said:

Hi All,
I am Madananteshwara Vinayak Bhat, a STUDENT/Self Employed Designer-at-Large. I am from Bangalore, India. I am currently using a PC with Microsoft Windows Vista Business 32Bit, Microsoft Office 2007 Ultimate 32Bit, Corel DRAW X3, Picasa, and a few other essential software to do my day-to-day work. I am planning to take the plunge, and switch to Apple Macintosh computers (i.e. MacBook Pro 15.4 Inch, 2.66GHz, June 2009 version), and have read quite a few blogs, sites, and forums; AND have watched a whole lot of YouTube videos to help me on my way, but they all still HAVEN'T solved a few IMPORTANT queries of mine, and I have listed them below. They are:-

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1. 
   
   Don't go by the opinions of others. Do it because you want something different. If you're perfectly content with Windows, don't buy a Mac simply because you have some zealous friends who tell you it will create world peace or feed the hungry. It's just a computer, but it runs a different OS. Now, it's a great OS, but it will require quite a bit of adjustment.
   
   

   [*]What AFFORDABLE (</=$200) software would be the Best alternative to Corel DRAW X3 on a mac?
   
   [*]What IS the BEST CAD software would you suggest as an Alternative to AutoCAD? (my budget is same as mentioned above)

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   In my opinion, rather than trying to replace this software entirely, I would just use something like VMWare Fusion to run Windows simultaneously with your Mac OS X install. You can make it so seamless, the app even runs right off your OS X dock and the Windows desktop is completely hidden.
   
   

   [*]Will my HP Photosmart C4288 Printer, my BlackBerry Bold 900 Smartphone, AND my Nokia E72 Smartphone work with Mac?

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   Not sure on the Nokia (is that a Symbian phone?), but the Blackberry and HP printer should be fine.
   
   

   [*]Will I be able to use/join a pre-existing Windoows Wi-Fi network with my Mac?

   Click to expand...

   
   Yes.
   
   

   [*]Will I be able to share Printers and Files over a Windows network? And If so, then HOW?

   Click to expand...

   
   Yes. Mac OS X has SAMBA built-in. So, it will communicate using the SMB protocol just like any other Windows box.
   
   

   [*]Will my new Mac be able to read data DVDs written on Windows? If not, then HOW can I get around the obstacle?

   Click to expand...

   
   Yes.
   
   
   

   P.S. Which is better, iWork 09 or Office 2008 for Mac?

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   Tough call, it really depends on your needs. Fortunately, there's free trials of both so you can see which one you like better.

madananteshwar said:

P.S. Which is better, iWork 09 or Office 2008 for Mac?

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