Help before I order my new iMac

Hello All!
I'm both new to this site and new to Apple Mac.
Infact, I dont actually own one at present but aim to purchase a iMac in the next week or so.
I wonder if you Mac users can help me out with some questions before I write out my cheque so I can be up and running without any hassel.
I am migrating from Microsoft Win 7. and because of all my current software propose to load Fusion to run Dreamweaver and my Cad software along with a few others through a virtual window. I also have a LG Nas unit which is fitted with a Blu-ray writer, which I write with data files (I'm not interested in video).
My questions are:
a: Is there any way a virus or malware infection through Windows will affect my Mac operating system?
b: Will the IWork software open Word 2007 files (docx)
c: Will the iMac write to my LG Nas Blu-ray unit as a dvd or better still Blu-ray.
I welcome any comments.
Allan

p.s. I had thought of purchasing a i7 machine, but wonder if I should go for a i5 and increase the memory to 8Gb instead to cope with the virtual window?

a: No - don't worry about that.
b: Yes, it will indeed
c: Nope, wont read them either... you might be able to find some software to download though.

I play games through a virtual machine, and use visual studio etc... I have Core 2 Duo with 2GB ram. Mine runs fine.

So either the i7 or i5 with 8gb ram will be fine. I think personal I'd do the 8GB though.

a: no
b: yes - you can also grab Open Office - if this is business related, still the way to go is with MS Office - new version for OS X hitting the shelves later this month
c: am pretty sure OS X will not natively write to B-R. Roxio makes their software available for OS X and pretty sure you'll need Toast 10 Pro to get the B-R plugin (Sorry, I still do this stuff on my Win7 rig since there is yet to be any available software that allows the playing of commerical B-R movies in OS X. If I'm mistaken someone will come along and let you know - they always do. )

p.s. Since you say you're not interested in video encoding, the i5 should be plenty ample for the apps you've mentioned. However, you might want to compare Apple's price to aftermarket RAM from suppliers such as OWC.

+1 for Open Office (free from Sun). Also, consider trying VirtualBox for the virtual machine - it's also free from Sun. I use Fusion and run Win7 fine in 1 GB of RAM. However, I note that for CAD, the 3D graphics performance of a virtual machine is not as good as the native hardware - a VM accesses a virtual graphics adapter and you don't have native access to your graphics card. You might find that BootCamp works better for CAD.

I also agree that Office for Mac coming out later this month, if you're willing to spend the $$$, will solve any .docx issues.

Cheers

Check out what offers you can get on Mac Office when you get your iMac. I've seen places doing it like half price when you buy a mac. And it is better than the others

Thanks Everyone

By all your comments, I now know my way forward.
However, after using MS Office 2007 for the last few years and testing Office 2010, I don't much like MS Office and don't fancy spending any money on it. I find it cumbersome and very overrated! It also doesn't handle formula's well. I assume Pages 09 will save documents as MS readable or I will just print pdf's which is probably a better.
Anyway, I very much appreciate all your comments and look forward to ordering my IMac tomorrow.
Hopefully, everything will go smoothly, but if it doesn't, I'll be back.
Regards,
AllanGreen

Awesome! You will love it.

Yeah pages will save in office format.

Pages is great but OpenOffice will import and export all MS file formats, and is free. I recommend trying it before spending money on iWork. Cheers