Questions about switching

I just bought a MacBook and while waiting for it to arrive I have a few questions about programs to replace programs already on my PC.

I use Trillian for IM purposes and Trillian doesn't have a version for OSX, any reccomendations?

To backup my DVD's I use DVD Shrink and Nero. Will the software that comes with my macbook take care of this or will I need to download another program? What do you all suggest?

I have a microsoft wireless keyboard and mouse. Will they (most importantly, the mouse) be compatible with the macbook or should I have bought another mouse?

Thanks for your help.

weezer0321 said:

I just bought a MacBook and while waiting for it to arrive I have a few questions about programs to replace programs already on my PC.

I use Trillian for IM purposes and Trillian doesn't have a version for OSX, any reccomendations?

To backup my DVD's I use DVD Shrink and Nero. Will the software that comes with my macbook take care of this or will I need to download another program? What do you all suggest?

I have a microsoft wireless keyboard and mouse. Will they (most importantly, the mouse) be compatible with the macbook or should I have bought another mouse?

Thanks for your help.

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I know that you can use Adium for Mac OS X.

And yes your mouse will be compatible with your Macbook as far as i know.

I use Fire for OSX for my IMing. It has all the same features as Trillian.

i think iDVD will let you rip them, not sure though

zal said:

i think iDVD will let you rip them, not sure though

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Will it compress too?

I will second the Adium reccomendation, it has a very clean interface and is very customisable, be sure to check the Adium Xtras part of the Adium website.

MacTheRipper (free) will rip a dvd to video_TS and then you can use Roxio Popcorn (have to pay for this one!) will import a video_TS and then burn to dvd (it automatically handles compression in the event of the video_TS data being bigger that the space on the dvd). This is a popular combination of apps for backing up dvds, there may be others though.

zeta101 said:

I will second the Adium reccomendation, it has a very clean interface and is very customisable, be sure to check the Adium Xtras part of the Adium website.

MacTheRipper (free) will rip a dvd to video_TS and then you can use Roxio Popcorn (have to pay for this one!) will import a video_TS and then burn to dvd (it automatically handles compression in the event of the video_TS data being bigger that the space on the dvd). This is a popular combination of apps for backing up dvds, there may be others though.

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Thats why i recommended Adium because a lot of people at the forums said it really good and supports yahoo, msn, etc...

Adium...Handbrake for ripping movie, Toast Titanium for burning stuff...hmmm yah.

I've neither felt the need or used the program Handbrake or MactheRipper, but I heard that they are both good. I know that Handbrake is universal, I am not sure about MactheRipper.

Toast Titanium 7 is the best burning software. Period.

Adium is fine and not at all bloated. It works extremely well for my purposes.

Pierre said:

Toast Titanium 7 is the best burning software. Period.

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Double checking this statement because I'm considering purchase of this product.

On PC, I had EZCD Creator 5 which worked wonderfully. Then Roxio bought the company and came out with #6 which was an unmitigated disaster. Not only didn't work very well and had lots of bugs, but messed up many other components of the computer as well. Couldn't even uninstall without special codes from Roxio who was so hard to reach and unresponsive, the task took weeks to accomplish. Been nervous about Roxio every since. That was more than two years ago.

So, now I'm with Mac. Are things with Roxio different now? Is Roxio's Toast the way to go for real?

asolo said:

Double checking this statement because I'm considering purchase of this product.

On PC, I had EZCD Creator 5 which worked wonderfully. Then Roxio bought the company and came out with #6 which was an unmitigated disaster. Not only didn't work very well and had lots of bugs, but messed up many other components of the computer as well. Couldn't even uninstall without special codes from Roxio who was so hard to reach and unresponsive, the task took weeks to accomplish. Been nervous about Roxio every since. That was more than two years ago.

So, now I'm with Mac. Are things with Roxio different now? Is Roxio's Toast the way to go for real?

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I know just where you are coming from. I loved the old Adaptec Easy CD Creator. Then Roxio bought it out and the product went down hill. I had a friend who almost lost his job over 100's of coasters which he was blamed for. I told him to try Nero and his problems went away as did mine.

Well, Roxio even on Windows has gotten better although I still prefer Nero there, but on OSX, Toast is a great product and overall the best I have tried if you want a full featured burning solution for OSX. I had the same feelings when I first went to OSX, but it's a much better program than the Windows versions and even those are better now.

Hope that helps you out.

...Dennis

dtravis7 said:

....on OSX, Toast is a great product and overall the best I have tried if you want a full featured burning solution for OSX. I had the same feelings when I first went to OSX, but it's a much better program than the Windows versions and even those are better now....Dennis

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Thanks Dennis. I was hoping to hear something like that.

From self and friends, I know Roxio lost a lot of friends during that period. As you can see, I'm still cautious which is why I'm fishing for assurance before buying again.

FYI, I went to Nero to solve my CD-burning issues on PC also. Everyone I know did. Good program for PC.