Boacrow said:
Great responses everyone. I have no idea what it means... My MacBok does have 1 gig of memory so it must be that binary thing that was mentioned. Also, it hasn't crashed or anything, it just hangs up for a few minutes.
The binary thing is the difference of processor designs used in previous Macs and the current line up such as the Macbook Pro you have. Apple previously used processors built by IBM and Motorola, known as PPC chips. The new machines such as your Macbook, operate using Intel processors. The difference is such that Intel chips can't directly run software designed for PPC chips, and vise versa.
Many of the software companies, including the game companies are catching up to Apple's change by rewriting, testing and eventually releasing their software for the Intel Macs also. This is taking a bit of time, but several have released games that run natively on the Intel processors.
Apple has added a feature into OS X called Rosetta. Rosetta allows the older PPC code to run on the Intel hardware. There is a penalty of speed, especially I would think for games, which are very demanding.
So, you'd be best advised to check the game companies internet site to see if they have released a native Intel version. A software application that has been compiled (written) to run on both PPC and Intel Macs is known as a Universal binary.
To figure out the processor on the iMac, click the Apple logo in the upper left hand corner, then click on the first selection "About this Mac". The Processor should say Intel, otherwise PowerPC. Sounds to my like you did get an Intel.
As for your stalling problem, I'm not sure what to think about that. More details would be helpful. Is is a particular application such as Safari or a game? During startup or quitting? You do know you can click on other applications and use them well another one is doing something, right? That will be touch to diagnose over the net. Perhaps you can take the Macbook back to the store or Apple store for some help.
These new Intel Macs can run MS Windows XP, Service Pack 2, with the help of a tool called BootCamp, that is available from the Apple site. That is a decent solution to run PC games. Of course you then open the Windows side of the system to all those nasty virii and malware.
As for people bugging you about your purchase. Forget their opinions. You've decided to try Mac for a reason. They are great systems, but as with ALL computers, they can have their issues too.