Few Question thrown together

I am about to order myself a MBP. I am a PC transfer, so this will be my first Mac. Please forgive any questions that seem simple to you, its a foreign language to me.

1. I would like at least 2gb of ram, possibly 3gb. Would it be cheaper to purchase the 1gb and upgrade it myself? If so, what type/brand of ram is most recommended. And is it easily accessible on the MBP, does it void any warranty?

2. I will be running both OSes, as majority of my apps are still Windows and I have a windows main computer still. I know of two ways to do this, Boot Camp and Parallels. My first question is can I run both of these on the same computer with the same windows install. Can I boot straight to windows on some days and other days when i want to be in OS run Parallels...or do I have to choose one or the other?

3. Finally, when I do run windows in Boot Camp or Parallels, will the blue tooth in the MBP work in windows? For instance, will my blue tooth mouse work when booted into windows. Can I sync my palm pilot through blue tooth while in windows, etc...

Thanks for any and all help to this PC Vet MacNoob!
Floyd

1. Yes, it would be cheaper. Any name brand. I believe Crucial is a great company. Someone else should clarify on that. You can also search. I don't believe it voids and warranties. I am not sure on that either.

2. You can do both as far as I know. I am not sure if you can use the same Windows, but I don't see why not.

3. I haven't specifically used the bluetooth in Windows, but OSX creates a driver cd for you when you install Windows. All of the other features still work, so bluetooth should as well.

I know my answers are a bit vague. You are probably better off waiting until someone can give you more exact answers

Your answers are great and precise. Much appreciated. Will wait to see if anyone else can answer some of the question and put in their 2 cents in as well.

Thanks again

1. It's generally cheaper to do the upgrade yourself. You can find some great deals over at www.newegg.com. The site is rather intuitive, so you'll be able to find the right memory for your Mac. If you need help, just ask here :black:

2. The latest version of Parallels allows you to use a Boot Camp partition. So all you have to do is install Windows via Boot Camp, and then in Parallels, just point it to the partition and it should work just fine.

3. I haven't tried Bluetooth out in Windows either via Parallels or Boot Camp. However, like cheesy said, Boot Camp installs all the drivers for your hardware after installing Windows, so theoretically, it should work. As for Parallels, if you're just using your mouse, then it doesn't matter because the Bluetooth will be handled by Mac OS X.

Hope this answers all your questions.

consider this before you purchase your mac.

leapord is on its way out. im not saying wait for this os. but when it comes out, bootcamp will be disabled in a certain amount of time for people using the trial (everyone up to the point of leapord).

so youre gonna have to either pony up for the new OS, or buy parallels
also from what ive heard, parallels has terrible USB support.

just some food for thought