A Couple of Question

Hello all!

I have just purchased my first mac (Macbook), I'm fairly new to this operating system and I had a couple of questions.

1. I thought Office 2004 came w/ the machine, I was obviously mistaken. Now to be honest I never paid a cent for anything on Windows since I've had the internet. Does it work the same way w/ a mac? I've already found a downloadable version w/ a crack and all...

2. I worked on a iMac for a couple month @ my old job and that's how I fell in love w/ this system... There are a few things that I'm still having trouble w/ though. Now I've read the thread on starter appz but I'd like to know what you guys use for movies and mp3. WMP isn't an options since it's outdated, I d/l the VLN player I have on XP (all my movies are Xvid); do you guys have any other suggestions? And is there a good alternative to iTunes for my mp3's? To be honest I don't like it much.

3. How do you organize the appz you d/l? I use to have all my appz in Program Files in Windows... now the .dmg files all go to my desktop, I've created a special folder in Applications to store them but I don't think it's the proper way to go.

Anyway thanks for the time you guys take to read this. Any input is most welcome.

1. Downloading software not licensed appropriately to you is stealing. Illegal activities won't be tolerated on this forum. I suggest you purchase Office and give those developers what they deserve: Their paycheck.

2. Try Perian for Quicktime, VLC, and WinAmp if you really need to replace iTunes. But if you don't like iTunes, you'll be unhappy to hear that OS X 10.5 will be designed to look and behave like iTunes system-wide.

3. A dmg file is like a suitcase you download that contains the application. To install it, you need to drag it to the "Applications" folder already existing on your Mac HD. Once you drag off the apps, you can eject the dmg file and trash the file.

1. Yeah OK.

2. I did not know WinAmp was available on macs... Thanks for the suggestions!

3. When you install a new program, does it automatically get install in "Applications" if the .dmg file is there? Because I'd like to have everything in that folder but I dont have the freedom to choose where to install the app while going through the installation.

1.how would you like to create a great program, which is your primary source of income, just to have people steal it? it's the same as robbing a store, only harder to get caught. why not go into the store and take the program off the shelf? don't be a whimp! hiding your face and what not

2.maybe you should give itunes another shot, my [windowz] friend hated it, but when i helped him reformat his comp, i gave him no other options besides itunes or windows media player (which no one really likes) and after using it, really started to like it. i think if you use it a bit more, you might have a different opinion

3.when you open the dmg from the desktop, it should open a virtual drive with the application in it, you then drag the app from the virtual drive to your apps folder, or where ever you want it, you can then eject the virtual drive and delete the dmg, a suitcase is a really good way to describe it

a few of them you actually 'install' the way you would on windows, and those automatically go to your apps folder. all the of the files the program needs are stored within the program.

cNK said:

1. I thought Office 2004 came w/ the machine, I was obviously mistaken. Now to be honest I never paid a cent for anything on Windows since I've had the internet. Does it work the same way w/ a mac? I've already found a downloadable version w/ a crack and all...

Click to expand...

Since you are looking for free stuff, why not look into NeoOffice or OpenOffice? I use NeoOffice, which will read and write MS Office files. It is not perfect though—there are subtile formating differences on complex documents. Nothing I can't live with.

I second Cramar. if you want to go the free route then NeoOffice or OpenOffice is the way to go. I used NeoOffice for most of my stuff. I also have been hearing some good stuff about Open Office so check them out.

www.NeoOffice.org
www.OpenOffice.com

Cheers

cNK said:

3. How do you organize the appz you d/l? I use to have all my appz in Program Files in Windows... now the .dmg files all go to my desktop, I've created a special folder in Applications to store them but I don't think it's the proper way to go.

Click to expand...

Here's a rundown of how this works. A .dmg file is not the application, and should not go into your Applications folder. When you download a .dmg, leave it where it is. Open it up, and it will mount a fake drive on your desktop. Inside that fake drive, you will see the application you want. Drag that application into your Applications folder. Then, eject the fake drive (drag it to the Trash), and delete the .dmg.

For the few applications that actually use installers, you're right, they don't give you an option for where to install them. They're installed to your Applications folder.

LOL @ ki99 for the comment on my first question... How dramatic!
Thanks for the suggestions on free alternatives guys but Office 2004 found its way on my HD

Also I appreciate all your input on how to install program on mac, I will definitely proceed as advised from now on. Thanks again for your time guys!