Just got a new MacBook Pro and have a few questions

Hey everyone Im new the mac scene, switching over an old Toshiba notebook to a new 15 inch 2.5ghz MacBook Pro. I hope to stick around here, so you'll probably see me here asking several questions. So bear with me for the time being, though I will contribute once I get to know my way around the new system. Now the hardware is simply amazing, I am very impressed with how clean everything is. Now I was wondering if was advisable to reinstall the OS, or if it's fine to simply use the factory install? It seems to act a little sluggish at times, giving me the little rotating color wheel. Is this to be expected with 2 GB of ram? Could this have something to do with the slower 200 GB harddrive? Start up time seems to be a little longer now too.

I understand that Leopard is supposed to come out soon, next month I believe. Or has it been delayed to a later date? If not will Apple offer a free upgrade?

I'm trying to install Office, but I read that you are supposed to uninstall any trial versions. My Mac came some 30 day trial for Office, I never used it, but I just can't seem to figure out how to install it.

I got Apples wireless Mighty Mouse, but every time I turn it off I have to re-pair it and reset my settings. Is there any way to fix this?

What is a good p2p program for OS X? I tried Acquisition, but it's not free. I also have poisoned but haven't had much luck with it. Anything you guys would recommend?

I'm using iPhoto but, I don't really like it too much. All the pictures are just lumped together and you cant really hide any. I also have a hard time browsing pictures in finder. Having to always change the settings when I want to view photos isn't very productive. So are there any better options for viewing, transferring, sharing, and organizing photos?

I have a 500GB usb drive that I use to store files from my old computer and transfer things around. Now I have plenty of space left, could I use this to backup my Mac? What program would you recommend for this? I have SuperDrive, would the unregistered version be all I need? Now my harddrive is formatted FAT32, and I know Mac uses it's own format. I can't reformat the drive. Will that be alright?

I am also interested in installing windows on here, mainly for the occasional app which wont work on OS X, and for gaming, but I have a few questions about doing so. First of all what version do you guys recommend? Would Vista be good? Or should I stick to XP? Or install both maybe? Any known compatibility issues? Anything to worry about when installing? How big of a partition would you recommend (I have 200GB)? What program is better for a virtual desktop? I've read a lot of conflicting things on Parallels and VMWare Fusion. Which program from your experience works better? Anything one should know when attempting to run Windows on Mac?

Is there anything else someone new to mac should know? Any helpful tips or applications? Sorry for all the questions, but when moving to new OS after more than 15 years on windows can bring a lot of confusion. So hopefully you understand. Switching can be tricking thing and appreciate all the help I can get.

1) Leopard should be out in Oct, but unless it comes out within 2 weeks of your purchase I dont think you can get a free upgrade
2) I'm not sure about that as I use iWork (which works great for me btw)
3) I have the mighty mouse as well and find that you dont have to re-pair it, just turn it back on and click a few times and should re-connect
4) p2p or torrents? I only use torrents and I find that Transmission works very well for that.
5) If you just got your macbook pro you should have iLife 08 (or be eligible for a $10 upgrade to it) and it has a new improved iPhoto that lets you sort pictures by events and hide pictures as well
6) macs can use FAT32 just fine, its NTFS thats the problem, Leopard will include Time Machine which is built in to the OS and backs up your files, but until then I cant help much in that department.
7) If you want windows just to run some simple apps I recommend VMware (I prefer it over parralels) but if you want windows for gaming you need bootcamp. I have Vista installed in bootcamp and it runs just fine, but it needs at least 15 gigabytes to run properly and thats without factoring in space for files and games. I personally gave it a 15 gig partition and put everything else on an external.

First of all I want to congratulate you on your new purchase. Your asking a lot of questions and I think that's great. I grew up using Mac computers and I still have a lot of questions. I'm not going to be able to answer all your questions but I'll see what I can do.

1) Either you bought the 2.2GHz or the 2.4GHz, Apple doesn't make a 2.5GHz version. Yes, there is no reason to reinstall the operating system. If in case you do, Apple provides the necessary cds.

2) Your going to get the rotating color wheel sometimes because some programs weren't written for an Intel based Mac, and it lags a little bit.

3) I'm surprised you upgraded to the 200 GB Hard Drive. Since it only runs at 4200 rmp it's going to slow everything down just a tad. 2 GB of RAM is plenty unless you use programs that involve rendering. Sometimes when you download Apple's software update and restart, it can take a little longer to reboot.

4) Apple will not offer a free upgrade, it's their new operating system, they want to make money! I heard a rumor that Apple will give a free copy of Leopard to anyone that has bought a Mac computer 3 months before the release date. Again, don't quote me on this.

5) I just deleted all trial versions

6) Don't know anything about wireless mighty mouse

7) I recommend LimeWire, it's free and works well. If you download via torrents I would use either Bits on Wheels, or Transmission.

8) iPhoto is great, all you have o do is get used to it. If it really annoys you, I would look at Aperture.

9) Google free apps for backing up your computer, your not going to have a problem with your hard drive's format. Apple know's what their doing.

10) Can't give you much advise about putting Windows on your Mac. I would wait until Leopard comes out and BootCamp is integrated into their operating system. Either programs are going to have their flaws. I've used Parallels and loved it. But remember you can't run anything that has 3d graphics, like games, with Parallels or VMWare.

11) It's going to take some time to get used to your new machine. Good choice on the MBP, I bought one in July.

I hope I answered some of your questions, and GOOD LUCK!

The MacKid!

in the applications folder, there should be a "Remove Office Test Drive" icon. Run that to uninstall the trial version.

Acquisition is the best P2P client. It will bug you to pay for it, but you can keep using it (with all the features) without buying it.

Leopard is not a upgrade. Upgrades (builds) albeit free, only happen during the current OS. Leopard is released as an entirely new OS, and you will have to pay the full retail price like everyone else.

Don't be too upset over this. You are only allowed to become upset when the Mac you just bought is upgraded to a new model next week.

Thanks everyone for all the help. I've installed Office now and go that all taken care of. I was asking about the filesystem because when I ran Super Duper it was asking for a firewire drive and wanting to reformat it. I have transmission and it works great, but I've been having a harder time on the client side. Acquisition works pretty well, but the constant pop up and bouncing dock icon are a little too much of a bother for me.

Yeah sorry about the mistake, I have a 2.4 MacBook Pro. I guess Ill have to keep some money aside for an upgrade then. How much do these usually cost?

I photo has a pretty nice interface, but it tends to want to make everything into a huge library, while I like to keep most of my pictures on an external drive, with only a few on my machine. iPhoto in my experience doesn't work that well for browsing and organizing photos on a separate drive. I did find a program called iPhoto manager. Does anyone know how well this works?

So is Vista fully compatible? I thought I read somewhere that Apple's drivers were only fully supported on XP, is that true? eliehass, could you tell me what makes you prefer VMWare over Parallels? I've been trying to find the advantages to each program, but I usually end up with outdated articles.

Leopard is $129, but it might be less if you are a student. I prefer VMWare because I found it to be easier to use, and i found that unity works smoother than coherence for integrating mac with windows.