Don't bash me, dont hate me

I have never used, at least not outside of school, a mac before. After watching what was left of my alienware just up and die right in front of me not 2 hours ago, I am now legitimately thinking of getting a macbook. I say a macbook, not a macbook pro, because although i will miss the 15.4 inch screen, I need something light and portable, and no way am I gonna spend $2,000 for a laptop again (stupid alienware). Here's what I need to know:

Is the mac operating system easy to pick up? Anything I should watch out for?
Is it worth it getting iwork09 when I can just download open office for free?
Is Logic Express 8 better than garage band?
Can mac computers and windows computers network with each other?
What accessory would I need to get?

Thanks again,
Possible mac convert Dan

dantheman4334 said:

Is the mac operating system easy to pick up? Anything I should watch out for?
Is it worth it getting iwork09 when I can just download open office for free?
Is Logic Express 8 better than garage band?
Can mac computers and windows computers network with each other?
What accessory would I need to get?

Thanks again,
Possible mac convert Dan

Click to expand...

1. The OS is easier to pick up than Windows is, but there is still a learning curve. Don't expect to just be able to do everything immediately; you should play with the Mac OS at an Apple store or on a friend's Mac for a while before making the decision to purchase a MacBook, since you should not purchase one unless you see the OS as a plus. There are too many things to name in a short post to look out for, but you can always ask around in the Switcher Hangout forum here if you run into snags.

2. No, iWork is worthless (in my opinion) and has more compatibility issues with Microsoft Office than OpenOffice/NeoOffice does. Speaking of which, most here will recommend NeoOffice over OpenOffice due to better integration of Mac OS features.

3. Logic Express is better than GarageBand, but unless you're trying to do professional work, I doubt you'll use any of the advanced features. I'd try out GarageBand first and then see if it doesn't meet your needs.

4. Mac computers and Windows computers network together very well without much effort.

5. I'm sure any number of accessories can be recommended depending on your needs. The question on its own is a little vague.

Discerptor said:

1. The OS is easier to pick up than Windows is, but there is still a learning curve. Don't expect to just be able to do everything immediately; you should play with the Mac OS at an Apple store or on a friend's Mac for a while before making the decision to purchase a MacBook, since you should not purchase one unless you see the OS as a plus. There are too many things to name in a short post to look out for, but you can always ask around in the Switcher Hangout forum here if you run into snags.

2. No, iWork is worthless.

3. Logic Express is better than GarageBand, but unless you're trying to do professional work, I doubt you'll use any of the advanced features. I'd try out GarageBand first and then see if it doesn't meet your needs.

4. Mac computers and Windows computers network together very well without much effort.

5. I'm sure any number of accessories can be recommended depending on your needs. The question on its own is a little vague.

Click to expand...

Im thinking in the land of, does it come with the mouse? do a lot of airlines come with a hole for that airline adapter? does it even work? What is apple care and should I get it?

Discerptor said:

1. The OS is easier to pick up than Windows is, but there is still a learning curve. Don't expect to just be able to do everything immediately; you should play with the Mac OS at an Apple store or on a friend's Mac for a while before making the decision to purchase a MacBook, since you should not purchase one unless you see the OS as a plus. There are too many things to name in a short post to look out for, but you can always ask around in the Switcher Hangout forum here if you run into snags.

2. No, iWork is worthless (in my opinion) and has more compatibility issues with Microsoft Office than OpenOffice/NeoOffice does. Speaking of which, most here will recommend NeoOffice over OpenOffice due to better integration of Mac OS features.

3. Logic Express is better than GarageBand, but unless you're trying to do professional work, I doubt you'll use any of the advanced features. I'd try out GarageBand first and then see if it doesn't meet your needs.

4. Mac computers and Windows computers network together very well without much effort.

5. I'm sure any number of accessories can be recommended depending on your needs. The question on its own is a little vague.

Click to expand...

Whats the difference? Does it simply just work better? Cheaper?

dantheman4334 said:

I have never used, at least not outside of school, a mac before. After watching what was left of my alienware just up and die right in front of me not 2 hours ago, I am now legitimately thinking of getting a macbook. I say a macbook, not a macbook pro, because although i will miss the 15.4 inch screen, I need something light and portable, and no way am I gonna spend $2,000 for a laptop again (stupid alienware). Here's what I need to know:

Is the mac operating system easy to pick up? Anything I should watch out for?
Is it worth it getting iwork09 when I can just download open office for free?
Is Logic Express 8 better than garage band?
Can mac computers and windows computers network with each other?
What accessory would I need to get?

Thanks again,
Possible mac convert Dan

Click to expand...

1. Mac OS X was very easy for me to pick up, but I'm the exception. I've been using Unix and Linux for ages (Mac OS X technically is Unix), and those were easy for me to pick regardless of which implementation I used.

2. I used to use OpenOffice, but then I started college and required features that OpenOffice didn't have. So, I got Microsoft Office for Mac 2008, which serves my needs very well.

3. I can't comment on this because I've never used either of these.

4. Macs should be able to interact with Macs and non-Macs seamlessly.

5. You might need to get a different printer, although I doubt that you would. You need to give us more information. This is solely dependent on what you do with your computer. Though, I assure you that this isn't a limitation. I own a MacBook Pro and an iMac and didn't need any accessories.

Can't speak for openoffice/neooffice but my mac has been brilliant for me.
Only had it a few months and there have been literally no problems.

I have networked with my housemates windows pcs no problems and I am loving OSX compared with my old XP machine. The OS does take some getting used to, but once you do you will wonder how you managed without it.

There was no mouse with my Macbook (it's one of the old style blackbooks brought a month before the new releases) but might mouse is a great solution but anything works (i bought a cheapo USB mouse from asda which works fine).

I would seriously recommend Macs in general.

ninjaslim said:

1. Mac OS X was very easy for me to pick up, but I'm the exception. I've been using Unix and Linux for ages (Mac OS X technically is Unix), and those were easy for me to pick regardless of which implementation I used.

2. I used to use OpenOffice, but then I started college and required features that OpenOffice didn't have. So, I got Microsoft Office for Mac 2008, which serves my needs very well.

3. I can't comment on this because I've never used either of these.

4. Macs should be able to interact with Macs and non-Macs seamlessly.

5. You might need to get a different printer, although I doubt that you would. You need to give us more information. This is solely dependent on what you do with your computer. Though, I assure you that this isn't a limitation. I own a MacBook Pro and an iMac and didn't need any accessories.

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I own a HP inkjet 8050. I would mostly be at school with this thing, so a case of some sort would be nice. Again, does it come with the mouse?

All your other questions were answered but I will comment on 2 of them.

One thing that has been recommended here many times on Mac Forums to new OSX users, forget everything you know about Windows. It makes learning OSX easier if you not try to approach it like it's Windows. It was VERY easy for me to pick up, but then again I had used the older Mac OS 7-9 in the past.

iWork is far from useless, but if you want better compatibility with Microsoft Office then I would suggest the latest Open Office as it's free and very compatible. We all used to recommend NeoOffice until the latest OpenOffice came out which is now native to OSX and no longer needs X11 to run. It's very fast, on my systems much faster than NeoOffice is and fits right in with OSX.

Notebooks in general do not come with a separate mouse unless ordered as an extra. This is true of the Macbook also. If you have a USB mouse already, then you're set.

I also use to recommend NeoOffice and have switched to OpenOffice with this newest version, although I have iWork08 also.

I would get a wireless mighty mouse, as I generally like to have an external mouse sometimes (although the new macbook's keyboard is awesome!). Mac OS was easy for me to pick up, but will still take a little while. I'd rather use iWork than OpenOffice or M$ office '08. I am a big user of spreadsheet apps like Excel, but I find that the '08 version of Excel (especially in mac) sucks, I really dislike OpenOffice Excel (but the other OpenOffice stuff is good) and, for a mac, Numbers (iWork Excel) is the best option and a really great program (although i would convert things to Excel format as it has (unfortunately) become standard. I have a preferance for iWork, especially with '09 updates (I really like full screen view in pages), but Office '08 is more bang for your buck even though its a terribly made and somewhat glitchy progra. A really great computer like the macbook can handle crap like m$ office well, though. I think iWork is better, but I am not one of the majority on that. If you can get it, get it for Numbers, but Microsoft Office '08 is a better bang for your buck as it is standard. I have both. I generally use iWork, but then convert it to Office. Also, keep in mind that iWork can't read Office (so iWork isn't a great option if you don't have office too)
Logic Express is great. I do like the lessons thing on the new Garage Band, though, as I've always wanted to learn to play guitar better.

The MacBook does not come with a mouse. Just about any USB or Bluetooth mouse will work with the Mac out of the box, but if it has special media buttons or something, you'll want to make sure the company has Mac drivers for that if you want to use those.

I know American Airlines supports the airline adapter, but I don't have the accessory so I can't really tell you much about it. However, every review I've seen from users that didn't make a mistake like trying to power the 85W MacBook Pro with a 75W power socket has said it works.

AppleCare is an extended warranty and phone support on the computer that lasts three years from the date of purchase. It does not cover accidental damage. Whether it is worth it or not depends on what you think the chances are of your computer suffering damage with cost equal to the price of AppleCare between the end of the first year after purchase (one year warranty and 90 days phone support comes by default with your product) and the end of the third year after purchase. There are lengthy discussions on this elsewhere.

NeoOffice and OpenOffice are both free and open source. NeoOffice started as a port of OpenOffice that didn't use the clunky Mac X11 implementation to make up for the official OpenOffice Mac release requiring it. Now they both use Mac OS X's native APIs, but since NeoOffice has been using them for longer, it has support for a few more services like trackpad gestures, speed enhancements and grammar checking. You can check them out here:

NeoOffice Features

The downside is that NeoOffice, being a separate project from the official OpenOffice, is never quite at the same version. So OpenOffice is currently into its 3.x releases, whereas NeoOffice is still based on OpenOffice's 2.x code base.

thanks everyone. i think I know what im getting for my birthday

I would also recomend the 13" black neoprene case from Encase - a very mice laptop cover to protect your shiney new toy.

As for how useful iWork is, well it also depends on what version of office you are using. Since getting my mac I have used Pages (which is ok - loses table formating between M$ office and pages) and Keynote which I love. I havent yet used numbers.

Wha I sugest doing is downloading the trial when you get your mac and see what you tink.

Good Luck.

I think your best option on a office suite is to download open office and the trial of iWork and see which you like better. For word processing I dont think pages is too special, but Numbers and Keynote are top notch.