Soon-to-be Macbook convert asks questions

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Hi there!

I have had Windows PCs in the past but i want some change. i want to do things more quicker & simplier. I have been researching for the past week or so a comparison on Apple Macs and the latest crop of Windows 7 laptops and i wanted to ask questions so i can convince myself once and for all if a Mac (in particular the Macbook Pro) is the one for me:

1. Price
The Cheapest Macbook Pro is down for £999. with the same (or less) of the price for a Windows 7 laptop i can have a high-end laptop with a little more specs inside (disregarding wether you "need" the specs or not). Why buy a Mac?

2. Camera
Does the FacetimeHD Camera allow for 3rd-party software chat like Skype, Facebook video chat, Google talk or Yahoo Messenger?

3. Bluetooth
With Bluetooth on-board will it allow sending or receiving files from a non-Apple device? and/or will it allow 3rd-party peripherals connections such as webcam, keyboard, mice or speakers to work (i.e. compatibility)?

4. DLNA
The Macbook Pro doesn't seem to have DLNA on-board. what if i want to "throw" files to my TV via my PS3 will i need another Apple peripheral to do that?

5. microSD card slot
Is the microSD card slot universal and is compatible with most if not all types?

6. Keypad
It does say somthing as "multitouch". would that mean pinch-to-zoom photos/videos/websites? swiping as well?

7. Software & Programmes
I like my Windows 7 laptop as i can download almost any WIndows-compatible softwares & programmes. things such as a browser (Firefox & Chrome), music management (3rd-party alternative to iTunes), anti-virus, etc. Will the Macbook Pro "in general" allow me to do that as well?

8. Web Apps
Much i am not familiar with these web apps. All i know is they are just like apps on a smartphone. I may be wrong. The Google Chromebook was built for the web and has loads of web apps on its Market. does Apple have a similar system? can i download Apple and also Google web apps on the MBPro?

9. USB ports
The MB Pro has USB ports but can i insert any 3rd-party external/portable peripherals such as hard drive in order to view files such as JPEG photos, MP3 files or AVI movies?
Do i need to download a 1st-party or 3rd-party software in order to view/play those said files?

10. Uploading & Editing photos
I have a 32GB microSD card with photos & videos. i want to upload them to Facebook or Flicker or videos onto Youtube. i can do that on the Macbook Pro can i? do i need a 1st-party or 3rd-party software to do that?
I'm also into basic editing of photos like with Picassa. is there a similar/equivalent product to edit a photo? (like cropping,sharpness, background effects, etc.) and after editing the photo can i easily save it on my Mac and attach as an email easily?

11. Hard Drive
I read its an SSD-type. but can i easily partition the hard drive into equal or uneven parts? do i need a 1st-party or 3rd-pary software in order to do that? (the reason being so to organise my files properly and avoid "errors" in them)

12. Fan Noise
I have a 1-year old HP Windows 7 laptop and after watching a movie for an hour the fan starts to become noisy and starts heating up after 2 hours. do i need to worry about fan noise or overheating with the MB Pro? does it have a fan or an exhaust?

13. Warranty & Buying
What is the standard UK/EU warranty and what does it cover? do i have a choice of an "extended" warranty? or can i just bring in my MB Pro for repairs only on an Apple store or a PC World/Currys store? would it be free if its in an Apple store?
What are the advantages of buying one at an Apple store? more perks/benefits/deals,discounts,etc.? are there finance options?

14. Wallpapers
can i change the wallpaper easily on a MB Pro like in a Windows 7 laptop?

15. Startup & Shutdown
I have heard both processes are quick and fast but is it just a one-touch/one-button press? (unlike with Windows 7 you have to go to the symbol then...you know what i mean)

16. Speakers & 3.5mm jack
Does a MB Pro have dual stereo speakers? do they have any other effects (or say equalizers) i can change or tweal to make it more louder or more surround in sound? can i connect any standard speakers on the standard 3.5mm headphione jack? where are the speakers exactly located?

17. Games
Now, lets face it. most games are on the home consoles then second is for the PC. i want to ask first: can i download games on iTunes and be able to play them on my MB Pro? (e.g. an iPad game) and say if i have a Google account can i (in theory) download games off the Android Market (or Chrome Store) to play on my MB Pro?

18. Browsers
Safari might be better & faster than IE but i like mine Chrome. can i download ANY 3rd-party browsers (like Chrome or Firefox) on the MC Pro?

19. Antivirus
No need? and why?

20. OS
Does the MB Pro come with the latest OS X and with back-up disc on the box? what if for some reasons iot crashes or start having errors can i "recover" my files or the original OS boot?

21. Updates
Like any PC or smartphone how often does Apple release updates for its Macbook range? and how do i update mine?

22. WiFi
With Windows 7 it almost instantly detects existing or nearby wifi signals. does the MB Pro do the same thing? how fast & easy to connect to a standard home wifi connection?#

23. Blu-ray
No Blu-ray player option as an upgrade?

24. Screen
I read there are options for Glossy and Anti-glare. is the price the same for both?

25. Hard Drive
Is the MB Pro able to "format" a device (such as a connected 3rd-party portable hard drive) to Fat32 or NTFS?#

26. Organising Music
I usually use a software called Media Monkey to organise mu music files and upload them to my devices mainly Android ones and a BB phone. i saw that there is no MM version for the OS X. any alternatives that you can recommend please? (i found iTunes a bit unfriendly and a bit confusing sometimes)


Thank you.
 
C

chas_m

Guest
The answers to every single one of the questions you ask can easily be found by visiting Apple.co.uk (in your case) or a local Apple store or independent retailer. Spending even five minutes reading the site or actually looking at a Mac with any sort of qualified salesman would answer ALL of your very basic questions in a fraction of the time it will take you to read this (dramatically shortened) post.

As for why you should buy a Mac, I can only quote you:
I have had Windows PCs in the past but i want some change. i want to do things more quicker & simplier.

Well do you or don't you?

I had originally written a reply to each of your questions, but the answer was always the same: yes.

The answer to 17 is no: iOS apps are separate from Mac OS X apps. For Mac, there is a Mac App Store. For iOS, there is the iTunes App Store. iOS apps work on iPhones, iPod Touches and iPads.

The answer to 19 is no, and the answer is because there are no viruses for Mac. You may want to download the free ClamXAV that may guard against some minor malwares that exist, but really common sense and avoiding illegal file sites should be all that's required.

23. There is no native support for Blu-Ray on Macs. A third-party solution can be cobbled together but its fairly expensive. I find renting HD movies from iTunes (either viewing them on the computer or "throwing" them to iPad and Apple TV) way, way cheaper and more convenient.

26. iTunes is pretty much your only option on the Mac (there are third-party alternatives but they largely suck). It's actually a great program, which is why its the most popular music/media management program on both platforms. You just need to learn it (and that's not at all complicated). Indeed I would say that learning iTunes is key to learning ALL Mac programs, since the vast majority use the same basic design, tenets and UI philosophy.
 

robduckyworth


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1. Price
The Cheapest Macbook Pro is down for £999. with the same (or less) of the price for a Windows 7 laptop i can have a high-end laptop with a little more specs inside (disregarding wether you "need" the specs or not). Why buy a Mac?

Build quality, warranty, noise, high resell value, software & hardware designed for each other, better track pads, comapatibility with ever major OS out there via Boot Camp or VMs.

2. Camera
Does the FacetimeHD Camera allow for 3rd-party software chat like Skype, Facebook video chat, Google talk or Yahoo Messenger?

Yep!

3. Bluetooth
With Bluetooth on-board will it allow sending or receiving files from a non-Apple device? and/or will it allow 3rd-party peripherals connections such as webcam, keyboard, mice or speakers to work (i.e. compatibility)?

Yep!

4. DLNA
The Macbook Pro doesn't seem to have DLNA on-board. what if i want to "throw" files to my TV via my PS3 will i need another Apple peripheral to do that?

PS3 media server

5. microSD card slot
Is the microSD card slot universal and is compatible with most if not all types?

Its a standard SD slot, which you can get adapters for smaller cards.

6. Keypad
It does say somthing as "multitouch". would that mean pinch-to-zoom photos/videos/websites? swiping as well?

Yep! all that and more.

7. Software & Programmes
I like my Windows 7 laptop as i can download almost any WIndows-compatible softwares & programmes. things such as a browser (Firefox & Chrome), music management (3rd-party alternative to iTunes), anti-virus, etc. Will the Macbook Pro "in general" allow me to do that as well?

most programs have Mac alternatives - and most of what you are looking for come pre installed right out the box.


8. Web Apps
Much i am not familiar with these web apps. All i know is they are just like apps on a smartphone. I may be wrong. The Google Chromebook was built for the web and has loads of web apps on its Market. does Apple have a similar system? can i download Apple and also Google web apps on the MBPro?

No, its all natively installed to the OS. There is an App Store you can use to download apps for the Mac, a bit like you download music from itunes.

9. USB ports
The MB Pro has USB ports but can i insert any 3rd-party external/portable peripherals such as hard drive in order to view files such as JPEG photos, MP3 files or AVI movies?
Do i need to download a 1st-party or 3rd-party software in order to view/play those said files?

yes you can. its pretty much plug and play.

11. Hard Drive
I read its an SSD-type. but can i easily partition the hard drive into equal or uneven parts? do i need a 1st-party or 3rd-pary software in order to do that? (the reason being so to organise my files properly and avoid "errors" in them)

You can do it all from the built in Disk utility.

12. Fan Noise
I have a 1-year old HP Windows 7 laptop and after watching a movie for an hour the fan starts to become noisy and starts heating up after 2 hours. do i need to worry about fan noise or overheating with the MB Pro? does it have a fan or an exhaust?

Unless being driven to extremes MBPs are extremely quiet. i use mine for recording, and rarely get any excess noise from the laptop.

14. Wallpapers
can i change the wallpaper easily on a MB Pro like in a Windows 7 laptop?

yes.

16. Speakers & 3.5mm jack
Does a MB Pro have dual stereo speakers? do they have any other effects (or say equalizers) i can change or tweal to make it more louder or more surround in sound? can i connect any standard speakers on the standard 3.5mm headphione jack? where are the speakers exactly located?

You cant make it louder, but you can use equalisers to change the timbre of the sound.

17. Games
Now, lets face it. most games are on the home consoles then second is for the PC. i want to ask first: can i download games on iTunes and be able to play them on my MB Pro? (e.g. an iPad game) and say if i have a Google account can i (in theory) download games off the Android Market (or Chrome Store) to play on my MB Pro?

A Mac IS a PC. you can install Windows and play any game designed to run in Windows on your Mac.

You cant install Android apps, or iOS apps to it.

18. Browsers
Safari might be better & faster than IE but i like mine Chrome. can i download ANY 3rd-party browsers (like Chrome or Firefox) on the MC Pro?

theres loads. Chrome, Opera, FF, Safari...

19. Antivirus
No need? and why?

Its a long debated topic, but basically, the grounds the OS runs on is designed in a way that stops programs from installing without user input.

Any malware you may happen to download by accident as a result of your browsing (and it is pretty unlikely you will) will ask for a password before installing. Dont put in your password, no malware, simple as that.

Most users here, including myself, dont run any AV software for this very reason.

20. OS
Does the MB Pro come with the latest OS X and with back-up disc on the box? what if for some reasons iot crashes or start having errors can i "recover" my files or the original OS boot?

i believe they come with a recovery partition now for this. It will come with Lion.

21. Updates
Like any PC or smartphone how often does Apple release updates for its Macbook range? and how do i update mine?

very regularly.

22. WiFi
With Windows 7 it almost instantly detects existing or nearby wifi signals. does the MB Pro do the same thing? how fast & easy to connect to a standard home wifi connection?#

Yes, and it will remember every network you've connected to so you never have to put the password in again. Speed is exactly the same as a Windows machine.

23. Blu-ray
No Blu-ray player option as an upgrade?

Its unlikely we will ever see it. you can buy an external burner, but as of yet there is no program available for OSX that can actually play BR discs.

24. Screen
I read there are options for Glossy and Anti-glare. is the price the same for both?

Anti glare is extra.

25. Hard Drive
Is the MB Pro able to "format" a device (such as a connected 3rd-party portable hard drive) to Fat32 or NTFS?#

yes. OSX can write to any format other than NTFS, which it can only read from. You can buy drivers which allow you to however..

26. Organising Music
I usually use a software called Media Monkey to organise mu music files and upload them to my devices mainly Android ones and a BB phone. i saw that there is no MM version for the OS X. any alternatives that you can recommend please? (i found iTunes a bit unfriendly and a bit confusing sometimes)

Songbird.
 
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My heart is set currently for the base model 15" version of the Macbook Pro. But is the Macbook Air much "ideal" for me?

I heard the Macbook Air has 2 main disadvantages: it has only 1 fan and only 1 graphics card.

would you call that a disadvantage if all i will be doing is surfing the net, downloading music and uploading it to my Android devices (via 3rd-party software), printing documents, listening to music, downloading videos (via torrent) and uploading them to my devices, uploading photos to Facebook or Flicker, video chatting via Skype, basic editing of photos via Picassa...et al.

also i have a brand-new portable hard drive (connected to the MB Pro) and want to partition & format it as Fat32. can i do i do that on a Macbook? do i need a 1st-party or 3rd-party software to do that?
 
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also i have a brand-new portable hard drive (connected to the MB Pro) and want to partition & format it as Fat32. can i do i do that on a Macbook? do i need a 1st-party or 3rd-party software to do that?

Apples formatting Utility Disk Utility does that, the only thing is that it called the option MSDOS format, but it is FAT32
 
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Would an iTunes HD movie be a lot cheaper than a physical Blu-ray disc? (say a current movie like Harry Potter) can i transfer that downloaded movie to a 3rd-party portable hard drive?

also, can i transfer my Windows 7 files to my Macbook Pro easily without the need of wires or expensive apps or programmes?
 
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chas_m

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Would an iTunes HD movie be a lot cheaper than a physical Blu-ray disc? (say a current movie like Harry Potter) can i transfer that downloaded movie to a 3rd-party portable hard drive?

Yes; no.

You can sling an iTunes-purchased movie around to iOS devices and other Macs (that you own) all you want, including the Apple TV (which connects to your HDTV). You can transfer the physical FILE of the movie to a hard drive for backup, but you can't play it on unauthorized devices.

also, can i transfer my Windows 7 files to my Macbook Pro easily without the need of wires or expensive apps or programmes?

Yes, but the people at the Apple Store will do this for you if you ask nice. :)
 
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To what format is the "HD" version of a movie when downloaded off iTunes?

I heard one can transfer files from a Windows 7 laptop to a Macbook using wifi or a home network. without asking the people at the Apple Store can i do it myself?
 
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To what format is the "HD" version of a movie when downloaded off iTunes?

I heard one can transfer files from a Windows 7 laptop to a Macbook using wifi or a home network. without asking the people at the Apple Store can i do it myself?

Yes, it is entirely possible to transfer files from your PC to your Mac if you have a home network set up. If you can, use a wired connection though. Transferring gigabytes of data wireless will take ages.

Also, HD movies from the iTunes store come in 720p video, whereas Blu-rays are 1080p.
 
C

chas_m

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To what format is the "HD" version of a movie when downloaded off iTunes?

720p MP4.

I heard one can transfer files from a Windows 7 laptop to a Macbook using wifi or a home network. without asking the people at the Apple Store can i do it myself?

There's a built-in Migration Assistant that will handle it all for you when you fire up the new Mac. Have a USB or ethernet cable handy.
 
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Just an update....

It would appear that Apple Customer Care isn't customer-oriented after all.

When i bought my Macbook Pro i availed of the 0% interest for a 10-monthly payment. The person on the line took my card number and asked me wether my account has (over) £1000 which is the total amount of my purchase. i wondered why he asked me that whereas only roughly £104 will be debited ether that time or maybe the next few days. I then checked my bank account (in which i was told to do so after 24 or so hours of the deal) and curious nothing have been debited by Apple or Barclay's bank (UK) which i believe is doing the finance options for the company; I remembered the person telling me that Barclay's Bank will do everything for you. never received any correspondence from Barclay's whatsoever. only a shipment date from Apple.

I then rung Barclay's, gave them my name,post code & order number from Apple and they said they have no record of my purchase. they told me to cancel the existing order and re-order the Macbook again which sounded illogical & unrealistic. i then rung Apple today and asked what was happening. it would appear that the person didn't informed me of things properly and that a debit of the whole amount (the £1000) was done and was being debited with no apparent 10-monthly payments has been organised/arranged.

I was therefore furious. i got angry over the phone and since there was no manager this weekend i will ring Apple to demand some answers and ask for some kind of compensation. if they can't do that then its gives me no choice to cancel everything and ask for a full refund ASAP.

I just can't believe this has happened to me. this is my first proper Apple computer. I set my expectations high and yet because of some incompetent person this has left me wether an Apple product is worth buying.
 
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Here's another UPDATE. and a new dilemma.

I managed to speak to an after-sales person. she politely apologised to me due to what happened. and she straight away offered me £100. i returned her with a nice "Thank you" but i wanted them to also at least cover me for the upgrade fee and Apple Care. to my surprise they did. so that's a total of £200 compensation.

now, this is where a decision has to be made. do i keep the Mac (and the £200) or return the Mac and use the money to buy the new (upcoming) iPad 3 which would be much more lighter & space-saving when i go for a holiday this spring.

I must admit that the lure of the Macbook was too great. but dunno if i need a laptop or a tablet to go on that holiday?


hmm.....
 
C

chas_m

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gino:

With respect, you need to get some idea in your head of what you ACTUALLY NEED. You are all over the place.
 

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