Storage Media Compatability (fat32 etc..)

One thing that is concerning me is using my USB harddrive and Pendrive between a MacBook and Windows XP/Vista systems.

*If i put data on my pendrive from windows, will i be able to plug it in to a MacBook and get it to work straight away?

*If i save data on to a pendrive from a mac, and put it in a windows computer, will it work?

What file formats do Mac support?
What file formats do window support? (i cant remember)

Also do you have tips on this topic, such as software that is usefull for this etc..

Thankyou.

Using external drives and USB thumb keys between both operating systems is very easy. I regularly swap my USB key between the two and things work just fine. The only thing you have to make sure you do is format the hard drive as FAT32 so that you can read AND write to it from OS X (Macs can only read NTFS partitions, not write to them)

As for file formats. Both operating systems generally support the same file formats. A picture, song, or document on one should work on the other. The only exception is programs specific to each operating system. You can't get a Windows program (at least not without a third-party app) to run on OS X and vice versa. So this means a .exe will not work in OS X and a .dmg will not work in Windows.

There are various options for you to be able to use Windows programs on a Mac. You can use virtualization software like Parallels or VMWare Fusion. This essentially lets you run Windows like a program on your Mac. So it's an operating system within an operating system. You can also use Crossover, which lets you run Windows programs without having to install the operating system. Finally, you can run Boot Camp, which creates a separate partition where you install Windows. You get a Windows installation just like any other computer, but the downside is that you can only use one operating system at a time (unlike Parallels or Fusion where you can use both side-by-side)

You might also have a look at this article. I don't know if this will prevent the "hidden" files from being created on removable media too, but this is one of the things that will probably drive you crazy about sharing your thumb drive between computers -- the creation of tens and hundreds of .DS_Store files!