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[Stephen]

Hi folks, after twenty years messing around with PCs I'm turning to the dark side. I want a Mac...

At the moment, I'm considering a MacBook Pro 15 inch with 24 inch monitor for work. Given many of you use these machines, do tell me if I'm making a mistake with the hardware...

Regarding software, I currently use the PC to work in MS Excel, Access & Outlook, Adobe Photoshop & Dreamweaver, various FTP clients. I can live without Outlook, but need Excel and Access - whilst I can use Office 2008 on the Mac for Excel, is there an Access equivalent (databases)?

Now, what applications would you guys suggest for web and graphical design, where can I find cheap software, and is there much freeware software for the Mac.

[darwin dali]

Hi folks, after twenty years messing around with PCs I'm turning to the dark side. I want a Mac...

At the moment, I'm considering a MacBook Pro 15 inch with 24 inch monitor for work. Given many of you use these machines, do tell me if I'm making a mistake with the hardware...

Regarding software, I currently use the PC to work in MS Excel, Access & Outlook, Adobe Photoshop & Dreamweaver, various FTP clients. I can live without Outlook, but need Excel and Access - whilst I can use Office 2008 on the Mac for Excel, is there an Access equivalent (databases)?

Now, what applications would you guys suggest for web and graphical design, where can I find cheap software, and is there much freeware software for the Mac.

Welcome to the bright side

You gonna like Entourage as your email client, which is part of MS Office 2008 for Mac. Photoshop and Dreamweaver are both Mac apps. Not sure about Access - we're using Filemaker for databases.
This hint might be helpful as well:
http://www.agentjim.com/MVP/Excel/RelationalOffice.htm

Furthermore, you might consider looking into CrossOver Mac from
http://www.codeweavers.com, which allows you to run Windoze
applications without Windoze. They offer a trial so you can evaluate
first if it will meet your needs. That way you don't have to install Windoze on a separate partition on your Mac and reboot into Windoze every time you need something from the dark side.
Other options are Parallels and VMFusion, virtual Windoze environments that run parallel to OSX.

There are tons of apps available, lots of them free or shareware. Check out the following links:
http://www.versiontracker.com/macosx/ (should be bookmarked)
http://chris.pirillo.com/top-100-mac-apps/
http://reviews.cnet.com/macfixit/?tag=mfiredir (candidate for homepage)

Enjoy!

[Stephen]

Thanks DD! I'll have a read of those links to continue my research.

So what do you reckon to my choice of hardware - I was tempted by both the iMac and Mac Pro (pricey) - but given I'm out of the office quite a bit now, a laptop with larger screen for home looks like a good solution.

Is it worth plumping for the 17 inch over the 15 MacBook Pro? I know size matters, but is it worth the extra dough?

[Stephen]

Oh, and something else, what accessories are must have? I assume the Mac can connect with my existing Netgear router, but is the 'Time Capsule' worth having? And should I consider anything else when buying - leads etc?

[darwin dali]

Thanks DD! I'll have a read of those links to continue my research.

So what do you reckon to my choice of hardware - I was tempted by both the iMac and Mac Pro (pricey) - but given I'm out of the office quite a bit now, a laptop with larger screen for home looks like a good solution.

Is it worth plumping for the 17 inch over the 15 MacBook Pro? I know size matters, but is it worth the extra dough?

If you connect a larger monitor anyway and then use the laptop for out of office, you'll be fine with the 15 inch model. I opted for the 17 inches as this is my workhorse without external monitor and it's transportable enough for my many trips.
An alternative for you could be an iMac plus a cheap MacBook...

[darwin dali]

Oh, and something else, what accessories are must have? I assume the Mac can connect with my existing Netgear router, but is the 'Time Capsule' worth having? And should I consider anything else when buying - leads etc?

Not sure about the netgear router, probably yes, you'll find out.
A friend of mine got a Time Capsule and swears by it. If you have to replace your netgear router anyway, rather than getting a simple airport, you might as well get the Time Capsule that takes care of your backups via Time Machine (= fantabulous).
I rarely touch my laptop as I almost always have a cordless keyboard and mouse (my fave is Logitech's VX Laser Revolution) with it.
If you don't get the Time Capsule, you still need an external HD, preferably a FireWire one (I've got an old LaCie from the department nobody else was using) for Time Machine backups. Had to get a 400 to 800 FireWire adapter cable as the MBP 17 only has a FW800 connector. Don't forget the AppleCare, it's worth it. I also got myself the Apple remote - it's so nice to operate the movie theater from the hotel bed without having to get up and shut it down while almost asleep
Everything else pretty much is built-in and ready to go.
BTW: Snow Leopard now allows for partitioning on the fly - that's one of the first things I did when I got it; you'd probably not want to try this later on once you've used it a while.

[Stephen]

Thanks DD - just looking now to see if a new model is out soon. MacRumors.com seems to be a useful source.

[Gaz]

or, get a HP Envy with an Intel i7 Chip + Windows 7 64bit throw 8gb of Ram into it and use an OS & programs your used to..

[Stephen]

or, get a HP Envy with an Intel i7 Chip + Windows 7 64bit throw 8gb of Ram into it and use an OS & programs your used to..

It's an idea, but although I see HP as the best laptop manufacturer to date (I'm using one now - and had two previously), I need a break. I feel stuck in a never ending cycle of buying a new Windoze machine, upgrading the OS, and seeing no real improvement in speed or usability over previous generations - if anything, every new Windows version appears more hardware intensive than the last, taking away functionality in order to cater to the lowest common denominator - ie the newbie.

Seemingly Macs are more stable, sleaker, faster, and some would argue, better tools for creative and even everyday tasks. Although, I've been wrong before!

The HP Envy does look stunning though!

[Jensonb]

or, get a HP Envy with an Intel i7 Chip + Windows 7 64bit throw 8gb of Ram into it and use an OS & programs your used to..

Ideologue

[Gaz]

or, get a HP Envy with an Intel i7 Chip + Windows 7 64bit throw 8gb of Ram into it and use an OS & programs your used to..

Ideologue

Hypocrite.

[hesketh308]

I Just use a 1TB external hard drive with my mac, i think i reserved about 250GB for time machine, and use the rest to hold all my videos and music.

Its so handy being able to bluetooth stuff to other macs too, instead of putting it on a memory stick. If you have an iphone, i believe you can use it as a remote to control your itunes too!

[al4x]

yuck.. not a mac, i just ditched my iphone for an android model!

[bud]

by joining the Mac side you just ditched the dark side, so I welcome you to the light

[Gaz]

God Dam Hippies..