I'm either going to love it or want to smash it against a wall

[fishpatrol]

I once told myself that I would never succumb to the lure of Apple products. But alas, I just threw away a chunk of my savings on a Macbook and an iPod Touch. I was very, very close to buying a Lenovo ThinkPad, but Apple's customer service won out. If something breaks, I'd at least be able to get it assessed in person and not have it shipped off to

Comments

[trixie_chick]

i don't run windows on any mac of mine, but yeah, i've heard that's a bit taxing. you use your mac to burn cd/dvds. ^_^;;; you don't need secondary programming to do data. at all. just. make your folder of files, and click burn. couldn't be simpler. ^_^ i don't use any anti-viral atm, just trusting mac's closed OS and firefox because the last time i had norton, it was just a pain in the ass. (bad, i know...) macs aren't completely immune.... but they are a LOT better off. spyware won't be much of an issue, and like i said, the OS is a closed system, as opposed to windows being an open system, so it's a lot harder, plus fewer people have macs, so it's not worth the effort for the hackers.

♥ don't panic, awesome.

[fishpatrol]

but yeah, i've heard that's a bit taxing

Hmm, I should probably think twice before running Bootcamp then. I've only got a 2.13 GHz processor and 2 GB RAM. :x

I'm afraid that as Macs get more popular, more hackers will become willing to write viral codes targeted at Macs, lol. I'm using AVG right now, but again, it's one of those Windows-only programs.

Thanks for all the info! <3 The ease of burning discs sounds awesome.

[trixie_chick]

it depends on what you need windows for, of course. might be good to get an idea from someone who has had actual experience with it... search around the mac help forum. usually a good place for answers.

well, it's true that more popularity means more users ie more targets, but the OS is a bit more safeguarded, anyway. windows is built like a lego castle, where things can just add in easily. mac is a bit more closed, so... it's a bit harder. not impossible, but. try searching around for a mac security program. i'm sure there are good alternatives that aren't that costly. ^_~

yeah, it kinda boggles me that pcs can't do that. ^_^;;;;;

[fishpatrol]

I haven't had any virus or spyware problems on my PC, but that's because I'm super paranoid and have multiple programs running in the background. It's good to know that I can be a bit less cautious about these things now! :) I'll need an anti-virus program to access my uni's wireless and they offer a really ucky version of Norton, so I'll have to dig around for an alternative.

There are programs to burn discs on the PC, but they seem to be for music CDs and video DVDs whereas I just want to burn data files. So, yeah, Mac wins on that one. ;)

[postingwhore]

did you get a macbook pro? :P

I am so jealous of you of buying a mac at the right time ;_;_;_;_; I WISH THEY HAD THE STUPID PROMOTION WHEN I WAS BUYING IT AND THAT THEY DIDN'T HOLD THE STUPID SALE LIKE FOUR MONTHS AFTER I GOT MY LAPTOP AND I COULD HAVE BOUGHT A BETTER MACBOOK PRO FOR THE SAME PRICE /end spoiled whining

Bootcamp is...meh. It's useful enough, but you need to have a valid version of Windows already to install onto it. The other (better) option is Parallels, but it costs $70+. :|

You can use iDVD or the free programme Burn (which personally seems vaguely better to me).

Also...I think if you use firefox coupled with ad-block and noscript you should rarely get anything invading your system...

[fishpatrol]

Nah, I got a regular Macbook. I thought of getting the 15" pro, but then realized that I didn't really need the extra features and only just wanted the larger screen, so I'm getting a monitor separately. I bought mine through Apple Canada, which charges more than the US version, so you probably still spent less, comparatively speaking. ;)

I have Windows XP from when I bought my current laptop, but if it's going to be too hard on the processor and memory, then I'll probably have to think of an alternative to Bootcamp (e.g. use both laptops at the same time XD;;).

I have the Ad-Block add-on for Firefox -- is the noscript thing also an add-on?

[postingwhore]

lol what exactly are the extra features? XP I must say, I didn't even think about not getting a macbook pro...:P

Nah, you probably got a better deal even after currency conversion and stuff. :| This thing cost me $2000 USD, so yeah ;_;_;_;_; If only I had waited four months to get the 15" pro with 325 gb hd and better processing :(((( and the free ipod touch! :P Lucky you!

I think running both will probably cause lag since you are running two OSes... Although it will also depend on what you are doing. If you are like me and run a lot of programmes at the same time, then it probably won't work, but if you aren't, then... Why do you want to run both at the same time? Just curious. :P

Also, you can look into (Dar)Wine as freeware that allows you to run some Windows programmes in the Mac OS. I use it for some stuff, but it doesn't work with all applications, unfortunately. :Noscript is indeed also an add-on. It'll take a fair bit of adjusting at first (you'll have to permanently allow all your usual sites and learn to

[fishpatrol]

what exactly are the extra features?

More processing power, more hard drive space, more RAM -- the usual. As long as it can run something like Photoshop, Word, and Firefox at the same time without lagging, then I'm good. Also, I don't like the touchpad without the clicky-key (you know what I'm talking about XD) on the Pro.

I only have SPSS for Windows and I don't want to purchase it for the Mac. XD I'm going to go through all the programs I have right now to double check if there are Mac equivalents.

Thanks for the info<3! I'll probably bug you for more Macbook-related stuff later on. ;)

[ex_trolleys]

Whee! Welcome to the Dark Side! \o/

In my almost 2 years as a Mac owner I've never had any spyware or virus issues. (though I may have just jinxed myself with that) But hey, if you do find a good Mac antivirus let me know. ;) As for burning, it's super easy - right-click on your desktop > "New Burn Folder" > drag & drop your files. To make CD or DVD copies, I believe you can use the Utility Disk.

[fishpatrol]

So you don't use any anti-virus/spyware programs at all? I haven't had any virus or spyware problems on my PC, but I keep multiple anti-whatever programs running to be on the safe side. ;)

I just hope getting used to the Mac OS will be easy since I probably won't have a lot of time to play with it once classes start. :x

[fishpatrol]

I've read so many good things about the Lenovo ThinkPads online, which made the decision tough -- it reassures me that a ThinkPad user believes I've made the right choice. ;)

I can't wait until they arrive! \o/

[kelene]

I run ClamXav when I remember (which is not often! /o\), and I use the sentry feature to run continuous scans on download folders. So far, it's all just been paranoia. XD

The programme is downloadable from the Apple website, and they have a whole list of other anti-virus programmes - free and otherwise.

As for burning, Macs come with the feature. Just create a burn folder and pop in a CD - easy!

[fishpatrol]

The programme is downloadable from the Apple website, and they have a whole list of other anti-virus programmes - free and otherwise.

Oh, awesome! Thanks for the tip! I'm kind of paranoid about viruses too, so I'd like to have an anti-virus program running just in case.