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General discussion

PC or MAC

May 9, 2007 12:05PM PDT

I am a high school student looking for a new laptop. I dabble in photo and video, but I am into music and use iTunes a lot. I want to be able to connect to wireless internet easily. I currently own a Dell and am not too happy with it. I prefer the design of a Mac but am worried about compatability. Anything would be a help. Thanks.

Discussion is locked

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worried about compatibility with what?
May 9, 2007 1:46PM PDT
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Windows files and programs to Mac
May 9, 2007 1:58PM PDT

I am worried about compatability between the files. Will the Windows files open the exact same way in Mac OS X? For example, if I do a PowerPoint Presentation in Mac OS X, will it appear in Windows the exact same way. Sorry for any confusion but I dont know how else to explain it.

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If you use Office 2004 for Mac
May 9, 2007 9:56PM PDT

or the upcoming Office 2007 for Mac, then all your PowerPoint presentations will be the same on a Windows machine as they are on your Mac.
Alternatively, you could use Apple's Keynote to produce presentations and save them in PP format.
Yet again, you could always use OpenOffice which will allow you to do the same thing, only for Free.

The above applies to Word and Excel documents as well.

Programs written for Windows will NOT work on OS X. (Usually application that ends in .exe)

P

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You explained it just fine.
May 10, 2007 3:53AM PDT

And I agree in principle with mrmacfixit - but to claim "exactly the same way" *could* be inaccurate.

Fonts are different (though nearly all map between the platforms);
*Some* formatting may be a little different.
Viruses from the PC will not infect the Mac (if you are using OSX and not Windows) - but if you send the infected file to Windows uses, they *could* be infected.

I use an HP/Compaq laptop running Windows XP and the Microsoft suite for work... and transfer files to my personally owned home OSX Mac using NeoOffice... and everything I need seems to transfer back and forth between the machines just fine...

Since we don't know all your REAL specifics (use of macros what software loads you are expecting to use, etc.), it is a little tough to say "exactly the same way" - but it will be REALLY close... For the most part, the compatibility issues have been gone for several years - and if there is something truly Windows-only, you can always run that OS on the Mac...

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Which Mac Laptop?
May 10, 2007 9:13AM PDT

Thanks for all of the help on that. Because transfer of files between the two OSs shouldnt be a problem, I have decided to get a Mac. This is unless something overwhelming about Vista (nothing yet) convinces me to switch. Now I want to figure out which Apple laptop to get. I think the Macbook should be fine for what I want to do, but I am concerned about the integrated graphics. This is not really a problem unless I get into Video Editing more. In this case, the Pro would be a better choice. The price is the only obstacle. Thanks

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It depends what video you want to edit...
May 10, 2007 9:33AM PDT

Though I really don't think it will make much difference. If you are doing standard definition, the G4 based machines from last year were fine. If you want to do high-definition, that might be more of a challenge, but the current crop of Apple laptops, whether MacBook or Pro, should be fine as well. I expect the hidef video import to be less than real-time - but that is a CPU issue, not a video/graphics implementation issue. And whether MacBook or Pro, standard definition (16:9 or 4:3 will be realtime import. This presumes you are using a miniDV tape based camcorder and importing the video over FireWire.

Don't even consider using a DVD-based camcorder (the video is *that* bad when you rip the DVD; hard drive based camcorders will need a "translator" after you copy the file from the camcorder's hard drive to the computer... suggest looking through the Camcorder forum here at CNET or get to know the Apple.com Support Discussions area as both are extremely helpful.

You'll benefit from maxing out the RAM whichever laptop you choose. You probably should plan on getting an external FireWire-connected drive, too.

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Vista on Mac
May 10, 2007 10:41AM PDT

I forgot to mention this in my other posts: I am realizing that I may need or want to run Vista in the future for whatever reasons. How does this affect the decision between Macbook and Macbook Pro. Thanks for any advice

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so... if you check the minimum requirements
May 10, 2007 11:06AM PDT

for Bootcamp or Parallels and the Macitosh computer in which you are interested meets or exceeds those minimum requirements, then you will be good to go...

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Vista Requirements
May 11, 2007 1:26PM PDT

On the Mac website it states that 128 mb of graphics memory to run anything except home basic. I know that the Macbook has 64 mb (correct me if I am wrong) of integrated graphics. Obviously it doesnt meet the requirements, but does that mean it cant be run?

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Read through the Grphics information
May 11, 2007 1:41PM PDT

I believe you will find that the 64 meg is built-in - but also uses system memory as needed.

mrmacfixit - you opinion?

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Onboard graphics
May 12, 2007 12:30AM PDT

Intel GMA 950 graphics processor with 64MB of DDR2 SDRAM shared with main memory(4)

(4) Memory available to Mac OS X may vary depending on graphics needs. Minimum graphics memory usage is 80MB, resulting in 432MB of system memory available in 512MB configurations and 944MB in 1GB configurations.

The above, from the Apple site, would indicate that the GMA950 has no RAM of its own except for 64MB of dedicated system RAM and then draws from system RAM for everything else it may need. It would also seem to be using 16MB of the system RAM at all times.

While this system is capable of supporting 2D graphics, like Flash, and low stress 3D graphics it will not stand up to something like Halo. As all the processing of graphics is done by the Intel processor, the extra load and relatively slow RAM speed will result in unacceptable performance.

Having said that, I'm not sure that video editing requires the use of a high end graphics card as the function of the program is not to display the video, but to manipulate it. I could be wrong but the displaying of video from a DV source is not quite the same as displaying video that is the result of millions of calculations from code source.
Bob P may have an opinion on that.

Bottom line? While this machine will run Vista, it probably will not support all the bells and whistles that have been added to the top end version.
Also note that MS have specifically prohibited the use of most versions of Vista when running under a virtual environment. (Parallels or VMware)
Boot Camp is OK for all versions though, it is not a virtual environment.

P