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

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

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 God knows where. I plan to buy a large monitor so that I won't have to squint at the 13" screen at home. Apparently, you can run Windows on one screen and Mac OS on the other -- that sounds pretty awesome.

Mac experts on my flist: is it very taxing on the processor to run both Windows XP and Mac OS simultaneously? Also, what do you guys use to burn data CDs and DVDs? I'm currently using Nero SmartStart (with a registration code I found illicitly XD) -- I don't believe it's available for Mac? And what anti-virus and anti-spyware programs do you guys use? Or are Macs completely immune from viruses and spyware?

I can't wait to get my iPod Touch because my Meizu Mini busted itself again (I was trying to fix a problem by updating the firmware and then it just died). Thankfully my mother has agreed to loan me her teeny tiny Creative Zen player until my iPod arrives. Maybe I should keep a stock of those cheap little $10-$20 mp3 players as back-ups...

I had "DON'T PANIC" engraved on the back of my iPod, because yay, geeky sci-fi references. And also, I do have need of that constant reminder since I've been on the edge of a panic attack for months.

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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.

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.

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. ^_^;;;;;

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. ;)

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...

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?

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 temporarily allow sites when you find them not working and learn to distinguish between the different scripts), but it's really worth it imo.

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. ;)

lol I love love love the touchpad on the pro! :P but then I've never had a laptop before, so it's very intuitive and natural to me - it's like using a mouse that's a touchpad! XP

You know what I'm really excited about in Snow Leopard that's coming out in September? The ability to just write Chinese on the touchpad. ;o;o;o; I was already pretty much going ;o;, but that feature sold me. XD And it's really cheap, only $39!

What's SPSS? :P idk what programmes you have, but you can probably run some by me. I've had to do a bunch of it myself, so yeah. XD I'm sure your macbook will be able to run ps (I recommend you snag creative suit 4 for the mac, it is so awesome ;o;), word (use openoffice for this! :P no use shelling out $$$$ for similar programmes), and ff at the same time without lagging - I can usually run all three simultaneously without lagging and tend to run about like five more at the same time. XD;;;;; (I am so bad for computers lol :P Also, can you tell I love opensource/freeware? :P)

And you are totally welcome! I totally bothered my mac friends at the beginning, so I'm happy to help! Feel free to bug me whenever! I'll try my best to help! ♥

What else does Snow Leopard offer? I think I can get an upgrade for $10 or so when it comes out, but I'm not sure if I'll need it.

SPSS is a statistical analysis software that everyone in the behavioural sciences (at least at UofT) uses. I think my dad has Photoshop CS3 and iWork somewhere around his office, so I'll snag them from him. What's creative suit? I love freeware too -- what's the point of shelling out hundreds of dollars when you can find a free equivalent? ;)

Oh yeah, do you use any anti-virus programs on your Mac? I have to have a functioning anti-virus program in order to use the wireless on campus and the school offers a really bulky and gross version of Norton which I ended up uninstalling on my current computer and replacing it with AVG (which isn't available for Macs D:).

An OS that takes up less hard drive space for better power, which is the main attractive feature. :P And $10? Lucky ;_;_;_;

lolll creative suite = CS. Apparently there's a mac version of SPSS?

I don't use any...and there's a chance your school won't be able to detect your not having any on a Mac/not caring since it's a Mac. There was a while when OSU forced us to use this keypass thing, but it only monitored anti-virus on Windows.

descants's mac totally escaped the whole bullshit deal. So yeah. I honestly think that noscript + adblock + firefox = enough. :P As long as you don't d/l viruses from your e-mail, you're pretty much protected.

Oh, haha, I never knew what CS stood for. ;;; My dad has CS3 and it looks remarkably like PS 7. Hopefully it has more features than PS 7! X3 Can one find CS4 for Mac illicitly online? :D

There is a Mac version of SPSS, but I'd have to pay, idk, 100 bucks for it. I'll see what I can get through the school.

Hmm, okay, that sounds good. I'm hoping that my iPod Touch will be able to get through undetected because installing an anti-virus program on that little thing sounds insane.

XDDD Yes, one can. :P CS4 makes me so happy. I used PS7 before then, too, and then upgraded to CS2 for Windows, and it made me so happy. ;o;

DDDDDDD: Windows and its monopoly! *shakes fist* Maybe we should have invested in Linux...XD;

Yeah, wtf? :P That would be ridic.

I tried installing CS3 after I got my hard drive replaced, but my disc isn't working or I'm doing something wrong. :( And then I remembered you mentioning CS4 -- where can one obtain CS4? :>:>

You can find lots of torrents for it. :P I seriously just went to a torrent search engine and looked for it.

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.

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

I'm not really an Apple fan (don't hate it either) but you made the right choice. The thinkpads have really gone down in quality since Lenovo took them over and as someone who's always owned an IBM thinkpad, the next time I buy a laptop, I'm going elsewhere.

Congrats on your new toys ;D

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/

If it was a question between the old school IBM ThinkPads and a Mac, I would be saying quite different things. However, the sad truth is that Lenovo is not doing a good job keeping the excellent quality of the original ThinkPads in place.

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!

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.

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

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