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 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.

Comments

[trixie-chick.livejournal.com]

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.

[postingwhore.livejournal.com]

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...

[trolleys.livejournal.com]

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.

[msdillydally.livejournal.com]

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

[kelene.livejournal.com]

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!