questions from a win xp user who wants to switch
 

Dear Mac folks,

I am very new to the MAC community. I have so many question, I
am hoping i will find macers good enough to answer me. While
I do not expect everyone will have and answer to everything
I will numeritize them so that maybe folks ca pick a number and answer it.
Thanks in advance.

1.Is the "apple" button equivalent to the control button (CTRL)?

2. Does some sort of basic office suite come INCLUDED with
with a macbook like sord processor/spreadsheet etc. etc.

3.I went to Best Buy and asked an Apple rep, if I can share
files under the followign scenario:

Me and my sister both have macs, (me=macbook her= mac desktop)
I want basically to be able to access any file on her computer wirelessly.
The mac representative said yes you can but I think she was being a
bit misleading (maybe not infering that I must subscribe to a service etc.). For example, I was told that if we are on the same connection, say sharing a same wireless router at home its doable.


i it is possible ?

ii DO my files have to be on a shared folder to be shared or can any folder on the host computer be shared?

iii. To access any file on the host computer , do I have to subscribe to some service like iMAC or mobile me?, or is this free ( to access any file/any folder) on host client computer through AFP? ,on a network I own (me=IT administrator).

iv. Same scenario as number iii, except that instead of me and my sis being at home with our computers,we are both at school (implying that neiter of us has admin access on the university's wireless network),and we both have mac laptops. IE, we are both in the library and we want to share a powerpoint lecutre by, myself accessing my sister's computer.

v. Again using the school scenario , suppose me and a friend have mac laptops, and I have the most modern OS like Snow Leopard (10.6) and my friend has some lower species of feline with an older mac laptpop will we be able to to file sharing?

vi. When AFP is used is information sent through an a server owned by apple to share files? because I believe AFP involves having usernames and passes
and I think that Apple authenticates this on its own servers correct?

vii. Can AFP be used if i am at work and my host dektop is at home
(assuming home and work has two different internet service providers).

viii. Can all filesharing abilities between two mac computers be achieved without a subscription to IMAC or mobile meor the use of Airport Express/Extreme/ Airport sooper dooper.

ix.What is iMAC exactly? has it been replaced by mobileme?

4.Is Bootcamp free with Leopard?

5. Suppose I run win XP on my macbook, and download an MP3 . Then decide to shut off and restart in OSX mode. Will I be able to see my mp3 file in that downloaded in win mode in mac mode?

6. Suppose I use pages 08, to make a word document, then I decide to reboot in windows mode, will win XP see the file? Will MS office (XP) be able to access the document made in pages 08?

7.Are there any other major known problems switching over to the mac?

8.Can you do tabbed browsing in Safari?

9.I saw an old imac g3 at a pawn shop, should I buy it load osx 10.1 on it to learn mac then buy a new mac with verison 10.5/10.6 on it? or is the difference between those versions so much that i will learn then have to re learn wverythign once I get a new mac.

10. In the windows version of itunes I first have to drag my songs to the itunes library , then from the library I dump it into the ipod. My question n the mac version of itunes, can I just drag and drop song on my hard rive directly to my ipod.........or will I be seeking the mac version of Anapod.

11. Can someone describe me idiosyncrasies of mac not knows to win users IE instead of inventing an eject button mac decided that the best way or users to communicate that they want to eject is by dumping the hard drive icon into the recycle bin icon.

12. If I buy an iphone can I wirelessly (bluettoth/wifi) transfer music to
it? can I wirelessly update my addresse book and add pics of people
using my macbook and will it wirelessly transfer to teh iphone?

13. Suppose I win the lottery and decided to spend 2700 USD on
the macbook air, does that wireless disk thing actually work?

14. Can I use an ipod touch, iphone, nano as a usb hard drive? I heard somewhere that apple disbled this function, maybe this is incorrect? I have a gen1 nano the usb drive workd I would be surprised if apple took it away.

15. Suppose I use my pc to manage my ipod files, then I connect it (ipod)to my macbookusing mac itunes to manage the music files will my ipod work or will it explode?

Thanks.

In the sense that it's a modifier key yes. It's also probably the closest in function to CTRL in the Windows world. Instead of CTRL C and CTRL V to copy and paste you'll use CMD C and CMD V. When you see the "flower" symbol in a menu it means CMD.
See this Apple page for more.

I believe a trial for Apples iWork comes with new computers. Regardless you can always buy Microsoft Office or iWork (Office is the "standard", iWork is usually cheaper) or go for something free like OpenOffice or NeoOffice.

Very easy.

You can select any folder to share including an entire drive.

You could subscribe to a service to share, but it's not necessary. The Sharing pane of the System Preferences app allows you to select folders to share over a variety of different protocols.

I think you can still do this just as easily as long as your on the same network.

I'm not an expert on how file sharing changed over the versions, but I'm pretty sure it shouldn't matter. Aside from stability and other improvements.

Unless you are sharing files through MobileMe, the sharing is entirely between the client and server and doesn't involve Apple servers at all.

This gets tricky when you're behind a router, but I believe it is possible to forward the appropriate ports and connect over the internet. The sharing pane always displays the URL that can be used to connect to a share. (ie. afp://127.0.0.1 )
Note that if you are indeed behind a router the address displayed in the sharing pane will not be valid for use from the other side of the router. You would have to forward the appropriate ports and then use the IP of the router to connect. I haven't tried this, but nothing comes to mind as to why it shouldn't be possible.

Heh, yeah I think all your sharing needs should be supported without the items you listed.

For some good sharing help on Leopard check out this macworld article.

MobileMe (was .Mac (was iTools)) is Apple's e-mail, hosting, etc service. It includes calendar sharing, e-mail, web hosting, file sharing, contacts, etc. The most useful feature in my opinion is the ability to sync contacts, calendars, bookmarks, etc between multiple computers. This alone isn't worth the price though and I've been using the last bits of my own account to figure out syncing on my own.
Apple offers a free trial though, so you can always try it out for a bit.

Yes, bootcamp is installed with Leopard and the Windows drivers are available on the Leopard disc. You should check online for updated drivers as well and be aware that you must initially install Windows XP SP2, then install the latest drivers and then install SP3 in order to have the most up to date system.

If you format your XP drive as FAT32 you'll be able to read and write from the Mac side. If you format it as NTFS you'll only be able to read, unless you also install the free NTFS-3G and MacFuse components on the Mac side. Those components are 3rd party software that allow reading and writing of NTFS partitions.

I believe that there is (pay?) software available for Windows which will allow it to read HFS+ partitions.

You could always use a USB drive to transfer files between the sessions.

The biggest difference will be your workflow. Some things just work differently on the Mac. Over time you'll get a handle for these differences and will be just as or more efficient as you were in Windows. Every "switcher" writeup I've read that has been a success means that the user stuck with it through the initial difficulties. Come back and ask questions as they come up.

Of course! :)

If it's very cheap I suppose you couldn't go wrong, but really the new features and stability introduced in the later versions would probably add a bit to your transition. Also you'd probably experience some difficulty in finding up to date software or even archived versions that support 10.1. Even being able to find 10.1 might be difficult. Overall the differences between 10.1 and 10.6 aren't so great that you'd have to relearn the whole system, but it'd probably be the easiest to just jump for the latest system. That said, you can probably find a cheapish Mac that supports the latest OS.

If you have the iPod set to "Manually manage songs" you should be able to drag tracks directly to the iPod, within iTunes. I've done this for years.

Too many to list. :)
Given your example though, there are many ways to eject a disc. You can:
- drag it to the Trash.
- select the disc and press CMD E (for eject)
- select the disc and choose "Eject" from the File menu within the Finder / Desktop
- select the disc with a right click (that's right) or hold CTRL and click the disc and choose "Eject"
- if it's an optical disc hold the Eject key on the keyboard (furthest right key in the function row)

Wireless? No. Syncing music, movies, contacts, pictures, etc is all handled by iTunes when the iPhone or iPod is connected by USB.

As far as I'm aware, yes. I haven't heard of any widespread problems.

Except for the Touch and iPhone I think this is natively supported. And there are 3rd party tools which enable this on the Touch and iPhone. Some of these solutions just offer the device as a hard drive. Others, available from the App Store, allow copying any file to the device and make it viewable on the device as well.

I'm not sure how the current iPods handle this, but I know older iPods for Windows were formatted as FAT32 and while still usable on the Mac side were not able to upgrade the device software without being reformatting as HFS+. I think the latest iPod Touch and iPhones are all platform independent. Not sure about the latest Nano, Classic, etc

Whew, You're welcome!

The iMac (not iMAC) is the all in one Macintosh with the screen built into the computer — or the computer built into the screen. ;)
While you certainly can run Windows on your new Mac, I suggest that you wait about a month after you get the Mac before installing Windows. This will give you some time to learn the Mac way of doing things and find the Mac versions of software that you want/need. As many others have, you may find that you don't need to deal with Windows.
Are there any major problems???
Yes, for a long time now.

Many thanks to people that have put up with my Q and A's. I know its a lot.

Has anyone used something called "datacase" which is a iphone/itouch app that allows wireless syncing of music and files?

Suite: There is no suite built in (except for expiring trial versions), but there's no suite built into Windows either, unless you pay extra. You usually have to buy Office separately on Windows, too. If you are a student, Mac Office is only $125 or so, or you could use NeoOffice, or of course iWork if that's good enough.

File sharing: Yes, it is possible between Mac and PC on the same network, and no paid subscription is necessary if you use the standard protocols that can be shared from either computer: FTP, SMB, HTTP... And when you use AFP, no subscription is needed, it is local. You could be in the desert with no subscription, no Internet, and two Macs and they could share AFP.

File sharing across Mac OS X versions: Yes, this works fine, I have 10.4 and 10.5 machines sharing, and I know it goes back further.

That depends on where you stored it. If you stored it in a folder that both Mac and Windows could see on your computer, like a shared volume, then both could see it.

Pages on Windows: No, Windows can't read Pages files. You should stick to something that can make platform-independent formats like RTF, or an app that exists across platforms like Word or InDesign.

Tabbed browsing in Safari: It's had it since before Internet Explorer on Windows got it!

Old iMac g3: Too old, I say. Video card and processor will not handle today's graphics and media. Coverflow in iTunes wont work. Google Earth won't work. Regular apps will be fine, but slowwww.

Eject button: The list above is good. There is also a little eject button in the sidebar of a folder window so you can click it right there. Or you can do it the way you would on Windows, right-click on the disk icon for Eject command. The "drag to the trash" thing is old and obsolete, no one should be doing it anymore.

There are some known limitations of Remote Disc. I don't know if they've been fixed in newer versions, but they are known.

more q&A's.
 

17. I have a Seagate external USB 80Gb HD, will I need to reformat it so that I can use the USB drive to use it in OSX (10.5 +)?



18. Does MAC use file extensions like .mp3, .doc, .ppt ,.xls?


19. Just to be clear about Open Office, and MS Office (ver. OSX)
these two programs create files interoperable with a win xp pc,
(which I might have to use at work). Yet, PAGES08 does not.

20. How much is Apple care for a laptop ? Is it worth it versus, a Best Buy
PSP?


21. Can someone describe their experiences with Apple care getting their laptop fixed? --> For example, here is my horror story with Best Buy,
I drop off my computer there, it sits there for about 2 weeks then
some random "GEEK SQUAD" loser, decides that my computer
actually needs to go to a service center (no really!)where it takes another month to get it fixed, all in all 6 weeks of being without a computer.
So if apple care has service centers in major cities, that would
actually be better for me,but I would be weary if they send everything
(like Best Buy) back to Outer Mongolia, China for repairs.

22.If I can get internet from Fido/ Rodgers (Canadian wireless companies)
from a cell tower then can I connect my macbook wirelessly to an iphone
and get internet on my computer from a cell tower?

23. I am confused about this pinching, grabbing twisting , contorting , rotating? Which os's and what do they do ?


24. Will my microsoft usb mouse work in osx?

25. I believe that in Leopard, I can move between windows like coverflow on an Ipod correct?

What format? See Fracai's answer to your first set of questions.
Yes, but it hides them well. You can have the Finder show extensions if you like.

Yes.
I don't know. Is Best Buy PSP very good? If it's excellent, it might be worth it.
Apple is well known for their service.
Maybe in Canada, but Apple's agreement with AT&T in the US prohibits tethering.
Huh?
Yes.
Coverflow is for files in a folder, not windows.

For #19, OpenOffice/NeoOffice (free) create MS documents that work perfectly with PCs. Be sure to save the file as a Microsoft Office file, not a OpenOffice file. I think you can set that as a default somewhere. You could always try them out for yourself and delete them late if you don't want to use them.

If you want, you can always buy the official Office for Mac from Microsoft. (BTW, even when only working on PCs, there's conflicts with all the different versions of Office. Office 2000, 2000 Pro, Office XP, Office 2003, Office 2007, etc., There's always a slight chance something might not work properly)

For #20, generally extended warranties on any brand of laptop is not worth it, unless they cover things like liquid spills or drops (such as this, this, this, this, this, this, this, or this [there's like a hundred more I'm not going to bother to link to, btw]). As you can see, liquid spills are the Number 1 reason laptops break, and most warranties do not cover it.

For #21, generally, if your Mac does break, Apple is usually pretty good at fixing it. However, like most other places, if it needs to be sent out for repairs, expect to wait a while.

For #23, are you talking about MultiTouch features? With this, you can use more than one finger on the trackpad to do actions. Like 3 fingers across the pad would flip to the next page, moving them in a circle rotates an image, or things like this. Although a neat feature, you don't have to use them if you don't want to.

For #25, you can use Exposé to move between windows. Not exactly like CoverFlow, but I would find it easier than CoverFlow, as you can see all the windows at once, instead of flipping thru them one at a time. If you have alot of stuff open and fine your screen cluttered, just press F9 and you can see all the windows you have opened at the same time. Press F11 to 'sweep' them all to the side and see your desktop, and press it again to move them all back. You can also customize the keys if you want.

See also: http://www.apple.com/support/mac101/

thanks all for the patients,
 

Thank you all,

one final clarification,
I am assuming from the answers that external usb HDD drives can be moved form mac to pc irregardless of format, but anyways my external USB HDD is
FAT32.

In that case, the Mac will read from AND write to the drive.

Is multi touch (pinch grab ) available on the basic macbook?

BTW I just found out that the basic macbook does not burn dvd's. I think that is a little poor on mac's part since
the laptop that I am on right now, a 2 year old Toshiba does have the ability to dvd burn.......

Addendum edit: since I posted this message i have been reading some other mac forums, and I have found out that
a lot of people do not like the fact that they give the "combo drive" in the basic model versus the "dvd burning super
drive".

Yeah it's kinda rotten that the low end doesn't burn DVDs. Then again it IS the low end model. You can always buy an external, though it might be cheaper all together to just get the mid range. $200 gets you DVD burning, faster processor, more RAM, larger hard drive...

bad experience with Apple rep.
 

Thanks a bunch , guys. I want to discuss two things, to get macers opinion on it. One is a general question the other is a bad experience I had today with an Apple rep.

Lets get the easy one first , I use a g router, on which I have loaded a firmware (dd-wrt) which allows me to over clock the signal so that I can receive at furthur distances. Is there a Mac equivalent ?

Now for my run in with a Mac genius (more like A-hole). Is is proper etiquette
to start a new thread about it or put it here?

A Mac equivalent for what? The G router should work with your Mac and from the instructions I've seen, you should be able to update the firmware from your Mac as well.

Probably best to start a new thread.

About the G router , I should explain more in depth ,

I own a Linksys WRT54g router. Now, it comes with standard linksys firware,
but if you download an open source firmware called dd-wrt, you can adjust
options like over clocking the signal strength. I was wondering if there is
an mac equivalent for DD-WRT software/firmware, that allows you to modify
the signal strength on an airport express beyond normal ranges.

As well, if I want spotlight to only search for pics in my cd drive (and nowhere else)how would I narrow the search field?

Is there a setting that searches all docs modified in the last day/week/month etc?

Those are simple sorts in the Spotlight results window...

Thanks, just a few comments to make,

1. My profuse thanks to all mac users answering I know this must probably be
tedious dealing with all Q&A's.

2. I think this will end up being a good reference post for new sign ups to the site.


As well, I am going to start a new thread about my bad treatment by an Apple care folks soon. :-)

There are actually some of those built in. While you can build a search for that, there are also "Smart Searches" that are persistent auto-updating searches. Like the Smart Playlists in iTunes if you have used those. You set the criteria and save it, and it keeps updating. There are three time-based ones built into the sidebar of a desktop folder window: Today, Yesterday, and Past Week. You can use those, or edit them or rip them out and add your own custom searches as you wish.

Hey guys if I buy now will Snow Leopard come free or will I pay moola for it?

2. Is it true new macbooks are comming out soon?

3. iphone as a pda replacement anyone have comments about this?

4. Some dude made an APP called podcaster just to have it rejected,
isn't mac becomming more and ore like MS slowly?

1 Yes, you will pay.

2 Probably.

3 The iPhone is a computer. A pda is 20th century technology.

4 The jury's out on that.

i.From fiddling around/reading/talking to Apple Genius this was my impression of AFP, 1.a router is needed to co-ordinate sharing traffic. IE: the home router assigns the computer with an AFP address IE afp://10.x.x.x and that is the number that I connect through the home network from mac to mac. So when it is said that you can be in the desert with two macs, and share is the poster wrong or is the Apple Genius wrong?

ii. If I am at work with a macbook and I want to access my home iMAC,
which protocol is used? If the answer FTP, is is built into Leopard like AFP?

iii. Since the protocol is AFP://10.x.x.x. can I use Safari/Firefox to gain
AFP access on the home network?

If there is no router then the two machines will connect directly, then you flip on File Sharing on one Mac and that is the Mac that becomes the "router" or more like the server.

If the two machines can't find each other automatically then I determine the machine's IP address and type that into the second machine to connect, and that always works.

I did this in a car once, transferring files between two Macs with no network or router around. Just a cable between two Mac laptops in the back seat. (Hm, that's starting to sound dirty.)

I assume the desert scenario involves no cables correct

It is indeed possible to share files between two Macs with no cables (assuming the Macs have Airport cards as is the case for all recent Macs) and no router.

Suppose we call the two Macs AAA and BBB.
On AAA, use the Airport menu and click on the menu item "Create Network...". Press OK in the dialog that comes up (you can change the name that is listed if you want - just make it something you can recognize).

On BBB, use the Airport menu and you should see a menu item that is named the same as the name that was in that dialog in AAA. Click on that name in the Airport menu. Wait a minute or so, and your two Macs should now be connected via Airport.

Then turn on "File Sharing" in the Sharing preferences of the Mac that has the files you want to access.

After setting that up, you should be able to go into "Network" in the SideBar of Finder on the other Mac and you should see (maybe after a short delay) the other Mac appear there. Click on it and use Finder as usual.

As Hayne said, no problem, you just make one of the Macs an ad-hoc network. Again, it becomes a server (wireless) and the other machine connects. And I'm pretty sure this is all similar on Windows. I've connected Macs and PCs directly too.

I should have said that the reason I used a cable is because we were short on time, we had big files, and I knew that the standard Gigabit Ethernet ports would be way, WAY faster than any wireless connection, and it was one less thing to set up (only the server instead of both server + wireless). And I happened to have an Ethernet cable in my bag. But sure, wireless works just fine.

Thanks hayne and stryaoframe. Before you told me the specific steps, I went into Best Buy and started to fiddle with the "sharing" folder and getting nowhere with it and getting frustrated.

Now about the adhoc connections:

1. I am assuming it assigns the numbers itself no fiddling involved like in XP yes?

2. Do you use a regular Ethernet cable from mac to mac, or a crossover cable?

3. In windows XP we have been advised to set our wireless cards infrastructure points only, is adhoc security a problem in macs or at least you can shut it off yes?

BTW yes I realize that I must at some point purchase a book on how to use macs properly, before this turns into a 10 page post.

But I must say that I am a windows power user, meaning when computers get broken I am the one people usually come to , I feel
like i am back to zero again... like when i was 13 and I read a book on "pc's" and wondered what the difference between ram memory, and
hard drive memory is, it is a weird feeling knowing nothing...but again when i plugged in my microsoft USB mouse into a Vista computer and
it did not recognize the mouse.... that is when I had my epiphany and saw the writing on the wall.

Actually, I think you should just buy a Mac.
Then you can just try some of these things instead of asking about them. It's much easier to do some of these things than explain how to do them.
And you can then ask specific questions just about the things that you can't figure out.

But regarding file sharing via Ethernet:
Yes, each Mac will assign itself an IP address.
A regular Ethernet cable will work - all recent Macs have auto-sensing so can deal with either a cross-over or regular Ethernet cable.

IP addresses are self-assigned if there is no router. Bonjour networking should allow configuration-free auto-discovery but I sometimes assign manual IP addresses.

Doesn't matter. Mac Ethernet cards have been auto-sensing for many years. It will auto-detect whether your cable is regular or crossover and auto-adapt the signal to make a connection.

This is not an issue of Mac or PC but of wireless networking in general. Ad hoc access points are much more likely to be rogues or honeypots, doesn't matter what type of computer (or these days, what wi-fi phone) you are connecting with. That said, the Airport menu in Mac OS X lists ad-hoc (called "computer-to-computer") networks separately at the bottom of the networks list so that you can see they are different from the fixed stations at the top of the list. There might be a way to suppress them from showing up at all, but I don't know how.

But overall you would say that mac networking file sharing is a lot easier than win xp ,right? (That is the core reason I want to switch ease of networking-> home home /work home etc. ).

Or does the silence mena that mac newroking and windows networking are about the same in difficulty?

I've always found Windows networking to be counter intuitive compared to the Mac.

Yeah , as I go more and more to Best Buy and Apple store to fiddle with imac's and learn a little more, I am finding out that this tends to be true.

Anyhow, I am either holding out for the new iMacs in mid October, which I hope will have a DVD-+R standard on all models and maybe even Blue Ray support.

Chill

The iMac has already had a standard dual-layer DVD -/+R burner for about 3 years now. Only certain models were available without that, generally only for education sales. Blue Ray is likely coming this month.

Cool, I really hope that apple does include blueray/dvd-+r on all models even the basic ones.

Anyhow, I went to Future Shop today, and asked a dude to share mac files,
he had some difficulty insisting that he has some manual backup program on
the floor demonstrator called deep freeze, but I was able to get a jist on
hoe macs share files if there are two macs beside one another.
i.Create a network etc. ii.turn on the sharing folder iii.add the desktop and
all appropriate folders to be shared (and maybe turn on apple talk).
Now comes the hard part, accesing my home mac from my work mac;

1.how does one go about doing that aceesing home mac from work?

2. what is a good networking book about macs to read?

3. Since the guy at the store had trouble making MAC's share,
and kept telling me that this should be way more easier at home,
my determination and enthusiasm towards switching and dropping
1300 CDN, has waivered quite a lot. The people on the forum have
been like yeah its easy, but in practice it seemed hard, and now I am
a bit confused. Is it seriously easy? (I know I am beating a dead horse
but loosing that much moola and then finding out that it was not
what I thought it to be is worth asking the question again).


Cheers.

I suspect that when BluRay does come it will be on the high end machines first. Is there a BluRay/DVD(DL)+-RW/CDRW drive out there? If not (and I suspect not in any economic form) BluRay will show up as a second drive on the Pro line. It won't reach the lower lines and laptops until there's a cheap combo drive.

Sounds like the Future Shop guy just didn't know how to do it. Even if Deep Freeze and the permissions or network setup didn't allow sharing, he still should have been able to show the Sharing pane and walk through some of the steps.

It really is easy. Turn on sharing, pick folders and drives to share, connect to shared volumes. Any difficulty should be a one time setup on the host Mac and from my recollection, it's dead easy.

Accessing from work might be more difficult only if you are behind a router at home which would "hide" the Mac. There are ways to get around this though, and mostly have to do with the router configuration not the Mac.

I haven't picked up a Mac book in quite a while, but the MacWorld article I posted before is really good.

I've been using Windows since 3.0, and MacOS since 7.5.
The networking concepts are identical, I can't say that either one is easier than the other these days. The difference is merely in some terminology and different control panels. If you have a basic grasp of TCP/IP, it's all the same. Apple's file sharing protocol runs over IP just like Windows Netbios does. All the same rules still apply. Before you read a book specific to Mac networking, I'd suggest getting more familiar with TCP/IP in general.
I think one reason the store clerk told you to get a router was because that would simplify at least one thing: both computers would automatically be assigned valid IP's and subnet masks without having to do any configuration. I would agree with that.

Now, to copy files between them you do have two choices. Make a share on the Mac and copy to it from Windows, or share your drive in Windows and copy from it on the Mac. If you're not familiar with setting up shares on the Mac, option B might be better for you.

Next, accessing home computers from work... I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that neither is easier for that. What exactly do you want to access? Remote control of the PC? Or just access file shares? Neither one is a particularly safe thing to open up to the internet, on either platform, unless you setup a router with VPN capabilities. (which would be my first suggestion) Then understand that most corporate networks use proxies or firewalls to block many ports that are used for this. For instance I can't access file shares or VPN into my home computer from work due to the proxy they've setup. Verify what's allowed from that site before deciding what and how to access home computers.

:D Identical? I've never heard of a Mac user with this problem:
As for accessing computers from outside your local network, it's the router(s) that is/are the issue there, not the computer. Other than having a private ip address, your computer doesn't know the difference between a LAN and the internet. It will share with anything that can connect to it as long as it's set up to share.

Concepts are identical, implementation is not.
You'll never see a WINS error on a Mac, but you'll never see this error in Windows:

I suppose I shouldn't have mentioned the error and instead pointed out that WINS is a configuration option in Windows that makes it more complicated than is necessary. Bonjour pretty much works or not. User intervention is rarely required. That's part of why Windows networking seems so counter intuitive.

I half agree. One could say WINS either works or not as well. I wouldn't call it counter-intuitive so much as a complete lack of effort on their part to explain what things are. They could include a note in that control panel that explains that WINS is a legacy protocol, and that if you don't know what it is, you have no reason to touch it. It's not used on home networks, and on corporate networks that do still use it, the settings are pushed down with the DHCP packet. Name resolution is all done via DNS now.
But they don't, so if someone gets the error you mentioned, they have no clue what it means, or even if it's important.
I'll still say though, that 99% of the time, basic networking in windows is still plug'n'play, just like it is on OS X. When you get to advanced settings, yeah, things start to get more obscure.
But plugging into a router to get on the internet and share files is pretty trivial on both.

Hi guys, I am back.

1. Does Apple still do cheap shots on their newly purchased Macbooks, like if I want to use the 802.11N (enabler) option on my macbook/imac airport card will Apple charge me money (assume I do NOT own an airport extreme).

2. I tried getting an answer about this in the ipod forum: Even though all NEW ipod touches are shipped with recent firmware allowing for mail, suppose I go into Best Buy and purchase on that has been sitting around for a few months (meaning it has the old
firmware), will they oblige me to pay 20$ to get the new firmware with mail on it?

3. I tried searching for this, but is there a good forum on how to make Airport Extreme's
(802.11 N) USB drive troubleshoot with win xp ?

BTW :1. my latop is NTFS 2.My USB external HDD is FAT32 a seagate 60 GB with a plug in power source for the drive.

I think it is very easy - if the software doesn't come with your new hardware then you will likely need to pay the nominal fee for it when it comes out later.
This is something that Apple was forced into doing by the Sarbanes-Oxley legislation:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarbanes-Oxley
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wi-Fi_T...classic_Mac_OS

So I repeat: if you buy old hardware (e.g. that has been sitting around in the store for a while) that doesn't come with the software you refer to, then you will likely need to pay the norminal fee to get it.

I'm not sure what you mean by "how to make Airport Extreme's (802.11 N) USB drive troubleshoot with win xp". The word "troubleshoot" means something that you do when you experience trouble. Maybe you want to ask the question more clearly. There should be no problem in accessing a drive attached to the Airport Extreme from Windows XP.

Hi , thanks for the help:), that explains the 2$ fee for the enabler for the macbook, I presume the same reasoning applies to question #2 the ipod touch upgrade? While 2$ seems reasonable to follow the law, 20$ does not.
I think Apple decided to take advantage of this legislative "misfortune" with
the ipod touch. I am not convinced Steve Jobs cannot call up Barbra Boxer or Diane Feinstein, and have them change a few amendments and have it passed in the house or senate. --Actually Hayne you have peaked my interest, I am going to email Apple to get a clear answer on the ipod touch
upgrade issue, and assuming this is true I will just ask what version of firmware comes with mail etc.

Moreover, can you please tell me what steps you took to make the USB drive work with windows XP in Airport Extreme 802.11N. The Apple site does not do a good job on this. As well, can you tell me if my winXP has to be fat32 in order to be operable with Airport Extreme N, or if it has to be on the same work group.

ADDENDUM: I just found out that if you have Leopard you do not need to pay 2$ for teh 802.11N enabler I think someone back me up on this.

Moreover, if I get a Touch and find out that it has old firmware without mail and stuff I will just return it. Seriously as of today's date Apple is still holding onto the 20$ fee.

Dear folks, ok, I just bought an Airpot Extreme , and I already own an Airport Express and I tried to make them work together on windows XP . ****!, what a bloody nightmare, somehow with osme quick thinking 5 hours and some maneuvering, I got AEX to SLAVE TO AEBSA(802.11N). I had to use the sofware installer of both individually and somehow they both recognized together on Windows XP with teh new airport utility. PLEASE someone tell me that if I had a MAC computer, slaving AEX and AEBSA would be easy.
(somehow I am scaerd of the answer because I know that some MAC users
had big problems making both work with a MAC.

IF you own an AEX and an AEBSA please tell me your thoughts on this subj.

It should be easy, but I hesitate to say that when Windows is involved.

Maybe you should download this. Check out pages 48-49.

I did see that except half of the problem was when windoes wireless zero system try utility is connected to one airpot it cannot see the other.
SO you have to connect to one via system trya wireles config Icon, set it utp , disconnect frmo that wireless network refresh and then redo it for all other airports.

Apple care versus BestBuy PSP/PRP

Please comment as to which one is better.

Mmmm. They're completely different types of things. (I'm assuming that Best Buy PSP/PRP are their 'extended warranty' programs that they try to push you into buying every time you buy anything from them. If PSP/PRP is something different, please explain.)

The Best Buy program is an insurance program that Best Buy gets through a third party that will replace electronic gear if it fails during the extended warranty time period.

Apple Care is done by the manufacturer itself (Apple in this case) and is a program where they will support you if you have problems, at least to an extent, as well as repair or replace the hardware when it fails during the warranty time period. Best Buy's extended warranty program only replaces.

Which one is better? Well, if you just want insurance that your electronics won't fail, and if they do you want to throw it away and get a replacement, then Best Buy's is better. If you want manufacturer support for issues, and don't believe in throwing things away when they are still repairable, then Apple's is better.

Trevor

Here is the thing, MY Vista laptop just got some sort of update and then the speakers stopped working. HP will not investigate teh issues except saying
quite a few peopel had this problem and its a Vista problem.

Now Iam affraid Apple will do the same and say its just an intermittent problem or some BS.

Meaning in teh sense that If there is a deign software flaw will apple care just deny it or actually do somethign about it.

Two things:
1) Apple is consistently rated very highly for customer service relative to PC makers.

2) Apple makes the hardware and the software, so there's nobody to shift the blame to.

I think your bad experiences with Windows PCs are clouding your perception of Apple and Macs.

Is there any way to get Office OSX for cheaper than the 169 rebated .

Yes.

I noticed a lot of dismal ratings for MS office 2008 for mac osx,
I also noticed that the windows version MS office was crap.

Can anyone who has mac office (the news one) how its acting?
You supposedly cannot do scientific work in excel anymore, true or false?
Is open office user friendy and refined?

I AM OFFICIALLY A MAPPLE PERSON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (for reference to Mapple please see video) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7L2fsubA2-c

13.3 inch Apple Macbook Pro, with wireless mouse Snow Leopard and Apple Care.

My initial reaction when plugging in and opening my computer was wow, except there was one thing that put a damper on my celebration.
When I started up my new MAcbook Pro introduction video came up and then it asked me to create a name and then a folder name that I
cannot change. It then it tried to take a picture of me, at the same time I noticed that it tried to communicate with Apple's servers.

My question is why? Why does Apple need my picture and name on their server.

They don't, and I doubt they want that information. More likely it was sending your registration information or checking for software updates.

Hi, as I said before I am a Mapple person woot!

Now I own a wireless mighty mouse I am just finding that the calibration on it is not that great. Is there any way to fix this (aside from system preferences mouse, tracking which fixes the tracking fine, but does nothing for the calibration)?

Thanks.

Please note that I have a blue Fellowes brand mouse pad made out of solid blue plastic. I dont know if that changes anything


Also I just wanted to knwo can I use wildcards to search in spotlight such as *.mp3?

Can you explain what you mean by 'calibration'?
If you move the mouse, the cursor moves. It moves in the same direction as your physical movement. If you move the mouse faster, the cursor moves a greater distance at a greater speed. So, the movement is determined by you, in conjunction with your tracking settings.

It just seems a little bit sluggish compared to my wired (gasp! Microsoft mouse).

Anyways, I think Snow Leopard does not have a calibration test where you center teh x/y of the mouse, I think they should , or maybe if there is a hidden menu that I am not seeing.

:confused:
Pick up mouse. Move mouse. Put mouse down?

I think you are saying that the acceleration curve is different for the two mice. That would come from having different drivers for the two mice. There is (as far as I know) no way to customize/modify the acceleration curve for Apple mice except by installing 3rd-party drivers - there have been a few threads about this on these forums.


Mice don't have a centre. They only measure relative movement. (I.e. what cwtnospam said.)

What keywords do I have to search for ?

Thanks.

Bump, what keywords do I search for so I can help myself out to read up on it.

I think the programs that you want and the third party drivers hayne referenced to are no longer available/relevant for Snow Leopard.

I think microsoft mice come with there own software programs, no? Most other mice manufactures provide their own "calibration" or "acceleration curve modifier" software.

Well, since you are looking for threads that discuss ways to modify the acceleration curve of Apple mice, I'd say that acceleration curve modify apple mouse would seem appropriate. :rolleyes:

Just type .mp3 into spotlight and any files ending with .mp3 will appear. No need to type the * wildcard. Spotlight can do all sorts of nifty stuff, scroll down to post #7 in this thread:

http://forums.macosxhints.com/showthread.php?t=105621