What should I know before X-mas morning!!!

First, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for being so very organized and detailed in telling the member base here at MacRumors what your interests are so that the members here can recommend software.

Now, on that note. I suggest buying Photoshop CS3 or CS4, either or. You should buy Delicious Library and Aperture. I think you should buy Office 2008 and iWork, because redundancy is key.

Games ... buy Spore, WOW, and Call of Duty.

Merry Christmas.

jessica. said:

First, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for being so very organized and detailed in telling the member base here at MacRumors what your interests are so that the members here can recommend software.

Now, on that note. I suggest buying Photoshop CS3 or CS4, either or. You should buy Delicious Library and Aperture. I think you should buy Office 2008 and iWork, because redundancy is key.

Games ... buy Spore, WOW, and Call of Duty.

Merry Christmas.

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Ha! Ha!

Translating what jessica. said... we need some more information to adequately make sound recommendations based on your needs

Woof, Woof - Dawg

i1alian085 said:

which version of office for mac should i buy. i see like 40 different types.

and is firefox on macs better or worse than safari?

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Firefox v. Safari is a running issue and is personal preference
Lots of threads here about it... search with MRoogle
Try them both and come to your own conclusion
Firefox has the advantage of plugins, but Safari has it's pluses too

Office 2008 is the latest version, but 2004 might be a more stable product
Of course you can use Open Office and Neo Office for free
If you don't need complete compatibility and cross utilization with Windows try iWork

Woof, Woof - Dawg

MacDawg said:

Firefox v. Safari is a running issue and is personal preference
Lots of threads here about it... search with MRoogle
Try them both and come to your own conclusion
Firefox has the advantage of plugins, but Safari has it's pluses too

Office 2008 is the latest version, but 2004 might be a more stable product
Of course you can use Open Office and Neo Office for free
If you don't need complete compatibility and cross utilization with Windows try iWork

Woof, Woof - Dawg

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Or you could download the web browser "Opera" for free and enjoy a more pleasant browsing experience from a browser that created most of the features you enjoy on Firefox and Safari.

As for games, I would stay away from Spore. It's a lot of fun at first, then it gets boring, REALLY fast. I bought it, and I wish I hadn't. $50 wasted.

If you need office applications, I recommend iWork. For your needs, it will be more than adequate, I'm sure, and it's much cheaper (and only one version).

I said Office 2008.
Firefox is better on a MacBook Pro than it is on any other mac actually.

i1alian085 said:

which version of office for mac should i buy. i see like 40 different types.

and is firefox on macs better or worse than safari?

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I prefer safari, but I have to use Firefox because Safari will not support my online labs for college.

I use iWork, I think it's better (after installing both 30 day trials of iWork and Office 2008).

Spore is fun for about three days....I wasted the money on the Special Edition....waste of $100.

Dont buy officemac 2008. Its junk, VBA macros are non existent. So if you use excel much, its useless. If you dont know what im talking about, its where u open the menu and go to add-ins, and there are no add-ins so. So its a waste, wait for the next version. Just read the reviews on it, youll see the major displeasure with everyone. If you go to college office 08 is a waste, i promise you it will fall short on something you want to do. And i concur on not getting spore. Its cool for a day then boring.

i1alian085 said:

I know there is a 2gb 250gb 15" mbp under the tree.

i am switching from pc to mac, and so excited.

i need to now what i should be buying as far as software....apps....settings...what to do?

help guys!!

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You should know that you are luckier than most. Most families cant afford to purchase their kids a MBP. Most are getting 500 dollar windows laptops.

That Santa isn't real

Next Tuesday said:

You should know that you are luckier than most. Most families cant afford to purchase their kids a MBP. Most are getting 500 dollar windows laptops.

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And your point will be what exactly?
Let his parent's worry about their wallets.

iVeBeenDrinkin' said:

That Santa isn't real

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Oh now come on, that wasn't called for...

jessica. said:

And your point will be what exactly?
Let his parent's worry about their wallets.

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Ummm, im pretty sure the point is that he got a 2k+ Mac for xmas but i could be wrong, Smh.

What should I know before X-mas morning!!!

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Go to bed early Christmas eve or Santa will not come.

Next Tuesday said:

Ummm, im pretty sure the point is that he got a 2k+ Mac for xmas but i could be wrong, Smh.

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And I'm pretty sure this isn't the point of thread.

Next Tuesday said:

You should know that you are luckier than most. Most families cant afford to purchase their kids a MBP. Most are getting 500 dollar windows laptops.

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and even more cant even afford that....

jessica. said:

And I'm pretty sure this isn't the point of thread.

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Why does a demi goddess always have to ruin a thread with their nonsense.

Pot meet kettle.

Next Tuesday said:

Ummm, im pretty sure the point is that he got a 2k+ Mac for xmas but i could be wrong, Smh.

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Again, what's wrong with the OP getting a $2k laptop? I don't see your point, they've obviously got the money to spend, so they did, they earnt it, they spent it, you can't pull a guilt trip on hard-earnt money...

Next Tuesday said:

Why does a demi goddess always have to ruin a thread with their nonsense.

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Nonsense? This thread has nothing to do with the ethics of buying an expensive gift...

As for the OP... use Open office for a while and see how you like it. It's sufficient for most. Unless you're making a lot of presentations, iWork is pretty useless as word and excel will eat pages and numbers, respectively, alive. Aside from that, I'm not gonna spoon feed you every single good app out there. There are literally thousands of threads entitled similarly to "I'M SWITCHING WHAT APPS DO I NEED?" Best of luck.

jessica. said:

Pot meet kettle.

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Excellent illustration. Care to identify who's who in that picture?

jessica. said:

Pot meet kettle.

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Haha, that picture is amazing, good job

If you have the new unibody use firefox and multiclutch. Also get quicksilver.

ChrisN

Next Tuesday said:

You should know that you are luckier than most. Most families cant afford to purchase their kids a MBP. Most are getting 500 dollar windows laptops.

Click to expand...

jessica. said:

And your point will be what exactly?
Let his parent's worry about their wallets.

Click to expand...

Next Tuesday said:

Why does a demi goddess always have to ruin a thread with their nonsense.

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I am afraid I have to agree with jessica. on this one. When I initially read your post, I thought, what does the price of the computer or the ability to buy it have to do with this thread?

Some people have money, some people don't. Are people who are getting MBPs or new cars or new boats or diamonds supposed to feel bad about it? Are they supposed to feel grateful? Anyway, who cares? The OP seems to know what is under his tree so, how much it costs and wether he is grateful for it or not is irrelevant.

Now that this thread has gotten way off topic, I recommend a timbuk2 laptop bag for your new MBP.

Adium for instant messaging
Firefox for browsing (though safari is very good too, and camino is worth a look)
Handbrake, obviously
Burn is a really nice, free media burner

As far an an office suite goes, I am still using office 04. It opens slowly the first time after a reboot, but other than that, it's quite stable and fast at this point, even though it uses rosetta.

If you don't own any of the paid office suites at this point then try open office. It's not bad at all, and if you decide not to use it, nothing lost.