Hi everyone,
I'm a university student (and new to Mac) with a more-than-aged setup and I will be replacing my Windows desktop with an older 21-inch iMac and my laptop with a new rMBP 15 in a couple of weeks. I'm just having some difficulty figuring out how my setup is going to work harmoniously, and I was wondering what some of you guys would do in my shoes. My knowledge of OSX is limited, so I'm not sure what is/isn't possible. Here are my issues:
1: Files
I will be transferring all of my old files on my desktop to my new computers, obviously. However, I don't know how I will be able to manage files harmoniously between the iMac and the rMBP. I ultimately would like to be able to have all my old and new documents and pictures on both machines and when I update a file on one machine, I don't have to go manually copy the updated files on the other. I know this setup is far-fetched on a PC setup, but I was wondering if OSX has any provisions for this sort of thing.
I'm not directly closed to other options, mind you. For example, I would be 100% okay with having all files on the rMPB and just working with them over LAN when I'm at home when I want to use the iMac instead.
TL;DR = Want to have all my documents on iMac when at home and rMBP when not at my desk or not home. Also want to sync these documents automatically somehow. Other options are welcome.
1.5: Remote-access
If I decide that I'm going to have files on both machines and if I need to access my iMac from abroad, what is the simplest way to do this? I know about Team Viewer, but not sure if it is possible to do this automatically without someone else on the other side?
2: Externals/Backups
I have a semi-complicated external HDD situation at the moment. Originally, I was NOT planning on having the iMac (it was given to me by a friend). But, it makes more sense to me to have a desktop/laptop arrangement vs. only laptop.
What I have and my original intentions:
-1TB portable WD USB 3.0 HDD with nothing on it which I was going to format to Apple file system and just use that as supplement storage for when the on-board storage on the machines runs dry (I'm only getting the 256 SSD on the rMBP). This seems straight forward to me.
-500GB WD Firewire/USB2.0 HDD with all of my music, Windows backups, movie library, other important stuff, etc. on it already. This is formatted for NTFS, unfortunately. HOWEVER, my plan for this was just to leave it as an archive/music library drive and use Parallels to write on it if need be. Tell me if this works or doesn't make sense.
-2TB WD Network HDD. This is where it gets a bit complicated. This HDD is already configured with someone else's iMac in my house using Time Machine. My question for this is if I can setup three Apple machines with Time Machine with this one drive.
Let me know if anyone would do this setup differently.
TL;DR = 1TB portable, formatting to Apple FS and using for daily use. 500GB self-powered drive, keeping on NTFS as an archive/music&movie library, will use Parallels with Windows to write on it. 2TB Network drive, need to figure out backing up three different machines on the same drive.
3: Note-taking
I currently use Evernote for notes, but I'm used to using OneNote for this sort of thing and I prefer it over Evernote tremendously. Is there anyone here who takes notes and uses 2+ machines who has advice on this front?
Thank you for reading my wall of text and thanks in advance for any help! I'll post more questions when I think of them. Feel free to answer any or all questions.
PS: For those of you wondering, I would be willing to not use the iMac entirely and just keep everything local on the rMBP, but I will always be afraid of what might happen if I lose my rMBP or if it gets stolen, etc.
I'm a university student (and new to Mac) with a more-than-aged setup and I will be replacing my Windows desktop with an older 21-inch iMac and my laptop with a new rMBP 15 in a couple of weeks. I'm just having some difficulty figuring out how my setup is going to work harmoniously, and I was wondering what some of you guys would do in my shoes. My knowledge of OSX is limited, so I'm not sure what is/isn't possible. Here are my issues:
1: Files
I will be transferring all of my old files on my desktop to my new computers, obviously. However, I don't know how I will be able to manage files harmoniously between the iMac and the rMBP. I ultimately would like to be able to have all my old and new documents and pictures on both machines and when I update a file on one machine, I don't have to go manually copy the updated files on the other. I know this setup is far-fetched on a PC setup, but I was wondering if OSX has any provisions for this sort of thing.
I'm not directly closed to other options, mind you. For example, I would be 100% okay with having all files on the rMPB and just working with them over LAN when I'm at home when I want to use the iMac instead.
TL;DR = Want to have all my documents on iMac when at home and rMBP when not at my desk or not home. Also want to sync these documents automatically somehow. Other options are welcome.
1.5: Remote-access
If I decide that I'm going to have files on both machines and if I need to access my iMac from abroad, what is the simplest way to do this? I know about Team Viewer, but not sure if it is possible to do this automatically without someone else on the other side?
2: Externals/Backups
I have a semi-complicated external HDD situation at the moment. Originally, I was NOT planning on having the iMac (it was given to me by a friend). But, it makes more sense to me to have a desktop/laptop arrangement vs. only laptop.
What I have and my original intentions:
-1TB portable WD USB 3.0 HDD with nothing on it which I was going to format to Apple file system and just use that as supplement storage for when the on-board storage on the machines runs dry (I'm only getting the 256 SSD on the rMBP). This seems straight forward to me.
-500GB WD Firewire/USB2.0 HDD with all of my music, Windows backups, movie library, other important stuff, etc. on it already. This is formatted for NTFS, unfortunately. HOWEVER, my plan for this was just to leave it as an archive/music library drive and use Parallels to write on it if need be. Tell me if this works or doesn't make sense.
-2TB WD Network HDD. This is where it gets a bit complicated. This HDD is already configured with someone else's iMac in my house using Time Machine. My question for this is if I can setup three Apple machines with Time Machine with this one drive.
Let me know if anyone would do this setup differently.
TL;DR = 1TB portable, formatting to Apple FS and using for daily use. 500GB self-powered drive, keeping on NTFS as an archive/music&movie library, will use Parallels with Windows to write on it. 2TB Network drive, need to figure out backing up three different machines on the same drive.
3: Note-taking
I currently use Evernote for notes, but I'm used to using OneNote for this sort of thing and I prefer it over Evernote tremendously. Is there anyone here who takes notes and uses 2+ machines who has advice on this front?
Thank you for reading my wall of text and thanks in advance for any help! I'll post more questions when I think of them. Feel free to answer any or all questions.
PS: For those of you wondering, I would be willing to not use the iMac entirely and just keep everything local on the rMBP, but I will always be afraid of what might happen if I lose my rMBP or if it gets stolen, etc.
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