Apple Newb Questions

Yes.

Yes. GUIDE: Networking Windows with OS X.

Provided you have the Mac version of the Adobe/Microsoft apps you will have no problem here.

Yes.

 

Yup. AirportExtreme is Apple's consumer-friendly name for 802.11g.

I have an easier time setting our Macs up than the Windows laptop

None that I can remember. I was in a mixed-platform art department and the worst that ever happened was this one guy who couldn't manage to send attachments from PC Outlook to Mac Outlook without the attachment getting all fouled up. He quit, life went back to normal.

The only advantage I can think of is OS X's Airport Admin app which puts a nicer-than-average GUI on the router's control panel. My D-Link router has a pretty easy-to-use web-based GUI, so I don't miss the AEBS.

On my TiBook 667, I think the RAM is underneath the keyboard but I'm not sure where it is on the newer models. I'm sure Apple made it easy to do though.

Good luck with it!

 

Well I suppose one benefit is that you wont have to lug around as much heavy cash.

Apart from Airport Express (with airtunes and whatnot), there is no reason to get an Apple basestation.

And even then, the Airport express is pretty pricey, does not bridge with 99.99% of non-apple routers, does not have an extendable antenna, cannot route wired computers, and is really supposed to be used for limited applications.

Without bridging, computers not wirelessly connected through the Airport Extreme cannot use the printer sharing or air-tunes functionality.

There's no reason why the airport express couldn't emulate a hub, other than Apple is mean .

 

Adding more ram ony require you to get the four super soft screws which is a pain to remove.Thus, you need a really pointed or brand new size 0 screwdriver. The screws are so soft that i end up rounding all four of them.

 

If you don't already have a router, I would have to recommend an Airport Express router at the moment. You can use it with 10 computers (good for home network) and you can send print jobs and music to it. And for the price, you can't go wrong.