Lots of questions for a newbie!

[digital150]

Hey Guys,

I just purchased a MacBook Pro (mid-2010, didnt want to spend a tonne of money if i can't use/dont like it for a new one.) and I have a lot of questions to ask.

1) What is the biggest differences i'm going to notice between OS X and Windows.

2) Does it take long to learn/get used to OS X?

3)Is it worth me upgrading the 4GB of ram to 8/16GB will I notice a difference?

4)Are there any known problems with this model?

5) It is going to come with a clean install of OS X ML, is it worth me upgrading to Mavericks straight away?

6) It comes with a 250GB hard drive, will this be enough for an average user?

Thanks in advance and if there is anything else I should know, feel free to post them for me

 

[drsox]

Hey Guys,

I just purchased a MacBook Pro (mid-2010, didnt want to spend a tonne of money if i can't use/dont like it for a new one.) and I have a lot of questions to ask.

1) What is the biggest differences i'm going to notice between OS X and Windows.

2) Does it take long to learn/get used to OS X?

3)Is it worth me upgrading the 4GB of ram to 8/16GB will I notice a difference?

4)Are there any known problems with this model?

5) It is going to come with a clean install of OS X ML, is it worth me upgrading to Mavericks straight away?

6) It comes with a 250GB hard drive, will this be enough for an average user?

Thanks in advance and if there is anything else I should know, feel free to post them for me

1 Software stability and integration
2 1 month
3 Depends on your work profile. 8GB maybe - 16Gb unlikely
4 No
5 Yes, Yes
6 More than enough

Do some Googling of your own and learn by doing

 

[digital150]

re

Thanks for the advice

 

[digital150]

another

Another question I forgot to ask, I have a lot of .wmv files.

1)Can a MacBook play them
2) If not am I better to convert the files or download a piece of software that supports .wmv files?

Thanks in advance

 

[jdechko]

Could you post a little bit about what you used your old PC for? That will help us give you better advice regarding RAM, HD space and maybe a few tips & tricks.

I would say that you should install Mavericks as soon as you can. You're already making one transition.

 

[digital150]

re

My old PC was used for web-surfing, watching videos, photoshop, work documents etc

 

[satcomer]

Look at the thread Virgin Mac user - looking for some advice.

 

[Fishrrman]

[[ 1) What is the biggest differences i'm going to notice between OS X and Windows. ]]

I'll guess
- Application installation
- Mounting/dismounting drives and volumes
- Folder creation and file management

[[ 2) Does it take long to learn/get used to OS X? ]]

Just go along, you'll pick it up quickly.

[[ 3)Is it worth me upgrading the 4GB of ram to 8/16GB will I notice a difference? ]]

I have an "April 2010" MacBook Pro. It's still running just fine on 4gb of RAM. My advice is, use it as it comes for the time being -- it may be all you need. You can always add RAM later on.

[[ 4)Are there any known problems with this model? ]]

Mine had a problem where it stopped recognizing that it had a firewire port. Apple replaced the motherboard under warranty, and the firewire port worked again, but then it stopped working a second time. However, I upgraded the system software, and the port sprang back to life, with nothing but a software update! So, I'm guessing there was some problem with a file that prevented the OS from knowing it had a firewire port at bootup (and thus loading the required drivers). It's been fine since.

Don't let this put you off in any way. I believe it was a software driver problem localized to my particular MacBook Pro. But you asked, so I answered.

[[ 5) It is going to come with a clean install of OS X ML, is it worth me upgrading to Mavericks straight away? ]]

My advice is -- use whatever version of the OS it comes loaded with for a period of time during which you become familiar with the Mac OS in general. Then you can think about upgrading.

IMPORTANT: if you DO decide to spring for an OS upgrade, create a BOOTABLE CLONE of your old OS using CarbonCopyCloner or SuperDuper. That way, you can always "go back" easily if there's a problem.

[[ 6) It comes with a 250GB hard drive, will this be enough for an average user? ]]

250gb has been fine for me -- lots and lots of free space left yet. But I don't use it to collect dozens of gb's of audio or video files...