Hi all, like most, I'm thinking about switching over to the world of Mac machines. I have two iPods and an iPhone(2G) so I'm not new to the Mac-world, and I've been on here snooping for awhile so I know most of the solid facts, and I'm an electrical-engineer, so I know quite a bit about computers. So I'll try to make this easy 
I'm an engineering student. A third year, so I only have a year and a half left of undergrad, so I need to think about using this for both school and after I graduate. I plan on getting a MacBook 2.4 GHz, 2GB at least to start (may go to 4, not sure if it'll be a huge difference). I need the portability of the 13", and the base MBP is nice, but the big differences are the bigger screen and graphics card, and 15" are a pain to lug around and I don't hardcore game. I will need to run Parallels, or something similar, for engineering Windows-only programs.
So here are my questions:
1. how is the heat on the Macbook? My current Fujitsu tablet overheats like none other, I hate it. I'm talking about just regular use (iTunes, Firefox, Word, all at once)
2. I do do some basic gaming in Sims - I'm assuming something basic like Sims will run on the MB without hosing it?
3. How difficult is Parallels to use and install programs on? Some of my engineering programs are downloaded online and need a license.txt file saved, so I'm wondering if it'll be a hassle or not.
4. Typical battery life? (using wifi, basics such as iTunes, Word, etc)
5. Speaking of Word, does anyone use Office for Mac? Group work involves a lot of use of Word, Excel, Powerpoint, so I'm not sure the compatibility of all of that without Office (I can buy it for $10 through my school, so no biggie to get it, at all)
6. I know technology ages and it won't be top-line in, well, a year, but is 3-5 years of use an acceptable expectation for a MacBook? I figure somewhere in that timeframe I'll have my own income and will itch to get a new one, but just in case the economy totally tanks...
7. Any engineers out there using a Mac system to do their work on?
8. Any other tips, advice, random info?
Happy Mac-ing
I'm an engineering student. A third year, so I only have a year and a half left of undergrad, so I need to think about using this for both school and after I graduate. I plan on getting a MacBook 2.4 GHz, 2GB at least to start (may go to 4, not sure if it'll be a huge difference). I need the portability of the 13", and the base MBP is nice, but the big differences are the bigger screen and graphics card, and 15" are a pain to lug around and I don't hardcore game. I will need to run Parallels, or something similar, for engineering Windows-only programs.
So here are my questions:
1. how is the heat on the Macbook? My current Fujitsu tablet overheats like none other, I hate it. I'm talking about just regular use (iTunes, Firefox, Word, all at once)
2. I do do some basic gaming in Sims - I'm assuming something basic like Sims will run on the MB without hosing it?
3. How difficult is Parallels to use and install programs on? Some of my engineering programs are downloaded online and need a license.txt file saved, so I'm wondering if it'll be a hassle or not.
4. Typical battery life? (using wifi, basics such as iTunes, Word, etc)
5. Speaking of Word, does anyone use Office for Mac? Group work involves a lot of use of Word, Excel, Powerpoint, so I'm not sure the compatibility of all of that without Office (I can buy it for $10 through my school, so no biggie to get it, at all)
6. I know technology ages and it won't be top-line in, well, a year, but is 3-5 years of use an acceptable expectation for a MacBook? I figure somewhere in that timeframe I'll have my own income and will itch to get a new one, but just in case the economy totally tanks...
7. Any engineers out there using a Mac system to do their work on?
8. Any other tips, advice, random info?
Happy Mac-ing