New about Macbook and a few questions

[dmrc1143]

Hi guys,
I haven't used a macbook before. Now I want to buy a MacBook pro forcetouch one but have a few questions. Thank you for your answers.

1. Does MacBook's Bluetooth work only with Apple devices? Can I use it with my Samsung mobile and headsets etc..?
2. If I install Windows with bootcamp, most features would work? Like finger gestures, other devices drivers etc..?
3. Is it possible to put -fully- Linux based distributions instead macOS?
4. Would I have problem with communication between my non apple devices and macbook
5. Do you have another advice for me?

Thank you.

 

[maflynn]

1. Yes, BT works for any BT device.
2. Finger gestures is an OS based feature, so they will not be available in Windows.
3. Yes, you can load Linux, Windows or any OS on the MBP.
4. Maybe, maybe not. Its hard to answer such a generic open ended question.
5. Buy it now, and you'll have until January to return it, thanks to the holiday return period. That way you can see if the MBP is a product for you.

 

[dangerfish]

1. Bluetooth is bluetooth just like Wifi is wifi. Its generic. So long as both device support the same versions of the protocol, they will work fine.
2. Yes, most features will work. But don't expect Mac gestures to work in Windows. Windows gestures will work in Windows. They gestures are OS dependent, not hardware. Your best bet to have interoperability between the two would be to use VM software instead of Bootcamp.
3. I believe so. It would be a real shame though.
4. Not enough info to provide an answer.
5. Buy from the Apple refurb store if the Mac you want is available there.

 

[dmrc1143]

1. Yes, BT works for any BT device.
2. Finger gestures is an OS based feature, so they will not be available in Windows.
3. Yes, you can load Linux, Windows or any OS on the MBP.
4. Maybe, maybe not. Its hard to answer such a generic open ended question.
5. Buy it now, and you'll have until January to return it, thanks to the holiday return period. That way you can see if the MBP is a product for you.

1. Bluetooth is bluetooth just like Wifi is wifi. Its generic. So long as both device support the same versions of the protocol, they will work fine.
2. Yes, most features will work. But don't expect Mac gestures to work in Windows. Windows gestures will work in Windows. They gestures are OS dependent, not hardware. Your best bet to have interoperability between the two would be to use VM software instead of Bootcamp.
3. I believe so. It would be a real shame though.
4. Not enough info to provide an answer.
5. Buy from the Apple refurb store if the Mac you want is available there.

thank you for your answers

I mean with 4th:
-I have a little knowledge about MBP but I know iPhones and general Apple devices. Apple uses closed system and I have not any Apple devices. I am afraid of MBP will not let me use my other devices and even more , It will not let me do something on it like another computer (like windows).

And I don't live USA/UK so I don't have a chance to try a MBP and return it. So I am trying to be sure, is MBP good for me. So I need your helps.
Thank you again.

 

[hallux]

On your 4th item, what the other posters mean by "not enough information" is that they are asking what you plan to do with those other devices that has them interacting with the Mac.

I use Android phones and tablets, those "interact" just fine with my MBP. By tat I mean that I can get all the same mail accounts on all my devices. There's a Google Drive app for Mac that allows me to see my Drive files within Finder on the Mac. There's a Google Play Music Manager app that allows you to sync your iTunes library to the Play Music cloud so you can listen to the same music on your Android devices (or anywhere you can access Play music). Android devices will link to the Mac via Bluetooth if you want to copy files from one to the other that way.

 

[dmrc1143]

On your 4th item, what the other posters mean by "not enough information" is that they are asking what you plan to do with those other devices that has them interacting with the Mac.

I use Android phones and tablets, those "interact" just fine with my MBP. By tat I mean that I can get all the same mail accounts on all my devices. There's a Google Drive app for Mac that allows me to see my Drive files within Finder on the Mac. There's a Google Play Music Manager app that allows you to sync your iTunes library to the Play Music cloud so you can listen to the same music on your Android devices (or anywhere you can access Play music). Android devices will link to the Mac via Bluetooth if you want to copy files from one to the other that way.

The answer that I want to hear.
Thank you.

Even so, I can accept more answers to decide more clear.

 

[Meister]

Hi guys,
I haven't used a macbook before. Now I want to buy a MacBook pro forcetouch one but have a few questions. Thank you for your answers.

1. Does MacBook's Bluetooth work only with Apple devices? Can I use it with my Samsung mobile and headsets etc..?
2. If I install Windows with bootcamp, most features would work? Like finger gestures, other devices drivers etc..?
3. Is it possible to put -fully- Linux based distributions instead macOS?
4. Would I have problem with communication between my non apple devices and macbook
5. Do you have another advice for me?

Thank you.

Contrary to some other posters rather blue-eyed advice:

1. Samsung phones, yes. Other devices, not necessarily.

2. Gestures do not work.
Neither Apple nor Microsoft support running Windows on a Mac. Bootcamp works in most cases, but not always.

3. There is no guarantee you will be able to run any other operating system than OSX.

4. Possibly

5. Go all Apple.

 

[maflynn]

There is no guarantee you will be able to run any other operating system than OSX.

That's a bit incorrect. People easily run many different flavors of Linux and windows on a Mac. Ubuntu has a whole set of wiki pages dedicated to the various settings you need for the various Mac models running Ubunto. I have personally run a number of distros, including Ubuntu and Fedora.

 

[Meister]

That's a bit incorrect. People easily run many different flavors of Linux and windows on a Mac. Ubuntu has a whole set of wiki pages dedicated to the various settings you need for the various Mac models running Ubunto. I have personally run a number of distros, including Ubuntu and Fedora.

I've also run both windows and Ubuntu on Mac.

But in some cases I couldn't get them to run. There is no guarantee that it works and their is no official support.

 

[maflynn]

There is no guarantee that it works and their is no official support.

That's just plain silly, and i think you're only trying to spook the OP. Linux is fine on Mac hardware and Windows is great on a Mac. Plus for windows, apple does provide some official support, just navigate to http://www.apple.com/support/bootcamp/ So it seems apple does have support pages for windows

 

[Meister]

That's just plain silly, and i think you're only trying to spook the OP. Linux is fine on Mac hardware and Windows is great on a Mac. Plus for windows, apple does provide some official support, just navigate to http://www.apple.com/support/bootcamp/ So it seems apple does have support pages for windows

In at least one case I could not get windows to work and apple told me that they do not provide support. Apple support discussions and this forum couldn't help either.

I give the OP a warning based on my personal experiences.

There is nothing silly about it.
Google it. Plenty of folks seem to have the exact same problems.

 

[maflynn]

You can say the same thing with people having issues with El Cap. That is you can find anything on the net.

Regardless, I had my say, the OP can determine himself what is best for his needs, and since he asked about Linux, he's probably already familiar with the OS.

Either way, I'll not derail this thread any further

 

[dmrc1143]

Allright, may I ask another question.
I heard that Apple provides switching between windows and osx with a simple gesture on trackpad. It runs both os at the same time and let us switching (without reboot) between them in run time. Is is true or possible and if so, how?

 

[maflynn]

I heard that Apple provides switching between windows and osx

To run both basically at the same time, you need virtualization software such as VmWare, Parallels, or VirtualBox.

The first two offer free trials, and the third is open source so its free.

I personally, like VmWare Fusion because the stability and great support that VmWare offers.

 

[Samuelsan2001]

Allright, may I ask another question.
I heard that Apple provides switching between windows and osx with a simple gesture on trackpad. It runs both os at the same time and let us switching (without reboot) between them in run time. Is is true or possible and if so, how?

Maflynn has described this well but it is worth noting that with virtualisation you will need to allocate some of your computers resources (cores and RAM) to running the virtual machine this will then be unavailable to OSX, fine if you are doing non intensive things not so good if you want to edit 4K video.

 

[dangerfish]

Allright, may I ask another question.
I heard that Apple provides switching between windows and osx with a simple gesture on trackpad. It runs both os at the same time and let us switching (without reboot) between them in run time. Is is true or possible and if so, how?

This is not true. In order to run more than one OS at the same time, you will need 3rd party VM software such as VM Ware or Parallels.

 

[Meister]

You can say the same thing with people having issues with El Cap. That is you can find anything on the net.

Regardless, I had my say, the OP can determine himself what is best for his needs, and since he asked about Linux, he's probably already familiar with the OS.

Either way, I'll not derail this thread any further

You are not derailing.

It is very much on topic that neither apple nor MS provide any active support for running windows.

When ElCapitan doesn't run they'll have to provide support and fix it.

 

[glenthompson]

The main reason for buying a Mac should be to run OS X. If you want to run Windows or Linux, you can find cheaper machines optimized and supported on those system. Yes, some of us have to run the occasional Windows program in a VM or via bootcamp but do so grudgingly.

After 25+ years of supporting Windows I'm glad to be rid of it. I have been able to find plenty of apps todo what I want.

 

[maflynn]

The main reason for buying a Mac should be to run OS X.

I know a number of people that slap Windows on their Macs and are happy with that. Different strokes for different folks. I too support windows (desktops and servers) and I have no qualms with running windows at home

When ElCapitan doesn't run they'll have to provide support and fix it.

Yosemites had issues, some of which were never addressed. El Cap is a more stable product that Yosemite but apple's annual upgrade process doesn't always lend itself to stable platforms. OS X is not inherently more stable then windows or Linux at this point. All have their respective advantages and disadvantages.