New MacBook Pro Owner, one or two questions...

[Apple321]

Hey everyone,

Heading off to college and finally purchased a 15'' macbook pro two days ago. I'm very happy with it, but I do have a few quick questions.

1. The computer as a whole seems very well built. My only question regards the little grey plastic piece that rings around the outside of the keyboard and screen on the edges. It does not appear completely flush with the aluminum case all the way around. Some places it is nice and snug, while at other points there seems to be a slight gap. Is this normal? It reminds me of that metal piece around the front of my iPhone because that is not completely flush in all places to the phone either. Has anyone had any problems with this, or is this just normal variations/gaps that all mbps have?

2. Simple question: Can anyone recommend either iWorks or Office?

Those are the questions I have for now. Thanks to anyone with info!!

 

[MacDawg]

1. Normal for me

2. Unless you absolutely need Office I wouldn't recommend 2008


Woof, Woof - Dawg

 

[NRose8989]

1.) nope doesn't sound normal to me, if it really bothers you just send it back but it sucks because you have to go without a computer. EDIT: on second thought i just looked at mine and looks like i have a small amount of it (like 1/10mm of a difference) in one spot). still if it's extremely noticeable, just send it in. if not then oh well

2.) iWork all the way, if your just writing papers and doing powerpoints then theirs nothing Office can do that iWork can't, and it's easier to use IMO. the only people i think who need office are those who frequently work with PC users and use macros (i think thats what there called) and sometimes when you open a office document, things don't display right. as for students (like myself) iWork is a far better choice because 1.) it's cheaper, at my school you can get a full copy of iWork for $50 versus $80 for a academic version of office. 2.) in iWork you can still export your documents, spread sheets, keynotes into Microsoft office formats (.doc, .xls, .ppt) and even export to PDF, quicktime, and a couple others. I have both a copy of iWork and Office 2004, i used office for a bit when i first got my mac but then i gave iWork a try, now i don't even have Office installed on my machine.

 

[alphaod]

Hey everyone,

Heading off to college and finally purchased a 15'' macbook pro two days ago. I'm very happy with it, but I do have a few quick questions.

1. The computer as a whole seems very well built. My only question regards the little grey plastic piece that rings around the outside of the keyboard and screen on the edges. It does not appear completely flush with the aluminum case all the way around. Some places it is nice and snug, while at other points there seems to be a slight gap. Is this normal? It reminds me of that metal piece around the front of my iPhone because that is not completely flush in all places to the phone either. Has anyone had any problems with this, or is this just normal variations/gaps that all mbps have?

2. Simple question: Can anyone recommend either iWorks or Office?

Those are the questions I have for now. Thanks to anyone with info!!

1. I wouldn't worry about it; it's just the way the plastic is designed; you can't expect it to be perfect; as long as it's not a like a 2mm gap, I would say it's normal.

2. I like Office over iWork. Office is the most robust suite money can buy. Sure it costs more, but you get what you pay for; also Office has a lot more compatibility.

 

[Apple321]

Thanks for the opinions. The gaps aren't that big between the metal and the plastic, so I assumed that they were in the normal production parameters for such a thing. Also, does the plastic seem to stick out slightly from the metal in some places (a small amount <<.5mm) but enough to be able to feel the ridge slighty with your fingertips? Sorry if I ask so many questions, but I tend to question things like these until I assume ithey are normal!

My only question about Office is whether it is slow or not. I read some place that Office runs a lot slower on macs, but I don't know if that was accurate information or not. Can anyone confirm? I know I can get Office for like $7 from my school in the fall, so I dont want to waste the extra money on iworks unless there truly is some advantage to it.

Another question, is there any way to convert all of my Outlook emails so that I can have them on my mbp? I have a few months of important emails from my desktop, but since I wont be taking my desktop to college I need to have some of these moved to my mac if possible.

Also, besides being my first mac this is also my first laptop. Is it safe to carry around the laptop (such as place it in a backpack and walk around campus) when it is only in sleep mode, or is it best to turn it all the way off every time you want to move it around more than just picking it up and moving it across a room?

 

[ghostwriter]

Office 2008 definitely runs slower on my MBP but not slow enough to keep me from using it. As for iWork, I haven't spent any time learning it's features but I hear good things about it. You might check out the iWork seminar to familiarize yourself with it's capabilities. Apple seminars can be found here:

http://www.seminars.apple.com/sol/us_en/?locs=us_en

 

[Jabberwocky246]

You can always try out NeoOffice, it's the Mac port of the free open-source suite OpenOffice. I've been using for several months now and haven't felt the need to upgrade to purchased software (YMMV). Get the free download at http://www.neooffice.org/.

If you try it out, post back and let us know how you like it.

 

[bluecrow628]

i would definitly say office. it uses a very widly compatable document format, and .pages files are not a very compatable format

 

[Samarium]

i would definitly say office. it uses a very widly compatable document format, and .pages files are not a very compatable format

Have you lived under a rock? You can export to .doc.

 

[Vster]

I've been Office free since November and I really like it. Pages can export to PDF, Word, RTF and Plain Text. Also it's less expensive. You could always download a trial of either.

 

[tytanic11]

Another question, is there any way to convert all of my Outlook emails so that I can have them on my mbp? I have a few months of important emails from my desktop, but since I wont be taking my desktop to college I need to have some of these moved to my mac if possible.

Also, besides being my first mac this is also my first laptop. Is it safe to carry around the laptop (such as place it in a backpack and walk around campus) when it is only in sleep mode, or is it best to turn it all the way off every time you want to move it around more than just picking it up and moving it across a room?

You can definitely move your Outlook emails over - the process is different depending on which OS X email program you'll be using. Apple includes Mail.app with every Mac - it's a quick, simple e-mail client, and preferred by most home users. If you do end up going with Office, a program called Entourage is included - it's functionality is very similar to Outlook, and many business users and people who work with a larger volume of mail prefer it. In either case, you'd start by copying your .pst file from your PC to your Macbook Pro, then importing it to the e-mail program you'll be using. This page provides some basic instructions for finding and copying your .pst file.

You can carry the MBP around while in sleep mode. When the computer enters sleep mode, all of the moving parts in the hard drive lock into place, preventing any damage. The only difference between turning the computer off and putting it in sleep mode is that with sleep mode, the computer supplies a small amount of electricity to the memory, so that the computer can turn back on instantly with all of your open files and programs intact. The majority of laptop users do carry their laptops in sleep mode most of the time - it's more convenient and practical for daily use. If you are putting your MBP in a backpack, be sure to provide a protective case for it; otherwise it'll definitely end up scratched.

I hope this information was helpful, and best of luck with your new MBP.