Prospective MBP Buyer - questions

[saberahul]

All,

This is my first time on the Mac forum section, although I am quite active on the iOS section. Anyways, I am literally fed up with the PC world and think it is the appropriate time to move to Mac products as my experience with iOS devices (iPad and iPhone and iPod Touch (all models)) has been quite rewarding. Some of these questions may seem stupid but I have numbered them so if you could answer them in the same format, it would be extremely generous

1. I plan to run BootCamp (I think that is what it is called) to run windows for AutoCAD. I don't think there is a Mac version available yet. Does Windows run without problems? Have you had any trouble?
2. Is the 3 year Apple Care priced at $183 worth it or are there alternative solutions which provide better third party warranty and a cheaper price?
3. This may sound stupid but in the pictures I could not see any opening for the heat to be let out - does the MBP have a fan and does it become hot (warm is fine but I use laptops on my lap at some points and don't want my pants to catch on fire [that's a joke btw])?
4. Apple discussion board has mixed reviews on iWork products. Can iWork handle document formatting such as table of contents, table of figures, hyperlinks linking to other sections within the document (such as Headings 1,2,...)?
5. I have a WD 500GB portable hard drive I purchased last year, any chance it will not work with OSX? I don't run the WD software that comes with it - in fact I deleted it completely. It is simply there for me to run backups on.
6. OSX Lion is bound to release soon - if I were to buy it after the release, will Lion come pre-installed on the MBP at no additional cost or will I still have to pay the additional $29 for it?
7. Is there a difference between the behavior of the Mac App Store and the iOS App Store? As in, does it seamlessly update all your applications without asking for reboots like a BlackBerry does?
8. Does the MBP have WOL (wake on lan) capabilities? In other words, can I turn the computer on from sleep via ethernet? This is very important as I use my iPad for on-the-go basis and at times when I need to download certain files or use the laptop for whatever, I like the option of being able to turn it on wirelessly. Would you know of any software for the iPad that can do this?

I know there are too many questions to ask and some may sound down right stupid but your responses will be of great help.

Thank you.

 

[Dark Void]

i'll answer what i can. bootcamp should work fine, it's included on a mac, supported and should have no reason for giving you trouble. apple care is worth it if you feel like it would be good to have coverage for your hardware failing and it could save you a lot of money. of course a mbp becomes hot depending on what you use it for and yes it does have a fan and vents. your portable drive should work fine although it may have to be formatted. i'm assuming that lion will be on every new mac once it hits because well, leopard is the latest now and it is on every new mac. yes it has wol.

i hope this helps and i am sorry that i could not address all of your questions.

 

[simsaladimbamba]

1. http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/pc/index?id=15421056&siteID=123112
2. One might think so:

AppleCare
AppleCare Protection Plan for Mac or Apple Display
AppleCare Protection Plan

As to whether it's worth it or not, that's a matter of opinion. You'll find lots of opinions on both sides. If you want more information, here are just a few of many threads on this topic, found by searching the forum with MRoogle:

Is AppleCare Plan worth it?
Is Applecare worth it if I don't even use the macbook pro to its full potential?
Applecare - Worth it?
AppleCare worth every penny
is applecare worth the money?
Mac Pro and AppleCare, worth it?
applecare worth it?
Is AppleCare worth it?
Is AppleCare Worth It?
Is AppleCare worth it??
Applecare? is it worth it?
Is Applecare worth getting???
Is Applecare worth it for MBP?
Is AppleCare worth it?
Applecare - if ever you thought it wasn't worth it
Is AppleCare or extra warranty really worth buying?
Applecare for MBP is $349. Is it really worth it?

I don't know of an alternative for this though, as it depends on your country of residence.

3. The 13" MB/P has one fan, the 15" and 17" MBP has two fans and the vents are behind the hinge. iFixIt has some teardowns or some image search engine could help to find images.
4. That I don't know about.
5.

FAT32 (File Allocation Table)

• Read/Write FAT32 from both native Windows and native Mac OS X.
• Maximum file size: 4GB.
• Maximum volume size: 2TB

NTFS (Windows NT File System)

• Read/Write NTFS from native Windows.
• Read only NTFS from native Mac OS X
  [*]To Read/Write/Format NTFS from Mac OS X: Install NTFS-3G for Mac OS X (free)
  
• Some have reported problems using Tuxera (approx 33USD).
• Native NTFS support can be enabled in Snow Leopard, but is not advisable, due to instability.
• AirPort Extreme (802.11n) and Time Capsule do not support NTFS
• Maximum file size: 16 TB
• Maximum volume size: 256TB

HFS+ (Hierarchical File System, a.k.a. Mac OS Extended)

• Read/Write HFS+ from native Mac OS X
• Required for Time Machine or Carbon Copy Cloner backups of Mac internal hard drive.
• To Read/Write HFS+ from Windows, Install MacDrive
• To Read HFS+ (but not Write) from Windows, Install HFSExplorer
• Maximum file size: 8EiB
• Maximum volume size: 8EiB

exFAT (FAT64)

• Supported in Mac OS X only in 10.6.5 or later.
• Not all Windows versions support exFAT. See disadvantages.
• exFAT (Extended File Allocation Table)
• AirPort Extreme (802.11n) and Time Capsule do not support exFAT
• Maximum file size: 16 EiB
• Maximum volume size: 64 ZiB

6. They will put in an Update DVD for free, if Lion is not installed.
7. It works pretty seamlessly, but if an application might need a restart, a restart is needed, but I haven't come upon such application yet.
8. Yes.


Look here to learn more:

Helpful Information for Any Mac User by GGJstudios​

 

[awer25]

Because #4 wasn't answered above, I just checked Pages and it will insert hyperlinks and do outline formatting no problem.

Also, you can wait an buy Applecare later, as long as you still have the regular warranty left (i.e. within a year).

 

[saberahul]

Because #4 wasn't answered above, I just checked Pages and it will insert hyperlinks and do outline formatting no problem.

Also, you can wait an buy Applecare later, as long as you still have the regular warranty left (i.e. within a year).

Great, thank you so much for checking.

6. They will put in an Update DVD for free, if Lion is not installed.

Thanks for the detailed response - it was very helpful. What exactly do you mean by this quote? If I were to buy a MBP today and Lion was released tomorrow - Apple will ship the update DVD to me at no cost?

 

[simsaladimbamba]

Great, thank you so much for checking.



Thanks for the detailed response - it was very helpful. What exactly do you mean by this quote? If I were to buy a MBP today and Lion was released tomorrow - Apple will ship the update DVD to me at no cost?

No, if you buy your Mac today and Lion is released tomorrow, you will have to pay a small upgrade fee (approx. 10 USD), but if Lion is released this Saturday and you buy your Mac next Monday (two days after the release of Lion), it is most likely, that the Mac you buy has been shipped with 10.6, thus you will get a free Upgrade DVD. But as we don't know, what installation procedure will be used with 10.7, it might be totally different.