Switching from PC to MacBook Pro 17"

[charliemcarter]

What an education a newbie to Mac can get out of this web site. When visiting the Mac Store here in Hawaii, they were very helpful in assisting me in picking out what I need.
I definitely want the 17" and they suggest the Time Capsule (500GB) for $300. I have an up and working wireless PC network (Linksis). From what I read here, I can purchase a non-apple external HD that will work with Time Machine for a much lower price than $300 and can use my existing wireless network. Is my understanding correct? Any suggestions? Thank you.

 

[jamesgan]

What time machine offers is a wireless router with a build in HDD that can be used to wirelessly backup your system and/or to be used as an wireless external storage device.

If you are happy with your current wireless network setup, you can definitely just opt to purchase an external HDD just for backup/additional storage. The only difference is that the HDD has to be connected to your macbook pro in order for Time Machine to backup your system.

Hope this helps.

 

[Consultant]

What time machine offers is a wireless router with a build in HDD that can be used to wirelessly backup your system and/or to be used as an wireless external storage device.

If you are happy with your current wireless network setup, you can definitely just opt to purchase an external HDD just for backup/additional storage. The only difference is that the HDD has to be connected to your macbook pro in order for Time Machine to backup your system.

Hope this helps.

Yup.

For backup it's faster to plug a harddrive directly to your Mac than to use wifi if you need to backup alot of things.

However for convinence it's easier to do it wirelessly whenever you are on the network.