Want to purchase my first Mac, but have some questions first...

[MK25toLife]

I have a few questions I was hoping you guys could help me out with before I purchase my first Mac.

• 24” iMac – Which processor to get 2.4 vs. 2.8, I'll be doing a lot of stuff with music programs, already intend on upgrading to 4GB of RAM.
  
• How do I transfer my iTunes collection while keeping playlists, play count and ratings in tact?
  
• Should I wait for Leopard, are there any significant differences b/w Leopard and Tiger?
  
• Exactly does Apple Care consist of?
  
• How would I go about transferring the programs I have on my PC to my Mac?
  
• Explain the difference between Parallels and Bootcamp
  
• Is the only way you can install .exe on Windows?
  
• Will programs that are run on Windows be on the dock?
  
• Is running a program on Windows (Photoshop/Reason), the same as running it on Apple?
  
• Are the programs I install on Windows going to be able to run with the same efficiency as if they were on a Mac? How easy/hard is it to crossover platforms while using?

 

[todd2000]

I have a few questions I was hoping you guys could help me out with before I purchase my first Mac.

• 24” iMac – Which processor to get 2.4 vs. 2.8, I'll be doing a lot of stuff with music programs, already intend on upgrading to 4GB of RAM.
  
• How do I transfer my iTunes collection while keeping playlists, play count and ratings in tact?
  
• Should I wait for Leopard, are there any significant differences b/w Leopard and Tiger?
  
• Exactly does Apple Care consist of?
  
• How would I go about transferring the programs I have on my PC to my Mac?
  
• Explain the difference between Parallels and Bootcamp
  
• Is the only way you can install .exe on Windows?
  
• Will programs that are run on Windows be on the dock?
  
• Is running a program on Windows (Photoshop/Reason), the same as running it on Apple?
  
• Are the programs I install on Windows going to be able to run with the same efficiency as if they were on a Mac? How easy/hard is it to crossover platforms while using?

Lets see...

1. Personally I would say the 2.4 is probably fast enough. The 2.8 does come with a larger HD, as well as 2G of RAM, which your upgrading to 4GB anyway. I would say get the 2.8 if you have the money to burn, but the 2.4 with upgraded RAM should be more then enough.

2. I'm not to familiar with iTunes on a PC, but I did a google search and this popped up http://lifehacker.com/software/itun...-library-from-a-pc-to-mac-and-back-242468.php, they say it preserves your ratings, but just in case you might want to follow this hint. http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20070126183436602

3. As for Leopard, it will have significant "differences" from Tiger (IMO), but if you need a Computer now, don't wait for it. If you can live without a new iMac for 2.5Months then by all means wait, and save your-self the $129 later.

4. By default every Mac comes with 90 Days of Software, and Phone support, and 1 Year of Hardware Warranty. Applecare extends them both to 3 Years. Easy enough.

5. I assume your referring to transferring Windows programs to Windows, not to OSX Right? As far as I know there is no way to do this. Windows is rather complicated, and it would be almost impossible to move every little bit of a program over. Your best bet is to re-install them on the Mac.

6. Parallels is a Virtual Machine, that allows you to run Windows side by side with OS X, without re-booting. It is not quite as fast as running it natively, but it should be good enough for most tasks. They have worked on the Graphics drivers, but from what I understand their still, not perfect. If you want to do any Gaming I wouldn't use Parallels. Bootcamp requires you to re-boot anytime you want to use Windows, but it runs completely natively, with native drivers, and everything. It will run exactly like Windows on a PC. The biggest difference is price, Bootcamp is FREE, and Parallels is $79.99. If you don't mind restarting when you need Windows, just stick with Bootcamp.

7. Im not quite sure I understand the question?

8. I just DLed Parallels yesterday to play with, and the new version lets put Windows Programs in the dock, you click on them, and it automatically boots windows (unless it's already running), and loads the Program.

9. Most programs should be similar on PC, and MAC, some will have a few different features, but if your used to the program on PC, it should be to far of a stretch running it on MAC.

10. This goes back to your earlier question. If you decide to use Bootcamp, any programs you run will be completely native, and run as fast as they would on any PC with the same Specs as your iMac, but it will require a reboot, so switching between Mac and Windows is no so easy. If you use Parallels, there will be a *slight* performance hit, but most things should run fast enough for what most people want to do. Parallels is also very easy to switch to from OS X, no rebooting required. If your doing any kind of Music Recording or anything, I would probably use Bootcamp.

Hope this helps some

 

[MezicanGangxtah]

I have a few questions I was hoping you guys could help me out with before I purchase my first Mac.

• 24” iMac – Which processor to get 2.4 vs. 2.8, I'll be doing a lot of stuff with music programs, already intend on upgrading to 4GB of RAM.
  
• How do I transfer my iTunes collection while keeping playlists, play count and ratings in tact?
  
• Should I wait for Leopard, are there any significant differences b/w Leopard and Tiger?
  
• Exactly does Apple Care consist of?
  
• How would I go about transferring the programs I have on my PC to my Mac?
  
• Explain the difference between Parallels and Bootcamp
  
• Is the only way you can install .exe on Windows?
  
• Will programs that are run on Windows be on the dock?
  
• Is running a program on Windows (Photoshop/Reason), the same as running it on Apple?
  
• Are the programs I install on Windows going to be able to run with the same efficiency as if they were on a Mac? How easy/hard is it to crossover platforms while using?

1:well for one thing 2.4 ghz should be plenty for what you described and u said ur gonna add 4 gigs of ram so it will be a very fast machine
2: im not so sure of this one but cant it do it automaticaly?when u transfer
3:unless you really need a computer at this moment i would suggest waiting a couple of months for leopard as it will bring improvements over tiger many helpful and welcomed features but if u decide not to wait for leopard tiger is more than good and plus u can always upgrade later for only 129$
4.applecare basicaly extends support for the computer in other words if your imac were to have a faulty something (highly doubt it ) applecare would fix it for free over the 1 year standard all macs come with and extend that coverage to 3 years and phone support over the standard 90 days to more , unless money isnt a problem to you or you have destructive children i dont really reccomend applecare since they almost always work without a hitch and when they do have somehting wrog with them u can almost always tell after the first few days after purchasing it so it will still be able to get replaced or fixed for free within the 90 days but if u think u really need it then go for it .
5.what type of programs do u mean ? only if u install windows on the imac can u transfer files bewteen them and u would probaly be able to do so with a external flash/hard drive.
6.the diffrence bewteen bootcamp and parrallels is that bootcamp makes your imac into a full PC for example after instaling windows and bootcamp your mac will give u the option of starting up in mac OS X or windows when u first turn it on after selecting one it will start up that operating system and only that ONE OS the advantage here is that your imacs full capabilities will be unleashed when in either OS. if you want to go to switch to the other OS you have to restart the computer or turn it off and turn it back on again then chose again this is the disadvantage.
in parrallels you have both windows and mac OS X in the same screen the advantage here is that if u wannna work on a program that is windows only but u also want to multitask by working on a program that is MAC OS X only u can do so the disadvantage is that since your computer is running 2 OS at the same time it wont be at its fastest it will still be fast but not as fast as it would be if only running 1 OS so Bootcamp is better for running task that require a lot of power like high end games and parrallels s better if u need to multitask on not so demanding applications.
7. im afraid i dont fully comprehend this question.
8.this is a feature taht will only work with parrallels so that windows apps show up in the dock that it looks more integrated and like if it belongs bootcamp doesnt have this feature
9 yes it will be pretty much the same thing bewteen a windows or mac version of a software app they will have the same general ooptions and abilites
10 i dont quite comprehend this question very well but i think u mean to say that if u have a windows app and u compare it to the same app but in mac version will they be as effecint and fast ? well it depends on the app but generaly yes microsoft office will probably run slower on the mac than it would on a PC but thats only beacuse the lastest mac version of office isnt a universal binary but the next release of office for mac willl be and that will most likely be up to speed wth the windows version

hope this helps good luck with your new mac!!!!!!!!

 

[blueicedj]

7. Can you still install .exe

The answer to this is yes, you can. On the mac website is says something like it will stop you...what it means is that if you are trying to download something other than a .exe, say, a picture file, it will stop you because obviously it's not a picture and is most likely a virus.

 

[todd2000]

7. Can you still install .exe

The answer to this is yes, you can. On the mac website is says something like it will stop you...what it means is that if you are trying to download something other than a .exe, say, a picture file, it will stop you because obviously it's not a picture and is most likely a virus.

What are you talking about?

 

[blueicedj]

What are you talking about?

The original poster was asking if you can install .exe's on a mac...pretty much asking if he can install programs.

This is on the Apple website "People attempting to break into computers may disguise a malicious program as a picture, movie, or other seemingly harmless file. You might download such files from the web or get them via mail or chat. A PC just blindly downloads them without a peep. A Mac, however, will let you know that you may be getting a wolf in sheep’s clothing. The Mac web browser, Safari, can tell the difference between a file and a program, and alerts you whenever you’re downloading the latter."

I think the OP thought this meant that you could not download .exe files..but that is not the case.

 

[risc]

- Can you still install .exe


You can not install Windows .exes on a Mac running OS X.

If you want to download and install Bootcamp you can install Windows,and dual boot between OS X/Windows You can then install what ever Windows .exes you want.

You can also install a virtualization app such as VMware Fusion or Parallels Desktop. These apps allow you to install Windows on to a virtual machine that you can run along side OS X. Once again once Windows is running you can use .exes again.