# Any MacBook users???



## Casse

My HP laptop finally died a painful death earlier this week. I'm using a borrowed Dell at the moment and need to order a new laptop quickly.

After loving the ease of using the I-touch and the goregous screens on the Macs I'm seriously considering going Mac  

Anyone here own ond and use it sucessfully with their Kindle? If the Mac won't support the K2 then I'm definitely staying with a Windows machine


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## KindleChickie

I have a macbook pro. But I might not be much help because I have always had macs, with the exception of a HP mini for a few months because I had to have the Vivienne Tam one.

Macs are compatiable with the Kindle 2.

If you buy, you should really consider a refubished off the apple website. You can save anywhere from $200 on up, depending on the model you get. Same warranty and all, only difference is the packaging.


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## cjonthehill

I have a MAC.  I switched both my home and laptop to MAC about 2 years ago because I was sick of the MS operating system and all the troubles that went with it....viruses, freezeups etc.  I will never go back as it was well worth paying extra for.  I use my laptop for both work (university and hospital) and fun.

There are very few incompatibility issues with MACs any longer.  Certainly no problems at all with my Kindle, in fact, its easier to work with than it was on windows.

MACs can also simultaneously run other operating systems such as windows xp/vista/whathaveyou using software.  I run XP all the time.

Hope this helps!
CJ


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## AmandaCN

I switched to a Macbook as my main machine when they started using the Intel processors.  I have both Windows and OSX installed on mine but I rarely use Windows.  

I just bought a Kindle and spent some time last night downloading free books and reformatting them with Calibre.  There are no compatibility issues that I am aware of.  I think that was more of the case in the old days (before OSX).


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## Mike D. aka jmiked

I have used a MacBook for about a year and a half (I've been a Mac and a PC user for over 20 years). No problems with a Kindle, it's just another USB device.

I run OS X and Windows 7 on my MacBook, no problems.

Mike
"It's "Mac," not "MAC".


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## cjonthehill

jmiked said:


> I have used a MacBook for about a year and a half (I've been a Mac and a PC user for over 20 years). No problems with a Kindle, it's just another USB device.
> 
> I run OS X and Windows 7 on my MacBook, no problems.
> 
> Mike
> "It's "Mac," not "MAC".


Ha!! You're right. In my world I write MAC all the time, but it stands for Monitored Anesthesia Care.  Guess the habit carried over to my 'puter.


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## salaniz

My husband has a Macbook (maybe a Macbook Pro, not sure).  He loves it.  He's not what I would call really technically savvy and he picked up on the features and functions of the Macbook really quickly.

I use a Windows laptop for work.  I bring it home on the weekends but don't use it.  If I go online on the weekends (like now) I use my husband's Macbook.  It's so much nicer.  The multi-touch mouse pad, the quick start up, the quick shutdown all contribute to a really nice experience.

I would definitely spend the extra money for one of these over another Windows laptop.


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## redshift1

My daughter went through two window laptops in one year at college with the Mac Book Pro no problems for two years.
Although heavy they are rugged she takes it back and forth to school in her backpack. Also Apple provides great support free
Appointments at any Apple store. Only one drawback is the $$$$.


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## PaulGuy

I have a a MacBook and it works great with both my Kindle 2 and DX. The Mac print manager has a nice feature for Kindles too. Anything you'd like to read on your Kindle just select print, when the print dialog box comes up you have the option to print it or create a PDF. Make the PDF, mail it to your Kindle address and your reading it on your Kindle. I use this a lot with Instapaper. A great feature.


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## pidgeon92

Between my husband and I, we have two iMacs, one MacBook Pro, one MacBook Air, and one iBook that I will probably pass down to a niece. I also just got the new Magic Mouse last week, and it is by far the best mouse I have ever used. I recommend Macs to anyone who is considering them.

We also have a Gateway PC, and while I am as comfortable using Windows as I am OSX, Mac software just looks nicer. A lot of people don't care about the aesthetic qualities of the software they use, but I really prefer the nicer looking apps I use on my Macs.

I have not had any issues using any of our Kindles with my iMac.


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## jaspertyler

I didn't read the other responses.  I recently switched over to Macs by buying an iMac.  I love it.  Soon after I bought a Macbook Pro.  I am fully converted to Apple and will not be returning 

I have no problems with using my Ks on the Mac.  

I loooove my macs!


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## Mike D. aka jmiked

cjonthehill said:


> Ha!! You're right. In my world I write MAC all the time, but it stands for Monitored Anesthesia Care.  Guess the habit carried over to my 'puter.


My first thought when seeing the term MAC is Media Access Control number, which to a computer geek like myself is the network card unique identifier, heh. My brain is hardwired to see everything in all caps as an acronym.

Mike


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## vsch

As our Dell desktops and Dell laptops are dying we are replacing them with Macs.  I have a macbook air, DH has an imac and DS has a Macbook pro. This christmas we will be replacing two Dell laptops with macbooks for the girls. We have not regretted one purchase and will not be going back.


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## 911jason

pidgeon92 said:


> ...and one iBook that I will probably pass down to a niece.


Just dropped in to say "Hi!" aunt Verena!


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## Chris W

Cobbie said:


> I'm so glad I found this thread. I've been thinking about converting to a mac but haven't gotten to that point, yet. I could go to the Apple store for information but objective information is much better. Thanks.


Not only can you go to an Apple Store, you can actually make a personal shopping appointment to visit the store, and they will let you try out any and all machines you'd like. Best of all, the employees don't work on commission, so there's no pressure to buy during your appointment.
I've been a Mac user for 20 years, and only strayed to the Windows world when required by my workplace. My 3 year old Macbook is still running strong. The initial cost is certainly higher than PC's, but the lifetime cost and better user experience are well worth it!


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## Geemont

You'll be happy with a Mac.  I work as a database programmer and sometime web developer with mostly Microsoft products, but I'm a Mac guy at home where I can pick my own system.


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## Anju 

Jason - she said NIECE -- have you had a sex change lately


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## 911jason

She also said PROBABLY... no harm puttin' a good word in! =)


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## Bren S.

I have a Mac Book Pro and just bought a new Mac Book, the newest white one, and I love it.

I converted to Macs this Summer, and haven't looked back since.

5 computers(2 iMacs,a Mac Mini,and the MacBook Pro and Mac Book) and all but 1 laptop are now Macs, and the only reason I still own the Sony Vaio is it is only just under 5 months old and is the only laptop currently sold with a built in blu ray player,otherwise it too would be gone.

Macs are fantastic,and in my opinion no Windoze machine could ever measure up.

No problems whatsoever with Kindle compatibility at all.

Also if you ever run into even the most basic of questions Apple Techs are fantastic.


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## Mike D. aka jmiked

Sugar said:


> Macs are fantastic,and in my opinion no Windoze machine could ever measure up.


I like my Macs. I've had 5 Mac laptops and 4 desktop Macs. But I have to have a Windows machine because the flight simulators I like won't run on a Mac on a virtual machine. Likewise Tomb Raider.

Mike


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## Bren S.

pidgeon92 said:


> Between my husband and I, we have two iMacs, one MacBook Pro, one MacBook Air, and one iBook that I will probably pass down to a niece. I also just got the new Magic Mouse last week, and it is by far the best mouse I have ever used. I recommend Macs to anyone who is considering them.
> 
> We also have a Gateway PC, and while I am as comfortable using Windows as I am OSX, Mac software just looks nicer. A lot of people don't care about the aesthetic qualities of the software they use, but I really prefer the nicer looking apps I use on my Macs.
> 
> I have not had any issues using any of our Kindles with my iMac.


Nice to see someone else loves the new Mouse. I think it's great. It came with my newest iMac the 27" and I am picking one up for my other iMac as well, I like it so much.


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## Bren S.

911jason said:


> Just dropped in to say "Hi!" aunt Verena!


lol


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## Someone Nameless

I've always had pcs but I bought a Macbook last summer and love it so much that I just bought the new iMac last week.  I've gone Mac and will never look back.  I'm a converted Mac lover.  They are so easy!  There are so many features that are so much better than pc, I can't even list them all.  The first one would be the lack of 84,000 cords.  I love the streamline design also, not to mention the way it operates! 

If you get a Macbook, I recommend Apple Care.  It's nice to have that added support even to be able to call for technical support.  I've found Apple customer service to be outstanding.  I had an issue recently and that insisted on waiting on the phone while a process ran to make sure that the issue was resolved.

Love the new iMac and the Magic Mouse is great!!!


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## pidgeon92

911jason said:


> Just dropped in to say "Hi!" aunt Verena!


Oh dear... I was really thinking of Constance or Corinne..... You must be one of my sister's demon children.


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## Mike D. aka jmiked

Cobbie said:


> Chris W - I think I once knew about the appt. thing but had forgotten. Thanks. Our Apple stores are always packed.


Here in Austin, you have to make an appointment to get to talk with someone. Fortunately, you can handle the scheduling via their web site.

Mike


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## legalbs2

I bought a MacBook Pro earlier this year and love it.  I have a 2 year new Dell and already hate it.  With Mac there is no virus software to buy as the Mac does not get viruses.  Mac works every time.  Never freezes.  All the software is updated automatically.  

I have worked on MS based computers since they came out and have always favored them over a Mac, but now, you could not give me a PC running MS.  Mac is that good.  Works with everything and anything.  It loves all the Kindles.  I would recommend spending the extra money and buying the best.

Mac stores are great and so is the customer service department of the Apple online.


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## Britt

Another Mac user here. I love my Macbook and have never had a compatibility problem with my K2!


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## jsamuelson

Yes, go Apple. I did after buying my first iPod and using iTunes on Windows (living proof of the halo effect) and subsequently took my entire family and business Apple and Mac-only.

Consequently we spend much more time doing both fun and serious worky stuff with our computers and less time trying to get them to just work at all.

That's not to say that Macs or Apple are flawless and faultless. Hardware and software problems will _occasionally_ crop up. And there will definitely be a period of adjustment!

But you will not regret it. The whole user experience with Apple is amazing&#8230;

Having said that if you were *forced* to have a Windows machine, then Windows 7 is a vast improvement and is really not too bad.

Of course, I have the best of both worlds and run Windows 7 in a virtual machine with VMware Fusion and/or Boot Camp.


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## geko29

I guess I'll be the lone dissenter here.  About 14 months ago I bought my first Mac in about 15 years (previous being a Performa 550 with a 68030 processor), a 24" iMac 2.8Ghz.  I'm indifferent about it--some things are really nice and slick, but there are so many things that should be simple that just aren't.  Like resizing a window.  You can ONLY do it from the lower-right-hand corner.  So if you want to rearrange a few programs to fit next to one another, it's move, resize, move resize, move, resize, rinse, repeat.  As opposed to resize, resize, work, like it should be.  Launching a non-apple control panel item requires closing and reopening the entire control panel applet.  Some programs close when you hit the red button, some don't and have to be closed via the menu on the top of the screen.  Worse still, some have to be closed via the menu and reopened completely if you accidentally hit the red button because there's no way to get a window back once you've killed it.  And I find I have to do a LOT more things at the command line than I do in Windows (though I have no problem doing it in either environment) because the UI functionality simply doesn't exist.

To be fair, I'm a power user (and ironically, an Apple-certified desktop/laptop/server technician), and some of those nitpicks are to be expected of someone who demands a lot of a computer.  But my wife isn't (I can't even convince her to stop closing my browser after she uses my laptop for 10 minutes to check something out, after 3+ years of trying), and I've finally coaxed her down off the ledge of "I'm throwing this f****** thing out the window!" to "I don't like it, but I'll use it".  Of course, I had to do so by reminding her that we spent $2300 on it (and can't afford to replace it right now), and by installing Windows 7 in Fusion so MS Office works properly (well sort of--there's a bug when running in Unity mode that hides any dialog boxes or context menus that pop up with a white box, requiring you to move the dialog box so you can read it and give up right-clicking on anything altogether) and she can actually do her homework.  But she's still p*ssed at me over a year later for saying I wanted one to play with when the bedroom PC was showing its age.  I suspect her rage will last until it gets moved to somewhere where she doesn't have to use it and the replacement PC goes in its place.

All that said, the hardware, particularly the MacBook Pros, are exemplary.  They're expensive, but they're solid, fast, and reliable.  And most importantly, they run Windows 7 like an absolute champ.   Also, like others have said, they have no issues working with the Kindle (they shouldn't--it's essentially a memory card reader from the computer's perspective), and Calibre is a great little piece of software for organizing your ebooks.


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## KindleChickie

If you are going to buy Apple Care, you should consider getting it on Amazon or Ebay. You can get it both places at a substancial savings. You have up to 1 calendar year to buy it after your purchase of a new or refurbished Mac.

Personally, I usually do not get it unless there are issues with the computer early on. I have a 2000 G4 Cube, 2001 iMac Flower Power, white iMac core2duo, G3 iBook, black Macbook, 13" Macbook Pro and they are all still humming along perfectly. The only issues I have ever had was with the iBook, and Apple was very good about fixing it each time.

There service has always been spectacular. But it is starting to get bad with all the iPod and iPhone user. Last couple of times I needed to take my laptop in, they were way backed up and I stood around and waited while the helped iPhone users. Sorta left a bad taste in my mouth.


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## 911jason

Geko,

Thanks for the honest review. I think yours is the first negative Apple review I've ever seen. I've been thinking about getting an iMac for the kids to use for about a year now, and still am on the fence.


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## Rasputina

Most complaints boil down to, "OMG you mean the mac doesn't do everything exactly the same as my pc did?" 

Standard learning curve issues.


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## lorraineya

Once you have a Mac, you'll never go back!! 

Compatibility issues are a thing of the past! Don't worry...go buy one NOW!!!


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## r0b0d0c

I've used Macs and PCs since the late 80s, and since Apple began using Intel processors, there's really no need for me to use anything other than a Mac. For the few times that I need to use a PC only app, I have Win Vista (soon to be Win 7) loaded on my iMac and MacBook Pro. Macs have no viruses, software upgrades don't have "driver issues," and "it just works." 

For Kindle use, connectivity, file transfers, etc. are trouble-free. The only issue is ebook conversion - one of the apps for PC (Mobi - something-or-other) isn't available for Mac, but Calibre has converted everything that I've thrown at it, and transferred to the Kindle easily. 

Get a Mac - life's too short to put up with PCs unless you have to!


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## geko29

Rasputina said:


> Most complaints boil down to, "OMG you mean the mac doesn't do everything exactly the same as my pc did?"
> 
> Standard learning curve issues.


I guess my only response to that is, how long should the learning curve be? I've been using Macs on and off for 25 years, including every major revision of the operating system (though granted, it was "off" for all of OSX until Tiger), had two weeks/9 hrs per day of technical training by Apple employees (part of getting certified to repair them), repaired over 500 of them at a previous job, been using an iMac at home every day for over a year and administering 5 of them at work for the past 6 months. It still takes twice as long to accomplish simple tasks, and I'm way past the point of suspecting that I'm the problem (especially since my wife and father-in-law also have their own complaints after 14 months).

There's a distinction between doing things "different" and doing them "wrong". Many of the big things, Apple does differently, and that's fine. The dock, for example, is a different, but clever, way of managing commonly used programs and files. Sometimes it's even great--Time Machine is the most fantastic backup product I've ever seen for home users, and I'm not aware of anything even half as good available for Windows. But sometimes it's also terrible--the Mighty Mouse (not included anymore, replaced by the hopefully better Magic Mouse) is the worst name-brand pointing device (I have seen some worse generic ones that cost less than $5 at retail) I've seen in 25 years of computing, which started with an Apple IIc in 1984 with one of those optical mice that required a special metal pad. Mine lasted 3 days before winding up in the garbage, replaced by a 5-year-old Logitech (who, as an aside, has been making the best mice hands down for almost 20 years). And the 10" wide keyboard that came with the 20" iMac that we use at work offended the sensibility of even our resident Mac bigot, who doesn't admit that Linux or Windows are operating systems, and believes that only things running some flavor of BSD are "real computers".

I wanted to drink the kool-aid, honest I did. My wife and I were so thrilled by our iPhones that I was inspired to buy a Mac (and possibly even "switch" down the road, which is now out the window). But the kool-aid don't taste so good. I'll finish my current glass because I don't like to be wasteful, but I'll order soda next time.


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## Ann in Arlington

We've always used PC's -- from the time when boot up took a couple of seconds and when it was done all you saw on the screen was  c:\ flashing while the machine waited for you to tel lit what to do.  That's probably the reason I prefer using keyboard commands. . .I'd rather not remove my hands from the keyboard to "mouse" something.  Though I can do so ambidextrously as needed.    Anyway, we've never had any big problems or issues with Windows, and the minor things that have occurred have been relatively easily fixed.

My dad has a Mac. . .he has had a computer since early 80's.  If you just do basic stuff, they both work.  I will say, though, when my dad had a problem with his Mac having decided not to talk to his printer anymore, it wasn't at all intuitive where to find the settings to fix the issue.  Or, at least, not to us.  Before he'd had his stroke he probably could have fixed it himself but he lost some of that detailed knowledge.  Mostly, the problem was just that the terminology is completely different -- it was like a foreign language to us.

Bottom line is, get what YOU are comfortable with and don't pay any attention to those who say one is better than the other.  They're just different.  Switching is going to mean a bit of a learning curve whichever way you go.


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## KayakerNC

I can buy a PC plus 2 more as spares for what it costs to buy a Mac.
Worth it? 
Not to me.


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## Anju 

In my other life, I had a Mac on one desk and a PC on the other - I have had a computer since, like Ann said the C: drive flashed on the screen wanting you to tell it what to do.  I also hated to give up the ability to "fix" things myself, but after many many problems here in Mexico, and not finding quality help, I got a Mac Mini, and have had absolutely no problems whatsoever.  My DH knows nothing about the computer (any type   ) but wants to learn when he quits work (he teaches Spanish and is almost ready to quit).  I think the Mac will be easier for him to learn, even a caveman can do it


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## Jen

I was a PC user for my entire life, and 2 years ago went Mac.  Mostly because my husband knows everything about them - including how to fix them - but I have to tell you, once I went Mac, I will NEVER go back!  I love it.  Never had one problem (vs problems almost every day with my PC at work) and it works just fine with my kindle and photography software.  I, personally, think it's DEFINITELY worth the extra money.


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## WilliamM

bought an imac a little over a year ago. Im a 25 + year IT tech who has worked exclusively in the Windows world. After having to attend a MAC support class for work we have a few in house Mac users) I saw the benefits . I really like Apple hardware. Beyond the cool factor of an Imac I like being able to run my favorite Windows programs in a virtual session as well as Apple software on the OSX side. Its the best of both worlds in one box really. 
Both my kids have Macbooks by the way


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## hsuthard

We're an apple family and just recently bought our first PC. We love our iMac, two macbook pros, two macbooks and our OSX Server (yes, we have a server   ). But we got a PC for the kids to play games on. Macs just don't do games that well; and we wanted to minimize any compatibility issues they might run into from working on PC laptops at school and then bringing their work home on a flash drive. Many small programs their school uses are Windows only.

We love our Macs, no doubt, and I highly recommend them. But I do know that Windows does have a place as well.


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## legalbs2

Casse said:


> My HP laptop finally died a painful death earlier this week. I'm using a borrowed Dell at the moment and need to order a new laptop quickly.
> 
> After loving the ease of using the I-touch and the goregous screens on the Macs I'm seriously considering going Mac
> 
> Anyone here own ond and use it sucessfully with their Kindle? If the Mac won't support the K2 then I'm definitely staying with a Windows machine


You will love a MacBook. I am a die hardened Windows user and after getting my MacBook, I cannot wait to unload my Dell, my Toshiba, and my homemade PC. One of the reason I purchased a Mac was its compatibility with nearly everything, including the Kindle. I bought my Mac then my Kindle DX and then my iPod Touch. You will really love the ease of use of the Apple and the stability of its operating system. No virus crap interrupting you, updates are automatic and even when Apple upgrades their operating system, you get that too. Love Apple and love Kindle.

Therefore, I would highly recommend a MacBook. Enjoy.


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## magyarbill

I got a Vista laptop when they first came out.  Every time I turned it on, it seemed to download something (a Windows update or a virus update) - it drove me crazy.  And then one update killed my sound so I had to uninstall the update!  Enough I said and I went and got a MacBook.  Believe me I will never, never go back to Windows (unfortunately I have to use it at work).  The Mac is easy to use, updates are infrequent and always work, and I use the preinstalled programs like iPhoto all the time and because they are Apple software, they work with no problems.

I got a 10% government employee discount (I work for the Federal Government) on my MacBook and Apple software (including AppleCare and MobileMe) and a 4 or 5% discount on a non-Apple knapsack.  The discount is available to all Government employees and of course teachers.


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## WilliamM

magyarbill said:


> updates are infrequent and always work,


I have to disagree on this..in the year or so I had my imac I have had several updates to the OS. And many of these were to fix something the previous update broke. There has been many issues with Snow Leopard too.
Again Im a Mac user and really like it but Apple is not much better than Microsoft when it comes to rushing things to market before they are working properly IMO


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## Maelstrom

I switched to Mac about 5 years ago and have never looked book once.  I have to use Windows at work, but IMO the user experience is far less enjoyable than it is with my Mac.  I use the Windows machine because I HAVE to, but I use my Mac because I WANT to.

I use Calibre on my MacBook Pro to convert files and transfer them to my K2.  It works beautifully.

And there's just something sexy about Mac hardware that makes you want to touch it.  lol


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## akpak

jmiked said:


> the [games] I like won't run on a Mac on a virtual machine.


That's why I dual boot with BootCamp...


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## ReconDelta

I bought a Macbook two months ago and ended up selling it.  I found myself booting into Windows 7, 95% of the time, and realized I would be better suited with a Sony or another ultra-portable laptop.

I spend the majority of my time looking at a web browser or in Office 2007.  Since I mostly run Firefox, the browser was the same in OS-X or Windows 7.  Office was FAR superior in Windows 7.  The rare occassions I had time to play a game, Windows 7 gave me the option.  Overall I would rate Windows 7 a better OS than OS-X.    

So I sold the Macbook 13.3 and bought a Sony 13.3 (far better specs and screen) and definitely made the right choice. 

If I want to run a "virus" free environment, I could boot into Ubuntu on my Sony.  

I paid less for this Sony, got better specs, and a better OS in Windows 7.    I seriously can not determine why people enjoy the Mac.  I believe most of the people make the choice due to marketing by Apple.  

Btw:  I have YEARS of computer experience, ran most major OS's (Linux, Amiga, OS-10, Solaris, etc), owned a mac laptop years before, own an ipod touch, working on a PhD in Information Security (undergrad work all in CS, MIS) and I'm most DEFINITELY a PC!


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## Mike D. aka jmiked

ReconDelta said:


> I seriously can not determine why people enjoy the Mac. I believe most of the people make the choice due to marketing by Apple.


You 've used the right word: enjoy. I can't believe anyone actually _enjoys_ using a Windows machine. I use one for games, but I don't enjoy working with the machine/OS.

I was an IT guy for 10 years, and have used and programmed Windows, Mac, Unix, Linux, Amiga, Atari, and BeOS over the years, so I've been at this for a while. I like the Mac far better than any of the other machines. It just works.

Mike
Who never listens to marketing claims.


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## ReconDelta

Mike,

Let me ask this as one computer professional to another.  What can you do on a Mac that you can not do easier/better under Windows 7?  This "it just works" goes for Windows 7, too.  I run virus protection, but would recommend anyone does the same in any OS.  Most security professionals will agree, W7 is actually more secure of an OS than OS-X.  When/If OS-X gains more market share the viruses will be sure to follow in bulk.  

Video editing, Sony Vegas is just as good as anything on the Mac for the home user and perhaps even the pro.    

Office runs better on the PC.

Web, Firefox runs on the PC same as the Mac.  

You also have endless amounts of FREE software on the PC, I found almost every program for the Mac no matter how trivial cost at least a few dollars and some were quite expensive.


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## Ann in Arlington

gonna move this discussion down to Not Quite Kindle since it's moved away from a discussion of whether Kindle works with Macs. . .. . . it does. . . .


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## Mike D. aka jmiked

ReconDelta said:


> Mike,
> 
> Let me ask this as one computer professional to another. What can you do on a Mac that you can not do easier/better under Windows 7?


Just about everything.



> This "it just works" goes for Windows 7, too.


Not in my experience.



> Most security professionals will agree, W7 is actually more secure of an OS than OS-X.


Give me their names, and I'll check that out. It's news to me. 



> When/If OS-X gains more market share the viruses will be sure to follow in bulk.


Likely.



> Video editing, Sony Vegas is just as good as anything on the Mac for the home user and perhaps even the pro.


No idea. But that's not what I hear.



> Office runs better on the PC.


No idea. Haven't used Office since I retired.



> Web, Firefox runs on the PC same as the Mac.


Yep.



> You also have endless amounts of FREE software on the PC, I found almost every program for the Mac no matter how trivial cost at least a few dollars and some were quite expensive.


My experience has been 100% the opposite. I use mostly free software on my Mac. I find most of the free software for Windows to be pretty worthless.

I basically use my Windows machine for MS Flight Simulator. It's great at that. But everything else is run on the Mac.

As you said in your initial message, you don't understand why people would use a Mac. Fair enough, no arguing with that. But that doesn't mean they are stupid and only bought because of marketing.

People just like different things. Simple as that.

Mike


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## fictionfandd

I have a MacBook Pro, Kindle works great with it........at work we use both but I'm on a PC and its a constant pain, hoping they will switch over to Macs.


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## jeremy81

I switched to Mac in 2006 and haven't looked back. I purchased a black MacBook and it's still working and looking great today. I gave it to my mother after I purchased a new Unibody MacBook and 24" iMac a year ago. Prior to this I was a huge Microsoft fan and regularly participated in most of the Windows beta programs.  I literally can't stand to use Windows anymore.  There are very few PC's that can match the durability and build quality of any of the current Apple lineup.  I haven't had any issues are needed any repairs on them so far.


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## ayuryogini

Last November, my Dell laptop died for the last time; I went out and bought a MacBook Pro and I LOVE IT!!! It works for the Kindle2 without any trouble, although I rarely need to use my computer for the Kindle; I am very happy with it; My Dell was SO SLLOOOOWWWWW, and I thought the customer support went downhill in the 3 years I had it. I paid extra for the AppleCare and the One to One programs, so I have lots of support, which is based in Canada and the US. I'm definitely a Mac convert. My brother works in the computer programming industry, and highly encouraged me to get an Apple computer; I'm so glad I listened to him.


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## Mike D. aka jmiked

ayuryogini said:


> My brother works in the computer programming industry, and highly encouraged me to get an Apple computer; I'm so glad I listened to him.


You mean you weren't brainwashed by Apple marketing ploys? 

Mike


----------



## Sandpiper

What about wireless printer?  Apple Store recommend / sells a Canon.  Looked at reviews of it on Amazon.  No, thank you.  Set-up / installation was bad.  I'm not computer literate.  What wireless printers are you out there using?  What do you recommend?  Looking for something simple for home use.


----------



## geko29

Avoid them like the plague.  I'm a Network Engineer with 15+ years of IT experience, a Bachelor's in Network and Communications Management and literally countless certifications, and it took me EIGHT HOURS to get the HP C4385 that I got for free with my iMac to play nice with my wireless network, Win7 laptop and iMac--they're that much of a pain in the ass.  It works perfectly now (that I know the absolutely braindead hoops to jump through), but it's a far cry from my other 4 network printers that required less than 5 minutes of configuration--including typing in an IP address, subnet mask and gateway with only two buttons--to work perfectly.  Or the literally thousands of networked printers I've worked on over my career.

If you want a printer on your network, either attach it to another computer and share it, or get a REAL printer with a REAL print server built into it.  The "wireless enabled" all-in-one inkjets that are <$150 are a complete and utter disgrace.  Sharing printers via Bonjour is dead simple, and for basic home use is probably the best option.


----------



## hsuthard

Sandpiper said:


> What about wireless printer? Apple Store recommend / sells a Canon. Looked at reviews of it on Amazon. No, thank you. Set-up / installation was bad. I'm not computer literate. What wireless printers are you out there using? What do you recommend? Looking for something simple for home use.


I'm using an HP Photosmart C6100 series wireless printer and it's been going strong for a few years now. I'm looking at upgrading to an Epson Artisan 810 cause it'll print wirelessly from my iPhone  and print on DVD's.


----------



## chiffchaff

geko29 said:


> Avoid them like the plague. I'm a Network Engineer with 15+ years of IT experience, a Bachelor's in Network and Communications Management and literally countless certifications, and it took me EIGHT HOURS to get the HP C4385 that I got for free with my iMac to play nice with my wireless network


I have this printer too and never did get the wireless connection to work properly - I feel a little better now that I know it wasn't just me!


----------



## Sandpiper

geko29 said:


> If you want a printer on your network, either attach it to another computer and share it, or get a REAL printer with a REAL print server built into it. The "wireless enabled" all-in-one inkjets that are <$150 are a complete and utter disgrace. Sharing printers via Bonjour is dead simple, and for basic home use is probably the best option.


Only one computer here. "REAL printer"? What's that? Not wireless?



hsuthard said:


> I'm using an HP Photosmart C6100 series wireless printer and it's been going strong for a few years now. I'm looking at upgrading to an Epson Artisan 810 cause it'll print wirelessly from my iPhone  and print on DVD's.


Is that for photos only? Or can it be used for any printing -- printing typed pages or whatever?


----------



## hsuthard

Sandpiper said:


> Only one computer here. "REAL printer"? What's that? Not wireless?
> 
> Is that for photos only? Or can it be used for any printing -- printing typed pages or whatever?


No, it prints anything, but does have a tray for printing 4x6's on photo paper as well. We also have a wireless Brother laser printer for printing plain b/w text. It's fast and does a great job. I do prefer laser printers, but for easy color printing inkjets do a good job for all my needs. We haven't used Bonjour in ages, I don't know why that would be necessary anymore?


----------



## Someone Nameless

I got the HP C4580 wireless all in one printer for free with my Macbook.  I'm not a computer genius head but I was able to set it up and share it between an a Macbook, an iMac and a Sony Vaio PC.  I did have a couple of little issues down the line (not major) but I called HP customer support and they were very helpful and walked me right through the process.  My printer has worked perfectly ever since and I love being able to print on my laptop from my recliner in another room.  

However, my dogs find it very disturbing when the noise starts in the office and they run barking at that door.


----------



## Sandpiper

Kindle Gracie said:


> I love being able to print on my laptop from my recliner in another room.


Aaaaaaah.

Thanks, Holly and Gracie. Can't tell you how much I appreciate all the help and comments.

The first few years I had a computer (desk top), had it on a desk. Then decided I wanted to stand at it. So got rid of the desk and found a chest at the right height, size. It's been on there for a number of years. Now . . . I want to sit down. Therefore with the wireless laptop / MacBook Pro I can go wherever with it here in my one bedroom condo.


----------



## Someone Nameless

I hear you.  I love my iMac desktop the most and want to sit at an actual desk to do most things.  However, when I'm just surfing the net or reading Kindle boards I enjoy using my laptop in my recliner.  There are advantages to both.


----------



## Sandpiper

Holly, that may be an older model? Found this one on Amazon. Later model / similar?

http://www.amazon.com/Hewlett-Packard-D7560-HP-Photosmart-Printer/dp/B001EHAKSK/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1264471028&sr=1-1-fkmr0

Gracie, as I said I'm in a one bedroom = one computer.

So I've been standing here . . . . I WANT to sit down.


----------



## Casse

One more day to the Apple Event      

Really hoping for a MacBook refresh


----------



## Someone Nameless

I bet  you DO want to sit down!!!  and I think you should!  Go for the macbook.  It took me 53 years and I won't be going back.


----------



## hsuthard

Sandpiper said:


> Holly, that may be an older model? Found this one on Amazon. Later model / similar?
> 
> http://www.amazon.com/Hewlett-Packard-D7560-HP-Photosmart-Printer/dp/B001EHAKSK/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1264471028&sr=1-1-fkmr0
> 
> Gracie, as I said I'm in a one bedroom = one computer.
> 
> So I've been standing here . . . . I WANT to sit down.


It is a couple (or more) years old, but that's not a wireless model you linked to. This one might be more like it:

http://www.amazon.com/Photosmart-Premium-Printer-CD055A-ABA/dp/B002GWVZHW/ref=sr_ob_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1264475562&sr=1-1-catcorr&condition=used

And go sit down! I'm on the couch now with my MacbookPro, happily watching Chuck


----------



## geko29

Sandpiper said:


> Only one computer here. "REAL printer"? What's that? Not wireless?


A "real" printer is something that is capable of being an equal partner in the printing equation. Most low-end printers offload all their processing and control functions to software on your machine, vs. simply being capable of accepting a print job and carrying it out. Printers of the latter type, which tend to start at around $300, only require some very basic setup of the device, and then will work with whatever computers you want to use them with, without requiring the installation and configuration of 5GB of junk on your machine. Most of them, however, do not have built-in wireless (some do, but it's rare). But presumably your own wireless access has to come from somewhere (usually a router), and it has ethernet ports. Hook the printer up to one of them and you're golden. Here's one such printer.



Kindle Gracie said:


> I got the HP C4580 wireless all in one printer for free with my Macbook. I'm not a computer genius head but I was able to set it up and share it between an a Macbook, an iMac and a Sony Vaio PC.


In my case, the issue boiled down to the installation software not supporting configuration of WPA/WPA2, even though it claimed to and the printer itself certainly does. The workaround that I eventually got to work was to disable wireless security on the firewall and Mac, set up the printer using the software, log directly into the printer via its internal webserver, enable WPA2 and enter the passcode, turn off the printer, re-enable WPA2 and re-enter the passcode in the router and on the Mac, then turn the printer on. As I said, once it's finally configured, it works great. But it took literally hours of trial and error to figure out what the actual problem was.


----------



## WilliamM

Casse said:


> One more day to the Apple Event
> 
> Really hoping for a MacBook refresh


i doubt you will see a macboook refresh ..they already did that a few months back
this event will be all about the tablet


----------



## 911jason

Fuzzy Dunlop said:


> i doubt you will see a macboook refresh ..they already did that a few months back
> this event will be all about the tablet


There's also a lot of speculation about an annoucement that AT&T's iPhone exclusivity may end...


----------



## Sandpiper

Heard on local news here in Chicago that it is probably announcing the tablet.


----------



## Mike D. aka jmiked

geko29 said:


> As I said, once it's finally configured, it works great. But it took literally hours of trial and error to figure out what the actual problem was.


Just like setting up and configuring a phone modem in the early 1980s. Except that took days, sometimes.  

Mike


----------



## geko29

jmiked said:


> Just like setting up and configuring a phone modem in the early 1980s. Except that took days, sometimes.


AT&F1&Z&C3...... ad infinitum. I do not miss those days.


----------



## ayuryogini

I got the HP Photosmart C4780 wireless printer that was available as part of the promo from Apple;
it practically set itself up and has been really easy to use; I love being able to print wirelessly; so convenient!


----------



## Sandpiper

That's the printer I plan to get too.  And I am sure NO techie.  The opposite.


----------



## ayuryogini

Cobbie said:


> Are you a techno-wizard or can a Plain Jane techno do it, also?


Definitely NOT a techie.


----------



## Sandpiper

*Cobbie, just do it!*

I just (and I mean just) made my appointment at the Apple Store to take my tower in on Friday at 11:00 a.m. CST to have files transferred from PC to MacBook Pro I will be buying.

I am excited and looking forward to it!


----------



## Sandpiper

Hi, Cobbie.  I've made three trips to Apple Store to talk and look while I was deciding.  I have my "shopping list" for Friday.  

They transfer files, not applications, from PC to Mac and will load any software you buy there.  Right now, I'm 99.9% sure I am going with MS Office 2008 for Mac (no Windows platform) to use for word processing.  Apple gives NO (absolutely NONE) help with that.  Got to figure out that for yourself.  I've been using Word 2002 on my PC.  So will have to learn / figure out updated version and difference between PC and Mac.  I can do it.

Apple Store that I am near is in a large shopping center.  Park reasonably close to store and call them and they will come and pick up the tower.  Yay!

If you're not selling or donating your PC tower, monitor, etc. and you're buying a Mac, Apple will give you prepaid Fed Ex label / papers for shipping PC equipment to be recycled.  You do have to pack it.


----------



## Sandpiper

I think I'm changing my mind . . . now starting to lean towards Apple's iWork instead of Office 2008 for Mac.  I've been looking at more users' reviews of Office for Mac and for the most part they're not particularly good.


----------



## Sandpiper

Cobbie said:


> Okaaay....I just made an appointment with the Apple Store for tomorrow morning at 10:00. This will be my first visit and I hope I can contain my impulse buying tendencies.




I'm usually impulsive too. At least my credit card closing date slowed me some.

I don't know why -- I let myself become more and more scared of the "black box" (tower). I don't understand the hardware in it and I don't understand the software that makes it all work. So I'm I've gotten scared to do much of anything with it.

MacBook Pro -- the whole thing is right there. I've heard Mac is very user-friendly. I've looked at Apple's web site quite a bit. Got a couple books. Apple Store and MacSpecialist are nearby. I do feel very positive about it all.

Better check with my bank. I bank and pay bills on-line too. Hate to lose that. After Friday at 11:00, I'm not going to have a PC.


----------



## hsuthard

There are a lot of online web banking options now that weren't available when I switched; I expect you'll both be able to do everything you were doing before without many changes. I highly recommend Mint.com if you need an online banking solution. Any web-based product should work just fine on a mac. Have fun at your appointments!


----------



## Ruby296

Sandpiper said:


> I'm usually impulsive too. At least my credit card closing date slowed me some.
> 
> I don't know why -- I let myself become more and more scared of the "black box" (tower). I don't understand the hardware in it and I don't understand the software that makes it all work. So I'm I've gotten scared to do much of anything with it.
> 
> MacBook Pro -- the whole thing is right there. I've heard Mac is very user-friendly. I've looked at Apple's web site quite a bit. Got a couple books. Apple Store and MacSpecialist are nearby. I do feel very positive about it all.
> 
> Better check with my bank. I bank and pay bills on-line too. Hate to lose that. After Friday at 11:00, I'm not going to have a PC.


Congrats on your new Mac!! Please keep us posted on how you like it, etc.


----------



## Sandpiper

I'm lovin' it already and I don't even have it yet.


----------



## fastdogs

ok, I just got a macbook today. I didn't need it, I've got a fairly new asus eee pc, which I like fine, but it's not as good for all the time use, since you can't see all the email title on the screen, but it's so small it's great for taking along everywhere. But I just wanted a macbook. 
It wasn't a good time to find myself in best buy with my checkbook and some money. I am getting laid off from a great job in a couple of months, and I'm feeling like I'll never be able to buy "toys" again, once the paychecks stop coming in. Plus, we've just been stressed at work with the site closing and everyone leaving in waves.
So there's this macbook there. Just the basic model, but the price is outrageous. I did go over and look at the PC laptops, but kept coming back to the mac. I am not a mac fanatic. I got an imac when they came out with the soccer ball with the monitor mounted, and it was just ok. I guess I am not computer savvy enough to appreciate the difference. I am more familiar with pcs, that's what I use at home and at work.
so I've been playing this evening. I can return it if I don't like it, but so far I love it. I love this mousepad thing. Although you can set it to click by tapping on it, right now it's set so you actually click it. so no more accidentally selecting things because I put my finger on it to hard. I don't even feel like I need a mouse attached- and I've ALWAYS used a mouse with laptops because I can't control the trackpad. I think I'll keep it, I just won't tell anyone how much it cost.
At first I was having problems getting online- we have wireless in my house, but I could not get it set up. It turns out it was the usual problems with my internet, NOT the computer.
I have a wireless printer- wonder if it'll work with this mac?
vickie


----------



## 911jason

Here's a little project for you macbook'ers...










Pretty cool, eh?

P.S. This is an image I came across on digg.com, it's not mine.


----------



## WilliamM

Sandpiper said:


> I think I'm changing my mind . . . now starting to lean towards Apple's iWork instead of Office 2008 for Mac. I've been looking at more users' reviews of Office for Mac and for the most part they're not particularly good.


Office for MAc works fine.its really not that different from Office For PC ..IWorks is...
I messed with Iworks long enough to know I didnt like it at all
anyway its all what you are comfortable with..take those online software reviews with a grain of salt..as well as what the drones at the Apple store tell you too..


----------



## Mike D. aka jmiked

Sandpiper said:


> I think I'm changing my mind . . . now starting to lean towards Apple's iWork instead of Office 2008 for Mac. I've been looking at more users' reviews of Office for Mac and for the most part they're not particularly good.


As has been mentioned before, you might try Open Office (or it's slightly more Mac-like sibling NeoOffice) before spending the money on MS Office. The interface is a bit different, but it does pretty much all the same things and it's file compatible. And it's free.

Mike


----------



## Ruby296

Sandpiper said:


> I'm lovin' it already and I don't even have it yet.


Well I imagine you'll be doing a big ole happy dance when you do get it!



911jason said:


> Here's a little project for you macbook'ers...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Pretty cool, eh?
> 
> P.S. This is an image I came across on digg.com, it's not mine.


Wow, that's neat!


----------



## Sandpiper

Cobbie said:


> Okaaay....I just made an appointment with the Apple Store for tomorrow morning at 10:00. This will be my first visit and I hope I can contain my impulse buying tendencies.




Cobbie, so what did you do today? Just look and ask questions? Or did you say, "Charge it"?


----------



## hsuthard

I would recommend sticking with Office for Mac, too. I don't like Entourage much, though, but Mail isn't perfect either.


----------



## Sandpiper

Cobbie said:


> I looked, I saw, I listened to my 14 yr. old sales associate...actually mid-20's but looked like a teenager...who knew far more than I ever will about Macs. There is no justice in the world.
> 
> I have 25 years of business files on Excel that I must keep so I think I will get the Office for Mac.
> 
> I'm really looking forward to finding out about your transition. There are at least two other threads with great information from everybody but going along with another newbie might make it eeasier. Can't wait for Friday!


LOL! 14 yr old sales associate.  Right.

Thank you. I too WILL go with MS Office for Mac. Well, will know for sure what I do after I do it. (I did get two votes for MS Office from knowledgeable posters on another message board.)

Will keep y'all posted as things move along. I plan on pulling the plugs on this one Thursday evening. It's my only computer so will be gone then until Mac is up and running here. Saturday evening at latest?

My BFF may take this PC for her elderly father who's now thinking he wants a computer. I hope she does take it for him and he is able to use it. She can take me out for a good lunch at our favorite place in exchange.

ETA: Found this MS page re Office for Macs -- forums, etc., etc.

http://www.microsoft.com/mac/products/Office2008/default.mspx


----------



## Mike D. aka jmiked

hsuthard said:


> I would recommend sticking with Office for Mac, too. I don't like Entourage much, though, but Mail isn't perfect either.


You might give some consideration to Thunderbird, the email client from Mozilla, the people who do Firefox. It's free, and is my favorite email client on either Mac or Window (I like cross-platform applications).

Mike


----------



## geko29

Cobbie said:


> Am I correct in assuming that Entourage replaces Outlook and Active Sync? ...that information overload thing again. And about mail...I don't use Outlook for mail so my regular Internet home page and my mail accounts will remain the same, like on my iPhone, right?


If you don't use Outlook for mail, you don't need Entourage, as it's not a particularly good email client. If you did use Outlook with Exchange ActiveSync, you'd need to replace it with Entourage Web Services Edition anyway, so the copy that comes with Office 2008 is worthless in either case.


----------



## Sandpiper

Bye!  See ya on "the other side".  Gonna pull the plugs now.  Last I was told -- could be even 48 hours (from tomorrow noonish).


----------



## Meemo

I'll be a MacBook user next week - my refurbished MacBook Air shipped today (we ordered it last night).  Not sure who's more excited - me or my husband!


----------



## fastdogs

well, I've had mine for four days. I've used it every day, watching tutorials and reading help files as needed, trying to learn my way around. When I was using my imac, about 9 years ago, I never really learned much about it, just enough to get by for what I needed. Since I use a PC at work, and have a desktop PC at home, it was easier to drift back to the PC, and I hadn't used the Imac in years.
I guess I'm keeping it- I bought it an extended warranty, a bag and sleeve, and a keyboard protector. I am really enjoying it, I just figured out some widgets today, because on the dashboard the time was canadian and the weather was california. I'd change it, but next time I opened dashboard it was back the way it was. I think I got it changed finally, and added another weather thing and a starry night thing with the current night skies and constellations.
I haven't quite figured out the page-back thing. when surfing, I'll do a google search, and sometimes when I try to page back to the search, I get a list of places I've been rather than it just paging back, and other times it pages back. I'm sure I'm doing something wrong.
I found some CDs with all the photos that had been on my imac, and downloaded them onto this macbook- photos it's been ages since I've gone through.
The one thing my husband does not like about it is that it doesn't have an expresscard slot (is that what it's called)- we use at&t for our internet, the mobile card that goes either in the computer or in a slot attached to our router for home wireless. My husband uses it for surfing at mcdonalds- at&t limits yours usage and you get charged if you go over so we try to limit what we download at home. Without the slot, I can go online like at panera bread (but then I eat too many scones) but not mcdonalds. I don't understand it, really, but we are very limited to internet we can get out here in the sticks- no dsl or anything.
next thing to try is our wireless printer. according to a list of supported printers it should work.
vickie


----------



## fastdogs

wow. sorry to go on and on about this macbook, but I am amazed by it every time I try to do anything on it.
the printer- turned it on (it's wireless), the mac found it right away and recognized it, and I printed out a page.
my digital camera- didn't even install the program that came with the camera- I hooked up the camera with the usb cable and turned it on- iphoto opened and I downloaded the photos on the camera. I went through and deleted any photos I didn't want (select photo, option-command-delete). Any that need rotated I just rotated them with the touch pad and two fingers.
I picked one photo, selected to email it and sent it.
That's what I wanted- something I could turn on and it would just work the way I wanted.
vickie


----------



## Ruby296

Cobbie said:


> Okay, _now_ I'm getting excited. I've been to the Apple Store only once and am still thinking about it, but your excitement is contageous.  Thanks for your update. Every bit of information helps.


I agree! I've got to get back to the Apple store soon too and make a decision.


----------



## fastdogs

ALSO-
we arent at my parents house today because my 6 year old is sick (they love to see him once a week).
He's sitting beside me on the sofa, playing the wii. I opened up photobooth, turned the computer toward him and snapped a photo (apparently there's a built in flash?), clicked email, and sent it to them. It's pretty good quality photos, too.
Did I mention the printer?    I'd read of problems with wireless printers and the macbooks, but I didn't install any drivers or anything. I simply turned on the printer, and mac found it right away and was immediately ready to print.
vickie


----------



## Sandpiper

Hi all, I'm here on the other side!!  Lovin' it.  Though I hardly know how to do anything.  There is so much it can do.  You can never know it all.  Just learn and get used to it in time.  

I solved the problem - MS Word for Mac or iWork?  Got them both!  

Because of my ISP, wireless network wasn't quite so simple.  Had to call AppleCare.  Sooooo nice.  Got it going.  There's an unlocked network in my area.  Wonder who or what business it is?

Anybody - Cobbie - who's thinking about it.  Just do it!


----------



## fastdogs

I have a question, about mail. My email is a hotmail address, so I still check it on hotmail. I put it in "bookmarks", which I think of as like favorites. But I was wondering how to use mail on the mac. I think when I had the imac, with OSX, I had an email address automatically, with .mac or apple.com or something. But I don't seem to be able to get my hotmail in "mail" with the hotmail address, so I must have to set something up with a mac address? I've sent things from mail, by using iphoto or photobooth and sending photos. But I don't seem to be recieving any email there.
see how un-computer savvy I am?
vickie


----------



## pidgeon92

fastdogs said:


> I have a question, about mail. My email is a hotmail address, so I still check it on hotmail.


You can check your hotmail address in Mac Mail. You need to find out what the incoming POP server and the outgoing SMTP servers are from hotmail. Then go to preferences in Mac Mail, and add that information plus your email address and password.

I have seven total email addresses that I use Mac Mail to send/receive.


----------



## Sandpiper

I walked out of the store around 2:00 yesterday afternoon.  So could have started working on it then.  Called me at home around 7:00 last night.  "It's ready."  Made an appointment then for 1:00 this afternoon to pick it up and get initial training.  When I left that my head was swimming.  "I don't remember anything."  But - surprise - I did retain some.  I'm not prone to headaches, but I do have a little one.  Have a feeling I will sleep tonight.  I remember when I first got internet.  I was up all night that first night.  

Just for me   the store is going to be closed Feb. 15 - Feb. 26 for remodeling.


----------



## fastdogs

thanks pidgeon. I played around with it tonight, it had tried to guide me with all those letters that mean nothing to me, but whatever I did, I got some of my hotmail messages in my mac mail. Might be from saved message folder, not sure. I was able to put them in an archive folder in my folder on the mac. I've got like three "hotmail" mailboxes in my list, with duplicate messages. 
I'll get it sorted out. I'll see if I get my incoming hotmail messages in mac mail box now.
can't wait till they get kindle for mac out, I already got it on my asus netbook.
vickie


----------



## Sandpiper

More about my experience. Nothing bad. On Friday when I bought everything, thought the total seemed a little (just a little) low? Low is better than high. OK. As I was carrying everything to the car, thought maybe I should have gotten rebate papers for the printer, so I went back to store. Scott, my salesperson, said we can do it here (submit for rebate on-line). OK He tried 3 times and it didn't work. Called another guy over. He tried. It didn't work. Then the light came on for Scott. He didn't charge me for printer. He just missed it. Wasn't on the receipt, so receipt number didn't work. I could have had a totally free printer.

When I got home and took a look at contacts / e-mail addie list and bookmarks -- they were screwy. How can I work with those? So called and went back to the store today with tower and Mac. Got a 1-to-1 session and Vinnie really worked at transfer of contacts and bookmarks again. All is well.

I love Apple. Two businesses with _the best_ customer service -- Apple and Lands' End.


----------



## Sandpiper

Got a question. As part of my shopping spree at Apple, I bought a Western Digital 320gb firewire drive (My Passport Studio) to back up on. Opened the package this evening. So after the fact, I looked at reviews on Apple site -- 2.5 stars (extremes of good and bad). In any case, there are three cords with different plugs to choose from. Very little in the way of instructions in the box. I don't know which to use? Any suggestions without seeing it?

Two quick questions about Mac. The screen dims pretty quickly. There must be a place to change that? And is there simply an End key (key that moves the cursor to the end of a line)? One of the keys with a symbol? I used that a lot on PC keyboard. I miss it.


----------



## Mike D. aka jmiked

Screensaver settings are at System Preferences => Desktop and Screensaver

You probably have USB and FireWire connectors with your external hard-drive. Firewire has better performance, but the new MacBook don't have a FW connector, although the Pros do. The FireWire one is the connector with the "Y" looking symbol. I don't know what the third cord would be.

Probably CMD*-arrow would take you to the end of the line. CMD is the little four-lobed symbol.

Mike

* ⌘, a square with loops at the corners, which is sometimes referred to as Saint John's Arms, the Place of Interest Sign,[1] or Saint Hannes cross, is an ancient symbol now commonly used throughout Northern Europe.


----------



## Sandpiper

Thanks, Mike.  Command and an arrow key takes you fast in that direction.  

So so reviews worry me.  Thought I'd just have to plug it in and it would pretty much go with just a couple or three questions from the Mac / Time Machine.  I'll look into it more tomorrow.  Still not sure which plugs are which.  One is for USB and the other two are for FireWire 800 and FireWire 800-400.  

MacBook Pro does have firewire port.  Western Digital packaging says compatible with Mac OS X 10.4.11+, 10.5.3+.  Does the + mean and later versions?  If not, isn't current Mac version later?


----------



## Mike D. aka jmiked

Current MacBook Pros are FireWire 800. 

10.5.3+ may or may not include 10.6. There were some significant differences with 10.6. I had to get new versions of several programs and also wait for a new version of Carbonite, my offsite backup program. So you can't take it for granted.

Mike


----------



## Sandpiper

Thanks again _mucho_, Mike. I am going to call (or go again to) Apple tomorrow. Why do they sell it if it's not going to work -- for sure? I don't know about all that stuff.

Go there? I'm not in the Mid Atlantic states, but Chicago area is forecasting 6 - 12" of the white stuff tomorrow. Hope "the man" is wrong.


----------



## Mike D. aka jmiked

If you got it from the Apple store, then it will almost certainly work just fine with 10.6.


Mike


----------



## Sandpiper

OK.  Find out for certain which plugs / cord are the 800 and go for it tomorrow.  Some reviewers said they had problems with freezing, etc., etc.  That won't be me.  

Hmmm.  Spell check here doesn't work in Safari?  Says it's checked and OK when there are misspelled words.

ETA:  Now I see Safari checks spelling while I'm typing.


----------



## Sandpiper

Was able to go back to Apple Store today for another 1-to-1 session.  Did a back-up while there.  Only took app. 45 minutes.  Found out which cord / plugs to use (which cord is the 800).  Plugged it in and that was virtually all there was to it.  Always expect there to be the usual registration, set-up, etc. as with PC.  Nope.  

I do love this thing.  Maybe tomorrow I'll get the printer out of the box.  Wonder how much snow we will have in the a.m.  None?


----------



## fastdogs

I enjoy reading your experiences with your new macbook.
I stopped by and bought iwork yesterday, I think my macbook is complete now. I got a bag, sleeve, keyboard protector, and iwork.
I'm still learning different things about this, but so far I really like it.  I do sort of wish I'd gone to an apple store, seems like the support you are getting is really great. But I was actually trying to talk myself out of a macbook, so wanted to go where I could see both PC and mac laptops, and try to compare without being pushed toward one or the other.
Last night, I noticed something else. I went to send an email to a friend, and wanted to attach a photo. I was able to select from the photos on my macbook, but also from the desktop computer we have- it showed up here, and I could go into it and see files. I don't know if I just didn't notice it, or if it just wasn't on when I was playing on here before.
How do I recieve mail into macbook's mail, without it being hotmail? I'm asking because when I  had my imac, I automatically got a mac email address. I don't see anything about that in mail on the macbook. Do you get a mac email address automatically?
I guess I expect everything to be automatic!!
vickie


----------



## fastdogs

forgot- what about "conditioning" your battery? I read something about this- you're supposed to use it till it goes to sleep from the battery being too low, then plug it in and recharge it for 6 hours or something. I didn't do this with mine, although when I use it without being plugged in, I try to run it almost all the way down before plugging it in.


----------



## Sandpiper

I don't think there's any battery conditioning.  As I understand it, you can use it plugged in or not -- whatever, whenever.  Just once a month you should let the battery run out almost completely before plugging it in again.

No, I didn't get a new e-mail address.  Apple's e-mail program is just the front for whatever e-mail (supplied by your ISP?) you already have.  I have DSL from AT&T.  Their e-mail is "powered" by Yahoo.  My e-mail addies end in @sbcglobal.net.

Especially being on my own buying all this tech stuff which I am so unfamiliar with, I never thought of going any place but the Apple Store because of all the support and knowledge of the product there.  Yes, may have paid some more than getting it elsewhere, but wouldn't get the same support.  No pressure buying though.  Everyone is so helpful.  Weekends especially it's crowded in there.  But everything going on is organized.  After being in the store four days in a row, I'm recognizing some of the ? the ? the ?  What would you call the Apple employees in the store?  I did get 1-to-1 training ($99 for a year) and AppleCare ($350 on 15" MacBook Pro).  Went for 1-to-1 last night.  Teri was trainer.  Said she used to practice law!  So I told her about a lawyer (and her husband) I worked for in '89 - '90.  Story there.

Keyboard protector for MacBook / Pro?  Never heard of it.  Never suggested to me.  Have to check it out.

I don't see myself loading all kinds of programs, but Teri suggested something to me last night that I could be interested in.  I play music via iTunes.  Software called Tuneup. Fixes artwork, etc., etc. in your iTunes music library.  I'll probably get that eventually.


----------



## fastdogs

the keyboard protector is just a thin sheet with the keys molded; it just lays over the keyboard. I have three dogs and a six year old, I figured it would reduce the chances of hair, etc, getting down inside the computer. I got it from macmall. I got the iwork program and my extended warranty from best buy. I had to cut corners somewhere or I coudn't afford the macbook at all (the price for the macbook was the same at best buy as it would have been at the apple store). 
I got a bag with a sleeve at macmall too, for $25.
I think my husband is reluctantly impressed by the macbook, but just not ready to admit it yet. He has only sat down to play with it a few times.
vickie


----------



## Mike D. aka jmiked

fastdogs said:


> I'm asking because when I had my imac, I automatically got a mac email address. I don't see anything about that in mail on the macbook. Do you get a mac email address automatically?


I think that at one point, purchasers of a new Mac got a one year subscription to Mac.com (now called Me.com) gratis. I don't know if they still do that or not, or if my brain is playing tricks on me. It's normally $99 a year.

See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MobileMe

Mike


----------



## Sandpiper

I think MobileMe synchronizes things between various Apple tech stuff?  I'm not that much into it all to get that.  Got my MBP and iTouch . . . and a couple of nanos.  Turned in my first nano (deader 'n a door nail) when I bought the iTouch for a 10% discount on it.


----------



## Mike D. aka jmiked

That's one of the features. It's also an email provider and I think you can still make homepages with it. I did, a number of years ago, although that stuff is long gone. You can also set up pubic directories for sharing files and photos and such.

Mike


----------



## ayuryogini

Sandpiper, so excited for you that you got your MacBook; Glad you're having so much fun with it.
Regarding MobileMe:
Personally, I would be lost without Mobile Me. I use my iPod Touch to organize everything when I'm away from my computer; it does it seamlessly in the Mobile "cloud"; I don't even have to synch it; I love it.


----------



## Meemo

Now using my refurbed MacBook Air. 

My in-house tech support guy (AKA my husband) got it all set up for me - I just got my hands on it the last 30 minutes or so. Like the keyboard, LOVE the light weight and thinness, am liking the bigger screen than my netbook (which I'll keep for using for a few things like my Sony reader software and Kindle for PC for cookbooks, and the occasional game of Spider Solitaire). He's got it set up to share iTunes with our iMac, plus all the other stuff like contacts, etc. Yep, I'm loving it! And like a Kindle refurb, you can't tell it isn't brand new - it's lovely. Just waiting now for my decal (Snow White will be holding the Apple) - and trying to adjust to using the touchpad instead of a mouse.


----------



## Someone Nameless

Memo, don't you just love it?  I love the keypad and once you get used to the touchpad, it's great.  I love the two finger swipe that rolls the page up and down on the touchpad.


----------



## Meemo

Kindle Gracie said:


> Memo, don't you just love it? I love the keypad and once you get used to the touchpad, it's great. I love the two finger swipe that rolls the page up and down on the touchpad.


I really am loving it - haven't used my mouse at all, and I've adjusted to the touchpad pretty quickly. He showed me how to "right click" (with 2 fingers) last night which was my one "issue" - now I'm using it no problem. And yep, the two-finger scroll is great. Loving the keyboard - I liked my netbook but I was starting to have some issues with it, no doubt I was hitting the arrow keys without realizing it - and that just started happening recently. But it was frustrating to be typing along and suddenly realize I'd jumped up to typing in the middle of the line above. And it's just so light & thin - 13" screen for the same weight as my 10" netbook. Probably should've listened to my husband a year ago when he said "Don't buy a netbook - buy a MacBook."  Loved my netbook but I love this even more!


----------



## Sandpiper

I got a Magic Mouse, but haven't used it.  But thinking I may at the end of the month.  I keep financial records mostly in tables in Word.  Do a lot of messin' 'round among various documents and tables then.  Almost can't imagine doing that with trackpad only.  One of these days soon want to make the macros I was used to using back on the PC in Word.  Been so long since I've made one.  Probably not that big a deal, but . . . .  Hope I can again with no problems.


----------



## Someone Nameless

My iMac has the magic mouse. If you accidentally move it to the right or left and have your fingers on it just so, it thinks you are telling it to go back (or forward) and it jumps to a different page totally. It is pretty cool but sometimes it makes me crazy.


----------



## Meemo

Kindle Gracie said:


> My iMac has the magic mouse. If you accidentally move it to the right or left and have your fingers on it just so, it thinks you are telling it to go back (or forward) and it jumps to a different page totally. It is pretty cool but sometimes it makes me crazy.


We have the Magic Mouse for our iMac as well. DH offered to get me one for the Air, but I don't think I'm going to need it after all. I'm not doing anything cosmic with it though - but I've done some cutting and pasting and it's doing fine. So far. Knock on wood...


----------



## Sandpiper

Kindle Gracie said:


> My iMac has the magic mouse. If you accidentally move it to the right or left and have your fingers on it just so, it thinks you are telling it to go back (or forward) and it jumps to a different page totally. It is pretty cool but sometimes it makes me crazy.


You can change settings for different controls in Gears.


----------



## tdmsu

I love my MacBook Pro!
I got it to replace a deceased iMac desktop - tryin' to be greener, and all...


----------



## Mike D. aka jmiked

Sandpiper said:


> You can change settings for different controls in Gears.


       First time I've heard it called that. But that _is_ what it looks like.

Mike


----------



## Casse

Reading this thread..... PLEASE Apple release the darn refresh already!!!!!!!!

I'm so ready to purchase my new MacBook Pro but I want to wait for the refresh.... I should have just purchased the current model months ago... Now I feel like I have to wait.

Note to self - next time just purchase the dang thing!


----------



## Someone Nameless

What are you talking about 'the refresh' ?


----------



## Casse

Kindle Gracie said:


> What are you talking about 'the refresh' ?


MacBook buying guides shows the MacBook Pro line being refreshed (ie. increased specs) - hopefully this month but nothing has been officially released.


----------



## fastdogs

I've had mine for almost two weeks now, and I love this thing. I can't really explain why I like it so much.
One thing I noticed tonight- for internet we have at&t. I hate it, but we are limited by where we live what we can get for internet service- no dsl, just this or satellite. It's an express card in a cradlepoint thingy. When my husband was on the cordless phone, I couldn't get online, the mac couldn't find any service. When he got off the phone, everything worked fine. Then, later, I got on the phone, and lost the internet again. It didn't quit, just couldn't open the page and probably would have come up with the message that no service was available, but I wasn't on the phone long enough.  As soon as I hung up, the page loaded fine.
Is that possible that the phone would interfere with the wireless? Both are at&t. Just another reason to dislike it.
I don't remember this happening with the pc, but it may be that I just never noticed specifically that the trouble with the internet was connected to the phone. We certainly had internet problems regardless of the computer we were on.
vickie


----------



## Sandpiper

Vickie, you have AT&T, but not DSL?  So dial-up?  I've got AT&T DSL.  Knock on wood, has always been OK.  Just learned because I am in a multiple dwelling (condo), my wireless network can get knocked out due to other networks and has to be reset.  (Happened a little white ago.)  Hopefully will not happen often.  Didn't seem to be big dealie to reset.  

Ever since I've had DSL internet connection, have had two phone lines.  (I refuse to get cable or satellite.)  We have security system to front door of building via phone line.  That security system and DSL cannot operate on the same phone line -- so two lines.


----------



## fastdogs

it's at&t wireless. We've got three cell phone numbers- one for each of our cell phones and one for the internet. It's a little card that my husband can plug into the side of his laptop (he does not like my new macbook because it does not have the slot this card fits in). At home, it plugs into a thing called "cradlepoint", and there's a wireless router. I know very little about it, but when the little blue lights aren't blinking right and I can't get online I turn it off and back on again.
It's faster than dial up, but not really fast enough to watch videos without them stopping constantly to load. There is also a limit, so it gets even MORE expensive if you go over what you are allowed, so you don't want to download much video anyway, even if you had the patience to keep trying to watch it as it freezes for minutes, then moves for a few seconds, and then freezes for minutes again.
hughes net wasn't much better, but I don't remember a limit, and it also messed up if snow got on the dish. But those are our choices out here.
vickie


----------



## Sandpiper

I'm not a telephone talker, but have two land lines for reasons above.  Also need a land line for TiVo.  Love my TiVo.  Just have one pre-paid cell phone.  

Been taking a closer look at MS Word on here.  Looks a little different, but I'm finding my way 'round.


----------



## Mike D. aka jmiked

fastdogs said:


> When my husband was on the cordless phone, I couldn't get online, the mac couldn't find any service. When he got off the phone, everything worked fine. Then, later, I got on the phone, and lost the internet again. It didn't quit, just couldn't open the page and probably would have come up with the message that no service was available, but I wasn't on the phone long enough. As soon as I hung up, the page loaded fine.
> Is that possible that the phone would interfere with the wireless?


This is a well-known problem with wireless routers and many cordless phones. They both can operate in the same frequency range, i.e. 2.4 GHz. I got tired of this happening and got new cordless phones that operate in a range outside the wireless router's operation.

Mike


----------



## Sandpiper

Guess I live in the dark ages phone-wise.  Two land lines.  Two land line phones.  One is corded.  That's the one I use most.  It's in the living / dining room near modem, router, and computer.  Cordless is in the bedroom.  Rarely use that.


----------



## Casse

fastdogs said:


> it's at&t wireless. We've got three cell phone numbers- one for each of our cell phones and one for the internet. It's a little card that my husband can plug into the side of his laptop (he does not like my new macbook because it does not have the slot this card fits in). At home, it plugs into a thing called "cradlepoint", and there's a wireless router. I know very little about it, but when the little blue lights aren't blinking right and I can't get online I turn it off and back on again.
> It's faster than dial up, but not really fast enough to watch videos without them stopping constantly to load. There is also a limit, so it gets even MORE expensive if you go over what you are allowed, so you don't want to download much video anyway, even if you had the patience to keep trying to watch it as it freezes for minutes, then moves for a few seconds, and then freezes for minutes again.
> hughes net wasn't much better, but I don't remember a limit, and it also messed up if snow got on the dish. But those are our choices out here.
> vickie


I have the same situation... only with Verizon - we also live in the sticks... As none of the new laptops have the slot for my old card I plan on changing to a smart phone and tethering. Wish the Droid would tether... Not sure which phone I'm going to get yet. Waiting on the MacBook Pro refresh then I'll make a decision.


----------



## fastdogs

what is a smart phone, and tethering? AT&T will upgrade my husband's smart card in july for free, to a usb one, but he likes the card for some reason. I'm interested in any options because we are so limited out here.
I need a new phone anyway, will look for something other than the 2.4 ones. I just have the one cordless in the living room, the one in the bedroom is a corded phone.
thanks
vickie


----------



## geko29

Sandpiper said:


> Also need a land line for TiVo. Love my TiVo.


Actually you don't. All Tivos made in the past 5 years or so have built-in ethernet, starting with the Series3 and Series2DT, and including both TivoHD and TivoHD XL. If you have one of the older models, just plug a USB NIC (Network Interface Card) into one of the USB slots and attach it to your network (wired or wireless). Here's the list of third party models guaranteed to work, or you can buy a tivo-branded wireless or officially-supported wired adapter directly from the tivo store. There, I just saved you $20/month. 

And if you're using directivos as I am, you don't need either. I have several that haven't made a daily call in nearly 6 years and are still chugging along.


----------



## geko29

fastdogs said:


> what is a smart phone, and tethering? AT&T will upgrade my husband's smart card in july for free, to a usb one, but he likes the card for some reason. I'm interested in any options because we are so limited out here.


A smart phone is one that includes PDA features and can do things like email, full web access, advanced contacts, run third-party applications, etc. These devices usually have large screens (most are touch now) and run either iPhone OS, Android, Windows Mobile, Blackberry OS, or WebOS.

Tethering is attaching your cell phone to your PC and using the phone's data connection to provide internet access. Providers usually charge an extra $25-30 for this feature, on top of whatever you currently pay for "unlimited" data. With certain devices you can do it without paying the extra fee (but this should only be done for occasional use, not as a primary internet connection). But paying $60 for data+tethering on a phone is probably preferable to paying $20-30 for data on the phone AND $60 for data on a standalone network adapter.


----------



## Sandpiper

All that is a little too techie for me -- I think.  I had TiVo Series II.  Couple years ago when I got my big beautiful Sony Bravia LCD HD TV, upgraded to TiVo HD.  (I watch TV and DVDs more than I read on my Kindle.   )  I still need two phone lines for building security system and DSL, so I can continue to plug TiVo into one of those lines.

I downloaded and installed Google Earth and Google Chrome myself.  WOW!  I never would have done that on the PC.


----------



## geko29

Sandpiper said:


> All that is a little too techie for me -- I think.


It's really not. If you can set up a tivo (and obviously you can), you can connect it to a wireless network with one of their adapters, or to a wired one with the built-in port (assuming your router is somewhat nearby). The instructions to do either are one page, and in both your instruction manual and on the tivo site.



Sandpiper said:


> I still need two phone lines for building security system and DSL, so I can continue to plug TiVo into one of those lines.


The reason for needing a dedicated phone line for a security system is not a technological one, it's an access one. They want a line that won't be used for any other purpose at any time, so alerts get sent for sure. Now granted, the tivo's daily call is only 5-8 minutes, unless there's a software upgrade available (every few months), in which case it stretches to 2-6 hours. Now everybody's different, but we use our home phone about as much as tivo does on a daily basis.  And obviously while you're not home, nobody's using it, so your alarm works perfectly. But IF you're at home and IF the alarm is on while you're home (which again, most people don't do) and IF you're on the phone and IF the alarm goes off, chances are you're going to either a) hang up and go check it out, in which case the alarm notifies the police or b) hang up and call 911, which achieves the same result.



Sandpiper said:


> I downloaded and installed Google Earth and Google Chrome myself. WOW! I never would have done that on the PC.


Why? The process is the same, but actually has 2 or 3 more steps on the mac:

1) mount image file (mac only)
2) open mounted drive (mac only, sometimes automatic)
3) double-click installer
4) next->next->next->finish
5) drag mounted drive to the trash (mac only)

It's not hard in either case, but it's actually easier on the PC, so I'm not sure why you wouldn't do it.


----------



## Casse

geko29 said:


> A smart phone is one that includes PDA features and can do things like email, full web access, advanced contacts, run third-party applications, etc. These devices usually have large screens (most are touch now) and run either iPhone OS, Android, Windows Mobile, Blackberry OS, or WebOS.
> 
> Tethering is attaching your cell phone to your PC and using the phone's data connection to provide internet access. Providers usually charge an extra $25-30 for this feature, on top of whatever you currently pay for "unlimited" data. With certain devices you can do it without paying the extra fee (but this should only be done for occasional use, not as a primary internet connection). * But paying $60 for data+tethering on a phone is probably preferable to paying $20-30 for data on the phone AND $60 for data on a standalone network adapter*.


Very nice explanation  Currently I pay $60 for the PC card for just PC internet access. When I switch I'll be paying $60 for unlimited access on my phone and 5gb access via tethering. Now this is really not that much but enough for my usage. If you stream video, lots of u-tube, Pandora, or netflicks than this solution is NOT for you.

I live in the sticks so it's cell, satellite (horrible in my area), or dial up.... If I lived in town I would not use this setup. Cheaper and faster via the other methods. Course I don't think anyone in town would like my horses


----------



## Sandpiper

I live in town -- 17 miles straight west of downtown Chicago.  And until only 'bout ten years ago, there were horses   quite close -- easy walking distance.  The area here is residential and commercial, but there WAS an app. 25 acre vacant field across the street.  On the other side of that was a barn and horses.  Residential over there too.  Backyards of those houses was the field.  Owner of the land finally sold.  Now it's townhomes, I'd guess you'd call them.

The building intercom / security system to the front door and TiVo are both on the phone land line that I talk on.  The other land line is used for DSL only.  I guess I could talk on that line too if I wanted.  

I did set up my first TiVo Series II.  Store I bought Sony Bravia TV, Tivo HD, and DVD player set those up together.  I am a KISS person.  I am not techie and I know I get easily frustrated.


----------



## Mike D. aka jmiked

geko29 said:


> The reason for needing a dedicated phone line for a security system is not a technological one, it's an access one. They want a line that won't be used for any other purpose at any time, so alerts get sent for sure. Now granted, the tivo's daily call is only 5-8 minutes, unless there's a software upgrade available (every few months), in which case it stretches to 2-6 hours. Now everybody's different, but we use our home phone about as much as tivo does on a daily basis.  And obviously while you're not home, nobody's using it, so your alarm works perfectly. But IF you're at home and IF the alarm is on while you're home (which again, most people don't do) and IF you're on the phone and IF the alarm goes off, chances are you're going to either a) hang up and go check it out, in which case the alarm notifies the police or b) hang up and call 911, which achieves the same result.


My security system will disconnect anything else using the phone and then dial out. So it doesn't matter if I'm talking on the phone, TiVo is using it, etc. I assumed this was standard practice with such systems, but maybe not.

Mike


----------



## Sandpiper

If it matters, the security / intercom system in this building is the original -- so about 40 years old.  Not so techie back then?


----------



## libros_lego

Does anyone use Time Capsule? I was thinking of buying it, but I see a lot of bad reviews. TIA.


----------



## Mike D. aka jmiked

Jenni said:


> Does anyone use Time Capsule? I was thinking of buying it, but I see a lot of bad reviews. TIA.


Time Capsule is OK. You might give a look at Carbonite:

http://www.carbonite.com/

Mike


----------



## Mike D. aka jmiked

Sandpiper said:


> If it matters, the security / intercom system in this building is the original -- so about 40 years old. Not so techie back then?


It's probably better than a bucket of water balanced on top of a door that's slightly ajar. 

Mike


----------



## pidgeon92

Time Capsule is pretty much just a hard drive. You can find plenty of cheaper external drives. If your machine has a FireWire port, pick one with FireWire for the best performance. Time Machine will work fine on any external hard drive.


----------



## geko29

Sandpiper said:


> The building intercom / security system to the front door and TiVo are both on the phone land line that I talk on. The other land line is used for DSL only. I guess I could talk on that line too if I wanted.


Sounds like you could definitely save some money by consolidating everything on to one line. DSL doesn't in any way impact your ability to make/receive calls on the line you get it from, the phone company simply gives you DSL filters that install in front of any devices other than your DSL modem. Very simple, like plugging in an extension cord.



Sandpiper said:


> I did set up my first TiVo Series II. Store I bought Sony Bravia TV, Tivo HD, and DVD player set those up together. I am a KISS person. I am not techie and I know I get easily frustrated.


You could probably set it up. And if you're just outside Chicago, I could probably help you out at some point. I'm in Morton Grove during the week, and Schaumburg on the weekend, occasionally visiting my parents down in Plainfield.


----------



## geko29

Jenni said:


> Does anyone use Time Capsule? I was thinking of buying it, but I see a lot of bad reviews. TIA.


Time capsule is awesome IF you have multiple macs to back up. At work we back up 7 macs (3 MacBook Pros, 1 MacBook, 2 iMacs, 1 mini) to a single 2TB Time Capsule. It works great. At home where there only the one iMac, I just use a standard firewire external HDD. There's really no reason to spend the extra money for the TC if you only have one machine unless it's a laptop that's NEVER anywhere near a desk.


----------



## fastdogs

great explanations of the smart phone and tethering, even I could understand it. I would love to find a cheaper way to get satellite tv (dish network right now), landline (maybe not really necessary), cell phones (need 2), and internet. I'd love it if our internet didn't have limits on it, and of course it would be great if I could watch a utube video every now and then. I find I'm on the internet a lot lately because I've had a few days off work, and I just like playing on my macbook.
Also, having the smartcard as our internet, if I'm home, my husband can't take his card with him to use, otherwise I've got no internet at home. I could always drive the 30 minutes to get to a panera bread company for internet, but then I eat scones.
A cheaper, sconeless solution would be great. I keep hoping they'll get DSL out here eventually.
vickie


----------



## Sandpiper

geko29 said:


> Sounds like you could definitely save some money by consolidating everything on to one line. DSL doesn't in any way impact your ability to make/receive calls on the line you get it from, the phone company simply gives you DSL filters that install in front of any devices other than your DSL modem. Very simple, like plugging in an extension cord.


I know I could simply talk on DSL line. But it's the security / intercom system that won't work on the DSL line. So . . . two lines.



geko29 said:


> You could probably set it up. And if you're just outside Chicago, I could probably help you out at some point. I'm in Morton Grove during the week, and Schaumburg on the weekend, occasionally visiting my parents down in Plainfield.


I might take you up on it sometime. Never know when I could need techie "HELP". I'm in Lombard.


----------



## fastdogs

I just downloaded the book "My New Mac" on my kindle. I understand it's really for beginners, but takes you through a lot of the stuff the mac can do, so maybe I'll learn more about it. Anyone have this book?
vickie


----------



## Sandpiper

I don't have it.  I did get DTB Teach Yourself Visually Mac OS X Snow Leopard.  Seems to be a good one.


----------



## Sandpiper

I did get the HP Photosmart ink jet printer ($30 after $100 rebate when you buy with a computer).  Still haven't taken it out of the box.  What's been your experience with ink usage with it?  A lot?  Heard last night on WGN radio (and in the past) that ink jet printers are so inexpensive because manufacturers get their $$$ from ink sales.  Someone on the program last night said ink end-users are paying $8,000 - $10,000 per gallon!!  Ultimately laser printer would be cheaper than ink jet when you factor in cost of printing.


----------



## Mike D. aka jmiked

Sandpiper said:


> Heard last night on WGN radio (and in the past) that ink jet printers are so inexpensive because manufacturers get their $$$ from ink sales.


Oh, yeah. I bought an inexpensive Brother laser printer 6 or 7 years ago to replace an inkjet printer. My cost of supplies on the laser printer has been abut $100 since then (not including paper, of course), and the inkjet would have been 5 or 6 times that amount.

Mike


----------



## pidgeon92

I've had two inkjets, and I'm going to take them both to the recycling center tomorrow. If you don't print with it often, the jets all clog up. I hated them both. I now have two color laserjet printers. While the cartridges are extremely expensive per piece, I get a few years use out of each of them, and the toner doesn't get old.

FYI, there are other items that ultimately need to be replace on laserjet printers, like the image drums, which are also very expensive.


----------



## Sandpiper

I'd been using an HP deskjet 5550 inkjet printer that I bought refurbished from Office Max in June '03.  Guess I don't print much.  Never had problems with it.  Ink cartridges didn't seem outrageous in price.  I'd be content with it even though it's not wireless.  Talked about it some upthread.  From previous research, don't think it works with this Mac.


----------



## geko29

pidgeon92 said:


> FYI, there are other items that ultimately need to be replace on laserjet printers, like the image drums, which are also very expensive.


Most lasers nowadays have the imaging drum built in to the toner cartridge, so you replace both at the same time. All 5 of my lasers do, even the color one (has 4 drums, 1 per cartridge). It's generally only the supercheap ones (Oki, etc), or the older carousel-style color lasers that have a separate imaging drum.


----------



## geko29

Sandpiper said:


> I did get the HP Photosmart ink jet printer ($30 after $100 rebate when you buy with a computer). Still haven't taken it out of the box. What's been your experience with ink usage with it? A lot? Heard last night on WGN radio (and in the past) that ink jet printers are so inexpensive because manufacturers get their $$$ from ink sales. Someone on the program last night said ink end-users are paying $8,000 - $10,000 per gallon!! Ultimately laser printer would be cheaper than ink jet when you factor in cost of printing.


Printers were sent from hell to make us miserable. About halfway down, he posits the theory that inkjet ink is made from unicorn blood.

And yes, inkjets are WAY more expensive to run. My sole paper-printing inkjet (An HP Photosmart C4385 I got with my iMac) gets about 300-400 pages out of a $25 black and an $35 color cartridge (these are the double-capacity variety--standard capacity are $14 and $18, respectively). So $60 for 300 pages, or twenty cents per page. By contrast, my Color LaserJet gets about 5000 pages from a $300 set of cartridges, or six cents per page, and my primary black/white printer (laserjet 4050) goes 10-12,000 pages on a $120 cartrige, or a penny per page.


----------



## Sandpiper

How's everybody doin' with their (new) Macs?  OK here.  I am lovin' it.  Like most others -- no regrets and would not go back.  Still haven't taken the HP Photosmart C4780 printer out of the box.  'Bout time.  Upthread some of you said pretty much just plug it in and Mac and printer recognize each other?  

PC, etc., etc. are GONE.

I did have one little (big?) surprise though.  I searched something through Bing.  When I clicked on a link . . . got that "virus infection warning" stuff (fake?) that ya get on a PC that's hard to get off the screen.  Finally got Safari closed.  I asked trainer during 1-to-1 about it.  Don't know that I got much of an answer from him.  Could there now be something on this Mac drive?  Could it be slowing me down already?  Should I take it to the Genius Bar in the Apple Store?  Haven't had any problems that I know of since.


----------



## fastdogs

That's scary- I thought it was more difficult to give macs viruses? let us know if you find out anything about it.
I am still loving mine. Haven't really learned much more about it- I need to work my way through that book I got on my kindle which gives you different projects to learn what everything on it does.
I already had the wireless printer in my house, but we'd had some problems with one of the PCs which would never recognize it. When I turned the printer on, then went and tried to print something on the mac, it recognized it and printed. Nothing to install, set up, or anything. I was so relieved- that's exactly what I wanted in a computer- for it to just do everything I wanted without me having to do anything.
The one thing I haven't figured out is how to page back when on the internet- you know how on internet explorer it's got the "back" arrow up in the upper left corner so you can go to the previous screen? On my mac, to go back, I click on the open book at the top of the bar, on the left, and then select the page I want to go to . A couple more steps, but I dont know any other way to go back. I'd like to be able to click one thing and be on my previous screen.
When I use it, usually I don't have it plugged in. I just use it till the battery gets down to almost empty, then charge it. I don't know if it's best to do it this way, or try to use it plugged in mostly. It's just so convenient to be able to use it anywhere in the house, although it wouldn't be a real big deal if I shouldnt be using it off the battery and recharging it as much.

vickie


----------



## R. M. Reed

Me!
I just got a used MacBook, after selling my iMac a month ago to pay the rent. Being without a computer was horrible. I could get email and look at websites on my iPod touch, but I had to go out to a place that has wi-fi.
I used most of my tax refund to get the MacBook, and a couple of people told me to get a PC to save money. But I have been a Mac person since the mid 1990's and all my files are in Mac formats. Besides, when I have to work with Windows I get twitchy.
The first computer I ever worked on was the first IBM PC, with DOS 2.0. I have always thought that Microsoft would still be happily selling us new versions of DOS with typed commands if they didn't have to keep up with Apple's innovations.


----------



## pidgeon92

Sandpiper said:


> When I clicked on a link . . . got that "virus infection warning" stuff (fake?) that ya get on a PC that's hard to get off the screen. Finally got Safari closed. I asked trainer during 1-to-1 about it. Don't know that I got much of an answer from him. Could there now be something on this Mac drive? Could it be slowing me down already? Should I take it to the Genius Bar in the Apple Store? Haven't had any problems that I know of since.


Without seeing what you saw, I would hazard a guess that the link you clicked on generated that message.

Unless you have an anti-virus software package on your Mac, it would not be giving you virus messages.


----------



## geko29

R. Reed said:


> The first computer I ever worked on was the first IBM PC, with DOS 2.0. I have always thought that Microsoft would still be happily selling us new versions of DOS with typed commands if they didn't have to keep up with Apple's innovations.


You've thought incorrectly. Windows 1.0 was announced a year before the original Mac. Development began in 1981, which was two years prior to the release of the Lisa, and the same year that the first commercial GUI-based machine (the Xerox 8010 Star Information System) was released.

Jobs and Gates both stole the same idea (Graphical user interface), from the same place (Xerox PARC), at around the same time. It's not a coincidence that they were released a year apart.


----------



## Sometimes Lucy

I LOVE my MacBook Pro!! .....and my iTouch....and of course, my Kindle....


----------



## Sandpiper

fastdogs said:


> The one thing I haven't figured out is how to page back when on the internet- you know how on internet explorer it's got the "back" arrow up in the upper left corner so you can go to the previous screen? On my mac, to go back, I click on the open book at the top of the bar, on the left, and then select the page I want to go to . A couple more steps, but I dont know any other way to go back. I'd like to be able to click one thing and be on my previous screen.
> 
> When I use it, usually I don't have it plugged in. I just use it till the battery gets down to almost empty, then charge it. I don't know if it's best to do it this way, or try to use it plugged in mostly. It's just so convenient to be able to use it anywhere in the house, although it wouldn't be a real big deal if I shouldnt be using it off the battery and recharging it as much.


The open book icon near the top left is your bookmarks. Don't you have left and right pointing arrows above that? Click on those to take you to the previous and next pages.

You got an "Everything Mac" book with your Mac? Pages 30 and 31 in there are about the battery. Book also tells you how to use Finder and where to go on Apple's web site for more battery information.


----------



## Sandpiper

mrskb said:


> I LOVE my MacBook Pro!! .....and my iTouch....and of course, my Kindle....


I'm not a voracious reader, but I still love Sundog, my K1. I got a 32 gb iTouch when I got my Mac. Haven't taken that out of the box yet either.

And then there's the digital camera I bought 5, 6, 7 years ago that I've NEVER used. Didn't get any further than putting the battery in. Gotta get to that too now. They told me Apple 1-to-1 trainers can show me the basics of the camera.


----------



## fastdogs

I have to admit I ordered a "Quake" game for my macbook. On the PC, sometimes I'll just mindlessly play solitaire, and I miss some of the games that come with windows. Most I don't use, but I like a few games- something like solitaire and bejeweled or luxor, plus something like wolfenstien, doom, or quake to get into every now and then. I don't like the chess game that came on the mac, but haven't really spent much time with it. I don't do online games or role playing games, or anything too complicated or time consuming.
I really like the keyboard protector I got, I never even notice it's there. I never use the bag I got, but so haven't really taken my macbook many places. I use the padded sleeve that came with the bag all the time. It's got a clear window in the front so the apple on the front of the macbook can show through!
vickie


----------



## Meemo

fastdogs said:


> I have to admit I ordered a "Quake" game for my macbook. On the PC, sometimes I'll just mindlessly play solitaire, and I miss some of the games that come with windows. Most I don't use, but I like a few games- something like solitaire and bejeweled or luxor, plus something like wolfenstien, doom, or quake to get into every now and then. I don't like the chess game that came on the mac, but haven't really spent much time with it. I don't do online games or role playing games, or anything too complicated or time consuming.
> I really like the keyboard protector I got, I never even notice it's there. I never use the bag I got, but so haven't really taken my macbook many places. I use the padded sleeve that came with the bag all the time. It's got a clear window in the front so the apple on the front of the macbook can show through!
> vickie


The one thing I've always said I missed from Windows was Spider Solitaire - I found a website - http://worldofsolitaire.com/ - with good Spider Solitaire (and lots of other solitaire games but I haven't checked them out yet). I put that bookmark on my toolbar.
Loving my MacBook Air - just got a Speck clear case to protect it from scratches and to protect the Snow White decal I put on it. It's just a decal, not a skin, so I don't want it getting messed up around the edges. (Anyone interested in that clear case, or the colored cases, I found a much better deal on eBay than in stores - $11.95 with free shipping. Here's the Amazon link:

And my etsy.com decal:


----------



## 911jason

fastdogs said:


> The one thing I haven't figured out is how to page back when on the internet- you know how on internet explorer it's got the "back" arrow up in the upper left corner so you can go to the previous screen? On my mac, to go back, I click on the open book at the top of the bar, on the left, and then select the page I want to go to . A couple more steps, but I dont know any other way to go back. I'd like to be able to click one thing and be on my previous screen.
> 
> vickie


According to:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=42951

Pressing the DELETE key on your keyboard will go back in Safari, and pressing both SHIFT and DELETE will go forward.


----------



## R. M. Reed

Never knew about delete and shift/delete. I just tried it in Firefox and it works in that too.


----------



## fastdogs

Thanks for the tip- I tried the delete thing, and sure enough, it took me back to my previous screen!!!
I like that snow white skin!! I didn't think I'd like any skin for the macbook (sometimes I turn it around just to see the glowing apple), but that one really looks good with the apple!
vickie


----------



## Mike D. aka jmiked

911jason said:


> According to:
> http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=42951
> 
> Pressing the DELETE key on your keyboard will go back in Safari, and pressing both SHIFT and DELETE will go forward.


Also: CMD-[ and CMD-].

Mike


----------



## tlrowley

For Back/Forward in Safari (and a few other apps) I like the 3-finger swipe.  You can enable it on the System Preference->Trackpad screen.

The back-button certainly exists as part of the Safari tool-bar.  If you're not seeing it, and you want it back, right-click on the tool-bar and choose "Customize Toolbar" (or use the menus View->Customize Toolbar) and you could simply select the default set (which will include the back/forward buttons) or add and subtract the buttons you'd like (and the order in which you'd like them)


----------



## Mike D. aka jmiked

tlrowley said:


> For Back/Forward in Safari (and a few other apps) I like the 3-finger swipe. You can enable it on the System Preference->Trackpad screen.


That's probably only on the "new" ones. My Blackbook doesn't have that option.

Mike


----------



## ayuryogini

mrskb said:


> I LOVE my MacBook Pro!! .....and my iTouch....and of course, my Kindle....


I couldn't agree more!


----------



## Sandpiper

ayuryogini, was it you who got the HP Photosmart C4780 wireless printer?  How's it workin' for ya?  Liking it?  Mine is still in the box, but there's somethings I'll be wanting to print in the next few days.

I've been taking a deeper look at Word 2008 for Mac.  A little different from 2002, but no problems figuring it out.  Happy I got it.   

I was messin' around with the Dashboard and Widgets last night.  Found a couple in particular that are handy to have easily accessible.


----------



## ayuryogini

Sandpiper said:


> ayuryogini, was it you who got the HP Photosmart C4780 wireless printer? How's it workin' for ya? Liking it? Mine is still in the box, but there's somethings I'll be wanting to print in the next few days.
> 
> I've been taking a deeper look at Word 2008 for Mac. A little different from 2002, but no problems figuring it out. Happy I got it.
> 
> I was messin' around with the Dashboard and Widgets last night. Found a couple in particular that are handy to have easily accessible.


I do have that printer and I'm really happy with it; I don't do a lot of printing, but so far it's been really easy to use; I've also scanned a few things into my computer from it, and it's just very simple.

Get that printer out of the box!!

Glad Word is working for you; did you also get iWork? Have you used it also?


----------



## Sandpiper

Yes, I also got iWork.  Haven't used that yet.  I will eventually.

Happy to hear again that printer was easy to set up and it's working well.  I don't print a lot either so not too concerned about cost of ink.  Scanning . . . I do have film photos that I want to scan and e-mail out and post and use for whatever after they're available digitally.  

Dumb question:  I'll find out when I get to it, but you scan a photo or whatever . . . how does it get onto / into the Mac?  Through the air?  Or what?  Duh


----------



## fastdogs

wow, thanks for the tip about resetting the toolbar!!!
I have to say, I am no good at quake. I got my game today, installed it on the mac, and immediately died, over and over again. I'm a right handed shooter, and on this game I need to aim and shoot with my left hand on the trackpad, and move with the arrow keys with my right. It'll take some getting used to, but I sure didn't get very far in the game before I had to quit and take the dogs out. I'm having fun with it, thought, and it's nice to have a game on my macbook.  I had duke nukem for my imac, but it won't install on this mac.
But the graphics look really good on this screen!!
vickie


----------



## Casse

It's been 4 months already - still no new MPB release   

I'm at the point of considering purchasing a MB but I really wanted the 15"


----------



## pidgeon92

Sandpiper said:


> Dumb question: I'll find out when I get to it, but you scan a photo or whatever . . . how does it get onto / into the Mac? Through the air? Or what? Duh


If you get a Mac compatible scanner, it will have software that will transfer the image to the Mac (via USB). Also, most image programs (Photoshop, etc) are compatible with most scanners.


----------



## ayuryogini

Sandpiper said:


> Happy to hear again that printer was easy to set up and it's working well. I don't print a lot either so not too concerned about cost of ink. Scanning . . . I do have film photos that I want to scan and e-mail out and post and use for whatever after they're available digitally.
> 
> Dumb question: I'll find out when I get to it, but you scan a photo or whatever . . . how does it get onto / into the Mac? Through the air? Or what? Duh





pidgeon92 said:


> If you get a Mac compatible scanner, it will have software that will transfer the image to the Mac (via USB). Also, most image programs (Photoshop, etc) are compatible with most scanners.


But if it's scanning wirelessly, it must be being sent "through the air" right?
Sandpiper, i don't think this was a dumb question; I know I'm scratching my head trying to figure it out, but then again
there is SO MUCH I do not understand about the way computers and the internet work, and thank goodness we don't have to know 
how to be able to use them!


----------



## Sandpiper

I did my month-end stuff in Word earlier today. Done. No problems. Well, could have one question. Asking kinda rhetorically -- save a doc and check compatibility. Especially if not totally compatible, goes into question about version, extensions, etc., etc. Huh? I don't know? OK so far. Then I found two minor differences (so far) in the way couple things work in this version of Word compared to what I was using. Minor, but ??

Get the printer out of the box tonight or tomorrow?



ayuryogini said:


> [T]here is SO MUCH I do not understand about the way computers and the internet work, and thank goodness we don't have to know how to be able to use them!


Same here. You click / press a button under glass and all these fantastic things happen?!!! HOW Don't need to know. Can't even imagine. Science was never my thing in school. But math / algebra was?


----------



## Sandpiper

Don't know if any of you MS Office / Word users are aware of Mactopia web site:

http://www.officeformac.com/productforums/

You can get help there too with MS Word and other Office programs.


----------



## Sandpiper

The printer is out of the box.  For latest version of Mac, do NOT use CD.  OK.  Go to HP....  I did.  Just follow instructions there for set-up?  

It's late.  I'll get to the rest tomorrow.


----------



## Sandpiper

It's tomorrow.  Do I use CD to get instructions, but not download?  Or does download start automatically when you insert CD -- so don't insert it?  I wish there were full printed instructions in the box.  

What do I do?  I can make anything difficult.


----------



## fastdogs

I don't know- with mine I just turned the macbook on, and the printer on. I'd read there are a lot of printer drivers already on the computer with snow leopard.
vickie


----------



## Sandpiper

Sticker on the box says, "Please do not install if using Mac [latest version]." I am so don't want to download / install anything. But there are virtually NO instructions in the box. I looked at HP web site. Yes, instructions there. Wondered if they were on disk / CD too? Look on CD without downloading anything? Wish there were printed instructions included in box.


----------



## pidgeon92

Sandpiper said:


> I looked at HP web site. Yes, instructions there.


If there is a Snow Leopard compatible driver on the HP website, just download that and install it. Nothing bad is going to happen.


----------



## Sandpiper

Other posters here and sticker on box says not to download anything if you have latest Mac version which I do.  

Seems like it should be just plug and go.  But I like written instructions in front of me.


----------



## R. M. Reed

Once Snow Leopard detects a printer, if it doesn't have the driver, it will ask if you want to download it. Say yes and it will download.


----------



## hsuthard

This is a wireless printer, right? I wouldn't do anything on your mac first, but setup the wireless network on the printer using the printer's lcd. Then turn on your mac and try to print to it. Mac will walk you through the rest.


----------



## Sandpiper

I was on the phone for hours with HP.  It's now working wirelessly.  Printing and copying are OK.  Scanning, well . . . .  It works, I guess.  I'll have to use this thing for a while before I feel comfortable with it.  I am pooped.  Tech overload at the moment.  And I missed lunch.


----------



## Sandpiper

pidgeon92 said:


> If you get a Mac compatible scanner, it will have software that will transfer the image to the Mac (via USB).


After much HP tech support today, scanned photo goes through the air to computer -- no USB.


----------



## Sandpiper

This is the first film photo I scanned from my printer with HP's tech help. Looks good to me. I am happy with it. In a roundabout way, scene in the painting is related to a couple books I've mentioned here.


----------



## Sandpiper

How is everybody doing with their Macs?  This thing is worth all the many pennies spent.  I've scanned more photos since the first above.  Now I can share my film photos with friends and relatives all over.

I wanted to post another photo here.  Did the same thing I have always done before.  Upload in PhotoBucket.  Copy IMG code from there.  But when I click to paste it here, nothing happens.  I tried a number of times.  Nothing

I did scan the photo I'm trying to post at a higher quality than the photo in my above post.  Could the photo / file I'm trying to post be too big?  I know I'd have to reduce the size, but could the file (quality) still be too big?  If not that, then I have NO idea.  I'm doing the same thing that I've always done.


----------



## Meemo

Sandpiper said:


> How is everybody doing with their Macs? This thing is worth all the many pennies spent. I've scanned more photos since the first above. Now I can share my film photos with friends and relatives all over.
> 
> I wanted to post another photo here. Did the same thing I have always done before. Upload in PhotoBucket. Copy IMG code from there. But when I click to paste it here, nothing happens. I tried a number of times. Nothing
> 
> I did scan the photo I'm trying to post at a higher quality than the photo in my above post. Could the photo / file I'm trying to post be too big? I know I'd have to reduce the size, but could the file (quality) still be too big? If not that, then I have NO idea. I'm doing the same thing that I've always done.


Loving my MacBook Air - so does my husband. The Snow White decal doesn't deter him from playing with it - he's considering getting the high-end model when he's ready to replace his MacBook Pro. I'm even using the trackpad, which I almost never did with my netbook. Totally love this thing. 

No clue about the pics, though - sorry.


----------



## Sandpiper

Cobbie said:


> Sandpiper, are you using the last img code in the list?


Yes.


----------



## Sandpiper

This is not the photo I tried to post before. I tried the other one again. Same thing -- try to paste the img code here and nothing happens. I wonder what is with that other particular photo / code?


----------



## 911jason

Post it again... even if it doesn't work. Then I (or someone else) can quote your post to see the code and possibly figure out what's wrong.


----------



## Sandpiper

Post what again? When I copy the img code for that one particular photo from PhotoBucket and click paste here to put in the img code for the photo, there's nothing there. I tried at least six times. Every time -- nothing.

ETA:










This photo is it. I don't know what wasn't working before


----------



## pidgeon92

Sandpiper said:



> Post what again? When I copy the img code for that one particular photo from PhotoBucket and click paste here to put in the img code for the photo, there's nothing there. I tried at least six times. Every time -- nothing.


Post the code you have. It doesn't matter if the pic does not appear. That way someone can see the code and troubleshoot the problem.


----------



## Sandpiper

The particular photo is posted now.  But I could not post the code before.  I'd copy the code from PhotoBucket.  When I clicked "paste" to put the code here -- NOTHING appeared.  Six time.  Then it did


----------



## Ruby296

I finally made it to the Apple store yesterday to look at the Macbook again.  Talked to a very nice, knowledgeable guy and ended up buying one!  So far I love it, but haven't done much other than setting up email.


----------



## Sandpiper

Did you get AppleCare and/or 1-to-1?  Glad I got both.  Have called AppleCare 2 or 3 times and 4 or 5 1-to-1s so far.  Good investment.  And I do like the HP printer I got too.  Called them 2 or 3 times also.  Like 99% -- no regrets and never lookin' back.


----------



## Guest

i get my macbook last month an di love it ...


----------



## Ruby296

Yes I got Applecare and they helped me set up my email (roadrunner) account.  Very glad I bought that.  I wouldve gotten 1:1 too if the store was a bit closer.


----------



## libros_lego

I love my macbook, but I have a question: Can you rearrange the order of events in iCal?


----------



## Sandpiper

I don't have much need for a calendar.  Don't have a busy schedule.  I tried it a little and found it kind of awkward to use.  Wasn't easy to get things at exactly the right time -- therefore change time if needed.


----------



## Sandpiper

How's everybody doing?  I am still loving it.  Don't expect that to ever change.  Printer is working just fine too.  Knock-on-wood about everything though.  I'm not particularly superstitious except for knocking-on-wood.

iPad, anyone?  Not here.  I got iTouch when I got MBP.  Haven't taken it out of the box yet.  I have finally used my 7 - 8 year old digital camera for the first time.  **say cheese**


----------



## sheltiemom

Finally made the switch from PCs to Mac.  I had needed a new laptop for a couple of years and just didn't get one.  My son is a big Mac supporter and kept showing me how much better his Mac was than the PCs.  I was at the store the other day and the MacBooks were on sale so I bought one.  I will probably be learning it for a long time.  Actually, this is a return to Apple for me - I had an Apple II GS back in the 80's.


----------



## Sandpiper

Was your change from Mac to PC about 25 years ago due to work at the time?  Or some other reason?


----------



## Sandpiper

Cobbie, sheltiemom above said she got hers on sale.  That probably means new MacBook / Pros will be coming soon.  If you don't mind older (still current) version, I guess nows the time to save a few $$.  Or if you want the newest, wait a little yet.  But do it.

I too just wanted to do one thing at a time.  Bought Mac and iTouch at the same time.  Learned and felt comfortable with Mac first.  Then I got out my digital camera that I bought 7 - 8 years ago and had NEVER used.  I've used it now.  Just the basics so far.  It's a Nikon CoolPix 4300.  This week (nothing techie) am having all carpeting pulled up and faux wood flooring put down.  (I'm in a one bedroom condo.)  Life will be upset for a few days.  Don't like that.  Then I think iTouch will finally take iTouch out of the box and get into that.  Not planning on iPad.


----------



## durphy

Oh boy. I so wanted to tell someone. I was thinking about getting an iPad, but after reading comments, ended up getting a MacBook Pro. (I'd been using PC for years and years.)

This thing practically runs itself. I got Kindle for Mac, just for fun. I still love my K2.

Our first computer was a Mac Classic with a screen about the size of a credit card. Loved it. Missed the fun, but I'm back baby!


----------



## Sandpiper

Knock-on-wood, no worries about invaders taking it over.     That alone makes it more fun and enjoyable.  And there is so much more.


----------



## pidgeon92

I haven't used an anti-virus software in years on any of my Macs. 

However, you should do what makes you comfortable.


----------



## Sandpiper

I don't use anti-virus.


----------



## geko29

More important than Antivirus (just like in the PC world) is keeping your OS and software up to date.  Apple released a patch last week (10.6.3) that fixes over 90 remote code execution vulnerabilities in the OS and included applications.  I've been racing around work trying to make sure all our Macs are patched so one of them doesn't get p0wned.

There are also active exploits of older versions of Adobe Flash and Reader/Acrobat (though most Mac users don't use the latter, since Preview handles viewing PDFs) as well as Safari and Mozilla Firefox, so make sure to keep those up to date as well if you use them.  Current releases are:

Flash:  10.0.45.2
Reader/Acrobat:  9.3.1
Safari:  4.0.5
Firefox:  3.6.3


----------



## Sandpiper

A good PC expert / tech in the Chicago area says Norton is now malware.  Really infiltrates and creates those irritating pop-up virus warnings.  Very difficult to get completely cleaned out of your PC.  Most techs have been recommending other virus protection for PCs for some time.  Mostly free stuff.  Don't use it on my Mac.  Downloaded the updates last week.


----------



## WilliamM

Sandpiper said:


> A good PC expert / tech in the Chicago area says Norton is now malware. Really infiltrates and creates those irritating pop-up virus warnings. Very difficult to get completely cleaned out of your PC. Most techs have been recommending other virus protection for PCs for some time. Mostly free stuff. Don't use it on my Mac. Downloaded the updates last week.


been a PC support for 25 + years in the Chicago area..Norton is still one of the best IMO..to call it malware is just weird..pop up virus warnings means its doing its job.


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## Sandpiper

I am beginning to understand Apple addiction.  I love my iTouch and nano (2).  More?


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## Casse

Hoping to be a MB user  

Trying to decide whether to buy a MacBook or MacBook Pro. 

Lot of difference in price - 13" MB at $800 to MBP that run around $2k... 

Can't figure out what that would mean to what I use if for though...


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## Sandpiper

So will this be your first Mac?  If so, do it!  Best thing I ever did -- switching from PC to Mac.


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## Casse

Sandpiper said:


> So will this be your first Mac? If so, do it! Best thing I ever did -- switching from PC to Mac.


Yes 

I have an old HP business model that needs replaced and I think I want to go Mac as I love my other Apple products


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## geko29

Casse said:


> Hoping to be a MB user
> 
> Trying to decide whether to buy a MacBook or MacBook Pro.
> 
> Lot of difference in price - 13" MB at $800 to MBP that run around $2k...
> 
> Can't figure out what that would mean to what I use if for though...


13" MB is $1000 (where'd you see one for $800? You can't get a 2-year old refurb for that price), and 13" MBP is $1200, so it's not a big jump. If you want a bigger screen, then yes, Apple will make you fork over an extra $500 or $1100 for the privilege.

The 13" MBP is the sweet spot in the current lineup, IMO. The 15s and 17s are each a step nicer, yes, but they're also an extra 1.1 and 2.1 lbs, respectively, have worse battery life, and in no way justify their additional cost.


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## Casse

geko29 said:


> 13" MB is $1000 (where'd you see one for $800? You can't get a 2-year old refurb for that price), and 13" MBP is $1200, so it's not a big jump. If you want a bigger screen, then yes, Apple will make you fork over an extra $500 or $1100 for the privilege.
> 
> The 13" MBP is the sweet spot in the current lineup, IMO. The 15s and 17s are each a step nicer, yes, but they're also an extra 1.1 and 2.1 lbs, respectively, have worse battery life, and in no way justify their additional cost.


$800 at Microcenter.com  for the MacBook

I can't figure if the i5 processor in the 15" is worth the extra money compared the C2D in the 13" - about $600 to $800 more for this options. Then if you add the matte screen.... upwards of $2k . But then again I paid that price for my HP business laptop and I normally get 3hrs out of a laptop...

Need to make a decision soon and I just can't decide if I'd even see the difference (other than screen size) for what I use it for??


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## geko29

Casse said:


> Need to make a decision soon and I just can't decide if I'd even see the difference (other than screen size) for what I use it for??


Since you still haven't told us what you'd use it for, I don't know how any of us can help you answer that.


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## Casse

Guess that might help... sorry  

Main uses - 

Web surfing - kindleboards, disboards  
Facebook games
Itunes
Scrapbooking (i-scrapbook or macscrapbook)
Photos - storing and light editing (photoshop)
Videos - Flip HD camera
Excel and word documents

Hope that helps... all thoughts on finding the right one are highly appreciated


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## Sandpiper

Casse, what is i-scrapbook or macscrapbook?  Sounds interesting.  Can you point me towards a web site(s)?  Does it take extra software?


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## geko29

There's nothing high-horsepower in that list--my 3-year old HP does all that and more quite handily.  You'll see a very slight performance benefit from the i5 when video editing if you have software that scales well to multiple cores, but that's about it.  Nothing high-res either, as the Flip HD tops out at 1280x720, and even the lowly white MB has a 1280x800 screen.  Even if resolution were a concern, paying more than double the price just for a bump up to 1440x900 is the very definition of insanity.

I'd still go for the 13" MBP over the regular MB if it were me, and Microcenter has them at the same premium over the MB--it's $1100 less $100 gift card rebate, so still just $200 more.  For those two bills, you get the nicer-looking and sturdier aluminum case, a larger and more pleasant-feeling touchpad, backlit keyboard, double the memory, faster GPU, firewire, and SD card slot, all in a laptop that's more durable, has a longer battery life, and weighs less to boot.


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## Casse

geko29 said:


> There's nothing high-horsepower in that list--my 3-year old HP does all that and more quite handily. You'll see a very slight performance benefit from the i5 when video editing if you have software that scales well to multiple cores, but that's about it. Nothing high-res either, as the Flip HD tops out at 1280x720, and even the lowly white MB has a 1280x800 screen. Even if resolution were a concern, paying more than double the price just for a bump up to 1440x900 is the very definition of insanity.
> 
> I'd still go for the 13" MBP over the regular MB if it were me, and Microcenter has them at the same premium over the MB--it's $1100 less $100 gift card rebate, so still just $200 more. For those two bills, you get the nicer-looking and sturdier aluminum case, a larger and more pleasant-feeling touchpad, backlit keyboard, double the memory, faster GPU, firewire, and SD card slot, all in a laptop that's more durable, has a longer battery life, and weighs less to boot.


Thank you for the input 

I'm definitely going MPB now I need to decide which one. I found out that a Best Buy about 2 hrs away has the Macs on display so I'm hoping to go there this weekend to check them out.


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## Casse

Finally placed an order.... 13" MacBook Pro


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## Sandpiper

Very good, Casse.  When do you get it?  What other Apple products do you have?


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## Toronto_LV

I am in love with my Macbook... a love only recently paralleled by the love I feel for my Kindle... 

One of the things I love the most is how you will never 'catch' a virus with a Mac... 

My "logicboard" DID die after 3 years, but it was under warranty, so the fix was free..


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## Casse

Sandpiper said:


> Very good, Casse. When do you get it? What other Apple products do you have?


Ordered a custom build through the Apple website. Decided on the 13" for traveling, but upped the specs a bit to handle photos, ect.

I got a shipping confirmation today but it was only for Mobile Me   It probably won't be here until next week but I'm watching my emails like a hawk for a shipping notice 

Right now we have a Nano, and 2 of the I-touch (love). And I'm looking at the I-pad.

Love Apple produts


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## Sandpiper

MobileMe?  I bought it with my iPhone last Friday because got $30 off if you buy with phone.  Just signed up for free trial though.  I returned MobileMe today.  Ugh!  My life is not that "big" (busy).  Far as I'm concerned, MobileMe is too complicated.  Apple trainer at 1-to-1 said most people don't buy MobileMe.


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## pidgeon92

MobileMe is an excellent syncing platform. It is what keeps all of my Apple devices happy together. If you don't have more than one Apple device you want to sync together, it is probably not a tool you will use.


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## luvmy4brats

I like MobileMe because I can use the find my phone feature. I never have my ringer on and I'm almost always losing my phone. It also helps keep our calendars synced across all of our phones so everybody knows what is going on.


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## Sandpiper

There's just me here, so only one life that isn't too busy.  I don't usually lose / misplace things (knock-on-wood).  MobileMe has an annual $99 subscription fee -- not one-time purchase.


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## pidgeon92

$99 annually is correct.

Of course, I tend to buy at least one Apple item annually as well, so I generally get the yearly subscription at $69.


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## Casse

A friend uses MobileMe and suggested it so I figured I'd give it a try  

Suggestions of other programs, apps, or anything Mac related would be great as I'm a total newbie at this! Love my other Apple products so I hope to love this one too


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## Sandpiper

Yes, Casse, try it.  You might like it.  But don't buy it AND open the package without trying first.


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