[Saramin]

I recently ordered a 12" PB Rev C for college this year, and according to the delivery carrier it should be here within a week. This is my first foray into the world of Mac ownership, so I thought I'd ask some general questions. The search function hasn't helped me with any of these, so please don't bite my head off quite yet. ^^ Any and all help is appreciated.

It begins:

1) I ordered the stock combo drive 12" PB with an extra 512 megs of RAM from Crucial. I did not get AppleCare but I remember reading someplace that you can still get AppleCare for your machine as long as you buy it before the initial 1 year warranty expires. Is this true? I intend to not upgrage my PB for at least 3 years, so this may be a wise path for me to take.

2) I remember there was a program that let you use the right side of the touchpad as a scrolling wheel. What was the program's name? I can't remember it offhand.

3) How should I tranfer my files from the PC to the new PB? I have an iPod I can use as an external HDD, but I'm unsure if this works between crossplatforms. Do you need to format the iPod HDD in order to use it as a storage device or only for iTunes syncing? Because if it's the former it won't.

4) I'm around average in terms of computer literacy. I've taken apart and assembled three of my own PCs as well as countless machines others have lent me. I've taken some introductory CS courses and even code some basic programs on the side as a hobby. With that said, I know absolutely nothing about networks and internet connectivity in general. I'm completely clueless. I gather that having the integrated Airport card is a good thing but what about the optional ports and hubs and things that the Apple store has? Will I need any of those at college (the campus has several wireless "hotspots" and an ethernet jack in every room)? What about at home? We have a network set up that provides connectivity to my current laptop, but will it be compatible with a Mac?

5) Any sites you would recommend that have some basic commands and functions of OSX? Or just tell you about the features in general? I'm not new to Macs, but I am pretty rusty.

6) I gather that MS Office is pretty essential. Any other applications that I might be interested in? The laptop will mostly be used for word processing, web surfing, iTunes, and some gaming on the side. No DVD burning or Photoshop or whatever (English major).

7) Anything else I should know?

That's all I can think of at the moment, though I'm probably missing something. Anyway, thanks for taking the time to at least skim the (rather long) post. Comments, replies, and general abuse are all welcome. Have at it!

[thetman]

1) correct good choice there. adding an external firewire dvd writer will be nice and allow for 1 to 1 disc copying

2)sidetrack - check versiontracker.com for this

3)are they on a network. share the files on your pc and connect your powerbook to it. otherwise use your windows formatted ipod as an external drive. when youre done transfering files mount the ipod on your pbook and open it up in a finder window, transfer your files and your done. another alternative which is very cheap now is to get a usb memory key

4)network - wired: your good since you have a network and im guessing its ethernet you are all set. wireless: your pbook will have 802.11g built in you can connect to any certified 802.11x router/basestation. since you are going to college look into getting airport express its a nice protable solution to wireless.

5)macnn.com , macosxhints.com (correct?) powerbookcentral.com (correct?) neowin.net has a nice mac section

6)definatly get ofice student and teacher, other apps like adium or whatever you preferred aim client is, camino and firebird are nice safari alternatives. candybar and shapeshifter for making your mac look good. gimp is an excellent ps alternative. consider .mac if you didnt already get it (use me as a referell t dot obara at mac dor com)

7) you made an excellent choice. enjoy your powerbook, take some pictures of it and put it up here (pm for some webspace) my powerbook was my first real adventure into osx so i grabbed a pocket panther book. very handy. also look into getting a bluetooth mouse, apple or logitechs mx900 are the best (IMO) radtech makes an awsome slipcase (radtech.us) called the powersleevze. kensington makes the skyrunner pro contour 17" wich is a cheap brenthaven alternativelinky has a nice liftour tough padded sleeve which is very nice.

if you have anymore questons just ask

[Saramin]

Originally posted by thetman:
1) correct good choice there. adding an external firewire dvd writer will be nice and allow for 1 to 1 disc copying

'Kay, I'll probably upgrade to AppleCare in a couple months then when my funds build up again.

2)sidetrack - check versiontracker.com for this

Thanks, I was looking for this.

3)are they on a network. share the files on your pc and connect your powerbook to it. otherwise use your windows formatted ipod as an external drive. when youre done transfering files mount the ipod on your pbook and open it up in a finder window, transfer your files and your done. another alternative which is very cheap now is to get a usb memory key

The USB key probably wouldn't be that effective a solution since I have a pretty exhaustive music collection I need to transfer, but just linking them into a network should work fine. I wasn't sure bout the compatability issues but apparently there is no problem.

4)network - wired: your good since you have a network and im guessing its ethernet you are all set. wireless: your pbook will have 802.11g built in you can connect to any certified 802.11x router/basestation. since you are going to college look into getting airport express its a nice protable solution to wireless.

Can you explain what airport express does in relation to the airport card already in the laptop? Or point me to a site with some basic networking info? Like I said, I have no experience whatsoever with this sphere of computer usage and the Apple site is sparse with details.

5)macnn.com , macosxhints.com (correct?) powerbookcentral.com (correct?) neowin.net has a nice mac section

Thanks, I'll check them out.

6)definatly get ofice student and teacher, other apps like adium or whatever you preferred aim client is, camino and firebird are nice safari alternatives. candybar and shapeshifter for making your mac look good. gimp is an excellent ps alternative. consider .mac if you didnt already get it (use me as a referell t dot obara at mac dor com)

I don't have any plans to get .Mac, but I'll check out the rest. Thanks again.

7) you made an excellent choice. enjoy your powerbook, take some pictures of it and put it up here (pm for some webspace) my powerbook was my first real adventure into osx so i grabbed a pocket panther book. very handy. also look into getting a bluetooth mouse, apple or logitechs mx900 are the best (IMO) radtech makes an awsome slipcase (radtech.us) called the powersleevze. kensington makes the skyrunner pro contour 17" wich is a cheap brenthaven alternativelinky has a nice liftour tough padded sleeve which is very nice.

Yeah this is my first real Mac as well. I've used them off and on throughout the school years, but mostly I just stored chips inside the towers and played CS on the Windows machines. Time to get back into OSX.

In regards to the other things: I'm set. I have a nice Timbuk2 messenger bag that should be protective enough of the laptop, and I ordered the Radtech 500 mouse yesterday. I wanted something smaller and more portable than the standard logitech solution that I use with desktops.

if you have anymore questons just ask

Can't really think of anything else offhand. Thanks for all the help, I'm definetely looking forward to fiddling with the laptop when it finally arrives. Cheers mate.

[Saramin]

Oh, thought of one more. Just quickie:

What areas of computer activity does having a faster HDD affect? I know that it will speed up file accessing and will shorten loading times in games, but does it adversely influence actual FPS in any way or the speed of other things like websurfing? Different OS, so I'm not entirely sure.

Thanks. ^^

[thetman]

airport express

the laptop has built in wireless reciver. with airport express and an ethernet connection to your cable/dsl/whatever modem you can get wireless internet access at 54mbps. the Airport express also has a usb printserver. hook the usb cable into the unit and set it up so that not only will you get internet wirelessly but you can print those webpages to you printer without getting up and hooking it back up. the final feature is that instead of hooking up speakers to play itunes music you can hook up your speakers to the airport express , fire up itunes 4.6 select the express unit and hit play, it will then play your music wirelessly . essentialy in a nutshell airport exrpress eliminates 3 wires you would have to connect to your laptop. ethernet for internet, usb for printer, and audio for music

[thetman]

in terms of activity it will be best to set it that when you are using battery to set performance in system prefrences to high battery life. also if you are not using airport or bluetooth turn those off. you will get upwards of 5 hours with those settings

[Saramin]

Thanks, I think I've more or less figured out everything I need to know. I might have more questions when I get to fiddle with the unit come Monday, but until then I'm set. I'll probably pick up the Airport Express hub in two months before I leave for college and until then just use the home network since it should be compatible. Theoretically.

Thanks much.