StarDestroyer.Net BBS

Yep, I now have joined the darkside and have bought a macbook. Cost AUD$2299 for the white 2Ghz version with upgrade to 1GB RAM. Now to install boot camp.....

Why? Are you going to use it for games?

1GB of ram is pretty useful for a load of jobs, including Photoshop or video editing these days. Perhaps it's a black Macbook...

Yeah, getting a Macbook without upgrading the RAM is just asking for trouble. As soon as I work out how to mess with Frontrow to allow me to control VLC with the remote, I'll be happy.

I'm mainly going to use it for work. I'm not planning to do any gaming with it, I'll leave that to my 7900GT equiped PC. Basically I plan to use Windows most of the time, I was going to get a normal laptop but thought that it was probably time to start to learn OSX, what with some of my customers using macs. Eventually I want to be able to learn OSX to the point where I can use it completely on the Macbook as a break between using Windows PC's at home and the office.

Who knows, I might become a mac fan.

atg wrote:Yep, I now have joined the darkside and have bought a macbook. Cost AUD$2299 for the white 2Ghz version with upgrade to 1GB RAM. Now to install boot camp.....

Gratz. Here's a software list for switchers. Add to that list:

Transmission for BitTorrent
Handbrake for DVD ripping
Quicksilver for awesome (best software ever)

I just got to try iWeb today, and fell in love.

Geez.

I mean, it can't do all the advanced things I can do with Dreamweaver MX, sure. But the speed! It would take me hours to whip up a fully set-up blog like that, and the image placement alone would take me half an hour, yet you can click and drag it pixel by pixel to where you want it, add a reflection, put it underneath some text and above others, etc...it's so ridiculously easy, and I can modify whatever I want in Textedit or Dreamweaver afterwards.

I'm saving for an iMac at the moment. I've been Macless since my Pismo fell off a desk and my mother never lets me near her PowerBook. Unless she's calling because she can't figure out how to do something.

Hey Praxis, you'd know. MacBooks have an IR remote thing, and uses Frontrow to run dvd/iphoto/itunes etc. Can you mess with Frontrow to use other software?

atg wrote:Yep, I now have joined the darkside and have bought a macbook. Cost AUD$2299 for the white 2Ghz version with upgrade to 1GB RAM. Now to install boot camp.....

Why the hell would you spend all that money on a macbook just to turn it ino a PC? when you could have gotten a PC laptop with twice the specs at half the price?

Laird wrote:Why the hell would you spend all that money on a macbook just to turn it ino a PC? when you could have gotten a PC laptop with twice the specs at half the price?

atg in second post wrote:I'm mainly going to use it for work. I'm not planning to do any gaming with it, I'll leave that to my 7900GT equiped PC. Basically I plan to use Windows most of the time, I was going to get a normal laptop but thought that it was probably time to start to learn OSX, what with some of my customers using macs. Eventually I want to be able to learn OSX to the point where I can use it completely on the Macbook as a break between using Windows PC's at home and the office.

atg wrote:Yep, I now have joined the darkside and have bought a macbook. Cost AUD$2299 for the white 2Ghz version with upgrade to 1GB RAM. Now to install boot camp.....

Go with Parallels instead.

I'd go with boot camp, because Parallels lacks support for 3D hardware. You're not gonna be running games. (EDIT: Well, you already said you don't plan to be running games anyway, so in that case Parallels might be a better solution)

Actually, I'd just install both. Waste of hard drive space, but who cares?

Stark wrote:Hey Praxis, you'd know. MacBooks have an IR remote thing, and uses Frontrow to run dvd/iphoto/itunes etc. Can you mess with Frontrow to use other software?

There's a program (Sadly, not free- price is 9 euros) called Remote Buddy (see this article) that lets you map the functions of the IR remote to other applications, so you can use it as, say, a PowerPoint clicker. You can also use the remote to choose a boot partition if your keyboard isn't connected:

Using a non-apple keyboard with your MacTel? Notice how pressing and holding the option key doesn’t work? To select your Mac boot drive with the Apple Remote simply press and hold the included remotes “Menu” button just after you hear the startup chime of your Mac. Then when the startup drive selections appear use the “forward/backward” buttons to select the corresponding volume and then press “play” to boot from that volume.

MediaCenter and CenterStage are also FrontRow alternatives. I don't believe there are any actual Frontrow hacks to use Frontrow with other software, but there are plenty of hacks to use the Remote with other software.