PC user wanting to swap to Mac has some queries.

I gather from what you're saying is that if I say buy the 4GB MBP and then buy an aftermarket 8GB RAM for $50 this would void the warrranty and Applecare.

No, not at all. Unless you manage to break something while replacing the RAM, your warranty and AppleCare are unaffected. The new RAM itself is not covered by Apple, of course, but it will typically come with a lifetime warranty from its vendor. RAM and hard drives are considered by Apple to be user-replaceable, and Apple even provides instructions for doig both jobs, which are very simple.

Yes, unless you use fonts that are only available on one of the machines. If you stick with the fonts that are supplied with Office, you won't have any font problems.

The above presumes that you're using the latest version of Office on each platform. Using an old version on one side or the other may complicate matters and reduce file compatibility.

No it will not Void the warranty. Both RAM and hard drives are upgradeable by the user without voiding the warranty on any other part of the system. But the new RAM or hard drive the user installs is not covered by the Apple normal or extended warranty. And of course if you damage something inside the computer while making those changes it is not covered.

For me I have upgraded both RAM and hard drive. If I have problems with my Mac I will re-install the original parts before I take it in for repair. But this does not need to be done. It is just something I would do.

I did the same on my new Dell also and if I have any problems with that computer I would do the same thing, replace the originals before sending it in for repair. No need to confuse the repair people with the hardware not matching the specs of what was shipped with the unit and depending on what repair need to be done you never know what you will get back. As with most repair places they will configure the machine to As Shipped Specs when sending it back.

Mac's are OK. I own one for just about the same reason as you, something new. And I work on computers as a hobby/secondary business and recently some of the people I do computer work for have switched to Mac. They still call and ask if I work on them and I say yes. But without owning one it puts me at a disadvantage. So that is the main reason I bought a Mac

I use it daily but my main systems are still Windows.

There really is no difference between the 2 platforms. They both read and write data to a hard drive. They both use the same Ones and Zeros to do that. They both run programs so you can create files and make changes to them and then save those files and changes back to a hard drive.

The one big difference is that most people that use a Mac also install a version of Windows on their Mac's.

I guess that would also be true for people that use PCs, to some extent. If they could some would install a version of Mac OS X on their PCs but Apple does not allow that. Why, IMHO, if they did NO one would buy any Apple hardware or very little Apple hardware. I certainly would of never bought a Mac.

The other thing Apple/Mac/OS X has going for it is the virus/malware/trojan software creators don't bother writing to infect the Mac OS. To small of a market share. But there has been trojans and malware that has infected the Mac OS.

I wanted a new notebook. The Dell I was using was 9+ years old, and yes it is still running today, and I first bought a Mac 13". I liked it but I ran Windows mostly on it. So I returned it and ordered a new Dell. About 2 weeks after having the new Dell I bought another MBP, a 15" model which I am keeping. I also bought the Applecare extended warranty because Mac are very expensive to fix if anything goes wrong with it after the normal warranty expires. There are very few places to buy parts for a Mac other then from Apple and they do not sell to the general public. So you most always need to take it to a Apple repair center to have work done on it.

Whichever platform you choose I wish you good luck with it.

snerkler1 wrote:

Oh, one other thing. If you use Microsoft Office for Mac are the Word, excel etc files completely interchangeable with Windows, i.e. can I do some work on a PC and then open, edit etc the file on the Mac with no issues?

Yes I use both Office on PC and Mac and move/create/change files on both systems and read all on both systems.

A DOC/XLS/PPS file is the same whether it was created on a Mac or a PC.

snerkler1 wrote:

can I do some work on a PC and then open, edit etc the file on the Mac with no issues?

The correct answer is, it depends. The rule of thumb is that, the more complex the document, the more likely you are to run into problems. If your docs are only plain business letters and expenses spreadsheets, then you're very likely OK. But if you have phrases like "pivot table" and "OLAP cube" daily with your morning Darjeeling, then you may have a problem. Read a review of Excel 2011, eg

<http://www.macworld.com/article/154249/2010/09/excel2011.html>

<http://www.macworld.com/article/155113/2010/10/excel2011faq.html>

then ask your question in a dedicated Excel Mac forum, where you're more likely to come across battle-hardened (and -scarred) veterans.

Yes, that's true.

snerkler1 wrote:

If I partition the Mac and use Office on the Windows partition I assume this would then be FULLY compatible with office on a PC (assuming the office versions are the same)?

Correction:

If you used Office 2011 for Mac on the Mac OS X side IT IS FULLY compatible with all Office versions.

I run Office 2011 for Mac on my Mac and use Office 2000 on all my PCs, yes even on Windows 7 I still use Office 2000, and I can create or edit all Office document on either platform and can read and edit them on the other platform using the newer or older version of Office.

Even if when creating files on the Mac side if I forget to save for Office 98 to 2004, ,which you can set the older extension format as the Default Save method, Microsoft has a Office Compatibility Pack that converts .docX/.xlsX/.ppsX files to the older Office standard of .DOC/.XLS/.PPS. And it does it automatically once the Compatibility Pack is installed.

You will not need to install Windows to run Office. Office 2011 for Mac is fully compatible with Office for Windows.

That is unless you don't want to spend the money on Office for Mac.

Shootist007 wrote:

Office 2011 for Mac on the Mac OS X side IT IS FULLY compatible with all Office versions.

Question 1: When you open with Excel 2011 Mac a workbook created in Excel 2010 Win containing ActiveX controls, how do you see those controls?

Question 2: What happens when you try to open in Excel 2011 Mac a workbook created in Excel 2010 Win and protected by a 16-character-long password?

Question 3: What happens when you try to print in Office 2011 Mac a VB project created in Office Win?

No where did I say all functions will work the same or at all in all versions of Office.

Of course if the function you are using in a newer version of Office that was not included and or supported in an older version that fuction can not work. But you can still open that file in older versions.

Nit pick all you want.

Shootist007 wrote:

Office 2011 for Mac on the Mac OS X side IT IS FULLY compatible with all Office versions.

Shootist007 wrote:

No where did I say all functions will work the same or at all in all versions of Office.

From Dictionary.app > New Oxford American Dictionary > "fully"

1 completely or entirely; to the furthest extent […]

• without lacking or omitting anything […]

if the function you are using in a newer version of Office that was not included and or supported in an older version that fuction can not work

Is MS Office 2010 Win newer than MS Office 2011 Mac?

Nit pick all you want.

Thank you, kind sir. I shall endeavour to take the FULLest possible advantage of your most gracious authorisation. Fully.

Really what is your major malfunction.

Do you always act like this? Do you have any real friends? Or just acquaintances?

Thanks.