Just got my Macbook Pro...

[Steve_OS]

Any recommended software, goodies, etc. I should look into?

Definitely think about VMWare 3, when it comes out, I think in 3 weeks? I want to get Windows 7 on this thing. Question? Is it better to run that or something they call Bootcamp? Is Bootcamp free? I'd like to run some Windows based games.

Anyways, let me know the goods. I'd love to load up some of the better apps out there. I have ZERO Mac experience, so bare with me, lol. And Thanks!

[-dirty-]

Re: Just got my Macbook Pro...

Any recommended software, goodies, etc. I should look into?

Definitely think about VMWare 3, when it comes out, I think in 3 weeks? I want to get Windows 7 on this thing. Question? Is it better to run that or something they call Bootcamp? Is Bootcamp free? I'd like to run some Windows based games.

Anyways, let me know the goods. I'd love to load up some of the better apps out there. I have ZERO Mac experience, so bare with me, lol. And Thanks!

Yes, Boot Camp is free. You can access it via the Boot Camp Assistant. Finder > Applications > Utilities.

I'm all for Boot Camp because it's just more smooth to me. Sure you have to restart and boot into Windows whenever you want to use it but you'll get the best experience from that and it's FREE lol.

Download Tweetie, if you tweet lol. Get the iWork suite... way better than the Office Package imo.

[judgejudy]

Re: Just got my Macbook Pro...

Adium if you do any kind of instant messaging
Quicksilver is great if you're into hotkeys and shortcuts
Candybar is great for changing icons
Mailplane is awesome if you use Gmail
MacTheRipper for ripping cd's

that's all I can remember from when I dabbled in osx

[dbeth]

Re: Just got my Macbook Pro...

Handbrake for ripping DVDs

[Steve_OS]

Re: Just got my Macbook Pro...

Thanks gents. Any other goodies, let me know! When I get Windows 7, how difficult is it to use Bootcamp and load it?

[Altimus]

Re: Just got my Macbook Pro...

OnyX
AppCleaner
Xslimmer

Xslimmer is not freeware but will worth the price.

[judgejudy]

Re: Just got my Macbook Pro...

Skitch is a total must have too.

[dagger55]

Re: Just got my Macbook Pro...

1Password has changed my life.

[jrivera34]

Re: Just got my Macbook Pro...

Just lost my 2 month old mac book pro after my wife spilled an entire cup of coffee on the key board. Now when I type some letters/numbers I get 3-4 others letters with it. Apple was willing to repair it for 1200, so nice of them :-(

That being said, get a plastic cover for your keyboard. Your pro won't look as pretty :-) but you don't want to see 1100 go in the toilet!

[fishepa]

Re: Just got my Macbook Pro...

You will want VMWare fusion if you want to run a windows machine. It's fantastic.

[judgejudy]

Re: Just got my Macbook Pro...

Just lost my 2 month old mac book pro after my wife spilled an entire cup of coffee on the key board. Now when I type some letters/numbers I get 3-4 others letters with it. Apple was willing to repair it for 1200, so nice of them :-(

That being said, get a plastic cover for your keyboard. Your pro won't look as pretty :-) but you don't want to see 1100 go in the toilet!

or get a divorce instead, it may end up cheaper in some cases.

[Steve_OS]

Re: Just got my Macbook Pro...

You will want VMWare fusion if you want to run a windows machine. It's fantastic.

Will I be able to run games fairly well w/ Windows inside of the Mac OS? I fig'd it would be best w/ Bootcamp, since you actually boot into the Windows 7 OS. Lemme know fellas.

[65South]

Re: Just got my Macbook Pro...

Steve, now why in the world would you want to run Windows on a Mac?? J/K brother!! Congrats on the purchase!

If you're looking to do so, you may want to look into getting Parallel's, well worth the money in my humble opinion. It's very similar to bootcamp in that it allows you to run Windows on a Mac, but you can also do so without having to reboot. This would come in even more handy if you're doing any kind of web work (you do spend a good deal of your waking hours on OS) that you possibly need to test in IE, etc.

Grab Flip4Mac if you haven't already...allows you to watch Windows Media files on the Mac. I'm sure you run into a lot of that as much as you're on the internet.

Someone already mentioned Handbrake for DVDs, good stuff. If you've never used it, Audio Hi Jack is a must. It allows you to grab audio from NUMEROUS sources. You can grab 8-10 minutes or so of audio with the trial version but if you want capture more, then you have to purchase the full version...which I haven't had to yet.

Cyberduck for any FTP you may use. Those are ones I can think of at the moment. Oh yeah, be sure to setup Time Machine if you have an external hard drive. It's a saviour!!

Congrats again on the purchase! Is this your first Mac?

[Money99]

Re: Just got my Macbook Pro...

65South, I was thinking the same thing.

I guess for those that want to play PC-based games have no choice.

But as far as navigation and performance MacOS destroys any of the garbage Microsoft produces.

I'm still amazed the Apple revolution isn't stronger. Sure, PC's are cheaper, but only in the short term. A Mac will run for 8-10 years without any issues while a PC will begin to crap out after 6-12 months. Most people buy a new PC every 3 years and during that time they're constantly upgrading their RAM, HDD and system boards.
So in that time, you're spending the exact same amount of money or more on a PC but with all the headaches of transferring info and upgrading.

I just love my Mac and I wish I had made the switch sooner. I still think the best part is not having any virus protection on it. No slowdowns. No resources allocated.
It's just a solid, solid machine. I'm still amazed with how I can press the 'On' button and I can surf and send emails in less than 10 seconds. And that's on my 3-year old Macbook Pro which hasn't been upgraded in any aspect.
Try and do that with a 3-year-old PC. I have a 6-month old PC at work with dual core 2.4 GHz processors and 4GB of RAM and it takes 8 minutes before I can do anything with it from startup. What a joke.

[Heelfan71]

Re: Just got my Macbook Pro...

Boot camp is a pain because you have to reboot the computer. With VMware you can have a window open with Windows in it and just minimize it.