[Machound]

Duck, Jeff, some rotten fruit's flying your way too!

[atomic16]

So Im Making the switch to mac, and glad to be doing it. Up until the release of the Macbook I was looking at the Macbook Pro, now Im going for the Macbook. First My question is about switching, can a mac read a windows formated drive (ie a windows formated ipod?) I dont need to sync it, just to transfer my files. Next I wanted to know about the macbook its self, Is the glossy screen really that bad? I looked at in the store and it did not, but Im not sure about it. Also is the trackpad hard to use, should I be getting a mouse along with this computer? Finally is this the right computer for someone who edits digital photos (Iphoto not photoshop), Watches DVD's, Listens to Music, Browses the web? One last thing, Can I be rest assured that Apple won't releas Lepord over the summer or somthing else, basicly is it safe to buy now? Thank you, I know its alot but thanks.

[Machound]

"can a mac read a windows formated drive?"
I can't respond to the iPod part of your question, but regarding working with Windows formatted volumes in OS X you get a qualified "yes." You can read/write FAT32 volumes, you can read NTFS somewhat, but NTFS volume writing isn't supported. My guess is in the aftermath of Boot Camp we may see full NTFS reading/writing at some point, but when??? OS 10.5? 10.6? 10.7? I suspect -- without any supporting evidence -- that Apple has NTFS cracked in their innermost labs, just like Boot Camp was sitting there waiting for the "right time", but they can't release it to the public yet.
NTFS is a proprietary format that Microsoft guards like its golden egg. The real question is, can Apple reverse-engineer NTFS swithout landing in court? Even companies whose CEOs are on the dinner list at Bill's end up in negotiations lasting months or years over NTFS. Nice way to treat your friends!

[beneditor]

Just to add to your prep for the chat, have you guys seen the following:
http://www.digitalvi...le.jsp?id=43717
It's the first time I've seen benchmarks for ProApps for the Macbook - and it's interesting reading indeed. I'm a Pro video editor in the UK - and as such, the Macbook doesn't really meet my needs, as it has no ExpressCard slot, or FW800, needed for external capture devices and faster hard-disk solutions. But it answers some questions people may have on the MacBook running ALL of Apple's software.
Note that these benchmarks only reflect render times to disk - they don't reflect the user experience really - such as the effect that IG have on running Motion for instance (which if my Intel Mini is anything to go by, will run like a snail in treacle).
Ben

[CombatCraigCU]

In the past, the Apple Store has done a back-to-school sale which included buy an iBook and get a free iPod mini. Well since both of those are extinct, can we expect to see a MacBook/Nano deal? if so, when?

[Nobody]

More: is it possible to use also the Powerbook as a keyboard and mouse (trackpad) of the Mac mini?
So, the setup would be: boot from the Mac mini (and thus its processor which is faster than the one in the PowerBook) and use the PowerBook only as monitor, keyboard and mouse (trackpad) to control the Mac mini.
That way you get the power and performance of the Mac mini without having to buy a new monitor, keyboard and mouse because for that you use the PowerBook's which is connected to the Mac mini. Thanks.

[griffman]

No, you cannot do this directly, at least relative to the screen. You could login using VNC or other remote control software, but you wouldn't be able to run 3D games, etc.
-rob.

[atomic16]

So for some simple file transfer, yes? And also Im not going to make the chat session, are the editors going to look here for questions too?

[Philip Michaels]

In reply to:

---

are the editors going to look here for questions too?

---

Indeed we are.

[atomic16]

sounds good, thanks.

[Machound]

"So for some simple file transfer, yes?"
Yes. You should be able to use Parallels for simple file serving. That way you can still use your Mac as a Mac. Boot Camp would also get the job done but then you're stuck in Windows-only until you reboot.
Question is, why do you need Windows at all for simple file serving?
I think you're pretty safe to assume Leopard won't be released over the summer. It will probably be announced at the WDC this summer.

[Jason Snell]

we've published Compressor results... technically part of the pro apps suite. :-)

[TheDeepThought]

I am about to make the switch to Mac but i have one question about the Apple Remote. I'm wondering if there was some way to use the Apple Remote with Keynote so that I can hook up a Macbook to a TV and use the remote to advance slides.

[robco]

[*]I know that the MB won't be able to run games like Doom III or Quake 4, but how about more casual titles like OttoMatic, Enigmo 2, Sims 2, etc - how well will they run?
[*]Also, Aperture most likely won't be officially supported, but will LightRoom be able to run well on the MB?
[*]I'm also curious as to your collective opinion with respect to durabability compared to the iBook and the MBP.
[/list]