Questions from a Windows user


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Hi!

 

I'm thinking about switching from a Windows notebook to a MBP. Mainly, I'll use it for general home stuff (internet, torrent, music, movies and TV Series, maybe Plex) and some light work/study usage (MS Office). Some software that I *may* use are not available for Mac, such as ArcGIS, MS Project and MS Visio, so I'll need BootCamp sometimes.

 

I'm buying a notebook to use it for at least 5 years or more, so I'll go for a MacBook Pro Retina Display with 15", Core i7, 16 GB RAM and 256 GB SSD.

 

I have some questions, can anyone help me out?

  1. Microsoft Office ? Are the Windows and MacOs versions exactly the same, regarding tools and features? Basically, everything in MS Office 2011 suits me well, so lack of new features from MS Office 2013 isn?t a deal-breaker for me. Also, I need Outlook only to view old backup e-mails, I don?t use it daily.
  2. BootCamp and virtualization ? Can I access both partitions from both operating systems? I?m not planning to use it for heavy usage, only light apps such as MS Project and Visio, but I?d like to have the option in the future (ArcGIS and others).
  3. SSD ? I?ll buy a 256 SSD, can I upgrade to a 512 SSD later? How much storage does MacOS and apps use in general?
  4. OneDrive ? Does it sync well? I have 60 GB for free, that?s why I prefer OneDrive over Dropbox and iCloud.
  5. Multitasking ? I need multiple Windows open to compare files (PDF and XLS side by side, for example), to view data from multiple programs, etc. Can I do that easily on MacOS?

Thanks!

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I'm not a heavy MS Office user, but certainly everything I've ever needed is available in the Mac version of Office.

 

You can access the Bootcamp/Mac partitions in both OS X and Windows using Bootcamp. For virtualization, you'll need to use whatever sharing features it has.

 

OneDrive works fine in OS X.

 

OS X doesn't have anything like Aero Snap. But there are tools (such as Divvy - http://mizage.com/divvy/) that make quick moving the resizing windows next to each other very fast.

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Hi!

 

I'm thinking about switching from a Windows notebook to a MBP. Mainly, I'll use it for general home stuff (internet, torrent, music, movies and TV Series, maybe Plex) and some light work/study usage (MS Office). Some software that I *may* use are not available for Mac, such as ArcGIS, MS Project and MS Visio, so I'll need BootCamp sometimes.

 

I'm buying a notebook to use it for at least 5 years or more, so I'll go for a MacBook Pro Retina Display with 15", Core i7, 16 GB RAM and 256 GB SSD.

 

I have some questions, can anyone help me out?

  1. Microsoft Office ? Are the Windows and MacOs versions exactly the same, regarding tools and features? Basically, everything in MS Office 2011 suits me well, so lack of new features from MS Office 2013 isn?t a deal-breaker for me. Also, I need Outlook only to view old backup e-mails, I don?t use it daily.
  2. BootCamp and virtualization ? Can I access both partitions from both operating systems? I?m not planning to use it for heavy usage, only light apps such as MS Project and Visio, but I?d like to have the option in the future (ArcGIS and others).
  3. SSD ? I?ll buy a 256 SSD, can I upgrade to a 512 SSD later? How much storage does MacOS and apps use in general?
  4. OneDrive ? Does it sync well? I have 60 GB for free, that?s why I prefer OneDrive over Dropbox and iCloud.
  5. Multitasking ? I need multiple Windows open to compare files (PDF and XLS side by side, for example), to view data from multiple programs, etc. Can I do that easily on MacOS?

Thanks!

Having used a MBP for work I can tell you my experience.  Now, keep in mind that I needed to be part of a domain.

 

1. Office for Mac and Office for Windows are not the same.  Mostly the same but there were small differences that would definitely pop up for me, especially in Outlook. The functionality between mail and calendar was not the same.

2. Not really.  I'll post a reply that mirrors my experience with it:

 

 

Mac OSX can read and write from/to FAt32 partitions without problems.

Mac OSX can only read from NTFS partitions. For write access it needs a third-party driver like NTFS-3G; Paragons NTFS for Mac or Tuxera NTFS for Mac.

Apples BootCamp WIndows Driver allow Windows to read from Mac OSX partitions, but not write to them.

For write access MacDrive is the only solution.

Windows Vista and Windows 7 need their system partition on which they are installed to be a NTFS partition regardless of the size of the partition.

Personally I use either an external harddisk/partition or Flash Drives for file exchange between OSX and BootCamp Windows.

I ended up using VMWare but it had its share of crashes.

3. You can upgrade.  As for how much, like in Windows it depends on the program.  I have a 256GB SSD in my MBP and it's half full with Pages/Keynote/Numbers and a few other things.  Not really much.

4. OneDrive syncs perfect.

5. I don't believe there's a snap feature like in Windows.  You can manually arrange them side by side and I think there's 3rd party software to do it.

 

It doesn't seem like you need to be on a domain, but that's the main reason I dumped my MBP for work.  Working on a Windows network from a Mac is painful.  

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I owned a 13" mid-2011 MBP for almost 2 years and I mostly like it. I began to resent OSX though in general.

 

Things I loved:

1. Multiple Virtual Desktops

2. Gesture support in desktop apps, especially back/forward in Chrome

3. iMessage when I had an iPhone

4. Airdrop

 

Things I didn't like so much:

1. Settings can't match Control Panel

2. Inability to buy replacement parts from Apple (my trackpad had some water damage and I had to buy a new one on EBay because the Apple Store would only sell me a new one if they did the work)

3. MS Office on Mac is subpar

4. The way OSX works in general (Global Menu's, nothing similar to All Programs to find your programs (I didn't like spotlight either), the dock)

5. Updates are HUGE

 

Overall, it wasn't bad, but now that I have replaced it with a Surface Pro 3 I'm much happier.

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Thanks for the input, I am a power user but I'm willing to trade power and customization for simplicity. I used to be much more interested in flexibility but now I just don't have the time to mess around with the system.

 

However, I do want to have the option to run specific Windows software. I'm planning to go for a Master's degree in engineering so I may need to use apps that are not available for Mac... but I'm going to keep my current Windows laptop nevertheless.

 

Regarding user experience, I guess I'll mess aroung with my sister's older MBP...

 

But I'm confused, will I be able to upgrade my SSD in the future or not?

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But I'm confused, will I be able to upgrade my SSD in the future or not?

Officially the drives are not upgradable, but in reality the modules are replaceable and upgradable.  You have to be careful you buy the right kind of drive (there are several different types used though the different revisions) and you might have to buy a new screwdriver to work with whatever oddball screw they decided to use.

 

There are several drive manufacturers that will sell you a kit for your exact rMPB model that has the correct drive and required non-standard tools.

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I am going to put my opinions in here and hopefully give you some additional info:

 

  1. Microsoft Office ? Office 2011 is quite good although lacking in several areas when compared to Office 2013...especially outlook.  Office 2014 for Mac is 'supposed' to be released this year.
  2. BootCamp and virtualization ? Bootcamp is good although I personally use VMware fusion when I need windows
  3. SSD ? Any late 2013 and newer models cannot have the ssd upgraded.  Only models 10,2/10,1 can be updated.  The late 2013 and 2014 rMBP is numbered 11,1/11,2/11,3.  The last rMBP that could be upgraded was the early 2013 model.  You can upgrade an early 2013 model up to 960GB http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/SSD/OWC and http://www.transcend-info.com/apple/jetdrive/
  4. OneDrive ? Works great...as well as the windows version
  5. Multitasking ? Between the dock and expose you can do everything.  Get a dock add-on called hyperdock for added functionality.  If you want something similar to aero snap there are programs called cinch or sizeup.  http://www.irradiatedsoftware.com/ and http://hyperdock.bahoom.com/
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