Mac users that are Reader owners, help a new Mac owner

[AnemicOak]

After years away from Mac's (last time was the Power PC days) I'm the proud owner of a new MacBook Pro. Since obviously the Sony software doesn't work with Mac OS I plan to use libprs500 for transferring files to the Reader (I already used it for conversion). Any other software for Mac I need?

I buy Lit's & convert for my books. I know MS Reader doesn't work on a Mac right? I do have access to PCs so that shouldn't be a biggie. I do own a copy of Windows XP so I suppose I could use that with Bootcamp to run MS Reader as well.

Since I don't buy books from Sony, I really am not seeing a downside to the Reader in conjunction with a Mac. Am I missing anything?



On a non Reader note. Any essential software I should look into? As I said it's been a long time since I paid much attention to all things Mac.

What's the deal with .mac is it worth $100 a year?

Would you recommend the Apple Care warranty? Why? (note: I generally don't buy things like that)


Thanks!

[Xenophon]

As far as supporting the Sony Reader, all I use on my Macs is libprs500. I've had no need for anything else.

On the questions:
You really really need to do something about backups. I recommend using Time Machine along with an external FireWire drive (in your case). Another reasonable choice would be DataBackup along with an external drive.

.mac is a great deal if you have multiple Macs that you wish to keep in synch. For example, I have a desktop at home, a desktop at school, and a laptop that travels with me. DotMac is really useful for keeping my calendars, bookmarks, preferences, and such all synched up across these three machines. If you want to do easy Web publishing or photo sharing, .mac is pretty good. For a single machine, it's certainly not essential.

AppleCare is not worth your time for desktops and displays, but is a really good idea for laptops. The Facilities folks at my university recommend that we buy AppleCare for all Mac laptops (and similar plans for the recommended WinTel laptops). Anything more complicated than replacing a drive or some memory will wind up costing you far more than the AppleCare did! Basically, desktops are easy to work on and don't break too much. Laptops are a PITA, and tend to break a lot more.

Xenophon

[astrodad]

I agree with Xeno. I have just started using My 505 on the Mac and it's fine. I do have Parallels installed to run Windows in case I need it but I haven't touched it since I started libprs500 to manage the library.

On the others: .mac - no, applecare -yes

I use Google everything for calendar, email, address, etc. so I have no need of .Mac. For photos I use Smugmug, which is THE BEST MOST AMAZING photo host in existence.

I wish I would have bought Applecare for the notebooks. These hard drives are not of great quality. Two macbooks + 3 replacement drives = a headache.

[AnemicOak]

Thanks for the replies.

I hooked my Reader to it for the first time last night & everything ran fine.

I do think I'm going to use Boot Camp & put XP on a small partition for those just in case situations, but don't plan to spend much time using it.


Trying to decide right now between Office 2008, iWork & NeoOffice and to figure out what genealogy software I'm going to run.


I'm still considering Apple Care, but leaning towards it.

[AnemicOak]

I'm reading about Parallels and now I'm wondering if I should use it instead of Boot Camp. Anyone know if MS Reader works through Parallels? I'm pretty sure I read the Sony software runs on it OK (I'm wondering if it works OK for firmware updates).

[astrodad]

Yes, it works through Parallels. This is how I got my keys. Parallels will work for almost anything you need, except for hard core gaming. I use it all the time.

As for the Sony software, it runs fine. Parallels can take the USB device to it only shows up on the Windows installation (or whatever OS is running in the VM). I haven't done a firmware upgrade, but if I can transfer files over USB to the Reader in Parallels, I don't see a reason why firmware updates wouldn't work.

[astrodad]

Plus unless you have Leopard, bootcamp will go out of support.

[canicula]

Originally Posted by jplumey

I haven't done a firmware upgrade, but if I can transfer files over USB to the Reader in Parallels, I don't see a reason why firmware updates wouldn't work.

Several people have reported failures applying firmware updates via VM hosted Sony Reader software installations. The Readers were left in an unusable state.

If you have access to a physical PC anywhere it might be prudent to do firmware updates on that.

Ian

[MsAstoria]

Originally Posted by Xenophon

AppleCare is not worth your time for desktops and displays, but is a really good idea for laptops. The Facilities folks at my university recommend that we buy AppleCare for all Mac laptops (and similar plans for the recommended WinTel laptops). Anything more complicated than replacing a drive or some memory will wind up costing you far more than the AppleCare did! Basically, desktops are easy to work on and don't break too much. Laptops are a PITA, and tend to break a lot more.

Xenophon

Well, perhaps that's true, but I had bought Apple Care with my Mac Mini ($99) and when my Time Machine quit suddenly, it was covered under my Apple care and replaced post haste! Not to mention the free Apple Care via phone too. Well worth the cost and then some. I do have Apple Care on my Macbook Pro and also on the new Ipad. I figure with the iPad being first generation, it's most likely to have some kind of break down and it's covered for two years. ($99).