Mac Forum / Applications / Other MS Products / March 2005

On 12/14/04 8:09 AM, in article u9#IUae4EHA.3596@TK2MSFTNGP12.phx.gbl,

1. A firewall is built into OSX. Only needed if you would be exposed without
it. I usually keep mine running, just to be safe, on a cable connection. The
firewall will protect you against open port attacks.

2. No, spyware has never been an issue for me. Most installations require an
admin password so it's very hard for spyware to install.

3. Entourage is the only current version of Microsoft's mail client for Mac.
It connects to Exchange servers, POP accounts, and IMAP accounts. Outlook
for Mac is gone, since version 2001 I believe. Outlook Express and Outlook
were kinda rolled into each other and named Entourage.

4. There are backup utilities you can buy. I use the free backup software
provided with my .Mac account. Go to www.mac.com to learn more. If you buy
an iMac, I believe the .Mac service is $30 off the regular price of $99
(yearly subscription.) If your backup needs are greater, I'd look at
Retrospect. If they're very simple, yes, burn a CD. It's very easy to do.

5. To burn a disc in OSX, just load the blank media, drag your files to it,
eject, it burns. Done. If you need to burn types other than straight data
CD/DVDs, use Toast ($99), or iDvd (included) for movies.

If you live near an Apple Store (www.apple.com/retail), consider dropping by
to get answers. The people there are by and large very helpful and
knowledgeable.

I think you're making a good decision going to Mac. Good luck.

Patrick

Once you go Mac you'll never go back.

I have mine turned off (the one built into Panther).

Spyware...what's that?  :-)

Outlook is a virus distribution client with E-mail capabilities.
Entourage doesn't suck.

That's pretty much the way it's done.

I'd recommend Toast.

1.  Under OSX, The Mac has a built-in firewall which you can enable or
disable.  I also use a Firewall application under Win XP, but such apps are
not needed on a Mac running OSX.

2. Spyware is not an issue on a Mac.

3. Entourage and Outlook are very similar.  The primary feature difference
is that is difficult to forward or create complex HTML emails from within
Entourage.

4. There are third party apps that can handle automated backups for you, but
to the best of my knowledge the best way to backup with a Mac using OSX
right out of the box is to burn them to CD.

5. The built in program is fantastic for most purposes.  It will mount blank
media to your desktop which you can open just as you would any directory.
Drag and drop to the directory.  It gives you the option to burn the disk.
For complex burning of CDs and DVDs, you will need to use Roxio Toast or
iDVD.

Side Note:  I work cross platform on a daily basis. Everything that can be
done in Windows can be done on a Mac.  I highly recommend the purchase of a
Macintosh.  

Good luck.

On 12/14/04 9:09 AM, in article u9#IUae4EHA.3596@TK2MSFTNGP12.phx.gbl,