2 iPod questions and 1 Bootcamp question

tilt

Hi,



First of all, if this post is in the wrong forum, pardon my ignorance and move it to the right one please. Plus, I have never used an iPod in my life, so if my questions seem too dumb, please bear with me.



iPod question 1

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I use a Mac at home and a Windows laptop at work. Can I use one iPod with both these machines or do I have have to choose between them? Meaning, if I format the iPod for Mac use, will I be able to hook it up to a Windows machine and sync the library and vice versa?



iPod question 2

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I have heard that the iPod, in addition to holding your music and photos, can also function as a PDA in terms of syncing with iCal and Address Book etc. I have also heard that it can be used as a backup storage device for other data.



I know that to use the iPod for data backup you would need to 'partition' the iPod with one 'partition' being music and the other for data. In order to just use the PDA capabilities (without needing to backup my data files), do I need to partition the iPod or do all of these work on the music and photos 'partition'?



Bootcamp Question

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I shall be given a laptop by my employer. This is a complete WIndows environment. Can I buy a MacPro and install Windows on it via Bootcamp and expect it to work on the corporate network as seamlessly as a Windows laptop would?



Also, Bootcamp is beta software. Would I be shooting myself in the foot by installing it on a corporate laptop? Is it possible that when Leopard is released (Bootcamp was supposed to be part of it, right?) that Apple would disable all beta copies of Bootcamp, thereby leaving me stranded?



Thanks and cheers

noah93

Quote:

Originally posted by tilt

Hi,



First of all, if this post is in the wrong forum, pardon my ignorance and move it to the right one please. Plus, I have never used an iPod in my life, so if my questions seem too dumb, please bear with me.



iPod question 1

-------------

I use a Mac at home and a Windows laptop at work. Can I use one iPod with both these machines or do I have have to choose between them? Meaning, if I format the iPod for Mac use, will I be able to hook it up to a Windows machine and sync the library and vice versa?



iPod question 2

-------------

I have heard that the iPod, in addition to holding your music and photos, can also function as a PDA in terms of syncing with iCal and Address Book etc. I have also heard that it can be used as a backup storage device for other data.



I know that to use the iPod for data backup you would need to 'partition' the iPod with one 'partition' being music and the other for data. In order to just use the PDA capabilities (without needing to backup my data files), do I need to partition the iPod or do all of these work on the music and photos 'partition'?



Bootcamp Question

-----------------

I shall be given a laptop by my employer. This is a complete WIndows environment. Can I buy a MacPro and install Windows on it via Bootcamp and expect it to work on the corporate network as seamlessly as a Windows laptop would?



Also, Bootcamp is beta software. Would I be shooting myself in the foot by installing it on a corporate laptop? Is it possible that when Leopard is released (Bootcamp was supposed to be part of it, right?) that Apple would disable all beta copies of Bootcamp, thereby leaving me stranded?



Thanks and cheers

Starting with question 1, yes you will have to choose between the two computers if you plan to use itunes to keep track of your music and sync. There are programs and ways outhere to use two computers, but I cannot remember what they are at the moment.



As for question #2, you do not need to 'partition' anything to use the storage or addressbook/calendar features. For storage you just choose to use the device as a storage device in Itunes prefs under iPod when the 'pods connected. As for AddressBook or iCal, it is as easy as opening iSync, choosing your iPod, and clicking go. You will have to change some obvious settings the first time, but don't worry, when you click on your 'Pod in the interface, it shows you the settings, which are mostly just asking you what you want to sync.



As for #3, this is just speculation. Although Apple reserves the right to terminate your ability to use BootCamp at any time, I beleive they will not do this. Mostly in gratitude for all the early adopters for Intel-native machines. If they do decide to terminate it, you can ask IT to upgrade the OS on your machine, or pay the price of $129 to upgrade yourself. Considering your employer is paying for the machine, that is a very low cost at which to get a mac. BootCamped Windows runs as of the machine was built for Windows, and you will have no problems connecting to the network or running intense graphics. If you do not need graphics, and prefer the Mac interface over Windows, there is also Parallels workstation, which currently in the release candidate stage, and will soon be availible for purchase. If you know anyone with a mac, I suggest you try it out, it really is amazing. Parralels WS is availible for $39 if you preorder and $49 if you order when it is released.



Hope the information does you good, and sorry of it is a bit sloppy, im kinda sleepy.



Noah

tilt

Thank you Noah, I appreciate your detailed response. Yes, your info has been of help



Cheers

maimezvous

I have a couple of questions that relate to this also. Tomorrow my new Macbook will arrive, and I was wondering what I will need to do to reformat my two iPods (a mini and a nano) so that they will work on my laptop, currently they are both formatted for windows.



My second question concerns transferring the data that is on my family's old pc to my new Macbook. My question is, how do I do that? I am in no way a techie and I am at a loss concerning these two problems. Any help would be appreciated.