New mac user questions

imagize

Hi everyone,



I've had my new 15' macbook pro for about a day now and I am pleasantly surprised with how easily I have picked everything up, I really like the UI of leopard.



I have some questions though and I hope some knowledgeable mac users could assist me.



1. I have my MBP connected to a 24' samsung screen when it is at home, is it ok to have the lid closed? (are there any heat issues)



2. What is the best media player? (quicktime w/ plugins, vlc or divx), I will need to play xvid videos etc.



3. What is the best tool for unarchiving? I am using the "unarchiver". Also what tool can you use to make zip, rar, gz etc



Any help appreciated.

toymaker

1. There shouldn't be any heat issues, so long as you're not going anything too extreme, such as playing 3d-intensive games. I have had the gpu in my 2.4ghz MBP up around the 85 degree mark (in celsius, which is about 185 degrees fahrenheit), and it resulted in some...odd graphic effects.



2 and 3 are largely a preferance thing. I use VLC for media and command line tools for archiving/zipping, but that's just me. I recommend just playing around with various tools/players till you find one that clicks for you.



Grats on the new purchase, hopefully you won't be disappointed.

bclapper

3. Stuffit Expander or UnRarX

kingofsomewherehot

2... I like QuickTime myself, just because I like the interface. I've added the "Perian" and "Flip for Mac" plug-ins and almost every file plays in it now. On very rare occasions I have to start VLC to view something.

bclapper

^ Agreed, "Perian" and "Flip for Mac" plug-ins fit for just about everything for me too