New mac user questions

Posted:
in Genius Bar edited January 2014
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.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 4
    toymakertoymaker Posts: 30member
    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.
  • Reply 2 of 4
    bclapperbclapper Posts: 237member
    3. Stuffit Expander or UnRarX
  • Reply 3 of 4
    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.
  • Reply 4 of 4
    bclapperbclapper Posts: 237member
    ^ Agreed, "Perian" and "Flip for Mac" plug-ins fit for just about everything for me too
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