How is the file compatability between a PC and a Macbook?

Question

I'm looking to purchase a Macbook for college because they are so user friendly when it comes to everything media, but also am bringing a self-built PC along that is more for hardcore techincal stuff. Any ideas on how compatable these Macbooks are with PC's?

Answer 1

from what i understand mac will not read a harddrive formatted in ntfs ..

Answer 2

If you have a retail version of Windows XP, you can install it on your MacBook. Then you can boot up your Mac as a PC. You can install all your PC software into your MacBook. You can also install all your Windows drivers and use your Windows-compatible peripherals with your MacBook.

If you choose to stay only in the Mac OS, there won't be any compatibility. Windows software won't install in Mac OSX. Also, some Windows-compatible peripherals are not Mac-friendly.

Some people feel that Macs are not adequate for gaming. I am not a gamer, so I can't speak to that. However, with MacBooks offering 2.0 and 2.16 Intel Core 2 Duo processors and Intel GMA 950 graphics processors with 64MB of shared DDR2 SDRAM (lowest MacBook configuration) or a NIVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT with up to 256MB of dedicated GDDR3 SDRAM (higher level MacBooks), I would think you'd have plenty of gaming power for most games.

Web browsing is much better on a Mac. Safari is a far better browser than Internet Explorer, and Mozilla makes a Mac and Windows version of Firefox.

BTW - If you only need compatibility for Word or Excel documents, there is a version of Microsoft Office for Mac OSX. If your version is the same level or older, you can open such docs on your Mac in OSX.

Answer 3

I use a Macbook for my laptop, but a Dell PC with XP for my main desktop computer. I pull stuff back and forth between them all the time with no problem whatsoever.

I have MS Office on the Mac and swap powerpoints, word, etc. back and forth a lot. I had to find a few fonts to make sure formatting didn't get screwy, but that was it.

I do not really play games on the mac laptop, but I do lots of internet surfing, music, IMing, and MS office stuff, and no problems so far.

If you have detailed questions, feel free to email me.

Answer 4

It varies. Microsoft products (if they have them for the Mac) will also work on PC and visa versa, but you'll find a lot of software for the PC that doesn't exist for Mac. If I were you I'd save my $$$ and put it into the PC.