Yes, most if not all files will be able to be transferred fine from a PC to a new mac.  Microsoft Office files, such as Word, Excel, Access, Powerpoint, and Outlook will be able to workeded with on a mac by having Microsoft Office for Mac installed on the mac.  Pictures, such as .jpeg’s and .tiff’s will be viewed by the Mac operating system software or viewable within iPhoto. 

The tricky software to transfer are accounting software (i.e. Quicken, Quickbooks), photo editing software (i.e. Photoshop, Illustrator), and other proprietary software.  Why is it tricky?  Because you’ll need to get the same software that is made for the mac.  Or you can cheat like most people and just install Parallels on the mac so you can load Windows programs on it.  This way, you won’t have to worry about buying software you’ve already bought for your PC.

When making the switch, you can copy the files to DVDs or back up files to an external hard drive.  Just make sure the external hard drive is compatible for both macs and pcs so the file transfer is nice and easy.  If you’re uncomfortable with the file transfer, you should contact a trusted computer pc to mac professional.

This is a question we hear often: My PC died.  Should I get a Mac now?

The answer stems from several factors?  Please read the below factors to determine if you should make the switch from PC to Mac:

1. Do you have the patience to learn a new operating system?
2. Do you have the patience to learn new software and settings?
3. Will you software be compatible on the Mac?
4. If you’re geared towards graphics, music, and overall multimedia, the  Mac is for you.
5. If you’re just geared towards Word processing the PC will be more than sufficient.

These factors should help you decide if moving towards the Mac is right for you.

What’s better than an all-in-one printer?  How about the new Time Capsule.  You’re probably familiar with Leopard’s Time Machine.  But, the Time Machine only works with specifically with Mac’s Leopard operating system and not Tiger or any Windows computers.  There is now one device that will allow easy backups for Macs and PCs. 

This device is wireless on the N series.  So, you can perform backups wirelessly.  Guess what?  It’s also a wireless router.  And a wireless or USB external hard drive (either 500GB or 1TB).  And a print server.  And probably a microwave if you look hard enough.  Okay, maybe not a microwave.  But, it does just about everything else while still remaining compatibility with Apple and Microsoft.

At $299 for 500GB and $499 for 1TB, this device is a very vesatile, solid networking solution for a group of computers.

What do you do if you cannot email multiple photos from your mac?  Is it your Internet Service Provider or E-mail provider that’s causing the problem? 

Your email provider (i.e. gmail, AOL, Earthlink) only allows up to app. 4MB capacity per e-mail sent.  So, more than 6-8 pictures can max out this capacity quickly and will prevent you from e-mailing at all. 

There are three ways to get past this issue:

1. Compress the pictures and email more of them
2. Share them through kodak.com
3. Or more practically, use iPhoto for building your photo library; subscribe to .mac for storage and email purposes; and then share/email your iPhoto event to your recipient.

Don’t make emailing photos a hassle.  Follow the pain-free solutions above to emailing pics easily.

For every new benefit or addition with the iPhone 2.0, there is potential pitfall or room for improvement. 

Below are the top 5 “So What Benefits” of the iPhone 2.0:

1. New GPS system.  Yes, but it doesn’t show you where you’re starting from which defeats the purpose if you’re aimlessly lost.
2. 3G speed.  This is supposed to be an upgrade in Internet speed from the old EDGE network of att; however, this speed is undocumented and may be spotty in certain areas.
3. Third-party software will offer chat ability.  It is insane that the iPhone cannot offer a chat system directly via its interface.  To have to go through a third-party site or software begs that a flaw is in the technology.
4. Push technology for e-mails.  This means 2.0 will have e-mails automatically arrive upon receipt instead of needing to check auto-send/receive in settings on a certain timer.  Here’s the catch: this only applies to Yahoo!
5. The keyboard.  It’s still the screen touchpad approach which, well, it’s not as easy as the Blackberry’s keyboard.

The iPhone has been produced all by Apple products, including the iPod and itunes.  itunes is the primary application for uploading music, contacts, and e-mail accounts.  Currently, Apple is offering an open invitation from any company to create a program for the iPhone.  So, this means that Apple is releasing some of its code so that other companies can create a program, such as a game, GPS, business application, etc., that may be used for use on the iPhone. 

This is the first attempt iPhone has made to add diversity to its product, and possibly also compete with the Blackberry devices.  There may be more business applications, such as sharing networks, remoting into office computers, and accounting software that may make the iPhone more appealing that Blackberries.  Further, iPhone is not limiting this open bid for third-party applications just to att.  Now, any provider or company may offer a partnership for products.  Time will tell what this open bid will offer.

The new MacBook Pro is bigger and faster.  Is it worth purchasing a new Mac though?  We think so.  It has an iPhone-like touchpad for panning and re-sizing images.  It’s wireless N speed is fast enough for hard-to-reach wireless areas.  It has a new remote capability to access files from your home Leopard Mac.  The new Leopard that comes installed on it is equipped with Time Machine, the constantly active backup. 

Connecting and networking with PCs is very easy.  Wireless printing and streaming music and movies is first nature.  You may easily stick in a wireless card to run off of cellular networks for quick and anywhere Internet access.  Need we say more.  Starting at $1,900, this MacBook Pro is a good investment.

Telling your mac what to do can be a lengthy process without keyboard shortcuts.  Copying and pasting, printing the screen, or opening a Word document can take seconds by pressing 1-2 keys on your keyboard rather than navigating to programs to open.  If you want to add an shortcut, or hot key, it’s easier than you think.

Here’s how to set up your own Mac hot key:

1. Go to Apple menu -> System Preferences -> Keyboard and Mouse
2. Go to Keyboard Shortcuts tab -> click “+” sign at bottom-left
3. Select Finder from the application menu and type the name of the command you want to add
4. Type the shortcut you want to use (i.e. A + F) and click Add

Now, you have no excuse for increasing your computer performance with this Mac hot key setup.

The world’s thinnest laptop is now available, and it’s called the MacBook Air.  Steve Jobs announced his new baby at Macworld 2008.  Here are the specs:  it’s only 3 pounds, has a 13″ screen, ranges from .16 - .76 in thickness, comes with 1.6GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, and a 80GB hard drive.  It’s wireless runs 802.11N, has a full sized keyboard, and has an external CD/DVD drive.

The cool factor:  At 3 pounds, it is rare to have a full-sized keyboard and large mousepad.  But, Jobs was all about not minimalizing the typing experience although the overall laptop is ultraportable.  On the optical drive end, you can wireless connect to your DVD drive and other PCs and Macs’ optical drives.  The iSight camera is still integrated, like other macs, and you can move pics up and down like the iPhone.

At $1,799, these macs should be flying off the shelves.  Don’t run to the stores just yet.  They’ll be available in 2 weeks.

It might seem like a daunting task to mix your Mac in a Windows server environment.  But, it’s not too difficult.  There are a few steps to take to connect to a Windows server with a mac running Mac OS 10.  This will allow you to access files on a Windows server.

Here’s what you need to do:

1. Go to the Finder->Go and choose Connect to Server
2. Type in smb://server_name/share_name
3. Enter the workgroup/domain where the server is
4. Enter your username and password for the server
5. Your server share will appear in the Computer area in the Finder Window.  You may select is as a preference so it appears on your desktop.