and in term of software. there are other ways to get office without using 2 operating systems. *cough cough limewire*.
and boot camp basically let you install windows on mac and then you can choose to start up your comp in either windows or mac os during start up. Parallel means you are running both at the same time. i.e. you go into mac os and then have windows running in the background. personally i would go with boot camp is nothing else, boot camp is free and you have to buy the parallel program

There are pros and cons when using either bootcamp and Parallels if you need to run windows. One advantage with parellels is the ability to have The Windows software up and running at the same time the Mac OS is running and being able to cut, paste, save to devices, print with devices, and anything else you can think of back and forth between both OS'S without restarting the computer. I have been useing Parallels and I'm impressed. I can't speak for bootcamp though so i suppose you should have a look at it just to make sure all your bases are covered.

One more thing. If you can, Max out the ram. It really is the best way to go.

+1

Especially if your running parellel's. Since your saving $$ getting the cheaper model, spend some of it on ram... it's really the cheapest and most effective upgrade...

Ok, I'm beginning to understand the difference between Boot Camp and Parallels now LINK

http://www.notebookreview.com/assets/13028.jpg
http://www.notebookreview.com/assets/13030.jpg

In addition, I have found Microsoft Office 2004 Student & Teacher Edition For Mac from Shop.com for $137.93. Pretty darn good price for all the office programs.
http://shop.com.edgesuite.net/ccimg....s/39908220.jpg

I may not need windows at all I'm guessing now.

I plan on basically using this computer primarily for internet access, e-mail, music storage along with itunes, and some basic graphics work.

I will assume that MacBooks included mail program will easily accept POP3 mail accounts like I do with Outlook on my desktop PC right now?

Can I have the same POP3 account running on both by desktop and my MacBook at the same time?

Since I won't be using any graphics intensive programs, I would think that 1GB of memory should be enough. Do I really need 2GB?

In addition, I think I will wait for Leopard, it's not that far off at this point.

Thanks for all the info. thus far!

I think Apple recently updated bootcamp, making these changes:
Boot Camp 1.1.2 beta includes:
-Support for the latest Intel-based Macintosh computers
-Easier partitioning using presets for popular sizes
-Ability to install Windows XP on any internal disk
-Support for built-in iSight cameras
-Support for built-in microphones
-Support for the Apple USB Modem
-Trackpad scrolling and right-click support on Apple Laptops
-Improved Apple keyboard support including Delete, PrintScreen, NumLock, and ScrollLock keys
-Improved International Apple keyboard support

So some of the "cons" are fixed.
Apple includes a program called "Mail" which is POP3.
1GB should be enough, just don't run a lot of apps at one.
Oh, and I forgot. You are still vulnerable to viruses if you have either Parallels or Bootcamp. So if you want no viruses, just get office and you should be fine w/o XP !
:thumbup:

Thanks for the updated information :)

Can I still run the same POP3 account on both computers?
I may at some point get the new Apple iphone as well, so there is one more benefit of getting a MacBook IMO.

The most apps. I generally run at one time are outlook, Firefox, and AIM.

Can I have the same POP3 account running on both by desktop and my MacBook at the same time?

The answer is yes

Since I won't be using any graphics intensive programs, I would think that 1GB of memory should be enough. Do I really need 2GB?

A word to the wise if you can afford it max the ram. As the old saying goes, "better to have it and not need it then to need it and not have". Almost every Mac user that i know has never regreted maxing the ram. Besides your needs now are based on what you believe you will be doing at this point. As you become a part of the Mac community you may stretch out and as you do it's a course of wisdom to be prepared. As you already know headroom is a good thing.

This is not to say that the opinion of others is wrong. It's just that they have already established their needs. For me, i never know what i will be adding to the system and how intensive the application will be. Add to that the fact that i can have a number of applications open at any given time and it's easy to see how that can draw on avaliable memory. But here's a nice article that explains it. Save it and refer later.

http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache...&client=safari

I'm going to be getting a Macbook as soon as Leopard comes out as well. I'm leaning towards the fully loaded Black one though with 2 GB RAM. Sounds like we have similar needs Greg. I also mainly use my computer (currently a Dell Laptop) for email, AIM and the web, but I also need Microsoft Office as I very often need to view & edit word and excel files. The guy in the Apple store suggested getting the student edition of Microsoft Office for Mac for $150. He said they are supposed to verify that you are a student, but they don't. So I doubt I will need to run Windows.

One question, for those of you who have a Mac. Does flash gaming work? I mean gaming on websites like Yahoo Games & Pogo.com. They are small web-based flash pop-up programs. I was wondering if they work with Safari?

Thanks, that article makes a lot of sense!

Here's another question, is there that big of a performance differential between the 1.83GHz and the 2.0GHz models?