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Switching to Mac

daSkeptic said:
Yes, only one of the machines would have warranty coverage and the others wouldn't. So what?
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You could do that, but what's the purpose?

There's not much difference between insuring 1 out of 10 and insuring 0 out of 10.
 
daSkeptic said:
This assumes the machines are basically equivalent.
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I'm at a loss as to what your point was. You can buy an extended warranty tied to a particular machine for some fraction of that machine's purchase price, but that warranty is always going to cost more than the risk taken without it. Unless the company is stupid, that is.
 
Okay, since it's now going to be another couple of weeks before we can shuffle money to fork out on a new MacBook, I have a question about iTunes.

I have a current iTunes library on my Windows laptop. It contains some songs I bought from iTunes, some I ripped from CD, and a few I downloaded separately. Legally, of course. Some of these (like the Symphony of Science series) can easily be re-downloaded, a very few I no longer have a source for.

For the purposes of my question, assume that I don't have a convenient, compatible external large storage device. I'll be re-ripping my CDs, and I have a small storage device that I can copy across my separate downloads.

My question is: When I get my Macbook, will iTunes allow me to re-download the songs I've already bought? When I authorise the new computer, will it recognise the songs and albums that I've already paid for?
 
arthwollipot said:
Okay, since it's now going to be another couple of weeks before we can shuffle money to fork out on a new MacBook, I have a question about iTunes.

I have a current iTunes library on my Windows laptop. It contains some songs I bought from iTunes, some I ripped from CD, and a few I downloaded separately. Legally, of course. Some of these (like the Symphony of Science series) can easily be re-downloaded, a very few I no longer have a source for.

For the purposes of my question, assume that I don't have a convenient, compatible external large storage device. I'll be re-ripping my CDs, and I have a small storage device that I can copy across my separate downloads.

My question is: When I get my Macbook, will iTunes allow me to re-download the songs I've already bought? When I authorise the new computer, will it recognise the songs and albums that I've already paid for?
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The policy (for music) seems to be one download when you purchase the item and the responsibility is yours to keep it safe. If you lose your music (e.g. hard disk crash) they will grant you a one-off redownload of all your purchases but you have to contact customer services and give them a sob-story.

For apps, you can redownload for free from the app store

For music bought on an iPhone it will sync this to a new machine for you, saving it from the iPhone


Have you considered switching your iPhone to hard disk mode and using this to move files?
 
DrDave said:
The policy (for music) seems to be one download when you purchase the item and the responsibility is yours to keep it safe. If you lose your music (e.g. hard disk crash) they will grant you a one-off redownload of all your purchases but you have to contact customer services and give them a sob-story.
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This is pretty much what I had assumed.

DrDave said:
For apps, you can redownload for free from the app store
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Again, confirmation that this will be not a problem.

DrDave said:
For music bought on an iPhone it will sync this to a new machine for you, saving it from the iPhone
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I don't buy music on the iPhone, and only sync a selection, so this isn't an option for me.

DrDave said:
Have you considered switching your iPhone to hard disk mode and using this to move files?
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I have more iTunes music than available space on the iPhone.

My experience with Apple customer service so far have been... mediocre. I'll clearly need to find a way to transfer purchases. Thanks.
 
arthwollipot said:
I have more iTunes music than available space on the iPhone.
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Emet's link is good for the method and order of doing things. As for actually moving the files, you shouldn't need external storage as long as you can still run the old machine. Put the two on the same network, or just connect them with an ethernet cable, and you should be able to share a folder on the Mac via SMB. This means it should show up as a network share in Windows Explorer, and from there you can just drag and drop.
 
I'll confirm that Apps can be re-downloaded from the iTunes store.

As for moving all your content, I recommend stringing an Ethernet cable between your computers, and transferring the files that way.
 
Do you have an Apple store nearby? They will, and they really do, transfer all the stuff over for you when you come in with a new Mac. Unless, of course, you have stuff you do not want them to see ;) .

You may need get an appointment beforehand (on their webpage).

Also, usually I find it easier to just take out the hard drive out of the Win laptop, and hook it up with a USB external enclosure or adapter cable (cost, say, $30). Works for sure, and no trouble setting up the network.
 
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Remember that if you run an ethernet cable directly from one computer to another, you need a special one. It's like the plugs held side by side look the same on a normal cable; this one they look different. Like:

Normal: ABCD ABCD
Special: ABCD CDAB

If you have a router or hub to connect them through, then there will be no issue with this.
 
Almo said:
Remember that if you run an ethernet cable directly from one computer to another, you need a special one. It's like the plugs held side by side look the same on a normal cable; this one they look different.
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Though this crossover cable isn't needed with any Mac made in the last 5 years or so. They have auto-MDIX.
 
Pulvinar said:
Though this crossover cable isn't needed with any Mac made in the last 5 years or so. They have auto-MDIX.
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Indeed, they've had it close to ten years. I remember a few situations where other geeks' opinion of me turned completely around - they thought I was completely clueless when I claimed it didn't matter if the cable was crossed or not. I don't get to show off that way anymore since auto-switching is becoming so common on all sorts of network gear and computers.

Bottom line - use an Ethernet cable, crossed or straight.
 
elgarak said:
Do you have an Apple store nearby? They will, and they really do, transfer all the stuff over for you when you come in with a new Mac. Unless, of course, you have stuff you do not want them to see ;)
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Actually, I don't have a genuine Apple store - I have several resellers, one of which sells exclusively Apple products. That's the one I'm planning on going to. I'll have to ring them and see if they'll transfer my library over. The rest of stuff I don't care about, but it'd be a shame to have to re-buy all my music.
 
when i bought my new mac, i just connected to the old one via wireless and copied my tunes over. this was not the fastest method but was the easiest.
 
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