leonAzul
Illuminator
I would be very skeptical. How is the drive formatted (NTFS, FAT32), what is the file type of the movies, and how are they encoded? Do they have any sort of platform-specific DRM or encryption "protecting" them?
Switching to Mac
- Thread starter arthwollipot
- Start date
I would be very skeptical. How is the drive formatted (NTFS, FAT32), what is the file type of the movies, and how are they encoded? Do they have any sort of platform-specific DRM or encryption "protecting" them?
coalesce
Illuminator
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Why would he say that your movies would be unplayable on a Mac? Are the movies some sort of obscure file format? Are they the work of Satan? On my Mac at home, I can play Quicktime movies, WMVs, FLVs, RealPlayer movies, the works. If the issue is one of connectivity between your external hard drive and your soon-to-be-iMac, then you could always use a small flash drive to transfer the movie over to the new computer.
Michael
elgarak
Illuminator
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Very doubtful. Most likely you can.
As has been asked, what is the file format of the hard drive, how is it connected, what format are the films in, and is there some kind of DRM on them (where did you get them)?
leonAzul
Illuminator
This is still a pretty good "one-stop" portal for Apple news and support.
http://macsurfer.com/?go=tsites
MacFixIt used to be one of the best -- the old threads are still around somewhere, if you can find them -- but CNET has turned that site into a collection of consumer-oriented "reviews" and blogs, rather than a support community.
IMHO one of the best for current Mac issues is at Arstechnica. The folks at Low End Mac are also very knowledgeable and helpful. TidBITS is more an information exchange than a support community, but also worth checking out.
Without knowing more specifics -- the problem could be anything from a genuine bug in Mail.app, file system corruption, impending drive failure, incorrect account settings, or *gasp* Yahoo!'s implementation of POP -- it would be really difficult to recommend a solution for your particular problem.
leonAzul
Illuminator
And to clarify, the DRM would be the only "show-stopper" I can think of that would require you to burn them to DVD before the could be viewed on another machine. Even so, it's easy enough to rip them from your own video discs, sans DRM. Apple themselves have (quietly) recommended this method for making backups of older copy-protected files bought at the iTunes Store.
ETA
A limited number of burns to audio CD for personal use from within the iTunes application is explicitly allowed under the licensing terms of Apple's DRM.
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That's interesting. I bought a MB Pro a few years ago, and for reasons I can't remember, also bought the home edition of MS Office for MAC.
Comcast is my ISP, and I was used to using an e-mail program. But there was a known bug with Comcast and Mail--it kept asking for my password. I started using the MS Entourage mail program, and it worked fine, and has continued to work well.
Don't know much about it, but Thunderbird is MAC compatible.
Uncle Otto
Critical Thinker
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I suppose it could be something with Yahoo, but it works just fine for a long period of time and then suddenly-------pht! I'll have to look at those sites you listed, thanks.
I also have Comcast, but I like Yahoo mail's bells and whistles better. I don't use the Comcast email address for much of anything. Thunderbird and Eudora both have Mac friendly versions. I may look at one of those if I can't get this issue fixed.
elgarak
Illuminator
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1) Audio files you are buying right now from the iTunes store are no longer DRM'ed and can be burned unlimited.
2) Video files are still DRM'ed, but not copy protected. Apple's DRM never included any form of copy protection except the burning to audio CDs and video DVDs via iTunes. You can move them around, copy them to external hard drives, burn them to data DVDs (not DVDs that play on a common DVD player), whatever. They play always [with the Apple video players], as long as the computer you use is associated with your iTunes store account. Up to five computers can be associated at the same time. Non-computer devices (Apple TV, iPhone, iPod, iPad) are unlimited, since the video files have to go through iTunes on one of the five allowed computers anyway. No need to rip anything. You can back up the files easily. [Caveat: I have encountered some files that do not play with Quicktime X, but do play with Quicktime 7 and iTunes. Apple knows about this issue, and assures me that this should not be, but they don't know yet what caused the bug.]
Besides, the "burn'n'rip" method only worked for DRM'ed audio files, as video files cannot be burned to DVDs via iTunes. But you can burn them to DVD-ROMs, and play the copy directly from the DVD-ROM on an allowed computer (Mac or PC).
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ThatSoundAgain
Graduate Poster
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I remember the hubbub around the release of the first unibody MBPs. Back then, you had the ludicrous situation that to get FireWire in a 13" portable, you had to buy the old polycarbonate one.
Now that's reversed; all the pro Macbook models have FireWire, the non-pro models don't.
leonAzul
Illuminator
That caused a lot of confusion. The first 13" aluminum laptop in 2008 was internally accounted as MacBook 5,1, even though to everyone else it looked like an MBP. A year later practically the same laptop was then introduced as an MBP with FireWire and the Polycarbonate lost it.
Perhaps they were testing the waters to see if the market would accept integrated (shared RAM) graphics in a "Pro" model -- or perhaps they just messed up and made a graceful recovery.
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Damien Evans
Up The Irons
As an aside, I can't understand why anyone would use the Itunes store. Why on earth would you pay for lossy 256 k AAC?
elgarak
Illuminator
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Why not? I can't hear the difference (the number of people that can is very slim), why waste space (if I want to own the music)?
Besides, what are the (legal) alternatives? My music taste is somewhat weird, and most online stores that offer better quality do not carry music I like. That leaves CDs, which have a distinct disadvantage: I have to wait to get them. Either I have to go to a store, or wait until the package is delivered. Downloading is instant gratification: I get the music near instantaneous.
iTunes is successful on the instant gratification effect: It's easy to find music, has a large library, easy to get it in sufficiently good quality and instant incorporation into your collection with metadata and artwork.
There's of course amazon. You know why I don't use it much? It's the same quality, nearly the same price, and one of the more important points: It's not as nice, by far, to search through their catalog as it is on iTunes. Key information is missing or hard to find. Test listening is disruptive. The experience is not as polished, with no benefits over what I would get from iTunes.
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leonAzul
Illuminator
Damien Evans
Up The Irons
I've never met anyone who couldn't.
As for space, My copy of Heaven And Hell's The Devil You Know in FLAC takes up 280 megabytes. On a modern hard drive that's almost nothing.
Which reminds me, does Itunes recognise FLAC yet?
leonAzul
Illuminator
The same day when someone ports OGG to MOV.
The APIs are publicly available. Go for it.
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arthwollipot
Observer of Phenomena, Pronouns: he/him
Huh. You're right. I wonder where I got that idea from.
arthwollipot
Observer of Phenomena, Pronouns: he/him
I should have the budget available early in April. I'm going to get the 13" MBPro, a Magic Mouse, iWork and one of the fancy neoprene slipcovers they have in the Mac store.
I'm so excited!
I'm so excited!
leonAzul
Illuminator
I should have the budget available early in April. I'm going to get the 13" MBPro, a Magic Mouse, iWork and one of the fancy neoprene slipcovers they have in the Mac store.
I'm so excited!
Just a suggestion: you might find the Magic Mouse unnecessary, given the curiously addictive MacBook Pro Trackpad. You have been warned.