Windows to Apple

[Paddy]

I apologise if this is a bit of 'steam of consciousness' post, but I want to know what likely issues I'm likely to come up against.
We need a new laptop at home, for storage of music, photos, also for the children to do their school homework.
We crrently have an almost-useless 100gb XP laptop, (too slow, almost full) backed up with a Seagate external hard drive, and pretty-much-useless Lenovo laptop, also backed up to an external hard drive, plus an iPad Air and two iPhones.
I really really don't want to use any more Windows things any more. I want to go to Apple, and my wife is of the opinion that whatever it costs, if it stops me ranting at the crapness, do it. So it has to be Apple.
I need a DVD/CD drive, because the children keep getting given CDs, and they have their own stereo, so whatever they have, I rip.
I want central wireless storage, so it doesn't slow the machine down. We don't watch much tv, but we have a Humax freesat box connected to the web.
My thinking is a 13" Macbook pro (non retina display, as these are the ones that come with an optical drive) with 1tb storage, with a 2tb Airport Time Machine.
So... questions (and if all the above makes me sound like I know what I'm doing, don't be fooled):

Will the Macbook (FAT or HFS+) read the Seagate hard drives (NTFS), so that the stuff on them can then be stored on the Time Machine? I know the Time machine doesn't do NTFS at all. Once I've got all the stuff moved, I can then reformat the hard drives to attach to the Time Machine as extra wireless storage... apparently.
Will the Time Machine function as a big central storage hub, accessible by the phones and the iPad (when in range) as well?
The Time Machine doesn't talk to Apple TV, either, which might have been an option for video etc. I know I can still get Apple tv, and have the laptop wirelessly attached to it, but I'm not really sure we'd use it.

Also, the Time Machine is a router as well, so do I attach it to the phone line... ? is it that simple?

Will the Apple versions of Word, Excel and Powerpoint be sufficient?

Is it worth spending £100 on Apple one-to-one?

all comments gratefully received.

Paddy

[kungfugerbil]

The only comment I'd offer is to ensure you retain a windows laptop going forward. We are an apple house but I still on occasion have to fire up the windows machine for compatibility with old files, hardware and applications.

Use the opportunity to throw a fresh lightweight install of the OS on the windows machine(s) and they'll be perfectly serviceable.

The rest of the plan seems reasonable, but macs are also prone to bloat as more applications and data are thrown at them so try to limit the kid's installs :)

[Phil Lee]

You should look at the Apple Refurbished Store at http://store.apple.com/uk/browse/hom...ac?mco=MTE2NzY to see if they have your chosen configuration in stock. Stock changes all the time so you may not see it straight away. All my Macs have come as refurbs and all have been good as new. Personally I would go for an SSD equipped machine and buy an external CD/DVD for ripping. The performance the SSD brings is enormous.

The Time Capsule is a router but does not have a modem built in. You will need an ADSL or cable modem as well (which you probably already have). You can also get a Time Capsule from the refurb store. They have the previous generation 2TB model for £149 and the current generation at £209.

In standard configuration, OS X can read from NTFS drives but can't write to them. You can install software extensions to allow writing but I would assume that's not something you'd be doing. You will be able to connect an NTFS drive to the MacBook and move the data to the Time Capsule.

[toohuge]

The time capsule is designed for back up use and not for constant data streaming. Apple recommend against using it for that as the software and hardware are not designed for constant access, so a nas would be a better solution. That's why the time capsule doesn't operate with the Apple TV.

As said, OSx will read the ntfs to pull the data off, but then you'll need to reformat the drive to write to it.

It sounds like hassle, but switching to Apple is well worth it, we've got both apple and windows (up to 8.1) and it drives me insane, we use apple 99% of the time.

Chris

[Paddy]

Useful- thanks.
One thing I probably should have mentioned is that I can get the whole lot interest-free at the moment, something I'm not is offered on the refurbed kit.
"Personally I would go for an SSD equipped machine and buy an external CD/DVD for ripping. The performance the SSD brings is enormous."

What is SSD? That would incur an added cost of 160-odd quid, as the retina-screen ones are more expensive, plus an external CD/DVD... is it worth it?

[Wolfie]

Does it have to be a laptop?

I got a Mac mini for £450 from Dubai (top of the range I7 with 1tb storage)

It does all the storage bits that a time machine does and can be your computer... Simply get a £100 benq screen from Amazon as well as £20 for keyboard and mouse and then away you go...

The kids use it for their homework and it stores and backs up everything from our numerous iPads and iPhones...

Maybe worth consideration?

Ben

[Fitzer]

What is SSD? That would incur an added cost of 160-odd quid, as the retina-screen ones are more expensive, plus an external CD/DVD... is it worth it?

SSD is a solid state device, like a giant memory card or USB stick, makes launching of programs, data transfer etc much much quicker than a spinning hard drive.

[Paddy]

It does have to be a laptop really, as we use it in so many different rooms (well, four, but you get the idea)...

I'll mention the SSD thing to the committee, might be worth consideration, especially as the ripping isn't used as often.

[Phil Lee]

Upgrading from a spinning hard disk to a solid state hard disk (SSD) will probably give more of a performance increase in every day use than any other component. For example, startup times go from around a minute to 5-10 seconds.

[HappyJack]

Other issue to be aware of is that the IT consultant you used to deal with will at best stop sending you Christmas cards and at worst go bust, due to lack of business; you won't seem him very often at all with the switch to Mac...

[Alboy]

Im going to follow this with extreme interest as i am literally just thinking of doing almost exactly the same, thank you for bringing it up!

[soundood]

It does have to be a laptop really, as we use it in so many different rooms (well, four, but you get the idea)...

I'll mention the SSD thing to the committee, might be worth consideration, especially as the ripping isn't used as often.

Upgrading from a spinning hard disk to a solid state hard disk (SSD) will probably give more of a performance increase in every day use than any other component. For example, startup times go from around a minute to 5-10 seconds.

and more importantly, in a laptop power consumption is king, and an SSD uses a fraction of the power a hard drive does

[Si]

The only comment I'd offer is to ensure you retain a windows laptop going forward.

When I switched from Windows to Apple a few years ago, I retained a Windows laptop "going forward" due to similar concerns. I have not needed to boot it up once yet.

[Thewatchbloke]

Instead of retaining a laptop with windows on it, install Vmware fusion. This will allow you to run windows in a window on your mac for those situations where a mac won't run a legacy windows application. Contrary to all the comments about how OSX is the best thing since sliced bread, it can be frustrating re-learning a lot of the commands you're used to with windows, you'll miss some of windows functionality in particular with the context menu, and speaking personally I've experienced some software issues and lock ups, random reboots and an irritating recurring track pad disconnect with it (not due to low batteries before any evangelists chime in ). Of course this is balanced with the fact that it's a very usable system, has some very nice features and on the whole takes a lot less faffing about to remain secure. The fact I'm still using it is testament to something!

[kungfugerbil]

When I switched from Windows to Apple a few years ago, I retained a Windows laptop "going forward" due to similar concerns. I have not needed to boot it up once yet.

One's results may indeed vary :). In my case it was music production hardware and applications that didn't play well with Mac or for that matter with virtual Windows.

If you already have the hardware as the OP does, it's daft not to retain it - it doesn't cost anything and you might find it useful.

[Mr Curta]

I have recently made the jump from Windows to Apple and went for a 13" Macbook Pro with Retina display and SSD. I did not like the look of Windows 8 and needed something fast for video editing. We have retained our old Windows PCs for the kids to use (not letting them get at this!), and for anything that might need a CD/DVD. I have to add that a major contributing factor in the decision was a good discount obtained through my children's school.

I can't comment on many of your questions, but for me the Mac has so far been an absolute joy, lovely display and very fast. The 'Office' style software is intuitive to use and compatible with Microsoft file formats so it was simple to import existing data. I have had to resort to web searches occasionally to find out how to do something, but there have always been helpful answers. No regrets.

[Cookie]

I started the switch to macs around 3 years ago - started with a MacBook Air and kept a windows desktop. Now I have an old windows laptop for plugging into my car ecu and the rest is mac. The SSD point is well made, I have a Mac mini, MacBook Air MacBook Pro, all equipped with ssd, and the start-up time is lightening fast on all three. I have a cheap USB DVD writer and a NAS drive to cope with all my dvd/cd needs and shared storage.

Unless you are a highly sophisticated user of the office siute you'll probably be fine with the mac versions. They are re-writes, not ports, so some functions and facilities are different but the core set is there.

My advice is do it - life becomes so much easier and you won't look back.

[rfrazier]

I used to use only an SSD, but found that I ran out of room on it. So, before I shelled out on a larger SSD, I decided to try using my smaller SSD as a cache (bcache is in the linux kernel), and a regular, slow, 2.5" drive as the backing drive. I started out with a read only cache, then, when I gained some confidence with it, started using it read/write. I've been using it now for a while (more than 6 months). There must be a performance hit somewhere, but it isn't noticeable in use. I think that the combination is great: really fast seeks and boots, without paying big bucks for space. So, if Apple have something like that available, you might want to give it a thought.

Best wishes,
Bob

[Cookie]

Think they call it the Fusion drive. Sadly it comes the the apple price tag :(

[Bradt Pitt]

This is a great thread. I'm considering making the switch also - all very helpful advice, thanks :)

[AndyMilts]

Instead of retaining a laptop with windows on it, install Vmware fusion. This will allow you to run windows in a window on your mac for those situations where a mac won't run a legacy windows application. Contrary to all the comments about how OSX is the best thing since sliced bread, it can be frustrating re-learning a lot of the commands you're used to with windows, you'll miss some of windows functionality in particular with the context menu, and speaking personally I've experienced some software issues and lock ups, random reboots and an irritating recurring track pad disconnect with it (not due to low batteries before any evangelists chime in ). Of course this is balanced with the fact that it's a very usable system, has some very nice features and on the whole takes a lot less faffing about to remain secure. The fact I'm still using it is testament to something!

Do this on my Mac Pro and works great, I would say better than on a std windows box.

Mac mini is a great option, have one linked to TV in the office great screen, kids can watch any content on there, plus CDs DVDs iplayer, YouTube ect great for editing pictures. Wireless trackpad and keyboard, Plus with a couple iPads around the place not the latest ones.

Mac book never gets used except my me for work stuff, thought the kids would do homework on it but they use the mini or the ipads

[spaceslug]

Upgrading from a spinning hard disk to a solid state hard disk (SSD) will probably give more of a performance increase in every day use than any other component. For example, startup times go from around a minute to 5-10 seconds.

+1

The difference between SSDs and traditional HDDs is astonishing. Smaller ones are getting quite cheap now and they can be good way to inject new life into an old laptop. Just a work of caution though, as I've experienced more failures of SSDs than I have of HDDs over the years. Stick to brands and make sure you have backups.

[Snoodles]

I just had a SSD put in my 2008 Mac as I was thinking of upgrading! Not cheap @£400+ but it has transformed the performance and like a new bit of kit! Gone from 74MB/sec to 270MB/sec...

[SockToy]

- I need a DVD/CD drive, because the children keep getting given CDs, and they have their own stereo, so whatever they have, I rip.


Get the retina. It's much much nicer. You can get an external superdrive for 40-50 quid off ebay, and you wont be carrying the weight of the drive when you're not using it.

If you're worried about speed, and not about spend, get the SSD, and then use network storage for everything big. I have a 512gb SSD which is more than enough for most stuff, then several TB on the network.

- I want central wireless storage, so it doesn't slow the machine down. We don't watch much tv, but we have a Humax freesat box connected to the web.

I have a time capsule, and eventually ended up buying a 4 disk synology -a network available NAS for the mac's to use. The time capsule is great for backups, but I wouldnt really recommend it for storage; it's a single disk that can fail, and if you start with external enclosures you're just getting more noise, heat and power. Of course, if it's a case of wanting to reutilise whaty ou already have to minimise spend, that may be the best case.

- Will the Macbook (FAT or HFS+) read the Seagate hard drives (NTFS), so that the stuff on them can then be stored on the Time Machine? I know the Time machine doesn't do NTFS at all. Once I've got all the stuff moved, I can then reformat the hard drives to attach to the Time Machine as extra wireless storage... apparently.

Yes, though I dont think it can *write* to them by default. I have parallels installed, which lets you run windows on your mac, for the odd occasion you need some windows only software. This also lets you write to the drives.

- Will the Time Machine function as a big central storage hub, accessible by the phones and the iPad (when in range) as well?
The Time Machine doesn't talk to Apple TV, either, which might have been an option for video etc. I know I can still get Apple tv, and have the laptop wirelessly attached to it, but I'm not really sure we'd use it.

No. The phones and iPad will have to use apples 'iCloud' for shared storage - though in iOS 8, it's changing to iDrive, which may be more akin to what you want. Unfortunately, it means trusting apple with your data, paying an annual fee, and using the internet to access. Not great. Some apps will integrate with dropbox, which is basically the same thing.

- Also, the Time Machine is a router as well, so do I attach it to the phone line... ? is it that simple?

Not even remotely. It's a router for the US, where they have separate modems & routers; in the UK both are in one device, and the Time Capsule does NOT have a modem. You'd have to buy another device to use it as a router, and it's largely more faff than it's worth.

- Will the Apple versions of Word, Excel and Powerpoint be sufficient?

Yes. Assuming you mean the Apple compatible versions of MS Word, EXcel, Powerpoint. They interoperate just fine. Microsoft make apple versions, if you see what I mean.

I havent tried pages, keynote and numbers, which are the apple made clones.

[jjgreenwood]

While I like Apple products and own a Macbook Pro myself,but the windows laptops out there at similar price point are equally as nice as the Apple product. If you are invested in Windows already then perhaps a nice ultrabook may be more sensible.

http://www.dell.com/uk/p/xps-13-9333...n&s=dhs&~ck=mn

This combined with one of these:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/WD-4TB-Cloud...s=my+book+live

Is a fairly nice and sensible solution. If you really want to go Apple then the WD can be used with that too I believe. In my experience its quite easy to go from windows to Apple but more problematic going back the other way. Unfortunately the trend for very slim laptops means most come without a disc drive but these are available very cheaply as a plug in device.

[Paddy]

Thanks all for the comments.

I'm really not keen on the financial outlay of the SSD- lovely, I'm sure, but too much money. There is a limit, and it's somewhere £1300- £1400.
Similarly, the retina display is expense that isn't strictly necessary... weight is not an issue, this is something that will go room to room, not travel. Wherever we use the laptop, it will probably be plugged in to the mains.

The WD thing looks great, but reading about the issues people have had, I glaze over- this is why I want to go to Apple... over the last six to eight years I have developed a deep, passionate hatred of Windows. It seems to be designed to keep IT departments in work. All the Apple things that I have that just work. I don't need to be a tailor to wear trousers, and I don't want to be a techie to use a laptop. I will avoid Microsoft if I possibly can, and go towards products that are plug and play. This supposed to be clobber to make life better, not cause more problems.

Why is this so difficult? I realise with anything, there is no one-size-fits-all solution, but I can't be the only one...
The iPad uses iCloud already. Seems to work fine, apart from some smart playlists. (I'd use it on my phone, too, but for playing music (when away from wifi) stored in the cloud, I need an all-you-can-eat data package, which ony Three offer. Orange is the best Mobile signal where we live, by a long way (like no real mobile signal at home)... but that's a side issue)

So is iCloud the solution I'm looking for, and do I need the Time Capsule if I subscribe to it?
If I don't need the Time Capsule, I might get the Retina display machine and a separate optical drive...

I should have mentioned that we will add a printer too, eventually- which will live in the study, so needs to be wireless too.

[Paddy]

-

- I want central wireless storage, so it doesn't slow the machine down. We don't watch much tv, but we have a Humax freesat box connected to the web.

I have a time capsule, and eventually ended up buying a 4 disk synology -a network available NAS for the mac's to use. The time capsule is great for backups, but I wouldnt really recommend it for storage; it's a single disk that can fail, and if you start with external enclosures you're just getting more noise, heat and power. Of course, if it's a case of wanting to reutilise whaty ou already have to minimise spend, that may be the best case.

-.

Will this mean that the Time Capsule is unnecessary?

[Thewatchbloke]

It works as a time capsule, as well as having a host of other uses. I do the same with my QNAP NAS box, it's used as a time capsule, file dump, remote access, streaming server etc etc.

[Paddy]

It works as a time capsule, as well as having a host of other uses. I do the same with my QNAP NAS box, it's used as a time capsule, file dump, remote access, streaming server etc etc.

So, at the risk of labouring the point, should I be getting a WD My Cloud Mirror instead of the Time Capsule? What would be the better choice? If the Time Capsule is only one disc, isn't it risky to use it as both back up and storage? (isn't that its intended use?)

I apologise if this is getting boring. I've done well to pursue it this far- normally I glaze over and put up with the crap I already have, but it's becoming unuseable.

Anyone?

[Nogbad The Bad]

So, at the risk of labouring the point, should I be getting a WD My Cloud Mirror instead of the Time Capsule? What would be the better choice? If the Time Capsule is only one disc, isn't it risky to use it as both back up and storage? (isn't that its intended use?)

I apologise if this is getting boring. I've done well to pursue it this far- normally I glaze over and put up with the crap I already have, but it's becoming unuseable.

Anyone?

One backup disk isn't too clever.

I backup to a timecapsule and use two USB3 disks ( which are cycled monthly ) to do a backup via carbon copy cloner in the middle go the night.

[Paddy]

One backup disk isn't too clever.

I backup to a timecapsule and use two USB3 disks ( which are cycled monthly ) to do a backup via carbon copy cloner in the middle go the night.

And they're relatively inexpensive as an add-on, presumably? ...just attach to the timecapsule and do their thing?

Many thanks, btw- sounds like The Solution!

[Zimmer]

It's all down to what you want to do and what you want to spend.

Personally, I think the SSD is worth it, as for retina take a look at retina/non-retina screens side by side in a shop and decide for yourself. Like a previous poster I too would leave out the time capsule and get a NAS instead. It will become your "do it all centre", take care of backups, be your media server for all your devices etc.

[Paddy]

ok, for those following this thread, I just spoke to Apple.
iphone and the iPad will only talk wirelessly to the Macbook. They won't talk to the timecapsule. They will read from external hard drives, but the downside to this is that the timecapsule only has one USB2 port, and it means I have to alter all the iTunes library settings, plus the iPad is iCloud, not the Laptop.
The timecapsule is really only a wireless backup facility, and in that I will probably still get one.
However, because of the limitations of iTunes I will still have all my music on the laptop, and all the photos, and no 'central wireless storage' because it isn't really possible.
I don't want to go down the NAS route because I want to move the new machine about, which means (because backup routines from ext HDs aren't 'sticky') all the routines will need altering. Also, I have been told by numerous people that NAS and iTunes don't play nicely together and the iTunes library is best kept on the macbook.

So I do need a laptop with a LOT of storage, and I do need a timecapsule to back everything up. I could use a My Cloud but I'm unsure whether it will work well enough, and the whole point of this exercise is to make our lives easier.

[Nogbad The Bad]

...just attach to the timecapsule and do their thing?

Nope, if you attach the USB to the timecapsule and the timecapsule dies you've lost everything.

The USB disk is connected to my new Mac Pro and Carbon Copy Cloner backs up everything, mounting and unmounting the disk when required.

The iPhone & iPad needs to be backed up via iTunes Wi-Fi Sync, kicked off from the phone or Mac, the backup is stored on the Mac then backed by your main backup.

Are you up to speed with how to connect a timecapsule to ADSL, I'm guessing you've got ADSL not cable.

You'll need an ADSL modem and set up the timecapsule to connect to the internet via PPPOE.

Phone line --> ADSL Modem --> timecapsule

http://www.draytek.co.uk/products/business/vigor-120 << ADSL2 & ADSL2+ only not for FTTC

http://www.draytek.co.uk/support/gui...textreme-setup

[SockToy]

My iTunes library is on my NAS. Tunespan makes this easy enough. But fair enough - do what works for you. Good luck!

[Paddy]

My iTunes library is on my NAS. Tunespan makes this easy enough. But fair enough - do what works for you. Good luck!

That's lovely... so I could use a My Cloud Mirror to do storage and back ups, assuming it all works?

Right now I don't know what works for me, I only know what I want as a user. Info like that is great. I'm assuming there's something similar for iPhoto... Now I just need to work out whether to get the timecapsule and do separate backups myself as well, or something like a My Cloud Mirror to do everything.
Thank you for taking the time.

[Paddy]

Nope, if you attach the USB to the timecapsule and the timecapsule dies you've lost everything.

The USB disk is connected to my new Mac Pro and Carbon Copy Cloner backs up everything, mounting and unmounting the disk when required.

The iPhone & iPad needs to be backed up via iTunes Wi-Fi Sync, kicked off from the phone or Mac, the backup is stored on the Mac then backed by your main backup.

Are you up to speed with how to connect a timecapsule to ADSL, I'm guessing you've got ADSL not cable.

You'll need an ADSL modem and set up the timecapsule to connect to the internet via PPPOE.

Phone line --> ADSL Modem --> timecapsule

http://www.draytek.co.uk/products/business/vigor-120 << ADSL2 & ADSL2+ only not for FTTC

http://www.draytek.co.uk/support/gui...textreme-setup

We have a TalkTalk broadband box- the Timecapsule is plugged into that I assume?
(No clue what PPPOE is- do I need to know this stuff?)

[Nogbad The Bad]

We have a TalkTalk broadband box- the Timecapsule is plugged into that I assume?
(No clue what PPPOE is- do I need to know this stuff?)

The timecapsule isn't just a disk attached to the network.

It's a router with an ethernet WAN interface, 802.11ac WiFi & 3 ethernet ports.

It's quite costly if your just using it as disk storage & backup, by connecting to the TalkTalk broadband router, plus the existing router won't support the speeds & range the an 802.11ac device will.

A new Mac should come with 802.11ac WiFi.

https://www.apple.com/uk/airport-time-capsule/specs/

https://www.apple.com/uk/compare-wifi-models/

[Paddy]

So would I be correct in saying that the time capsule is probably better for me than a My Cloud Mirror? Better speeds than the TalkTalk box, plus storage and backup, whereas the My Cloud Mirror is not a router?
Do I have that right? I'm still looking at most of the stuff we have being on the laptop, which will have 1tb storage.

[Nogbad The Bad]

The My Cloud box looks like its ethernet only, if your TalkTalk routers WiFi isn't 802.11ac your backups over WiFi will take longer compared to using a Timecapsule over WiFi, but generally its the first backup that takes ages, additional backups are just files that have changed.

If you connect the Timecapsule or the My Cloud via ethernet the backups will take exactly the same amount of time.

[Mr Curta]

One backup disk isn't too clever.

I backup to a timecapsule and use two USB3 disks ( which are cycled monthly ) to do a backup via carbon copy cloner in the middle go the night.

I do something similar - and always keep one of the USB disks in a different location (usually a fire-retardant safe at my office).

[Paddy]

sorry to be ressurrecting an old thread...

and every time I speak to the Apple dudes it gets more confusing, but that's another story.

So the current plan:

13" MacBook Pro, SSD, 128gb storage. Retina display.
USB 3.0 2tb external HDD for music photos, etc, as the whole set up is probably only moving room-to-room only. Will need library tweaks in iTunes, but do-able. Sub- £100.
2tb Time Capsule, to be back up, having a look at 'back to my mac'-for options on remote access, if it's even necessary.
External optical drive for ripping cd's. Twenty quid.
Important things like the photo collection can also be stored on a separate HDD or pen drives offsite.
And eventually a wireless printer/scanner.

New issues:
We intend this laptop to replace two laptops. My wife and I both have Iphones. Mine will be 'Itunes Match'ed soon, as all my music is in iCloud (more redundancy as far as backups, it will be mirrored by the USB external hard drive)... Mrs Paddy syncs hers by wire, but obviously we'd like to share a consolidated music library, all in the ext HDD, and hopefully iCloud.

So what can we do about both being able to use our Apple id's on one machine, but both have access to the whole music etc library on the ext HDD... has anyone done this before?

[Andyg]

Windows 8.1 is the answer. Go touch screen and SSD. Sorted!!

[Bravo73]

Windows is never the answer.

[Mr.D]

Windows is never the answer.

I usually dual boot my macbook pros with a windows install. Best of both worlds.

However the latest one I have I didn't bother.

Windows is fine on a workstation ( I actually don't like mac workstations as the OS is not quite as open and hackable as windows).

For a laptop , macbook pro every time. Never had a windows laptop that I didn't want to ditch after 1 month.

[PJ S]

So what can we do about both being able to use our Apple id's on one machine, but both have access to the whole music etc library on the ext HDD... has anyone done this before?

Separate accounts, shared iTunes Library enabled in iTunes Preferences, and either log out/log in or enable Fast User Switching under Sys Prefs/Users & Groups.
Just make sure to always have the external drive connected before launching iTunes.

[Andyg]

Windows is never the answer.

So you are tell me that the vast majority of FTSE and DOW corporations have it all wrong and you are right?

Ha ha!!

Now if you had suggested Linux as a solution then maybe I might have agreed.

[Paddy]

Separate accounts, shared iTunes Library enabled in iTunes Preferences, and either log out/log in or enable Fast User Switching under Sys Prefs/Users & Groups.
Just make sure to always have the external drive connected before launching iTunes.

Great stuff- thanks for that. The drive will be pretty much permanently connected.
For those still watching this thread, we've ordered the MacBook Pro, Time Capsule, a USB 3.0 ext hard drive and a Samsung DVD drive. My wife's brother is an early adopter of all things Apple, so I'm hoping he can help us to get things set up.
Apparently, IOS 8 will allow family members to share resources much more easily, so I'm looking forward to plugging things in and migrating files. I don't know quite how to get to the end solution, but I know each little piece of the jigsaw is do-able.

Many thanks to all who helped.
Bye bye Windows, good riddance.

[Bravo73]

So you are tell me that the vast majority of FTSE and DOW corporations have it all wrong and you are right?

I think you'll find that the OP isn't a 'FTSE or DOW corporation'.

[bitfield]

I think you'll find that the OP isn't a 'FTSE or DOW corporation'.

Wow, I didn't see this thread going downhill quickly.