A few questions before I *might* convert

I woulk like to buy a good quality notebook, and the MBP got my eye. I do wonder how easy or difficult it is to convert, since I'm a power linux user. Why do I consider converting? Linux hardware issues are a constant pain and the idea of a complete package in terms of both hardware and software is appealing. I do have some questions though.

1) How compatible is OS X with other systems? When I connect it to my home network, can I share files with eg. Linux? The way files are stored on OS X, with actually two files for every single file on Linux/Windows, why do they do that and does that impose limitations?

2) Do I have to pay extra for software updates? When Leopard comes out, will I have to pay extra for it? What about security updates? Will I have to pay for every software that I need in addition to what's installed?

3) How easy/difficult is it to take backups on OS X?

4) How solid is the MBP? Will it last me for at least 3 yrs? In the store I have to pay +400 USD to extend my intl warranty from 1 yr to 3 yrs. Is that an indication that Apple is not very confident about their own product?

5) How's the quality of the 15,4" display?

 

Connecting my Mac to my home Windows network was a breeze. All I had to do was plug the LAN cable from my switch into my Mac, and OS X automatically searched for the computers connected to the network and I was able to browse through them in Finder immediately afterwards.
Do note that due to file system incompatibilities, OS X will not be able to write to Windows NTFS (and perhaps some Linux file systems). But reading from them should be fine.

Not for software updates, like security patches etc, but yes for new OS upgrades like Leopard.
And it will depend on the software itself whether it is free or not. There will always be free alternatives available online.

OS X currently does not come with a built in backup program (at least none that I know of), although Leopard will introduce Time Machine, which might be a very good backup program. Currently, you might want to look up programs like Deja Vu and iBackup for backing up your data.

Depends on your needs really. If all you do is browse the web and write text files, your MBP can probably last you many more years than if you use it to process batch data or do 3D modelling. In terms of build quality, the MBP is very good. $400 does sound a bit high - I got my 3 years warranty for free - so you might want to browse around and see if you can get a better deal.

High. You can go see it in an Apple retailer and judge for yourself.

 

1) I'd say it is ok. It is not Linux though, bear that in mind. You can use NFS and SMB shares. If you need to use NTFS, there has been a port of fuse for os x. If you install X11 and some package management system you'll probably find a lot of useful tools.
2) While being UNIX-based, OS X is not Open Source. There is a decent amount of FOSS for OS X, but there is a lot of shareware/paid/closed software as well. As I said, it is not Linux, the cultures of the userbases are very different.
3) depends, you could do a bash/perl script using tar.gzipped files and it will work just like Linux (and even wrap it up with Automator or Apple Script)... as said OS X does not includes a nice graphical backup utility for the time being.
4) I understand Apple notebooks are generally of good quality, but that doesn't mean they won't have problems. Apple Care is desirable if you can afford it, and I agree it is too expensive.
5) quite good, I'd prefer the glossy.

 

It's just like connecting on any OS. They use standardizations, so networking is OS independant. However, keep in mind that OS X cannot write onto NTFS drives (unless they just got it working, as they've done in Linux). But it can read and write on any file system if you have Samba or shared directories setup on your network.

You have to pay for new OS's just like Windows. Updates are obviously going to be free.

Fairly easy. Theres easy/free software that will allow you to backup drives. As far as making a ghost type image... I dunno. Theres not need to in OS X. You don't have to reformat as often as you do in Windows. But I have never tried ghosting the drive... So I'm not 100% sure on that

Thats how all manufacturers are. 1 year is a standard warranty. You pay for anything longer than that. Most people use their Macs for longer than 3 years. I know people that are still using 5-6 year old ibooks and powerbooks with Tiger. It's generally suggested to ALWAYS get an extended warranty with a laptop. If something happens after your warranty expired, it's generally expensive and hard to fix, unlike desktops.

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Bloody amazing. I have yet to see a better glossy screen than this. However, I'm not big on the matte screens. I do graphic design, but I'm not a pro and thus, don't need that bit higher color accuracy and such. The glossy... is simply amazing.