Overrated though. You never need them.

jeralyn, pretty much any portable hd should do you. i use both a pleomax 40g and a western digital 120g. you shouldn't require any special back-up application (i didn't), just do a "save as" for whatever file it is, and save it to the external drive.

the western digital drive also comes with a synchronizing application, for start-up menus, favorites lists, email, etc. in case you should have occasion to reformat the internal hd, you just plug the wd external in, and re-set all this stuff, without having to do it manually. pretty nifty actually.

You know how you feel when a client ignores your advice to exercise his right to remain silent?  This is how I feel if people ignore backups - you really really feel for them, but there's nothing you can do to prevent the disaster you see looming except pray for luck.

Prosoft has a good reputation, and lots of people like Data Backup 3.  (Did I mention that the book linked above includes a 50%-off coupon for Data Backup?  I did now.)  The book mentions about a dozen other options and in what cases they'd be good choices.

As for external hard drives, I've only been using AC-powered models, but I get them from Other World Computing because they have FireWire 800 interfaces at decent prices, making my backups faster.  The MacBook doesn't have a FireWire 800 port, but it has FireWire (400) and USB 2.0, and it's sometimes worth $10 to get both ports so you have an option about where to mount the drive.  Their page for "portable" hard drives (meaning bus-powered, so you plug them into the computer but not into the wall) is here.  Note that bus-powered drives are slower and more expensive than self-powered (AC power adapter) drives, so if you're only going to use it for backup (leaving it at home), a self-powered drive may be more economical and faster.

Note that both kinds of drives from OWC come with an OEM copy of Prosoft Data Backup already.  I'm a satisfied OWC customer, and I've had good experiences with Prosoft although we do not use their product in our own workflow (we back up multiple computers, so we use Retrospect, which is kind of like the 2nd Amendment in that you know you need it but you really wish a lot of it was just a bit more modern).

AppleCare is a wise investment for anything that you regularly transport or that you might not be able to afford repairing otherwise.  We get AppleCare on portable devices but not on desktop computers, for the most part.  (If money is fairly free when purchasing a big desktop computer, we'll sometimes get AppleCare with it.  We definitely do if we're buying an expensive display to go with it, but that tends to only happen once every 5-7 years.)

An ounce of prevention goes a long way in these cases, which is why a good protective bag is every bit as important as an extended warranty.  (Maybe more so, since no extended warranty covers "misuse" like dropping the thing on the floor, and companies like Apple are notorious for trying to refuse warranty service if there's any sign of such misuse, whether it's related to the problems you demonstrate or not.)

We don't run Windows here so I have no opinion on Parallels vs. VMWare vs. Boot Camp.  My suggestions, in order:

1. Get the backup book and read it
2. Choose the right backup strategy for how you work and buy the right hard drive for it
3. Get a good, protective bag for the MacBook (your old bag will work if the MacBook is the same size as the older PowerBook)
4. Save the Constitution

(Note: Step 4 cannot be accomplished at the Apple store.)

warning - external disks are a major PIA to use on Mac computers, they go to sleep often and when they do the next time you try to open any folder the system will have to wait for them to wake up, a major nuisance that with time will become much more difficult to tolerate

The booklet has one page devoted to Macs (plug it in to a USB or FireWire port and don't bother with the disk), and the rest of the booklet is devoted to how to use the install disk to make your PC format and recognize the new drive.

I use Personal Backup from Intego -- very easy to use backup software for Mac with lots of automation features.

I recommend getting an external drive that's twice the size of your hard drive, and then partition it into two sections.

On one partition, clone your entire computer (Personal Backup will easily do that for you).  Then you can use that partition as a startup disk if you run into problems with your MacBook.  Update the clone when you do major system upgrades or add major software.  You can use this as a temporary start-up disk if your hard drive fails, and you won't lose any time.

On the other partition, do a simple backup of your data files (iTunes, documents, pictures, etc.) on a weekly basis.  (Personal Backup will remind you if you wish, or just do it automatically in the background.)

Its plug an play- no formatting needed. Once you set up your wireless network, you can access the LaCie HD from any machine on the network (it does have to be connected to one of the Mac's on the network). I understand you still have a Windows machine. Assuming it is wireless, you can add it to your Mac network  without difficulty using Bonjour, which you can download from Apple for your Windows Machine for free. You can then access files and network printers and the LaCie backup (assuming you go with the LaCie). . I know you previously stated that you use the Windows for work, however, I suspect you will find, you can do your work on the Mac just as easily.

On a different topic, here is a site full of open source software for the Mac.

Like any good computer, a Mac is for pleasure as well as for work. I downloaded Miro Video player the other day and am enjoying Neil Young video  as I work. You can also watch Democracy Now using Miro.

It also has links to iPod rippers.

Work wise, I am impressed with Neo-Office. Its seems to work seamlessly with MS Office documents. I don't claim to have fully tested it (it is free), but I may never buy another MS Office Suite again.

There are free FTP clients on the page, I haven't tried them. I use Fetch which is about $20.00. I recommend Fetch without reservation.

Visual Hub is another 25.00  program I have used and am satisfed with.

On a final note, I find the local library the best place to sample CD's. Archive.org is the best place to find legal live JAM Band music (Grateful Dead, Derek Trucks Band, Little Feat, Ratdog, String Cheese Incident, to name a few). The bands that are there have consented to fans posting digital copies of what we used to call show tapes for downloading or streaming.

Happy computing!

Nice thing about a Pocket back-up is there is no need for a separate power supply they work off of the Firewire port ( or if you are using USB the 2nd USB port with the supplied cables)

You must be specific in purchasing to get a bus-powered drive for this to be true.  Most drives simply labeled "USB 2.0" or "FireWire" are self-powered, meaning they plug into the wall socket's AC power and are not as portable as this.

It's not a big deal, but if you're expecting a bus-powered drive and get one with a brick-on-a-leash power adapter, you're gonna be disappointed.  Make sure you get the kind you want, as bus-powered drives are more expensive (and slower and smaller).