[MoreCowbell]

I made a couple of posts on here a while ago about XP(and Vista) Vs. Mac and you guys were extremely helpful and insightful. I decided to table my decision for a while, but my notebook is finally showing signs of age, so I’ve decided to open up the topic again.

I have heard a lot of raves about the new MacBooks and I am leaning in that direction. Some questions about making the changeover though...

1) I am a VERY HEAVY Office User. I use Excel daily, my life is on Outlook and I use word and PowerPoint frequently. All of these files have been created on Office XP. I am constantly editing these documents. How easy will migration be? Will I have a problem? Can I simply open my files on the Mac version of office? Can I then edit on both platforms?

2) How can I transfer to Mac Based Outlook without erasing all my contacts, email, etc? I am on a Blackberry Exchange Server. Will this effect my Blackberry at all?

3) I have a TON of pictures. The albums are all located in separate folders in XP. Will I be able to easily migrate and open my photos on the Mac?

4) My music. I have a few thousand songs. They are on my hard disk. Some are also on my ipod. How can I move everything to Mac and ensure I lose nothing? Also, how can I now pair the ipod to Mac without resetting it?

5) Will the Mac have all the internet plug-ins that I need?

6) Will my existing external hard-drive, that I use as a backup, be compatible with the Mac without reloading it?

Any other migration issues you can think of?

Thanks in advance!!!