<p>I am getting to a crossroad regarding a new laptop for me. I am somewhat computer savvy (I change msconfig and customize a lot of the advanced features) and have a some questions for those who are familiar with both PCs and Macs. I currently run XP and also have an iPhone. Since there is a big difference in the look and feel between XP and Windows 7 and Office 2003 and Office 2010, I figure this is the time to make a decision on direction. My choices are a 13 Macbook Pro or 14 Levono T420s. Price is not a huge issue, I am not going to get a fully tricked out nor el cheapo of either. Some of the things I do require Word and Excel, I use Outlook 2003 for mail and calendar, am starting doing some web design, and will be doing a lot of scanning photos. FF is my browser of choice. While most of that is PC based, I think I am ready for a change from MS and having an iPhone, I am just checking out all my options. </p>
<p>After reading reviews, a Macbook Pro with Office 2011 (Home and Business) for Mac started to look like a good option. But then I read something about syncing calendars and contacts with iPhones with Outlook 2011 that may or may not work. This is where I get confused. I will be running Outlook 2011 on my local machine, not a corp. version. My internet provider uses Exchange 2003 and I am not sure what my website provider uses. I can download email from both now on on iPhone and sync with Outlook 2003. What is the Exchange 2007 requirement and would it apply to me? If I am running Outlook 2011 locally, can I still sync my iPhone with the calendar, contacts, etc. with Outlook 2011? Is this only a problem if using a corporate type of calendar? From what I read, I would need Entourage 2008 but that is part of Office 2008 which has a lot less functionality than Office 2011. </p>
<p>Can anyone help me understand the Outlook 2011 issue? </p>
<p>Thanks!!!</p>