[OS X TeX] Advise needed for transition from PC to Mac

[Per Ting]

Hi,

I am moving from PC to Mac. I have just received my Mac Book Pro. On PC I
have been using Winedt 5.5+Miktex 2.8+Sumatra (and Adobe reader) for many
years, and I can say I am an intermediate to advanced user of these. My
preferred fonts are the complete set of Lucida Bright fonts purchased from
PCTeX and occasionally I use Mathtime (from my old Y&Y days) and Fourier
fonts.

I know that under Mac, the platform of choice is Texshop and Mactex (Texlive
based) and I am planning to install and start using this collection
(including bibdesk and excalibur), but at least for some time I would like
to use my old Winedit+Miktex+Sumatra setting with Parallels on my Mac while
my transition to Texshop becomes complete and I get a complete hold of it.
Now my questions:

1-What is the best method of setting up MacTex (TeXshop and friends)? Should
I wait until Texlive 2009 is available? Does Texlive get updated as
frequently as Miktex? Does it have on the fly package download capabilities?
Does it have update facilities like Miktex? Is the editor as versatile and
configurable as Winedt with a macro writing capability?

2-What is the best method of installing Winedt+Miktex+Sumatra (and adobe
reader) under Parallels for a complete Newbie in the Mac world? Can I set up
the Mactex and Miktex in such a way that they share style files and fonts?

3-How can I use Lucida Bright and Mathtime fonts under Mac with Texshop?

4-Any other hints, suggestions, and informative links that I should now be
fore installation?

Thanks

Per
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://email.esm.psu.edu/pipermail/macosx-tex/attachments/20091001/2981c153/attachment.html>