Hello everyone, I am proud to say that I just ordered a MacBook Pro with the following specs:  2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB 667 DDR2 SDRAM, and a 120GB hard drive.  I am under the impression that VDL2 and Sibelius will not work until they are upgraded to VDL2.5 and Sibelius 5.1.  Is this true?  Any other advice or tips pertaining to my new set-up will be greatly appreciated!  Thanks a lot.

Welcome aboard Jack!

You'll be VERY happy you did. My jaw still drops a little everytime I do somethng in the score and it plays back flawlessly in VDL2.5. The integration of the Dictionary with VDL2.5 is not only a great idea, but more reliable in Sib. 5.1. For example, your technique text and instrument changes happen when you tell them too. In Sibelus 4, I had to put my techque text quite a bit before the note that I wanted to alter (snares to edge for example) or it wouldn't kick the mod wheel over until a few notes had already played in the center.

Also, the plugin aspect is priceless!!! It's really exciting to see VDL grow from just samples, to complete integration into the workflow!

Yes, it does come with OSX Leopard.  Thanks a lot, and I am going to make upgrades to both Sibelius and VDL2.

If your new MacBook Pro comes with Leopard (OSX 10.5) you may not have much luck with Sibelius 4. There's an article on that here:
http://www.sibelius.com/cgi-bin/helpcenter/search.pl?com=search&words=A545&language=1

You may be able to get some extra help from their tech support people, but if you're using Leopard, it may be a good cue to dive into the Sibelius 5 update - which would make it an ideal time to grab the VDL 2.5 update.

They work, just not with the VST plugin. You can still use the IAC Drivers and do it old school. Dude get the upgrade ASAP, I'm still amazed at how much easier it is using the VST plugin. No more having to check all the channels to make sure they line up, etc. In the words of Peter Griffin, it's freakin' sweet.