Mac Buying Questions

[answer348]

I'm still looking at buying a 15'' powerbook, and I have a few questions that I think warrant a new thread.

1. In a previous thread, I heard about joining the Apple Student Developer Program to get a great discount. It says that they require proof of enrollment (such as a current or past class schedule). I haven't started school yet, so I don't have any schedules. What else can I use as proof of enrollment? Would my admission letter work?

2. My computer purchase will mostly be bank-rolled by my father, and he has concerns with Mac compatibility with PC. Is there anything I could present to ensure him that they're ok? He's really stubborn unless I can provide evidence in my favor.

Thanks!

 

[seamuskrat]

The student developer discount is not as good as the Select or Pro discount. The regular "student' discount at Apple is OK and no special requirements. Unless you need a HIGH End machine, the Student dev program $99.00 fee won't save you much more moeny. As for ID, they will often contact your university, and require a student id, a class schedule, or official letter. They have become far more strict than previous years.

Part 2.
Well, Macs are not compatible with PC's. If you consider VPC an option, then you can at least run PC apps. Your advantage lies in that the majority of staple apps like Office, Quicken, Web Browsers, etc. run on both platforms. File formats and documents are seamless and anything web based (within reason) will work with a compliant browser regardless of platform. There are ALWAYS exceptions. But in terms of networking, connecting wirelessly, Office documents, etc. you will be fine. Check out the Mactopia website http://www.microsoft.com/mac or Apple's site for details.\\

I'm still looking at buying a 15'' powerbook, and I have a few questions that I think warrant a new thread.

1. In a previous thread, I heard about joining the Apple Student Developer Program to get a great discount. It says that they require proof of enrollment (such as a current or past class schedule). I haven't started school yet, so I don't have any schedules. What else can I use as proof of enrollment? Would my admission letter work?

2. My computer purchase will mostly be bank-rolled by my father, and he has concerns with Mac compatibility with PC. Is there anything I could present to ensure him that they're ok? He's really stubborn unless I can provide evidence in my favor.

Thanks!

 

[flyfish29]

I'm still looking at buying a 15'' powerbook, and I have a few questions that I think warrant a new thread.

1. In a previous thread, I heard about joining the Apple Student Developer Program to get a great discount. It says that they require proof of enrollment (such as a current or past class schedule). I haven't started school yet, so I don't have any schedules. What else can I use as proof of enrollment? Would my admission letter work?

2. My computer purchase will mostly be bank-rolled by my father, and he has concerns with Mac compatibility with PC. Is there anything I could present to ensure him that they're ok? He's really stubborn unless I can provide evidence in my favor.

Thanks!

It would be helpful to know what you mean by mac compatibility? This could mean simply trading documents with PC's, running PC software on a Mac, hooking a Mac to a PC network...all could be considered compatibility issues...so please let us know what you mean.

 

[answer348]

I think my dad's worried that I might receive files from professors and not be able to use them, as ludicrous as that sounds. I'm not 100% sure. He talked to a co-worker of his who went to an all-Mac college and didn't like them because there were "compatibility issues".

I'll put it this way, my dad is really stubborn, so I need to convince him that there is no danger in bringing a Mac to school instead of a PC, otherwise, he's inclined to believe his own, often inaccurate information.

As for the discount, the student developer discount saves $500, while the education discount saves only $200. Basically, overall, I save $200 over the education discount if I become a student developer. No one, not even Apple, has been able to tell me what I can send as proof if not a schedule. I DON'T HAVE A SCHEDULE.

 

[SolidGun]

I recently purchased a PowerBook to get into Mac. I am a hardcore PC user and so far I don't see any compatibility issues. Now this excludes using PC programs and such. But if you or your dad is concerned about instructors sending incompatible software, you can cross that off the list of concerns. If you are going to a decent school that can afford recent technology, most of the professors use PC/Mac compatible files for students to use. I know of some issues in the past, but with the Mac OS X, I am having a pleasant experience along side my PCs/Laptops.
I say go for it, but if you are terribly concerned, you should consider buying a PC.

 

[flyfish29]

I think my dad's worried that I might receive files from professors and not be able to use them, as ludicrous as that sounds. I'm not 100% sure. He talked to a co-worker of his who went to an all-Mac college and didn't like them because there were "compatibility issues".

I'll put it this way, my dad is really stubborn, so I need to convince him that there is no danger in bringing a Mac to school instead of a PC, otherwise, he's inclined to believe his own, often inaccurate information.

What does the school say. look up on the web site of the school and see what they say...they may say either pc or mac is ok...if not, then don't direct your dad to that web site.

You will have absolutely no problem converting files back and forth no matter what they save it in. Go to the Mactopia web site for Microsoft and read about compatibility with the pd versions of excel, word, powerpoint,etc. Get you dad to an apple store (hopefully they have a machine with word and excel and take in a thumb drive or cd with pc files to prove to him they can be viewed, edited and even saved as a pc version of word, excel, etc. that should convince him.