Buying my first Mac

[LilMissSunshine]

Okay I'm buying my first Mac this weekend for college in August.

I've never used a Mac, so I have some questions, in addition as to what to buy.

1. Should I get the extended warranty? Its $183, which is a lot for me, as a poor college student, but is it worth it in the long run?

2. Is 1gb of ram good enough? I plan on using the webcam, play around with the movie maker, go on the internet, use a word processor, and watch movies. I won't be doing all of those things at the same time. I usually only do 1 or 2 things at a time.

3. If you use two fingers and press down, that equals a right click, right?

4. Leopard is going to come out after I get my Mac, how much do they usually cost when they come out? I was hoping it would come out this summer, but I know the iPhone put a hold on that.

5. I don't have a student ID yet, don't get it until I actually go to school. Is a letter from my school stating I'm going there good enough? I don't know what to bring.

Thanks for any help. And sorry for any questions that seem dumb.

 

[Cameront9]

Okay I'm buying my first Mac this weekend for college in August.

I've never used a Mac, so I have some questions, in addition as to what to buy.

1. Should I get the extended warranty? Its $183, which is a lot for me, as a poor college student, but is it worth it in the long run?

2. Is 1gb of ram good enough? I plan on using the webcam, play around with the movie maker, go on the internet, use a word processor, and watch movies. I won't be doing all of those things at the same time. I usually only do 1 or 2 things at a time.

3. If you use two fingers and press down, that equals a right click, right?

4. Leopard is going to come out after I get my Mac, how much do they usually cost when they come out? I was hoping it would come out this summer, but I know the iPhone put a hold on that.

5. I don't have a student ID yet, don't get it until I actually go to school. Is a letter from my school stating I'm going there good enough? I don't know what to bring.

Thanks for any help. And sorry for any questions that seem dumb.

1. You have a year to buy Applecare, so I would wait.

2. 1GB sounds good enough for your usage, at least at this point.

3. Yes.

4. US $129.99, student price will likely be around $79.99

5. It sounds like you're actually buying this at a store...they might have to call your college--bring whatever proof with you you can, though. If you order online, you can just order through the educational store and be done with it...

 

[Tumeg101]

Okay I'm buying my first Mac this weekend for college in August.

I've never used a Mac, so I have some questions, in addition as to what to buy.

1. Should I get the extended warranty? Its $183, which is a lot for me, as a poor college student, but is it worth it in the long run?

2. Is 1gb of ram good enough? I plan on using the webcam, play around with the movie maker, go on the internet, use a word processor, and watch movies. I won't be doing all of those things at the same time. I usually only do 1 or 2 things at a time.

3. If you use two fingers and press down, that equals a right click, right?

4. Leopard is going to come out after I get my Mac, how much do they usually cost when they come out? I was hoping it would come out this summer, but I know the iPhone put a hold on that.

5. I don't have a student ID yet, don't get it until I actually go to school. Is a letter from my school stating I'm going there good enough? I don't know what to bring.

Thanks for any help. And sorry for any questions that seem dumb.

1. I would buy the extended warranty, you can buy that any time during the 1 year factory warranty (comes with all macs)

2. I would say upgrade to 2gb, but buy it from a 3rd party company, apple is WAY overpriced

3. With a mighty mouse, or with the laptop mouse pad?? I think with the mighty mouse 2 fingers, and click with 1 finger is left click, and 1 finger and 1 finger click is right, but I am not sure... for the mouse pad, I don't know

4. $130

5. I would think the letter would be enough, try giving them a call to find out exactly what you need.

 

[Steve Jobs=God]

the right click question is right, but you need to go into system preferences and select it first, it isn't automatically set up that way

 

[aethelbert]

Okay I'm buying my first Mac this weekend for college in August.

I've never used a Mac, so I have some questions, in addition as to what to buy.

1. Should I get the extended warranty? Its $183, which is a lot for me, as a poor college student, but is it worth it in the long run?

2. Is 1gb of ram good enough? I plan on using the webcam, play around with the movie maker, go on the internet, use a word processor, and watch movies. I won't be doing all of those things at the same time. I usually only do 1 or 2 things at a time.

3. If you use two fingers and press down, that equals a right click, right?

4. Leopard is going to come out after I get my Mac, how much do they usually cost when they come out? I was hoping it would come out this summer, but I know the iPhone put a hold on that.

5. I don't have a student ID yet, don't get it until I actually go to school. Is a letter from my school stating I'm going there good enough? I don't know what to bring.

Thanks for any help. And sorry for any questions that seem dumb.

1. If money is an issue, wait to get it. You can get it in a year for the same price and get the same thing.
2. 1GB of RAM should be enough for your needs. If you want to upgrade in the future, it can be done for $80 right now, and prices will go down later.
3. Yes
4. Since the pricing is the same without the educational discount, it should be the same with the discount. I would think/hope that it will still be $79.
5. Your acceptance letter is acceptable as many students buy their computers before they actually start college. When I've asked, they have always said to bring either an ID or acceptance letter. Either one should be okay.

 

[LilMissSunshine]

Thank you everyone for your help. I didn't know I could wait to extend the plan later.

The only reason I have to go to the store is because my parents don't have a credit card with that high of a limit, otherwise I would probably get it online.