Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Buying White Macbook This Week: Need Help

M

moneymaker1008

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 17, 2009
1
0
New Jersey
First off, this will be my first Mac and although I've done a lot of research, I'm still pretty clueless. Plus, I'm not that tech-savvy to begin with so I don't understand all of the terminology. So I have a LOT of questions.

Where should I buy it from?
I know that Amazon is cheaper, but I don't think I will be able to customize the memory and hard drive, correct? Is the only option if I want to customize it the online Apple store?

I'm also not sure if I even need to customize it. Can you add more RAM and hard drive space later on? Is it more expensive to do this? And I'm not even sure how much of each I really need. I plan on using it mostly for schoolwork, video-editing, music, and writing purposes. I'm not a gamer. So would the standard 2GB RAM and 160GB hard drive be enough for me, do you think? And how long would that serve me for?

Does it come with an ethernet cable? Because the description makes it sound like it doesn't. If not, do I need to buy a special Apple ethernet?

If I want to back stuff up, do I need to buy a special Flash Drive or can I use the same kind I use with my PC?

What's the deal with Wi-Fi? Do I need to buy anything special in order for it to work? I have Wi-Fi at home already so would it just work with that?

Also, is there a way to get Wi-Fi in places that don't have it? The dorms at my school don't have Wi-Fi and I was wondering if there is any way around this.

Any other suggestions, things I need to know or should buy would be greatly appreciated.

And sorry for this ridiculously long post I'm just really lost :(

Thanks in advance,
Danielle
 
I'm also not sure if I even need to customize it. Can you add more RAM and hard drive space later on? Is it more expensive to do this? And I'm not even sure how much of each I really need. I plan on using it mostly for schoolwork, video-editing, music, and writing purposes. I'm not a gamer. So would the standard 2GB RAM and 160GB hard drive be enough for me, do you think? And how long would that serve me for? I would suggest getting more ram and upgrading your hard drive. Since your going to be doing Video Editing. Definately upgrade the RAM and HDD you can get an external one if you don't want to open up and install a new one.

Does it come with an ethernet cable? Because the description makes it sound like it doesn't. If not, do I need to buy a special Apple ethernet? No, it does not come w/ an Ethernet cable. you can pick that up for a couple bucks. the cable is no different.

If I want to back stuff up, do I need to buy a special Flash Drive or can I use the same kind I use with my PC?Same kinda as w/ your pc. Macs can read FAT32 and NTFS

What's the deal with Wi-Fi? Do I need to buy anything special in order for it to work? I have Wi-Fi at home already so would it just work with that? No need to buy anything special. Yes you can connect to your network w/ no problem.

Also, is there a way to get Wi-Fi in places that don't have it? The dorms at my school don't have Wi-Fi and I was wondering if there is any way around this.You can use a flash card that cell phone providers offer to get on the internet. If it is avail in your area. or teather off of a cell phone. BUT that can be costly. And do at your own risk.

Feel free to ask any questions. Although i've used mac's for a long time this year was the first Mac I purchased myself.
 
Yeah, just don't buy RAM from apple. They'll fleece you. Use crucial.com or another 3rd party retailer. I'd be more okay with buying a hard drive upgrade with your mac so you don't have to swap drives, as that's a bit more complicated, but RAM, for sure buy seperately. :D

Welcome to the :apple: life!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back