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College Freshman: Macbook or Macbook Pro

I would recommend rev B air or rev A if you don't want spend too much.
it's almost 1kg difference compare with MB.If carry it everyday, worth it.
The performance is for sure enough for just musics. It can even handle 1080p movies.
 
Definitely the white macbook, got no cracks on mine after over a years worth of heavy use. I don't see the fascination with a backlit keyboard, can't you type without looking at the keyboard?
 
I'm also currently in college and have a uMB and love it. I have the 2GHz processor (so no backlit keyboard) and it is perfectly sufficient for everything I need to do for engineering. If money is a concern I'd say for sure go with the white macbook. It is a great machine, and all you really get that is different with the unibody is a nicer case, glass over the screen, and a multitouch trackpad.
 
tekio said:
I don't see the fascination with a backlit keyboard, can't you type without looking at the keyboard?
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Not to mention that even if you're not first rate at touch-typing, you'll still have the LCD shine enough light on the keyboard to get your bearings, even when displaying a solid black screen. It looks cool and all, but the practical advantages aren't overwhelming.
 
i would get the get the macbook either new alum one or the white one..i am still in college myself and i like the 13in screen becuase it is smaller and more portable than the mbp imo..my friend bought the mbp and he wishes that he got the one one i have because he prefers the size of mine..both weight and size.
 
skubish said:
I would get her a unibody MB. The its smaller and lighter than the MBP and its a more durable than the white MB.

If you want to really see what everyone is using go to the Starbucks at your local college town. :D
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Seriously, what is wrong with the white MacBook? I have a friend who bought one literally the week after they were first on sale in the UK back in '06 and it is not scratched, the plastic hasn't crumbled or cracked or snapped or dinged or anything. Yes, the plastic is lightly yellowed but when you consider that, consider also that after one year my StarBook 520 had gone from silver to charcoal because of all the oils and dirts that got caught on its textured surfaces.

The white MacBook is a serious contender, and it will be especially so when Snow Leopard streamlines the Mac OS for multi-core processors. Add a RAM boost for a couple of Quids (or Dollars, Euros, whatever) to enjoy a speedier experience, and get a larger hard drive so that when she discovers how much of her friends' CD collections she likes she has enough room to iTunes them.

Overall, who cares if it isn't as fast as a MacBook Pro? It also doesn't weigh as much, and you can store it in your bedside drawer if you go out without it because it is that much smaller.

To those suggesting an Air; she is going to college. An Air will break. We had an Air at work that was on display for a whole of two hours before it was broken. IMO they're just too fragile to be taken seriously. Also, I have no doubt that she'll need the DVD drive one hell of a lot, especially if she enjoys films or is given a lot of software to install.

To those suggesting a Pro, I have a BlackBook 2.4 that was bought for me in July 2008. It has the GMA X3100 graphics chip, and I find the 144MB ample memory with which to run Final Cut Express and Adobe After Effects* quite well. Rendering times are indeed slower than they would be on a MacBook Pro, however when I watch the specialised media PC's at university try to render anything I am always amused to see that my MacBook is consistently faster despite only being 6 months newer and having an integrated GPU rather than a discreet 128MB GPU card.

To conclude, I suggest that the OP buy either the White MacBook or the low-end uMB. The price of the high-end uMB does not justify the slight increase in processor nor the illuminated keyboard. You can get around the illuminated keyboard with a USB notebook light which cost from about £10 ($15) upwards, plus the WMB still retains its FireWire port for external hard drives, older iPods and video cameras.

* though this is not to say that I enjoy using Adobe products in any way, shape or form. They're over-priced, they hog your memory and they're outdated compared even to some newer Freeware alternatives. That's my two cents anyway.
 
Skeletal-dæmon said:
Seriously, what is wrong with the white MacBook? I have a friend who bought one literally the week after they were first on sale in the UK back in '06 and it is not scratched, the plastic hasn't crumbled or cracked or snapped or dinged or anything. Yes, the plastic is lightly yellowed but when you consider that, consider also that after one year my StarBook 520 had gone from silver to charcoal because of all the oils and dirts that got caught on its textured surfaces.

The white MacBook is a serious contender, and it will be especially so when Snow Leopard streamlines the Mac OS for multi-core processors. Add a RAM boost for a couple of Quids (or Dollars, Euros, whatever) to enjoy a speedier experience, and get a larger hard drive so that when she discovers how much of her friends' CD collections she likes she has enough room to iTunes them.

Overall, who cares if it isn't as fast as a MacBook Pro? It also doesn't weigh as much, and you can store it in your bedside drawer if you go out without it because it is that much smaller.

To those suggesting an Air; she is going to college. An Air will break. We had an Air at work that was on display for a whole of two hours before it was broken. IMO they're just too fragile to be taken seriously. Also, I have no doubt that she'll need the DVD drive one hell of a lot, especially if she enjoys films or is given a lot of software to install.

To those suggesting a Pro, I have a BlackBook 2.4 that was bought for me in July 2008. It has the GMA X3100 graphics chip, and I find the 144MB ample memory with which to run Final Cut Express and Adobe After Effects* quite well. Rendering times are indeed slower than they would be on a MacBook Pro, however when I watch the specialised media PC's at university try to render anything I am always amused to see that my MacBook is consistently faster despite only being 6 months newer and having an integrated GPU rather than a discreet 128MB GPU card.

To conclude, I suggest that the OP buy either the White MacBook or the low-end uMB. The price of the high-end uMB does not justify the slight increase in processor nor the illuminated keyboard. You can get around the illuminated keyboard with a USB notebook light which cost from about £10 ($15) upwards, plus the WMB still retains its FireWire port for external hard drives, older iPods and video cameras.

* though this is not to say that I enjoy using Adobe products in any way, shape or form. They're over-priced, they hog your memory and they're outdated compared even to some newer Freeware alternatives. That's my two cents anyway.
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Couldn't agree more with you. It's not about MB Pro or not, it's what will fit her best...
 
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