Dad trying to control which computer I buy

[gan6660]

I wouldnt get a macbook air a a primary computer anyway

 

[aaquib]

Tell your Dad he's an old man and all the cool kids have MacBook Airs

But if you want him to continue financing you in school, shutup and get a MacBook

 

[drossad]

Tell your dad to F off and let you live your life.

Nice EmporerDarius. You'll go far in life with that attitude.

Worst advice on this thread.

 

[DoubleU]

The MacBook Air is cool.

But whilsts it's more expensive than the Unibody Macbook it isn't close enough to it in features to make it a worthwile alternative. I looked (gazed) at it for quite a while then went for a 2.4GHz MacBook.

 

[Demosthenes X]

Some more food for thought: When I was first going to college I thought I had to buy every single book my professors told me to. After a couple years I realized that was foolish, at least for me. It depends on your major and several factors, but talk to people who have taken your class before and ask them whether they thought the book was necessary. ALWAYS look on half.com or other websites for used textbooks. I also saved a bunch of money by getting the previous edition of a text (after clearing it with the professors). For example, you could buy the 3rd edition of a book for $14 online vs $95 for the brand new 4th edition at your campus bookstore. Sure, you won't be able to sell the book back to your bookstore for 30% what you bought it for, but you only paid 14 bucks!

Great advice. I have plenty of textbooks I've never even looked at - great investment. Most texts should be available in the library as well, so if you ever need to look something up, they're available.

Of course, some texts are really necessary, so try and find out before you buy them if they're worth it.

 

[Gregintosh]

I don't get the point of agreeing to save your money by getting a Macbook instead of a Macbook Air only to spend all the savings on a SSD drive.

The reason is SPEED. The SSD drive is MUCH faster then the stock hard drive. I made this recommendation because this is exactly what I did. With the stock HD, you get a few bounces on the dock with everything, with the SSD its pretty much instant.

Programs like Safari and Mail usually jump up and fall, and don't even bounce at all. Other programs like Photoshop CS3 load in about 3 to 3.5 seconds (just counted). You just don't get that with a 5400rpm drive!

The computer also feels more responsive.

The SSD makes a BIG difference in usability. Trust me. I've used the Air and the Macbook Aluminum in both SSD and non-SSD, and there was a big difference with both.

The only problem is going to be capacity, but if you can invest in a 256GB SSD which should be decently priced around the summer or so, that will solve that issue. You will then have enough space to partition maybe 40-60GB for Windows XP, Vista, or 7 if it's out, for any programs you may have compatibility issues for.

With the 128GB ones, you may not be able to do a full install using Boot Camp since you have to partition the space ahead of time and there just isn't enough space to go around if you keep a music or picture collection on your computer through iPhoto.

What I do on my 128GB is I use VMWare Fusion since that only takes up as much space as needed. I then have Office installed so I can use Word and Excel for school projects in Unity mode (which makes them feel like native mac apps! It's great since MS Office 2008 for Mac sucks).

Hope that helps!

SSD IS TOTALLY WORTH IT, especially if you can get a good deal.

 

[ucfgrad93]

Like others have said, its not worth getting into a huge fight over. And the MacBook will be a better machine over the course of 4 years of college.

 

[Macpropro80]

Hey everyone,

exposition:
I am currently a high school senior - soon to be an alumni. I'm currently in a small town in Iowa, but I'll be headed off to college on the West Coast. Since I'll be traveling quite a bit (flights to and from CA) and the distance I'll be walking each day, I want to get a macbook air. Of course, being a longtime PC user I've been nothing short of ecstatic when considering the idea of running around (not literally) with my air.
Earlier today took my mom to Best Buy to show her the computer and familiarize her with it. We got home and she told my dad and that's where this all begins.

conflict:
After telling my dad, he informed me that "You will not be buying a high end Mac. You'll get a middle-of-the-road, average Mac and that will be fine for you." As a champion smartass, as well as an incredibly sarcastic person, I responded with, "Great! So you're paying for it, then?" Since we've both known that I'm paying for my own computer, he said no. I pressed him on this issue and he said, "You'll use your money for books. You have no idea what kind of expenses you're going to encounter. You'll save your money and use that for books and other expenses."
We are fairly well off financially (given the current market and economic situation, which has had an effect on our portfolio), and of course we are trying to save a lot of money in the even that something unforeseen does occur. However, as stated before, this laptop will be purchased with my money. I've worked hard over the past 2 years (and will continue through the summer) and have saved more than enough for at least two years of books and a macbook air and the other things I'll need for college. I am fortunate enough to say that money is not an issue in this matter.

solution?:
What are your thoughts on this? What should I say to my dad regarding his views against my own? I will admit, an extra 2 lbs is nothing to me - I'm an all-district football player and can handle just about any weight. The macbook air is, of course, a luxury. But it's a luxury that I can afford and I want.
I am only 18 years old and am not wise in the ways of the world. Does anyone have advice for me? Can those of you who are more mature than me think of something that might convince my dad to back off? Or should I just shut up and be happy with a macbook?

Thanks

Buy the one you want... then tell him its a middle of the road mac book.

Please Note: this does not work with mac pro's, trust me!

 

[iCantwait]

seriously? just get the top end macbook

 

[Lurchdubious]

Great advice. I have plenty of textbooks I've never even looked at - great investment. Most texts should be available in the library as well, so if you ever need to look something up, they're available.

Of course, some texts are really necessary, so try and find out before you buy them if they're worth it.

Thx. I should also add that even now in dental school I've only purchased 3 textbooks (out of 7-8 that were "required"). Saved me about $500 so far.

 

[1rottenapple]

I'm in grad school right now with a 2300 mba rev. b. However, it works for me and its worth it. I'm also less reliant on my parents since I'm 26 where as in my undergrad my parents helped me make rent. Now its on me. I'd follow your dads recommendation but judging from your dads reponse, he means well. Its that he is "curt" to the point that it discounts your perspective which is never a good feeling (taking a family therapy class right now). lol. So yeah. Good luck though. I know being out of state college student your going to pay twice as much as a current state student. That's how it works here in California.

 

[xhambonex]

The reason is SPEED. The SSD drive is MUCH faster then the stock hard drive. I made this recommendation because this is exactly what I did. With the stock HD, you get a few bounces on the dock with everything, with the SSD its pretty much instant.

Programs like Safari and Mail usually jump up and fall, and don't even bounce at all. Other programs like Photoshop CS3 load in about 3 to 3.5 seconds (just counted). You just don't get that with a 5400rpm drive!

The computer also feels more responsive.

The SSD makes a BIG difference in usability. Trust me. I've used the Air and the Macbook Aluminum in both SSD and non-SSD, and there was a big difference with both.

The only problem is going to be capacity, but if you can invest in a 256GB SSD which should be decently priced around the summer or so, that will solve that issue. You will then have enough space to partition maybe 40-60GB for Windows XP, Vista, or 7 if it's out, for any programs you may have compatibility issues for.

With the 128GB ones, you may not be able to do a full install using Boot Camp since you have to partition the space ahead of time and there just isn't enough space to go around if you keep a music or picture collection on your computer through iPhoto.

What I do on my 128GB is I use VMWare Fusion since that only takes up as much space as needed. I then have Office installed so I can use Word and Excel for school projects in Unity mode (which makes them feel like native mac apps! It's great since MS Office 2008 for Mac sucks).

Hope that helps!

SSD IS TOTALLY WORTH IT, especially if you can get a good deal.

uh no SSD are faster, yes, but worth they money, not yet. Saving money is the key goal here, not to mention the Macbook is a way more suitable machine for his use then the air. Why spend that money on a SSD. He'll need extra HDD space later, and might as well spend that on an external. Is that speed worth a decrease in storage space, nope.

As far as dealing with your dad, it may be your money, but he's got more insight on what is the smarter choice here. Which would be, buy what you need not what you want. You will always want something else you can buy if you just have to spend your money.

 

[zorahk]

It's your money, do what you want.

 

[Boxer757]

There's a lot of bad advice in this thread, ranging from illogical to flat out wrong. This, for example, is simply untrue:



For the record, the Air has the same NVIDIA GPU as the MacBook and base iMacs.

My mistake. Post edited. Sorry

 

[GoKyu]

The Macbook Air, while great looking, is very impractical for a college career. Do you want to only have a single USB port on your laptop? Do you want to have to spend an extra hundred bucks to carry around a DVD drive?

The best value for money would be the base model *Aluminum* Macbook. Stay away from the $999 plastic special. An aluminum macbook is gonna last you a LOT longer than the plastic model (even though it seems to be pretty high quality plastic.)

Remember also to find out how to take advantage of educational pricing to get a discount on your Macbook - you should be able to get about 50 bucks off of that model.

Saving money is good, and getting the right tools for college is also good. Go with the Macbook and you'll be happier with that than with a Macbook Air.

 

[jdechko]

1. It will last longer... You want this computer to be useable for at least 3-4 years.

This.

My sister-in-law bought a cheap, crappy Dell (redundant, I know) and it didn't last her through college. She had to spend another 1500 for a MacBook and Applecare 2 semesters before graduating.

One thing to consider that I didn't see (I only read the first page), but what is your major. Also, consider other things like Apple Care and software. Buying a MBA might be in your budget, but adding the Superdrive, AppleCare and Office software need to be factored into your budget.

 

[thegoldenmackid]

As a fellow younger member, I will say the "shut up and be happy with a MacBook" responses seem a bit harsh. Some props to those of youngins that are attempting to use our own money, rather then our parents. I will say that a MacBook seems much more practical. I agree that if it is your money then your parents should have no control. I mean what is the worst that happens, just wait until you go to college and buy it yourself.

 

[SirJ]

Thanks again for everyone's responses.

I've been really impressed (in most cases) with the responses I've received. As I said before, I decided on the macbook and am excited that I could own my first mac in less than three months.

Just an aside:
To the person who said "tell your dad to F off", I have no idea where you came from but you clearly don't know how things work here (here referring to anywhere where people respect others). Sorry to come after you but that's over the line.

Back on task: In my conversation with my dad we started discussing different things and eventually moved into other areas of technology, eventually arriving on SSDs. I have now, with a flair of fanciful romanticism, become excited about possibly putting an SSD into my future macbook (stated that before as well). Hopefully prices will go down by this coming summer.

A poster above asked about my major, and to that I will give this answer:
During high school, I've decided that I am going to be a writer. Shortly after I decided on being a doctor, then a lawyer, then a music composer, a businessperson, an engineer, a mathematician, a teacher, an air force pilot, a Marine, a Senator, a car dealer, a designer, and many more that I can't remember. I'll be entering college as an "Engineering - Undecided" major as that seems to be the most portable degree across each market sector. I have absolutely no idea what I will end up doing and will probably finish college with more than one degree (double- or triple-major) and therefore I cannot say with any certainty what those degrees will be. I have extremely broad interests, but have always been thrilled with math, law, and chemistry. I don't know if that helps, but that would be my answer.

Because I've been endowed with the patience of a 4-year old, I've also started planning the exact computer I'll purchase. Obviously I'm going to be seeing an entirely different situation when I buy a computer, but I have two questions that I believe to be valid and not too hasty:
1) 2.0 or 2.4 macbook? I know, I know, I've seen all the threads on this but since this is already going I'll throw that out there.
2) The Buyer's Guide says that updates are coming soon. What can we expect from those updates? I haven't heard or read anything, I'm just curious. Of course, an upgrade isn't guaranteed nor does anyone on this site know for sure, but any speculation?

Thanks again everyone.

 

[Lurchdubious]

1) 2.0 or 2.4 macbook? I know, I know, I've seen all the threads on this but since this is already going I'll throw that out there.
2) The Buyer's Guide says that updates are coming soon. What can we expect from those updates? I haven't heard or read anything, I'm just curious. Of course, an upgrade isn't guaranteed nor does anyone on this site know for sure, but any speculation?

Thanks again everyone.

1) 2.4. You will appreciate the extra power later on, if not immediately. I am SO glad I got the 2.4. Also, yes the backlit keyboard is somewhat "gimmicky", but I LOVE it and honestly appreciate it every single day. Comes in very handy when you are in class with the lights dimmed taking notes while the teacher is presenting a powerpoint. You will also have increased resale value if you decide you can't live without the 'next big thing' in a couple years.

2) I assume the updates are referring to Snow Leopard and/or possible performance bumps. Nothing major will happen, but waiting 3-4 months will prolly pay off somewhat.


Kudos on your educational goals. Have you shadowed many professionals mentioned above? Shadowing is what ultimately helped me decide for certain that dentistry is what I want to do with the rest of my life. Handy when I'm choosing a profession that will bring me to nearly $400,000 in student loan debt by the time I'm done.

 

[Abstract]

If your parents are helping you with uni fees or any university charges or rent, etc, then I wouldn't care if you earned your own money or not.

Get a MacBook and be happy with it. You may be happier with it as well. It's a really lightweight machine, and is just nice to own overall.


This is coming from a uni student, btw.

 

[ravenvii]

A poster above asked about my major, and to that I will give this answer:
During high school . . . I decided on being . . . a lawyer. . . .

Trust me (and many, many lawyers and law students) when I say this, you do not want to go to law school nor be a lawyer.

 

[trule]

The solution that I came to is this:
Get a macbook (probably 2.0, though I'd love the 2.4) in June with a free ipod touch and use that until Snow Leopard is released. Before installing the new OS, take out the HDD and put it in a 2.5" inclosure and replace it with an SSD.
Would this be a good idea or a waste of money?

Not sure SSD is really that much more robust, laptop drives have quite a bit of protection already and much more capacity. In some ways SSD is less robust, they have a shorter life span at the moment.

Personally I would get the 2.0, its enough, with a little more RAM since more RAM is better than more CPU. And perhaps larger disk. With the money saved you might want to consider an external monitor which will be far more useful than SSD or extra CPU. Or some software.

 

[dmmcintyre3]

Get a 2.0 GHz MacBook with 4-6 GB 3rd party RAM. While a SSD would be nice wait until the price comes down.

 

[After G]

This.

Don't be surprised by $200-$300 during your first two years and $400-$500 during your last two years - unless you decide to go into the sciences, where books could go up to $600-$700.

And even then, that's nothing compared to law school, where it's all bumped up to $700-900.

Mommy!

Seriously, try to avoid the campus store when possible. Though some teachers like to get new books just to annoy you. It's not like what you learn has changed all that much.

As for your current plan, try the HD, you just might be happy with it and not have to spend additional money. It's also easy to transfer your data to the new SSD if you find you are not happy with it.

 

[GoKyu]

Buy the best you can afford - you can always upgrade RAM later (pretty cheaply at OWC, even), but to upgrade the processor would involve buying a whole new machine - get the 2.4

And you do want Applecare, but don't buy it through Apple @$250. Get it from LA Computer Company for $180.