decisions on laptop for school

M

mikky05v

macrumors member
I recently bought my first PC, the very first one I've ever owned. My parents raised me in an apple world so my husband talking me out of an imac so I could game was.... difficult. He also talked me into a droid instead of an iphone which im so happy i did.

Now my parents have offered to buy me a laptop for school and I'm torn. I know ridiculous amount of information about mac computers, I cant even change my wallpaper on my pc with out help >.>. What I dont know about macs all fits into one neat category. How it works with a pc.

I'm looking for advice basically on what to choose, they are willing to go up to 1200 but its a gift and I'd rather NOT choose the top of their range if I don't have to. They want to buy me an air. I know air's dont have a cd drive, which wasnt an issue for me before bc I had another mac in the house. Now I dont. Can I utilise the cd drive of the pc like I would my macs or no? How does its features work out when paired with a pc as the main computer? Am I better off just buying a pc netbook (this would break my heart lol)

Can someone give me some information on this.
 
Last edited:
Yes CD/DVD sharing is supported via Windows.

From the MBA technical specifications page:
With the Mac App Store, getting the apps you want on your Mac has never been easier. No more boxes, no more discs, no more time-consuming installation. Click once to download and install any app on your Mac. But if an app you need isn’t available from the Mac App Store, you can use DVD or CD Sharing. This convenient feature of OS X lets you wirelessly “borrow” the optical drive of a nearby Mac or PC. So you can install applications from a DVD or CD and have full access to an optical drive without having to carry one around.
Click to expand...
 
MBP from Microcenter - $1000

You did say laptop for school did you not?
 
Last edited:
Get a Macbook Air, you won't regret it. It is an absolutely amazing machine, so small and light weight. An optical drive isn't necessary for a netbook, you rarely ever have to install anything from a disk and if you do you can use the remote drive option.
 
brandon0448 said:
get a macbook air, you won't regret it. It is an absolutely amazing machine, so small and light weight. An optical drive isn't necessary for a netbook, you rarely ever have to install anything from a disk and if you do you can use the remote drive option.
Click to expand...

+1
 
Note that CD/DVD sharing has some limits. For instance, you can't stream DRM content through it, and encoding can be tricky. You also can't use it to install Windows 7, though if you can create an ISO file from it, you can copy the ISO over to your MacBook Air and create a USB key for installing Windows 7.

If your parents will contribute $1200, I'd suggest the 11" 4GB/128GB model, which you can get for $1149 with the student discount. Alternatively, if 64GB is enough, you can order that model online for $1049 with 4GB. You may wish to purchase the $79 Superdrive and the $29 Ethernet adapter from your own funds if you think you'll need them for any of your classes (though any external DVD and USB Ethernet should work if you can find less expensive third party solutions).
 
Are you in college? What's your major? These two factors alone can greatly help what you decide on.

I got my 11in/4GB/128GB from Best Buy in a tax-free state for $1149 plus the $100 gift card promotion. I think it's a pretty good deal and you could use the $100 gift card for a sleeve case, the superdrive, or maybe any other technological needs you may have.

I went MBA for two reasons - 1) I already have a more powerful computer (27in iMac), so it was for strict mobile usage and 2) I actually don't really like the look or feel of the MBPs (they seem too blocky to me... and too heavy compared to an MBA). Those are just my opinions, however.

Don't get me wrong though, the MBA's SSD is extremely noticeable when coming from my standard HDD iMac... so that's something to consider if speed is of importance to you. Now if hard drive size is important, yeah - maybe MBP would better suit you (especially in your price range).
 
VeloRapid said:
Check your school. The MBP is more flexible than the air.
Click to expand...

Certainly check what is required... But buying something just because it is "more flexible" can be a poor choice too.

I've spent way too much money over the years on "flexibility" to do things I thought I would need to do... Only to find I never needed the capabilities. Now that I wised up, I take careful stock of the reality of what I "might" need vs what I will need.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Back
Top