few Q's before i buy

[ramw5p]

OK..this will be my first mac! beside iPhone4. I have been lurking for a while, so hopefully my questions are not to redundant.
1. Is there any reason to buy online rather then the apple store? [taxes etc]
2. I assume i can get my education discount instore easily?
3. I have had some problems with website loading in safari [Windows XP], this could be a problem for school....anyone have similar problems etc, or is it becasue i am using safari on a PC?
4. Do i need to pay the $99 for the on-to-one? I assume that between some knowledge and this site i will figure it out...my main concern is getting all my photos and music over to my mac from my pc!!! Im not a computer genious so if it is hard to do should i just pay for the 1to1 and let them do it?

THANKS!!!! I apreciate any input. Looking at the base 15 with glossy screen!!

asr

 

[Hellhammer]

1. Apple Online Store lets you customize it if you want to. Some stores also sell them without the tax but as a student, I think it's best to buy it from Apple (not all resellers offer edu discount).

2. Yes.

3. It's most likely the computer although it could be your router/modem/ISP.

4. Just transfer them into an external HD and then to the Mac. 99$ for something so simple is not worth it.

 

[iStudentUK]

1. Don't know enough about US taxes- sorry.

2. No problem with education discount in store, just bring some proof with you.

3. I downloaded Firefox the first week I had my MB in case a website wasn't playing nicely with Safari. Had to use it two or three times in 18 months?

4. One-2-one is a complete rip off. Unless you are a complete idiot who can't put a USB/external drive in a PC, copy files on and then find the USB port on the Mac. (No offence if you are! ).

In all seriousness, it is quite easy to figure out, and google/MR is there to help. I was competent on my Mac after a couple of days.

Base 15" is a beautiful machine.

 

[ramw5p]

Follow up..

1st off, thanks for the reponses...on the 1to1...i can absolutly copy everythig to an external hdd, however i thought that macs couldnt read hdd formated for PC...so if i go that route, anything special i need to do? Also, on the student discount instore [i know i could just call and ask..sorry] i dont have a student id, i am takind masters course online, so what will they want, an email address for that school? TIA

 

[iStudentUK]

Probably more than an email. A copy of your acceptance letter? Enrolment certificate?

There are some issues with formatting.

95% of USB sticks are formatted as FAT, which is fine in both Windows and Mac.

Some external drives for Windows are FAT but some are NTFS, which Mac does not fully support as standard (but there are some little bits of free software that will allow Mac to work with NTFS). Equally, Mac natively uses HFS+ which Windows will only support if you download some free software.

Bottom line- FAT devices fine. NTFS or HFS+ devices- can find software to enable with 5 mins on Google.

 

[Hellhammer]

1st off, thanks for the reponses...on the 1to1...i can absolutly copy everythig to an external hdd, however i thought that macs couldnt read hdd formated for PC...so if i go that route, anything special i need to do? Also, on the student discount instore [i know i could just call and ask..sorry] i dont have a student id, i am takind masters course online, so what will they want, an email address for that school? TIA

Format the HD as FAT32 as that is accessible from both, Windows and OS X. Or you could use NTFS which is what Windows uses and that is readable by OS X (write support can be added with NTFS-3G).

Do you have any proof that you are studying there? Acceptance letter or something? If you aren't sure, give them a call and ask what do they accept as a proof, so you don't have to make two trips because of that.

 

[ramw5p]

external hdd

If i remember correctly i cant write large files in fat32 right??? it sounds like you guys are saying that osx can read ntfs but not write to it....so if i use a ntfs drive i should be fine for copying all my stuff to MBP, i just cant copy stuff from MBP to PC??? I also assume that if i end up dumping my pc..in the future..i can just reformat the ntfs drive using the MBP and then it can be an exteranl for the MBP? Thanks fellas, you are a big help!

 

[Hellhammer]

If i remember correctly i cant write large files in fat32 right??? it sounds like you guys are saying that osx can read ntfs but not write to it....so if i use a ntfs drive i should be fine for copying all my stuff to MBP, i just cant copy stuff from MBP to PC??? I also assume that if i end up dumping my pc..in the future..i can just reformat the ntfs drive using the MBP and then it can be an exteranl for the MBP? Thanks fellas, you are a big help!

1. Yes, FAT32 has maximum file size of 4GB, so this can be an issue when transferring big files such as HD videos.

2. Yes, OS X can read NTFS fine and write support can be added with NTFS-3G.

3. Yes, use Disk Utility to format it to HFS+.

 

[iStudentUK]

If i remember correctly i cant write large files in fat32 right??? it sounds like you guys are saying that osx can read ntfs but not write to it....so if i use a ntfs drive i should be fine for copying all my stuff to MBP, i just cant copy stuff from MBP to PC??? I also assume that if i end up dumping my pc..in the future..i can just reformat the ntfs drive using the MBP and then it can be an exteranl for the MBP? Thanks fellas, you are a big help!

FAT32 can't handle individual files over 4GB (if I recall correctly). Mac can only read NTFS by default, but as Hellhammer said some software called NTFS-3G can sort that.

Once everything is copied over and the drive will be used only by Macs reformat to HFS+ (takes 2 mins). However, some software can allow Windows to read/write HFS+ if needed.

 

[skiltrip]

Regarding student discount in-store...

In April 2010 I got the discount, and they didn't ask for any ID or proof.

A few weeks ago, I bought a 2011 MBP in-store and they asked for my student ID.

So either it's hot or miss, or they've started asking for ID to keep non-students from lying and getting the discount.

If you don't have an ID, surely you must have some paper(s) showing the classes you are taking, a schedule, or possibly a receipt from the school from when you paid for your class. Chances are they'll wan to see at least something.

 

[GoyoNeuff]

1. If you do not need to customize to much, there are web places that can get you some specific specs, and you do not pay taxes if they are not register in the state you live. There are at least three web places you can buy with confidence in the US. You save in taxes.
2. Yes, you can. Bring you ID and School ID.
3. Safari is alright. You could use Firefox, or Chrome for Mac OS.
4. I help you, you buy me a beer, we are all happy !!! No, getting serious. Macs come at a higher price tag that some (including me) are willing to pay, but there is absolutely no need to keep paying way overprice dollars (or your currency) for things we can happily do ourselves. If you get stuck, as a friend, or ask here, or ask in the web, you will find an answer. Also, if you have student discount, you are most likely going to a school that most likely have an IT department that could potentially help you.

Cheers,

Goyo.