My PC screwed me during my last law school final and that was the final straw. I've been drooling over the macbooks ever since.
I didn't *need* a mac until some time in August, I found this site online and determined that holding out as long as possible was a good plan (Thank you, Thank you, Thank you MacRumors - I also helped save my sister's bacon thanks to this site).
Well, I'm pretty overjoyed at this point. First, the BTS thing was announced, giving me the chance to score a free IPod Touch - I've had the most ridiculously old IPod for the longest time - a Touch is so amazingly cool, I'm pretty stoked.
Then the WWDC bombshells, and boy, they could not have come at a better time. See, just a few days before WWDC, my PC took the final dirt nap. But I was determined to hold out. I'm working now on a resuscitated T42, and I have to give the old girl credit, she's working a heck of a lot better than the last machine did. So I'm in a hurry to get my mac, but not completely desperate.
Here's my usage profile:
Just a student, but one who has lots of windows open at the same time, definitely not a graphic designer, light gamer at most, use laptop as my only machine, take it everywhere with me, former writer and compose much better on a laptop than a laptop plus monitor. Like to have a bunch of movies and whatnot on my hard drive, watch all the tv I watch on my computer.
Do not have good luck keeping computers running ship shape. I may have a bit of a carelessness problem on that count. Applecare and the ability to take the machine into an apple store (live in DC and NYC) is very exciting.
Here are my questions:
I'm leaning towards the 13" MacBook "Pro." I know it's not a real Pro, but it is still one hell of a sweet upgrade from the 13" uMB they wanted to sell me a month ago. I take more bus trips than I care to, and having a laptop that I can work with in a more cramped space is appealing. Due to the carrying it everywhere, the lighter part is not a bad plus. Also like the smaller profile for shoving in my Swiss Army laptop back pack.
I am, otoh, a little freaked out about dropping down in screen size. I probably got kind of used to the 17" screen I had on my think pad. Now the screen on this T42 is a 14", and it's not like the size seems to be bugging me all that much. I imagine the 13" mac-top screen compares favorably to this one, as I believe they utilize their space more optimally.
What I was tempted to go with was the following:
13" MBP, 2.53 GHz, 4 GB memory
Greed myself up to the 500 GB HD
Use the BTS to grab an IPod Touch, treating myself to the upgrade from 8GB to 16GB
Also use the educational discount to get a free printer, treat myself to the $50 pricier Canon All-in-one MP620 (it's free for the MP480(?))
I have a printer that works perfectly well for black and whites, but I've always wanted to own a printer that can produce color photographs of all the great shots of my cat I have in digital storage. ; )
All told, and after tax, the final cost would be $2,291, knocked down to $1962 after rebates. Add in a few pennies for the ridiculously good deal I get on Microsoft Office for the Mac through the school.
Here are my concerns:
How big a deal is the HD speed? If I got a 15" legit MBP, went with the 8GB IPod Touch, a 320 GB 7200 rpm HD, 2.66 GHz model, and say the Canon printer that is a step down, it would by $310 more than that other package.
With hard drive size, I find hard drives fill up awful fast these days, pretty much to the point where you had better be utilizing external storage regularly, no matter what size drive your machine comes with. So bigger is better, but aren't you dealing with space limitations whether you are at 320 or 500 GB?
With IPod Touch size, I am a music lover who has an embarrassingly hard time filling a 10GB IPod. But jamming a movie onto a Touch is an exciting prospect. The whole idea of having a Touch is just amazing - I can't believe I can get something for free that is in a different universe from what I've been using.
Am I a fool to get the first package and not spend up a bit for the faster processor, faster hard drive, bigger screen, super duper graphics card system package?
I suspect that the 13" uMB semi-pro may be totally adequate for my needs - I just want to make sure I'm not making a decision I'll regret when it becomes outdated well before the other system would have.
As to the Touch, what do you think, just grab the one through the BTS promotion, maybe don't even take it out of the package, try to sell it when the new ones come out and hope I don't take too much of a hit buying the newest Touch? I can discipline myself to not use a Touch for another three months. Or should I just buy and start using and enjoying the Touch I can get, even if they will update in September, go ahead and get the free engraving and decide that 16 GB is enough for me?
I guess I'll leave it there - I hope this mish mash of questions isn't too unmanageable and annoying. I have a slew of other questions about accessories and all that, as I'm new to macbooks, but I'll wait on those to see if this thread isn't too irritatingly sprawling, or alternatively, uninteresting, to draw any fire.
If anyone can help, though, I am so very, very excited, but also intent on trying to make the best choices possible. Many thanks!
I didn't *need* a mac until some time in August, I found this site online and determined that holding out as long as possible was a good plan (Thank you, Thank you, Thank you MacRumors - I also helped save my sister's bacon thanks to this site).
Well, I'm pretty overjoyed at this point. First, the BTS thing was announced, giving me the chance to score a free IPod Touch - I've had the most ridiculously old IPod for the longest time - a Touch is so amazingly cool, I'm pretty stoked.
Then the WWDC bombshells, and boy, they could not have come at a better time. See, just a few days before WWDC, my PC took the final dirt nap. But I was determined to hold out. I'm working now on a resuscitated T42, and I have to give the old girl credit, she's working a heck of a lot better than the last machine did. So I'm in a hurry to get my mac, but not completely desperate.
Here's my usage profile:
Just a student, but one who has lots of windows open at the same time, definitely not a graphic designer, light gamer at most, use laptop as my only machine, take it everywhere with me, former writer and compose much better on a laptop than a laptop plus monitor. Like to have a bunch of movies and whatnot on my hard drive, watch all the tv I watch on my computer.
Do not have good luck keeping computers running ship shape. I may have a bit of a carelessness problem on that count. Applecare and the ability to take the machine into an apple store (live in DC and NYC) is very exciting.
Here are my questions:
I'm leaning towards the 13" MacBook "Pro." I know it's not a real Pro, but it is still one hell of a sweet upgrade from the 13" uMB they wanted to sell me a month ago. I take more bus trips than I care to, and having a laptop that I can work with in a more cramped space is appealing. Due to the carrying it everywhere, the lighter part is not a bad plus. Also like the smaller profile for shoving in my Swiss Army laptop back pack.
I am, otoh, a little freaked out about dropping down in screen size. I probably got kind of used to the 17" screen I had on my think pad. Now the screen on this T42 is a 14", and it's not like the size seems to be bugging me all that much. I imagine the 13" mac-top screen compares favorably to this one, as I believe they utilize their space more optimally.
What I was tempted to go with was the following:
13" MBP, 2.53 GHz, 4 GB memory
Greed myself up to the 500 GB HD
Use the BTS to grab an IPod Touch, treating myself to the upgrade from 8GB to 16GB
Also use the educational discount to get a free printer, treat myself to the $50 pricier Canon All-in-one MP620 (it's free for the MP480(?))
I have a printer that works perfectly well for black and whites, but I've always wanted to own a printer that can produce color photographs of all the great shots of my cat I have in digital storage. ; )
All told, and after tax, the final cost would be $2,291, knocked down to $1962 after rebates. Add in a few pennies for the ridiculously good deal I get on Microsoft Office for the Mac through the school.
Here are my concerns:
How big a deal is the HD speed? If I got a 15" legit MBP, went with the 8GB IPod Touch, a 320 GB 7200 rpm HD, 2.66 GHz model, and say the Canon printer that is a step down, it would by $310 more than that other package.
With hard drive size, I find hard drives fill up awful fast these days, pretty much to the point where you had better be utilizing external storage regularly, no matter what size drive your machine comes with. So bigger is better, but aren't you dealing with space limitations whether you are at 320 or 500 GB?
With IPod Touch size, I am a music lover who has an embarrassingly hard time filling a 10GB IPod. But jamming a movie onto a Touch is an exciting prospect. The whole idea of having a Touch is just amazing - I can't believe I can get something for free that is in a different universe from what I've been using.
Am I a fool to get the first package and not spend up a bit for the faster processor, faster hard drive, bigger screen, super duper graphics card system package?
I suspect that the 13" uMB semi-pro may be totally adequate for my needs - I just want to make sure I'm not making a decision I'll regret when it becomes outdated well before the other system would have.
As to the Touch, what do you think, just grab the one through the BTS promotion, maybe don't even take it out of the package, try to sell it when the new ones come out and hope I don't take too much of a hit buying the newest Touch? I can discipline myself to not use a Touch for another three months. Or should I just buy and start using and enjoying the Touch I can get, even if they will update in September, go ahead and get the free engraving and decide that 16 GB is enough for me?
I guess I'll leave it there - I hope this mish mash of questions isn't too unmanageable and annoying. I have a slew of other questions about accessories and all that, as I'm new to macbooks, but I'll wait on those to see if this thread isn't too irritatingly sprawling, or alternatively, uninteresting, to draw any fire.
If anyone can help, though, I am so very, very excited, but also intent on trying to make the best choices possible. Many thanks!