Going to purchase my first Mac in a few weeks...

[Built]

I have been a long time PC user, but got my first iPod in 2003, concurrent with the advent of iTunes for Windows. Since then, I have purchased an iPod mini 6gb...Moved to the iPod nano 8gb...iPod Shuffle second gen...and then the iPhone.

I have about 750 bucks in Best Buy gift cards that I have earned through various rewards programs, and decided the best way for me to use them would be to finally make the move to Mac.

I am considering the Macbook that retails for 1299. If all goes well with my purchase, I will be looking at replacing one of my 4 year old Sony Vaio desk with an iMac, in which case I will be on here A LOT looking for advice on how to move all of my files (including 7 gb of music and a bunch of video) over to the iMac.

This is a great resource. I am excited, but a little worried about switching over.

I take it you guys really recommend the Macbook, especially for a beginning user? I would use it for travelling, mainly. I have a Dell laptop right now, but the video card has fried for a second time since 2005, and it is not worth fixing.

The Macbook nano that is rumored might be a reason to wait, but to get it that thin, I don't think it will be as full-featured as I would like.

Any suggestions?

I will be purchasing Applecare, of course. I can buy it directly from Apple, even if I buy the Macbook at Best buy, right?

Thanks everybody!

 

[Lovesong]

The Macbook nano that is rumored might be a reason to wait, but to get it that thin, I don't think it will be as full-featured as I would like.

Any suggestions?

I will be purchasing Applecare, of course. I can buy it directly from Apple, even if I buy the Macbook at Best buy, right?

Thanks everybody!

I think the MB is the way to go for the time being. The MB nano, or whatever it's called has been a rumor for about three years now, with nothing to show for it. The MBs were just upgraded, so you'll be fine for a while.

Ummm... welcome to the social, I guess.

 

[jphbaerv]

Better think about buying Apple care...

Why paying for it when all advice is find for free on Google? Apple care is only good for Apple shareholders: the famous free lunch, paying for 'air'....

Googleing or using forums works just as good. Drop the Apple care!

Good luck!

 

[Built]

I think the MB is the way to go for the time being. The MB nano, or whatever it's called has been a rumor for about three years now, with nothing to show for it. The MBs were just upgraded, so you'll be fine for a while.

Ummm... welcome to the social, I guess.

Thanks for the info, lovesong. It makes me feel better about buying now.

Better think about buying Apple care...

Why paying for it when all advice is find for free on Google? Apple care is only good for Apple shareholders: the famous free lunch, paying for 'air'....

Googleing or using forums works just as good. Drop the Apple care!

Good luck!

That's good advice, jph. With my iPods and iPhone, I have gotten all of my advice online, but I am concerned about repairs.

My old Dell laptop's video card fried in 2005, and they came to my house to replace it. It would seem to give me some peace of mind, but then again, I don't know about the reliability of Macbooks yet.

Thanks for the advice. I have to think about it before I plunk down another 249!

 

[hdsalinas]

Hi, Let me tell you that you wont regret switching to mac. I owned several PCs during the last 12 years and I must say that my almost-one-year-old Macbook Pro has been the best computer I have ever had. Not a single problem. Everything just works.

I just came back from my parents house where I played around with a gateway laptop with vista and i cant see how people stand that thing. We could not get video to work well with Skype (it used to work but something happened). I lost the wifi connection twice and had to restart the laptop both times. I hear that vista copied Mac OS X, after using it tonight I just wish that they would have copied it more.

You will love your Macbook. I have never been so proud and satisfied about any computer I have ever own.

 

[Built]

Hi, Let me tell you that you wont regret switching to mac. I owned several PCs during the last 12 years and I must say that my almost-one-year-old Macbook Pro has been the best computer I have ever had. Not a single problem. Everything just works.

I just came back from my parents house where I played around with a gateway laptop with vista and i cant see how people stand that thing. We could not get video to work well with Skype (it used to work but something happened). I lost the wifi connection twice and had to restart the laptop both times. I hear that vista copied Mac OS X, after using it tonight I just wish that they would have copied it more.

You will love your Macbook. I have never been so proud and satisfied about any computer I have ever own.

Thanks, hd, for that glowing account. I appreciate it.

I was one of those people who said I would NEVER become a MAC person, but with the iPod and iPhone, I guess I fell right into the target market that Steve Jobs was always looking to get ultimately.

I am really looking forward to it.

 

[Dybbuk]

Applecare on eBay is much cheaper.

 

[ViveLeLivre]

Thanks, hd, for that glowing account. I appreciate it.

I was one of those people who said I would NEVER become a MAC person, but with the iPod and iPhone, I guess I fell right into the target market that Steve Jobs was always looking to get ultimately.

I am really looking forward to it.

The halo effect lives!

You'll love your macbook, but mostly you'll love OSX. Make sure you learn all the tricks to using Leopard's Spaces, it really does wonders with the MB's little screen. (check out macosxhints.com)

 

[Built]

The halo effect lives!

You'll love your macbook, but mostly you'll love OSX. Make sure you learn all the tricks to using Leopard's Spaces, it really does wonders with the MB's little screen. (check out macosxhints.com)

Thanks, Vive. I will check it out!

 

[iBecks]

I will be purchasing Applecare, of course. I can buy it directly from Apple, even if I buy the Macbook at Best buy, right?

You can buy AppleCare directly from Apple at anytime during the 1st year warranty.

I would recommend AppleCare, even though I don't use their software support, I want 3yrs cover on my hardware.

 

[BossHogg]

Same story here.....windows user for a long, long time...then it started ...iPod....iPhone....new Macbook....loving it and am not looking back !

My Macbook is great for business travel, home use, light gaming, home video creation, cards, etc.

I also picked up AppleCare because I've had several laptops with issues here and there that needed repair and were tossed since those fixes were too expensive even if the laptop had lots of life left in it.

Good luck and enjoy !!!

 

[GSMiller]

Glad to see you're making the switch, it'll be money well spent

As for AppleCare, I can't really tell you whether or not to buy it. I bought an iMac in October 2006 with AppleCare and haven't had one issue with it so far. AppleCare is sort of like a security blanket as it triples your warranty. Notebooks are always being carried around and carry the risk of being dropped, so that's something to think about when deciding on AppleCare. You don't have to get AppleCare when you buy your Mac, or from the same retailer you brought your Mac from. You can wait closer to the expiration of your 1 year warranty and buy AC and it extend it for another 2 years. People have even bought theirs on eBay before.

And yes the MacBook will fit your needs great.

 

[emptyCup]

Better think about buying Apple care...

Why paying for it when all advice is find for free on Google?

You don't need Applecare for support, you buy it for repairs. One repair will more than pay for it. If you never need it, you've bought peace of mind (and made an offering to the gods of good fortune). You don't have to buy it with the machine, and you can get it more cheaply here. You might also want to look into David Pogue's Switching to the Mac books. Best wishes.

 

[iBecks]

AppleCare is sort of like a security blanket as it triples your warranty. Notebooks are always being carried around and carry the risk of being dropped, so that's something to think about when deciding on AppleCare.

Generally good advice, however, AppleCare does not cover you should you drop your MacBook, there is no accidental cover whatsoever with AppleCare.

 

[rosxy]

hey everyone, i'm new to the forums as well but i figured i'd join in on this one.

I'm a pc convert as well and like everyone's been saying, you'll love the mac. The MB is great for a starter but you didn't mention what kinds of apps you'd be planning on using. just remember that the macbook doesn't have a graphics card but a graphics accelerator. so, if you're gonna be doing some heavy gaming, etc., the MBP is better.

for transferring files from a PC to a future iMac, look into the services from the apple store because i think they're able to transfer files for you.

finally, i'd say yes to AppleCare, it's come in handy so many times. It doesn't cover accidental damage so just be nice to the MB!

 

[Built]

Thanks, everybody, for the great info!