Hello everyone! Couple questions.

[Fambaa]

Well I'm technically new to the forum but I've been lurking here for a while. I just decided to make an account now.
Anyways, I have owned my Dell Inspiron now for about 3 1/2 years. Ive had to replace the HDD oh...5 times and let me tell you Dell's customer service is atrocious. The first 4 HDD were brands I've never heard of and the most recent was a Toshiba.

I guess my questions are.

1. How reliable are the macbook/macbook pros components.
2. How long can I expect a macbook/pro to last ( I take really good care of my stuff)
3. From what I've read it seems everyones pleased but what is this beach ball of death.

Lastly is there any chance of the new lineup to have a price drop. I really would like a Macbook pro but as a full time college student part time worker, there is no chance in hell ill be able to get a mac in at least 2 years. ( and this Dell im on now is already about to go ive run anti virus after anti virus scans delete cookies clean registry everything i can think of and this thing is still acting like it always does when its about to crash.)

Any other comments and recommendations are welcomed and appreciated. Cant wait to have my darn Pharm D degree so I can finally have some spending money!

Thanks!

( also anyone that would like to make a donation of a macbook can let me know )

 

[0007776]

1. How reliable are the macbook/macbook pros components.
2. How long can I expect a macbook/pro to last ( I take really good care of my stuff)
3. From what I've read it seems everyones pleased but what is this beach ball of death.

Lastly is there any chance of the new lineup to have a price drop. I really would like a Macbook pro but as a full time college student part time worker, there is no chance in hell ill be able to get a mac in at least 2 years.

1. They are usually very reliable, I believe Apple usually scores high in surveys about reliability, that said any product can have issues so buy AppleCare.
2. How long it lasts depends on how important running the latest software is, if you insist on the latest software then probably 4 or 5 years, if you are fine running older software then you can keep it longer.
3.The beachball of death is what the cursor goes to when a Mac hangs up for a bit, put in enough ram and it shouldn't be an issue. Buy that ram from someone besides Apple tosave money.

A price drop is unlikely, but if you want to save some money you can buy from the education store since you are a student. Also you could buy from the refurb store I think they are even cheaper than the education store.

 

[shyam09]

Well I'm technically new to the forum but I've been lurking here for a while. I just decided to make an account now.
Anyways, I have owned my Dell Inspiron now for about 3 1/2 years. Ive had to replace the HDD oh...5 times and let me tell you Dell's customer service is atrocious. The first 4 HDD were brands I've never heard of and the most recent was a Toshiba.

I guess my questions are.

1. How reliable are the macbook/macbook pros components.
2. How long can I expect a macbook/pro to last ( I take really good care of my stuff)
3. From what I've read it seems everyones pleased but what is this beach ball of death.

Lastly is there any chance of the new lineup to have a price drop. I really would like a Macbook pro but as a full time college student part time worker, there is no chance in hell ill be able to get a mac in at least 2 years. ( and this Dell im on now is already about to go ive run anti virus after anti virus scans delete cookies clean registry everything i can think of and this thing is still acting like it always does when its about to crash.)

Any other comments and recommendations are welcomed and appreciated. Cant wait to have my darn Pharm D degree so I can finally have some spending money!

Thanks!

( also anyone that would like to make a donation of a macbook can let me know )

like what the above poster said.. its correcto!!!

but instead of buying through apple go through microcenter (if you have one nearby) the MBP 13" model (2010) with base specs- so 2.4 Ghz C2D, etc. is ONLY $999!!! its 200 off normal [price...

 

[cambookpro]

If you look after them you can probably get about 7-8 years.
My grandparents have got our 7-8 year old PowerBook G4, and, although it struggles with Flash, it does everything they need (internet, email)

 

[motulist]

I'm writing this to you on an 8 year old powerbook, the predecessor to the Macbook Pro. 'nuff said.

Actually, I have to put one caveat on that statement. Beyond the typical wear and tear that's to be expected from a laptop that's 8 years old, I've also had to replace the power cord about 3 times over the past 8 years, but they're relatively cheap at around $20 each, and they're easily buyable from a zillion different online stores.

If you can't afford to buy a new MBP right now, which I can totally understand, then you can look around for a used MBP from a couple of years ago. But don't buy a model that's too far back.

 

[Fambaa]

what I was thinking was waiting for the new line up to see the prices and then check for people trying to sell their MBPs toward the new ones so i might get a good deal there.

Another general question, I have a 500 GB external HDD will that work with a mac?

 

[ECUpirate44]

what I was thinking was waiting for the new line up to see the prices and then check for people trying to sell their MBPs toward the new ones so i might get a good deal there.

Another general question, I have a 500 GB external HDD will that work with a mac?

Prices will most likely not change.

Your external drive will need to be formatted for mac, but it will work