Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Macbook Released

Will MacMall charge sales tax?

...if I live in a state other than MacMall? I realize that most dealers don't; I just want to make sure there are no gotchas. Without sales tax, MacMall's shipped price for the base model ($1044 + $10.52 shipping) will beat my daughter's "education price" ($1050 shipped + $52.50 sales tax).
 
PaulinMaryland said:
...if I live in a state other than MacMall? I realize that most dealers don't; I just want to make sure there are no gotchas. Without sales tax, MacMall's shipped price for the base model ($1044 + $10.52 shipping) will beat my daughter's "education price" ($1050 shipped + $52.50 sales tax).
Click to expand...

It sounds like they are one of the companies that charges tax based on your destination. There are some that only charge in certain states, and leave you to declare use tax, if you are required to do so, when they don't charge tax on your behalf...

Applicable Taxes
Any sales, use or other applicable tax is based on the location to which the order is shipped. If you believe your purchases are not subject to sales tax, please contact your Account Executive for assistance at (800) 622-6255.
Click to expand...

Link

Mmm, 120GB of HD space sounds on my notebook sounds awfully tempting right now. :eek: At least it will until I get closer to filling the 160GB HD on my iMac. :eek:
 
Confirmed: Seagate 160GB 2.5" 9.5mm MacBook Compatible Thick Ships In July

PaulinMaryland said:
Yep: From ViperLair.com's review: "A SATA version will be forthcoming, but the ETA is unknown at this point."

(added from silentpcreview.com:) "A SATA version of the drive will be available 'later this year'."
Click to expand...
JULY FOR SURE
PaulinMaryland said:
According to Seagate's specsheet (PDF), the Momentus 160 is no thicker than the 120. Am I missing something?
Click to expand...
You are correct that the 160 is only 9.5mm thick. So I'm getting very excited. 160GB inside a MacBook will be AWESOME. SATA version ships in JULY.

On phone with Seagate Corporate Communications now. Have confirmation from them that the SATA Version of the Momentus 160GB 9.5mm thick HD ships in JULY. So if you can hold off two months or so the Seagate Momentus 5400 160 SATA should be out by end of July at the latest.:)
 
Maybe a bad question

I called my local Apple store to see if they had the Macbook in. They did.
The salesperson tried to talk me into the black Macbook over the phone to which i replied that i was not interested b/c i will be upgrading the RAM and the HD. Here is the convo that follows:

Me: I plan on upgrading the HD and RAM ASAP.

Her: That will void your warranty.

Me: Well as the RAM and HD are user-serviceable parts, i dont see how that is possible.

Her: If you "crack the case open" you void the warranty.

Me: Well you dont have to do that. You simply just (insert RAM and HD replacement procedure)

Her: Silence

So who is really right? I doubt Apple would be able to tell the difference if i had to send it in for service, especially if i sent it in with the original HD in it.

Can anyone enlighten me as to whom is correct? Thanks in advance.

edit: the manual located here mentions: "Before you can remove the hard drive, you must remove the battery and RAM door.
 
160GB SATA ships in July

Multimedia said:
So if you can hold off two months or so the Seagate Momentus 5400 160 SATA should be out by end of July at the latest.:)
Click to expand...
Thanks, Multimedia! I can wait, but can my daughter? :) She starts college in midAugust and wants time to get used to her Mac.

For the rest of us, the 5400.3's superior shock resistance (350 g's vs. 250 for the 5400.2) is worth the price of admission--well, I guess we'll have to see what the price is.

How do the Fujis rate for shock resistance?
 
Cybergypsy said:
Oh NOOOOOOO they do not include the white apple stickers anymore.........ughhhhhhhhhh
Click to expand...

Whaaaat? This is serous. Maybe you get black ones when you have the black Macbook... :p
 
faintember said:
I called my local Apple store to see if they had the Macbook in. They did.
The salesperson tried to talk me into the black Macbook over the phone to which i replied that i was not interested b/c i will be upgrading the RAM and the HD. Here is the convo that follows:

Me: I plan on upgrading the HD and RAM ASAP.

Her: That will void your warranty.

Me: Well as the RAM and HD are user-serviceable parts, i dont see how that is possible.

Her: If you "crack the case open" you void the warranty.

Me: Well you dont have to do that. You simply just (insert RAM and HD replacement procedure)

Her: Silence

So who is really right? I doubt Apple would be able to tell the difference if i had to send it in for service, especially if i sent it in with the original HD in it.

Can anyone enlighten me as to whom is correct? Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

Well, I don't know for sure, but you're right. They can't tell if you replace the disk and when it came time to send it in for service you switched back. I think the problem is that Apple has not communicated down to the retail store level an official decision on the MacBook hard disk.

RAM replacement has never voided your warranty in the past, and even hard disk replacement doesn't on a desktop. Apple employees are probably quoting the MacBook Pro/old iBook policy on hard disks; I'm pretty sure Apple would not void your warranty for a HD replacement as easily as it is done on the MacBook. (And as you say they couldn't even tell if they wanted to!)
 
MacBook Is Seagate 160GB Momentus SATA Ready For July

PaulinMaryland said:
Thanks, Multimedia! I can wait, but can my daughter? :) She starts college in midAugust and wants time to get used to her Mac.

For the rest of us, the 5400.3's superior shock resistance (350 g's vs. 250 for the 5400.2) is worth the price of admission--well, I guess we'll have to see what the price is.

How do the Fujis rate for shock resistance?
Click to expand...
Buy her an external 2.5" FW case for the 60. Then she can easily add the 160 and move the 60 outside. Then she installs a new copy of Tiger and when it starts up she'll be prompted to connect the FW drive and it will move all her changes from the 60 to the 160 in a flash.

Fujitsu is too thick. 12mm. This Seagate 160 Momentus SATA is going to be a hit tail wagging the MacBook dog once it's out in July. Something tells me Apple will be putting them inside MacBook Pros by Summer's end. But MacBook owners won't have to wait nor pay Apple's higher price. ;)
 
faintember said:
edit: the manual located here mentions: "Before you can remove the hard drive, you must remove the battery and RAM door.
Click to expand...

I'd write that off as a misprint, although I wouldn't write off the idea that HD changing doesn't void the warranty (especially if you hang on to the original and replace it...it would be very hard to detect).

The reasons I would say this is a misprint are that the HD isn't really mentioned anywhere else in that procedure, the procedure is explicitly about the RAM and not the HD, and if you were to replace "hard drive" with "memory module" in that statement, it would make much more sense in the context. :(
 
Apple Employee Admits Ignorance The MacBooks Have User Hard Drive Upgradable Feature

faintember said:
I called my local Apple store to see if they had the Macbook in. They did.
The salesperson tried to talk me into the black Macbook over the phone to which i replied that i was not interested b/c i will be upgrading the RAM and the HD. Here is the convo that follows:

Me: I plan on upgrading the HD and RAM ASAP.

Her: That will void your warranty.

Me: Well as the RAM and HD are user-serviceable parts, i dont see how that is possible.

Her: If you "crack the case open" you void the warranty.

Me: Well you dont have to do that. You simply just (insert RAM and HD replacement procedure)

Her: Silence
Click to expand...
That's the sound of her thinking: "I don't know what he is talking about but I can't tell him that."
faintember said:
So who is really right? I doubt Apple would be able to tell the difference if i had to send it in for service, especially if i sent it in with the original HD in it.

Can anyone enlighten me as to whom is correct? Thanks in advance.

edit: the manual located here mentions: "Before you can remove the hard drive, you must remove the battery and RAM door.
Click to expand...
You are totally right. She is ignorant. Get the Seagate 160 in July and you will be the coolest MacBook owner on your block. :p

Remove the RAM door with a Phillips #1. The "door" is a L-shaped barrier bracket that covers the RAM and the HD slots.
 
mkrishnan said:
The reasons I would say this is a misprint are that the HD isn't really mentioned anywhere else in that procedure, the procedure is explicitly about the RAM and not the HD, and if you were to replace "hard drive" with "memory module" in that statement, it would make much more sense in the context. :(
Click to expand...
A misprint it may be, however it is a official DIY manual straight from Apple. Maybe a loophole to use against them if needed. However i doubt if the HD swap (if the original was replaced before being sent for service) would be detectable as long as the user didnt use a prybar on the case or something of the like.

All i know is the HD in my TiPB is user serviceable, requiring the removal of the whole bottom case. If the Macbook HD is not user serviceable then it is just Apple being crazy.:)

Thanks for the help and advice all. I just wanted to make sure that my logic was correct!
Multimedia, mine will be getting a Hitachi 100gig 7200rpm drive. HD speed is more important to me than storage space, but thanks for the info.
 
No Warranty Voided W/hd

You will not void your warranty by replacing the hard drive or memory. Now Apple will not warranty your replacement part, but the hard drive probably comes with a 3- or 5-year warranty from the manufacturer, and most memory has a lifetime warranty, so you are better off anyway with replacement parts. But if your FireWire port stops working in 3 months then Apple will fix it under warranty, regardless of whether or not you replaced the HD or RAM.

The only way Apple will not fix something under warranty is if you open your computer and damage something as a direct result of your actions. For example, you feel you just need DL burning on the road so one month from now you open your MacBook to replace the SuperDrive with a DL burning model, but then you mess up something in the process, Apple will NOT cover up your screw up under warranty.

I've been over this in past years, and this is a result of what I have found. Yes, you will get uninformed answers from Apple Store employees and even by calling Apple (with the low level techs) but if you press the issue Apple must honor their warranty for parts that fail as a result of their defects.

Cybergypsy said:
Oh NOOOOOOO they do not include the white apple stickers anymore.........ughhhhhhhhhh
Click to expand...
Don't know where you heard/read/saw this, but the MacBooks do come with the Apple stickers. Perhaps yours is stuck to the back of your user's guide. :)
 
Multimedia said:
Remove the RAM door? What? What's a RAM Door? Are screwdrivers involved? Torx or Phillips?
Click to expand...
There is an L-bracket that covers the hard drive/RAM openings from the battery. I imagine that could be referred to as a "RAM door." It requires the use of a Phillips screwdriver -- size 0 worked well for me.

Multimedia said:
Buy her an external 2.5" FW case for the 60. Then she can easily add the 160 and move the 60 outside.
Click to expand...
I have not seen an external FW 2.5" enclosure for SATA drives. Have you? If so, please post a link, as I was the first to say the 160GB doesn't come in SATA flavor yet but someone replied "yes, they are out." :rolleyes:


Multimedia said:
This Seagate 160 Momentus SATA is going to be a hit tail wagging the MacBook dog once it's out in July. Something tells me Apple will be putting them inside MacBook Pros by Summer's end.
Click to expand...
I doubt Apple will make it immediately available. They are not shipping 500GB HD's in desktops, are they? It took Apple some time to make 400GB a BTO option. It could take quite a few months before they make the 160GB available, and that's after they actually start to ship.
 
someone needs to stickie this:

you can do anything you like to your mac as long as it does not do damage and even then it only voids the warranty of that part

I am an apple certified technician, sales people dont know jack about the warranty they just want to make the sale thus encourage you to upgrade it with apple and will use FUD to do it.
 
Multimedia said:
Buy her an external 2.5" FW case for the 60. Then she can easily add the 160 and move the 60 outside. Then she installs a new copy of Tiger and when it starts up she'll be prompted to connect the FW drive and it will move all her changes from the 60 to the 160 in a flash.
Click to expand...
Great idea; thanks! I was wondering how to use it.

Fujitsu is too thick. 12mm.
Click to expand...
Too bad, since Fujitsu's 300g (shock rating), 2.5in. SATA will soon (by June) hit 200GB. Photo here.
 
"Do no damage"

Hector said:
someone needs to stickie this:

you can do anything you like to your mac as long as it does not do damage and even then it only voids the warranty of that part
Click to expand...
I thought the problem is that Apple might claim that our replacement part generated more heat, and so led another component to fail prematurely.
 
if they have a case sure, but it's your fault for using parts that are dodgy and damage the hardware as conferred by my original statement.

just read warrantees and use your common sense sticking a 9700 pro inside a g4 cube is likely to cause problems (i have one in mine but i'm special...)


the same logic applies to external peripherals, if the psu blows in your HD shunting 12V down the firewire line into the logic board blowing it apple is not liable, but useing the HD in the first place does not void the warranty.
 
Cybergypsy said:
Oh NOOOOOOO they do not include the white apple stickers anymore.........ughhhhhhhhhh
Click to expand...

Mine did... I'm guessing yours are in there somewhere. I think they may have been inserted in between the pages of the manual? They weren't obvious, but I did come across them at one point...

BTW: I'm surprised how many of my neighbors have wireless networks...
 
DesmoDog said:
Mine did... I'm guessing yours are in there somewhere. I think they may have been inserted in between the pages of the manual? They weren't obvious, but I did come across them at one point...

BTW: I'm surprised how many of my neighbors have wireless networks...
Click to expand...

Amusing anecdote. At my friend's townhouse last night, I asked him if he had wireless. This was the exchange:

"Sure."
"Which one is it?"
"Linksys, I think. Not the one with the other name."
"No, there's like seven networks here."
"No there's not."
"Yes there are."
"My computer only sees two."

Hurray for the power of AirPort. o_O
 
Impressions and the first of a 14 night stand

I figured the only way to break through my own and everyone else's (those who don't have one) speculation was to go check them out.

First I went to CompUSA (no one in the Apple department) where they had one black MB and the screen was not functioning correctly. I rebooted it, a sales person tried to get it to work and it would not come on with the screen so you could see it. You could see a very faint image and the power was plugged in and power light on.

Next stop was Fry's where they had no MB out on display for demo but they had several in stock and a sales person brought out a white one to show another customer and myself. I immediately changed my mind about getting a white one. I had psyched myself up to get a white one, but as soon as I saw the keyboard I remembered all the white ibooks I've worked on for clients where the white surface had become dirty, discolored, including one owned by a fairly "Monk-ish" neat-nick.

After establishing a verifiable no-questions asked 15 day return policy (I buy a lot from Fry's and they have never refused a return of anything) I decided to take home a black MB and spend a few nights with her. I haven't told her that she may be boxed up and returned to her 'agents.' (please use politically correct global gender replacement of your choice, many are availabe)

People who've read my other posts here will groan, but the first thing I noticed was how heavy the little sucker was ;-). Then how beautiful. So I can live with a beautiful overweight beauty for a couple of weeks at least.

Because much of this has been covered I'll just bullet my perceptions after about 12 hours of use. Keep in mind that I am a skeptic by nature, and a believer by choice:

  • Glossy screen works far better than I imagined or than I have seen implemented on other systems
  • Black surface: I tried to scratch off the paint at CompUSA - figuring that the system was having problems anyway. It resisted my tough fingernails. I haven't dug into my "precious" too hard but gave it a few loving scratches and so far so good. She purred .
  • Looks: It is absolutely sepectacular looking
  • Heat: The left side gets hot as hell and I always use a pedestal pad on all laptops and am used to a fair amount of heat being generated. This was painful, and almost too hot to touch. I would not want it on my lap. At first I Thought it was just during charging, but later it heated up again off the charger.
  • Boot Camp: I was sitting there using it and I suddenly remember Boot Camp. Having an XP Pro service pack 2 Installation CD and license laying around I installed it.
  • Boot Camp continued: to put it in technical terms... fracking amazing! I work on Macs and PC and software for my work so maybe I didn't notice if something about this was difficult, but from what i can see this is a piece of cake. The automated CD burn of Mac Hardware drivers almost makes up for Apple feeding this beauty too many bon bon's and making her so heafty.
  • Boot Camp continues: I was careful to unpack everything so carefully for the return... but I sat there and realized that for $1,500 I had both a screamer Windows and Mac OS system. F*** I can almost overlook the weight issue. Not completely though.
  • Boot Camp more until I had loaded both systems, connected to wireless, plus could RDP to the Windows 2003 servers, plus the Mac servers I don't think I realized how great it was to have both the RDP as well as the full hardware dual boot available. This feature almost cuts the cost of the system to half for those people who really need to use both beyond RDP. I had a very strong "aha!" moment when I realized I had two mints, I mean two systems in one. It is obvious, but there is a 'felt sense' realization when it is there in front of you.
  • Keyboarding - I was very, very leery of the keyboard, but have warmed up to it and it seems great.
  • Trackpad and clicker - Hateful and sucks, but this is not new. Make it tappable as an option (someone tell me it's in a preference setting somewhere, please). The two finger click substitute for a second button is so idiotically contorted that it has to be a way to avoid another dollar on the price. Yes, it's doable and it will become easier the more you do it, but it just is 'wrong' in so many ways. Two finger scroll (my first) is ok, but I'm not sure from a usability perspective I think they will find a better way. In my opinion there has always been something just a little off with the Mac laptop pad and clicker. The way it is positioned almost always forced me to use my thumb in a way that is uncomfortable. I used to never use the 'tap' for click option on a laptop but once I got used to it I love it and is almost always easier than 'reaching' for the click bar with my thumb. Don't even say anything about using two hands on the pad/clicker.
  • Bowflexing... someone described the MB as 'flexing under it's own weight' and as I carried it around and did some one-handed 'curls' with it I felt exactly what they meant. It is an amazingly 'dense' piece of equipment. While many have said 5.x pounds is not a big deal this puppy is one that can easily slide out of the hands due to it's density. Not a dis, just reality of physics. Same thing is true of the MBP, PB's and previous books. I almost think they should come with sticky 'skins.' I did not discuss this with her and may not bring it up as it will sound way too kinked.
  • Graphics: For this level of system this is not a big issue for me. Covers my needs adequately. Would I like an option for more, what do you think?
  • Value: As has been said here many times this is a very nice, very cost-effective, package! If it doesn't melt in the next ten days and I don't drop it as I fling it around, and the paint doesn't flake off I'll probably keep it. I've already recommended the entry level and mid-level one to several Windoze clients because they can have a great Windows system and get used to the benefits of a Mac.
  • Marketing note to Infinite Loop: try an add with two side by side black MB's with Windows on one screen and Mac OS on the other. Have the camera do 360 degree pans around them with the screens shifting from email, to gaming, to spreadsheets, to iTunes, to splash screens of other corporate and creative software... Show people that these system and the software on them can do anything you want them to do. So it needs work, fine, get one of those multi-million dollar agencies to refine it. Stop with the old guy young guy, cool vs. nerdy, people jumping around listing to iPods. Even iPods can do more interesting things than power an aerobic fit. Apple could sell as many computers as it sells iPods. This is coming from a skeptic that thinks they still need improvements.
  • Marketing note #2 to Infinite Loop: consider purchasing an OEM license to Windows XP PRO/Vista and making it a pre-installed option. It would be cheaper and easier for your cross-over market expanding newbie buyers. As good a job as you have done with the Boot Camp implementation there are a gazillion people who don't want to even touch a system software disk or hear the word "partition" let alone be faced with the Windows system screen asking them which partition of three or more they would like to install Windows on. Your docs are good, and I know you don't want to support Windows but if you can sell a few million more hardware units it will be cheaper for the rest of us, or at least you'll make more money. The easier you make it for Windows to run on the Mac the fewer people will want to run Mac OS on generic and branded intel/AMD hardware, and my sense is that is more important than having Windows already pre-loaded on Macs.
  • All in all, the MB is bodaciously plump (hey I'm a few pounds over myself), has an impressively fine display, gets hotter than hell, and is VERY, very, versatile with Boot Camp.

One more time, make the weight more and more proportional to the size. If that doesn't get the weight down, try something else. ;)
 
Having read all of the posts in this thread :eek: , I'm ready to make my 1st post.
So please forgive if it's a bit wordy. I have a question or three:

How does the WiFi reception compare to the iBook? Has anyone managed side by side tests?

How long until the macbook gets the Merom chip (most likely scenario)?

I was ready to order a G4 iBook back in November, but then the first 13"
iBook rumors came out. I held onto my cash as bogus rumor after bogus
rumor came about. Having a 2 Ghz rev B iMac G5 with 2 GB RAM at home,
performance wasn't too big a deal. The thing I care about most in a portable
is WiFi reception and battery life. So this Macbook with its specs seems
almost too good to be true. So I am thankful for all those BS rumors!!

In the meantime I scored a 400 Mhz Pismo, 512 MB RAM, wireless card (!),
2 1/2 hour battery for $250. I added a 6100 Ah battery and a 80 GB 7500 RPM
Travelstar HD. Gotta love the 7 hour battery life with full screen brightness
(which admittedly isn't very bright). This machine does 90% of what I need
a portable for, including optimizing images for web via PS CS2, and web
stuff using Dreamweaver 8, (slow but usable) and all the other usual stuff .
The WiFi reception is very, very good; easily blows the doors off Ti Books
and Al Books (but limited to 802.11b compatible networks and 11Mbps tranfer).
Tiger runs great. Where this machine is really lacking is poor H264 playpack, or
high frame-rate or bit-rate video using other codecs. I will definitely be keeping
this Pismo as I have fallen in love with it. Even before the Macbooks
came out, I was getting all sorts of questions and comments about it.
Now it's gonna be really fun when everyone thinks it's the new Macbook. :cool:

Quick question: why in tarnation is the Apple upside down on The Pismo??

So for now I figure I might as well wait until the Merom chips are used,
or at least the base-model gets bumped to 2 Ghz or higher. Hell, I might
even wait until Leapord comes standard. When's Leapord due agan?

One last thing...
Hector, let's say I wanted to replace the HD in a G4 iBook. Having seen the
procedure outlined online on PBfixit, there are 23 pages of instructions, with
3 pictures/steps per page. So Apple is cool with me doing this as long as I don't screw up?
This certainly goes against all that I have read or heard from several sources.
It has been strongly implied or succinctly stated that if you even crack the
case on a Rev c or higher iMac, an iBook, an eMac, ect, that the warranty is void.
I wasn't sure how they would be able to tell, but still wondered...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back