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New Macbook Pro Owner :D EDITx2: Second issue solved! first question still applies

H

hopefulmacuser

macrumors member
Original poster
May 24, 2009
33
0
Proud too :D XD Just bought my first Macbook Pro the second model of 15 inch. the 1999 one. I purchased with it the Canon Pixma MP620 i think or something like that. And iPod classic black and iWork 09.

I put off the Apple Care and will purchase it later just to spread the cost and make my dad happy who was paying for it all lol.

I also got a silicon keyboard cover which was what I wanted but I think it only covers keyboard. I kinda want something for my palmrest too cause my current Dell Inspiron 8600 has DISGUSTING like stain marks from my sweat hahaha. Any suggestions to this? Is there a combo that covers both the keyboard and palm rest silicon thing?

Which leads me to my question for buying tips:
Now that we have a MBP what are some recommended accessories (concrete and software)?
I'm looking at stands, they had Griffith or Griffin's Elevator but I decided to put that off to look into other stands first. And inCase neoprene sleeve (I'll be using a north face backpack so it hink a sleeve is all i need.

I really wanted to get mobileme but in the end the cost for the functions I needed from it (sync my iphone and possibly the locator) didnt really cut the yearly committment. And office for mac, my sister has 2 more installations on the 2004 edition.



INDECISIVE strikes again
So I took the plunge quickly and decided to purchase it through the store. As most know, base models come with a HD @5400 rpm. I've been having contemplating thoughts between upgrading 45 bux or not to get the 7200 one but I just took the plunge and bought it. Now I kind of want to get the 7200 one. But it will be so complicated! I called an apple retail person through the number on the site and we came to the point of how difficult this will be because the rebates will be invalidated because it needs to all be on one receipt. SO he told me to call customer service to see if something can be worked out that I can just return the machine and order an upgraded hard drive. However the second solution is why not just return everything and reorder? Well my dad got excited about a new printer and opened it right away (I havent opened anything else) and set it up. SO that leads me to will they take back an open printer? If so how much will we lose for this decision.


If anything I guess i can suffice with the current setting. But if it's not that difficult I'm all for attempting to get the machine I truly want now!
SOLVED ISSUE

:D back on track to recommended accessories and software! thanks to everyone helping with the 5400 x 7200 moment of drama lol
 
Check out the Rain Design mStand or Logitech Alto Connect (Numerous stand threads)

Many people will recommend the Applesac over the Incase, I'm a fan of Booq's Vyper.
 
Congrats on your purchase!

I have the Incase neoprene sleeve too for my 17"

For stands... check out the mStand by Rain
It isn't the cheapest, but it is the best in my opinion
There is a thread around here too

I have my 17" MBP on and mStand next to a 23" ACD
It is the perfect setup for me with a bluetooth mouse and keyboard

Woof, Woof - Dawg
pawprint.gif
 
thanks wow what quick replies!

my little conundrum with stands are often times its used or im assuming is because people like to use another keyboard connected to their laptops
i love using laptop keys for some reason but also it's to help keep it cool right?
ah i suck at structuring my thoughts but anyways, my question would be are stands right for me cause i would imagine it be hard to type on the laptop with it on the stand.

i was actually looking at mstand, and I dont mind a price tag as long as its not toooooooo extreme imo and provides great quality. but its like tilted so I'm not sure if it helps with typing or makes it even more challenging. I wish there was a store I could try stands on and typing lol.

Thanks for the extra recommendations on stands and sleeves I'll definitely check it out. From what i've read on the forums incase seems to be really great.

vmware verses parallels the apple store retail person told me they are practically up to same level now.
 
Edit + supplemental information

ahhh edited with new problem that needs to be assessed<3 what is everyone's opinion!

heres also supplemental info:
Ah, stupid, indecisive old me! So I shot the gun today and purchased the 1999 model 15' Macbook Pro through the Apple Retail Store in some city in California. Along it, I purchased a Canon PIXMA MP620, iPod Classic Black, iWork '09, and a silicon keyboard cover.

Prior to this purchase, I had an intense battle in my mind of whether or not to upgrade the HD to 7200 rpm. The staff person in the store convinced me to just purchase the base then. But now I really, firmly believe I should get the upgraded HD.

So I called Apple up and talked to another Retail person after conversing for a bit (He was extremely kind, helpful and nice) he said it should be fairly simple to just return the machine and reorder it through him and get the new machine.
But then the bell dinged in my head and I was concerned about the rebates! Because as we all know, the rebates only work if it's all on one receipt. So will this invalidate my rebates (which I haven't processed/done yet). So he directed me to Customer Service to ask that question and see if it can be done and then to call him back to place the order if so. But Customer Service had closed because it's past the operating hours.

I know the obvious solution to this is: Why not just return everything? Well, how lucky I am to have an eager Dad to use a new printer since we've been with our current printer since the first time we bought a Desktop. So he opened the box, set it up, and did the trial print. Therefore, I do not know if I can return everything still. I can't seem to find the policy for returns on printers. If allowed, how much would I lose? Every other product has not been touched!
I don't blame my Dad, ultimately it was my decision/ I shouldn't since he paid for it.

But anyways, I am content with the machine I received-but if there's just that slight possibility as long as its not too excessive I would want to exchange it.

Any advice, or thoughts on this. :D Thanks alot!
posted on apple's discussion site XD if it seems oddly familiar to you.



lol so someone replied with a cool solution to just swap the hd myself and see this as an opportunity! i think that's cool :D
 
yes, just go out and buy a 2.5" 7200rpm hd. You can get them cheap. I'm sure it's not that hard to open the machine up. Just google it. I've replaced drives in laptops and they are pretty simple. It's just getting to it that's a little complicated. Once you swap it out. sell the old one on ebay or get and external enclosure for it. Whichever works best for your situation.
 
lol so i realized i look like a complete whiny bitch and there are more problem sin the world than this

but i decided to just return everything
to my understanding there is a 10% restocking fee applied to open products so that solves my printer problem
i hope the restocking fee is applied to only the item so itll jus be 1.50 lol
rather than the whole purchase which would be a 200 dollar restocking fee but ill definitel call to make sure first before doing this


back on topic :D is there a list of good software anywhere
ill try mroogle but google sends me outdated fforum topics :(!


edit: wow mroogle is useful ^_^;.. but direct responses here are apprreciated and loved with their experiences on different accesories/software
 
So why exactly are you going through all this trouble and money loss again?

You will get almost zero benefit from the 7200 rpm drive anyway.

You're wasting money by paying restocking fees, you're also wasting money by overpaying for the 7200 rpm HD from Apple.

For the amount of crash you're just throwing away you could almost buy an SSD, which you might actually see some benefit from...
 
wow you totally knocked some sense into me :(
man im so easily persuaded i wish i was more stable and decisive.
but ultimately what you said sounds so plainly true. trouble and loss of money
alright! if anything ill just swap it myself if i want to in future. thanks again >_<
 
hopefulmacuser said:
wow you totally knocked some sense into me :(
man im so easily persuaded i wish i was more stable and decisive.
but ultimately what you said sounds so plainly true. trouble and loss of money
alright! if anything ill just swap it myself if i want to in future. thanks again >_<
Click to expand...

That's the best decision. Watch your language. Plus you will hopefully have some other options for hard drives later on, now is not the best of times.
 
beg_ne said:
So why exactly are you going through all this trouble and money loss again?

You will get almost zero benefit from the 7200 rpm drive anyway.

You're wasting money by paying restocking fees, you're also wasting money by overpaying for the 7200 rpm HD from Apple.

For the amount of crash you're just throwing away you could almost buy an SSD, which you might actually see some benefit from...
Click to expand...

Agreed. For most things, I think 5400 vs 7200 doesn't matter much. Being indecisive is okay - but don't start losing money because of it.
 
hopefulmacuser said:
wow you totally knocked some sense into me :(
man im so easily persuaded i wish i was more stable and decisive.
but ultimately what you said sounds so plainly true. trouble and loss of money
alright! if anything ill just swap it myself if i want to in future. thanks again >_<
Click to expand...

Just be cool, no reason to beat up on yourself.

I think in the long run getting a stock machine is best, it makes it easier for Apple to swap (if you live relatively close to a store) in the off chance you ever have a serious issue with the machine.

And swapping the HD is really inexpensive and very simple to do. You can search on youtube and find some videos to see how easy it is I'm sure.

So just relax, try not to over-stress and over-think things and just enjoy your new toys. :)
 
Thanks, I find one of my weakness as a person tends to be my relient on opinions of others - but in this case it helped also.

Not to bump, but gonna try to refocus this thread on Recommended Software/Accesories to purchase for a new Macbook Pro :)
​

Currently I have:
zCover: silicone keyboard protector
iWork 09
office for Mac student edition 2004​

Things in mind I am seeking:
Palm/the area next to the trackpad before the keyboard rest protection:
background: my past inspiron 8600 got ugly palm rest with sweat mark stains and I think its called gunk build up. Perhaps something silicon (maybe in conjunction with keyboard if its good)[/RIGHT]

Stand/Cooling thing:
background: heating problems with past laptop! read up a little on stands and supposed helps relieve it a little.
concern: how is typing on the laptop keyboard because I do not use external keyboard/mouse

Sleeve:
background: will be using my north face backpack to transport it. read up on it saying probably just a sleeve is good and i looked into incase

ALSO OPEN TO NEW SUGGESTIONS​

History
I looked into several of the mentioned brands here and still looking forward to look at more. I liked the Vyper by booq i think, and the applesacs seem cool. Generally I like incases's sleeve but Vypers do look so chic. In terms of stands, I looked into logitechs which seem really nice and simplistic cool design but seems overpriced for that small piece wait I think it had usb ports too so nevermind its a great contender. mStand I like also, and elevator is an ehhh. But again my concern with stands still rise with typing. Wish I could try it out haha.​



SORRY this is such a verbose topic and that's my fault. I can delete all of the previous stuff but I feel that's putting a facade for everyone XDD This post is more of a recap.​
 
hm so do most stands in general are ideal for those with external keyboards
and not for people who type using the laptop's given set of keys?

nicee i think moshi is what I'm looking for palm
i shall buy a palmguard!
 
oh good point lol i guess i was really looking for cooling pads time to go search!
anyone have recommendations on cooling pads as well
iLap's look awesome and seems great but I like keeping my options open first before purchasing but definitely I like the iLap thanks for the referral.

found a thread for cooling stands from mroogle XD
https://forums.macrumors.com/archive/index.php/t-535308.html
 
+10000000 for the moshi palmguard, its protected my MBP faultlessly and you don't even notice it, or a colour difference.
 
Hooray I'm definitely going after a Moshi Palmguard.

Still tossed up on stand/cooling pad - only stand option I'm looking into is iLap though.
As well as cases! I like booq's Vyper, incase Sleeve plus or skinny sleeve whatever its called, and Moshi's Codex, and the applesac (that hemp one).
 
hopefulmacuser said:
Proud too :D XD Just bought my first Macbook Pro the second model of 15 inch. the 1999 one. I purchased with it the Canon Pixma MP620 i think or something like that. And iPod classic black and iWork 09.

I put off the Apple Care and will purchase it later just to spread the cost and make my dad happy who was paying for it all lol.

I also got a silicon keyboard cover which was what I wanted but I think it only covers keyboard. I kinda want something for my palmrest too cause my current Dell Inspiron 8600 has DISGUSTING like stain marks from my sweat hahaha. Any suggestions to this? Is there a combo that covers both the keyboard and palm rest silicon thing?

Which leads me to my question for buying tips:
Now that we have a MBP what are some recommended accessories (concrete and software)?
I'm looking at stands, they had Griffith or Griffin's Elevator but I decided to put that off to look into other stands first. And inCase neoprene sleeve (I'll be using a north face backpack so it hink a sleeve is all i need.

I really wanted to get mobileme but in the end the cost for the functions I needed from it (sync my iphone and possibly the locator) didnt really cut the yearly committment. And office for mac, my sister has 2 more installations on the 2004 edition.



INDECISIVE strikes again
So I took the plunge quickly and decided to purchase it through the store. As most know, base models come with a HD @5400 rpm. I've been having contemplating thoughts between upgrading 45 bux or not to get the 7200 one but I just took the plunge and bought it. Now I kind of want to get the 7200 one. But it will be so complicated! I called an apple retail person through the number on the site and we came to the point of how difficult this will be because the rebates will be invalidated because it needs to all be on one receipt. SO he told me to call customer service to see if something can be worked out that I can just return the machine and order an upgraded hard drive. However the second solution is why not just return everything and reorder? Well my dad got excited about a new printer and opened it right away (I havent opened anything else) and set it up. SO that leads me to will they take back an open printer? If so how much will we lose for this decision.


If anything I guess i can suffice with the current setting. But if it's not that difficult I'm all for attempting to get the machine I truly want now!
SOLVED ISSUE

:D back on track to recommended accessories and software! thanks to everyone helping with the 5400 x 7200 moment of drama lol
Click to expand...

To answer the first question... of course they will take back the opened printer that is if you are going to buy it back again. You are just repurchasing an upgraded MBP. Its not like you are returning everything. It shouldn't even be a problem if they return everything even though everything was already opened and then exchanging it with a different MBP and you purchase back what you returned... except the MBP of course.

Give it a try and it will work out.
 
mehh! thats true but too much ill be fine with what I have and in the future do it myself If i really want a better hd.
thanks though :D
 
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