Newbie - OS Upgrade and other ?s

[HeatherA]

I'm about to venture in to the world of MBP for the first time. I've been a Windows user since 1993 so it's a whole new world. Just love my iPad, iPhone and iPods and this is the next logical step for me.

I picked up a 13" i7 today at Best Buy - Open box for $1399. Same as new at Apple Store with student pricing, but did it at Best Buy for reward zone points.

My questions right now are this... with Lion coming out will I have to pay for the OS upgrade or will Apple give it free within a certain purchase time frame like PC makers usually do? Not even sure when Lion is scheduled to be released but saw sometime this summer.

Also, how easy is it for someone to do the ram upgrade themselves? My husband is an IT guy (Windows of course) and very capable at hardware upgrades... is this something he can do for me?

Is a hard drive upgrade out of the question down the line? Home installed of course? Just not sure with the unibody.

Very excited to venture into the world of Mac, but not sure if I should wait or keep the system I bought today.

Thanks for your patience with this newbie!

 

[robbieduncan]

Apple have, in the past, give free upgrades to those who buy a new Mac once a shipping date for the new OS in announced. Normally this is a 4 week window. You will pay like everyone else.

 

[Derango]

Also, how easy is it for someone to do the ram upgrade themselves? My husband is an IT guy (Windows of course) and very capable at hardware upgrades... is this something he can do for me?

Is a hard drive upgrade out of the question down the line? Home installed of course? Just not sure with the unibody.

Both of those are pretty easy. The instructions should actually be in one of the sections of the user guide you received with the computer.

 

[ThaDoggg]

Usually they give it out if you bought within like 1 month. I am in the market as well but will buy it soon. No point in waiting for Lion and adopting something that will be full of bugs at release date.

 

[Consultant]

Apple update pricing is very reasonable. Not hundreds of dollars for "full" versions of windows.

For example Snow Leopard upgrade is $29.

Price of Lion hasn't been announced yet.

 

[Apple 26.2]

Congratulations and welcome to Mac!

Yeah, you'll likely have to pay for the OS upgrade... prices have varied from $29 to $129 in the past. Personally, I think Lion will be on the higher end of that. RAM & HDD upgrades should be a piece of cake for you and your husband.

 

[Robbug]

As mentioned before, you will have to pay for the OS upgrade. It shouldn't be a required purchase out of the gate as most OS X releases last about 2 revision numbers before an update may become necessary.

As mentioned before, the release of OS X Lion (10.7) is most likely going to be a full blown upgrade and will most likely cost $129. If I recall correctly the 5 computer license is $149. Snow Leopard (10.6) was an odd ball release offering significant improvements but minor UI changes hence $29.

As to upgrading your RAM and HD - very easy to do. For the unibodies it's one panel removal and a swap.

www.ifixit.com has some great walkthroughs on simple to complex procedures. Some procedures like RAM and HD upgrades will not void your warranty. Others will.

Welcome to the mac world.

 

[HeatherA]

Thanks everyone! I'm shocked at how fish out of water I feel using this MBP... I like it a lot, but it will take a while to learn all the ins and outs and replace decades of Windows use.

I think it will take weeks for me to get all of my things transferred from laptop to my MBP and get it set up the way I like it.

It's a whole new world for me!

P.S. Now I'm hoping Lion won't cost the $129 you guys are saying... that's steep!

 

[Apple 26.2]

Snow Leopard will serve you well for a long time to come... enjoy!