I'm looking at the Macbook with the 120 Gig HD 2 Gigs of RAM 2.0 Ghz Core 2 Duo processor etc. I am having a hard time convincing my dad that that is the computer to get. What are some concrete reasons to get a mac that I should know and also is there any sort of coupon or rebate or something available to make the mac cheaper then a leased dell computer? Thanks.
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Reasons to get a Macbook?
- Thread starter Bowlerguy10
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basesloaded190
macrumors 68030
there is the education store discount on the apple website. it makes the macbook a little bit cheaper but its better than nothing. just tell your dad that everything works. if your going to college believe me that setting up your internet alone is 100x easier than doing on a pc with vista. i had friends that it took them a couple days to figure it out with all the downloading and virus protection crap. i just plugged in my macbook and signed in. nothing else. with everything working seamlessly the computer runs faster and is so much easier to use than any pc, especially one with vista. apple tech support is notoriously very well educated and that helps for even the smallest problems. never having to worry about updated virus protection and all that crap is worth the mac in itself. if that doesnt help convince your dad than i guess your going to getting a dell, dude
byakuya
macrumors 6502a
I think that even if it turns out that you don't like os x that macs are the better PCs (of course not for everyone but for most people). I am currently forced to use a dell notebook and had to reformat it, and it was just horrible...finding all the drivers...restarting constantly etc. etc.
byakuya
byakuya
I've got a Macbook and they rock. Reasons you should get one - excellent build quality, reliability, packaged software, stability, styling, great keyboard, good battery life...
As for cost, I personally don't mind paying a bit extra for a Mac. Although you are considering a MB, to illustrate - I bought a bondi blue imac about 7 years ago, I've still got it, it works fine and I use it fairly often. Not once in 7 years has there been any sort of issue with it at all - it cost a £1000 to buy, and although at the time it seemed like a lot of money, over the years 1000/7=142.86 p/a which I reckon is pretty good!
And you'll look cool with one too...
As for cost, I personally don't mind paying a bit extra for a Mac. Although you are considering a MB, to illustrate - I bought a bondi blue imac about 7 years ago, I've still got it, it works fine and I use it fairly often. Not once in 7 years has there been any sort of issue with it at all - it cost a £1000 to buy, and although at the time it seemed like a lot of money, over the years 1000/7=142.86 p/a which I reckon is pretty good!
And you'll look cool with one too...
I actually should clarify that the only reason my dad has to get a Dell over a Macbook now is that he is a prefered customer and can get a great leasing rate apparently. But with Apple we have not purchased a Macbook from or any computer for that matter so we would have to pay it all up front. He can just call dell and order my laptop with no issues. In which case I guess im stuck. I just really want a Macbook over another Windows based computer.
CRAZYBUBBA
macrumors 65816
😀. I think you may have to respect your dad's financial constraints if that is an issue.
basesloaded190
macrumors 68030
i didn't mean any disrespect whatsoever 🙂 i just agree that if your dad sees one in person it will help change his mind and if it doesn't just start saving your money and use your dell till you can buy your own macbook!
Or along that same line of thinking... price out a dell that is matched with the MacBook that you want (everything, wireless N, bluetooth, webcam, the works) and then ask your dad if he would be willing to put up that much on the laptop, and you would provide the rest to get the MacBook.
Scarlet Fever
macrumors 68040
I headed over to dell.com and built a system as close to the macbook as I could.
DELL---------------MacBook---------------------difference
2.0GHz C2D-------2.0GHz C2D
Vista Home--------Mac OS X Leopard----------a world of difference
13.3" display------13.3" display
1280x800 res------1280x800 res
2.0MP cam---------0.3MP cam------------------1.7MP
2GB RAM-----------2GB RAM
120GB HDD--------120GB HDD
X3100 graphics----GMA945 graphics-----------X1300 is better
Superdrive---------Combo drive----------------won't be able to burn DVDs
802.11 a/b/g-------802.11 a/b/g/n-------------with an n router, n is 10x faster than g
Bluetooth-----------Bluetooth
10/100 ethernet----10/100/1000 ethernet-----10 times faster ethernet
$1688 AUD----------$1929 AUD----------------$241 AUD
Let's upgrade the dell to something roughly comparable to Mac OS X 10.5; Vista Ultimate. That brings the difference down to $111
The Dell has some improvements on the MacBook (like a larger webcam sensor, improved graphics and a DVD burner), but the MacBook kills it on networking (n-WiFi card, gigabit ethernet). Despite the Dell being advertised as "razor thin", it is 1.3" at its thickest point; .3" thicker than the MacBook.
The difference between the two spec-wise is negligible. If you really don't like Mac OS X, you can easily turn the MacBook into a PC designed by one of the best industrial design companies in the world 😀
DELL---------------MacBook---------------------difference
2.0GHz C2D-------2.0GHz C2D
Vista Home--------Mac OS X Leopard----------a world of difference
13.3" display------13.3" display
1280x800 res------1280x800 res
2.0MP cam---------0.3MP cam------------------1.7MP
2GB RAM-----------2GB RAM
120GB HDD--------120GB HDD
X3100 graphics----GMA945 graphics-----------X1300 is better
Superdrive---------Combo drive----------------won't be able to burn DVDs
802.11 a/b/g-------802.11 a/b/g/n-------------with an n router, n is 10x faster than g
Bluetooth-----------Bluetooth
10/100 ethernet----10/100/1000 ethernet-----10 times faster ethernet
$1688 AUD----------$1929 AUD----------------$241 AUD
Let's upgrade the dell to something roughly comparable to Mac OS X 10.5; Vista Ultimate. That brings the difference down to $111
The Dell has some improvements on the MacBook (like a larger webcam sensor, improved graphics and a DVD burner), but the MacBook kills it on networking (n-WiFi card, gigabit ethernet). Despite the Dell being advertised as "razor thin", it is 1.3" at its thickest point; .3" thicker than the MacBook.
The difference between the two spec-wise is negligible. If you really don't like Mac OS X, you can easily turn the MacBook into a PC designed by one of the best industrial design companies in the world 😀
I LOVE the OS thats why I am getting a Macbook. I am going to show him some OS videos as well so that he can see how blown away I was when I watched what the OS could do a few hours ago. Incredible. One question though if I use pages can I then send that through email to a teacher and have them open it in Office 2000 on Windows? Or no? My printer won't work with the mac though because it has a serial port connection. But I can use this laptop to print if worst comes to worst.
Best way to send files to another person and ensure compatibility will be for you to export your Pages files as PDFs, and email those.
YOu can also get a USB to Parallel converter (I have never heard of a printer with a serial connector, but they have USB to Serial converters too) and that should work for you.
To the guy that price out the Dell to match the MacBook. Apple's prices are different in the US. But, configuring a 14" Dell Inspiron or 13" XPS yields a more expensive machine than the midlevel MacBook (1199 on student discount). But since the OP's dad has a Dell Preferred Account, no telling what that price might be.
People keep saying the Macbook is not for games, but as long as I restrict myself to games from 2003 and earlier, I shouldn't be having any problems, right? That's only 4 years of gaming to miss with 10+ years left to enjoy 😀
Still wondering though...will Counter Strike: Source play well on the Macbook?
Still wondering though...will Counter Strike: Source play well on the Macbook?
Well, CS:S won't be quite as bad as to be considered CounterStrike, PowerPoint Edition, but I know that when I ran it, it wasn't exactly great. Just barely playable at pretty much lowest settings.
Too bad... Here's hoping they'll put in the X3100 next month! I don't really need it, but at least I'd be able to play HL2 and CS:S decently.
First off you can get the $100 education discount
There's a $100 printer rebate that comes with it, with several printers available that are free with the rebate (except for tax)
Also, I'm wondering why he wants to lease it instead of outright buying it? How much money is he going to waste just paying interest that way? If he doesn't want to pay it all up front you could use the Bill Me Later option at checkout, I think its about 20% interest and you can choose to pay it installments .
I noticed that you mentioned you wanted a 2.0 ghz machine, even though 2.16 would be the standard for that HD size. Also keep in mind you may not need 2 gig of RAM since you won't be using RAM-eating Vista. You could always get the low-end 80 gig current model refurbished,then upgrade the RAM and HD later if you need to-- that model is $949 and the 120 gig model is $1099 refurbed.
Do you have any idea how much of a discount he gets? I'm just wondering what the price difference will be
peapody
macrumors 68040
I am a PC turned Mac user...in fact, I have both a PC (Asus w7J) and a macbook, so I have my feet in both camps at the moment. The macbook was an impulse buy, but oh man...it turned into the machine that I use the most day to day, and my PC became my home based unit. Why? OS X is so easy to use, and the mac is so intelligent in terms of connectivity and syncability, that it seems like I consistently fight with my PC moreso. A long time windows user, it now seems so much more restrictive than mac, and the simplicity of OS X is really want makes it a dream to use.
JNB
macrumors 604
That is the connector it has. My bad it is actually called a parallel port I had forgotten. Anywho that is what I have.
Parallel is dead. I don't even think my company issued Dell's have it anymore. USB is the predominant means for local printers.
Well its also so much easier to just hook up the USB and install the drivers. No making sure the connection is secure and tightened in etc. And to whoever pointed out that they have basically 2 free printers thanks a ton I didn't realize that. A free printer sure does sweeten the deal!
anirban
macrumors 6502a
http://www.dell.com/content/topics/segtopic.aspx/dpa_learnmore?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs&~ck=mn
ok so I just looked this up out of curiosity, I guess I was imagining some sort of big business discount type thing in my head.. but no it's not that at all, it just looks like a credit card type thing. It mentions something about 'discounts' but doesn't mention how large those discount are, usually a sign that they are quite small or only applicable to certain items. I can almost assure you that your father will end up paying a lot more just because of the financing charges.
I'm guessing the real reason your father wants to do this is because he can't afford to buy the computer outright, or simply one of those people that doesn't realize the true cost buying/leasing items in installments. If he can't afford to buy it, and you don't truly need this laptop, I would recommend not buying it all. However if you don't really care how it impacts him financially you could always mention they offer a financing option for Apple as well, the Buy it Now option or the Visa Juniper card that you can apply for at checkout for the Macbook.
Also is there any way you should try picking out a comparable laptop from Dell and configuring it to your preference. I bet it won't be any cheaper, in fact it will probably be more! I just looked up one with comparable specs to the one you mentioned in the Macbook size, the M1130, and the 2.0 ghz ones start at $1799! There were a few things that were admittedly better on the Dell, llike the graphics card, but not enough to justify the price.
Also remember that the power adapters for Dells are heavy, this is a big deal if you're going to be using it for school and lugging it around everywhere. I also remember paying a lot for the extended warranty, and I don't think you can buy that later like you can with Applecare.
you also might want to wait for the rumored update of the Macbooks thats supposed to happen in the next month, like I am
ok so I just looked this up out of curiosity, I guess I was imagining some sort of big business discount type thing in my head.. but no it's not that at all, it just looks like a credit card type thing. It mentions something about 'discounts' but doesn't mention how large those discount are, usually a sign that they are quite small or only applicable to certain items. I can almost assure you that your father will end up paying a lot more just because of the financing charges.
I'm guessing the real reason your father wants to do this is because he can't afford to buy the computer outright, or simply one of those people that doesn't realize the true cost buying/leasing items in installments. If he can't afford to buy it, and you don't truly need this laptop, I would recommend not buying it all. However if you don't really care how it impacts him financially you could always mention they offer a financing option for Apple as well, the Buy it Now option or the Visa Juniper card that you can apply for at checkout for the Macbook.
Also is there any way you should try picking out a comparable laptop from Dell and configuring it to your preference. I bet it won't be any cheaper, in fact it will probably be more! I just looked up one with comparable specs to the one you mentioned in the Macbook size, the M1130, and the 2.0 ghz ones start at $1799! There were a few things that were admittedly better on the Dell, llike the graphics card, but not enough to justify the price.
Also remember that the power adapters for Dells are heavy, this is a big deal if you're going to be using it for school and lugging it around everywhere. I also remember paying a lot for the extended warranty, and I don't think you can buy that later like you can with Applecare.
you also might want to wait for the rumored update of the Macbooks thats supposed to happen in the next month, like I am
Now I know it's not the same as Dell financing, but there's this link at the bottom of the page after you select the Mac you want and decide what (if any) enhancements or additions you want. If you father has decent credit he can apply for that card. If he's willing and gets that card and you folks make payments, cool. If not then it seems you'll get the Dell. As a 6 of one a half dozen of the other type of person when if comes to computers, I know you'll get what you need with either machine. I, too, prefer Macs, but you can't always get exactly what you want all of the time, especially on someone else's dime when there are other options available.
Do you have any money YOU can contribute? Do you work a part-time job so you can help pay for the machine? If so, that might work in your favor as well. It would show that you're willing to do more than want and expect (not that that's what you're doing). Good luck and just enjoy whatever you get.
SFStateStudent
macrumors 604
I concur on the Education Discount...
and depending on what campus you are attending, there are "computer loans" available for students, staff and faculty. You can also have your dad check with the credit union or bank for this option. 😎
and depending on what campus you are attending, there are "computer loans" available for students, staff and faculty. You can also have your dad check with the credit union or bank for this option. 😎