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Time to buy...or to wait? School starts later.

B

B1rdman

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 6, 2008
19
0
I find myself in a bit of confusion on when to buy. I know there have been threads on this in the past (and I've read most of them), but my situation is a bit specific. You see, I am lucky enough (or unlucky enough, depending on your viewpoint) to be heading to college around Sept. 20th instead of the August start that most colleges have. What this means (or so I've heard), is that the new MBP or at least MB will come out before then.

So my question is, should I wait or buy now? A reason to wait is of course having "better" technology, a reason not to wait is that it would be better to have some time to get to know my mac (since this will be my first). Honestly, the current MBP is beautiful so I'm sure I'll be happy with it or whatever apple dreams up next, it's just I cannot decide! I want one now, but at the same time, I will wait if there are big improvements! ARGH!

**Also, one reason I still might not even buy a mac is I have no knowledge of mac software for taking notes in class like Microsoft OneNote (why oh why doesnt 2008 have this??). SO yeah, lmk on any programs for mac that exist.

**Lastly, and as usual, sorry for the long post, but I was curious whether it's better to buy in the store or online? can you customize Hardrives or anything at the store?
 
I think you would probably be better off to wait at this point. The worst case scenario is you wait and there is no update. No big deal, you still get a brand new computer towards the end of September. Best case scenario of course is that you get the refresh and maybe even some kind of different casing.

As far as learning OS X goes, it's pretty simple. If you are at all "computer literate" it shouldn't take you anymore than a week to get most everything. You will probably continue to discover neat little gems along the way though. I switched in August of 2006 and got the hang of it really quickly.

Store vs Online-- to me there is no real difference. If you have an Apple Store near you I'd say go there and buy it. I personally like the Apple Store experience more than online, but I don't think it really matters in terms of quality or anything of course.
 
crobbins said:
I think you would probably be better off to wait at this point. The worst case scenario is you wait and there is no update. No big deal, you still get a brand new computer towards the end of September. Best case scenario of course is that you get the refresh and maybe even some kind of different casing.

As far as learning OS X goes, it's pretty simple. If you are at all "computer literate" it shouldn't take you anymore than a week to get most everything. You will probably continue to discover neat little gems along the way though. I switched in August of 2006 and got the hang of it really quickly.

Store vs Online-- to me there is no real difference. If you have an Apple Store near you I'd say go there and buy it. I personally like the Apple Store experience more than online, but I don't think it really matters in terms of quality or anything of course.
Click to expand...

Store is cool if you have questions you want to get answered there, but online offers more options. I wanted the 7200rpm drive available online only but I was lazy and went instore because I wanted my MBP THAT DAY. Well, I settled for a 4GB upgrade instead of the HD upgrade. Well while they were doing this they discovered that my fan was too loud and they swapped me out with an entirely new MBP. That would not have been the case online!
 
Wait.
But - it might be worth going to a store to get yourself acquainted. They do regular sessions on how to start using one - check out your local Apple store if there is one nearby, if not, there are lots of beginner OS X user guides "out there". Forum will help with most issues here too.
 
markrivers said:
please don't upgrade your MBP's RAM through Apple.
just buy it from a 3rd party and install it yourself.
APPLE has billion of dollars already.. no need to make them richer.:D
Click to expand...

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think he said Apple upgrade his RAM after finding a fan issue?
 
Oh, you're lucky. I go back September 1st, and I'm gonna have to borrow my dad's crappy Dell laptop until the new MBPs come out because I can't stand the thought of getting a computer less than a month before it's updated.

Wait, and it should come out before the 20th. Might even be a price drop :)
 
thanks for all the input! Those apps look sweet!

Honestly though, I might just go for the current model...

seriously, **** it, I can't wait any longer and the current model is more than sexy and powerful enough for my needs and wants!
 
As a fellow upcoming freshman in college, I am waiting.

First few weeks of school = usually not a heavy work load.

PAPER PRODUCTS AND iPHONE FTW!! My dad is letting me have a $3500 budget on my laptop. That's enough to pretty much cover a fully loaded Macbook Pro right? (with the school discount and crap)
 
Minimoose 360 said:
As a fellow upcoming freshman in college, I am waiting.

First few weeks of school = usually not a heavy work load.

PAPER PRODUCTS AND iPHONE FTW!! My dad is letting me have a $3500 budget on my laptop. That's enough to pretty much cover a fully loaded Macbook Pro right? (with the school discount and crap)
Click to expand...

Lol..... yeah that's enough for a fully-loaded 17" MBP with all the trimmings.

But just because you can, doesn't necessarily mean you should.

Personally, last semester, I would have been okay sans laptop academically, though bored stiff.

Reason being, last time I didn't touch a book or do any work for the first month and a half or so. True, I was failing rather spectacularly mid-semester, but I managed to pull off a 3.5 by the end of it.
 
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