Macbook question

[Disney Dad Canada]

My son's grade 5 class was selected as a pilot class by Apple, and have received 9 free Macbooks (8 for the students, and 1 for the teacher). My son is asking if he could get the same computer at home, as it would be easier for him to do homework at home rather than staying extra long at school.

Not owning a Mac since the system 7 days, I'm out of touch with if it would be worth it for him. The latest Macbook is $1049 (Canadian), and referbs from the Apple store are around $900. Would I need to spend a lot on "extras" (like a protector of some sort), or would the Macbook pretty much stand on its own?

 

[ukwildcat]

If you mean protection as in virus or malware protection, I don't feel it is necessary. Macs aren't virus safe as some would have you believe, but the chances of getting a virus are much lower on a Mac vs. PC.

As far as add-ons, I would imagine your son would need some sort of word processing application (MS Word, Mac Pages, etc.), so you would be looking at that as a cost. You might also consider Apple Care (its their extended warranty thing, and provides you with technical support for 3 years).

That's all I can think of. Oh, and I wouldn't hesitate to get a refurbished model. I've had a refurbished iMac for 2+ years and haven't had so much as a hiccup.

Best of luck.

 

[DisneyCrazyX5]

Before you buy a word processing program, check to see if the school has a student version you can buy or has a a site license he may be able to use. I know I can order through the Education Apple store and get a better deal since our school is listed. It takes about $100 dollars off the new price, but I the the refurbished deals are a bit better too.

 

[gray2402]

There is a free program called Open Office available ... works pretty much just like Word ... but free! You can choose to save the files in word format too, so anyone can open them that has word.

I love my macbook and would never go back to a PC now ...

 

[topolino]

The only extra I bought was a disc that contained a word processing program (Pages), a program like Power Point (Keynote) and one called Numbers. Like someone else said, there may be versions of these programs that are free.

Other than that, I use my MacBook right out of the box, and I use it for school, work, and personal reasons.

 

[OKW Lover]

I'll just add that the refurb's on the Apple website are the way to go unless it turns out that the student discount is better.

I've purchased at least 5 refurbed computers (and a few other devices) from Apple and had no problem at all with them. You can't tell them from new.

 

[k5jm]

Jeff, my boss purchased 2 MacBooks at Dayton for $500 a piece at the swap meet.

 

[OKW Lover]

Jeff, my boss purchased 2 MacBooks at Dayton for $500 a piece at the swap meet.

Saw a surprising number of them for sale both inside and out. Mac's are starting to make inroads in the hobby.

 

[Renysmom]

I was going to suggest open office as well.

Works just like Microsoft Office and is free. I use it on my mac all the time for work related projects.

 

[parrotheadlois]

I need more memory on mine, what have you all done to get more memory. I keep getting a "your startup disc is full message" and I don't really know what to do about it. Maybe a separate storage device? thanks! But I definitely recommend it - so reliable, it's like the Honda of computers.

 

[Disney Dad Canada]

For protection, I was talking about physical protection. Several friends I know have iPhones, and have dropped them once and they were broken beyond repair.

I know there's an educational discount for university students, but not sure about for grade schools.

Software wise, the school, or more precisely the school board, told me that they have a board wide site licences. My son is using specialized software that is Mac specific for his learning disability (slow reader), and the board will supply the software if I buy the hardware.

 

[DisneyCrazyX5]

The discount I found was for our elementary school. I can't help with the case/protector case, but I would want something if my sons' were carrying a computer around.

 

[ukwildcat]

For protection, I was talking about physical protection. Several friends I know have iPhones, and have dropped them once and they were broken beyond repair.

I know there's an educational discount for university students, but not sure about for grade schools.

Software wise, the school, or more precisely the school board, told me that they have a board wide site licences. My son is using specialized software that is Mac specific for his learning disability (slow reader), and the board will supply the software if I buy the hardware.

I guess it depends on what you feel you need. When I had a MacBook carried it to and from the office. I had a laptop bag I used. At home or the office I never use any sort of physical protection.

 

[Orlando Maniac]

I would suggest that you do not buy a Mac. There are pros along with cons when buying them.
Macs generally a bit outdated technology wise (hardware and software, both), they also struggle to be compatible with many common computer programs like said above.
If he's planning on using it for a while just go with a PC it will save you A LOT of time and money in the long run.

Mac -
PC -

 

[DisneyKevin]

For protection, I was talking about physical protection. Several friends I know have iPhones, and have dropped them once and they were broken beyond repair.

I pretty sure that if you drop any brand of laptop, there may be damage.

MacBooks would be no different.

I would suggest a well padded laptop carrying bag (messenger, backpack etc) if he feels the need to carry his laptop at all, but with the same machines at school and this being purchased in order for him to be able to do his homework at home and not have to stay longer at school....that shouldnt be much of a concern.

Also, Apple has recently opened a Mac App store very much like that available for the iPhone / iPad.

Pages (Apple's version of Word) is available for $19.99 as a stand alone purchase, should that need ever arise.

 

[DisneyKevin]

I would suggest that you do not buy a Mac. There are pros along with cons when buying them.
Macs generally a bit outdated technology wise (hardware and software, both), they also struggle to be compatible with many common computer programs like said above.
If he's planning on using it for a while just go with a PC it will save you A LOT of time and money in the long run.

Mac -
PC -

Sorry to disagree with you on your very first post...but I do.

 

[OKW Lover]

I would suggest that you do not buy a Mac. There are pros along with cons when buying them.
Macs generally a bit outdated technology wise (hardware and software, both), they also struggle to be compatible with many common computer programs like said above.
If he's planning on using it for a while just go with a PC it will save you A LOT of time and money in the long run.

Mac -
PC -

 

[ukwildcat]

I would suggest that you do not buy a Mac. There are pros along with cons when buying them.
Macs generally a bit outdated technology wise (hardware and software, both), they also struggle to be compatible with many common computer programs like said above.
If he's planning on using it for a while just go with a PC it will save you A LOT of time and money in the long run.

Mac -
PC -

Disagree as well. I was a PC user up until 4 years ago. Switched to Mac of my own accord, and will never go back. And as to compatibility issues, I've never had a problem, and I share files with my PC at work as well as with other business folks.

I will grant that if you are a power PC user (meaning you make really specific changes to the operating system on a regular basis) then a Mac may not be a fit for you. But for the vast majority of computer users, macs will just be easier.

 

[tjevans]

I would suggest that you do not buy a Mac. There are pros along with cons when buying them.
Macs generally a bit outdated technology wise (hardware and software, both), they also struggle to be compatible with many common computer programs like said above.
If he's planning on using it for a while just go with a PC it will save you A LOT of time and money in the long run.

Mac -
PC -

It appears that you haven're reviewed macs in several years. I would have agreed with you seven or eight years ago, but definitely no more.

If you're looking for bleeding edge, than a pc will be better. There are so many more manufacturers (hundreds as opposed to 1) that you will find more hardware configurations in pc's.

A mac will run windows as well as the mac os, so that's a plus. You can run practically any commercial applications on them.

As far as struggling with common computer programs... Let's see, there' Microsoft Office for Mac, Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Creative Suite, etc.

I used to run my law office on macs and replaced them with pc's because I was doing more bankruptcy work. The bankruptcy applications were windows-only, and I figured it was more efficient to run them natively on pc's than on macs. Big mistake. Productivity has gone down due to viruses, freezes, and crashes.

Now, back to the OP. My guess is that your son's schools used the $999 plastic macbooks. From what I understand, they can take a little more abuse than the aluminum macbooks and macbook pros without showing dings. Overall, an Apple laptop isn't going to need more physical protection than a windows laptop.

 

[topolino]

I would suggest that you do not buy a Mac. There are pros along with cons when buying them.
Macs generally a bit outdated technology wise (hardware and software, both), they also struggle to be compatible with many common computer programs like said above.
If he's planning on using it for a while just go with a PC it will save you A LOT of time and money in the long run.

Mac -
PC -

I hate to pile on, but I disagree as well.

After years of slow, bogged down PCs, I took the plunge and bought a Mac and haven't looked back since.

There is something about its simplicity that makes it genius. Its layout and design is incredibly user friendly - everything is where you need it, and works how you want it to. It's kind of hard to describe. Everything about it just makes sense.