Macbook question

[elgerber]

I have all PC's in my house (I used to have a Macbook, but it was many years ago), so I don't know much about Macbooks these days. My dd is finishing junior year in high school, so she will be off to college after next year. She just said she is interested in getting a Macbook. Now I know, a Windows laptop will be super old already by the time she leaves for college, the way PC come and go so quickly. But would the same hold true for a Macbook? If she got one now, would it still be a really good machine in 15 months when she leaves for school?

 

[Pipkin]

Apple always updates its software. I have had mine for two years to replace the one I had for 8 years and I don't see anything new in this one that I have seen in the Apple store. Love Mac. Its intuitive. You know exactly what to do with it out of the box.

 

[Praying Colonel]

DD graduated from college last May and still loves the MacBook we bought her in 2007. Ditto for DS's Macbook we bought him in 2010. Zip-zip: no worries.

 

[Domo]

My MacBook Pro is over two years old and still whips the more up to date PCs in my office.

 

[wiigirl]

I love my Macbook...they are expensive, but they last so much longer.

 

[tvguy]

My daughter has had her MacBook Pro since summer of 2009. Seems every year it needed an update. I think she has "Snow leopard". Hard drive died, only computer I've ever had that happen on, but that isn't Apple's fault. Apple store service was a night mare but they made it right in the end.

Only real issue she has had in college is there are a few things she has to do on a PC. Always had access to one too, so not a big problem.

 

[JRawkSteady]

Well, I know it won't be "out-of-date" per se...I guess it all comes down to if she absolutely needs it now. If she has something comparable, I would wait until closer to her graduation in case there are huge developments between now and next year. It happens every so often, and I'd rather her not be filled with regrets if at all possible.

 

[Albort]

It doesnt matter what you get, both PC & Macbooks will go out of date after awhile. Macbooks are expensive compared to PCs but i have heard good stories that they last a lot longer than PCs. Its a hit or miss...

If your planning to get a macbook now, id suggest waiting for the new one coming out soon with a Haswell CPU chip. rumor has it that they are 50% power efficient and can last an entire day without charge.
Also, for about usually $300-$400 less, u can get macbook light computers, PC version, they call them Ultrabooks. same specs as a macbook would have...

 

[elgerber]

Right now she has my old desktop, from hmmmm 2006 or so and a netbook that is soooooooooooooo slow it's pitiful. She never uses either of them, because they don't work well. She is going to major in film studies, and the programs they use are all Mac programs so I think that is the reason she is interested in a Macbook now.
When do they usually release the new ones? I know all about Iphones, Ipods and Ipads, as we have several of those, but I clearly don't keep up with Macbooks .

 

[skatalite]

My parents split the cost of an iBook (cheaper version of the MacBook) back in 2003 when I was entering college. It lasted all five years, and then some.

My current MacBook Pro is one of the first-generation unibody models, made in 2008. It's still going strong.

They're a good investment.

 

[RadioNate]

I've had mine since 2008. It's fine. I've been through 2 PC laptops & 2 PC desktops in that time.

I can run all the latest software. I've only ever had one website incompatibility & that was the FAFSA site which needed Internet Explorer, which I had to download to a PC since I use Chrome there.

 

[abdmom]

Right now she has my old desktop, from hmmmm 2006 or so and a netbook that is soooooooooooooo slow it's pitiful. She never uses either of them, because they don't work well. She is going to major in film studies, and the programs they use are all Mac programs so I think that is the reason she is interested in a Macbook now.
When do they usually release the new ones? I know all about Iphones, Ipods and Ipads, as we have several of those, but I clearly don't keep up with Macbooks .

They seem to release them in the last 6 months of the year (summer to November-ish). If she is headed to a film studies program, I would wait to find out which program she will be going to. It's likely that the program will have its own recommendations. As well, she may need more computing power or larger screen than a laptop will provide. She may need to go to a desktop.

 

[Bob NC]

I love my Macbook...they are expensive, but they last so much longer.

They usually have the appearance of lasting longer because people don't compare apples to apples.

Yes, the $3500 Mac product will last longer than what most people are comparing it to, that $700 desktop in the family room, or that $350 laptop they got on sale on Black Friday at Wal Mart.

I bought my Daughter a good Lenovo Laptop 4 years ago when she went away to college, she graduated last week and with extremely heavy use that laptop is running like new today.

If you want to compare apples to apples you are probably comparing an $1800 PC laptop with a $3500 Apple product.

The whole cost/benefit argument changes drastically when you look at it this way.

 

[bunkkinsmom]

They usually have the appearance of lasting longer because people don't compare apples to apples.

Yes, the $3500 Mac product will last longer than what most people are comparing it to, that $700 desktop in the family room, or that $350 laptop they got on sale on Black Friday at Wal Mart.

I bought my Daughter a good Lenovo Laptop 4 years ago when she went away to college, she graduated last week and with extremely heavy use that laptop is running like new today.

If you want to compare apples to apples you are probably comparing an $1800 PC laptop with a $3500 Apple product.

The whole cost/benefit argument changes drastically when you look at it this way.

Macbook Pros run from 1199 - 2799. My husband is a filmmaker and doesn't even need the 2799 one. You'd have to do some substantial modifications to make a Macbook Pro $3500. Our desktop MacPro with extra stuff wasn't even $3500.

Having said that, I can only speak from personal experience. I have a 17" stainless steel body Macbook Pro first generation from over 5 years ago. Our studio can run our entire business off of that laptop. The amount of video production we have produced on that computer is ridiculous. Still purrs like a kitten. I also have one of the old white Macbooks, still runs perfectly. I have 3 G5's, they all run perfectly. MacPro that is over 3 years old and used for video production (which most people will tell you wears a computer down like nothing else). Never had a problem. We update software every 2 or 3 generations and that's pretty much it.

Just to give you an idea of how much we work these things, here is a list of the icon shortcuts on the laptop. These are just the shortcuts, not all of the programs: Dreamweaver, InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects, Premier Pro, Final Cut, Lightwave, Motion, Shake. That's just the video stuff. We run all of these programs, sometimes all at one time, on a DAILY basis. No issues.

Spend the money, it's worth it!!

 

[Praying Colonel]

I was wondering how long it would take before this turned into a PC-Mac war...didn't even get to page 2.

 

[bunkkinsmom]

I was wondering how long it would take before this turned into a PC-Mac war...didn't even get to page 2.

Uh Oh! Was it me?? I try so hard not to be a Mac snob? I hope not, I really was just trying to share my own personal experiences

 

[clarkshel]

I was wondering how long it would take before this turned into a PC-Mac war...didn't even get to page 2.

Lol. It always happens. If it isn't the PC vs Mac it is IOS vs Android. People always have to high jack threads to bash the product they don't use.

I for one have an iMac and in the process of buying a MacBook Pro. Our iMac I going on 4 years old and is still running as good as the day we bought it. In the mean time i have gone through 3 PC laptops and 2 PC desktops. I wouldn't believe too many rumors of Apple products. There are always way too many rumors. Just believe it when Apple officially announces it. Until then, it isn't worth your time to listen to the rumors.

OP, you could wait until July to buy the MacBook. They have an announcement in June. Maybe they will refresh their MacBook gujlineup. Hard to say though.

 

[Lynne M]

She is going to major in film studies, and the programs they use are all Mac programs so I think that is the reason she is interested in a Macbook now.

The key question isn't really which is 'better', or which will last longer. You want to buy the right OS and the right computer for the tasks that she will perform on it.

Since you say they'll primarily be using MacOS software in her classes, I think the answer is pretty clear. There's not an easy way to run MacOS software on a Windows PC. At least none that I'm aware of, and none that will work well with software that puts the heavy demands on the system that video editing software does. If she's going to be required to have MacOS software on her computer to complete her classes, she needs to have a Mac.

Macs are flexible, in that you can set them up to dual boot. In other words, you can choose at boot time whether you want to run the MacOS or Windows. My own iMac runs both Win 7 and MacOS 10.8, very nicely. I've even used the Win side for gaming with no issues at all.

I would wait to buy until she has a list of the software she will need for her classes, and the system requirements for that software. You want to choose the model of laptop that will best support the software she'll be using (memory, storage, etc). The professors may have some tips on what to buy, as well.

 

[JRawkSteady]

Right now she has my old desktop, from hmmmm 2006 or so and a netbook that is soooooooooooooo slow it's pitiful. She never uses either of them, because they don't work well. She is going to major in film studies, and the programs they use are all Mac programs so I think that is the reason she is interested in a Macbook now.
When do they usually release the new ones? I know all about Iphones, Ipods and Ipads, as we have several of those, but I clearly don't keep up with Macbooks .

Oh, she's a film student? I went to film school too, so this is something I know a LOT about. I really, strongly urge you to wait to buy the new Macbook. Graphics cards change constantly and prices will definitely be reduced as time goes forward. She is going to need the best of the best, ESPECIALLY if she gets into editing. I know it can be hard to wait for a new computer, but in the end, she will thank you. Going through 4 years of college with something subpar can feel really brutal.

 

[Domo]

Just as an aside, if you do have an out of date, painfully slow PC kicking around you can always breathe new life into it by installing Haiku or some strain of Linux. Typically the new operating systems are now extremely easy to use, comprehensive and attractive The most popular Linux strains are Ubuntu, Mint and Debian - give them a once over before binning that old computer!