Macbook questions

[gilby]

I am looking for a new laptop and am thinking about the macbook. I am in college and will need to have office 07. I am wondering what your feelings are on the macbook, should I get it for school. I currently have a dell and have replaced 3 hard drives and 3 motherboards, 2 keyboards, new on and off button, ok it is pretty much new, but really slow.

 

[Disneefun]

I won't buy anything BUT Macs. You can either get Office for the Mac, or put Parallels or boot camp on the Mac and run Windows and then run the windows version of office. I have a macbook and the only problem it's had was with the battery charge time and that was a service recall issue. Took it to the apple store, zip, zoom, zang, they replaced it and I was out the door in ten minutes. I've had eight macs over the years and they have performed wonderfully. Yes, you pay more up front, but it's worth it to have a problem free, crash free, and virus/malware free computing experience. If you have any more specific questions, let me know and I'll try to answer them.

 

[palmbeachguy]

I'm with the previous poster. Once you go Mac you never go back. Because you are a student you get a mac and get an iPod Touch for free! Make sure you go through the education store to get your discount. store.apple.com then click on education store on the left. I would highly recommend you bump it up to one of the new macbook pros (which the low versions are really just macbooks) The white plastic ones are not as sturdy as the aluminum ones. You can also get Microsoft Office for Mac and it works perfect. Let me know if you have any other questions!

 

[darrengs]

I'm an IT guy and I personally am not a "MAC" guy. I have never gotten a virus or malware on my systems or any of the ones I managed at my company but I have seen and cleaned up some pretty nasty ones, mostly on laptops sent to college with my friends kids. So if a Mac Book will ensure that you will never get malware or a virus then I say go for it. As for Office make sure you get the Home Student addition it will save you some money.

 

[natmurr]

My next computer purchase will be a Mac - I think PCs have a lifespan of 12-18 months. My Dell laptop is a little over a year old and its having issues.

I've had an Ipod Touch for over 8 months and NEVER once has it locked up, crashed or done anything strange! Go with the Mac for sure!

 

[MickeyHereWeCome!]

We have become a Mac family, and will never go back! I just got a second Macbook because I didn't want to have to share with the kids . We have the white, basic, Macbook, and it has worked great. The only issue we've had is with the case (it did crack on the edge). Last week, we added the Aluminum Macbook to get a sturdier case. I added Microsoft Office for Mac. I really like that there are so many Mac forums, so any question you ever have can be answered right away. I can't say enough about the Mac!!!

 

[J3nn78]

Macs Rule! I was once a PC only person. Then my DH got a Mac and I now HATE Windows. I am saving up and buying a Macbook Pro as soon as I can. If only I could use Mac at work. I hate using my computer at work.

 

[skip323]

I grew up in a MAC home and LOVE them!! We had one of those original Apple IIe's when I was in junior high school (and I am now in my 40's). My parents, since that time, have always had Apple's and so have I. We currently have an older IMAC as well as a Macbook pro (my first laptop). Never any problems. We upgrade because computers upgrade but none of them have had actual problems!! We haven't had to replace anything, no viruses and so very easy to use! Like a previous poster mentioned, they are certainly more expensive upfront but no problems after that!

 

[PartOfYourWorld]

I too am all for Macs! After my stupid Dell died last fall I needed a computer asap because of school. My fiance convinced me to get a Mac...and I'm so glad that I did! I bought a refurbished MacBook and haven't had a single problem with it. It turns on within seconds...not minutes. Its battery life is still great. I can still add on a two year warranty before my first year with it is up. It runs smoothly, quickly, and doesn't crash. As far as a word processing program goes I would actually recommend Open Office which you can download legally and for free off the web. Its simple to use and has the equivalent of word, excel, and powerpoint type office programs and it can convert them to any file type. So when I need to send a document to my professor for my online classes I just save it to the different file format when I'm done...which is super easy. I didn't want to break the bank purchasing office right away so I used Open Office thinking it would be a temporary fix. Well, over half a year later I'm still using it and very happy with it...plus you can't beat free! I say buy a Mac, you won't be disappointed. Plus the educational discount and free iPod makes it a great deal. They might even be offering a free printer/scanner with it. Also, my fiance said that if you purchase a Mac before the new operating system comes out this fall that they'll allow you to upgrade to it for only $9.99.

 

[RayJay]

I am looking for a new laptop and am thinking about the macbook. I am in college and will need to have office 07. I am wondering what your feelings are on the macbook, should I get it for school. I currently have a dell and have replaced 3 hard drives and 3 motherboards, 2 keyboards, new on and off button, ok it is pretty much new, but really slow.

Just another vote for imac's, we just got the Imac and love it.

I will never go back to Dell.

RayJay

 

[msmayor]

Just got home this afternoon with a new 15" MacBook Pro for my daughter who heads to college in the fall to study Graphic Design. With the introduction of the new 13" Pro version, the prices of the models have actually gone DOWN from just last week; I saved about $400 buying hers this week versus last week.

Be sure and take advantage of the student discount (saved us $240 total over the retail price) and the free iTouch ($229 value...you pay for it up front and they rebate the full price).

 

[tnd]

I really love the MacBook and think it is very durable and perfect for school. I just finished law school and I'd say at least 30-40% of my class had Macs, and most were Macbooks. I really can't say enough good things about it, so I will tell you to add the 3 year AppleCare warranty. Things can go wrong with laptops and they are pricey to repair, so I think it's worth the upfront cost. Also, you get a decent educational discount on it.

 

[jsmith]

Yes, you pay more up front, but it's worth it to have a problem free, crash free, and virus/malware free computing experience. If you have any more specific questions, let me know and I'll try to answer them.

Please keep in mind that this is one persons experience. MACs are great- yes they cost more-and Apple has US based customer support. The down side to that is that they are much more expensive to repair when things go go wrong do to the propriitary nature of the parts. The operating system is far less resource intensive than Vista-so you get more computing power out of the same hard ware-is it crash free-no-we own two MAC book Pros Three toshiba satelittes-and an HP desktop. The most trouble some of those has been one of the MACs-it had OS problems from the get go that took three reinstalls and finally an upgrade to Leopard to resolve. The most trouble free-is a 6 year old Toshiba satellite that has been to Iraq twice-so its a matter of personal experience in some cases. Is it virus free-NO-granted there are fewer programs that infect MACs out there-but they are not not existant. Your university will most likely require you to have anti-virus even on your MAC. Hardware problems happen-to PCs or to MACs-thats a completely seperate issue. Please be sure that MAC is compatible with your universities LAN and reuired programs. Basically the choice should be based on what your needs are, what your budget is and what you expectations are-i do not personally think one is "better" than the other-they are simply different.
( my personal preference is for a PC platform running Ubuntu or Fedora Core Linux)

 

[erin.w]

Simply stated: I will no longer own anything but a Mac.

Had an iBook which I just resold, and currently have an iMac. My mother has since switched to an iMac, as well as my sister. BF has a macbook pro. Won't go back to the other junk out there!

 

[Whitaker24]

I have a macbook pro cost me about $2000 about a year ago. Got is at compusa before they went down. 18 mths same as cash. I have not had any issues with it. I paid for it yes but never had to have it worked on ect. Have a relative that uses mac only for his business, and when it was time to change our PC machine I bit the bullett. I have been pleased.

 

[disneymom2003]

LOVE my Mac! I have had it 2 years with no problems and no viruses. My son just sold his 2 year old Mac to buy one of the new Macbook Pro's. He sold it for $600 not too bad. Since they are putting the new ones out today you can get one of the older models (new in the box) at a discounted price. And as others have said don't forget the student discount and you will get an new ipod too.

 

[anna08]

I have two parents who have owned PCs since they were the size of small refrigerators - very computer savvy, both would write their own programs, etc..I have literally thrown out 2 PCs and 1 dell laptop because they all become essentially non-functioning unless you live patiently with ctrl-alt-del as a multiple time a day option. My DH and I have owned two apple laptops blissfully for the last 6 years and i will NEVER go back to PC. I have NEVER had to reboot a Mac in 6 years. It is a dream compared to a Dell. We have had great help from the Mac Authority and the Apple stores with questions and the only issue we have had is needing to replace a couple power cords that had a weak connection - replaced by Apple for free. My DH is an academic surgeon - has to give lectures, do slide shows, give talks with video clips, and write lengthy grant proposals all the time and can do all that easily with Mac Office software. Use your academic discount and get one now (you get discount on the office program too), you'll never regret it.

 

[jgazda]

You can't go wrong with a mac. Yes they cost more but they are so much more reliable and less trouble than pc's. I work in a company that currently has over 6,000 Dell laptops and I still shake my head in disgust when I fix so many for the same problem day after day. Meanwhile the three mac's I own have never had to be serviced (knock on wood).

 

[Canyon girl]

My Acer laptop was stolen last year, so I had to get a new laptop. After much research, the battery life on the Mac sold me. I have had it for 13 months and am extremely happy with it. Has it been trouble free, no. Nothing is trouble free. Can I get every program that I want on it? No. I am sitting here typing on my daughter's Acer because I can't cache my Slacker on my Blackberry on a Mac. Having said that, I would never go back to my PC as a main computer. My main reason is that Apple made the Mac, and Apple made the OS. If I have trouble, I talk to Apple (pay for the telephone support...well worth the money!!!). When I had problems with my Acer, I called Acer. Acer said that it was an OS problem, call Microsoft. Microsoft said that Acer had the license for the OS, call Acer. Do you feel the frustration???? Mac all the way!!!

 

[MsStinkerBelle]

As someone who is about to throw her Toshiba laptop out the window, a Mac is the way to go! I've already decided my next laptop will be a MacBook Pro because I want something that will just *work*. We won't get into how many times I've had to restore this thing because it choked on Windows updates (unfortunately the danged thing came with Vista which I hate.)

My DD is getting a new computer in August and I've decided to just spend the extra money and get her a Mac. We're still trying to decide between an iMac or a MacBook.