MacHeads- Impending MacBook Purchase

[grawk]

what does that anecdote say other than water is bad for ipods?

[aardvark baguette]

Whoa, deja vu

[Cankin]

I've been waiting for a long time, hope they will bring out a new Macbook before Sep 15, and this will be my first Mac

[thrice]

I too have purchased refurbs with absolutely no problems.... one laptop and one iPod. Couldn't tell them from a new one and they performed just fine.

[mjb]

another thing to do is buy one from best buy a day or two after the new ones come out...they discount them a couple hundred $ to get rid of them...that way you get a new one, you can get it in-person/store and save almost as much as a refurb you have to order online (does apple also charge shipping for refurb?)...

mjb

[Knuckledragger]

Originally Posted by thrice

[OT] Blumenkraft ...nice. That's one of my favorite psy-dub albums. I've listened to Skylon (his new one) a few times, but I haven't found it to be similarly engaging as his first.[/OT]

[Dusty Chalk]

Originally Posted by JBLoudG20

Do they really give that much of a discount on an old one?

No, not really that much. I was actually kind of disappointed at the difference in price between a refurb Mini and a new one -- the refurb was slightly older technology -- basically, the price could probably have been attributed to the difference in speeds of the processors and maybe memory and disk space and not much more.

[JBLoudG20]

Last night my friend brought up a really good point IMO:

Right now on Amazon, there is about a $300 price difference between the Blackbook, and the 15" 2.4/220GB/2GB MacbookPro.

For $300 I would get:
+ Larger screen with better resolution
+ Aluminum Case
+ Dedicated Video Card
+ Dual-link (Full) DVI out
- 50GB less HD space
- heavier
- lower battery life
- less portable


I think for $300 it is a good idea, if just for the video card alone.
Anyone agree/disagree/in love with postjack?

[grawk]

the $300 also gets you:
heavier
lower battery life
less convenient portably
etc

I bought the macbook not because it was the cheapest, but because it was the smallest. Take the same $300 extra, and spend it on a 20" monitor, and bluetooth keyboard and mouse

[JBLoudG20]

Originally Posted by grawk

the $300 also gets you:
heavier
lower battery life
less convenient portably
etc

I bought the macbook not because it was the cheapest, but because it was the smallest. Take the same $300 extra, and spend it on a 20" monitor, and bluetooth keyboard and mouse

I can understand that, but I don't feel I rank the portability very high in my list of wants. I mean, sure I'd like it a bit more portable than the 17" version, but the Macbook pro won't be much larger than my Lenovo, which is just fine for portability's sake.

[grawk]

but is it more useful to you than a macbook with a 20" display?

[aardvark baguette]

If you look at it in pure financial terms, you will probably end up avoiding mac altogether. I've had many intentions of getting mac this and that, but always ended up getting something cheaper, though not necessarily better.

I think you need to ask yourself if you're willing to pay a little more in order to get Macintosh software and O.S. Because there are plenty of computers cheaper than any mac, and thats not likely to change.

All I know is, several computers later, and I still haven't kicked my itch for a mac.

[grawk]

if you look at it in pure financial terms, and discount stealing software, you may find you're coming out ahead buying a mac. The equation is even easier with the laptops, as the macbook and macbook pro can both be had for about the same price as lenovo and dell laptops in similar quality categories.

[JBLoudG20]

Originally Posted by aardvark sandwich

If you look at it in pure financial terms, you will probably end up avoiding mac altogether. I've had many intentions of getting mac this and that, but always ended up getting something cheaper, though not necessarily better.

I think you need to ask yourself if you're willing to pay a little more in order to get Macintosh software and O.S. Because there are plenty of computers cheaper than any mac, and thats not likely to change.

All I know is, several computers later, and I still haven't kicked my itch for a mac.

I already addressed this, Chris. I am willing to spend the gobs of extra money to avoid using Windows. Its that cut and dry. I will not use windows, and the only other way to use Lightroom is the MacOS. I have tried alternative programs, and nothing holds a candle, IMO.

I won't go into why I refuse to use windows, as this debate will just rage on. Its easiest to leave it at this: my preference is to never use windows. There is no talking me into it, the same way I do not force my own opinions about computing on others. Use what works for you

While is does cost a premium to use Mac products, I may as well give it a shot before I sit here and keep saying, "but mac is so expensive, for less money, you can get x better computer..."
I can afford the mac, so I'll give them a fair shot. If I find that it doesn't serve its price, then I won't buy another

Dan, I have a 19" Samsung, so I plan on using that with whichever one I decide on.

[aardvark baguette]

Originally Posted by grawk

if you look at it in pure financial terms, and discount stealing software, you may find you're coming out ahead buying a mac. The equation is even easier with the laptops, as the macbook and macbook pro can both be had for about the same price as lenovo and dell laptops in similar quality categories.

No question, Apple has the edge in software. I never hear of people buying a mac and instantly wiping the hd clean to get rid of bloatware.

I guess I was really thinking about the tech side, but as it relates to price, i.e. what computer has the most ghz for the least $, or faster HD for less $, etc.

[grawk]

I just did the pricing yesterday, hardware for hardware, macbooks are competitively priced. They're not the "CHEAPEST" but they're competitive. And come with things that cost extra on other laptops, like 802.11n and firewire.

Then you figure in things like keyboard feel, and the macbook seems like a bargain.

[aardvark baguette]

Originally Posted by grawk

They're not the "CHEAPEST" but they're competitive.

I'd agree with that. Same price ballpark, with better feel and aesthetics.

As an aside, I'm fairly sure I'm going to end up with a MBP before 2009. Unless they release something completely new and I'm blown away by that.

[JBLoudG20]

Originally Posted by aardvark sandwich

I'd agree with that. Same price ballpark, with better feel and aesthetics.

As an aside, I'm fairly sure I'm going to end up with a MBP before 2009. Unless they release something completely new and I'm blown away by that.

I'm heavily leaning that way, as well.

[saint.panda]

Originally Posted by JBLoudG20

Last night my friend brought up a really good point IMO:

Right now on Amazon, there is about a $300 price difference between the Blackbook, and the 15" 2.4/220GB/2GB MacbookPro.

For $300 I would get:
+ Larger screen with better resolution
+ Aluminum Case
+ Dedicated Video Card
+ Dual-link (Full) DVI out
- 50GB less HD space
- heavier
- lower battery life
- less portable


I think for $300 it is a good idea, if just for the video card alone.
Anyone agree/disagree/in love with postjack?

The thing I miss the most from my old MBP is the backlit keyboard. I often find myself working under bad lighting conditions, and this is one of the reasons I want to get me a Macbook Air as soon as I have money again, and because having a Macbook doesn't make me stand out at Starbucks anymore.

The MBP has slightly worse wifi reception than the MB. Faraday and all that.

[ingwe]

Originally Posted by grawk

I just did the pricing yesterday, hardware for hardware, macbooks are competitively priced. They're not the "CHEAPEST" but they're competitive. And come with things that cost extra on other laptops, like 802.11n and firewire.

Then you figure in things like keyboard feel, and the macbook seems like a bargain.

"He's right, do
you know that?"