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Getting A NEw MacBook, Tons of Questions.

S

Steve Jobless

macrumors 6502
Original poster
May 31, 2006
304
0
Well I've been reading the forums for the past few days and finally decided to join.
I turned 17 yesterday, and I figured I would ask my dad for a white macbook 2.0, he agreed to but depending on the cost. His shop is right next to an Apple Store.

I've just completed my junior year in high school, would I be eligable for the student discount? If not my sister recently recieved her MBA from Johns Hopkins and my cousin is in college and I could possibly use their potential discounts.

Using the student discount store on apple.com I've priced my macbook to be $1607. $1199 base price + $90 1 GB Ram + $135 100 GB HDD + $183 Apple CAre. Should I do this or should I buy the base with Apple CAre and do the improvements myself?

I currently use Windows XP Media Center on my Dell and there are very few applications I'm worried about, does anybody know why Media Center doesn't work with Boot Camp?
Should I use Boot Camp or Parrallels? I think I like Boot Camp more.
On XP I use AIM, Webbrowsing/Email and Connectivity with my Nokia N70 (bluetooth) MS Word and Powerpoint Alot, I also have a few TV episodes that I've recorded, is there anyway I can cut out the commercials and convert it so it would work with a powerbook?
Should I buy a new Windows XP Pro or Home SP2 Disk? or should I get Office 2004 for MAc? Instead of only having it on the windows partion?

sorry for all the questions
thanks for all the help!
 
Steve Jobless said:
Well I've been reading the forums for the past few days and finally decided to join.
I turned 17 yesterday, and I figured I would ask my dad for a white macbook 2.0, he agreed to but depending on the cost. His shop is right next to an Apple Store.

I've just completed my junior year in high school, would I be eligable for the student discount? If not my sister recently recieved her MBA from Johns Hopkins and my cousin is in college and I could possibly use their potential discounts.

Using the student discount store on apple.com I've priced my macbook to be $1607. $1199 base price + $90 1 GB Ram + $135 100 GB HDD + $183 Apple CAre. Should I do this or should I buy the base with Apple CAre and do the improvements myself?

I currently use Windows XP Media Center on my Dell and there are very few applications I'm worried about, does anybody know why Media Center doesn't work with Boot Camp?
Should I use Boot Camp or Parrallels? I think I like Boot Camp more.
On XP I use AIM, Webbrowsing/Email and Connectivity with my Nokia N70 (bluetooth) MS Word and Powerpoint Alot, I also have a few TV episodes that I've recorded, is there anyway I can cut out the commercials and convert it so it would work with a powerbook?
Should I buy a new Windows XP Pro or Home SP2 Disk? or should I get Office 2004 for MAc? Instead of only having it on the windows partion?

sorry for all the questions
thanks for all the help!
Click to expand...

You're only elligible for EDU pricing if you have been accepted/are currently attending a University. If I were you, I'd do the Hardware upgrades myself... it will save tremendously, keep apple care though. BootCamp is probably better if you game, because it runs in real time. You can use Adium (AIM replacement), web browsing/email (on a safer, spyware-free platform), and BT connectivity with OS X. You can get Office student/teacher edition if you can use your cousin's discount. You can cut commercials with Quicktime Pro (~$32 software), and i think that XP Home SP2 will suffice. You will probably ween yourself slowly off XP and will eventually no longer need it, so keep your current MS Office, but get the new universal app when it arrives.
 
Media Center doesn't work with Boot Camp because it's on two discs. I think I read something about putting it on a DVD and installing but I'm not sure how that works. :confused:
 
SuperSnake2012 said:
Media Center doesn't work with Boot Camp because it's on two discs. I think I read something about putting it on a DVD and installing but I'm not sure how that works. :confused:
Click to expand...

Couldn't you just install XP then upgrade to media center? same way with Vista maybe?
 
I dont really ever plan to play games, except for maybe solitare...when im extremely bored

also I will be watching TONS of DVDs and Listening to About 30 Gb of music, maybe less if I limit the amout I transfer and maybe TV shows too.
 
Steve Jobless said:
I dont really ever plan to play games, except for maybe solitare...when im extremely bored

also I will be watching TONS of DVDs and Listening to About 30 Gb of music, maybe less if I limit the amout I transfer and maybe TV shows too.
Click to expand...

You won't need Windows to do any of that. Unless you've been silly and it's all in wma format.

What format are the TV shows in?
 
the shows are in WMA I believe, only because they were recorded with the built in tv tuner. they are coded to open with windows media player.

my main intention is to soley use OS X and windows when I want/need

Should I buy Office for Mac or slip stream XP from another PC and use Office for XP?(I have the disk for office).
 
If I were you, I'd do the Hardware upgrades myself... it will save tremendously,
Click to expand...

why should I do that the ram is cheaper through apple (1 GB should suffice for now Apple: $90 Outside: $120) same with the HArd Drive ($135 cheapest outside of apple is 150)although I want a 120 GB (there arnet many available)

use os x office
Click to expand...
is there anyreason why this is reccomended? what makes it better than the Windows counter part?

Also will I need an anti-virus or spyware scanner on the windows partion?
It doesnt matter, but does anyone make a free anit-virus for macs?
 
Your calculation of the ram is flawed. When you pay apple 90 dollars you get a macbook with 1gb of ram. When you buy a macbook and buy a 1gb ram stick, you take 256mb out (i believe) and install the new 1gb stick in. This leaves you with 1.256gb of memory. The difference between 1 and 1.256 isn't drastically substantial, but is definitely worth the 30 dollars you mentioned (120-90), especially since it's a laptop and runs os x. Also, shop around for ram prices you can get them for even cheaper than 120 in some cases. I think the same idea can be applied to the hard drive.

Use your cousin's college student discount if you can.

Don't buy MS Office for OS X if you can live without it for now, because it's not a Universal Binary so it has to run through Rosetta and it's not guaranteed that they will release a free UB patch. The next version of MS Office for OS X will certainly be Universal Binary. Buy it then if you can wait.

Applecare is a good idea for your first mac. It saved my first-mac-buying friend many times.
 
Your calculation of the ram is flawed. When you pay apple 90 dollars you get a macbook with 1gb of ram. When you buy a macbook and buy a 1gb ram stick, you take 256mb out (i believe) and install the new 1gb stick in. This leaves you with 1.256gb of memory. The difference between 1 and 1.256 isn't drastically substantial, but is definitely worth the 30 dollars you mentioned (120-90), especially since it's a laptop and runs os x. Also, shop around for ram prices you can get them for even cheaper than 120 in some cases. I think the same idea can be applied to the hard drive.
Click to expand...
I'm confused, Apple's price is for 1GB total (Paired Ram) not a 1GB stick, I wouldnt want to buy that $86 Patroit stick off NewEgg (heard some bad stories) owc has a 2 GB kit for 225 but thats a lil more than i expect to pay.
 
Steve Jobless said:
why should I do that the ram is cheaper through apple (1 GB should suffice for now Apple: $90 Outside: $120) same with the HArd Drive ($135 cheapest outside of apple is 150)although I want a 120 GB (there arnet many available)
Click to expand...

Keep in mind that the 1GB you "get" for $90 is in the configuration of 2x512MB. So while it may "suffice for now" and you decide in the future you'd like 2GB of memory, remember you will now need to remove the two sticks you purchased for $90 and replace them with, for example, the $225.00 OWC 2GB memory. So you're looking at ~$315.00 you spent with two sticks you can't use. However, if you went with the OWC 1GB stick right off the bat, it costs $112.99 - only $22.99 more and it's not in a 2x512MB configuration. In the future should you wish to upgrade to 2GB, you can easily get another stick for the same price - $225.
 
Great points everyone, thanks!

So should I just get the 100 GB hard drive and upgrade the RAM myself? Sounds like the best solution so far....
 
if you must have more space now, then yes do it and install the ram yourself. Looks like you're all set.
 
Remeber that your old hard drive can easily become your new external drive if need be. Surely sometime down the road you will find a great deal on a large HD and you can upgrade then. External enclosures only cost around $25 US.
 
With the MacBook, you really want to buy the RAM in pairs if you're going to do be doing anything with graphics, especially if it uses 3D graphics like games or Core Image applications like some of Apple's stuff such as Aperture or iPhoto. For example, the newest 3D games are slow on the Macbook no matter what you do, the older ones like Quake 3 run tremendously better with matched RAM because of the dual channel memory controller.

If 1GB is enough, the Apple upgrade is a good price, but if you need more than that, just get the 2GB from a reputable third party. Probably better also with a new product like this just to buy the standard off-the-shelf configuration, because it is easier to deal with returns if there's something wrong.
 
h0e0h said:
You're only elligible for EDU pricing if you have been accepted/are currently attending a University.
Click to expand...

That is not true. You are referring to HE pricing. He should qualify for EDU pricing. As he points out, his siblings qualify for HE pricing, so they can actually get him SUBSTANTIAL discounts beyond the relatively easy to qualify for EDU prices.
 
That is not true. At least in the US. You are only eligible for EDU pricing if you are in University. EDU and HE pricing are also the same here in the States, the only difference is that HE is for students where EDU is for any teacher or institution.
 
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