Help buying a Mac

Fol20

Hey,its gonna be my first mac and id like some help buying one.
At the moment i have a 15" pc that i intend to sell to finance some of the pc.

There are 2 choices im interested in.
A 13" base line macbook pro for 1035
Whats the real battery life on macbooks as well,it couldnt really be 10hours could it?
+
an external monitor for say around 140-170
eg
http://www.dabs.ie/products/lg-electronics-22-w-5ms-1000-1-lcd-tft-6MC1.html
or
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MO-034-BQ&groupid=17&catid=949&subcat=

Any other good value monitors for around that budget would be handy as well

option 2
27inch base line imac for 1350

On top of this i can get rebate on a selection of ipods etc.
rebates here:http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055921665
Can any of ye tell me which one of these would have the best resale value so i could get back some of the money im putting down on this bad boy.
How does rebate work as well if anyone has done it before?

What is the best keyboard and mouse as well.im gonna need wireless/bluetooth id say.Is there much of a difference between the mighty/magic mouse and where is the cheapest place to buy them

At the moment im swaying toward the first one,but any thoughts are much appreciated.

CamperMan

if your going to keep the mac on your desk I would opt for the iMac 27", if you intend to go mobile, get the macbook.

Sad Professor

Fol20 wrote: »

On top of this i can get rebate on a selection of ipods etc.
rebates here:http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055921665
Can any of ye tell me which one of these would have the best resale value so i could get back some of the money im putting down on this bad boy.

If you leave it sealed, you should get a pretty good price for any of them. Just make sure you get one that will give you the full rebate.

How does rebate work as well if anyone has done it before?

Full T&C here. I would recommend reading it carefully. But basically you have to buy from the Apple education store and both iPod and Mac must be purchased together. Then when you get them you fill in the online forum, cut out the barcodes and send them away. Then afaik Apple will deposit the rebate into your bank account. Takes about a month I think.

Is there much of a difference between the mighty/magic mouse and where is the cheapest place to buy them

The Mighty Mouse is an older Mac mouse. Still does the trick but has a lot of problems with the scroll-wheel. You'd be better going for the Magic Mouse, but you might want to consider a third-party mouse as well.

Fol20

Sad Professor wrote: »

If you leave it sealed, you should get a pretty good price for any of them. Just make sure you get one that will give you the full rebate.

Full T&C here. I would recommend reading it carefully. But basically you have to buy from the Apple education store and both iPod and Mac must be purchased together. Then when you get them you fill in the online forum, cut out the barcodes and send them away. Then afaik Apple will deposit the rebate into your bank account. Takes about a month I think.


The Mighty Mouse is an older Mac mouse. Still does the trick but has a lot of problems with the scroll-wheel. You'd be better going for the Magic Mouse, but you might want to consider a third-party mouse as well.

Im in college at the moment so im thinking option one has the best of both worlds.

I also have a Microsoft Wireless Laser Mouse 8000,just id like to get a mac mouse for ease of use.Does the magic mouse have a right click or whats the story with that?

Fol20

Does anyone know any other offers when you buy a mac as well,i heard you can get rebate on a printer as well

DotOrg

Fol20 wrote: »

Does the magic mouse have a right click or whats the story with that?

http://www.apple.com/magicmouse/

yes if you want right click it can do that, as well as a lot of other useful features

Sad Professor

Fol20 wrote: »

Does anyone know any other offers when you buy a mac as well,i heard you can get rebate on a printer as well

That seems to be over now. Might start again soon, keep an eye on the store. When I got my MBP last summer I was able to avail of both promotions.

drunkmonkey

Fol20 wrote: »

A 13" base line macbook pro for 1035

Buy from the apple refurb store, you still get the exact same warranty, i've bought most of my mac's from there, even had to return and imac and there it was not bother, had a new one in a few days, it's well worth the saving.

Here's a mac book pro for 889, it will be as new.
http://store.apple.com/ie/product/FB990B/A?mco=MTA4MzIzMzA

laptophire

drunkmonkey's link is the best way to go. We buy a lot of our Mac's here from that section on Apple's site. And if the MacBook Pro is to be your first Mac? You'll be immensely pleased.

Good Luck!

markmcg

Hi,
My fist mac was a 15" macbook pro. got it three years ago. upgraded to newer 13" macbook pro last year. Macbook pros are great and best looking laptops out there.

Sad Professor

If you do go the refurb route, keep in mind you won't be able to avail of the iPod rebate.

Fol20

Buying the laptop works out at 955 new so im going to stick to that.One question i have to ask all you mac users is how the audio in and out works.With pcs,there is a seperate port for each,however with the 13inch there is only one port.How does this allow me use a mic and earphones at the same time?Do i have to get an adapter,whats the cheapest one i can buy?

laptophire

The MacBook Pro does have two audio ports, one for headphones, one for mic. As far as I know, both will work as inputs too, so you can use a mic/headphone combo (like your iphone headphones). But yes, there are two ports.

http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/specs.html

Ham'nd'egger

laptophire wrote: »

The MacBook Pro does have two audio ports, one for headphones, one for mic. As far as I know, both will work as inputs too, so you can use a mic/headphone combo (like your iphone headphones). But yes, there are two ports.

http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/specs.html

The 13 inch doesn't have two outputs.

@Fol, if you are looking to play a fair bit of audio or anything halfway professional then I'd suggest you pick up a wee external sound card; a basic should cost about €30 from a generic computer parts shop and will give you far better and more balanced sound. If you are looking to work professionally then somewhere like Big Bear Audio will carry higher end sound cards.

laptophire

Hamndegger wrote: »

The 13 inch doesn't have two outputs.

@Fol, if you are looking to play a fair bit of audio or anything halfway professional then I'd suggest you pick up a wee external sound card; a basic should cost about €30 from a generic computer parts shop and will give you far better and more balanced sound. If you are looking to work professionally then somewhere like Big Bear Audio will carry higher end sound cards.

You're absolutely right, I stand corrected.

Still, there are plenty of mic/headphone combos on the market, and a splitter would work as well, since the single port is in/out combined.

ozt9vdujny3srf

drunkmonkey wrote: »

Buy from the apple refurb store, you still get the exact same warranty, i've bought most of my mac's from there, even had to return and imac and there it was not bother, had a new one in a few days, it's well worth the saving.

Here's a mac book pro for 889, it will be as new.
http://store.apple.com/ie/product/FB990B/A?mco=MTA4MzIzMzA

No point on students going for the rebate laptops, as education discount ranges from 7-10% already + the current ipod rebate offer.

Fol20

laptophire wrote: »

You're absolutely right, I stand corrected.

Still, there are plenty of mic/headphone combos on the market, and a splitter would work as well, since the single port is in/out combined.

Can anyone link me to a splitter on ebay.i dont know what to type in to find one..

On a side note i got 2 new qestions,a new macbook came out,It starts out at 900,however i could add 2 gigs of ram on for 80e.IS there any other differences between the macbook pro and that because thats still another 100e more.Is there a new macbook pro coming soon or something.

I was also reading that steve jobs is having a keynote conference today,and a new ipod touch is rumored.Have ye heard anything of this because that will affect the resale value of whatever ipod touch i get

I have a firewire hdd as well,what firewire cable do i need to connect to this as well,theres a few different pins that can be bought

Sad Professor

Fol20 wrote: »

Can anyone link me to a splitter on ebay.i dont know what to type in to find one..

On a side note i got 2 new qestions,a new macbook came out,It starts out at 900,however i could add 2 gigs of ram on for 80e.IS there any other differences between the macbook pro and that because thats still another 100e more.Is there a new macbook pro coming soon or something.

I was also reading that steve jobs is having a keynote conference today,and a new ipod touch is rumored.Have ye heard anything of this because that will affect the resale value of whatever ipod touch i get

New iPods coming around September 8. That's why Apple is doing this rebate: to clear their old stock. Just sell the Touch before the new ones come out.

Macbook Pro is made out aluminium. The Macbook is made out of plastic. The Pro also has a firewire port and illuminated keyboard. It is also thinner and lighter than the Plasticbook. No new Macbook Pros until next year.

Fol20

Do you know of a splitter and firewire cable

Sad Professor

Fol20 wrote: »

Do you know of a splitter and firewire cable

I haven't a clue about the splitter, I'm afraid.

As for Firewire, it depends. What type of Firewire does the external hdd use? Firewire 400, or Firewire 800?

Firewire 400 is 6 pin and is rectangular, kinda like a USB port, just thicker. Where as Firewire 800 is 9 pin and is more squarish.

Fol20

Do you know which one i would need from the pic below.



Secondly i want the wireless apple kb,is there anywhere cheaper than 63euro for it.I saw on adverts a while ago a fella was selling a bunch of them with the magic mouse for 80 but their all sold out now.

Iv decided i will keep using my microsoft wireless laser mouse 8000,however iv read that it maybe difficult to use since it might not be supported.What i need from the mouse is auto scroll,right click,left click and back.Do any of ye have any suggestions or will i have to change mouse

Oh yea and just an update of what i have bought so far.
http://www.komplett.ie/Komplett/product/ZKB_01COM/16_MONITOR/03_MONITOR/productdetails/10020460/LG_W2261V-PF_LCD_display_TFT_22_-/W2261VP-PF/default.aspx

http://cgi.ebay.ie/Mini-DisplayPort-HDMI-Display-Port-Adapter-Converter-/330398731938?cmd=ViewItem&pt=UK_Computing_Apple_Mac_Accessories&hash=item4ced4c8ea2#ht_3966wt_911

Sad Professor

Fol20 wrote: »

Do you know which one i would need from the pic below.

A bit blurry, but those two ports on the left look like Firewire 400. So you'll need a 9 pin to 6 pin Firewire cable. 9 pin on one end to connect to your Macbook Pro, and 6 pin on the other end to connect to your external hdd. Looks like this:

Secondly i want the wireless apple kb,is there anywhere cheaper than 63euro for it.I saw on adverts a while ago a fella was selling a bunch of them with the magic mouse for 80 but their all sold out now.

Unlikely. Apple keep tight control over pricing.

Iv decided i will keep using my microsoft wireless laser mouse 8000,however iv read that it maybe difficult to use since it might not be supported.What i need from the mouse is auto scroll,right click,left click and back.Do any of ye have any suggestions or will i have to change mouse

I've no experience of using MS mice on a Mac, but I was under the impression MS provide Mac drivers for most of them. If all fails, you could use something like Steermouse which I use with my Logitech, but it isn't free.

Fol20

Thanks for all the help so far sad professor...I was wondering when i get the system do they supply the install discs

Do you think its worth getting apple care as well
i can get it here for 75
http://cgi.ebay.ie/Applecare-MacBook-MacBook-Air-pro-13-Free-Shipping-/170486098107?cmd=ViewItem&pt=UK_Computing_Apple_Laptops_ET&hash=item27b1c368bb#ht_979wt_1137

Sad Professor

Fol20 wrote: »

I was wondering when i get the system do they supply the install discs

They do.

Do you think its worth getting apple care as well
i can get it here for 75
http://cgi.ebay.ie/Applecare-MacBook-MacBook-Air-pro-13-Free-Shipping-/170486098107?cmd=ViewItem&pt=UK_Computing_Apple_Laptops_ET&hash=item27b1c368bb#ht_979wt_1137

Getting Applecare is a good idea. But having said that, under Irish law you are still entitled to get any fault fixed within a similar 2-3 year (or more) period. The main benefit of Applecare is you have a hassle-free line to Apple without having to threaten them with a small claims court. Their profit margins on it are huge, so they tend to take pretty good care of you.

But you should know that there is a certain risk in buying it from Ebay. These ultra-cheap sellers will only email you the code, not the package or the original receipt (which even they probably don't have, even if they claim they do). This means that Apple could potentially pull your coverage at any time and you'd have no absolutely comeback. So if you want peace of mind get it direct from Apple. However, I have bought from that same seller and they are okay. But since we don't where the codes come from there's still a risk. Given the saving involved it's probably worth it, though.

Btw - you can get Applecare anytime within the first year.

ApplefyMe

I would go for the imac to be honest much better specs there for any heavy work.If you have your heart set on mobility then you should really consider investing a bit more in a 15 inch macbook pro due to the new i5 quadcore processor-Will last you much longer!!

Exar Khun

I agree with above the Imac has more grunt for your buck. I just got mine on thursday. Its so shiny. Finally getting to edit a short I shot with a buddy a month back on FCP.

Fol20

Just to let ye know,i went with the baseline mbp 13 with a usa keyboard
usa wireless kb
8 gig ipod touch

As stated earlier
lg 22" monitor
cheap hdmi adapter

Fol20

Just thought id show you my setup

http://img686.imageshack.us/gal.php?g=sdc10424t.jpg

Can any of ye recommend useful software for macs

ApplefyMe

audio, video etc??