Ok, MS .net Web & Infrastructure Architect here. It is with great shame that I admit I am looking at a Macbook Pro as my laptop for going back to school.
(I currently work for a telecom but am looking at re-training as a pilot for missionary aviation: tonyarcher.com for info.)
In any case doing so would require I have my own laptop as I'd probably get laid off from my current company and they'd want their laptop back.
So, in looking at the overpriced creatures I was wondering if there was a way to get them cheaper than a student discount through Apple. Does anyone know if apple donates machines to non-profits or the like?
Also what are some considerations when making the switch. What can I replace my favorite app, OneNote with?
MacBook Pro
I just purchased a MacBook Pro 15" and did a lot of research on pricing.
I did not find much of a discount available other than buying from Apple's Refurbished store. You can get close to 30% off from the refurb store and still get the warranty. You can also get the extended AppleCare warranty on the refurb unit, and if you qualify, you can get the educational discount on purchasing AppleCare! The educational discount on new MacBook Pro laptops is about 10%.
I watched many, many eBay auctions of MacBook Pro laptops and even with the new-in-the-box offers, they are so close to the Apple store pricing; I think you're better off purchasing directly from Apple.
One other company I've worked with is Consistent Computer Bargains. They sell to non-profits and churchs...and have a Mac store: http://www.ccbnpts.com/
My $.07 worth.
InHisGrip,
Jeff
what do you want to run on it?
G'day Tony -
Don't feel guilty - I too was hesitant when I first made the switch to a Mac, and I can tell you now that I will probably never purchase another Windows-based machine. Ever.
I bought an "outdated" iBook G4 machine around the time that mac introduced the intel-based macbooks, as a way of trying out a mac with minimal risk. I was looking for a small, portable wireless laptop which could be used as a "satellite" to my main desktop machine. All I initially wanted to run was e-mail apps (Thunderbird), and web browsing (Firefox). I've never looked back, and now I am actually doing a fair amount of development and commercial work on this platform.
I found little problem in transitioning over to mac OS-X, and no probs flicking back and forth between the mac laptop and my PC desktop. You can run MS Office on the mac too, although there are some look & feel differences (surprise surprise, same when transitioning between XP and Vi$ta).
Under the hood the mac is fundamentally a UNIX platform, and it uses its resources very efficiently. (And did I mention that it is fun to use, and has never crashed?...)
OK... enough of the mac commercials already....
Obviously, you need to consider what you will be using the machine for, both short and longer term.
I see you are planning to go into aviation, so you might be needing flight planning/briefings etc. In Australia, we are able to do all of our flight planning online via the web, on a system called NAIPS. Because the access is via a browser, it makes things platform-independent... sort of. Problem is, if you want to store frequently-used flight plans etc, then you need to download and use a GUI-based local NAIPS app, which alas is currently only available for Windows. Possibly a good candidate for "Parallels" software though.
Anyway, all the best with your flying!
Peter Sneesby
www.sneesby.com.au
www.lifesourcetv.com
Thanks for the info guys. I
Thanks for the info guys. I need it to run video editing for AVCHD format HD video. Other than that I would just use it for standard laptop stuff and ASP.NET development (through vmware or whatever)
Thing is I can get a 9" Eee PC (I guess the extra ee's make it "better") for taking notes in class and then a real powerful quad core machine for the same price as even a discounted macbook pro...
Believe me I'm TRYING to come up with a good reason to switch, just having a hard time doing so.
--Tony
"I can make it good, fast and cheap...pick any two."