teacher Posted July 31, 2006 Share Posted July 31, 2006 I need some educated opinions here. For about $2000 I can get the followingSpecifications 2.0GHz Intel Core Duo 2GB 667 DDR2 SDRAM - 2x1GB 80GB Serial ATA drive SuperDrive (DVD±RW/CD-RW) Keyboard/Mac OS - U.S. English iWork '06 preinstalled Apple Mini-DVI to VGA Adapter AirPort Extreme Card & Bluetooth Or I can do this for $300 more:Specifications 2.0GHz Intel Core Duo 2GB 667 DDR2 - 2x1GB SO-DIMMs 80GB Serial ATA drive @ 5400 rpm MacBook Pro 15-inch Glossy Widescreen Display SuperDrive (DVD±RW/CD-RW) AirPort Extreme Card & Bluetooth Backlit Keyboard/Mac OS - U.S. English iWork '06 preinstalled 15.4-inch TFT Display It looks to me like the extra $300 buys you the airport extreme card with bluetooth and an extra inch on display as well as a backlit keyboard. Is there any other difference I am missing between the MacBook Pro and the MacBook?Is it worth the difference? Is the 2GB way overkill on the memory? I read somewhere that it was much cheaper to buy the memory later rather than installed. Is this correct? Is there a better way to go? It looks like the 1GB single stick is the sweet spot on the memory. Also, is the iWork the equivalent of works which I detest in Windows. Is there a particular reason to get that? Opinions please. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zox Posted July 31, 2006 Share Posted July 31, 2006 I see AirPort Extreme Card & Bluetooth listed on both specs, it's not that.The only difference from this is :# Backlit Keyboard/Mac OS - U.S. Englishand# 15.4-inch TFT DisplayI would personally save the money since I dislike huge screens on laptops, too bulky for my taste.If I were you, I would wait two weeks or so.There is slight chance that they will release new MacBook Pro's with new Core 2 Duo Intel chips.It's worth the money.Iwork is great suite that is similar in a way to Office and missing couple of components to become full blown Office Plus.Memory is always good to have, but 1 Gb will suffice you, even as a heavy user.I hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marsden11 Posted August 1, 2006 Share Posted August 1, 2006 The more memory the better... for things like virtual machines... you can never have enough! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greengeek Posted August 1, 2006 Share Posted August 1, 2006 http://www.macintouch.com/index.shtmlUsually a good source of information on Macs here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teacher Posted August 1, 2006 Author Share Posted August 1, 2006 Thanks all. Greengeek that a great link I liked being able to see the repair and reliability charts for the different versions completed independently of Apple. It looks like the 17" has the fewest repairs. Anyone know what the difference is in keyboard between the two? I know my neighbors mac notebook which is a 14 inch has a keyboard that is so small it almost seems unusable to me. In addition, she has had numerous repair problems. I fixed the last one for her. At lesat the part of removing the broken plug so she could use the new one. Then again, a college student hauling it around is a bit different than someone that uses it primarily in one location. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teacher Posted August 1, 2006 Author Share Posted August 1, 2006 I did it. I had it all bookmarked and figured out what I wanted to purchase. Then my husand called and said, go ahead and order, "I have plenty of money". Can you imagine what I did next? Actually, my tablet is going to his granddaughter and he wants to get it to her before school starts so I went ahead and ordered. Next will be getting the needed software. That will be a challenge. Somethings I have are in both Mac and Windows but I know I will have to buy a number of things. I just hope my free Quicken is both. Here's what I ordered:MacBook Pro, 15-inch, 2.16GHz Intel Core DuoPart Number: Z0DL100GB Serial ATA drive @ 5400 rpmAirPort Extreme Card & BluetoothBacklit Keyboard/Mac OS - U.S. English2.16GHz Intel Core Duo1GB 667 DDR2 - 1 SO-DIMMMacBook Pro 15-inch Glossy Widescreen DisplaySuperDrive (DVD±RW/CD-RW)Estimated ship: 1-3 business daysIt came with a free iPod nano and a printer. I guess I can't go wrong between that and the educational discount. I'll have $339 in rebates coming back to me because I went ahead and also got the Office which had a rebate as well. Any advice for setting it up once it arrives? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjf123 Posted August 1, 2006 Share Posted August 1, 2006 Congrats on the purchase, and welcome to the wonderful world of Mac and OS X! I haven't used one of the new MacBook Pros (I've got a 15" PowerBook), but I don't remember there being a lot of system setup involved when I got the PowerBook. The firewall should be enabled by default. You won't have to worry about installing anti virus, anit trojan, and anti spyware programs. If you want something that will alert you to outbound traffic, I highly recommend Little Snitch. I've got it installed on my Macs. You also won't have to delete all the junk that usually comes preinstalled on a Dell or HP. You mentioned Quicken. While there is a Mac version, it is woefully underpowered compared to the Windows version. That's my primary reason for keeping a Windows system around. I looked in to switching to the Mac version and found I'd have to manually reenter lots of stuff. Some key features just don't exist on the Mac version. I have no idea what Intuit is thinking here. Of course, with Boot Camp, you can always install XP on the MacBook and just boot into it when you want to use Quicken. I'll probably do that when I purchase my next Mac. If you're looking for shareware / freeware utilities, check out Version Tracker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teacher Posted August 1, 2006 Author Share Posted August 1, 2006 I am going Windows free. I do not intend to put it on there. If necessary I will install crossover in Linux and run it from there. Coming from the Linux side of things I don't think there will be much conversion since Linux and Mac are extremely similar. I intend to dual boot with Linux and hope that works well. That will be my big challenge.Thanks for the quick feedback. I will definitely look at the firewall. I guess I need to go sort through disks and see what I have and what I need to purchase. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zlim Posted August 3, 2006 Share Posted August 3, 2006 (edited) I do not have plans to purchase another computer - with 6 currently in the house, I can't justify needing another (I previously cleaned up and donated two but I'm at the point where three of the computers are just too old and slow to donate - I use two of the three almost daily but I wouldn't feel right saddling someone with a 120MHz or 533MHz computer). Anyway, I still am interested in reading about the MACs. Not only are they very eye-appealing but I perceive them as safer. It may just be because the numbers are too low that it isn't worthwhile to target them. Now to get to the point of this rambling post. I read this just now and will post just in case you weren't aware of this rolanj, steelerfan and teacher...the three newest Apple users. On a Mac, what is the difference between “Empty Trash†and “Secure Empty Trash�A. Choosing the “Empty Trash†option under your Mac’s Finder menu tells the computer to delete the files you have dumped in the bin, but it still may be possible to retrieve them by using a data-recovery program or hard-disk utility software. The information itself is still lurking on your drive until other data overwrites it.When you choose the “Secure Empty Trash†menu option, Mac OS X deletes the files in your Trash, and then overwrites them with garbage data to erase their existence from the hard drive. Dumping the trash by the secure method takes longer, especially if you have a lot of large files to discard, but it is intended to make sure those files are permanently wiped from the hard drive.If you are as paranoid as me about keeping deleted data unrecoverable (I use eraser instead of delete), you may want to use secure empty trash. Edited August 3, 2006 by zlim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teacher Posted August 3, 2006 Author Share Posted August 3, 2006 LizThanks for the tip. That is good to remember. Just got a scheduled arrival date of Monday. It has been shipped now so it could be tomorrow or Monday, will have ot wait and see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roger2002 Posted August 4, 2006 Share Posted August 4, 2006 I bought an iMac just before Christmas and I really tried to use iWork for my office suite but I just had too much trouble with MS Office interoperability. I lasted about two weeks but when my wife brought home work from the office and it would not co-operate, I went back to the drawing board and found NeoOffice (based on Open Office) and have found it to be a wonderful resource. I refuse to give Microsoft another dollar for buggy software or hardware! NeoOffice is just as good on the Mac as Open Office is in Linux. I hope you have many years of trouble free computing with your newest family member Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greengeek Posted August 4, 2006 Share Posted August 4, 2006 "newest family member"! I love it, that's how I think of my computers!We must both be crazy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teacher Posted August 4, 2006 Author Share Posted August 4, 2006 My bet is I will have my new Mac in three hours and 20 minutes. It is on the Fed Ex truck for delivery and they usually pull up here about 4:30. It's Christmas! :w00tx100:Thanks for the hint about neooffice. Is it open source as well? I decided not to get the iworks since it sounds so much like MSWorks. I did order the Mac version of Office even though I should have waited for the 2007 version. Oh well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjf123 Posted August 4, 2006 Share Posted August 4, 2006 Gee, I wonder what you'll be doing this weekend? Have fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teacher Posted August 4, 2006 Author Share Posted August 4, 2006 It's here! Do I sit and salivate over it? Have a moment of silence, admire the box or dig in and go? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjf123 Posted August 4, 2006 Share Posted August 4, 2006 In another Mac forum I follow, it's customary to post pictures of the unopened box, and of every step of the opening. I think that's a little overboard, so DIG IN! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teacher Posted August 4, 2006 Author Share Posted August 4, 2006 Some how I knew there had to be a ritual. I carefully removed the UPC codes and completed my rebates for the free printer and ipod first. My daughter will really enjoy those. She gets the toys - I get the Mac! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peachy Posted August 4, 2006 Share Posted August 4, 2006 Flickr pics please. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjf123 Posted August 4, 2006 Share Posted August 4, 2006 There's one couple on the other forum that would always posts "lick pics" whenever a new piece of Mac hardware arrived. I'll leave that to your imagination. It was nothing too graphic, but would always get lots of compliments when the wife was doing it and lots of complaints when it was hubby. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teacher Posted August 4, 2006 Author Share Posted August 4, 2006 No lic pics. That would not be origional. Then again, since I am laid up a bit with my knee from my surery, you are stuck with what I could take from my bed. Here they are: http://flickr.com/photos/jenray Pretty soon there will be a set labeled MacBookPro. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roger2002 Posted August 4, 2006 Share Posted August 4, 2006 Yes, NeoOffice is open source here's a link to the web site... http://www.neooffice.org/ Have lots of fun this weekend! Using a Mac just makes me smile after a day of fighting with my Windows laptop at work. I can't believe how much stress it causes me just trying not to screw that thing up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teacher Posted August 5, 2006 Author Share Posted August 5, 2006 RogerThanks for the link. I downloaded and installed it this morning. I am having fun learning. The biggest thing for me is the lack of a right click and using that top toolbar to find things. Both are fairly easy adaptations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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