Apple Developer Membership:Worth it for the Discount?

Hey,

I've been looking into buying a MBP, and I wanna try to get one for as cheap as possible, cause I'm starting university in a couple of weeks.

I saw some people talking about the Apple developer membership, and I was wondering if theres any downsides to joining it, and buying a mbp under the discount.

Retail MBP(Base model) with student discount is 2000$, and with the membership its 1760$+100$(1860$) for the membership.

So going on that I'd want the membership, but is there any downside to joining? Can anyone shed any more light on the whole apple developer thing?

I almost think there has to be a catch if theres that much discount.

Thanks for any help

-Sulk

 

I don't see why not. You'll also receive a free beta of Leopard, and when the final version debuts you'll get all the necessary updates to make your "beta" as good as the retail copy.

 

I'm not so sure about that. I had a copy of Leopard 9A499 and I was about to install it, but it clearly states that you will not be able to upgrade to the retail version of Leopard from the beta. You must completely reinstall the OS.

I'm not too familiar with the ADC, but why not take advantage of the Free iPod deal and use you Student Discount? You can then resell the iPod on eBay. You can also get a Free Printer. This sounds like the best deal to me .

 

The base model of MBP with student discount is $1799.

 

He could be talking about Canadian dollars.

 

I think someone on NBR who is part of ADC said that members basically get a free copy of Leopard. They may have a different beta than the public one, or they may be eligible to upgrade it though you are not.

The ADC store has the free printer offer, and the free iPod isn't a big deal in my opinion. It's nice if you want it or you can sell it, but some people don't want to deal with the hassle.

 

Yea, knp I'm in canada, so it'd be in CAD.

I was looking forward to that free upgrade to leopard as that was one of my concerns, but if its not 100% then : s

I guess it kinda comes down to if I want a nano for 100$ or not.

Does anyone know offhand if you can get the ADC instore, or if you can purchase a mbp instore with the ADC?

Thanks again
-Sulk

 

Once you're registered with ADC, you can go to an Apple Store and make a purchase. When you go to pay, tell them you're a member and they'll look you up.

 

lol thanks bona fide.
You make it out like its a secret club thing : D
Should be going out to buy it soon.
Also I know a friend bought a mb, and got it the day of(assuming no mods), but if I want the 160hd, do I have to wait for them to install it? or is there some kinda "building" time that I have to wait?

-Sulk

 

Haha, it is a secret club. I actually didn't know about it for a long time. Apple's own version of Illuminati or something.

Also, I don't think you can get a custom-made Mac at an Apple Store. I believe the only ones you can buy from a store are the premade ones, and if you want a custom order you have to do it online.

 

There is no public beta of Leopard. My point is that when Leopard is released everyone with the beta will have to completely reinstall, there will be no option to upgrade from the beta to the retail version of Leopard. It's really a minor inconvenience though; many people would choose to do this anyways.

That's right. Apple will not upgrade hard drives in-store. But you are still able to choose between Glossy/Matte, 2GB/4GB RAM, and the high-resolution display (1920x1200) with the 17" MBP in-store.

 

i think your opinion has $200 worth of a fallacy

 

What I meant was if you already have a music player you wouldn't be too interested in it.

 

Yea I already have a decent player, and if I got the nano i might just give it to the family, or use it as a 2gb flash drive. And thats interesting about not being able to get upgrades instore, I had no idea.
But I'll still go to the store anyways to see if what glossy and matte looks like, and so on. It's too bad that they don't do upgrades instore, cause I was looking forward to getting the mbp sometime soon : <

-Sulk

 

Sorry to bump an old post, but I'm new here (Hi!), and found this info interesting. Is the free ipod and printer offer still an option for student purchases, or is this an expired offer?

Thanks, looking to get a MBP in the next couple weeks. Waiting on the refresh rumor.

Paul

 

It is over!

 

You can still get a printer, its basically a 130$(CAD, I dunno about us $) mail in rebate on a printer. And they have printers that are less then that, and thats what I did.

And yea I ended up using the Student discount, just because I got more stuff(printer and ipod) then I would otherwise.

 

Hey there, Paul! The free iPod promotion only runs during the back-to-school shopping season, so its expired already. You can catch that promotion again next back-to-school season .