Considering a macbook..

hi everyone,

as u can see, i'm new to the forums, and i've created an account here solely to ask for advice for my notebook purchase. i know this thread should be in the "what notebook should i buy" section, but since it's regarding macbook, i'd like to post it here.

i'm a student awaiting university, which would start in August. and according to apple in my country, i'm eligible for the student discount. the offer will last till september. however, the current goods tax will rise by 2% once july starts, and i'd really like to avoid that.

so here i am asking for reasons for why i should convert to using a mac. mbp is out of the questions since it's simply too expensive, and i have really no use for the dedicated card. gaming can be done on consoles and other machines. since i'll be studying in business school, a mb should be more than enough.

i've been a windows user from the start, and now mac & os x have started to catch my eyes. so please tell me why i should buy a macbook now (despite the release of leopard in october, which i can just buy it off the shelf). i really like the mb and i really hope i won't be buying one just on impulse. thank you!

 

Hi and welcome to the forum. It's really a great place, and helped me a lot with my recent purchase of a macbook.
First of all, do a forum search. There are TONS of threads on this topic, and I mean TONS. Example: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=131526 and http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=128351
Again, there are others as well.
Second of all, I'll tell you about my experience with the macbook. Until a month ago I had never used a macbook or worked with OS X. Let me deal with the laptop itself first. I was deciding between either a Lenovo T61 or the macbook. The T61 has a phenomenal keyboard, and at that time i thought the macbook keyboard is not that great (I love it now). The T61 also has a better resolution and more sturdier (a lot more). But the macbook had a better battery life (kinda unfair comparison though as the T61 reviews i was reading had dedicated graphics card) and the screen was centred, unlike the T61's off-centered screen. Oh and the T61 ran cooler and could have higher specs (this was before the recent update of macbooks).
What eventually sealed the deal was the macbook's price: right after the macbooks got updated with faster processors, the older macbooks' prices fell a bit, and I was able to get a refurbished black macbook for $1050USD (as opposed to $1500 before).
The experience so far: i had a minor issue with the touch pad, which had a little bump on it. I had to go down to a local mac store twice which took some of my time, but then issue was fixed and I'm happy. The keyboard is fine, the low native resolutiono of 1200x800 works well for the typical student, it can get hot under the laptop but nothing that would make you go crazy, and everything else works and feels solid. Overall, I'm happy.
OS X: the adjustment was frustrating at first. There are some basic stuff missing here (like being able to automatically organize open windows horizontally or vertically) that just seems bizarre not to have. And the shortcuts and other things take some time to get used to. But after a while, you do get used to it. I've recently started using the search feature. No longer do I go from folder to folder looking for my file/application. I just type it and it shows up. Granted, some things are dearly missed, but the advantages i think outweigh the benefits (including aesthetics). The ONLY major complain that I Have is that Windows was an effective GUI. All you needed could be worked through the interface. With OS X, YOU HAVE TO LEARN A BIT OF UNIX to get some things done, and that can be frustrating as well.
Phew, sorry for the long reply. So in conclusion, I would say I'm very happy with my macbook, although perhaps I would've been happier with a T61 or Dell D630 (who knows).
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I suggest you do the search and then post in the "what notebook should i buy" (don't forge to fill out the information, which I think is in the 'sticky' section).
Best of luck.

 

btw, where do you live? France? cuz I know they're about to raise their sales tax.

 

nope, i'm from singapore. even though 2% increase in goods tax is pretty meager, the amount i can save is around S$60. again, if converted to US$, it's only around US$40, but i could use that money to get a 1 gig ram for my mb.

anyway, thanx for the response, i really appreciate it! after thinking it through, i feel that i should wait till August when school starts. first of all i don't really require a notebook now since there is no school. secondly, my college is actually looking for tenders to sell notebooks in school. they had MBs and MBPs last year, so there should still be for this year. moreover, MBs sold by school tenders come with a 3 year warranty. between warranty and ipod nano, i'd go for the earlier, mainly because i have alternatives, albeit smaller in storage space and slackier in the looks department, to the nano.

but since the education promo lasts till september, i can always opt for it if i find the nano an essential. i'll just have to be optimistic and view the extra US$40 i paid for being indecisive, LOL

well, thanx again for the reply! i'm really looking forward to owning a MB, and the OS X