How long to ship Apple in Ireland?

Hi gang,

am just new to this forum as I want to update my Dell and have been deliberating for ages. But have now decided to go for a Mac Book Pro.

Only thing is I'm leaving the country in on 3rd September for a year. Will I have my Apple by then if I order on Wednesday...how long are Apple really taking to ship in Ireland? Anyone know?
One other question, what software do they routinely come with...having had a Dell for last few years, I'm not so familiar with the Apples

cheers,

Hairybell

 

Hmmm, can't tell you anything about the shipping dates, especially in Europe. Sorry, maybe some other users can help you with that.

As for what software is shipped, there's no bloatware (well, considering its easy to get rid of and doesn't slow down your computer) on the Mac. Just a trial of iWork, a trial of Comic Life and Microsoft Office for Mac 2004 Trial. You can leave them there, it won't slow down your computer, it'll just take up some space. Uninstalling them is easy too.

iLife '08 comes bundled in all new Macs. Its an awesome suite of applications for photo management, video editing, song creation, etc.

 

Hey Sam,

thanks for the reply! So would you recommend buying the O8 iWork software then, to be pre-installed?

It sounds like I'll need to buy something and if I order with laptop, I'll get student discount

hairybell

 

Well, depends what you'll need it for, hairybell. Are you just doing light word processing, typing up some documents and essays? If so then you don't even need iWork or Microsoft Office, use the free downloadable NeoOffice.

If you need a more sophisticated office suite, but not as powerful as Microsoft Office, then iWork is a good choice. Pages (the word processor in iWork) is great, especially the design/page layout part of it, is just great. Keynote (the Powerpoint app), in my opinion is even better than Powerpoint. Numbers is the Excel of iWork, and is good but isn't great yet.

But if you're a heavy Microsoft Office user, and you need 100% compatibility with Microsoft Office on the PC, or you need to share files with PC co-workers/classmates, then you'll have to stick to the standard, Microsoft Office for Mac. The next version, Office 2008, is arriving at January, so don't buy the current version (Office 2004).

But most of the time documents created in iWork display and can be edited fine on Office. So if you don't need the power of Office but want more than NeoOffice (the Mac equivalent of OpenOffice), then iWork is a nice choice for its price and ability.

 

Wow, thanks Sam. I'm on such a learning curve here. I've never even heard of NeoOffice!

I'm not a huge office person, I don't use Excel very often or Access. I would write essays in Word and do the odd presentation on Powerpoint, but thats the extent of it. so if I could use Neo-office for awhile, then I could make a decision between iWork and Microsoft Office 08 for Mac. I do share files with the gang in college as we often have projects to do together.

I just really want to get a sexy laptop, and Dell just ain't cutting the mustard there lately. Am willing to invest in Apple this time round.

thanks again Bud, I might be back to you later! cheers Hairybell

 

No problem, hairybell. Anytime you have a question, just ask .

Sounds like iWork is the way to go for you, especially if you want awesome-looking Powerpoint presentations. Sharing files, unless you get really complicated, will be fine on iWork's Pages word processor.

 

Hey Sam,

thanks again, you're very good. I think I'm happy to invest in a Mac this time. Dell is huge here in Ireland as they are made here. But there are a lot of complaints lately and the notebooks don't look so good, they are quite bulky.

Anyway if I miss my Windows too much, I can invest later in the new version for Macs.

Cheers bud!

hairybell