is it OK to buy a macbook pro 17" now?

Except, I think wobble987 strategically wants Tiger. It sounds like a good plan to me. Buy a Mac at just the right time so that your get a Mac with Tiger and some sort of Leopard "coupon." I know Apple has done this sort of thing before, so I've heard. I think if you buy a new Mac within a month of a new OS being released, you're entitled to the new OS, free of charge. Or at least a significant discount. If you're a persuasive person, you should have no problem. Apple customer service is excellent. That sounds like the best deal to me.

But, Sam's suggestion is the safest to secure a pre-installed copy of Leopard.

 

Oh, wobble wants Tiger? I would assume everyone would want Leopard . Anyways, okay, then I agree with Xander, get it the week before Leopard is released (which we do not know as of now). That way, you will have a OS X Tiger Install Disc, but you also are very likely to get a free or discounted copy of Leopard.

 

i thought we discuss this before should i go with leopard or tiger? i don't want compatibility (software/hardware) issue, and the likes... i would like to avoid bugs. should i go with leopard or tiger?

 

Compatibility, I wouldn't worry about. As I said before, Apple knows its hardware and what hardware it plans to use in the future. Also, software written for Tiger will work fine on Leopard.

Bugs, probably a few, but that'll be fixed in Software Updates that should go out pretty soon after the release. So I would say, just get Leopard.

 

hmmmm.... very interesting.... all software that work with tiger with work with leopard aye... do you think i need to update them again?

hmmm... i guess i'll just go in the store and see where the moods take me... heck if i want to wait i'll just wait for peryn lol! if i wait for peryn i might as well wait for montevina.

you know.... sometimes technology just gets to me... arggghhhh! so much i love them sometimes i hate them. i'm tired of upgrading.

by the way is there only Xander and Sam here? strange...

 

Just ask if you can inspect the screen for faults before you buy the Macbook, that's all I'm saying

 

Silly, semi-related question, but the copy of iLife '08 I get with a new Macbook Pro can be installed once I wipe the drive and upgrade to 10.5 in a few months, right? (I'm thinking I might wait to upgrade until Office '08 comes out, if I end up buying that at all.)

 

hmm... you know, i ask myself the same question... can you do that? install the iLife from software install disk.

i guess if all else fail, you could select the upgrade; instead of clean install.

i strongly discourage you using Office for mac, because by installing it; you're vunarable to something like 500 macro based virus. if you do install it; make sure you disable "macro support".

 

I mostly just don't want to support Microsoft by buying anything from them

The catch is, I like Word a lot better than OpenOffice's thing (though I'd make do if I didn't qualify for the educational discount!)

I'm also not crazy about getting tied in to Microsoft's new proprietary format. Especially on Windows, since Office (and Vista) have kill switches in them...

 

You should be able to re-install iLife from Tiger's Install Disks that came with your Mac after upgrading to Leopard with a clean install. At least, I plan to do this. If for some reason the Tiger Installer doesn't behave, you can still view the Hidden Files on "OS X Install Disk 2" and install each iLife application package. It should work, I'll let you know for sure, when I get Leopard.

 

wolfpup; why not use apple's iwork? when i started using them they are kinda hard to use. now i actually prefer them. and i think the iwork 08 actually fix a lot of the iwork 06 weaknesses.

 

Yes, iWork '08 is very good, for sure. I absolutely love Keynote; easier to use than PowerPoint, better transitions and such. Pages is okay...I don't have a huge preference for word processing as long as it does the job well. I haven't tried out Charts yet, but I don't do many spreadsheets anyways.

For someone who needs an office suite that's a little better than NeoOffice, but doesn't want to splurge $100+ for Microsoft Office, iWork '08 is truly an excellent choice.

Note to everyone, I don't have iWork '08. Remember, I'm broke . I'm just using the 30-day trial.

 

hey, i've just visited DigiLife today (the only all-apple store in town) and apparently just a month ago they are not authorised to offer any student discount... i guess i'll just buy them online.

well... my first impression is good. i'm definitely getting one... the keyboard hardly flex at all! key size are good, the (matte) screen are very good, colour a bit too oversaturated (not 100% natural) though quite nice to view, viewing angle is good (a lot better than Macbook) definitely usable. a bit of light leakage along the bottom of the screen.

my problem with it, is..... the SCREEN HINGE IS WEAK! it drops when you tilt them a rather extreme angle. is not really a dealbreaker, as i don't plan on using them like that anyway, but i'm worried about the long term durability of it. also the back runs HOT!!! now i'm wondering if it is just an old stock or this is what happening right now.

ALSO, if i buy them right now. the one with 2GB of RAM; is it dual channel or single module only? i wan't the 2GB Dual module. (2x) 1GB one (edit: yes, it does comes with 2x1gb module).

 

Mine isn't weak - in fact, it's too tight! It even cracks when I open or close the screen, that's how tight it is. You can have this adjusted in an Apple Store I read.

 

If I really do go through with this (it's on it's way) I guess I'll give that trial of iWork a try. For me I'm not sure it's any cheaper because of my educational discount-and Word/Excel compatibility is REALLY important for my job, but I am curious about it.

 

you can save as word doc format. althought if you use fancy formating or fonts or what not. there might be problems.

Cinner, when did you buy that macbook pro? are your one 17"? there is the 15" one in store and it is indeed tight. and which part crack!??!

 

Wobble987: I bought my 17" at a local store (ordered it through mail actually). The lid is very tight which I somewhat like because it makes it feel very sturdy, but it makes a cracking sound because it's a little too tight. I didn't mean it actually cracks, just the sound it makes

 

You can export Pages documents into Word documents, and same with Numbers to Excel (but I've heard the Numbers - to - Excel isn't that good). Pages compatibility with Word has improved dramatically with iWork '08.

 

That's good to hear. Hopefully the trial is on the installation DVDs (I'm going to wipe and start fresh). I'll have to give it a real try. I think Mail seems extremely competent, so it doesn't seem far fetched that their Word replacement would too!

 

well thats completely normal! seems they fix the problem does it still runs hot though? coz the one in store is blazing hot toward the back. the apple "Genius" said that because it "Have been ON all day"... meh... so much for geniuses.

 

To be honest: no it doesn't run hot at all! I'm pleasently surprised by this, because my first generation Macbrook Pro 15" got so hot you couldn't even put it on your lap without forcing the fans to run at higher speeds. This new 17" however runs much cooler (40 degrees C when doing basic web surfing and such). It does get very hot at the bottom when you start playing games of course I never noticed the back getting very hot though, or did you mean the bottom?

 

40 degrees CPU? wow they really improve! i think this MBP has very little flaw and judging from your input and my obeservation; there should be no problem with the new MBP, and the demo one probably old stock.