Educate me on Mac Notebooks
 

I'm Mac illiterate, so I need help from the Pelican braintrust. Looking to get one for Mrs. Z-man for her birthday (Shhh - don't tell her!!!)

Will be used for surfing the web, hulu, online shopping, listening to iTunes, maybe watching movies on airplane trips, and possibly some work-related stuff (She's a teacher).

Thinking of the MacBook Pro 15 or this one which is currently on sale.

Some features:
4GB DDR3 SDRAM
DVD RW/CD-RW Super drive
Intel Core Dual Processor
250GB / 320GB SATA hard drive
1 FireWire 800 and 2 USB 2.0 ports
Built in AirPort Estreme wireless LAN card (802.11 b/g/n) (Note: I have a wireless (g) network at home)
Built in bluetooth 2.1 + EDR wireless interface (higher model)

Software:
Mac OS X 10.5 "Leopard"
iTunes, Time Machine, Spotlight, iChat, Safari, iCal, DVD Player, Front Row, Photo Booth, Xcode Developer Tools, iLife '09 (includes iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD, iWeb, GarageBand)

So the questions:

1. Can I get a Bluray player / writer instead?

2. Any additional software that I should consider?

Thanks!
-Z-man.

Z-
I bought the 'cheapest' Macbook last year (about $1000) and it does everything from your list.(surfing the web, hulu, online shopping, listening to iTunes, maybe watching movies on airplane trips,....)

In addition to supplied software, I use NeoOffice & Firefox.

I have a Mac Book. I love it. Will never go back to Windows based machines. Because there are so few macs in comparison to windows machines there are virtually no virus. No crashing. Since your wife is a teacher I would suggest IWork. It has Keynote(Power Point), Pages(Word) and Numbers(Excel). The mac is a little different than windows but it is easy to learn with a little play. IChat is nice if you have two macs. It works like a video phone. Let me know if there is anything else you want to know.

can't help with the blu-ray

but there is no need to buy too much computer. any mac made will do what she wants.


i can't imagine a machine without photoshop. but that's just me.

Macs do not play Blu-Ray (yet).

The software that comes with a new Mac is nothing short of spectacular. Unlikely that she'll need anything else. Interestingly, the Mac program "Pages" works with Microsoft "Word" documents better than Microsoft "Word".

My wife has the 17" Macbook Pro. I have a 13" Macbook (the cheap one) My son has the same 13" Macbook. The 13" Macbook is easier to travel with and they have been bullet proof.

If she's going to travel with it, I highly recommend the 13" MacBook. It's under $1000.

Thanks for the replies so far...

What about onilne security? Virus protection? Should I be concerned?

-Z-man.

Get Norton Anti Virus
 

Norton makes specific anti virus modular system for Mac, its a very good tool once purchased you re subscribe yearly for around $20. Available from their website.

Daughter 4 years w a Mac Book no issues, I have one too, love it.
Never a PC again!

Absolutely unnecessary, IMO. I have run my medical practice for 20 years on a network of Macs. I can access confidential data remotely. My employees also use their Mac's to surf the net and do personal banking, etc. NEVER HAD A VIRUS OR SECURITY BREACH. Never.

I don't think you'll need to get the 'Pro", basic has everything she'd need. I've always bought "refurbished", same warranty and you save a few bucks..
http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals/mac?mco=MTE3NjY

I would like to get at least a 15 inch screen - it will be used 90% of the time at home, and I think a bigger viewable screen is better.

The non-Pro MacBook is only available in a 13 inch screen.

-Z

Just received my iMac...Ok its not a notebook but its is so much better than my previous Pcs and my work machines... just shame that the primary programme we use is not Mac compatible and way too slow when used in emulation mode...

I'll not go back to PC for my main home use machine.. Mac is just so much easier and more versatile at home.

If you set the partiion correctly, Bootcamp should allow you to run Windows very fast.

Concur with all that's been said and more....it's tough (I've dropped it, had things fall on it left it in hot cars etc). I have NEVER had a security concern (we have had a home network of Macs for years). Our current laptop is almost four years old and keeps chugging.

It's fantastic for photos and, for me, music. All my CDs and other music are on it and I run the stereo from the laptop in the kitchen. It of course works seamlessly with I pods and I phones. The newer versions of OS X (Leopard) allow you manipulate your home hard drive from anywhere in the world. Updates are free and automatic.

It's so seamless and logically easy to use you'll wonder why anyone would want a PC. The dashboard has thousands of free widgets that allow you to access information instantly- from the local weather to Ulan Bator weather to Shakespeare to recipes etc.

Microsoft is nowhere near Apple's ballpark. But if you want to play Microsoft and kludge up your Mac you can- they're compatible now.

Love our 13" aluminum Macbook. It feels super solid and runs great.

I would get a new one with the SD card reader. It's annoying to get a usb cable to import pictures from your digital camera. Get VmWare or Parallels to run Windows on her Mac if you really need to.

No. No need for concern.

Also, As a teacher she should get the 'educational' discount. I don't know what it is now, but it used to be about $100, and a free ipod.

If you are using it in your lap while sitting, the 13" is really nice. My wife actually prefers using my 13" Macbook. Her 17" Macbook pro is a lot heavier and less portable.

Ditto on the 13. I have a unibody 13", just bought my wife the basic 13" macbook - refurb from the apple store for 749 w/ free shipping.

Z -
Just noticed your above links are to BestBuy. You are better off buying from the Apple Store.

You might appreciate this: My wife was using my daughter's macbook for the past year. When I set up my wife's new computer, it took me maybe 30 minutes to install office, copy over the firefox, thunderbird and other settings along with her files - most of that time was waiting for files to transfer over the NAS. The first time she opened firefox, not only do the bookmarks come over but so does the browsing history, stored passwords, etc. along with all the email settings, etc. 100% identical to her original setup. That's a 1/2 day or more process for me on Windows. BTW, you can use Mozbackup on a win box to bring over to the mac. Bringing over the itunes library (with ratings, etc.) is a little more complicated, but not for a tech geek like you.

1st part is completely incorrect. Has nothing to do with market share. Before OS X the installed base of Macs was smaller and there were hundreds of Apple Viruses. OS X is not immune and a virus can be written for any OS. The challenge of infecting a machine without direct access to it and creating a virus that can actually replicate and spread is what's so difficult.

And they do crash, just not very often and an application crashing does not take out the whole system. Kill the process and start it again.

As far as the Norton stuff, the biggest virus threats for OS X have come from the Anti Virus guys.

Article is a couple of years old but you'll get the point

http://www.macfixit.com/article.php?story=20060511065134478

Have one of each, 13 is a good travel box, 17 in screen is awesome and my main workhorse but the space in front of the keyboard is a bit too large. 15 is IMHO the perfect balance, great ergonomics, good screen, plenty of power and is transportable.

i managed to crash THE FINDER yesterday while running after effects and maya. i had the project backed up. so didn't have to kill myself.



limited choices. if you go for the bigger screen, consider the high res option. i really notice the difference.

after a point the stop being easy to carry. i liked the way my old 13 inch G4 just fit in the saddle bags. carried it everywhere. the new one is a pain to lug around.

Hmm - what will they offer that BestBuy doesn't?

I am checking the Apple Store to see if there is an educational discount available. And I found an Apple store in my town's mall. Will check there first.

-Z

Price wise nothing but the staff is more knowledgeable re their product.

Apple always has an educational discount available.

Go to the retail store.

Take it home.

You have a year from date of purchase to decide about extending the warranty.

Apple Store it is. The educational discount is pretty good. Prices are about the same.

And another question: iWork vs. MS Office - what is better? I'm leaning towards the iWork suite. While it would be nice to be able to transfer files between my work laptop (PC) and the Mac, it isn't necessary. Having said that, is iWork documents transferrable / readable on MS Office applications?

Thanks all for the help!
-Zoltan.

iWork is able to read and save MS Office formats, and its certainly easier to use.

Z- I've been using NeoOffice. Office Suite compatible. And Free.

For the best discount, join fatwallet.com and go through their links to MacMall. You will get a nice referral discount and pay no sales tax. Unless you want to do Apple's One to One training program, then you have to buy the laptop directly from Apple.

Enjoy,
Neil

Get the box, try iWork, if it does not float your boat try Neo Office or any of the other Open Source alternatives like OpenOSX, Star Office or Open Office.

If they don't do it for you then spend the money on MSFT's product.

Costs you nothing to try them first.

+1 I've been using NeoOffice for several years.

My only complaint is my Garmin software is only for PCs. I'm to cheep to buy Parallels, plus I don't want Windows on my Mac. To me it seems wrong, like having a sword fight with Ron Jeremy. http://forums.pelicanparts.com/support/smileys/puke.gif

iWork isn't free - its $41.00 -- but I'm leaning towards that suite.

-Z

It's included on the system disc that come with your machine as a 30-day trial.

or

http://www.apple.com/iwork/download-trial/

OpenOffice 3.1 is another excellent free alternative for MS Office.

I have both. I got the cheap 13" Macbook for traveling, but use the 17" Pro as my main machine. I like both machines a lot. The 13" Macbook is so small and portable, and such a nice package, that I am using it a lot more than I thought I ever would. You can't go wrong with these machines.

Make sure the machine is loaded with IWork—or get this separately. It is hands down the best word processing/spreadsheet/presentation software I have ever used, and is fully compatible with Microsoft Office.

Z-man, see your PM.

Microsoft Office 2008 for mac has to be the single worst piece of office software I HAVE EVER USED. If you ever set up "spaces" don't even bother installing that garbage.

Use IWork, it is wonderful.

I would buy from the Apple store and go through the education store: http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa?routing=eduind&cid=AOS-US-Edu-EdMkting-01162009

I would also buy the new 13 inch Macbook Pro, with 4 gbs of ram and a decent hard drive. The new OS, Snow leopard, is being released in September for $30. It will be lightning fast with the 4GBs of RAM (A New Utility in Snow Leopard called "Grand Central Station" really uses the most amount of RAM possible to make things fast).

I don't like Office for Mac either. It is different enough from Office for Windows to drive you nuts if you're used to the latter.

You can always try OpenOffice for Mac. The price is right.

Got it - MacBook Pro 15.4 inch monitor, 2.8Ghz processor, 4GB Ram, 500GB SATA hard drive.
Applestore - with the Educational discount $200 off. Plus iWork. Returnable it as long as the box isn't opened.

Will find out Saturday if she likes it... I hope she does....

-Z-man.

She'll love it.