Apple is running a back to school special this summer with free beats headphones - you also can get a $100 discount for being a student - can only get these deals directly from the apple store (on-line or physical store). My last Apple PC purchase I ordered on-line (paid with my credit card) and had it picked up at the store (it was all ready and waiting for my daughter) used the student discount with no problem.
I was going to mention the screen – my son has had a 15" Pro and even that eventually didn’t have enough space and he works now with an additional mirroring monitor that is something like 28". He did eventually need to break down and get a desktop custom-built for processing power, but he works in film.
The extra memory is important, but external drives are also easy to find and come in many sizes. S2 has at least three external drives of varying physical/memory size – a pocket sized one for carrying files and a book-sized shelf unit of terabytes size. Even in the age of Dropbox, he has found them very useful.
We were thinking of getting her a bigger monitor that she could use to watch TV shows on, since there’s a place for the HDMI cable in the laptop. Is that a logical thing to do?
Highly recommend getting a refurbished MacBook Pro from the Apple Store if cost is an issue. They really are no different than new because Apple replaces everything, and you save a few hundred dollars (even more than the student discount). They come with all the same warranties and you can purchase AppleCare
There are also a couple of reputable online retailers who don’t charge tax in most states (BH Photo, Adorama)
My daughter has the macbook pro 13 inch and watches movies on it all the time with no complaints (the retina screen is really great)
went with the 13 inch because it is so light and she carried it around all day to classes and got the 256 upgrade
Rumor has it nothing new coming out in Sept. Don’t know the veracity of it though.
When I was editing film files at a past workplace and according to advice from friends who work editing films full-time, it’s always good practice to get as large of a backup drive(s) as possible and to avoid storing/editing film files stored on the editing machine’s main hard drive*.
- This is not only for space reasons, but also to avoid pitfalls from issues such as a corrupted operating system or suddenly failing hard drive from wiping out hours/days/weeks/months worth of digital film work.
Is there any significant reason to buy a MacBook at the Apple store vs at the college vs at any other store- like Best Buy?
MacBooks may cost more but when you sell it later you get more money for it. That lowers the net cost.
@psychmomma, We tried to buy a mac (15" MacBook Pro) at Best Buy today. First we found out no free headphones there, then she had to sign up for a Best Buy account, then apply for a student account which the salesman said could take from 10min to 48hrs for Apple to approve. So we took that opportunity to walk out of there. Will go for the free headphones :D.
Re buying at college, DD does not want to wait until she gets there if the fall. Wants to have everything set up to her liking before then and make sure it runs well etc.
Some schools may have a special program or offer a warranty. With Duke you can buy directly through their IT department online and have the Mac shipped to your home. IIRC it came with $100 credit towards the Apple Store and warranty support provided by the on-campus IT dept for some period of time (a year I think, maybe more). In that case it was a significant benefit to purchase through the school.
Check with your college to see what they offer.
Agreed. This is especially important if you’re not able/willing to serve as your own tech support and there’s not an apple store near your campus.
In my case, neither of those applied as the nearest Apple store was actually closer to where I live than the grad campus when I purchased the Macbook Pro AND I am an IT professional with ~20 years of experience servicing computers PCs and Macs.
S bought his computer today- went with the MacBook Pro 13", 256 GB memory, free beats headphones and $100 off student discount.
First time in an Apple Store. Reminded me of going to Disney- customer service people were all friendly and knowledgeable, the transaction was quick, then they walked S through setting it up.
There were young kids there at a “camp”, showing movies they had created from what they learned at the camp. The store had a moderate level of background chatter and laughter throughout.
It was a bustling, happy place. I’m glad we went directly there- thanks to advice upthread.
Wanted to add D is a graphic designer/artist and has always used a Mac. When she walked into her office on day 1 there was a Mac, all the programs and two big monitors. More importantly, the IT department usually comes to her with Mac questions. In addition she is able to work from home and the consistency is obviously a big deal. So using a Mac and knowing how to troubleshoot are big pluses in the working world.
We bought a very good one for her 12 years ago and she uses it to this day. Something to be said for that.
A Mac is more expensive up front. However, they retain their value and PCs do not. My 4 year old Mac has a trade-in value of 50% of what I paid. My wife Windows laptop is worthless.
After leaving my job, I went Mac. I’ll never go back.
I never had anything other than a mac, that is since the 80s. PC never made any sense to me.
Many of us were bound to Windows by our work, as our work laptops were also computers we used for personal purposes.
I used to spend hours dealing with PC death of blue screen. Haven’t had to deal with any computer issues since we switched to Mac 10+ yrs ago.
Does anyone put a cover on their MBP like they do on their phones? Do you get a padded sleeve to carry it safely in a backpack?