Is a 15" laptop too big for school?

Wow, that's bewildering. You can outfit a white Macbook to have the exact same specs as a black Macbook.

Yeah, I did this last weekend. It just makes the decision harder!

Yeah, I agree that the Pro is more computer than I will *need*. Here's my general thought process:

MB Pro: I will probably need to run Parallels fairly frequently to "fit in" (ie things like printing, stats software, office 2007), so a little more power couldn't hurt. Being able to fit two docs side by side on the 15" screen would be nice. About the same battery life and weight as the MB, only about an inch wider and a half inch longer.

MB: Probably plenty of power. Smallest and lightest Apple laptop. Easier to take notes in class. Cheaper, although that's not a huge concern (also would consider getting a 19" screen for home, which would narrow the price difference). User replacable HD for when those flash HD's come out.

Since we are talking about Macs, I thought that I should let you know that the Safari browser is now available for the Windows community as a beta. You will love it.

https://www.apple.com/safari/download/

I have one of those 24" iMacs and I think I am more productive than ever before. Since I am biased toward the Mac, I would highly recommend one of those apple cinema displays to go along with your Macbook.

interesting to see your thoughts on this naturallight. The monitor thought is a very interesting angle to add to things.

My position is much the same, though I could argue there is an outside chance I might do music stuff on the machine. That, shelf life (longer than just school) and general wanting guide me to the Pro.

That, and they are £1700 here. So $2300 is a bargain.

I keep repeating that, though it is true for virtually *any* machine.

The macbook (black) thing has me entirely bamboozled. I think it shows that mac's aren't their favoured machines!

Yeah, honestly one of the biggest cons for the Macbook is this:

1) The vain part of me won't let me buy a white laptop, while

2) The cheapskate part of me won't let me pay more for a laptop just because it's a different color.


Therefore, I cannot get a Macbook, and must get the Pro. In my head, I think that the Pro is the better 'value' even though it's more expensive and has more power than I will probably need.

Does that make any sense?

Yeah, from what I understand, the MB works very well with a second monitor. You can have the MB screen open and use the second monitor as an extra display (different things on each screen).

Or you can close the MB lid and just use the second monitor as your primary screen. I presume the MB Pro (and probably most laptops nowadays) works the same way.

Remembet two things (a DMB disc ):

- By the time you graduate your "new" MB will be a "museum article";
- Apple's color is white

I've heard from some people that the screens are different between the MB and the Pro, the MB is less brighter, but I'm not sure whether that's is accurate. I am not sure if you really need to use the office, get the neoffice for free for your mac and just get used to the differences, I almost bought the office for my Mac, then I realized the neooffice does the same things and for free: https://www.neooffice.org/neojava/en/index.php.

On the other hand, the white color gets dirty easier, and perhaps the black color is better for the "portable life". Anyway both would work...

One thing you should know, the Macs also crash, though not as much as PCs, nevertheless, things are easier, faster and prettier! I am biased I know. About the getting more confused on the store, I completely understand, I work pretty close to one store and all the time I get into it I want to buy new things, its a curse.

The good thing is that no matter which one you choose you are going to love! I assure you.

How about if we buy a Mac 13 inches and an additional ram to make it 2GB? We will not use laptop to play game anyway, so I don't think I will need a Geforce graphic card. Then you will have both the power and the mobility?

Spec:
MacBook 2.16GHz Intel Core 2 Duo - White
Part Number: Z0ET
SuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
Keyboard/Mac OS - U.S. English
2.16GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
160GB Serial ATA @ 5400 rpm
2GB 667 DDR2 SDRAM - 2x1GB
Estimated Total: $1,549.00

Wow, it sounds like everybody is going small. I already have a big laptop: a 17" Dell Inspiron 9400. I really don't want to buy a new one, but if it is advantageous to have a very small, portable laptop then I may have to...

It may be wise to wait a while... The El Reg site had this article about it https://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/06/12/safari_security_bugs/

i recently bought a black macbook to see what all the hype behind apple was about... got a sweet price on the old version just after the new release they had a few weeks ago. and while the black looks nice, it gets fingerprints on it like you wouldnt believe. if your hands sweat even the slightest bit, (and they will because this thing gets hot), you're gonna need to wipe this thing off a lot if you care about how it looks.

just thought i'd point that out.

polobrute,

do you wish you got a white one or a MacBook Pro instead?

overall, i'd say im pretty happy with my blackbook... aside from the fingerprints issue and that it gets a little warmer than my t41p.

another thing that isn't a big deal to me, but could be a problem for the hardcore fashionistas out there, is that the power brick and cord only comes in white... same for the little remote control that comes with it (which i have yet to use).

the MB Pros are nice, and at one point i considered getting one for many of the same reasons you mentioned already - mainly, you're already spending $1500, whats another $500 to get the pro which seems significantly better - better video card, more memory, larger harddrive, bigger screen, etc.
but i realized a few thing... first of all, i didn't want the bigger screen becasue its just physically bigger (although weight-wise macbooks and macbook pros are close). second, i realized i don't need all that extra power in the Pros. all i do is word processing, excel, and surf the web... actually, i came to the realization that i didn't even need a mac at all.
but alas, the thrill of getting a good deal got the best of me. When Apple released an updated version of the macbook series last month, Amazon slashed the prices on the ones they had in stock. so i managed to pick up my black macbook for $1100 (after $100 rebate)...
i'd highly suggest buying from Amazon because they dont charge tax to most states. i found that they are actually cheaper than buying with the student discount directly from Apple... right now, you can get the blackbook for $1400 total after rebate.

if you really think you'll use the extra power in the MBP and are willing to carry it around, then go for it... personally, i like the smaller size of the macbook... as for the black vs. white argument, that's all a matter of personal preference (and specs if you buy preconfigured machines).
of course, you could always buy a protective case for it that comes in various colors..
https://www.speckproducts.com/13mac-seethru.html

Thanks for the tips, polobrute. Unfortunately I live in the same state as Amazon, so I have to pay the sales tax. But I've been looking at other dealers like Frys, so that might work out.

I bought a 15.4 inch HP dv6000 series for $900 (1.78hz dual core/1giga/120giga hd/256mega video) w/ 12 battery cells.

I really loved it until I realized that it was just too bulky (especially w/ 12 cells) to carry around the school. So i just exchanged it w/ a 12 inch tablet PC.