MacBook

[IAmLordZen]

I have a classmate who owns Mac Air and it's a bit scary IMO. She can't lug it around in her backpack fearing it might break.

 

[frieda]

Hey Mac Lovers!

I'm still a PC user but have been saving (whatever I can ) for quite some time to buy a Mac. I'm not sure the breakdown of prices or what they come with but I'd definitely need AT LEAST Adobe Photoshop, or if they offer that in a package that would be awesome, and Microsoft Office products. I know on the website you can request to get extra RAM or hard drive space, but is that really necessary?

On my PC I had problems with my music. Even though every song was stored on my external, my itunes was on my old PC's computer and the combination of age and perhaps capacity of the external would overpower my PC to the point that it would shut off. Thus, I haven't updated my music library or iPod freely in... over a year!

 

[Scott]

also btw,macbook air doesn't have the convenience of a built-in optical superdrive either so you have to purchase on separately and pay another 100$ extra. it's not worth it really. maybe if they were to add the accessories in with the package but personally i would go straight for the pro.

 

[Scott]

Hey Mac Lovers!

I'm still a PC user but have been saving (whatever I can ) for quite some time to buy a Mac. I'm not sure the breakdown of prices or what they come with but I'd definitely need AT LEAST Adobe Photoshop, or if they offer that in a package that would be awesome, and Microsoft Office products. I know on the website you can request to get extra RAM or hard drive space, but is that really necessary?

On my PC I had problems with my music. Even though every song was stored on my external, my itunes was on my old PC's computer and the combination of age and perhaps capacity of the external would overpower my PC to the point that it would shut off. Thus, I haven't updated my music library or iPod freely in... over a year!

here's all the info for that frieda

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2518

 

[frieda]

Thanks for the link, Scott, but I was more so wondering about customizing a Mac and the specs necessary for what activities!

 

[jomarlushka]

hi there I am also thinking about getting a mac - thinking about the pro version and would like to know if anyone of you is using windows as the standard programm on his mac ? I know it is kind of strange to get a mac and then wanting to use windows anyway but i am just so in love with the design! can't help it..although it scares me that everything you want coming with your notebook from apple has to be paid for extra...every small software, almost every mb has to be paid for ....like with the standard notebook by other brands you can just copy other software packages and install them and stuff...

 

[RoseMary]

well, i have a pro and got windows installed this week... i first bought 'parallels' and then the windows 7 software. you can either use bootcamp which is free and comes with the mac. you have to choose every time you start the mac whether you want to use mac or windows.
with parallels you can work with both systems at the same time.
so, if you only want to use windows i would just use bootcamp and you choose every time you start working.

i have to ask, did you already work with the mac osx system?

 

[jomarlushka]

I just worked on it for a short time during the time i was living at a shared flat with an apple computer - i didn't find it that complicated though i didn't get used to it sooo easily to be honest! i really have to consider if it is worth buying it...let's see - i still got time until march/april when i will need a new notebook - i think the bootcamp option would be the one for me

thank you for your advice rosemary

 

[RoseMary]

yeah, i am not sure if its worth buying a mac if you'd only use windows, to be honest.
for me it was a bit difficult at first too because i worked with windows computers for over ten years but now i won't go back for sure (i only had to get windows for the job because some programs didn't work under mac osx).
once you get used to it you will realize how much easier and worry free a mac is.

 

[pinksatin]

frieda:I am not an official geek (like I don't know what exactly is needed for what activities) but if you need photoshop and use lots of "Ram heavy" programs and you are probably going to be using them all at the same time, and saving lots of super huge files and save tons and tons of high-res images, then get the extra ram and graphics card thing. It will make a difference. I have a 15" macbook pro with all the extra stuff they put in it and I am glad I got that. I am a visual communications student so when I am working on projects I often have Ps, Ai, Id, and safari running at once, plus iTunes too and maybe some other things. Even though I got the extra stuff, it still takes so much to run everything and if I am work with big files with tons of layers and images, I will still get the spinning pinwheel for like five minutes every time I save it and like almost a minute every time I apply an effect or filter or scale change or whatever. SO I'm glad I got the extras or it could be worse. But on small files and if you aren't running a million programs at once it's super fast. So it depends on what you will be using it for. Hope that helps.

eta: but if you are saving trillions of big things or just a few small things, BACK UP ON AN EXTERNAL PLACE!!! you never know, also, I said I am not a real geek but I know this much: RAM is the kind of memory that is temporary and what your computer is using to run stuff. it doesn't store things, if that helps you decide.

 

[jomarlushka]

thank you so much you 2 ! you really know quite a bit about the mac - windows - stuff etc.
you really help me with my decision - I will let you know in March /April how I decided and if I end up with a Mac or a different notebook ! I'll finish me master's degree first on my old notebook so I won't have to bother with a new programm or stuff ...it is difficult enough to finish my studies without having to worry about computer stuff

 

[dorien]

i need a new Mac Book Pro, my old laptop is getting, well, old


rumors are they should be doing a hardware updates on the Pros sometime soon, so i'll just hold out until then.

 

[montrealm]

^ Yeah they will soon thats what I heard

 

[iLoveCouture]

Have you guys heard about Mac's tablet that is coming out? It is supposed to come out this year.

 

[Bengt]

^ It will be announced this Wednesday! I'm so excited!

 

[RoseMary]

^^ what's the tablet?

 

[iLoveCouture]

From ZDnet.com. I have also seen this thing being called the iSlate. I think I might need one

Rumor: Tablet Mac coming this fall (updated 5x)

Posted by Jason D. O'Grady @ 12:52 pm
Categories: Hardware, Rumor, Tablet
Tags: Apple Macintosh, Apple Inc., Intel Corp., Tablets, Notebooks..., Hardware, Notebooks & Tablets, Jason D. O'Grady
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I don’t often publish first hand rumors, but today I’ve something special for you, if you like tablets that is.
A little birdy tells me that Apple will announce a 12 or 13-inch tablet in the fall of this year. Most likely in the September or October time frame. It will run the full Mac OS X and have a slot loading SuperDrive, an “iPhone-type” GPS chip and an Intel Core Duo processor, presumably Intel’s Atom.
Whether it’ll be a based on the iPhone or MacBook form-factor remains to be seen. You’ll recall that Intel Germany CEO Hannes Schwaderer spilled the beans that an “iPhone” that will be using Intel’s new Atom processor after which he was quickly corrected by Apple. Where there’s smoke, there’s fire indeed.
This particular birdy has been reliable in the past so I’m optimistic about the rumor, but as always, nothing’s for sure. Apple’s had tablet Macs in the labs for years but hasn’t decided to make one a real product, until now.
I’m excited as hell about an Apple tablet and think that it would be a great accessory/vertical market Mac, i.e. a perfect second Mac that you can commute with or take to meetings, classes etc. A tablet would be ideal for consuming Web-based content like RSS feed, Web pages, email, etc. The larger screen area will improve data input, providing more on-screen real estate for an iPhone-like virtual keyboard, as will haptic feedback. The new Apple tablet would also mark the return of handwriting recognition to the Mac for the first time since the Newton was killed on February 27, 1998 after Jobs returned to Apple.
A tablet isn’t ideal for composing long emails or writing a book, although you could. However it could easily be paired with a Bluetooth keyboard and/or a voice recognition application like MacSpeech’s Dictate.
Updates to this breaking story after the jump…
Update: Apple trivia buffs will recall that the “Print Recognizer” part of the Newton 2.1 handwriting recognition has been in Mac OS X since 10.2 (”Jaguar”). It can be used with graphics tablets to input handwritten text anywhere there was an insertion point on the screen. Apple’s Inkwell technology appears in the System Preferences whenever a tablet is plugged in and is used today in the ModBook tablet from Axiotron.
Update 2: At the All Things Digital conference in 2004, Steve Jobs made reference to a new “Apple PDA” (likely a successor to the Newton) which the company had developed but had decided not to bring to market. Was he referring to iPhone or perhaps a tablet?
Update 3: MacRumors’ Arn deftly points out that Apple has patented several tablet designs since 1995.

Update 4: MSI’s forthcoming Wind mini-notebook is based on the Intel Atom processor and launching on 3 June 2008. Wind will compete with the Asus Eee 900 and HP’s 2133 Mini-Note. More on the Atom from Intel:

Newly designed from the ground up, 45nm Intel Atom processors pack an astounding 47 million transistors on a single chip measuring less than 25mm, making them Intel’s smallest and lowest power processors. All this while delivering the power and performance you need for full Internet capabilities.

• Get a new range of performance-packed, power-efficient devices with excellent performance enabled by all new hafnium-infused 45nm high-k silicon technology
• Increase energy efficiency in smaller more compact designs with a thermal design power specification ranging from subwatt to 2.5 watts for mobile devices
• Extend battery life in select devices with an incredibly low idle power as low as 30 mW allowing the device to stay powered on while also conserving energy

Update 5: Reader Brian thinks that iTablet would be an excellent eBook platform:

If you or your readers have any contacts at Amazon… I’d think Amazon would love associating with the hip Apple brand, as well as another closed, secured platform for instant book delivery. Any chance another media type’s going to show up in iTunes? It would be great to know if discussions are going on.
​

 

[sarehak]

Whoa, the Mac Tablet looks really cool! I think the MacBook itself is already pretty commutable but this is wonderful. I'm guessing the keyboard would be like the iPhone, on the screen?

 

[iLoveCouture]

Yes, on the screen!

 

[Danhat Ward]

Wednesday is sure going to be interesting, hopefully they will also present some new Macbooks because I need a new one.