06-20-2006, 06:49 PM

Hello all!

I did a search function on the people who have switched and wanted opinions on which model to buy and whether or not to switch...anyways, I really value your opinions so here goes:

I am thinking about a MacBook.
On my laptop PC I run mostly:
MS Office, Flash, Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Solidworks, Adobe, Activesync (for my PocketPC), itunes and picasa, email, web surfing

I am more of a casual user of Flash, Photoshop and Dreamweaver but want to get more into Flash. Will the macbook be OK with moderate Flash use? (if so, the 1.83 or the 2.00 with 1GB ram?)

Also, I just gradauted but am still technically a student until the end of the month. Buying now would give me a discount on the macbook, RAM and, most importantly, the software.

If I buy the academic version of flash and run it through rosetta on the macbook will I be able to upgrade to the full version of the new coded Flash by just paying the normal upgrade fee? (or do only the non-academic versions qualify for upgrades?)

My computer right now is still OK (it's not dying or anything) but I just think working on a mac would be...I don't know... more pleasant? Do most people keep a PC around too? Or wait until their PCs die to make the switch?

I hope that's all clear... Thanks in advance!!

06-21-2006, 01:01 PM

Well, the Macbook will do you fine for all of those applications. Don't pay too much for the RAM. Even with an educational discount, you are likely to get a better deal buying your own ram. I recommend you upgrade to 2GB of ram from Other World Computing (www.macsales.com). I highly recommend their ram, and its priced reasonably. Macs are extremely picky on the ram, and do yourself a favor, and get your ram there. With that said, I recommend the 2Gb since you need to run some Apps in the Rosetta mode... but you also can run Windows XP through Bootcamp or via Parallels Desktop virtualization software. For this, you will want all of the ram you can get. The MacBook comes with 2x256MB stock..which eats up your memory slot.. and it perfrorms better with matched pairs 2x1GB each.
I have never had any trouble updating my Academic versions... they are usually the same version, but specially priced.

I would go with the Macbook w/ 2Ghz, it's not much more, and you get the Superdrive (CD & DVD burning), included. If you want, you may want to upgrade the hard drive..
PS) Don't forget..right now you can get a Free iPod too!
Good luck!

06-21-2006, 08:22 PM

Well, I would consider this a little more carefully. Microsoft Office and Photoshop, two of the apps you mentioned, are both PPC only code - they have not released universal binaries yet (Adobe says not until early 2007 on Photoshop, and as far as I know, Microsoft hasn't even announced a date yet).

Because they are PPC code, they have to be emulated via Rosetta on an Intel Mac. That means that they won't be really fast. To give you an idea of just how "not really fast" they can be, I was able to out type Microsoft Word on a 1.67 GHz Core Duo Mac Mini at the Apple Store. It couldn't echo as fast as I was typing, and I am not a particularly excellent typist. More RAM might help, but I cannot say for sure.

So, figure out what apps you REALLY want to use first, and make sure universal binaries are available for them if you are planning to buy an Intel based Mac. If not, a used iMac G5 or Powerbook G4 might be just the ticket. Sleek, good looking and the software will all run natively on PPC.

And by the way, you are right, computing on a Mac is WAY more pleasant than on a PC, or on Linux for that matter. I use all three, and I like the Mac best.

If you are going to plunge into the world of Mac, plunge into the deep end. Go out and get yourself the EXCELLENT "Missing Manual" book for Mac OS X Tiger. You will be AMAZED at what Mac OS X can do that you might not have otherwise found out by just fiddling around. That book is the best Mac investment I have made (other than the computer itself).

06-21-2006, 09:53 PM

Thanks to bootcamp, you'll be able to run SolidWorks.

06-22-2006, 10:34 AM

It may not be too far in the future when Solid Works will run on OS X. In fact, it's probably closer than you think. Correct me if I'm wrong (because it could be another program) but I believe there is a CAD File viewer program for Mac OS X that I think was written by the people at Solid Works. Can't be far off.

Do you use solid works for engineering projects? :headphone

06-22-2006, 11:27 AM

The great news that you won't need Picasa when you get your hands on iPhoto, they are very close to each other in implementation.

06-23-2006, 01:48 AM

Thanks everyone!

I bought a macbook yesterday (it didn't like me and had to be returned and replaced this morning). Anyways this new one works awesome and I love it! The Apple guy said the office mac didn't have any problems but I'm loading it now so we'll see. I'm going to keep my laptop around and slowly phase it out (also I'm finishing up my Solidworks projects for an internship soon).

I bought Adobe CS2 Premium Academic which was about 1/3 price of the real version. With the upgrade cost for CS3 (based on upgrade cost for CS2) it's cheaper to buy now and upgrade than wait and lose out on my academic discount. Note to students if you are just starting school then you can buy just the lisence for CS2 for $180!!

I got the 2Ghz (white) and 1GB RAM. The Apple guy (who was really cool!) said it would be enough and if I started running a lot of photoshop and stuff then I can always upgrade later (and he gave me $100 off the RAM!)

All in all, even with having to return the computer, I'm really happy. I hope the 60GB HDD lasts me! That's probably the only concern but I didn't have the money to upgrade to the 80GB HDD.

Thanks again everyone!

06-23-2006, 07:31 AM

Originally Posted by snow_happy

Thanks everyone!

I bought Adobe CS2 Premium Academic which was about 1/3 price of the real version. With the upgrade cost for CS3 (based on upgrade cost for CS2) it's cheaper to buy now and upgrade than wait and lose out on my academic discount. Note to students if you are just starting school then you can buy just the lisence for CS2 for $180!!

Thanks again everyone!

I don't know where you go to school at but Purdue has massive academic discounts like that.

06-23-2006, 11:00 AM

Originally Posted by ezhangin

I don't know where you go to school at but Purdue has massive academic discounts like that.

I went to UCLA. I just graduated but am still eligible for student stuff until they process my paperwork (July), confirm grades, etc. I figured it was at all schools...sorry! Anyhow, the academic version doesn't have everything (on the install it listed what was not included in the academic version) but I installed and updated it...even with running in rosetta it only lagged once when I was cloning. I'm still learning so I think I'm slower than the emulator!

Like I mentioned before, I bought the 60 GB HDD an after loading all the programs on (CS2 and office) I have about 38 GB left.... this is OK right? I haven't loaded pictures or music (I don't have that much music though...). Am I worrying for no reason?

Edited: added and then deleted a question i got an answer to

06-24-2006, 04:48 AM

an office trial is installed on our machines now so no need to worry about office programs

06-24-2006, 06:46 AM

Good Luck with the MB, I wish I was still in college to get awesome discounts like that

06-24-2006, 12:19 PM

Originally Posted by zal

an office trial is installed on our machines now so no need to worry about office programs

There will be if you don't purchase it and let the trial period run out!
:black:

06-24-2006, 06:54 PM

i just meant that there is a universal office code out now