How much of a MBP would I need?

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I will be purchasing a 13" MBP within the next couple of weeks, but not sure how much, if any, I should upgrade. I am looking to keep it as cheap as possible to keep my wife off my back (she has a crappy HP laptop).

I will use the MBP almost exclusively for internet, email, and giving presentations using PowerPoint. The base 13in comes with a 2.23MHz, 2GB, 160 GB hard drive. Would there be any need for me to upgrade any of those specs, and if so, which ones?

As always, thanks for all of the great advice you guys give!
 
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You'll be perfectly happy with it just the way it comes. Don't do a thing.
 
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I agree with Jaygray's advice above me. I think that will be MORE than enough for your purposes.

Only, I am really against PowerPoint as a tool to give presentations. I personally use Keynote to do my presentations, and it is part of the iWork package. If you've ever watched a Keynote presentation at any Apple event, you'd know what Keynote is capable of. Check it out at the Apple website and see if you like the idea of giving really professional and beautiful looking presentations. If you do intend to get it, you'd have to buy the license for iWork as well as getting an adaptor for your Macbook.

Of course, if you don't really need all the fancy stuff, what you do now is way more than enough.
 
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I agree with Jaygray's advice above me. I think that will be MORE than enough for your purposes.

Only, I am really against PowerPoint as a tool to give presentations. I personally use Keynote to do my presentations, and it is part of the iWork package. If you've ever watched a Keynote presentation at any Apple event, you'd know what Keynote is capable of. Check it out at the Apple website and see if you like the idea of giving really professional and beautiful looking presentations. If you do intend to get it, you'd have to buy the license for iWork as well as getting an adaptor for your Macbook.

Of course, if you don't really need all the fancy stuff, what you do now is way more than enough.

I thought about switching to keynote, but had too many of my sports medicine presentations already on PP, and it would take quite a long time to switch over.

What type of an adaptor are you referring to?
 
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I thought about switching to keynote, but had too many of my sports medicine presentations already on PP, and it would take quite a long time to switch over.

What type of an adaptor are you referring to?


Actually it won't take much time at all to open up .ppt files in Keynote. It's .pptx you should be worried about. As for the adaptor, he means getting one that will adapt from the MacBook's mini DVI port to VGA, which if I'm not mistaken, is the universal input for monitors outside of Apple's realm, as well as some video projectors. Am I right?
 
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Thanks Chris -- I thought he was referring to an adaptor and Keynote, which really threw me off! I do anticipate playing around with Keynote, but was not aware that I could import (if that is the right term) the PP presentations directly into it. How would I do that?

And one follow up question to my original posting...has anyone purchased the 13" MBP and regrets not splurging for the 15"?
 

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I'm not sure where you are located, but if you're looking to keep things as cheap as possible, why not consider:

A refurbished MacBook for $849:

Refurbished MacBook 2.13GHz Intel Core 2 Duo - White - Apple Store (U.S.)

Always remember...if buying refurbished...the stock can change by the day or the hour.

HTH,

- Nick
Thanks Nick -- I don't have to worry about going that cheap, and "cheap" probably isn't the right term for me to use anyway. I guess I just need to make sure I'm not buying more than I really need, which I tend to have a habit of doing. :Oops: An ideal price range is around $1200-1400.

I am hesitant about going the refurb route on a laptop. I have purchased 2 refurb iMacs over the past year, and have been very satisfied (my first came with a bad drive, and was replaced without any hassles). But not sure of doing the same with a laptop.
 
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Thanks Chris -- I thought he was referring to an adaptor and Keynote, which really threw me off! I do anticipate playing around with Keynote, but was not aware that I could import (if that is the right term) the PP presentations directly into it. How would I do that?

And one follow up question to my original posting...has anyone purchased the 13" MBP and regrets not splurging for the 15"?

The thing about Keynote is that it can open everything from PPT to PPTX, to Keynote itself of course. You can also export your Keynote presentations into various different formats, like PPT, PDF, Quicktime, Images, HTML, or directly onto your iPod!

I highly recommend Keynote because of the flexibility involved in the presentation slides, the ability to create beautiful looking presentations, the EASE OF USE is a big factor for me, and the fact that it opens pretty much any file time thrown at it. My girlfriend learned Keynote in about a day of playing around with it, and Keynote made me fall in love with making presentations.

iWork costs, and so does the adaptor. I feel, though, that it is really worth it! I also use Pages, and I also prefer that over Microsoft Words. Numbers is probably the only application in the iWork package that I don't use, but that's because I don't need to do spreadsheets and stuff.
 

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