Some questions about Mac Notebooks

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I have never even clicked a mouse on a MAC before. I am a PC technician and I support Windows 95+. I have knowledge in COMPUTERS in general, but no knowledge about MACs.

I am looking to get a MAC, something above a "G3" that I can play with, mess around and break so I can fix and learn more about MACs. I want something I can use for internet browsing, and as a regular PC on a day to day basis. I mainly visit car forums and check my mail and bank accounts, and visit alot of PORN sites :Evil: (LoL, I'm just kidding!!O:) ) (or am I?;D ). I play games like Starcraft, but I won't be using my MAC for any visual purposes or gaming. I am buying a PC that will run me just short of 1500 when Starcraft II comes out, so I just want a Laptop to play with for now.

What "G" should I be looking for? Some people tell me the Intel Duo Core is a good chipset, but others tell me I will only need a G4, something wtih more then 1.5 Ghz and I don't download alot of music or files, so a 60GB HD will be fine for me.

I would rather not spend an arm and a leg on a MAC, somewhere around 1k or less, obviously less being better.

Also are there any places that you all know about such as MACofAllTrades.com that I can find cheap deals for MACs?

Thanks for all your support in advance everyone...
 

eric


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if you really want to play around your best bet may be an early coreduo or core2duo macbook - you can play with parallels, bootcamp, or vmware to run windows on it if you so choose.

you should easily be able to find one of these for under 1K.
 
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Go for the core 2 duo :)

I was in the same place as you about 6month ago and got a mac mini. Loved it and never went back :)
 
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for 1K you can get much more than the old PowerPC G4s (there was never a G5 laptop, it ran too hot)

You should look for an intel macbook, that will be fine to let you play around with the OS, although you cannot do much with the hardware

even on the apple refurb store, 1K will get you a new macbook with full warranty, and the refurbs have a good rep

http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APP...XHphmCF3yFOE8E1P39AmI4/2.0.0.26.9.5.7.1.1.1.1
 
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Aww...link doesn't work. Thanks for the information guys!! Is there a paticular OS I should be looking for? is 10.4 better then any of the others? or does 10.6 have alot of bugs? These are the types of questions I was thinking about...is there anything I should steer clear of?
 
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Go for 10.5 (Leopard) which is the most recent, although 10.4 (Tiger) is still good and will actually perform better than Leopard (Speed wise) if you decide to go down the G4 route. 10.6 is not out until next year.

I would though recommend getting a Macbook (Preferably with 10.5). Go to http://store.apple.com/us and look to the bottom left area where it says 'Save' Special Deals and choose 'Refurbished Mac'. This is where the previous poster linked you to but, as it is updated regularly, the page had timed out.

Keep checking back there daily if you don't find what you want as they put new items up fairly regularly.

At the moment there is a 2.1GHZ Core2Duo Macbook (Current Model) on there for $899.

Buying from there is basically like buying a new Mac but it just comes in a plain box (I.E. There will be no sign of wear and tear on the computer whatsoever and it will be identical to a brand new one except for the packaging).
 
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Blogging about good deals on apple stuff. Come vi
Let just add a few things to the "why get a refurb?" bandwagon:

# It performs and looks like new
# You get the same one-year warranty as new
# The computer carries the same eligibility for Apple Care as new
# It is fully tested (including full burn-in testing)
# It is refurbished with replacement parts for any defective modules identified in testing
# It is thoroughly cleaned and inspected
# It is repackaged (including appropriate manuals, cables, new boxes, etc.) - nothing is missing
# It includes the operating software originally shipped with the unit and the custom software offered with that system
# It is placed into a final QA inspection prior to being added to sellable refurbished stock
 
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Save yourself some time call it "Mac".
 
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I ordered a macbook 2.1GHZ core 2 duo this morning. 1 GB of RAM 120 GB HD and combo drive for 950.00 shiped to my door.

-Refurb
 
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Let us know how everything goes when you get it..Have fun with it, your gonna love it
 

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