I am a long time PC user, and I work as a software engineer (.NET developer). This economy is taking its toll on my family however - I find myself being laid off for the third time in 12 months, and work is almost impossible to find. In order to supplement some income, I've decided to start writing some iPhone apps, but that requires a Mac.
Unfortunately, I'm still kinda Mac stupid. I did some research, and I think the MacBook Pro is a good choice for me, because it is powerful enough to do heavy development work on, and can handle the OpenGL/3D work I do sometimes as well. Mostly I like that it can dual boot Windows/Mac via Bootcamp, so I can have the best of both worlds.
That being said, I want as much hard drive and memory as I can get. I'm finding that the Macbooks are VERY expensive, and upgrading to the faster/larger hard drives and 8Gb memory drives the price even further.
So my question is:
Would it be cheaper to buy the Macbook with minimal memory and hard drive specs, then buy new memory and hard drive from a retailer (i.e. NewEgg)?
If so, what kind of hard drives and memory does a Macbook Pro use/support? Can I shove a 1TB drive in there for instance?
If I do buy a new drive, how do I copy over OSX/Apps/BootCamp/etc. to the new drive?
Will this void my warranty or support options?
Any info you could offer would be appreciated. Being out of work, I'm terrified of spending money right now, so if I do make a purchase, I want it to be the right one.
Unfortunately, I'm still kinda Mac stupid. I did some research, and I think the MacBook Pro is a good choice for me, because it is powerful enough to do heavy development work on, and can handle the OpenGL/3D work I do sometimes as well. Mostly I like that it can dual boot Windows/Mac via Bootcamp, so I can have the best of both worlds.
That being said, I want as much hard drive and memory as I can get. I'm finding that the Macbooks are VERY expensive, and upgrading to the faster/larger hard drives and 8Gb memory drives the price even further.
So my question is:
Would it be cheaper to buy the Macbook with minimal memory and hard drive specs, then buy new memory and hard drive from a retailer (i.e. NewEgg)?
If so, what kind of hard drives and memory does a Macbook Pro use/support? Can I shove a 1TB drive in there for instance?
If I do buy a new drive, how do I copy over OSX/Apps/BootCamp/etc. to the new drive?
Will this void my warranty or support options?
Any info you could offer would be appreciated. Being out of work, I'm terrified of spending money right now, so if I do make a purchase, I want it to be the right one.