Apple.com vs. Reseller - Pros and Cons?

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Are there any advantages or disadvantages to purchasing a system through Apple or a reseller, such as Mac Zone?

I'm looking at a Mac Book Pro, if that helps, and would also like to have Windows installed, for a minimal amount of gaming use.
 
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I don't think there's a huge difference. I'd go with whoever has the better deal for what you're looking for.
 
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FWIW, I bought my MBP through MacConnection.com. Benefits over Apple.com or the Apple store:

(1) No sales tax (saved me $125) ... Apple.com charges sales tax, at least for things shipped to Maryland. (neither Apple.com nor MacConnection charge for shipping)

(2) Rebate ... MacConnection.com had a $150 rebate on the new MBP that I bought, bringing my total savings to $275.

(3) FAST shipping ... orders entered by 3AM get delivered same-day.

(4) Bundles ... MacConnection.com usually has great bundles you can get when you buy your computer. For example, when I bought mine, you could get a rebate on Parallels for the full price of Parallels as long as you bought the software and computer on the same ticket ... so free Parallels!

However, you can customize your computer at Apple.com, whereas MacConnection only has the basic pre-packaged models. So if you want more memory, different video, bigger hard drive, etc., you would have to either order it through Apple.com or go to your local Apple Store and have them configure it.
 
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I bought my iMac from the apple online store because i wanted it configured with specific options. Something you can't really do when you go to an Apple Store or other authorized dealer.
 
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Thanks, a lot, guys. I'll be getting a fully-loaded one(configured how I like it). Guess I'll shop around a bit, first. Won't be getting anything 'til after Mac World, just to see if something new will appear.

Another question, do you think Apple Care is really worth it? What with this for, and all, most problems ccan/could be solved here. Well, other than hardware failing and the like. Crap, I partially answered the question... Anyway, what's the general consensus?
 
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Most people will tell you that it is worth it for a laptop since it's such a small enclosure and all.

Me? I always get Apple Care even if I buy desktops (iMacs) 'cause to me feeling protected no matter what happens is priceless. (MasterCard ad *Wink*
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I've decided that Apple Care is, definitely, the way to go. Thanks MHC.

Can a moderator change this thread title to "Switching Questions"? I'd rather not start a new thread, each time I have a new question and I'm not able to edit the title myself.(SHOULD'VE THOUGHT ABOUT THAT!)

Anyway, here's another question. How does Front Row catalog multimedia files? Do they need to be on a Mac hard drive or will it recognize files that are on a USB-connected external hard drive, too?
 
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As long as the USB HDD is formatted for MacOS or FAT32 it will work just fine. NTFS, however, will not work with MacOS (although you can read from an NTFS formatted drive if it is a network share).
 
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Warren
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That's great! I have one problem, though, that being my (4) 250GB externals will need a FAT32ing....
 
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I don't think you can FAT32 drives that big...I thought the maximum size of FAT32 partitions is 30 GB or something like that.

As far as Front Row is concerned, I have NOT been able to get it to recognize/catalog media on external drives, only specific places on the internal drive. However, if you build your iTunes music database file with movies/music on the external drive, it may find it. Just make sure to turn OFF the iTunes option "copy music/movies to iTunes music folder when played/added to library" otherwise you will find duplicates of all your files wasting space.

Another note on the FAT32 problem...I'm not sure if you could create multiple partitions on EACH of the drives so you don't waste all that space, or if the FAT32 partition table will only allow you to format one partition. Seeing as formatting these drives will require you to erase your data to begin with, and if you don't plan on using these drives with Windows, you'd be much better off formatting Mac OSX Extended (Journaled). If you need to use these drives with Windows still, I recommend formatting them Mac OSX Extended, and buying a little program called Mac Drive for Windows, which will allow Windows to mount a Mac formatted partition.

Hope this helps.
 
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I don't think you can FAT32 drives that big...I thought the maximum size of FAT32 partitions is 30 GB or something like that.

A FAT32 volume can be up to 8TB in size. My wife's 80G iPod uses FAT32.

Windows places an (unexplained, unjustified) limit on FAT32 partitions when installing the OS but this is a quirk of Windows, not the file system.

Note that one limitation of the FAT32 system is a maximum file size of 4GB; this can be a problem for large video recordings, large databases, etc.

The only reason to use FAT32 is if you need compatibility between both Mac and PC computers with the same external HDD. If you're never going to hook a PC up to the HDD, I'd definitely recommend using the Mac OS Extended filesystem.
 
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Gotchya, I knew there was a partition size limit on FAT32 somehow, just didn't know it was only there for Windows installations. I also didn't know about the file size limit for FAT32, also good information. So, since FAT32 would work for going back and forth between Windows, I guess there's no need for Mac Drive, unless he wants to format Mac OS Extended.
 
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Excellent information, guys! Thanks for it! My goal is to stay with the Mac and not go back to Windows. There is a utility to format my external drives in either FAT32 or NTFS, so that's not a problem. I'm looking at an Iomega 500GB drive that already has FAT32, so I'll just end up copying the ones from the first 250GB NTFS drive, over to that one and so on. This'll work, won't it?

Also, the 4GB limit, does that pertain only to the individual files or to the folders that contain them, as well?

Another thing, what's this OS Extended thing you're talking about?
 
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You can copy files from an NTFS volume to a FAT32 volume without problem (assuming you don't try to copy a file >4Gb in size).

The 4Gb limit is for the individual files. A folder doesn't actually "contain" all the files inside it, it's just a placeholder for the file system.

You can read more about the OS Extended filesystem at this wikipedia listing.
 
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Thanks Todd. I think FAT32 should work for now. That HFS+ business is a bit over my head, at this point!
 
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Don't get bogged down in the details. HFS+ is, for all intents and purposes, "Mac OS X Filesystem." You don't have to worry about it beyond that.

If you want your external HDDs to be accessible by non-Mac computers, use FAT32. If you know you will never need to access them from a PC, you can use HFS+ and never have to worry about things like defragmenting, etc.
 
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Darn it! I had just entered all of my details, with hopes of purchasing an awesome 2.33 GHz refurbished MBP 17", when the message "Your Cart has been updated to reflect that some lucky bugger was just a bit quicker than you!" appeared.... Guess it wasn't meant to be....

Good Luck to whomever scored that gem!
 
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Warren
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Well, got her this time! A refurbed 2.33Ghz MBP 17". Can't wait! I've read that Apple is very prompt when it comes to shipping, so hopefully it'll be here by the weekend.
 
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Prompt, you say? It's shipping, today!!!!
 

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