Thinking of Switching

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Hi I am thinking of switching from Mac to PC...
Gotcha :)
Seriously I am a 20 year old college student and I have had a pc in my house since 2000.
I am thinking of buying a mac book pro the cheapest pro. Its 1799 with my student discount directly from apple. I just have a couple of questions;
1 glossy or standard screen? I like the sound of how the glossy enhances the colors. But I plan on using this thing all over the place, outside, in my truck, layin on my bed, school library / learning center which is all fluorescent lighting. Since I do not have access to an apple store to actually see the products I am scared of this option. I hate reading books under florescent lights because the glossy pages reflect the light. Which option did ya'll go with and how do you feel about that choice. I want glossy but I think I should go with the standard for the anti glare qualities.
2 I really got the itch to get one of these things. I am in summer semester right now and classes aren't killing me too bad but in the fall I start clinical rotations and I have a killer schedule then. Back to the point, Leopard is due out around October I think? The Microsoft part of my brain is saying are you a tard? Buying a new computer a few months before a new OS comes out. But from what I have read I see that if I buy a mac now it should be usable and viable for years to come right? I feel safe for that, but what about the cost will it be real expensive or a paint to upgrade to leopard? If I wait will the technology/prices on the mac book pro's change much do ya'll think?

I appreciate the help and have already spent hours reading great thread on your site here!
 
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Everyone here is probably gonna say to buy it now if you need it. I'm pretty sure Leopard costs only $160-170 (I forgot). It's not like buying vista lol. So go for it if you think you need it right now.

As for the glossy/matte issue...I would just go to the store and check it out. I can't say anything about that because I don't even have a Mac yet ;)
 
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Ugh that need word. I plan on using it for school but its a convenience / want.
I live in South Carolina and there are no Mac stores in the state! I mean its sort of logical, Mac's do seem to be more for the en lighted computer user. And well if you had a map of the US that colored stupid in blue. Well SC would just look like part of the Atlantic.
So yeah I cannot go to the store to check that out, although BestBuy sells macs online so I am hoping they have them in store so I can check out glossy vs matte. If I buy it will be from Apple online.
 
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Everyone here is probably gonna say to buy it now if you need it. I'm pretty sure Leopard costs only $160-170 (I forgot). It's not like buying vista lol. So go for it if you think you need it right now.

As for the glossy/matte issue...I would just go to the store and check it out. I can't say anything about that because I don't even have a Mac yet ;)

This guy doesn't know what he's talking about.

1) Leopard will only run you $129, with student discount it will be chump change.

2) The guy I'm quoting obviously didn't read the post since you said you can't go to the Apple store. From what you said: Go for the standard (matte). If you plan on using your notebook to the fullest and using it in a variety of different places (which is what I would do) then you should definitely go for the matte. Glossy screens scratch very easily and you might feel nothing but regret in a couple months. The performance of the Matte screen really does not suffer a whole lot compared to glossy. Overall, Matte is definitely a more reliable option, ESPECIALLY with what you plan on doing with your MBP.

Hope I helped!


EDIT: Get the Matte without even looking at a Glossy one, that way you'll enjoy your MBP and love the screen all the same not knowing that you could have anything better!
 
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personally, I opted for the glossy. I found a lot of information about the benefits of glossy over matte which helped sway my decision. Also, people said that a small change in tilt can usually clear up any issues with glare. Best of luck with your decision.
 
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if you don't mind occasional glare, opt for the glossy. it'll give you more brilliant colors.
 
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Sounds good so far this info is helping. What about the actual book itself. Will they be releasing better cheaper models when Leopard comes out? Will I even care? This mac book pro will be viable for the next what 5-8 years? Where are ya'll getting the $129 price for the Leopard. The apple sales man said they could not tell me how much $ it would be.
 
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I tried to post this earlier, but my internet got screwy...

I am a teacher, and my district provided me with an old loaner (not even sure what "book" it was) that was matte. I loved the screen. Then the district ordered my current one, a MacBook with glossy screen, and I hate the screen. I work in several schools, and use it at home, and also outside sometimes, and the glare is bad. God forbid you sit back-to a sunny window and get glare on your screen, or in a room filled with flourescent lights. If you are going to be using your book in a variety of venues, and mostly for word processing/internet, and not MAINLY for graphics and gaming, I'd recommend the matte. But if you're looking for the best graphics display and don't mind glare, go for the glossy. Hope this helps.
 
T

todd51

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Yea the usual Glossy vs. Matte debate all over again, there are many past topics on this that I'm sure you could search and read the advantages and disadvatages.

From what I can tell and most people have answered this already, go with matte if you can't get to a store and compare side-by-side. You shouldn't be too disappointed with a matte screen, but I would hate for you to get a glossy and have the glare be unbearable in some situations (ie: your truck or outside).

Go ahead and get it now, technology advances so fast it won't even really matter if you were to get the machine now or later. Unless you really don't want to pay the 130 dollars (even less with a student discount) for Leopard when it comes out. I will probably stick with Tiger until around December or so, I always give new products a couple of months to sort out the usual "quirks".

Good luck with your decision!
 
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Wow guys thanks for all the help. I am no stranger to forums I'm a member of a million different forums w/ a million different topics, Ford Trucks, RC Trucks, Video Games, PC, ect. And I never get this many helpful responses this fast.
A couple of last questions real quick.
The mac book pro comes with wifi internet access right? For some reason I have a little trouble finding the exact specs on apple's site.
Does apple have an equivalent of MS Office. I already have MS office and I know the apple comes w/ a trial of it. But I would like to go to all apple and sort of get the full experience.

Thanks
 
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Wow guys thanks for all the help. I am no stranger to forums I'm a member of a million different forums w/ a million different topics, Ford Trucks, RC Trucks, Video Games, PC, ect. And I never get this many helpful responses this fast.
A couple of last questions real quick.
The mac book pro comes with wifi internet access right? For some reason I have a little trouble finding the exact specs on apple's site.
Does apple have an equivalent of MS Office. I already have MS office and I know the apple comes w/ a trial of it. But I would like to go to all apple and sort of get the full experience.

Thanks

Yup, that whole "Built-in Airport Extreme" is apple-lingo for WiFi adapter card. As for the MS Office, Apple does offer a 2-program suite called iWork that includes Keynote (like PowerPoint), and Pages (like Word), but that's about it. If you're looking for spreadsheets, etc. there's free programs called NeoOffice and OpenOffice that are quite popular.

Edit: Oh, when I say "like Powerpoint and Word", I guess I'm using "like" very loosely. They're actually quite different, but Keynote makes Slideshows/Presentations and Pages makes Documents. I think an iWork trial comes with the OS so you can try it out yourself.
 
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2 more questions.
1.) If I hook up a wireless router to my windows xp pc, will I be able to use my mac book pro on that wireless network? Browse the internet access the printer stuff like that?
2.) Do you think the technology in the mac book pro's will change between now and October when the new OS comes out?
I mean in the pc world 2 gigs of ram, 160 gig (i will pay extra for this) intel core 2 duo processors, this is a top of the line pc notebook, even for a stand up pc except for the hard drive this would be top of the line.
 
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1) Yes. Should work with no issues.

2) I doubt it. The line just got a boost a few weeks ago.
 
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I live in South Carolina and there are no Mac stores in the state!
This page at Apple lists South Carolina resellers by city. Eight stores popped up when I punched in Charleston, but you could change it to any other.

They aren't Apple's Apple stores, but they're Mac resellers. You might find one close enough that makes it easy to check the models out. As well, the prices should be the same as on Apple's site.
 
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So if I did wait until October, then the only real benefit would be that I save $60 bucks and have Leopard pre installed?

What do ya'll think about the ipods? Just stick with the free nano or bust out an extra 50 bucks and get the larger ipod? I know I won't have enough music that I want to listen to to fill up a 4gig nano but they just seem kind of small and I break things easy, and I think something larger would be more comfortable.
 

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