15" or 17"

HyunJoo said:

You can buy the 17inch 2.4ghz Macbook Pro for less than 2.5k with ADC and it comes with Leopards DVD

Edit :

Heres the link http://store.apple.com/AppleStore/WebObjects/ADC.woa/9304004/wa/PSLID?nnmm=browse&mco=7B72365E&node=home/shop_mac/family/macbook_pro&wosid=SF1dul3718a72hkdTRunbeZVswo

You need to pay for the student membership which is 100$ and the MBP with the membership costs 2239$ So you end up paying 2339$ total for the 17inch and Leopard.

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what is that? ADC?

Apple developper connection : http://developer.apple.com/
Sign up at the top right corner, it`s better than the student discount but its only a once in a lifetime discount... >.<

HyunJoo said:

Apple developper connection : http://developer.apple.com/
Sign up at the top right corner.

Click to expand...

So I spend $100 to sign up and then save how much? Can I use ADC AND education discount?

You spend 100$ to become a member. With that membership you get Leopard DVD and a once in a lifetime discount on hardware. And no, you can't use ADC membership and Student discount at the same time. I dont know how much you save in the US but in Canada I'd save about 350$

So I could buy a 15" 2.4 for 1999 and then buy applecare warranty with my school discount to save the most money?

Something doesn't sound quite right about that. If you could save $250 by just signing up for that, everyone would do it and Apple would be losing a lot of money. I think there's a catch in there somewhere. Is it like a yearly membership fee you have to pay for X years? Do you have to be a member for X years b/f getting a discount?

Reading the terms and agreements is something everyone should do. Im just saying what I know, I havent done this myself so dont jump too quickly and listen to the guy above just to be safe

HyunJoo said:

Reading the terms and agreements is something everyone should do. Im just saying what I know, I havent done this myself so dont jump too quickly and listen to the guy above just to be safe

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i don't get it.. .should i do it or not?

fleurya said:

Something doesn't sound quite right about that. If you could save $250 by just signing up for that, everyone would do it and Apple would be losing a lot of money. I think there's a catch in there somewhere. Is it like a yearly membership fee you have to pay for X years? Do you have to be a member for X years b/f getting a discount?

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It does not appear to be that way. No columbia house action going on here. I think the catch is you have to be a student to get the 100 price, otherwise you pay $500, but are entitled to a hardware purchase on a yearly basis.
The catch I see are:
1 time hardware (for students) discount
slow shipping 4-6wks
no return policy, and if they are nice enough to let you (their discretion) its a 15% restock fee.

After reading the terms and agreements, I read that they charge sales tax but when I added an item to my cart and proceeded to checkout just to see the total there was no sales tax applied. Someone who has experience with ADC please share!

If it sounds to good to be true then its probably not worth the hassle

I would say go for the 17" with the 1920x1200 resolution.

I'm a graphic design student and had a 15" PowerBook for about 3 years. I finally came to the point were I needed a more powerful computer with a better screen. Just last month, I bought the top-of-the-line MacBook Pro at my local Apple Store. The specs are: 17" 1920x1200 high-res matte screen, 160 GB 7200rpm hard drive, and 2 GB RAM.

This machine flies and is a pleasure to use with its beautiful screen. The added resolution is a real asset for Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Soundtrack, and Final Cut.

The extra size is great for recreation, too. I really love watching movies on this laptop. The FrontRow remote is a nice bonus for DVDs as well.

I used to bring the 15" PowerBook with me to class all of the time, and now I carry the 17" around. Honestly, there isn't much of a difference to me. IMO, it doesn't matter if I'm carrying 5lbs or 6lbs. What matters to me is that I'm using a super-powerful Mac with the best laptop screen available for my work.

I hope this helps somewhat. Buy whatever you want, but if you like the 17" I say go for it.;D

So I'm thinking about this (and other) threads, and it occurs to me... There is very little size or weight difference between the 17" and 15" machines:
The 15" is 9.6in x 14.1in x 1in (DxWxH); the 17" is 10.4in x 15.4in x 1in and weighs 6.8lbs to the 15" model's 5.4

We're talking about a difference of less than an inch in depth, just barely over an inch in width, NO difference in thickness, and 1.4lbs in weight. How do you find the 17" to be dramatically less portable than the 15"???

Straight away I can say that, if it's it's not an appreciable difference to you, how do you find the difference in screen size so dramatically better? Why spend the extra money?

I've had laptops of various weights and, from my experience, as little as half a pound can make a difference if you're carrying a should bag more than a few minutes. 1.4 pounds will be very noticeable. Right now when I carry my laptop (15") and 2 textbooks it's pretty hefty. Also, you will have to carry a larger bag to accommodate a larger laptop.

If you plan to use it in a classroom or on an airplane, it's just more cumbersome in spaces where every square inch counts. I have classes in lecture halls where we have one long tabletop and office chairs, and people with 17" laptops just have to take up more space, including the space of the people sitting next to them.

Of course, it's all up to the individual. If the difference wasn't appreciable to anyone, everyone would have only 17" or only 15" MBPs. You just have to see them for yourself.

Student Members may take advantage of a special, one-time hardware discount per lifetime

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From the ADC site.. not per year...

Anyway, I'm a 15.4" MBP owner with a 20" NEC Widescreen monitor at home.

If I'm using my laptop portably, I want it to be..well, duh, portable! The 17" is too much for me personally to even bring to work or downstairs to sit at the kitchen table, or on the sofa watching TV...

If I want more screen real estate (and YES, higher resolution), I hook it up to my 20" and play games at 1680x1050 which is the max resolution of my screen. The graphics can handle it beautifully. This morning, after a particularly early start, I kicked back for an hour with my MBP hooked up looking all prettiful ^^

How many people use Final Cut or Photoshop on the train or at Starbucks or something that they find the extra screen size that important whilst being out and about? -_-

fleurya said:

Straight away I can say that, if it's it's not an appreciable difference to you, how do you find the difference in screen size so dramatically better? Why spend the extra money?

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When I said that there is not much of a difference to me, I meant in terms of weight and not screen size. The screen size is a significant improvement over the 15" model, especially with the higher resolution upgrade.

The weight isn't that noticeable to me. I don't mind carrying around something a tad bit heavier if its worth it, and to me, the 17" is definitely worth it.

As far as the actual footprint of the laptop...yes it is noticeably larger. So far, I haven't run into a situation where it would have been handy to have a smaller laptop.

I have, however, had many situations where the larger screen has helped.;D

Geeky1 said:

So I'm thinking about this (and other) threads, and it occurs to me... There is very little size or weight difference between the 17" and 15" machines:
The 15" is 9.6in x 14.1in x 1in (DxWxH); the 17" is 10.4in x 15.4in x 1in and weighs 6.8lbs to the 15" model's 5.4

We're talking about a difference of less than an inch in depth, just barely over an inch in width, NO difference in thickness, and 1.4lbs in weight. How do you find the 17" to be dramatically less portable than the 15"???

Click to expand...

Yup exactly what my experience for what I use the laptop. It sounds deceptive but in reality the 17 takes up an additional 24.8 inches of area, which is considerable. And the extra 1.4lbs is just the start, you also need a larger bag (which adds weight). As its been said several times before it really depends on your use/needs.

The difference between the 15" and the 17" hi res screen is 1,008,000 pixels.

That 'difference' is 77.7% of the 15" resolution

Did you buy the 17" or stick with the 15 and get an external monitor?