thinking of getting a mac? still not sure

so recently i had my laptop junked out and been give $1000 credit at Bestbuy to get a new laptop. Ive been debating between HP and a MAC and def. want the mac but am still unsure of some stuff. Bestbuy does not sell a warranty online for the Macbook 512 60GB so im kidn of hesitant...would i be able to get it from bestbuy and then buy applecare?
I have a lynksis wireless router...would that be compatiable with a mac?
im just worried about getting a mac and not knowing how to do certain things.

Yes, you can buy Applecare even if you buy the laptop from Best Buy. You have up till the end of the first year after you buy the laptop to qualify for Applecare.

Apple uses standard wireless technologies in its computers, so your Macbook will work on any standard wireless router (so that would be a yes, it will work on the Linksys).

Using a Mac doesn't require a huge shift from the Windows world. Every type of software you use on your Windows laptop should have a Mac equivalent.

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask. There are some great members here who will provide you with some great information :black:

welcome doctormo,

not sure about the applecare. apple's site may have the answer, someone else here might too.

i have a linksys wrt54g and it works perfectly using wpa security (it also works fine with no security).

there will be a bit of a learning curve, but many things are pretty intuitive, and there are lots of answers, and the communty surrounding macs seems to be much friendlier than windows', so answers and open source software to suit your needs will be easy to come by.

you may also want to check the switcher f.a.q. in the switcher forum, which will give you an idea of the kinds of issues many 'switchers' tend to have.


edit: Kash got the applecare answer

thanks! yea you all are def. friendly haha! that was a quick reply and answered my questions...allrite im getting excited already!

G'day doctormo & welcome to Mac-Forums!

Be excited, be very very excited .... lol ! You're gonna have a blast my friend!

AppleCare comes with every Mac for 1 Year and you in that year can extend it as was already stated by another user here.

I have 2 Linksys WRT-54g's and they work great with OSX with WEP, WPA and WPA2.

When did BestBuy start selling Macs?

years ago online. they've started putting them in the stores more recently.

You can even buy AppleCare from eBay, I understand.

All you need for Applecare are the following things:

1. Apple Inc. computer purchased less than one year ago, with dated proof of purchase.

2. Sealed or otherwise unactivated AppleCare retail box. The source of this retail package DOES NOT MATTER. It can be from an Apple retail store, Apple.com, eBay, CompUSA, wherever. Inside this package is a website address and an activation key. Simply visit the address on your new Mac, enter the key, and it automatically extends your AppleCare warranty by 3 years. There's also a CD inside that package with some pretty useful utilities on it.

snoslicer8 said:

it automatically extends your AppleCare warranty by 3 years.

Click to expand...

That should be TO 3 years, not BY 3 years. Big difference if you think about it as Applecare only adds two years to the stock 1 year warranty. :black:

As others have said, you can buy Apple Care after you have bought your Mac from Best Buy.

Your Linksys router should work just fine. I have a Netgear Router that works great with my MacBook. In fact it has been easier to connect than my old PC.