Anybody bought an Apple MacBook lately?

[bluemoco]

I've been shopping around for a cool Mother's Day present for Wifey.  I know she'd like an Apple, but I'm a little wary of the price tag.

Contenders are the 13" MacBook and the 15" MacBook Pro -- each configured with 4gig RAM + 320gig HDD.  I know these are spendy little machines, but I envision using it as a major tool to edit our countless family photos and hours of home video.  (no, not that "THAT" kind of home video )

MacBook:  http://store.apple.com/us/configure/MB467LL/A?mco=MTkzOTI0Mw
MacBook Pro:  http://store.apple.com/us/configure/MC026LL/A?mco=NDE4NDI1Ng

Anybody have FHE with the latest MacBooks?  Would I be better off finding a gently-used MacBook from Craigslist or something?  Any Apple-related minefields to avoid?  I'm a little reluctant to buy a secondhand computer from an unknown source, but it is nice to save $$ sometimes.

[pintsizejesus]

Check what they have in their refurbished stock, last time I was looking they had some for like 900 dollars but it all depends.  I had trouble finding it on their site so I searched google for refurbished macs or something along those lines.

[bluemoco]

Check what they have in their refurbished stock, last time I was looking they had some for like 900 dollars but it all depends.  I had trouble finding it on their site so I searched google for refurbished macs or something along those lines.

Thanks for the tip.  Links to their refurb store are located in the lower-left side of the Apple Store home page:

http://store.apple.com/us?mco=MTE2MjI

Some decent deals there.  I'll have to check it frequently for the next few days and see if I find something that fits my criteria.

My wife is a teacher, so she's eligible for an educator's discount on new Apples -- not sure if she can get a discount on refurb models.  I have to take that into consideration when comparing new vs. refurb prices. 

[Stella]

I went from a Toshiba Satellite that I bought 5 years ago to a MacBook Pro one year ago.  I really like it!  Can't imagine going to another machine with all the different

Unlike the last one, I've not had any issues in the year I've had it other than it just now beginning to "freeze" up. 

Money well spent IMO.

[bluemoco]

Unlike the last one, I've not had any issues in the year I've had it other than it just now beginning to "freeze" up. 

"Freeze up" ?   

[JEFF_H]

good site-
http://www.macofalltrades.com/Apple_Notebooks_s/5.htm

[He Man]

not a mac book person, but i perfer 13inch over 15" since i move around a lot. its much lighter and the screen size is only a tad bit smaller.

[Alexandre]

I got the new MacBook for Xmas this year and I love it to death. I moved up from an older powerbook g4, this has way more performance. I have 0 complaints about this new machine.

It takes a couple weeks to get used to the mouse pad setup, at least it did for me.

I say go for it.

[redxblack]

refurb is a good tip. If you have a mac store in your area, some states allow for a tax free purchase for teachers. You get tax free online anyway. Call the mac phone number and talk to someone about the teacher status. She might get the discount on refurbs.

Whatever you do, get the applecare for the laptop. I think it's $60 extra. It's very worth it!

[il d00d]

Be very wary of deals on CL - scammers seem to target Apple consumers.  I would recommend waiting for a good refurb deal on Apple's site over swimming the shark-infested waters of the Apple eBay/CL market.

I have an older iBook that has served me faithfully - it has been the demo machine for many friends who have gone on to buy Mac Books and Pros.  I love the new machines - even the first generation of Mac Books with the intel chips beat the shit out my last-generation G4 chip.  My FHE with them is limited to my sweaty groping of their new laptops, but they seem like solid notebooks.  And, because I have become the spokesmen, I am also first-line tech support.  No big issues to report there, aside from a dead hard drive (replaced under warranty)

I also like the 13" screen.  The 15" Pro is nice if you are really need more graphics horsepower and for the extra screen space, but is sounds like you would be more of a casual video editor.  Not sure if the cost:benefit math will work out for you on the Pro, but I totally understand getting swept up in technolust

[bluemoco]

Thanks for the advice everybody!  Some good feedback here, and I appreciate it. 

On a related topic, have any of you Apple folk picked up a "Time Capsule"?  That appeals to my techno-lust.   

[Alexandre]

Thanks for the advice everybody!  Some good feedback here, and I appreciate it. 

On a related topic, have any of you Apple folk picked up a "Time Capsule"?  That appeals to my techno-lust.   

No need to buy a Time capsule. It is built-in software with the new macs that will work with any external harddrive. you can plug any external harddrive and plug it into a airport base station and back-up wirelessly.

[superjohn]

I bought a 15" Macbook Pro late last year to replace my aging Powerbook and couldn't be happier. It does everything I want it to with little fuss or drama. iWork, so far, has allowed me to open, edit, and author any documents I need for work. I've got a massive iTunes library that was easily ported. Syncing with the iPod and iPhone is easy and working with my limited, but hope to be increasing, knowledge of digital photography is plug and play with my Canon Rebel XSi.

Best difference over the Powerbook is the magnetic power adapter.

Worst thing about owning a Macbook is trying to convince PC people that you are objective and not a Mac zealot when you write up an evaluation.

I've not bought Time Capsule however as my experience with wireless data transfer was less than thrilling.

[junior varsity]

the smaller the better. I learned that the hard way when i got a 17" notebook because i was wowed by the screen. smaller computer is a better computer.

[bluemoco]

the smaller the better. I learned that the hard way when i got a 17" notebook because i was wowed by the screen. smaller computer is a better computer.

In retrospect, would you have chosen a 13" or 15" notebook?

I don't think this computer will leave our home very often, so travel/portability isn't our primary concern.  I suspect that your 17" notebook is lighter than our old notebooks anyway.    

At this point, I'm inclined to go with the 15" Apple.   I like that the Pro has a Firewire port, too -- I don't think the base MacBook has a Firewire port.  That will probably come in very handy.