Students looking to buy a Mac- New Zealand

I was hoping you could answer some questions I have.

1. I have found information relating to the ability to the ability to right click on Macs, and I imagine being able to do so will make the transition a little easier. Can it be like the standard right click on a windows machine or is still that double clicking business which will probably leave me more confused?

2. Is waiting around for Mac Office 2008 worth while or should I just get Office 2004 whenever I get my laptop (if 2008 ain't out by then)?

3. I want to buy through the education store for uni next year, how much evidence do they need in order to believe I am using the laptop for education purposes?

4. Are their any good resellers in NZ or is it best to just simply buy online?

5. I have read rumors that new macbooks may come out for Leopard in October? How likely is this and should I wait? How likely is it that the new macbooks will have better graphics (perhaps intel integration 3100)?

6. Is it worth the expense getting an extended warranty OR are the macs reliable enough and cheap enough to repair that I may as well take the risk?

7. I was thinking of buying the middle specification Macbook (with the 2.16ghz processor, super drive and the 120gb hard drive) and getting a ram upgrade. Is getting the ram upgrade to 2gb of ram worth it?

8. Am I buying a macbook for the right reasons? (as listed below)

 

1) You can right click on a Mac by using two fingers to tap on the touchpad, or putting two fingers on the touchpad and clicking the mouse button.

2) Yes, absolutely wait for Office 2008. The current version of Office, Office for Mac 2004, is old and a PowerPC application, meaning its not written for Intel processors and has to run under an emulator known as Rosetta.

3) Just bring a Student ID card. That's enough to prove you're a student.

4) I would say just get it online. I don't know of any good NZ resellers.

5) Yes, there is a chance of a MacBook update in October with Leopard. If there is an update, I'd expect Santa Rosa (which brings along X3100) and maybe LED-backlit screens.

6) I would say get a warranty, but depending on how long you plan to use this Mac. If you plan to use it for as long as it works, then get AppleCare for it. A Logic Board replacement can run a few hundred dollars itself, hard drives cost about $100, so I think AppleCare is worth it. All notebooks are more likely to have problems because its subject to more movement and accidental drops or bumps.

7) Buy RAM outside of Apple. Apple RAM is expensive...if you can find some resellers in NZ that sell notebook RAM get it there. Its much cheaper to buy RAM third-party.

8) I agree with the reasons you listed, the only thing I may doubt is number 3...Apple's MacBook is good quality, but its not Thinkpad quality. Also, you actually do have to install Software Updates now and then but its simple to do.

If you have any more questions, feel free to ask them or you may be able to find the answer in the Mac Switcher's Guide. The link is in my forum signature.

 

1. All you have to do is put 2 fingers on the trackpad and click the button. You have to enable this feature in the system preferences in os x though.
2. I would say definitely wait for office '08. It comes out at the beggining of next year. If you need office programs now just download neooffice for now. It's free too.
3. All I had to do was tell them what college I attend and that's all.
4. I live in the US.
5. I personally think they will be updated this year, but no one knows for sure.
6. I think it's probably worth, but you have up until a year after the purchase to buy applecare so if you can't afford it now buy it later.
7. 2GB of ram is a good amount to go with, but you can probably get it cheaper if you install the extra 1GB yourself.
8. I see nothing wrong with the reasons you stated.

 

A read somewhere that the new mighty mouse has right click, thats what I am really interested in since its the mighty mouse I would be using the most (my hand gets sore very quickly on a touch pad)

I will wait out for the next lot of mac books then. An LED display and perhaps a back lit keyboard would be great.

Well put it this way keeping a Mac safe is a hell of a lot easier than keeping a PC safe. On this PC I have Norton anti virus, ad-aware, spy bot, zone alarm and windows defender and I still don't think I get everything. Plus Windows/Microsoft update is an absolute pain in the ass to run.

 

I would say stay away from the Mighty Mouse...Apple does a lot of fantastic things but its not a good designer of mice. But yes the Mighty Mouse can detect a right click (its actually one button, but it knows where you're clicking it, whether its a left or right click).

I'd say take a look at the Logitech VX Revolution, its an awesome mouse.

I don't think the MacBook will ever have a backlit keyboard...Apple needs extra features to justify the price premium of the MBP over the MB and the backlit keyboard is one of them.

And yes, maintenance and security is a breeze on OS X.

 

I second Sam on the VX Revolution. I have one and I love being able to scroll all the way up or down a web page with one spin. Going through all my music is a breeze too.

 

What about external hard drives on a mac? I really want one to back up my fails to (also so I can hide that away and I will still have most of my information is my laptop gets stolen)

 

Yes, most external hard drives work with the Mac. If you see a particular drive you like, just check it over with us to make sure its compatible.