Should I buy a laptop this summer or wait?
Hi,
I'll be starting medical school in the fall and was planning on buying a MacBook or MacBook Pro later this month (so I could get comfortable with using it over the summer...i've been a PC person). But now that the release date of the Leopard has been postponed to October, is it worth waiting until then to buy the laptop? Will the LED screens be on these laptops by then? Any other new features/changes I should take into account?
Sorry for my ignorance, but I'm lost b/c there seems to be a lot going on with Apple!
Thank you very much
I'll be starting medical school in the fall and was planning on buying a MacBook or MacBook Pro later this month (so I could get comfortable with using it over the summer...i've been a PC person). But now that the release date of the Leopard has been postponed to October, is it worth waiting until then to buy the laptop? Will the LED screens be on these laptops by then? Any other new features/changes I should take into account?
Sorry for my ignorance, but I'm lost b/c there seems to be a lot going on with Apple!
Thank you very much
Comments
The current machines are fine but updates are expected soon. Yes, the new machines should have LED backlighting and this may be a big improvement over what is used today. However, the current notebooks may (probably) are more than adequate for your needs. Without knowing more that's about all I can say.
BTW, welcome to AI and congrats on Med school.
I'm planning on using it for pretty typical stuff... work and movies, music, etc. So I'm sure that the current ones would be fine for my needs, but I don't want to buy a laptop and regret not waiting just a bit longer.
Is the new Leopard supposed to be a significant improvement?
Thanks!
I'm planning on using it for pretty typical stuff... work and movies, music, etc. So I'm sure that the current ones would be fine for my needs, but I don't want to buy a laptop and regret not waiting just a bit longer.
Is the new Leopard supposed to be a significant improvement?
Yes, it is supposed to be so, but it remains to be seen at what extend. We hope to learn more after WWDC.
On the Macbook (Pro) question, I would like to add that no one knows if Apple will be able to update with LED displays the existing pro line which has rather big models (15" and 17"), or the Macbook line first since the display is smaller (13") or introduce a new pro model with LED display to replace the 12" Powerbook. If I was in your place and a new laptop was not an absolute priority, I would wait until Leopard is out. But if the needs for the school mean new laptop by September, I would wait until then to see if anything new comes out. If nothing new, I would buy whatever is available. For me it's that simple.
Oh, and welcome to AI.
Oh, and welcome to AI.
So what gives?! I just noticed that this is at least the second time in less than 12 hours that someone has welcomed our new friend Liz101 to the forums. I haven't been here forever, but 16 posts and counting plus a variety of different contributions in a variety of threads and all I get is an awkward silence? So to be "welcomed to the forums" I have to a have a screen name that sounds as remotely female as Liz101? To be welcomed there must be the glimmer of hope that I am an attractice damsel in distress in need of my knight in blah blah blah. . . ?
"Crentist" doesn't cut it, huh?
By the way, welcome to the forums, Liz
QUOTE=PB
Oh, and welcome to AI.
So what gives?! I just noticed that this is at least the second time in less than 12 hours that someone has welcomed our new friend Liz101 to the forums. I haven't been here forever, but 16 posts and counting plus a variety of different contributions in a variety of threads and all I get is an awkward silence? So to be "welcomed to the forums" I have to a have a screen name that sounds as remotely female as Liz101? To be welcomed there must be the glimmer of hope that I am an attractice damsel in distress in need of my knight in blah blah blah. . . ?
"Crentist" doesn't cut it, huh?
OK, easy now.
I don't know for the others but I can tell for myself that male/female-like nicks say nothing because they are just nicknames and not the real person. Behind Liz101 may be a nice lady or an elephant.
As for Crentist I think (s)he is worth not less and not more than anyone else here, unless otherwise proved. Actually we are not here to prove anything about ourselves but to discuss Mac-related topics. So don't take it personally. And rest assured that someone may notice your presence and weigh your writing qualities even if (s)he does not show up to tell.
OK, easy now.
Actually we are not here to prove anything about ourselves but to discuss Mac-related topics. So don't take it personally.
Well said. I would never take anything personally that was said through a venue that is inherently impersonal. Thanks for putting up with my sense of humor, nonetheless. No offense taken; I guess I should have added a few more smileys to underscore my attempt at light sarcasm.
All-in-all, it's great to be a part of the forum. Keep the Mac-gold coming!
By the way, Liz101, I would also wait for Leopard. If some of the rumors are right, you will get more up to date hardware on your computer between now and then (most likely within the next 3-6 weeks) and you will not only get an updated OS in Leopard, but you will get the most up to date versions of iPhoto, iMovie and other highly regarded consumer applications that come standard on new macs, and should be updated at the same time as Leopard. The Leopard launch will make it an all around good time to buy.
Oh, and congrats and good luck in Med school. I am a dental student and I know how grueling it can be to go to school year round for four years with heavy science and clinical courses.
The new Santa Rosa chipset or "centrino pro" is a very exciting update to what is available now. If you are just going the Macbook route the new integrated graphics that is to be included is a huge upgrade to what is available now. If you are going the Macbook Pro route there is the upgraded performance of a faster bus speed, better battery life, and probably flash memory that will speed the entire system up. If they also introduce LED displays which is also a possibility than this will make the wait even more rewarding. Apple will most likey include a coupon for Leopard with the updated notebooks so people dont have an excuse to wait or purchase other hardware just because of the delay.
If it was just a simple processor upgrade that was expected I would advise you to just go ahead and buy now, but since it is such a major upgrade I would defanetly wait unitl the new notebooks are released. You never know, maybe they will come out with an entirely new design since one is due and has been rumored.
I am a dental student and I know how grueling it can be to go to school year round for four years with heavy science and clinical courses.
I'm a dentist as well. What school are you attending?
I'm a dentist as well. What school are you attending?
UDM here in Detroit. There are some outsanding faculty, and a LOT of clinical experience to be had. This summer we are switching our clinic to AXIUM, a paperless system, and we all will be using the mandatory tablet PC purchases we made at the start of school. They are no macs, I'll tell you that. Worst designed and most expensive computer that I have ever purchased. I have been a mac user all my life, but it is no surprise that other students in my class have taken the opportunity to join the mac world in the form of a MacBook.
Where do you practice? I am interested in finding out about the feasibility of a mac-based practice and would love any tips.
UDM here in Detroit. There are some outsanding faculty, and a LOT of clinical experience to be had. This summer we are switching our clinic to AXIUM, a paperless system, and we all will be using the mandatory tablet PC purchases we made at the start of school. They are no macs, I'll tell you that. Worst designed and most expensive computer that I have ever purchased. I have been a mac user all my life, but it is no surprise that other students in my class have taken the opportunity to join the mac world in the form of a MacBook.
Where do you practice? I am interested in finding out about the feasibility of a mac-based practice and would love any tips.
I practice in Kentucky as an oral and maxillofacial surgeon. Mac based practice is tough as there is little mac based software. iDental and Macpractice are available for general practitioners. I've not seen them demoed so I don't know how good they are.
I practice in Kentucky as an oral and maxillofacial surgeon. Mac based practice is tough as there is little mac based software. iDental and Macpractice are available for general practitioners. I've not seen them demoed so I don't know how good they are.
I know a guy that puts out Macpractice and it is very capable stuff. I worry about the penetrance of the software in the field, however, and the ability to incorporate it into an existing practice if I choose to do so in a year or two.
Great to meet you, and I am glad to know there are more of "me" out there. One final question: Akinosi or Gow-Gates?
I know a guy that puts out Macpractice and it is very capable stuff. I worry about the penetrance of the software in the field, however, and the ability to incorporate it into an existing practice if I choose to do so in a year or two.
Great to meet you, and I am glad to know there are more of "me" out there. One final question: Akinosi or Gow-Gates?
Gow Gates.
Ya ever hear of private messaging??
Private what?
If you need it now, buy it now.
If you don't, wait.
Why is there any doubt on this?
It is human nature to hesitate and towonder if we have made the right choice. With computers it is very much the case as they tend to be a large outlay of money (at least at one time). Textbooks and other materials can add up quickly, though.
My two cents: I agree wholeheartedly with the idea of getting used to the machine before heading to school. Grad school is not a cakewalk and you want to focus on your studies from the beginning. The current MacBooks and MBPs are very capable machines and will work with Leopard when it comes out.
I picked up my MBP a month or so ago when Leopard was still due in "spring, 2007". I needed it and put it to immediate use; I was also lucky that Leopard was pushed back, though I am certain that my purchase had notherig to do with that because last time I debated and then purchased, they released a new machine almost the next day.
Leopard will come out in the fall (unless they delay it again, which is unusual for Apple), but the first version may or may not be completely stable; there might not be a stable version until a couple of months after the release. This is not a chance I would like to rest my schooling on. Also, if and when it comes out (and the new iLife apps), the cost to will only be another 150 or so, which is not too much to ask. You also don't have to get it; you can wait. The current apps work really well.
Is the there going to be an updated MBP late this summer? Will Santa Rosa be of benefit to me? Or can I get by just fine with the current specs? I'm fine with the specs i have on my MB but was confused of when I might see updates. Last year I almost got a PowerBook about a week before the MB's came out, so I held out and got one, and loved it. Do I really benefit much by waiting (b/c the chips ship to Apple on May 9th, so the computers won't be available for some time, right?)
Thanks in advance!
Hi,
I'll be starting medical school in the fall and was planning on buying a MacBook or MacBook Pro later this month (so I could get comfortable with using it over the summer...i've been a PC person). But now that the release date of the Leopard has been postponed to October, is it worth waiting until then to buy the laptop? Will the LED screens be on these laptops by then? Any other new features/changes I should take into account?
Sorry for my ignorance, but I'm lost b/c there seems to be a lot going on with Apple!
Thank you very much
Apple frequently "misses out on" the back to school rush. While PC companies are dumping their latest goods and Apple fans are decrying Steve's "missing out" on the back to school rush, Apple has often used the back to school craze to clear inventory channels so the new stuff can come out to a cleared channel for xmas.
There will be new releases announced (though not necessarily shipping) in June. I would at least wait till then unless you NEED a new system now. Computers are out of date in a matter of months, if you need one now, buy one now. If not, wait a month.
I would like to buy a MacBook Pro sometime in August to take advantage of any back-to-school deals that Apple will have, but I'm worried that the new "updated" MBP might not make it out til October. It's not a huge deal, it's just I want the MBP for when school starts, not a month in.
Hopefully they'll "upgrade" the MBP sometime this summer to make the back-to-school rush. I'm sure there are other people besides myself that are hoping for it. Then I can upgrade to Leopard either when it comes out or at Christmas (when it should be more stable).