Seriously considering a MacBook Pro

[danielbeck]

I have my doubts. I check all the Mac sites and listen to a few podcasts. That's the kinds of stuff that would definitely come up. Not saying you're certainly wrong, but I need outside confirmation before I concede.

[Jason]

Here ya go:

http://theory.isthereason.com/?p=328

[mark]

I have other more demanding apps and games that I would really want/need to be running natively for them to run as well as I'd want them to.

Fair enough. Games are definitely a showstopper for Parallels.

That'll be a heck of a notebook when you get it Jason - congrats! Two things you may want to consider - could help you save money!

1) I assume you're ordering the extra memory separately? Apple usually charges an arm, leg, and then some for the extra memory.

2) Did you look into Apple's student developer program? For a $99 one-year membership, you get a once-per-lifetime discount via their developer store. On the MacBook Pro, it should be a more generous discount than you could get via the standard higher education store, so it might save you a couple hundred bucks.

http://developer.apple.com/students/

There are other benefits as well, such as getting a copy of OS X after it's release (10.5 will probably be released sometime next year). For purchasing the system, you may have to fax proof of computer science courses you're currently enrolled in.

[Jason]

:O Thank you! ^_^ I found the memory for about $100 cheaper at crucial.com. Do you have any idea how much of a discount you get thru ADC? If I go thru the normal education store and get the memory somewhere else, the total is around US$2,692.00. I'm just wondering if it's worth $99 for signing up.

I've been trying to check out the ADC, but the registration page is down. [edit] never mind. It's up now.

[edit2] I missed seeing that about getting 10.4.5. You get that for free thru the ADC? Don't you usually have to pay for those upgrades? If I'll be able to upgrade for free, that would pretty much clinch it.

[danielbeck]

Not trying to be contrarian here, but I have my doubts about what's going on in that video. As someone who does video work, I know how easy it is to manipulate it. Again, I'm waiting for news on my trusted sites. Not a peep yet.

Notice that even in the video, he's got it parked right next to a PowerBook and they appear to be connected.

We'll see.

[Jason]

Well, I'm personally not planning on trying to run OS X on a PC. So it's not really a problem for me. It would be good news for Jonas though.

[mark]

:O Thank you! ^_^ I found the memory for about $100 cheaper at crucial.com. Do you have any idea how much of a discount you get thru ADC? If I go thru the normal education store and get the memory somewhere else, the total is around US$2,692.00. I'm just wondering if it's worth $99 for signing up.

I've been trying to check out the ADC, but the registration page is down. [edit] never mind. It's up now.

[edit2] I missed seeing that about getting 10.4.5. You get that for free thru the ADC? Don't you usually have to pay for those upgrades? If I'll be able to upgrade for free, that would pretty much clinch it.

Yeah, Apple's sites were acting up a little for me too earlier tonight.

It's definitely worth it (provided you can prove the CS courses, but as I recall you're a CS student?).

Specific information on the discount:
http://developer.apple.com/students/sthardware.html

If you're in US, use the link on the below page to access the developer store:
http://developer.apple.com/membership/usa.html

In the US, base 17" MB Pro price is $2239 as opposed to the $2599 in the education store. So factoring in the $99 membership, it's still $250 cheaper.

With respect to OS upgrades, historically Apple has given ADC paying members a copy of the latest major point upgrades shortly after release, as part of the monthly mailing. While there's no guarantee it'll continue, I don't know that they've changed policy on it. Typically the major point upgrades (i.e. 10.3 --> 10.4) cost $69 via education store.

Oh yeah, I take payments via Paypal.

[kacjp5]

My Macbook is on the way Wish it didn't take so long for products to come out in Australia!

[Jason]

I just ordered mine last night. Actually, I just got an email that the travel adapter I ordered with it has been shipped. The 17" MBPs have a 5-7 day wait though.