OT: Buying an Apple laptop for my college kid...

[Kevan]

This is pretty much a slam-dunk retail detail, but I wanted to see if our collective brain has any other ideas before I drop the plastic on the sales countertop.

My daughter Brennan is in need of a new laptop and so we're off to Apple (she insists) on Friday to blow a wad of cash. She'll be using this machine mostly for internet, music, wordprocessing and film editing. She advises me that her senior thesis next year will involve the production of a film and as she sees it, she'll be needing the full-frontal version of Final Cut Studio, the $1,300 software bundle. So....I'm gathering that this machine will run best using 4gig as opposed to 2 and that I need to get a pretty sizable HD ta boot. Yes, I'll be jumping up and down for her to get the education discount (only if it were more...).

Any of you folk use Final Cut Studio or Express? Is the $120 Express version simply too lame?

Yes, I'll be buying the spill-coffee into it, drop from the Empire State Building replacement warranty.

Thanks for any thoughts or suggestions.

[rwsaunders]

Kevan...ask for the education discount of 10%, which applies to hardware as well as software. I have a MacBook Pro running a 2.4 Ghz Intel chip and it cooks pretty well. The folks at the Genius Bar can advise of the power needed for your particular software. She might like an external drive if she's going to be doing heavy video.

[CarbonCycles]

I'd also highly recommend the apple care (also discounted but ebay might be cheaper depending). Btw, apple care doesn't cover owner neglience or misuse (i.e. spilling coffee on it or dropping it), unfortunately.

Edit again...don't buy the software through apple...check the university campus computer store to see if you can purchase it for even cheaper. Case in point...MS Office for Mac at the Campus store $25 bucks; elsewhere over 100.

[gt6267a]

which model are you planning to pick up? for myself the macbookair is very tempting but i strugle with ... 1) the keyboard on the air and my fingers had a cage death match. the air won the battle, but i will win the war by picking up the pro. this dork no likey the keyboard on the macbook reg or air. 2) screen size. i so want to think the 13" will be ok, but it ain't for big stuff. especially if you plan to dork with images and video, i think the 13" screen means you will be on the hook for a 23" cinema display. don't get me wrong, i think the small computer with mini screen for travel and big boy at home is a beautiful thing, but just know if you go 13" you are probably going down that road. all that said, have you seen the air in person? my g-d apple has the market cornered on computer industrial design. its hot. if it were not for the keyboard, i probably would own one already.

[rwsaunders]

I'd also highly recommend the apple care (also discounted but ebay might be cheaper depending). +1 on the Apple Care. It's saved my rear on a couple of occasions.

[coylifut]

I'm not a big fan and the Apple Care Protection Plan and wouldn't purchase it again. I found the call in support to be lackluster at best. I understand strong accents as well as anyone, but the combination of non native english speaking tech support folk plus fuzzy phone lines when calling India usually resulted in a frustrating experience. The very few times (and they were very few) I needed help, I scheduled an appointment online and went to the Genius Bar. I found the folks there to be far more helpful.

I bought the Final Cut Studio for my daughter and her grades immediately plummeted until we re focussed her priorities. It's that good.

[CarbonCycles]

IMO, if she is doing any video editing, you should look at the MBP (macbook pro); however, I argue why she doesn't get a Mac Pro instead (if she is seriously doing hardcore video work). The Air will struggle to give her the performance she requires.

[giordana93]

you might want to check out this:
http://www.apple-discounts.com/
this lists the current discounts and will direct you to the refurb and closeout section of the apple store, which is

here (http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/9084003/wo/aC1t9BUwTVHL3IZdliZ1q1V4WmI/2.0.0.26.9.5.7.1.1.1.1)


also on that same page is a tab for the clearance section where they are offering new, not refurb macbook pros:
http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/9084003/wo/aC1t9BUwTVHL3IZdliZ1q1V4WmI/1.0.0.26.9.5.7.1.3.1.1here (http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/9084003/wo/aC1t9BUwTVHL3IZdliZ1q1V4WmI/1.0.0.26.9.5.7.1.3.1.1)

this is Apple themselves, not a 3rd party, and you get the same 1 year warranty and the ability to buy the extended warranty. looks like they have some good prices on the old macbook pros. and you can sign up for the email list that sends out the stock every morning (they wait til they get enough units then post them, and the popular ones sell out quickly). as usual, the latest greatest is always most expensive and the big screens are too so if you can go with a smaller screen (they all can do video out, so just hook it up to a larger monitor for the intensive viewing and crunching times), and maybe a slightly slower (that still runs circles around last years models) then go for the previous iterations of the model you want (cutting edge vs. bleeding edge..)
can't help you on the software issue, except to encourage you to see if her school does not have a discount license as well. student discounts apply on software too, and heck, if it is required for her school, they should provide something. definitely look into this. I can't imagine they require such a hefty outlay from the students for that

anyway, I used the clearance page to get a new ipod at 30% off, with free shipping and had it in my hands in 2 days; you do pay sales tax by the way.

[CarbonCycles]

One last thing, try not to buy the ram at the apple store. Buy OWC, Crucial or otherwise online for a fraction of the price. To date, I can't understand why Apple ram is so expensive.

[giordana93]

by the way again, these are usually "you snooze you lose" prices, so settle in on a model and configuration and be ready to pull the trigger quickly. Some 3rd party guys (maybe macmall?) will also honor an education discount too, which usually equals apple's and they may throw in free stuff like a case, some utility software, etc.

[giordana93]

One last thing, try not to buy the ram at the apple store. Buy OWC, Crucial or otherwise online for a fraction of the price. To date, I can't understand why Apple ram is so expensive.

a good point, but make sure the model you end up with has easily accessible memory chips; don't know about the new laptops, but it used to be a bit of a challenge/scare to look under the hood...

[saab2000]

+1 on the Apple Care. It's saved my rear on a couple of occasions.

Me too.

One note though...

I bought mine from a Mom and Pop store in Appleton, WI. My family has known theirs since about the time the earth cooled. They sold Apples back in the early '80s when PCs were for the real freaks. I don't know if that is what allows them to still sell Apple products. But they do and I think that this family connection has had something to do with the seamlessness of the Apple Care thing. I walk in, describe the problem or show it to them, and a week later I have my computer back in working order. No questions asked. Period. This has happened on 3 occasions.

I am not sure the transactions would be so seamless at an Apple store. I have heard otherwise.

Take that for what it's worth. You may have better luck at a Mom and Pop store if you can find one.

[ada@prorider.or]

I use final cut studio pro,love the program its powerful too
i only can yes to use it and would take a mac book pro
you would love it as you aslo your doughter would.

if i can help in any way pm me

[CarbonCycles]

a good point, but make sure the model you end up with has easily accessible memory chips; don't know about the new laptops, but it used to be a bit of a challenge/scare to look under the hood...

It's a no-brainer to swap memory and if you are less inclined, there are a ton of online docs showing you how to do it. And NO it does NOT void your warranty (someone always argues about it)

[giordana93]

there are a number of price-watching sites, but the guys at

low end mac (http://www.lowendmac.com/deals.shtml)

are pretty good; it's an excellent site for the older mac and they have good "value equation" articles on upgrading, newer vs. refurb vs. used models, etc.

[Pete Serotta]

The school university store should have big discounts. The FINAL CUT for students should be close to 50% off unless things have changed/ My daughter teaching discount might be able to save some additional AS you get more specific feel free to send me an email. PETE

HArdware is about 10% off.

This is pretty much a slam-dunk retail detail, but I wanted to see if our collective brain has any other ideas before I drop the plastic on the sales countertop.

My daughter Brennan is in need of a new laptop and so we're off to Apple (she insists) on Friday to blow a wad of cash. She'll be using this machine mostly for internet, music, wordprocessing and film editing. She advises me that her senior thesis next year will involve the production of a film and as she sees it, she'll be needing the full-frontal version of Final Cut Studio, the $1,300 software bundle. So....I'm gathering that this machine will run best using 4gig as opposed to 2 and that I need to get a pretty sizable HD ta boot. Yes, I'll be jumping up and down for her to get the education discount (only if it were more...).

Any of you folk use Final Cut Studio or Express? Is the $120 Express version simply too lame?

Yes, I'll be buying the spill-coffee into it, drop from the Empire State Building replacement warranty.

Thanks for any thoughts or suggestions.

[Pete Serotta]

IMO, if she is doing any video editing, you should look at the MBP (macbook pro); however, I argue why she doesn't get a Mac Pro instead (if she is seriously doing hardcore video work). The Air will struggle to give her the performance she requires.

Air is not the machine for this.......Screen 13.3 inches and small HD

[giordana93]

Air is not the machine for this.......Screen 13.3 inches and small HD

no optical drive either, right?

[CarbonCycles]

no optical drive either, right?

Nope..no optical drive and lots of problems related to overheating right now (a firmware was just released). I still can't figure out the market for the air other than the "chic" crowd.

[thwart]

I'd bet you could get by with the MacBook and Final Cut Express; you'd lose a little speed and the ultimate software bells and whistles, but plenty good for what she needs.

Go with the educational discount, and get AppleCare.

[CJH]

If she's set on a Laptop she'll def. need the Mabook Pro for serious video work, down the line it has the benefit of expandability (external monitors, more "plugs" etc, also more Ram possible! Better graphics card!). You guys should def. get an external drive as well, Lacie 500Gb d2 Quad is a great drive and quite reasonably priced at around $200. As mentioned save $ by ordering extra Ram elsewhere, Macmall.com or Smalldog.com are good sources. Lastly go for the faster 7200 200Gb built in drive. Good Luck! Oh! Not saying you should but software such as Final Cut, Photoshop etc. has been known to be available without dropping the big $$$?! One could argue that once she's no longer a student etc. she'll spring for the full on store bought version? Of course I'd never suggest this course of action...

[labratmatt]

I would check with her school/her department to see what type of labs they have available. My university has at least one lab of macs that are used as final cut workstations (in addition to an assload of other softare). I'd guess that this is pretty common and that incoming students aren't expected to plunk down huge money for things like final cut.

[CarbonCycles]

She's probably going to want a wireless router. If so, time capsule is a nice combination of an external backup drive and a wireless router. I'd also recommend an external backup because odds say she will end up screwing up her harddrive or laptop at one time or another; this is when time machine will be very useful.

[Kevan]

the Serotta synapse springs to action. Thanks everyone.

Yup, we're thinking macbook. We have more to ponder.

[andy mac]

final cut pro is pretty full on.

unless she is a film major or the like i bet the more streamlined versions would be more than fine and easier to use.

even the free iMovie software is pretty amazing these days. maybe let her play with that for awhile before throwing down for a more advanced version.

:beer:

andy, who spends many a day in the edit suite, mac

[MarleyMon]

re: software - there used to be an upgrade path from the FC Express to full version. If thats still the case I'd start w/ Express. Pro really is pro, as andy mac says. If Pro is really needed, its gonna run a lot better on a Mac Pro desktop.

[andy mac]

was thinking about this thread - i just purchased a new mac and the new iMovie software is pretty advanced - and i use this stuff for a living.



would be very surprised if she couldn't produce a short with this software. remember it's the content that counts, not having a choice of 678 different dissolves!

:beer:

[Kevan]

She seems to be doing just fine with the basic version of the software. As I suspected.

[1happygirl]

www.academicsuperstore.com

Have had good success with them in the past, at crazy prices.

I'll second the motion that your on campus software option is still the cheapest. (got XP and norton full versions for $8 each, office $25).

I am a zealous convert to Apple.

Stay away from MacMall.

Also, don't trust many off market sellers. With the academic discounts, you're just as well getting it from Apple direct (the store also honors the discounts). I have had good success with Applecare. Glad your daughter is enjoying.
I'm available for adoption :D as my old PowerBook is dying due to a recent accident. :crap: