<p>My cheap dad is curious about buying me a macbook pro for college, vs. any other brand. He says that having a "flashy" macbook increases the chance of it being stolen. Is this a serious concern, or is he being ridiculous?</p>
<p>Well it is probably true, considering that the MBP is one of the most expensive laptops in the world, but I just bought mine for college a few weeks ago and I absolutely love it. I would say that if you need the power of the Pro (like I do) then go for it, otherwise get the normal MacBook, which thousands of other students will also have and therefore will not be as sought after (I suppose) to thieves.</p>
<p>You know though, if I were a thief, which I am not, and I had my choice between stealing the fancy macbook pro that some random guy treats as his own baby or a student who has the Vostro 1400, not suspecting anyone to steal it....I may go for the Vostro 1400...less risk and a higher chance of successfully stealing it!</p>
<p>Frankly, I would get what you want and just be carefull...dont' leave it unattended. The odds of having it stolen will be very little.</p>
<p>As for a laptop, I have the Vostro 1400 (with 2 gigs memory and the dual core 1.6 ...I think...ghz procesor) and it's great and only came out to arround $600 with a special deal dell was holding (it's long since gone and you can't really get what I got for that price anymore). Shop arround and look for a deal. As for power...I'm not a gammer and 2gigs of memory is fairly nice for me and everything compiles quite fast (I run gentoo linux), so it works well for a variety of purposes...and, it dident' break the wallet.</p>
<p>Macbooks are pretty though...</p>
<p>If you are a newly admitted student, you may want to wait to purchase your Mac or PC until you are on campus. There are special student deals available through DoIT's store. Also, they have knowlegable consultants who can help you make the best decision based on your needs and concerns.</p>
<p>You can actually find Apple discounts for UW students at-</p>
<p>I'm pretty sure I'm going to be getting a Macbook for school, and I can not waiiiit.</p>
<p>Go to the UW tech website, DoIT, and read their information. They have a lot of info for you- including how to decide as well as different budget computer lines, both mac and pc. Summer has the best deals, regardless of where you purchase your computer. Patience is required, June is coming.</p>
<p>You hipster crowd with your macs...</p>
<p>UW DoIT suggests you stick with the format you know, unless you have reasons to change from one to the other... Also, there is the laptop versus desktop issue- son likes his desktop (gamer) and hasn't wanted a laptop to date. Pros and cons for everything.</p>
<p>Im also planning on buying a mac , but im gonna buy it when I get there hopefully</p>
<p>Also, for those admitted, keep checking the DoIt website as well. We bought our daughter's computer there online in May 2007, when they were having an amazing sale and saved about $500. (Mac) It only last a few days and they were brand new and not refurbished...plus, they through in the support free and few other things no charge. So, keep on eye on the website for the next month or so.</p>