<p>Hi, I will be attending UCR this fall and for the first time ever they are having a promotion where you can order a macbook and you get other items with it too, I was wondering if it's a good deal because I'm not positive how good or brand new the model for the computer is since I've never had a Mac before and I can start preordering it tomorrow so I was wondering if it's worth it to order this or just go and buy for BestBuy. Thanks!!!</p>
<p>I have no idea what you are referring to when you say “UCR MacBook” From my “old” knowledge, UCR sells computer through the campus store , CompUCR. They are NOT stripped down to get it to a certain price point.</p>
<p>You can order a Mac with the student discount and promotion (free iPod Touch) directly from Apple.com, This deal comes around every year.</p>
<p>[Apple</a> Education Store - Find Your School and Shop - Apple Store (U.S.)](<a href=“http://store.apple.com/us-hed/browse/campaigns/back_to_school?mco=MTcwNDAyMjE]Apple”>http://store.apple.com/us-hed/browse/campaigns/back_to_school?mco=MTcwNDAyMjE)</p>
<p>its only a 100 dollars off, its an alright deal but there are better computers for the money. check out the HP envy 14 if you like the mac looks but want a good value, thats what im gettin. plus HP has a student discount if you go to the HP student discount website.</p>
<p>VERY true Ultomato, Why do you want a Mac? $100 is not much considering the premium you pay for an Apple product. If money is not an issue, by all means go with a Mac.</p>
<p>The 13inch Macbook is a fairly good value for its battery life and specs.</p>
<p>Yes, I totally forgot about the insane battery life the MacBook has. Although I have never had mine last 7 hours as advertised, it has kept me running well on an off all day long without plugging it in. So that would be a BIG pro for college. If you plan to run Windows 7 either through Parallel or Boot Camp, do expect the battery to drain a little quicker.</p>
<p>No PC battery life will last as long as a Mac for now. Classes really don’t have many places for you to plug in. so if you have three lectures, don’t depend on a PC to last through them.</p>
<p>Just to give a perspective of how old I am (30)
My first (freshman year) laptop in college was a Compaq Presario 1200 (333MHz AMD-K6-2 Processor) USB 1.0 and Wi-Fi wasn’t even available yet, we turned in homework on floppy disks and I actually “upgraded” the O/S from Windows 95 to Windows 98!</p>
<p>My final laptop when I graduated was a Dell Inspiron 8200 (2.4Ghz Intel P4) Good computer, still, battery never last more than two lectures!</p>
<p>So I guess I’d say a Mac would be a bod investment. just make sure you take care of it.</p>
<p>what do you guys think about carrying ipad to college?</p>
<p>Although I see the possible usefulness of it due to the 10 hour battery life, Runs relatively heat-less, instant on/off & campus-wide Wi-Fi, it would not be something you should take notes with in class as it would be a slower method having to constantly look down at the keyboard.</p>
<p>You also need to be careful with these “luxury” items because of theft, don’t make it obvious that you have one in your possession at night or off campus, there were incidents of students being attacked for their iPods because of the classic white earphones they were wearing. I have been paranoid since a roommate of mine robbed us and disappeared. Ever since then I carried my expensive-er items with me all day long.</p>
<p>That is a bummer Sapipa177. Luckily, my roommate is not a inconsiderate jerk like yours. Generally speaking, most roommates don’t steal your items.</p>
<p>I would not suggest anyone to buy a Macbook because those notebooks are over priced. Instead, you should purchase an Asus or Sager (clevo), for they are far superior than the Macbook and are at a comparable price.</p>
<p>Just get a netbook or a Macbook.</p>