<p>I want to get a nice laptop that will last me at least four to six years of college. I really want to get a MacBook Pro but it is so expensive! I want to lean towards an Apple product but I am still open to any PC laptops.</p>
<p>I am going to UD as a pharmacy interest major and I don't know whether PC or a Mac would be better. </p>
<p>Also, are there any UD student discounts for laptops? </p>
<p>Please give me any suggestions, thanks for your help!</p>
<p>Check with the UD bookstore and local Apple store. Both told us they offered a small discount ($50 or $100 on MacBook) and indicated they would announce some other “deal” in July or August (ie: free software or other product, such as an IPod). Both indicated a new student would need a UD ID to get the discount, so it is probably worth waiting until after you get your ID at orientation.</p>
<p>UD will have an Apple store in the new bookstore but it may not open til August or even later. Although I was sad that my D has decided to defect from the PC world and get a Mac, the bright side is that there is an Apple Store in the Christiana Mall. So right after her NSO day, once she has her ID card, we’ll stop there on the way home and get her one. We’re going the end of June so I don’t know whether Apple will yet have any of their college student discounts in effect or will offer a free iPod, but just the fact that Delaware has no sales tax will probably save us around $200.</p>
<p>But getting her familiar with the Christiana Mall is not going to save you any money :)</p>
<p>I seriously doubt Christiana will have anything over the Miracle Mile or Roosevelt Field each of which have been under 5 miles from where she spent the last 12 years of her life.</p>
<p>No tax! Plus the largest Forever 21 my DD had ever seen!</p>
<p>(Although we would have a fantastic time on the Miracle Mile and at Roosevelt Field too!)</p>
<p>A Nordstrom’s also just recently opened at the mall.</p>
<p>No more free ipod. You now get a $100 gift card for the Mac App store. Macs are expensive and nice. If you get a Windows machine, I highly recommend that you at least consider a machine designed to be transported like a Lenovo ThinkPad or HP Elitebook. The consumer laptops that you see at normal retail stores will not last you 5 or 6 years.
You will pay a premium for a Macbook Pro, or one of these business computers, but you are getting value. HP gives you a buisness tech support phone number. Lenovos have been the business class standard for build quality. You will have to pay significantly more for quality. There is also nothing wrong with spending $399 every 2-3 years. You will probably spend less money, but it will be frustrating.</p>
<p>D had orientation yesterday. The day before, without UD ID, we went into the Apple store at the mall and purchased her MacBook Pro. They “took our word for it” on her student status, as she did not yet have her UD ID. I had the feeling if we brought her orientation letter or something like that, they would have accepted that as well. We got the MacBook (with $100 educational discount), a $100 gift card to the App Store and a free Epson printer (free after rebate, which we processed in the store). Everything for $1098 (no sales tax, so saved something there). Still need to order Apple Care plan, but first 90 days is covered. A regular MacBook would have been $200 less, with the same “freebies.” No IPod offer this year.</p>
<p>We’re going tomorrow for NSO, momof2giants. Do you happen to know if OS X Lion is on that MBP? or if it will be easily upgradeable? And can the $100 gift card be used toward buying MS Office for the Mac in the App store (instead of as part of the inital purchase?). </p>
<p>I’m also looking at that model for my D, except I think that I’ll spring for one of the solid state hard drives. The included SATA 5400 seems awfully slow these days.</p>
<p>I’d strongly recommend getting the Apple Care. I’ve never used it but I’ve bought the extended service plans on two Dells for my other children and both have been invaluable money savers. Things just happen to laptops that kids use and carry back and forth to school. I’d also recommend a rider to your home insurance policy to cover it. They are usually pretty cheap, $25-35 a year, and will cover theft, which unfortunately can also happen.</p>
<p>mhc48: Lion is not out yet, but my techie husband says she will be notified to upgrade when it is available. Not sure about using the gift card for Office … but if not, we will buy it from a source other than Apple. Yes, we’re doing the Apple Care, and thanks for the tip on the homeowners policy. We did that for my son’s musical instruments, which were in the same price range as the laptop.</p>
<p>We were at NSO on Monday, purchased Macbook Pro on Sunday (with ID#)…no problem! We were told Lion will be out and upgradeable in July. We also purchased the 3 year insurance plan for $183 and the $99 One to One (of which my dd has already scheduled a 1 hour session at our local Apple for tomorrow).</p>
<p>We also purchased windows at NSO for $89.</p>
<p>Best part of all was…NO TAX!!!</p>
<p>Pick up a MacBook if possible, reliable devices with great customer support if something were to go wrong. Macs are very user friendly, very reliable, and fulfill anything you’ll need for school. If they are out of your price range, Asus, Sony, and Dell make some very good computers (make sure you do your research on a device before purchase though!).</p>
<p>Okay, I’ve never liked Apple computers, but never so disliked them as much as yesterday. They would only sell the two base model MBP 13 ins, with no upgrades except RAM. Anything else would have to be ordered online as a custom build. No, I could not order it with an SSD in the store. No I could not buy and pay for it in the store and later pick it up in the store when it was built and ready. Only on line.</p>
<p>No, Apple would not later, for any reason or amount of dollars, change or substitute the painfully slow 5400 hard drive. No, I could not do it myself either without violating the warranty, since the case was sealed and neither HD nor RAM nor battery is user replaceable. </p>
<p>What if my hard drive crashed? Then Apple will fix it. Okay, how about instead of fixing or replacing the old HD, replace it with the SSD I want? I’ll pay the additional cost. No, Apple will only replace the same drive that it originally came with.</p>
<p>And no, I could not buy, for any amount, 4 years of Apple care to last all through 4 years of college and especially for the time when it is most likely to break or need upgrading. </p>
<p>I almost (well for a bit actually did) walk out of the store. None of that would ever happen with any PC manufacturer. But D wanted a Macbook, so I finally decided, she is the one who will have to use and deal with it, so went back and bought it for her.</p>
<p>Consider this her first adult, college age life lesson about hype and consumerism.</p>
<p>And I bought the 3 year Apple support and 1 on 1 support because, as I told her, from now on don’t ask me to install, fix, upgrade research or do anything to or with that infernal sealed box, as I have with all your and your two siblings other computers.</p>
<p>I just cannot understand why people buy into the hype and rigid quasi-fascistic control of overly priced Apple.</p>
<p>Good choice with the laptop, these days you definitely don’t want to get a desktop. Occasionally UD will have partnerships with a brand (when I was there it was Dell, and its still kicking today). Its worth checking the site. </p>
<p>Also, so you know, UD is a 50/50 Mac and PC campus, meaning its about split with the students and all of the technology is typically compatible with both. The library computer labs host both macs and PCs (even in the editing studios) and the computer tech guys can help you out with either. I think its really up to you to decide which you like best.</p>
<p>mhc48:</p>
<p>You will find that most laptop manufacturers do not warrant their machines for more than 3 years. Consumer laptops are just not designed for the task. Apple probably limits their number of configurations to simply their tech support. To a tech support department, choice means complexity. No choice means no sales, so every company decides what market they want to serve. </p>
<p>Our family just bought 2 laptops - one macbook pro, one Lenovo Thinkpad with a 4 year warranty. Both family members made their respective well thought out cases for their preference. It’s not all hype. There are lots of technical people out there that truly believe that Apple offers a superior product for their needs.</p>
<p>Personally, I am happy there there is a choice. I wish there were more Apple and Linux machines out there. They serve to make even Windows machines better, and the consumer wins.</p>
<p>I don’t want to hijack and turn this into a computer wars thread, desilu, but I just want to clarify that I didn’t denigrate the technical aspects of Macs or the build quality and design appeal of their fine, if overpriced machines. It’s their attitude, arrogance, cost, rigidity and hype that gets me.</p>
<p>People seem to buy Apple macbook pros based on the overall package presented (they have to). But the techical specs of many components of them like screen resolution, HD and video (and until recently processor) are either pedestrian or below what is available on comparable PC laptops. And Macs go for a considerably higher price.</p>
<p>I’ve gotten 4 year full service warranties on several Dell laptops and the onsite next day service has been incredible when my kids or once (honest) our dog really trashed them. Lenovos too are excellent.</p>
<p>Most laptops are made to be easily upgradeable for memory and harddrive. And anyone can easily replace the battery. If the consumer can’t do the upgrades, a tech certified by the mfr can and will. Apple however, will not upgrade the pitiful 5400 rpm HD, and I’ve now learned that if I upgrade it myself (which is easy to do) or the memory, or battery, that will void the warranty. So if my D takes it in to the local campus Apple store, when they see that, they will not fix or work on any other parts of the computer unless/until it is restored to its original specs.</p>
<p>I think its great (for Apple) that they have the consumer appeal and cachet to be able to get away with all this. I just don’t understand why consumers put up with it. That said, I did buy what I thought was an inferior machine for my D since that’s what she wanted and it’ll be fine for the basic ways she will use it, but I wouldn’t for myself.</p>