<p>My daughter is ready to get a new computer - since she is not familiar with Mac she wants to get it before school starts.......I know the recommendation is to get in Delaware while we are there later this month - does anyone know of any good deals? We have heard going to the bookstore gets the best deals, but I have also read online that the local store honors the student discount. If any savy shoppers are aware of a good deal on the macbook pro - please share! Thanks</p>
<p>I got my daughter her Mac book pro at Christmas as a combo holiday/birthday/grad gift. We used the student discount and got the free printer from our local apple store. I dont think the offer will be any better from the book store but it doesn’t hurt to look. We also recently got her the university version of the software. it is sold in Staples and other similar stores as I’m sure it’s also sold at the Apple store. It has one extra program on it and was much cheaper. You have to install the software and then verify your student id/email when registering the software but it was easy to do. I have heard rumors that a new Mac book may be coming out this summer??? So you may want to see if that’s the case if she want’s the latest model. My daughter wanted hers early too so she could be used to it. Oh… as a student they also triple the warranty. It’s a nice feature and great to have a store right on campus in case of a problem. :)</p>
<p>Lefty is correct. On June 11th, Mac is rumored and expected to announce a new macbook pro. It is expected to be much thinner(eliminating the DVD player), and closer in dimension to the macbook Air. They are also rumored to be using a faster chip, retina display(a much better screen resolution), and I ma sure other things. They should announce when the new version will go on sale. I would not buy a new macbook until you hear about all the new particulars. Apple usually does not raise the price when they come out with new models. They will also lower the price of the current model, if you choose to buy a leftover. Also, Apple typically has a summer student sale. That is usually announced in July. In the past the back to school special included the student discount, a free printer, and an iPod. The iPod is a valuable giveaway. I would suggest waiting. We are. The sales tax in Delaware is a great savings…</p>
<p>The Apple student discount is the same at the bookstore or Christiana Mall (or anywhere else for that matter). However, Apple discontinued the iPod deal last year and I doubt they’ll bring it back this year. Instead they offered $100 “credit” at the Apple Store and there was a deal on an el cheapo Epson printer.</p>
<p>Also note that you have to buy the Macbook exactly as sold at either location. If you want to customize your Macbook, you can’t buy it at either the school or mall store but have to buy it online. Last year for example, you couldn’t buy a Macbook Pro with an SSD HD at either store.</p>
<p>For the more technologically savvy who are not blinded by the glint and flash of silvery Apple laptops, don’t forget Intel is coming out this summer with better, faster, more energy efficient (i.e. longer battery life) chips that will go into lots of Windows laptops. And Windows 8 willl be coming out in the fall or late summer. Microsoft has already said they will offer a $15 upgrade to purchasers of Windows 7 pcs and laptops to Win 8.</p>
<p>For the first time in over a year, I disagree with MHC. Sorry MHC. Unless your child is engineering or business, I think Mac is better. Easier to use, great to use iCloud to sync with iPhone. Easy to consume your media. I am a big fan. I acknowledge it is more expensive. </p>
<p>MHC, I hope we can still be friends.</p>
<p>Oh I’m still friends with lots of technologically challenged people, socaldad. But it’s easy to be magnanimous when you’ve been syncing a Windows Phone to the Cloud, Zune Music and creating and syncing MS Office docs, OneNote, Outlook calendar & Share Point, or creating them either on the cloud, or phone or office PC for two years. It’s been kind of heartwarming to see my D finally able to catch up - at least to most of it- using her Macbook and iPhone.</p>
<p>I’m chuckling because I started on an Apple IIe and was one of the first students at Drexel to get a 128K Macintosh back in the winter of 1984. But now, Apple products are banished from my house. My employer is the world’s leading producer of electrical connection devices and Apple has partnered with one of our competitors for parts and assembly. Gotta support the customers that fund my paycheck…</p>
<p>Just ordered my engineer-to-be daughter a new HP laptop. She didn’t want to wait for newer versions and the supplier discount made it a great deal.</p>
<p>[There’s</a> Never Been a Worse Time to Buy a Laptop](<a href=“There's Never Been a Worse Time to Buy a Laptop”>There's Never Been a Worse Time to Buy a Laptop)</p>
<p>also, during the end of the summer Apple usually does a back-to-college deal where you get a $100 iTunes gift card or something like that</p>
<p>Can someone explain what the deal is with new mac pro/ What is the best way to buy-online or at store? should I buy when I’m in Delaware at NSO or should I wait until the College deals come out in July, but then wouldn’t be able to but it in Delaware and save the tax. What programs do we need to add</p>
<p>Putting aside that I am not a Mac or any Apple product advocate and feel you will get much better value with a PC, however…</p>
<p>Any deal that the bookstore has will be honored at the Apple store. Not that it’s any longer as good a deal as it was in the past where you got an iPod. Nowadays all you get $100 Back to School Gift Card to use on apps, books, music, and movies. The “offer” began on June 11. The new Mac and Mac Pros should be in the stores (at least the Apple Store in Christiana) in a few days.</p>
<p>Buying an Apple product (or PC product) at either will give you the tax benefits. If you are going to buy a MacPro, and assorted accessories that will amount to close to $200.</p>
<p>Remember too that this year’s new Mac Pros (lke the Air) will not have a CD Rom drive, so programs will have to be purchased through the Apple Store (there goes the $100 credit!). You’ll probably need MS Office at a minimum.</p>
<p>You could also wait til move in and buy then. Or, with the money you save you could go a day or two early and stay in a motel, and head over to Christiana Mall before the rush.</p>
<p>Not a Mac vs PC question, but a printer question. Should my DS have a printer and should it be color? He’ll be an accounting major. We don’t have a wireless printer at the time so we would need to buy one. Thanks, I thought this question would work here.</p>
<p>Many/most of my D’s papers and assignments were submitted to profs on line, she rarely printed them out. And there are a number of places (like the library) where students can upload to their account and print, so unless your child likes to review drafts in hard copy, I’d say a printer may not absolutely be needed. That said, last year Apple was offering a basic but quite servicable printer/scanner with the purchase of a laptop with virutally a full rebate making it free. PC makers often bundle these too since printer companies make money on the ink cartridges not the hardware. If not free they can be gotten quite cheaply.</p>
<p>As to color, I suppose charts and graphs do better with color and students like to print other things out for themselves and photos so color is useful. Most students get inkjet printers all of which these days feature color.</p>
<p>[When</a> To Expect Discounts For the New Macbook Pro](<a href=“http://www.tomsguide.com/us/apple-macbook-pro-retina-display-discounts,news-15517.html]When”>Apple Articles | Tom's Guide)</p>