<p>^Interesting. Everything I’ve read has pointed to the fact that ValueRAM should be avoided, but if you’re comfortable with it, more power to you.</p>
<p>As to Word, sure you can save to rtf but the de facto standard at many places is .doc format. As long as you can save or export to .doc, you’re fine. iWork does that. You may lose some table formatting, etc. so whether you buy Word really depends on the complexity of the documents you’ll be working with. </p>
<p>I’ve had memory fail from OWC but I’ve never had a vendor refuse to take it back and send more. </p>
<p>The online Apple store price is the price. I suggest you configure a computer and see.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>ksabbo, did you get the free printer, too?</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Obviously, go check with the bookstore. Apple does charge tax. Some school stores may not offer the rebates, though. (iPod and Printer)</p>
<p>I didn’t see anything about a free printer. Where did you see that?</p>
<p>Ok, I went back and looked. I actually have a Pixma iP 1600 printer that came with a system I purchased a couple of years ago. It is still brand new in the box and basically has the same specs as the “free” printer. I think I’ll just use the printer I have. I don’t really want to keep storing an extra printer if not necessary.</p>
<p>That works too. Just figured I’d mention it.</p>
<p>Thanks everybody for your help. I purchased the white MacBook with the standard 2GB memory, 320GB hard drive, iwork 09, and microsoft office 08. I also ordered the 4GB memory separate. </p>
<p>I already have a Canon Pixma printer at home so I will just need a cable. In fact there might be one in the box already.</p>
<p>I figured the $50 saved on memory would allow me to splurge a bit more on storage. All I need is a padded sleeve and my daughter will have an awecome graduation gift.</p>
<p>Thanks again!</p>
<p>Not that I can buy this right away, but…in order to purchase a separate monitor and keyboard(?), do they need to be Mac specific?</p>
<p>^ No, any compatible brand will work.</p>
<p>So sorry, but I’m still confused. I tried looking up mac compatible monitors and I’m still unsure how to determine if they are compatible or not. Can anybody suggest a couple of monitors so I can check them out. Then I might be able to figure out what I need to look for.</p>
<p>Thanks again.</p>
<p>I don’t think there’s any modern monitor that won’t work with a Mac. It’ll be very likely that you’ll have to use some sort of an adapter, but all monitors should work.</p>
<p>I have significant experience with both iWork and Microsoft Office, and in my opinion, iWork runs circles around Office. Keynote, in particular, is leaps and bounds above Powerpoint, and is also significantly easier to use.</p>
<p>It is also fully compatible with Office. You can save Pages, Numbers, and Keynotes documents as .doc, .xls, and .ppt respectively before sending them to professors or other classmates who don’t have iWork. And if they send you Office documents, iWork will open them up just as easily.</p>
<p>I also prefer Pages to Word but I had issues with importing / exporting tracked changes. I don’t know if others have had this problem.</p>
<p>I’ve had some formatting issues in opening documents in other programs.</p>
<p>Do MacBooks have built in webcams?</p>
<p>^ Yes, as do iMacs.</p>
<p>ksabbo, the white Macbook has a mini-DVI out port, so you’ll need to buy a converter cable regardless of what monitor you buy (I don’t think any come with a mini-DVI port). Modern monitors use either VGA or DVI (DVI probably more likely now), so you just need a mini-DVI to DVI cable and you should be set.</p>