OT: I need advice on buying a Mac

[CL82]

My daughter is going off to college and wants a Mac. Is there anything in particular that I should look for in specs or models?

I appreciate any advice. I'm not an Apple guy.

 

[Fishy]

The 13" MacBook Pro without the touch bar is probably fine for her - it'll take her through the four years.

 

[8893]

We are doing the same. Apparently there are some new models coming out this summer? Mother-in-law has generously offered to buy her the latest and greatest as her graduation present, so we're waiting a month or so; and I believe there are college student discounts, as well.

Congrats, CL. Exciting times. Ours just graduated on Monday and we just got back from her summer orientation Friday night; and moments ago I just booked her train tickets home for Thanksgiving break (upon realizing during this trip how much timing affect the cost of Amtrak tickets)!. Quite a roller coaster.

 

[Brett95]

We are doing the same. Apparently there are some new models coming out this summer? Mother-in-law has generously offered to buy her the latest and greatest as her graduation present, so we're waiting a month or so; and I believe there are college student discounts, as well.

Congrats, CL. Exciting times. Ours just graduated on Monday and we just got back from her summer orientation Friday night; and moments ago I just booked her train tickets home for Thanksgiving break (upon realizing during this trip how much timing affect the cost of Amtrak tickets)!. Quite a roller coaster.

No need to wait, new models have already been introduced a couple of weeks ago. My daughter going of to college too and probably going to go with the 13" Macbook Pro too, like above.

 

[8893]

No need to wait, new models have already been introduced a couple of weeks ago. My daughter going of to college too and probably going to go with the 13" Macbook Pro too, like above.

Thanks. I went and checked after I posted and just realized that. The last few weeks have been a blur...

 

[CL82]

We are doing the same. Apparently there are some new models coming out this summer? Mother-in-law has generously offered to buy her the latest and greatest as her graduation present, so we're waiting a month or so; and I believe there are college student discounts, as well.

Congrats, CL. Exciting times. Ours just graduated on Monday and we just got back from her summer orientation Friday night; and moments ago I just booked her train tickets home for Thanksgiving break (upon realizing during this trip how much timing affect the cost of Amtrak tickets)!. Quite a roller coaster.

Congrats to you and daughter as well! Yep it's a fun time for the kids and for us as parents. Graduation was last and orientation is next week. We are in the mist of grad parties now. I remember a lot of the kids from middle school up and some of them from pre-K. It is pretty cool to see the young men and women they are becoming.

 

[the Q]

Best advixe: don't.

Especially if you haven't been a Mac family before.

Expensive and laughably overrated.

 

[CL82]

Best advixe: don't.

Especially if you haven't been a Mac family before.

Expensive and laughably overrated.

I'm not a fan, but my kids are.

 

[intlzncster]

I'm not a fan, but my kids are.

I'm nonplussed about them (would have no problem using one, but choose not to). But yeah, the kids love em. And if they have an iphone, easy integration makes it a slam dunk. And tons of college campuses are Apple, so that syncs up as well.

 

[fatlucy]

I switched to Mac three years ago and I love it. I have the former Macbook 13" and its awesome. The display is amazing, the keyboard is great and the thing works like a charm. I run large excel files, word, videos, games you name it, no problem. I carry it in an Ipad case, its so compact. Its never so much as hiccuped. No problems at all. I was on PC for 20 years before that with constant problems. One thing I like to do is plug into a really large screen when I'm deep into excel work.

 

[ShakyTheMohel]

I switched to Mac three years ago and I love it. I have the former Macbook 13" and its awesome. The display is amazing, the keyboard is great and the thing works like a charm. I run large excel files, word, videos, games you name it, no problem. I carry it in an Ipad case, its so compact. Its never so much as hiccuped. No problems at all. I was on PC for 20 years before that with constant problems. One thing I like to do is plug into a really large screen when I'm deep into excel work.

I agree with this. Once I switched to Mac, I stopped swapping out my laptop every year due to issues.

 

[Doctor Hoop]

I'm nonplussed about them (would have no problem using one, but choose not to). But yeah, the kids love em. And if they have an iphone, easy integration makes it a slam dunk. And tons of college campuses are Apple, so that syncs up as well.

This is sort of non-responsive. I like the easy integration, too ... which is why I actually have a Windows phone. There aren't many of us, "The few, the proud," etc. It syncs everything with my desktop, my Surface at work, and my traveling HP Elite laptop. I've had an iPhone in the past, and hated the iCloud, love OneDrive. Also, Apple screwed up text messaging, so that since I once had an iPhone, anyone in my contacts that has one, has previously sent me texts when I did, and that doesn't modify their settings for SMG has trouble sending me texts, and I get blamed. All the rest of my house drank the Apple Kool-Aid, however, so I'm considered a total weirdo.

 

[sledog]

Go WinTel, and educate your kid on perception vs reality.

 

[8893]

My daughter is going off to college.

Best advice: Don't.

Expensive and laughably overrated.

 

[CTMike]

Best advixe: don't.

Especially if you haven't been a Mac family before.

Expensive and laughably overrated.

Nothing like unbiased advice!

 

[Vancat]

There's a reason they cost more.

 

[temery]

You're going to spend a couple hundred grand on college. Drop another two grand and buy her the laptop she wants.

 

[the Q]

There's a reason they cost more.

Great marketing and branding.

Not technology.

 

[c29328]

I went to their refurb site and got one there. Saved $400 plus and got the regular warranties. My kid needed a mac for design stuff. I was happy enough. Got 3 plus years and then he broke it. Dumb A**.

 

[the Q]

Nothing like unbiased advice!

I owned a PC laptop until thanksgiving 2016 and I still use a PC at work.

I have used both.

I don't see what the big deal is, or why it's 3x the price. It's just not a great value.

 

[intlzncster]

There's a reason they cost more.

At this point: Status symbol. They used to be at the forefront of tech, but now others have caught up, and even surpassed in a number of areas.

No knock on Apple mind you. The build quality is still excellent.

If you think 'cost more = better', I've got a ton of stuff to sell you.

 

[temery]

Great marketing and branding.

Not technology.

Every PC I've owned was a pain to maintain. My Macs have been trouble free. A greater learning curve, yes. But far fewer problems.

 

[August_West]

There's a reason they cost more.

That's just stupid. The reason they cost more is marketing and design. And Im not against Apple. I own them and have bought my high school daughter 2 of them in the last 8 months. But "the reason they cost more" yeah, no.

 

[the Q]

Every PC I've own was a pain to maintain. My Macs have been trouble free. A greater learning curve, yes. But far fewer problems.

Yeah, I can understand that. I could even get paying a little more for that inconvenience, but 3x is a hard sell in terms of value.

 

[TRest]

Every PC I've own was a pain to maintain. My Macs have been trouble free. A greater learning curve, yes. But far fewer problems.

We are well into year 6 on the last iMac desktop I bought, the previous one lasted 5 plus before the hardware could no longer keep up with newer software demands. Never had a problem that I couldn't work out on my own.