First time Mac buyer: Buying a 2011 macbook pro or waiting till 2012?

Hey all,
I'm currently a student but I'm graduating in December and my parents said they would help me get a macbook (no time limit on when necessarily). I have been a lifetime Windows user and I still like Windows, but my Toshiba is getting old and really needs to be replaced. Now I know that the new MBP's should be coming out in Feb or something like that. my question is do you think that I should wait to buy it when the new ones come out or should I get one before graduation when I can get my student pricing (only 100 bucks off at most). Also should I go ahead and buy software and other things that I would get the student discount on (MS office, stuff like that)? I'm looking into the 13 MBP, I really want a 15 MBP but its really expensive. My Toshiba from 2007, is a 17in. I love the big screen and full keyboard but it has insanely crappy battery life making it basically a portable desktop.
I definitely will use my MBP for your standard web surfing, word processing, stuff like that. I also will probably start using recording equipment for my MBP, possibly using Logic b/c my school has a nice discount on it. Another side note is I wouldn't mind it being capable of gaming, I haven't had a gaming capable PC in 5-6 years but its definitely not a necessity.
I also want to know what everybody's opinion is on AppleCare, I've heard many different things.
thanks

steve359 wrote:
EXTERNAL DISKS
External disks connect to the MBP through either the Firewire 800 or USB 2.0 conector. Self-powered ones also have a wall plug. The general appearance is a "brick" sitting on the desk next to the computer.
These are bonafide HD disks kept in external enclosures instead of being packed inside the computer.
They are overwhemingly the preferred solution to making backups of your computer. You will find few opinions in this forum to the contrary.
One advantage to using these for backup is that thera are not hard-wired to the main system, so if a power surge takes out the main system, your "backups" are safe because they are usually disconnected when the surge hits.
Another advantage is that you have *yet another* copy of the contents of your startup disk.
Another advantage is that typically the HD inside the enclosure typically dies, not the cable connectors or HD interface in the box. So when the HD in the enclosure dies (all HD die eventually), you can sometimes re-use the enclosure by placing a new HD.
macsales.com is a website that has tested parts and peieces for "Mac compatibility". Prices are nice too.
If you ask for recommenations of EHD (external hard disks), please state your budget becuse they can be as cheap as $60 or more expensive than $250. USB 2.0 is the slowest external interface. Firewire 800 is twice as fast as USB .
DISPLAY ADAPTERS
Yes, Thunderbolt port, using mini-display-to-? (you fill in ? with VGA or DVI or HDMI). MiniDVI is for oldermodels, but looks deceptively like MiniDisplay -- be careful.
guess i'm behind on the tech lingo, I already have 3 different external HDD's totallying almost 3 gigs so I'm doing fine in that field (just got to change them to FAT32. And as for the external display I'm not sure what I'm going to do that field...

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First time Mac buyer, 2.93GHz or 3.06GHz??

So I’m a first time Mac buyer, well soon will be and my question is this. Will I notice that much of a difference between the 2.93GHz NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 256MB and 3.06GHz NVIDIA GeForce GT 130 512MB configurations? I went to my local Apple store but they didn’t have both models on display, just the 2.93 one, which I really loved. I don’t plan on doing any major video editing, heck I don’t even currently own a camcorder but in the future I’d like to get one and do my own home videos. But for the time being all I use my current computer for is music, photos, web browsing, etc. On my current computer despite having Photoshop I almost never use it because of how slow it is, so that is probably the closest thing to any type of editing I do. I also watch a lot of video on my current one as well, like the HD trailers on apple.com and YouTube a lot. The current computer I have can’t handle 1080p at all but is ok with 720p, but I’ve seen that even the 2.93 iMac handles it perfectly. I guess my main concern is that I don’t want to go with the 2.93 iMac and then in a few months time feel like I made the wrong choice, but I also don’t really feel that I “need” all the power that comes with the 3.06 GHz model either. Any suggestions?

dwb wrote:
As a user sitting at the computer you are unlikely to notice any difference. (The avid 3D gamer might but then why is the avid 3D gamer sitting at a Mac?) Where you would notice it is in the speed with which the gamer renders a 3D graphic or prepares a video DVD for burning. Even so, the difference would be measured mostly in minutes, at best 10s of minutes for what would likely be an all day or overnight job.
You are incorrect. Preparing a video for DVD has nothing to do with graphics. That would be all CPU crunching, and you are not going to notice any difference between 2.93 and 3.06, except for maybe a few seconds, not minutes. The difference in graphics options might have a difference in frame rate of games, but not obvious in video playback.
Here are the numbers: 3.06 GHz first, then 2.93 GHz
Photoshop: 39 seconds vs. 41 seconds.
Cinema 4D Render: 41 seconds vs 43 seconds
Compressor MPEG Encode: 1:25 vs 1:27
iMovie HD Aged Effect: 37 seconds vs 38 seconds
Quake 4 Frame Rate: 85.6 frames per second vs 81.7 frames per second
Call of Duty 4 Frame Rate: 73.7 frames per second vs 66.4 frames per second (the winner of that test was the iMac (2008) 2.8 GHz model at 78.3 frames per second with the ATI 2600 HD graphics
So most of the tests have a difference of 2 seconds. Even the graphics frame rates were less than a 10 frame per second difference, and one test was outdone by last year's iMac 24". So you are better off saving the money because a 2 second difference isn't worth it or even noticable.

I want to buy a 2011 Macbook Pro 17"

I want to buy a 2011 Macbook Pro 17". I've seen a lot of new 2011 Macbook Pro 17" with 500GBSSD drives posted on Ebay. My question is did Apple sell them with internal SSD drives in them? If so, what were the storage capacities. I need 500GB. Were they good drives? Thanks, John

OGELTHORPE wrote:
The late 2011 is superior to the early 2011.
Slightly.
The late 2011 has a faster CPU and improved GPU
The CPU is slightly faster, the GPU is the same.
It can also run Snow Leopard
Right, but I have to Firewire Target Disk mode it from another 10.6 compatible Mac to get past the firmware block.
It won't boot the 10.6.6 or 10.6.7 install disks like the Early 2011's can.
if you make a Lion/Mt. Lion thumb drive you achieve the same freedom from the Internet and Apple servers as OS disks.
Yes, but the Lions are total crap.
I'm going to use some combination of 10.6 and Windows 7 until this Early 2011 dies, then make a decision then.
Windows 7 will get support until 2020, so that's 7 years.

First time wipe and reinstall on a MacBook Pro

Hi everyone...
I have a 2007 MBP and the day has finally come to reinstall and start over. The system has become to unstable lately and I need to start from scratch.
I am running 10.7.5 (the latest I can, given how old my Mac is) and have backed up everything to Time Machine as well as Crash Plan.
My question is how do I only reimport certain things, not do a full restore from backup after I am done? I want to reinstall and have a clean, fresh install, then import my iPhoto and iTunes libraries (and maybe one or two other things). Can someone point me in the right direction for this?
Thanks!

Did your MBP come with installation discs? If so, boot from the install disk, use Disk Utility to erase and partition your internal drive and re-install the OS that came with your computer.
Clinton

How do I install OSX Lion that shipped with my 2011 Mac Mini onto my 2011 Macbook Pro

Reading the documentation for OSX Lion suggests that it is a multi-device lisence OS and that it should appear in my App Store as purchased Apps, but I don't see it.

If you purchased Lion through the App Store it should appear there and be downloadable / installable on all of your compatible Macs, this is the only way to install it on all of your Macs as far as I am aware. It is just £25 so not a big deal to purchase, but I would wait for Mountain Lion now. I don't think the pre-installed Mac OS appears as a purchase in the App Store, though it would be nice if it did as technically you purchased the licence for it when you purchased your Mac (though perhaps a slightly different licence?)

I have just opened my brand new Macbook Pro and I'm a first time mac user. I have tried to download flash to enable me to watch you tube clips, but on trying to download it, it says I need to close Safari but after doing so, it still won't respond.

I have just opened my brand new Macbook Pro and I'm a first time mac user. I have tried to download flash to enable me to watch youtube clips, but on trying to download it, it says I need to close Safari but after doing so, it still won't respond. Any tips? Help?

Actually you need to quit Safari which is different from closing. With Safari open go the menu bar for Safari/Quit Safari.
Mac 101: Get Started Using A Mac

Early 2011 MacBook Pro - Pristine Condition - should I buy?

I'm a PC user -- not a conscious decision, just what I started and stuck with because it was easier. I've always salivated at the thought of having a Mac, but it was always cost-prohibitive.
HOWEVER, I' have the opportunity now to buy an early 2011 MacBook Pro -- standard 4GB RAM, 500 HD, non-retina, you MAC users know the specs without me spelling it out. This machine is in pristine condition -- they barely used it. Literally not a scratch on it. I took it for a diagnostic at a local computer repair store and they verified the battery and hard drive were in supreme condition. The seller was originally asking $750, but because she knows me she's willing to come down to my budget of $600. I've checked eBay selling prices and this seems fair especially considering the condition, but I thought I'd check with you experts first. My other real question is, I'm a photographer and would like to use this machine mainly for programs like Photoshop and the rest of the Adobe suite of products -- what kind of upgrades would I have to make to the machine so that those programs would run smoothly? The first things someone suggested was upgrading to 16GB of RAM -- that's an extra $200 right there. Would it be better to look for a newer machine?
Thanks in advance.

Well I ran it here:
http://www.mac2sell.net/
Your Computer is a
MacBook Pro unibody 15 inch Intel Quad Core i7 2.00 GHz 4096 / 250 GB / superdrive
The Mac2Sell Quoted Valueis :
870 $
So if it is indeed a 2012 then that's a great deal. Did you verify that it is a 2012? Because there are issues with the 2011s. You can run the serial number here and verify the year:
http://www.chipmunk.nl/klantenservice/applemodel.html
I would at least bump the RAM to 8 GB and install an SSD from OWC:
http://eshop.macsales.com/owcpages/ssd-bootest-mbp-101112.html

Replacing my HDD in my Early 2011 Macbook Pro...Trying to decide between Samsung 840 EVO 250 gb and Crucial M500 240 gb. Samsung is faster but less "mac-friendly". Should I opt for the Crucial due to the "mac-friendliness"?

I have a S.M.A.R.T error on my current Hitachi drive that came with me Early 2011 Macbook pro. Want to upgrade to SSD.
Trying to decide between Samsung 840 EVO 250gb and Crucial M500 240gb, at this gb range, the Samsung is faster and uses less wattage....ONE PROBLEM...I have read many user experiences that note it is much less mac-friendly...
The software samsung offers is not IOS compatible and some report lower than expected speeds after installation...Also apparently the RAPID MODE of the drive, the fastest drive mode is nonexistant when installed on a Macbook pro?
Should I opt for the slower and more power cosuming Crucial M500 240gb SSD because it is more Mac-friendly? Does anyone have a Samsung 840 EVO 250 gb SSD installed in their macbook pro? What has been your experience?
Thanks ahead of time!
Resoure: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/crucial-m500-1tb-ssd,3551.html

I decided against the Evo as there are too many Mac users that have had issues with slow speed on them. Even without these, the main speed that Samsung states for the Evo comes form turbo Write which is a PC only feature as is software dependent.
I'm sorry but Crucials M500 is simply too slow compared to modern drives to be recomended. Read speed is ok, but the write is far too slow for the price.
I've used and installed both a Samsung 840 basic and a Samsung 840 Pro in 2 separate Mac books! and currently have the 840 Pro in my own MacBook Pro and it comes very highly recomended. It's all but the fastest Sata III drive you can buy - A few OCZ drives just edge it but the difference is negligible. Samsung by far have the best reliability though when it comes to SSD's. I've been getting 520Mb/s easily on mine consistently, and without getting a MacBook with a PCIe drive you won't get a faster more reliable drive.
I really would recommend nothing else.

I am having trouble uploading an Aperture photographic book to Apple. The first time I tried "Buy Book" the order proceeded normally but when it came to uploading the book to Apple it "uploaded" for six hours without going through so I aborted the attempt

I am having trouble uploading anAperture photographic book to Apple. The first time I tried “Buy Book” theorder proceeded normally but when it came to uploading the book to Apple it"uploaded" for six hours without going through so I aborted theattempt and cancelled the order.
The second time I tried the samething happened so after nine hours I found that the "Quit Aperture"button had greyed out so I had to Force Quit. I do not know if the order wascancelled but I do not think that the upload was successful.
What can I do about this problem?

I also am not able to print a book. I have Aperture on two Mac, MacBook Pro (current) and a MacPro - both printed books prior to update 3.1.3 now all I get is the spinning ball then I have to Force Quit. I tried books I have ordered in the past (trying to print a new book) and they also failed. This is not a picture problem but a problem with 3.1.3 update. I would like to print some more books and give Apple some money but can't.
Any suggestions?
Ken

I am going to buy a new macbook pro..but i am new to mac..so i have one question...does mac os supports "java,mainframe,dot net...and etc developer programs..."....??? thanx in advance....:)

thanx

mohan2see wrote:
oh thanx for the reply....actually i was worked in information technology sector company...i worked on java and mainframe platform....so if i buy an apple macbook pro and if it doesn't supports those developer programs i need to buy an pc......so i need to be confirmed....if u know abt this please explain me detailed...thanx again...:)
Are you being serious?
If you've done any programming in Java then I'd really have hoped you already realised it is a platform independent programming language, that was Sun's original intention when they created it , to be able to run compiled code on any Java Virtual Machine regardless of the platform:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Java_%28programming_language%29
And as for "dot net" - do you not realise that this is purely a MS Windows development framework?!!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.NET_Framework
Just to be clear, (and I realise I'm being picky here, given that English isn't likely to be your first language), they are not "developer programs", they are programming languages or frameworks.
And for further clarification, the Mac operating system does support Java development, and does not support .Net (unless you install Windows on it!)
I can't comment on the 'mainframe' bit you're referring to without more detail.

I have a late 2011 macbook pro i want to reinstall os lion 10.7 so when i reboot hold down options key click on recovery hd then in the os x utilities screen it says reinstall mac os x is there any way i can save this download so i can burn to dvd

i have a late 2011 macbook pro i want to reinstall os lion 10.7 so when i reboot hold down options key click on recovery hd then in the os x utilities screen it says reinstall mac os x is there any way i can save this download so i can burn to dvd

steve359 wrote:
Sorry ... I read but was unfortunately distracted from your original post. You have a system that came with Lion. The Lion that is on your system is only for your computer and cannot be downloaded from the app store again because you never purchased it officially through the App Store.
Try this for making an external USB/DVD copy of Recovery on an external disk. internet is still required for reinstall, though, I believe: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4848. But at least you have a separate Recovery Partition if you ever need a fully new and empty internal disk.
Your assumption is incorrect. Although he may not be able to download it from the App store he can download it directly for the Apple servers using the recovery partition on his original drive.
All you have to do is start the install routine and then point the install to an external hard drive. Once the download is finished the computer will reboot to start the install. At that reboot disconnect the external drive so the install can not start. Boot the computer back into the OS on the internal hard drive, which is what will happen automatically once the external drive is disconnected. Then connect the external and copy the files from it that were downloaded. Right click on that downloaded package file and select Show contents. In the contents of that package is a file called InstallESD.DMG. Copy that file out of the package and burn it down to a DVD or USB thumb drive and you now have the Full Lion Installer. I have several of them laying around on different hard drives and 2 USB thumb drives which I have used to reinstall Lion on my 15" MBP.
Sorry OP I should of just typed this out in my first post.

I am a first time Mac user. how do i get windows.

I am a first time Mac user. how do i get windows.I am student; can I avail of a discount should I need to buy any packages

Yes
see
http://store.apple.com/uk/browse/home/education_routing
dont forget to select the correct countrywhen page opens

There is a problem in updating iphoto and iMovie, read a response here from a certain Dahveed if I'm not wrong to try this, however I'm a first time mac user, how do you delete this ... /Mac HD/Library/Caches/com.apple.appstore/adoption.plist

There is a problem in updating iphoto and iMovie, read a response here from a certain Dahveed if I'm not wrong to try this, however I'm a first time mac user, how do you delete this ... /Mac HD/Library/Caches/com.apple.appstore/adoption.plist

It says 'To update this application, sign in to the account you used to purchase it.'
However I only have one account. I've tried to sign out and in several times. But it doesn't work. I do remember changing my password recently. Secondly I'd like to add that I got this macbook air 3 days ago. I'm a first time mac user. It had three updates initially. Mountain lion 10.8.2, iphoto and the imovie. I updated the mountain lion, thinking I'd get the iphoto and imovie done later. However now this problem has come up. Thanks for responding. Hoping to hear from you soon again regarding this.

LOST IN THE NUMBERS? FIRST TIME HOME BUYER HELP!!!!!

Alright Fico family, i am here for assistance as a first time home buyer. I have been preparing for this day for like 2 years now and i want to make sure i have everything close to ready. In August, i plan on starting the home buying process and i am here to find out if i will qualify or what i need to do to make my chances a lot better than it could be. Below is my portfolio. Downpayment: I have $6000 saved up now and plan on adding to it until i close on the house so it might be more, but right now 6k is on standby for the downpayment on the house Income: $40,371 and i will have been at my job for 2 years in August Credit Score(Not the mortage score but it is Fico): Experian 681 Transunion: 667 Equifax: 688 I plan on pulling the mortgage scores when i am ready to sit down with a lender. Wise or not? I have only one collection on my transunion for $150. I been trying to get it off my name but no luck and i refuse to pay it. Now will this hurt me as far as the mortgage, or i can not worry about it since it is small? Monthly Debt:
Car Loan: $13,665 at 3.94% $265 monthly Student Loan: 40,000 which is defered till April of 2016 Amex: $6000 CL with $2000 Balance Chase: $1000 CL with $600 Balance Discover: $1500 CL with $500 Balance NASA FCU: $4000 CL with $1500 Balance Buckle: $1850 CL with $0 Balance Finger Hut: $1300 with $0 Balance Walmart: $3500 CL with $900 Balance HH Gregg: $4000 CL with $1100 Balance Wow, writing this out really made me realize i have too many balances, like i knew it before but it just hit me. This is where i will need some advice. I plan on putting aside about $1500-$2000 to pay off some of these cards so i can be in a better position once the credit is pulled. Which should i pay? i am thinking Chase, Discover and possible pay down Walmart. I plan on not using the credit cards until after the house is purchased. Assets: I have about 5k in 401K for my company, but i dont plan on touching that. Location: Atlanta, GA Property: I am thinking a condo or single family house. I would like to get something i can later on either rent or flip and sell later on in life. Just using the calculator on Zillow, it seems i might be able to afford the most 125K worth of house I am thinking FHA loan will be my best bet, but i wanted to know if there is a possiblity for FHA loan to use a fix up a fixer upper. I think i have provided everything i have read will be needed to find out if i can qualify. Please Fico Family your assistance will be greatly appreciated because i think i have done too much research and lost my self in it lol if that makes sense, and the numbers are starting to confuse me. Thank you

1) ...need to think about where you intend to buy ...if in rural area around Atlanta, USDA is much more advantageous than FHA in most cases, check the USDA site for property eligibility map+ ...you might be surprised at what is considered rural2) ...your income is low enough to qualify for most state/county down payment/closing cost assistance programs ...also the USDA Direct program ...don't overlook these programs ...most will provide several k in assistance and most are either grants or forgiven if you live there for long enough3) ...do your homework on the student loan payments ...there are substantial changes on going that may force the lender to use 1 or 2% of your SL total debt as a monthly payment in your dtir calculations whether or not they are deferred or IBR ...the payment your SL lender requires may well not be what your mortgage lender will use depending on the program4) fico appears to weigh cc utilization in tiers ...50/30/10 being widely claimed as breakpoints in the scoring ...thus I would pay down all debts to 50% first, then 30%, then 10%, then zero on all but one cc account ...that will result in the fastest fico 8 score rise ...the problem with that strategy is that the dtir calculations will use every cc with a balance owing at the minimum payment reported ...and that can sink your dtir despite a rising fico score ...you need to figure out which payment strategy serves you best ...in your situation, I'd not worry about cc interest charges right now ...focus on what gets you to a mortgage. 5) the TU debt only matters if it is recent ...fico weighs paid/unpaid the same ...some lender overlays may require you to pay it but most will not6) ...pull your fico mortgage scores now ...its $40 well spent to know where you really stand ...differences of 50 points +/- are all too common depending on whats in your individual file ...no use in waging a battle that you don't need to fight ...as always, ymmv ...hth

First time Powerbook Buyer

I am a first time user/buyer of a Powerbook G4 12".
I hear Mac are very sturdy and dependable. Am I going the right way?
Planning on using mostly on trips for email, music, dvd movies.
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ExRoc

Thanks for the info.
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Are Powerbooks more expensive to repair than other windows based notebooks?

First time Mac buyer: Buying a 2011 macbook pro or waiting till 2012?

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