The light bulb in the post title signifies my good idea, I hope.

And, yes, the TV ads are hilarious.

So here's the deal. My wife surprised me the other day with a request for a MacBook and a home wireless network. Currently we share a Dell 4600 desktop with dial-up internet. Regarding the availability of broadband, I'm hoping that DSL had made it out to my rural area. If not, we're looking at satellite, which is expensive and not that fast, apparently. But that's another topic.

The main reason for this post (other than hoping for some cool points from my Mac-using friends) is to ask for advice as I purchase the MacBook. I anticipate that we will share this computer for the usual purposes: of web browsing, minor word processing, CD and DVD burning - photo CDs, DVDs of our camcorder tapes, music CDs, etc. Later we might get a second MacBook, maybe an Air, which would be cool to take on business trips.

Questions:

1) Any advantage of buying at an Apple retail store vs Best Buy vs Apple.com? The nearest Apple retail store is 60 miles away. Worst Buy is 10 miles.

2) How do you guys like iLife? I imagine it will suffice for a n00b like me, but should I consider pre-installing any of the fancier software they offer for video editing?

Any and all advice is appreciated.

If you buy through Apple.com you can customize your computer with extra memory, RAM, rocket launchers, and stuff. I don't know if Best Buy does that or not.

I bought my first Mac laptop at CompUSA, and then my Mac Mini through Apple.com. I was worried about shipping damage and rough handling, but it made it through okay.

I've never used iLife.

Will this be your first Mac?

I would use the Apple online store, although if you're somewhat tech savvy, don't buy RAM from them. You'll probably want to up the hard drive size from the default, with all that stuff.

As far as the iLife stuff goes, it's all pretty good from what I hear. I only use iPhoto and iTunes, but those work well. It depends on how heavy a video editing load you're going for. I'd say give iMovie a shot for now; if it's not enough, get Final Cut Express later.

Nah, back in the day I used Macs all the time. From 1986-1990 as an undergrad, they're all I wrote my papers on. Behold the behemoth Mac Plus:



Processor: Motorola 68000 processor running at 8 MHz
Memory: 1 MB of RAM, 128k ROM
Drives: a Sony 800k 3.5" drive, 20 MB hard drive
Display: built-in 9-inch diagonal, 512 by 342-pixel monochrome bitmapped display.

All this for $2599! In 1986 dollars, no less!

iPhoto and iTunes have been great, so far. Is iMovie part of the standard software package? I've never had a call to use it and can't remember if I've seen the icon for it.

That takes me back to my Jr. High computer science course. All the cool kids worked on the Commodores. A lot of good that knowledge is doing for me now. . .

I should have thrown my lot in with the Apple geeks.

The Commode-ore? How about the Radio Shack Trash-80?

Back in high school all the computer nerds were on the Apple IIe. We - uh, I mean they - played the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and Santa Paravia. We also talked to DR. ELIZA.

10 print "Sean Rulez!"
20 go to 10



I wrote many such masterful programs.

No wonder you have attained your current position!

iLife (iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD, iWeb, and Garage Band) will cover the majority of your digital lifestyle needs (sorry for the cliche term). I've made about 10 DVDs so far consisting of minimally edited footage of the kids and it's incredibly easy to do.

I would purchase via the Apple online store.

Hey, thanks for all the fast advice, guys.

Will let you know how everything works out.

You'll be getting your Apple Member's Only jacket in the mail.

Welcome! *does secret handshake*

How hard would it be to install RAM in a MacBook compared to my Dell? Just wondering. I was able to install a new DVD-R in the Dell a while back, after some trepidation.

How white can a man get? Behold!!!

Very easy. Pop out the battery, unscrew 2 teeeeeny tiny screws, pull tabs, eject old ram, push in new ram, screw in 2 teeeeeeeny tiny screws, reinstall battery.

Thanks, Ken, I can do that. So aftermarket RAM is sufficiently reliable and cheap, I take it.

If you guys say screw and ram one more time, I'm telling your parents.

10 PRINT "Screw, screw, screw, RAM, RAM, RAM, Sean sux!!!"
20 GOTO 10

I would go for Crucial RAM. I've never had a problem with them, they're relatively inexpensive, have a good website, and make quality ram.


screw screw ram ram ram

That reminds me of a story. I'll have to relay it to you guys on my lunch break.

Looks good, for 2x2GB, $104 vs the $200 upgrade charge at apple.com

Them's good RAM.

RAM.

bingo.

Although OtherWorldComputing may also be competitive. They're pretty good, too.

Wait, Apple's offering 4GB of ram for $200 now? They seriously improved their prices! 4GB used to be like $1000.

Here's a screencap:



For the upgrade from 2GB to 4GB, +$200, from 1GB to 4GB, +$300.

So, about $100 per GB, whereas at Crucial.com, 4GB = $104 or $26 per GB.

In a feeble attempt to get back to the subject , take a closer look at the apple.com home page. Click on "Store" and look in the lower left corner andf you will find a link to Refurbished Mac. Sometimes some pretty good deals.

They also have an education store that will give you a discount if you have a student, teacher or administrator in the family.

Hi,

I got Buffalo Techworks RAM for my MacBook Pro from NCIX.com, great stuff too if you're looking for an alternative other than Crucial at the same price. Their Techworks brand is labelled as "Apple RAM", tested and compatible with Mac hardware.

On the MacBook, you can also easily replace the hard drive by yourself. So if you want to buy your own 2.5" drive, let's say a bigger and faster 7,200 RPM drive, you can go ahead and follow the guide provided by Apple here :

http://manuals.info.apple.com/en/MacBook_13inch_HardDrive_DIY.pdf

The online Apple store is your best bet, and if someone in your family is a student (K-12, College or University) make sure you buy from the educational store, you'll get a 100$ discount on the MacBook and a free iPod.

Enjoy your new Mac!

Yes to all the above. Personally,I live in a 2 computer world. My wife and I are a mixed marriage - She's a little bit Mac, I'm a little bit PC - to borrow a line from Donnie and Marie. OK, more like a lot than a little. Our current setup is an iMac as the base station which is host to the printer and the N-1 router. I do most of my work on a HP laptop via wireless. We also have an iBook that makes the rounds thru the family.

Because of my lack of experience with Macs, and my laziness with other things (like starting a photobucket account), I upload pictures via our iMac account and website, then use my PC to insert the photo's URL - all because I haven't learned how to do it all with the Mac.

Other than that I think I lean toward Mac. Much more intuitive.

Scott

Wait wait wait. You use the iMac to upload the photos, and then go back to your HP to post on the forum? You know, web browsers pretty much work the same on any computer.

Yep. Old dog, new tricks sort of thing. I'm sure it's me, but I can't figure out the matching key strokes on the Mac for identifying the proper url link. Right-click on the photo then properties then cut and paste the url on the HP works for me and doesn't give me the correct url when I try the matching strokes on the Mac.
I've got a Mac guru coming in this weekend and I will get a private lesson on the finer points of Mac utility.

Scott

Right-click on the photo or link and "Copy image address". Use clover-v or Edit->Paste to paste.

I have gone through several gens of the Intel Macbooks and Mac Minis.

I would go for the most internal RAM you can, at least 2 GB. The HDD is "relatively" easy to change.

I used to say buy white. But if you use it a lot and it gets moved around, get the black one. Mine is filthy and there's really no easy way to keep it pristinely white.

Also, if you know anyone that is a university student or staff/faculty, outside of an employee discount, that'd be your best pricing. Online purchase is fine, since delivery is free. I'd consider the Apple Care program if you're not comfortable doing you're own repair. But that makes more sense if it's easy for you to get to an Apple store.

Thanks! I am trying to figure out why similarly equipped white and black ones have a $100 difference (white is cheaper).

Because people want black laptops, and they'll pay extra for them.

And all this time I thought it was to recoup the cost of the labor involved in milking squids for their ink.

When fishing with live squid, rule number one is to always point the business end toward your friend.

Didn't The Milking Squids make a chart-busting sex tape with the Queefing Kazoos?

speaking of fishing... (see below)

I don't know, but I bet CV has the scratch-and-sniff companion booklet to prove it.

Peter's use of "below" now takes on a while new meaning ...

*sniff*

Is it just me, or have the boards evolved into Sean, Peter, Ken, and I sitting around and trying to crack each other up?

I don't know, but I bet we all have the deafening silence from the other board members to prove it.

ROTFLMAO!

Well, maybe you three are cracking up. I'm being *snrf* dis-*snrk*-gu-*chee*st-

Bwaaaahahahahahaha!

ed.

I do have to say that not much smells worse than squid meat kept for bait in a cooler in Baja Mexico during the summer for about 8 days. Especially when the bag leaks into the ice water in the cooler, when then transmits the smell onto ones orange juice bottles.

Not that I speak from personal experience.







Wait, was I supposed to be funny?

Anybody else think that if Ken's avatar were a full body shot of Bert, we'd see him in a straightjacket?

I don't know, but I bet Charles has the scratched walls to prove it!

That's not doing anything for me. One demerit.

Maybe I'll stick to being the straight man. Every team needs a Zeppo, no? Well, except for the Marx brothers...

I prefer to kick it old school and use flint and steel.

*chuckle*

So is Peter Severus Snape or someone else from the Harry Potter world? Maybe Harry Potter can be one of our monthly things.

And Ken's avatar continues to be perfect. Every time I read his punch line and look at the avatar of Bert, the combo cracks me up even more.

Zeppo, Zippo.

I get jokes.

I just hope someone's keeping a list of all of my proofs.

I don't know, but I'm sure Amie has the reams of paper to prove it!

Update: pulled the trigger and bought the MacBook this AM via the online store. Got the 13" black MacBook with iLife '08, iWork '08, and the modem adapter for use until we get high-speed internet. Also got a nice-looking carrying case. With express shipping, it should be here early-mid next week.

Will keep you posted as to the wife's review!

Sweet! If you have any questions about it once it arrives, you know where to find me.

Yeah, but as we know, the trick will be actually setting a time to meet up.

Maybe by the time our kids are in high school ...

Bump - I'm tracking the progress of my wife's MacBook on the FedEx site. At noon today, it boarded a plane in Shanghai. Go MacBook, go!

They shipped the carrying case separately, from California. It's in Virginia (Richmond area).

I made sure to tell my wife this so that she won't get disappointed with the lack of a computer in the first delivery.

Funny, my carrying case disappeared from my closet this weekend. Hmmmm. . .

* vortex sucking sound *

Maybe you rubbed some Herpex on the case and it 'ported away?

If you rub herpex on your port(s), you'll never need a bathroom again.

That would make me fear allergy season. A lot.