[TribeLeader]

I've been researching my first Mac purchase (I'm a switcher), and have some last minute questions. (I will be an Educational buyer.)

• We'll purchasing through Apple's Educational Store delay my order at all? (I'm buying a mostly stock 15" PB.)

• Do you recommend purchasing AppleCare? (I think the Educational price is $239.)

• Both my wife and I are planning on buying PBs (both advanced degree students) and want to share a printer and an Internet connection through Airport Extreme. I assume we will both be able to be online at the same time with a dial-up connection, right? I believe there's some fine print on Apple's website that says this may not be compatible with all ISPs. What exactly does that mean? How do I find out if my ISP is "compatible"?

• Do you recommend subscribing to .Mac? (special $69.95, then 99.95/year right?) Why or why not?

• Is Panther coming pre-loaded yet? At Apple.com store, it still lists Jaguar as the OS.

• Based on what I've read on this forum, anti-virus software is not neccesary, right? I will be using Office X. I read that as long as I turn off macros, I should be okay. Also, my e-mail service has excellent virus blocking.

Thanks in advance!

[///Milien]

Originally posted by TribeLeader:
I've been researching my first Mac purchase (I'm a switcher), and have some last minute questions. (I will be an Educational buyer.)

• We'll purchasing through Apple's Educational Store delay my order at all? (I'm buying a mostly stock 15" PB.)

• Do you recommend purchasing AppleCare? (I think the Educational price is $239.)

• Both my wife and I are planning on buying PBs (both advanced degree students) and want to share a printer and an Internet connection through Airport Extreme. I assume we will both be able to be online at the same time with a dial-up connection, right? I believe there's some fine print on Apple's website that says this may not be compatible with all ISPs. What exactly does that mean? How do I find out if my ISP is "compatible"?

• Do you recommend subscribing to .Mac? (special $69.95, then 99.95/year right?) Why or why not?

• Is Panther coming pre-loaded yet? At Apple.com store, it still lists Jaguar as the OS.

• Based on what I've read on this forum, anti-virus software is not neccesary, right? I will be using Office X. I read that as long as I turn off macros, I should be okay. Also, my e-mail service has excellent virus blocking.

Thanks in advance!

If you don't want to take out a separate insurance policy, then definitely Applecare. I went with a separate insurance policy that covers not only damage, but also theft. Applecare does NOT cover theft.

AirPort Extreme - if you get the higher price model, then you will have a modem output in case you need dial-up service. Both you and your wife can connect using AirPort Extreme. I have 4 Macs at home connecting on AirPort Exterme. I use Cox for my broadband connection and it works fine.

.Mac - some people think it's not worth the $99, but I am a subscriber and love the service. You get a variety of software including antivirus, backup, etc. that you may find useful. I like the integration of iPhoto and .Mac to easily publish personal photos. Not only that, during the year there are specials on software applications and such.

I believe Panther is pre-loaded on some machines that are being shipped.

You should always have an antivirus on your machine. OS X comes with a built-in firewall, if that is what you may be referring.

Hope that helps.

[TribeLeader]

Originally posted by ///Milien:
If you don't want to take out a separate insurance policy, then definitely Applecare. I went with a separate insurance policy that covers not only damage, but also theft. Applecare does NOT cover theft.

I'd like to know more about this. What kind of alternative insurance policy are we talking about here? How does it compare price-wise?

Thanks for the info!

[forcelite]

I will try to help.

I would get applecare for sure with powerbooks.

Any insurance will most likely not cover a faulty superdrive or a broken keyboard.

Normal insurance is purely for theft or accidental damage, none of which is covered by Applecare.

You need to get the Airport Extreme with the modem ($249) and you can share a dial up connection no problem between 2 powerbooks. You can also share a printer and file-share between your computers, very cool.

Your order should be processed a little slower via edu department, but the discount is well worth it.

The problem right now (as far as delays) is due to all the people who are bugging apple to get new screens. If you haven't noticed many Mac users are perfectionists, (or close to it) meaning they want a perfect laptop. Thats not bad, but in this particular case its not helping apple either, or the people who want to buy an apple for the first time, Mant people will complain about a small gap (when the laptop is closed) for days to get apple to replace it or repair it.

Apple has one of the best Customer service ( most CS is pretty bad these days, even Dell and others has fallen considerably if you have used them lately, Sony's is Horrible), so many people take advantage of this.

That is the main problem with the delays, cause Apple is having to focus their resources on fixing the laptops already sold, and not on using the parts to make new laptops.

You should be fine though. Put your order in ASAP on the edu site and you'll be very happy.

I recommend getting one stick of 512ram and upgrading later if you feel you need to.

Good luck and nice decision on the 15'

[///Milien]

I have State Farm Insurance and the policy is called Inland Marine Policy. On the policy right now, I have two PB, one ACD, a digital camera and a palm corder. I am paying under $100 per year for the policy. It covers accidents, breakage, malfunctions and theft. This especially important for items that are portable. Reason I have an ACD on there is it's my personal monitor that I use at the office. The rates will vary based on the value of the items. Applecare is generally $349 for PB (incl. separate display) for three years. Main difference is Applecare will not replace your PB if it is stolen. Best talk to your insurance agent and tell what you are looking for in coverage.

Hope that helps out.

[///Milien]

The insurance policy I have with State Farm will cover Superdrive problems or anything that occurs. Not only have I clarified this with my agent but the policy has proven itself on an occasion.

[forcelite]

ok nice, most generic plans wont, I am glad you have found one that covers malfunctions

[///Milien]

Originally posted by forcelite:
ok nice, most generic plans wont, I am glad you have found one that covers malfunctions

You are absolutely right that generic plans don't cover as much. Best thing is to talk directly with your agent and see what they can do for you.

[romeosc]

Safeware.com insurance has a great policy!

Normal malfunctions are not covered, but if white spots occur due to a "cat sitting on screen" or dropping it or child abuse it is covered, they give you an authorization number and go to Apple Store to get it fixed. I received the check before Apple returned computer!




Covers much more than Applecare! Damages due to accident, neglect, fire, power surges, water damage, theft, accidently tripping over power cord! (etc.)

[TribeLeader]

Thanks for all of the responses. It's very helpful!

Originally posted by forcelite:
I will try to help.

I recommend getting one stick of 512ram and upgrading later if you feel you need to.

Interesting. I was looking at the 256MB of RAM, but now you have me giving that some more thought. Is the difference noticeable? I'll be using it primarily for word processing, Internet access, and possibly eventually for presentations (e.g. Keynote). Any thoughts?

[TribeLeader]

Originally posted by TribeLeader:
[B]• Is Panther coming pre-loaded yet? At Apple.com store, it still lists Jaguar as the OS.

To answer my own question, I just noticed on the Apple's Store website that Panther is listed as the OS. They were still listing Jaguar when I asked the question.

[spatterson]

I have a USAA's Renter's Insurance policy and basically my insurance already covers theft, domicile damage, etc... But I took one more step and opted for what I call "you broke it, so what the hell, give us $100 dollars and we’ll pay to fix it" and its 14 dollars a year. Even if I am bike riding to school, and I run into a traffic light (lets hope this never happens) and bend my PowerBook in half, then they will pay to replace it. :-)

[coolmacdude]

Originally posted by TribeLeader:
Thanks for all of the responses. It's very helpful!



Interesting. I was looking at the 256MB of RAM, but now you have me giving that some more thought. Is the difference noticeable? I'll be using it primarily for word processing, Internet access, and possibly eventually for presentations (e.g. Keynote). Any thoughts?

Most definitely. IMO everyone should have at least 512 mb. I went with a single 512 when I got my PB and now I'm glad I did because I'm looking at upgrading to 1 GB. I find that sometimes even 512 is not enough for all the programs I use.

[coolmacdude]

Originally posted by ///Milien:
You should always have an antivirus on your machine.

You don't need that with a Mac. It's just a wase of time. I've been a mac user for over 7 years, (7, 8, 9, and X). I have never once had any antivirus software installed and to my knowledge have never gotten any kind of virus. It just doesn't happen. (As previously mentioned, Office macros are the only possible exception and should be disabled.)

[ngrundy]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by TribeLeader:

• Do you recommend purchasing AppleCare? (I think the Educational price is $239.)
Not sure if it's just an austrlian thing or if it's world wide but Education computers come with a 3 year AppleCare here by default. With the minor difference that you only get the standard 90 days of phone support but the 3 years of warrenty is there still.

As for the "oh **** i dropped the laptop off a bridge" type of insurance. My powerbook is listed as a specific item on the house and contents policy for 24/7/365 cover where ever it is in australia.


• Both my wife and I are planning on buying PBs (both advanced degree students) and want to share a printer and an Internet connection through Airport Extreme. I assume we will both be able to be online at the same time with a dial-up connection, right? I believe there's some fine print on Apple's website that says this may not be compatible with all ISPs. What exactly does that mean? How do I find out if my ISP is "compatible"?

What ISP? An AE base station with modem and usb printer port should do what you want quite nicely.

• Do you recommend subscribing to .Mac? (special $69.95, then 99.95/year right?) Why or why not?

I've got my own server, email domains and what not so .mac isn't really much use.

• Is Panther coming pre-loaded yet? At Apple.com store, it still lists Jaguar as the OS.

If they don't have panther preinstalled you will get a set of disks in the mail about a week or two later, my friend who just got a albook is waiting on his to arrive now.

• Based on what I've read on this forum, anti-virus software is not neccesary, right? I will be using Office X. I read that as long as I turn off macros, I should be okay. Also, my e-mail service has excellent virus blocking.

If you want AV then probably getting .mac just for the AV software might be a good idea. Don't touch Nortons AV for mac. It'll slow your machine to a crawl. I gave up on AV stuff in the end, they either wern't background checking, or they caused the machine to scream to a halt.

[BlueCat]

Been a recent switcher I can't speak from experience but just of what I've heard - true that Macs don't (or at least very very rarely) get virus but they can still be carriers!!! I guess the only real reason why you need to worry about this is if you may also be planning to be sharing files between Macs and Windows.

[coolmacdude]

Originally posted by BlueCat:
Been a recent switcher I can't speak from experience but just of what I've heard - true that Macs don't (or at least very very rarely) get virus but they can still be carriers!!! I guess the only real reason why you need to worry about this is if you may also be planning to be sharing files between Macs and Windows.

Well Mac virus software isn't going to help you there anyway. AFAIK most Mac virus programs don't scan for a lot of the PC viruses, as they have no effect and are hard to locate when they are nonactive.

[TribeLeader]

Thanks again for all the responss. Here's where we're at right now:

• AppleCare: Probably not. Will check into our insurance policy before we decide for sure, though.

• .Mac: Probably not.

• Anti-Virus Software: No.

• 512 RAM: Definately.

Thanks!