[kerosen]

Thanks for this forum !!!

Once I decided to change my laptop I said to myself "why not a Mac this time? ".
So by Christmas I would like to have my Mac. The model I've chosen is a MacBook, the middle model, the white one with 2,2 ghz.

- I understand that I can do an HDD upgrade myself and I found on your forum at least two procedures. Where should I look for practical information about how can I actually open the laptop? (Apple is charging 70 euro (100$) to upgrade from 120 to 160gb - hey, here in Europe everything is very expensive compared to what I see in this forum )
- About RAM, only Crucial memory is 100% safe to buy? What about Corsair? I saw some not good comments about Kingston. (the upgrade to 2Gb is 170 euro, 250$)
- I would like to import/export microsoft office documents. I know that iWork08 will do the job but is there any free software for this?
- What would you recommend for runing XP or Vista on a MacBook?

I very much hope that I did not make you repeat what it is already on this forum and if I did I'll apologise in advance.
Thanks a lot,
K

[C.A.T.S. CEO]

Originally Posted by kerosen 

Thanks for this forum !!!

Once I decided to change my laptop I said to myself "why not a Mac this time? ".
So by Christmas I would like to have my Mac. The model I've chosen is a MacBook, the middle model, the white one with 2,2 ghz.

- I understand that I can do an HDD upgrade myself and I found on your forum at least two procedures. Where should I look for practical information about how can I actually open the laptop? (Apple is charging 70 euro (100$) to upgrade from 120 to 160gb - hey, here in Europe everything is very expensive compared to what I see in this forum )
- About RAM, only Crucial memory is 100% safe to buy? What about Corsair? I saw some not good comments about Kingston. (the upgrade to 2Gb is 170 euro, 250$)
- I would like to import/export microsoft office documents. I know that iWork08 will do the job but is there any free software for this?
- What would you recommend for runing XP or Vista on a MacBook?

I very much hope that I did not make you repeat what it is already on this forum and if I did I'll apologise in advance.
Thanks a lot,
K

1. The HDD upgrade is very easy, I did mine in under 5 mins, its just unscrewing some screws.
2. Crucial RAM is made by the same manufacturer of RAM that Apple uses, so the sticks are almost 100% identical.
3. I believe iWork export and read Word, Excel and PP documents.
4. Boot Camp.

[ankurcd]

Hi kerosen,

I myself am planning to shift to a Macbook soon... being a hassled Windows user till now - I did not have an issue being won over by OS X Leopard... that was the easy part... but I did have my doubts...

I would leave your queries to be answered by the real experts in the forum - but I had a similar query about import/export of MS Office documents. What I found is that iWork08 will work fine as long as the fonts and the formats are standard... but if it is not, the formatting may go a bit awry sometimes... I was advised to use "MS Office for Mac" for best results - but it seems it will get an upgrade in January so better wait for that. I had decided to use free stuff like the NeoOffice - which I heard has no issues with MS Office formats.

I do not plan to use Windows XP or Vista as all I needed was MS Word, Excel and Powerpoint - and I will use a different system for gaming. But. I will let the experts advise you on that - last I heard was that Vista was giving quite a lot of headaches to its users...

The white 2.2 GHz is an excellent choice... has its DVD burner and all. I do agree about the European pricing... I am in Switzerland and the base model costs a whopping $450 more !!!

[analogika]

Originally Posted by kerosen 

- I understand that I can do an HDD upgrade myself and I found on your forum at least two procedures. Where should I look for practical information about how can I actually open the laptop? (Apple is charging 70 euro (100$) to upgrade from 120 to 160gb - hey, here in Europe everything is very expensive compared to what I see in this forum )

Remove battery.
Unscrew the three screws you need to unscrew to get at RAM and remove the L-shaped metal part.
Pull on plastic tab.

Your mother could do it, in the dark, drunk. That is NOT an exaggeration.

You need one small phillips screwdriver (for the metal part) and a No. 8 Torx (to remove the hard drive from the little sled it's mounted on for easy removal).

Originally Posted by kerosen 

- About RAM, only Crucial memory is 100% safe to buy? What about Corsair? I saw some not good comments about Kingston. (the upgrade to 2Gb is 170 euro, 250$)

Just get some PC5300 DDR2 667MHz RAM from the corner PC store.

Here in Germany, 2GB will run you about €70-90.

Originally Posted by kerosen 

- I would like to import/export microsoft office documents. I know that iWork08 will do the job but is there any free software for this?

www.neooffice.org is free and does everything Microsoft Office does - and is, unfortunately almost even MORE ugly.

Originally Posted by kerosen 

- What would you recommend for runing XP or Vista on a MacBook?

a) not Vista.

b) Parallels or VMWare Fusion if you need or want to run it concurrently. Apparently, VMWare Fusion is faster.
Boot Camp (included with the operating system) if you want to have to reboot to switch into Windows (note that you'll end up *never* shutting down your MacBook because it simply isn't necessary, so that rebooting becomes a rather big annoyance if you're forced to do so).

[analogika]

Originally Posted by ankurcd 

I do agree about the European pricing... I am in Switzerland and the base model costs a whopping $450 more !!!

1) All prices in the U.S. stores are quoted WITHOUT sales tax.

2) The US dollar is currently absurdly cheap, but prices cannot be adjusted every few weeks, since businesses here need to calculate their long-term operations, too. Apple Switzerland is effectively a European-based company.

3) It's rather more expensive to run a business in Europe than it is in the U.S.

[ankurcd]

My ThinkPad's Optical Drive has just now given up! it is refusing to read!!!

Oh... this is killing me! Should I really wait for MWSF 2008 to buy a Macbook 2.2 GHz?

Urrggghhh! This wait is killing me!

Hi analogika ... is the pricing of Macbooks in Switzerland good enough for a buy?
White Macbook 2.0 GHz = CHF 1579
White Macboo 2.2 GHz = CHF 1849

If I go to Germany or the UK, pick up a Macbook - will I get some duty refund at the airport... each cent counts for me...

[analogika]

Originally Posted by ankurcd 

Hi analogika ... is the pricing of Macbooks in Switzerland good enough for a buy?
White Macbook 2.0 GHz = CHF 1579
White Macboo 2.2 GHz = CHF 1849

If I go to Germany or the UK, pick up a Macbook - will I get some duty refund at the airport... each cent counts for me...

The MacBook 2.0 GHz is available from around 1700 CHR (€1029) including 19% tax.

You should be able to get the tax refunded upon leaving the EU, but technically, Swiss customs can and must enforce import duties and Swiss sales tax on whatever you bring into the country, and from what I hear, they're total bitches about it, too.

[ghporter]

Originally Posted by ankurcd 

My ThinkPad's Optical Drive has just now given up! it is refusing to read!!!

Oh... this is killing me! Should I really wait for MWSF 2008 to buy a Macbook 2.2 GHz?

Urrggghhh! This wait is killing me!

Hi analogika ... is the pricing of Macbooks in Switzerland good enough for a buy?
White Macbook 2.0 GHz = CHF 1579
White Macboo 2.2 GHz = CHF 1849

If I go to Germany or the UK, pick up a Macbook - will I get some duty refund at the airport... each cent counts for me...

If you need a new computer now, get it. You cannot go wrong with a new MacBook-I'd personally go all the way and get the top end model. I spent literally decades as a Windows user, and now that I'm using my Macs exclusively (with what little Windows stuff I need to do handled through Boot Camp or Parallels), I'm much happier. Go for it and you won't look back-even if a newer model comes out in a few months.

[kerosen]

You guys have answered to all my questions...fast !
Thanks a lot.
I'll go for the middle Macbook with no upgrades and I'll do them myself: 2Gb of RAM and a bigger HDD.

I've just lost the promotion on Apple store from last Friday... I thought it'll stay for a week, stupid me. Yeah, I know, it said clearly that it is for one day.

What I need in addition is a mouse (bluetooth or cable? but the cable one it takes one USB out of two...), and the adaptor to VGA.
Ohhh, I cannot wait to get it.

[ankurcd]

@ kerosene ... i really envy you so much...

@ analogika...I have got a deal of CHF 100 off on the 2.2 GHz Macbook white...what d you say... only thing is that I will have to buy the display piece...

original price CHF 1849 - CHF 100 = CHF 1749 (good deal or no deal?)

[analogika]

To be honest, I'm completely out of my depth regarding "good" deals in Switzerland, since I live in Germany.

What do you mean by "display piece"? - the VGA adapter? That's only €19, so that shouldn't really affect your calculations.

[ankurcd]

Hi analogika,

sorry for being cryptic... well... i went to an authorised Mac reseller and they could not offer me even a cent in discount from the official price of CHF 1849. But at Interdiscount they have only one piece in stock and they have it on display (unpacked piece)... they are willing to sell that for a CHF 100 discount... i.e. CHF 1749.... looks like deal to me... only that it is an unpacked display piece...

do let me know your thoughts...

Thanks a ton!

[skacoreimplore]

Didn't the Macbook just have an update? I would just get it now personally.

[analogika]

Originally Posted by ankurcd 

Hi analogika,

sorry for being cryptic... well... i went to an authorised Mac reseller and they could not offer me even a cent in discount from the official price of CHF 1849. But at Interdiscount they have only one piece in stock and they have it on display (unpacked piece)... they are willing to sell that for a CHF 100 discount... i.e. CHF 1749.... looks like deal to me... only that it is an unpacked display piece...

If it's an unpacked display piece, I'm willing to bet that it's not one of the new ones, but a last-generation model that they're trying to get rid of.

[ankurcd]

Originally Posted by analogika 

If it's an unpacked display piece, I'm willing to bet that it's not one of the new ones, but a last-generation model that they're trying to get rid of.

eeeks! thanks analogika.... you are probably right.... it is actually next to impossible to get a discount on a latest Mac.. the limited distribution takes care of that!!!

Bottomline... I ain't gettin any discount... wether in duty-back or retailer discount... will have to shell out the aditional European premium ... sigh!

[analogika]

Originally Posted by ankurcd 

eeeks! thanks analogika.... you are probably right.... it is actually next to impossible to get a discount on a latest Mac.. the limited distribution takes care of that!!!

You have no idea just how low the sales margins on those machines are, do you?

It's *not* a distribution problem. We have plenty of them in stock.

[ankurcd]

Originally Posted by analogika 

You have no idea just how low the sales margins on those machines are, do you?

It's *not* a distribution problem. We have plenty of them in stock.

Well... by limited distribution I meant there are not enough stores stocking Apple... hence there is no competition ...hence no bargaining possibility... HPs and Lenovos do have retailer discounts... even Dell has promotions sometimes... and a Mac retailer told me his margin is only 7%.... well if thats true... it is pretty less...

But, again if Apple would have been freely available and discountable... it wouldn't be the same is it... HPs have good deals going right now... but after years of Windows and unsatisfactory hardware - I feel the intense need to change to a better computing experience...

hence, I may be contradicting myself by saying that I find a Macbook immensely desirable and then go on to say that I am looking for a PC-like discount... what can I say ... years of PC has corrupted my senses...

.... all good things come at a price eh!

[analogika]

Originally Posted by ankurcd 

Well... by limited distribution I meant there are not enough stores stocking Apple... hence there is no competition ...hence no bargaining possibility... HPs and Lenovos do have retailer discounts... even Dell has promotions sometimes... and a Mac retailer told me his margin is only 7%.... well if thats true... it is pretty less...

If that bit about the margin is true, what does it tell you about "competition"?

Dealers only run specials if they can afford to.

And manufacturers only run specials if they can afford to and/or if they have to.

Apple certainly doesn't need any special coupons or rebates or stupid voucher-of-the-day deals like Dell, where you can be *sure* that whatever you've just bought, you could have had it cheaper if you'd had the right coupon.

Apple stuff is flying off the shelves as fast as they can make it.

After all, that's why YOU're here, right?

[analogika]

Originally Posted by ankurcd 

hence, I may be contradicting myself by saying that I find a Macbook immensely desirable and then go on to say that I am looking for a PC-like discount... what can I say ... years of PC has corrupted my senses...

Heh. As I was saying...

Thing is, Apple sells an experience rather than simple tech specs, and that experience simply isn't possible at bargain-bin prices.

[kerosen]

I've been to a couple of Apple shops and people were telling me that the macbook from display are the old model but for me it looked pretty much the same as the new one.
How can I differentiate the old white Macboook (the one with 64 mb shared video RAM) from the new type (144 Mb video) ? Is the Leopard OS re-installed on the old ones as well?
thanks.

[ankurcd]

Originally Posted by kerosen 

...How can I differentiate the old white Macboook (the one with 64 mb shared video RAM) from the new type (144 Mb video) ?

Well, exactly... there have been silent upgrades to the Macbook line and it seems there have been 3 in total... i cannot recollect them... can anyone help in giving some tips as to how we can be sure that the Macbook we are buying is of the latest generation and latest update?

Thanks everyone....

[analogika]

The box of the new ones shows the Leopard desktop (Aurora background, transparent menu bar, "shelf" Dock) on the MacBook display, while the old ones have the blue Tiger background.

The older ones will not have Leopard pre-installed, but rather include an upgrade DVD (unless the shop that sells these demo units install it for you). If they are too old to have come with the Leopard DVD, you can order it from Apple directly for CHF 13,- here:
Apple - Mac OS X Leopard - Up-to-Date-Programm
Make sure to check whether the DVD is in there, and if not, have them deduct those 13,- from the price.

Also note that the up-to-date program expires at the end of this month.

You can select Apple menu --> About this Mac --> Additional Information to access the System Profiler, which will tell you exactly what graphics chip is built-in.

Also, on the medium and top MacBook models, the new ones have 2.2 GHz, while the old ones have 2.16 GHz.

[kerosen]

Originally Posted by analogika 

The box of the new ones shows the Leopard desktop (Aurora background, transparent menu bar, "shelf" Dock) on the MacBook display, while the old ones have the blue Tiger background.

You can select Apple menu --> About this Mac --> Additional Information to access the System Profiler, which will tell you exactly what graphics chip is built-in.

Also, on the medium and top MacBook models, the new ones have 2.2 GHz, while the old ones have 2.16 GHz.

The one I saw on display was a 2.16 Ghz with Leopard on it, so they've done the update.
Anyway, if the box is untouched and if it shows the Leopoard OS I'll be sure the MacBook is the last model, right?
Then, on the box, it says something about the processor, so I'll look after 2.2Ghz.

I decided to buy it from a shop rather than from online Apple store as the prices are the same. At least if I have a problem to know where should I go.
Thanks.

[analogika]

Originally Posted by kerosen 

Anyway, if the box is untouched and if it shows the Leopoard OS I'll be sure the MacBook is the last model, right?

Definitely.

[ankurcd]

hey everyone... i found out that it is actually true... the discounted Macbooks are actually the slightly older generation ones with the Intel GMA 950 graphics with 64MB DDR2 and Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger... and the discounts here are about CHF 40 to CHF 100...

The forum elders were correct after all.... thanks!

[danbrew]

Just bought a black MacBook 2.2 for $1500 in the US.
Spent $104 for 4 gigs of ram and $159 for a 250 gig hard drive from Find the latest Performance Upgrades, Firewire and USB Hard Drives, SATA, Memory, Laptop Battery, and more at OWC.

Installed all today. Used bootcamp to setup a partition to run Vista Ultimate. Installed a bunch of software on both sides. Works great.

[mr hobbs]

". and a Mac retailer told me his margin is only 7%.... well if thats true... it is pretty less... "

As for margins, I was a mac retailer and there were times that the price from my distributor was higher than the price at the apple store. 7% margin was the maximum. When a customer paid with visa or mastercard there went half the margin.

So the moral of the story is please don't beat up your local mac retailer. No one is getting rich at this game....except apple, with margins of 20-30%. It's certainly not the local dealer.

[mdc]

Originally Posted by ankurcd 

Well, exactly... there have been silent upgrades to the Macbook line and it seems there have been 3 in total... i cannot recollect them... can anyone help in giving some tips as to how we can be sure that the Macbook we are buying is of the latest generation and latest update?

Thanks everyone....

If you can see the actual MacBook the new one's keyboard have Expose on F3, Dashboard on F4, Previous, Play/Pause, and on Next F7, 8, and 9. The old versions do not have those.

Here is a video on how to install memory and a hard drive. It's a really easy procedure if you have the correct sized screwdrivers.

Western Digital Passport Drives come in sizes up to 320gb. The case they come in will power a laptop drive off USB. I bought the 250gb model (because the 320gb wasn't out yet) and swopped my MacBook drive with the one from the Passport Drive. Now I have a 120gb portable USB drive.

Enjoy your Mac.

[kerosen]

Originally Posted by danbrew 

Just bought a black MacBook 2.2 for $1500 in the US.
Spent $104 for 4 gigs of ram and $159 for a 250 gig hard drive

Congratulations for your new laptop !!! The price is incredible!
What brand is your upgraded memory and hdd?

[analogika]

Originally Posted by mr hobbs 

". and a Mac retailer told me his margin is only 7%.... well if thats true... it is pretty less... "

As for margins, I was a mac retailer and there were times that the price from my distributor was higher than the price at the apple store. 7% margin was the maximum. When a customer paid with visa or mastercard there went half the margin.

This is exactly why so many brick-and-mortar stores in Germany don't accept credit cards.

They'd rather lose a sale than take a loss making one.

Credit card companies take up to 4% of the billed amount. The only way to cover for this is to raise prices across the board, which again makes you less competitive.

[ankurcd]

Hi analogika... or anyone else...

a couple of questions:

1. The Apple site says "Some ISPs are not currently compatible with AirPort"... I have an ADSL connection at home and have installed a USRobotics MAXg wireless router... will a Macbook have issues connecting to the wireless router?
What are the compatibility issues that Apple seems to indicate by saying "Some ISPs are not currently compatible with AirPort" ???

2. With stores unwilling to accept credit cards (like stated in earlier posts by me and others) - I have scraped up just enough cash for the base model white Apple Macbook 13" 2.0 GHz. ok...here are the questions regarding the base model:

Note: the only change that I can afford now would be to up the RAM to 2 GB. Rest of it stays same. i.e. 80 GB HDD...:

a) Is it feasable to use Bootcamp and install XP on the 80 GB HDD?

b)Now, the only reason I would want to do that is for playing games sometimes...with the new "Intel GMA X3100 graphics processor with 144MB of DDR2 SDRAM" - is it possible to play atleast some earlier version windows-only games??

Thanks in advance for taking the time...

[analogika]

Originally Posted by ankurcd 

Hi analogika... or anyone else...

a couple of questions:

1. The Apple site says "Some ISPs are not currently compatible with AirPort"... I have an ADSL connection at home and have installed a USRobotics MAXg wireless router... will a Macbook have issues connecting to the wireless router?
What are the compatibility issues that Apple seems to indicate by saying "Some ISPs are not currently compatible with AirPort" ???

This is not an issue that concerns you.

This concerns a few internet providers and Airport wireless base stations.

T-Com here in Germany, for example, in their neverending quest of ditching service quality and technology-leader status in favor of becoming a ****-cheap crap provider, at some point switched over a bunch of their internet hubs to complete crap cheap-ass **** equipment, which used obsolete connection protocols, which no longer worked properly with a bunch of routers (including Airport Base Stations) that worked just perfectly the day before.

Originally Posted by ankurcd 

2. With stores unwilling to accept credit cards (like stated in earlier posts by me and others) - I have scraped up just enough cash for the base model white Apple Macbook 13" 2.0 GHz. ok...here are the questions regarding the base model:

Note: the only change that I can afford now would be to up the RAM to 2 GB. Rest of it stays same. i.e. 80 GB HDD...:

RAM is STUPID CHEAP right now. Like, €40 for TWO GIGABYTES cheap. DO NOT upgrade it through Apple's site. Do it yourself at a later time.

Originally Posted by ankurcd 

a) Is it feasable to use Bootcamp and install XP on the 80 GB HDD?

Of course. How many GB do you think XP will need? 10? Ask in the alternative OS forum of these boards if you need more info here.

Know that you can EASILY replace the hard drive for a larger one any time later on.

Originally Posted by ankurcd 

b)Now, the only reason I would want to do that is for playing games sometimes...with the new "Intel GMA X3100 graphics processor with 144MB of DDR2 SDRAM" - is it possible to play atleast some earlier version windows-only games??

Yes.

Again, ask over in the other OS forum, or better, search there, as this question is probably asked all the time.

Originally Posted by ankurcd 

Thanks in advance for taking the time...

[ankurcd]

Danke Schon!

so the only remaining drawback of the base model is the absence of DVD-Write... as RAM and HDD are easily upgradeable...

[analogika]

Exactly.

That should be the distinguishing criterion.

Processor speed difference is small enough not to matter, and HD and RAM are a non-issue with a #8 Torx driver and a small Phillips screwdriver...drunk...in the dark...

[ankurcd]

not that a DVD-Writer is a must-have... but, when you look iDVD - one may feel the need for one...

I think Apple has deliberately kept the combo-drive in the base model... else everyone would just buy the base model and upgrade the RAM and HDD on their own when they want it...

thinking of scraping up some more cash to buy the mid-level Macbook white...

Macbook has instilled obsession, desire and greed in me...

[analogika]

Originally Posted by ankurcd 

not that a DVD-Writer is a must-have... but, when you look iDVD - one may feel the need for one...

This is a good thought.

Most people I know end up doing much more with their Macs than they ever expected, because it's so darn accessible.

[ghporter]

An external DVD writer is a serious option. Not only would it be fairly inexpensive (either as a pre-made external drive or as an enclosure with a separately purchased drive installed into it), but you don't have to spend the money for it right away. You can also get a tray-loading external drive rather than slot-loading, which often makes sense for a lot of uses.

[ankurcd]

well... that does sound like a nice option... didn't occur to me (dumb me!)

Objectively looking - between the white Macbooks - essentially for $200 (or CHF270) more, we get:
i) 0.2 GHz more processing power
ii) 40 GB of additional HDD
iii) and a DVD-writer...

note: the RAM is the same in both... so apart from the negligible processor power - we can upgrade the RAM, the HDD and attach an external DVD-Writer anytime on our own... and whats more ... it needn't be done right away!

The upgrades may end up costing me the same $200? But, I can save some initial investment .... not a bad deal after all.... hmmm.... thanks "ghporter"!

[ankurcd]

RAM compatibility:

Will Apacer DDR2 1GB, PC-5300 Major,240Pin,667MHz,CL5 ... be compatible with a Macbook 2.0 Ghz? ...any reason why 667MHz is the preferred for Macbooks? I am gettin a good deal on this....

Thanks for taking the time to answer.....

[analogika]

667 MHz is the RAM bus speed. You can use 800 MHz-capable chips, but it makes no difference whatsoever.

You need the 200-pin version (SO-DIMM).

The 240-pin sticks are desktop RAM.

[ankurcd]

Ah... makes sense to me now... and you were absolutely right... RAM prices are dirt cheap now...

[ankurcd]

The Mac Resellers in Switzerland only have Swiss-French or Swiss-German keyboards... hence it seems that I'll have to tell my younger brother to bring a Macbook with English keyboard from London - when he visits me in two weeks. Will he be able to get a VAT refund at the airport? Is this a divine sign from the heavens telling me to wait for MWSF'08?

Now since I have some time to kill - I was going through the rumours stated below:

1) as per the rumours.... even if Steve unveils an ultra-portable in MWSF '08, won't it be a different product segment than the Macbook?

2) All I can see in the near future for the Macbook are silent upgrades of the likes of the recent graphics card upgrade...

3) the rumours about a metal cased Macbook sounds unlikely as the white Macbook is somewhat a distinguishing factor and a unique product attribute... if it is introduced... it shouldn't be replacement.... rather an addition to the Macbook line....what do you say?

4) the rumours about the screen getting an upgrade could be true... not a big deal enough to put off a purchase actually?...

5) the rumours about next version of OS X Leopard is actually not a rumour at all... it is expected... what happens to the older versions? pay & upgrade?

6) What about price revisions? Are there any round the corner?

anything.... anything at all that I might as well wait for MWSF '08?

[analogika]

1), 2), 3), 4), 6) - nobody knows.

But the slim MacBook Pro is rumored to run $1500.
AppleInsider | Apple sub-notebook to retail for $1500, 3G iPhone by June - report

5) All updates to 10.5 will be free. 10.6 will be a paid upgrade (in about two years, probably).

[analogika]

Originally Posted by ankurcd 

The Mac Resellers in Switzerland only have Swiss-French or Swiss-German keyboards... hence it seems that I'll have to tell my younger brother to bring a Macbook with English keyboard from London - when he visits me in two weeks. Will he be able to get a VAT refund at the airport?

Yes, he will.

But Swiss customs will charge him for import duties and Swiss sales tax (didn't I already answer this above somwhere? hmmm.).

And British prices are HORRENDOUS.

And you can easily order any machine with a U.S. keyboard directly from the Apple site.

[ankurcd]

Originally Posted by analogika 

And British prices are HORRENDOUS....And you can easily order any machine with a U.S. keyboard directly from the Apple site.

the Swiss Apple site is in French... and doesn't seem to have an option for an English keyboard....trying to call them up... hope someone will speak English and I can place an order with the English keyboard....

[analogika]

When you click your way through the Store to the MacBook and actually click to order the MacBook, it will show you all the options.

Near the bottom, it offers you options for keyboard and documentation language.

The OS itself is *always* multilingual, despite what it says there.

[kerosen]

I've been to four Apple shops and none of them had a Macbook with qwerty keyboard, no surprise though
Finally I've ordered one in MediaMarkt as always the prices are the same and I paid 200 euro in advance. It should arrive next Thu or Fri. They still have on stock the old model with Tiger and 2,16 GHz processor at 250 euro less than the new model, interesting.
I'll buy a mouse as well and I think I'll go for the wireless bluetooth one. It says on the box batteries supplied. What type of battery is the mouse using, AA or AAA ? Because if they are AAA I assume they wouldn't last very long, right?
thanks, K.

[coolmacdude]

Originally Posted by analogika 

RAM is STUPID CHEAP right now. Like, €40 for TWO GIGABYTES cheap. DO NOT upgrade it through Apple's site. Do it yourself at a later time.

Just to clarify, you should never upgrade through the apple site regardless of what the price of ram is. Theirs is always way more.

[analogika]

Originally Posted by kerosen 

I've been to four Apple shops and none of them had a Macbook with qwerty keyboard, no surprise though
Finally I've ordered one in MediaMarkt as always the prices are the same and I paid 200 euro in advance. It should arrive next Thu or Fri.

IME, it usually takes around two weeks.

Non-native keyboards are always custom-order.

Originally Posted by kerosen 

I'll buy a mouse as well and I think I'll go for the wireless bluetooth one. It says on the box batteries supplied. What type of battery is the mouse using, AA or AAA ? Because if they are AAA I assume they wouldn't last very long, right?

They're two AA batteries, and if you find that's too heavy, the mouse will run fine on just one, as well.

One word about external mice, though: Many people I know (including myself) end up never using it, because the trackpad is just so damn good.

Two-finger scrolling and right-click on the built-in trackpad make external mice more of a nuisance, really, since you're so much faster switching between built-in keyboard and trackpad than having to grab a mouse.

I'd wait a couple of weeks before throwing up €80 for something that might end up not being used.

[ankurcd]

Originally Posted by coolmacdude 

Just to clarify, you should never upgrade through the apple site regardless of what the price of ram is. Theirs is always way more.

Hi coolmacdude... sorry I didn't get what you were trying to say...