Samwise wrote:Sherlock wrote:That said, word has it that Appl[e] *may* be releasing a new Macbook Pro in January with a much faster processor. So perhaps it might be worth the wait?
Currently, if I have my facts straight, there's not a whole lot of difference between the white Macbook and the current Pro model other than the aluminium body, backlit keyboard and the availability of a firewire/SD slot.
I myself am waiting for the new i7 infrastructure—which emulates a quad-core processor with hyperthreading—to come to the MacBook Pro line. When it does next year, I plan to buy it to replace my current Mac.
Alas, if I had the option of waiting and assuming that Apple would have kept the 13" range and not raised the price, I would be doing the same thing. However, having banked on the probability that the new line would not be released during the first week of January (when I fly back to England where, incidentally, a new white Macbook runs about $1600 with the exchange rate), I decided to purchase mine now.
That said, this brings me to the first honestly "bad" experience I've had with Apple. And I wanted to share it here so that Dr. Watson and others who are considering Apple may be able to take account of these factors when making a final decision.
To date, I've purchased 2 of my Mac laptops from an Apple store. The primary reason was to take advantage of Apple's formerly generous student discount. However, this time around I picked up a 13.3" white plastic Macbook from Microcenter as they offered a tempting $200 rebate on that model. Budget-wise it made more sense than Apple's $50 student discount. Anyway, the computer came with the standard 1 year warranty and the option to purchase either a 3-year Apple Care plan or a 3-year Microcenter plan.
Prior to purchasing the laptop, I had backed up my "home" folder on a removable hard drive (PC-formatted) in anticipation that I would sync all my data with the new laptop. As I had done with my old Mac, I went to the Apple store to get a few pointers about transferring my files to the new computer. Quite unexpectedly, I was met with a rather brusque employee who informed me that, since I did not purchase my computer from an Apple Retail store, I was not entitled to assistance in setting up the new computer. This came as quite a bit of a surprise as last time they were more than happy to help me with the data transfer.
Anyway, I came away from the experience with the definite impression that Apple does not treat customers who purchase from authorized retailers anywhere near as benevolently as they do those who purchase from an Apple Store. For me, the experience was an annoyance, but I could imagine that someone who has never owned a Mac could find this lack of assistance to be much more inhibiting. Additionally, the Apple "One on One" lessons are ONLY available at the time you purchase a new Mac and ONLY available if you purchase it at an Apple Store. That's something that neither Apple nor stores like Microcenter are very clear about. The net effect is that a customer may come away from a non-Apple Store purchase and very well (incorrectly) believe that they are entitled to the same benefits as a customer who purchases from an Apple Store.
Anyways, that was my bad experience.
the PC vs. MAC debate is not one which will die easily. It is very similar to the debate between pirates and ninjas.
I felt very naughty." -Danae Doyle
