Different MacBooks from Apple

[Toitjie]

I have decided to buy myself an apple macbook. I have an HP which is ok, but its not mine, and I have to give it back when I resign.

I started browsing through what is available and it seems to be it will be between MacBook Air and MacBook Pro

But if I look at the specs for those on Apple's website, and the specs of what is available in South Africa, it seems we are behind. the specs I could find are outdated older machines ( or rather, thats the impression i get)

What Im looking for is: (as seen on Apple's website)

MacBook Air 13'' ; Up to 2.0GHz dual-core Intel Core i7 processor; 4GB or 8GB memory; Up to 512GB flash storage

OR

Macbook Pro 13'' Retina display, Up to 3.0GHz dual-core Intel Core i7 processor; 8GB memory; Up to 768GB flash storage

What I can find for SA:

Air 13 Inch 1.8ghz Core I5 4gb 128gb Flashintel Hd 4000

Air 13 Inch 1.8ghz Core I5 4gb 256gb Flashintel Hd 4000

AND

Pro 13 Inch Dual-core I5 2.5ghz 8gb 256gb Flashretina Display

Pro 13 Inch Dual-core I7 2.9ghz 8gb 750gbhd Graphics

Pro 13 Inch Dual--ore I5 2.6ghz 8gb 256gb Flashretina Display

they all seem ok, I dont want to seem pedantic, Im not that of an expert to really fuss about size but Im wondering why the newest is not available in SA? Or can your order it online (something I am wary of) or are these (those in bold) already available in Oz?

[Jordy]

South Africa seems to be about 6 months to a year behind in Apple. Didnt the iPhone 5 take about an extra 9 months get to you after it was released here? Also I think South Africa is the dumping ground for old stock when new models are released in first world countries.

[Toitjie]

not cool...I thought as much. Same happened with blackberry.

[joseph_c]

I would wait and buy in Aus, coz they are cheaper here than in SA.

I have bought lots of stuff from here...

http://store.apple.com/au/browse/home/specialdeals/mac?mco=OTY2ODY3Nw

Small saving, quick delivery and very reliable.

Air is the way I'd go, but its a personal choice...

Enjoy.

[Jacques Voogt]

Agreed, buy in Aus, it is cheaper and newer.

I was looking to buy a Canon 6D camera body in Aus for AUD900 during our LSD trip. Decided against it in the end.

They were available at all camera stores as they had been released some months before.

Got back home, went to the camera store... "Nope sorry sir, we know about it but we still do not know when they will be available in SA"

Price? "No idea, but since the 7D has a lower spec and sells for R15,000 you can expect it to be closer to R20,000 for the 6D"

Also, saw some nice laptops in JB Hi-Fi for an acceptabe price compared to here in RSA.

Also saw some episodes of Big Bang Theory in Aus that we saw again after our return to RSA.

Summary,

Made in China is cheaper in Aus than in RSA

Must be nice to live in the 1st world or developed world.

[HadEnoughofJuju]

My direct boss and the company owner only have apple stuff and are apple fundies. Does not matter where in the world you but the stuff it will be roughly the same price and I agree with all the rest, wait until you are in Australia to buy and you will have more space to carry other stuff in your luggage.

[Nev]

Also the difference between a i5 and a i7 is pretty noticeable, go i7 if you can

[Joeemm]

^{I have a MBP 15' i7, 16GB (upgraded from RAMCity.com in Aus) very, very happy with my machine. If you really need the portability 13" otherwise a 15" is easier to read for me and good for most work from Dev to general mail, web etc. Of course Retina is incredible, I don't have it, and still impressed with the resolution of mine (early 2011 model) the new non-retina MBP's have a thin screen anyway.}

^{Generally agree if you can wait, till you get here probably better, at least you have local support in major cities.}

^{Good luck with the move to MAC :-)}

[Nev]

Or you can just wait a bit longer and upgrade to a PC......

(Runs for cover)

[AlBrough]

Yoh! Kicking a hornets net there!

[Toitjie]

Ok - I am no nearer to a solution for my laptop issues.

I have never worked on Macbooks before so Im a little worried. How do you work with word processing docs, like excel and word and powerpoint? I know there is mac software but how do you work on an excel file that someone emailed to you if you have a Mac?

Secondly - I cannot wait until Im in Oz, have to buy it now, so I also looked at other laptops. Since I work on a HP currently, which I have no issues with, I looked at the HP Envy 15 i7

So there is the i7 processor which is nice?? And its R 15 000 and works on windows 8 and office - which Im used to.

Can anyone please give me some advise? My use for laptop is for home use, a lot, but not programming etc so Im wondering if I reaaaaally need a Mac?

[AlBrough]

You can buy MS Office for Mac. I found a Mac very easy to adapt to, I am a tech head and I still prefer a PC.

My advice is:

i3 Entry level - Cheap, but if you are used to a quick PC it will feel slow

i5 Home and office - Reasonable Mid range, what I usually go for

i7 Top of the range - $$$$$$ gaming/extreme

You get what you pay for, and sadly it is out of date from the day you buy it (that is not a bad thing, just technology!).

If you are only browsing the web, reading or emailing, get an android tablet. If you are writing letter (or a 1937 page thesis) a laptop will be better.

That's my 0.02 Zim cents

[Toitjie]

Thanx Albrough, I appreciate it.

Although Im not a programmer that would need state of the art technology, I am completely and utterly addicted to computers. I love my laptop and I use it every single day, for a range of things, movies, email, browsing, work etc, so entry level wont do it for me

I just cannot figure out what the hype is about apple mac. I understand from an integration perspective with the ipad, ipod etc, but apart from that??

do you use apple? What is your thoughts on HP? (someone on another forum said his opinion of HP is...look at the logo upside down.. it says "dy" )

[AlBrough]

Thanx Albrough, I appreciate it.

Although Im not a programmer that would need state of the art technology, I am completely and utterly addicted to computers. I love my laptop and I use it every single day, for a range of things, movies, email, browsing, work etc, so entry level wont do it for me

I just cannot figure out what the hype is about apple mac. I understand from an integration perspective with the ipad, ipod etc, but apart from that??

do you use apple? What is your thoughts on HP? (someone on another forum said his opinion of HP is...look at the logo upside down.. it says "dy" )

Tablets can be connected to your TV provided they have an HDMI port. You can also get a nifty Fong-Kong android that plugs straight into a TV's HDMI port essentially turning into a smart WIFI TV, fantastic for streaming videos from your PC, browsing the web etc.. I read a few months back that tablets and smart phones are expected to out selling PC and laptops 8:1 this year.

Mac?!? I have no clue why people love them so much, other than being eye candy and less prone to viruses. I think they are popular overseas because of how easy it is to get one, the closest iStore to me is 130km away. They have also set many revolutionary trends; iPod, iPad etc.; which have changed the way we listen to music and communicate.

I have had 3 iPod's which have all been great, but I'd rather have an Android (yes, ok, I am biased because I have written apps for them).

As for laptops, I like Toshiba (I hear you naysayer's in the back corner there!). I haven't had a problem with the many I have had. We used to issue them to reps who bashed and abused them and they still worked well, we have since replaced them all with Galaxy tablets.

HP = Help Please...

[Jordy]

Personally I go for Dell. Their onsite next day support service is brilliant. They last three years exactly. Not day longer and not day less. Order them online.

[Toitjie]

Thanx, that's appreciated.

[Joeemm]

Hi there

Let me say I'm a MacBook Pro user first, owned a Dell before and it was ok, but it was twice the weight and half the speed of my MBP (15"), it is way over 3 years old, and still chugging along :-) battery life is next to nothing though.

The MacBooks battery life is amazing, but I think the other manufacturers have caught up a fair bit, mine runs for the whole day without a problem, I run Virtual Machines from time to time and even tinker with a bit of dev stuff.

I've had very good developers tell me that the best machines to run Windows on are ... Mac's! they are rock solid, any Mac with an intel chip in can run MS Windows now. also I have never had my MBP crash or freeze like Windows machines tended to do. Windows 8 ... mmm whole other kettle of fish, in my view its built for a tablet not a Laptop, the MS Surface compromise between a Laptop and a Tablet is not a great solution.

I see more and more collegues opting for MacBook Airs because they are very light, boot very fast and if you need bigger HD, just use an external drive.

Not sure I helped, but anyway enjoy your new machine, what ever it turns out to be.

[Toitjie]

hey there Joe - you will be happy to hear that as of last week I am the proud owner of a new MacBook Air. I am thrilled with the machine...well until I tried to copy my i-tunes. Apart from the incredibly stupid i-tunes, I soooo love this machine.

Its sleek and thin and beautiful. It comes on immediately and for me, used to window where I switch on, put in my password and then go and make coffee and toast, this is heaven.

I have already had a facechat with my boet in Amsterdam and my best friend, and it worked well.

I discovered yesterday that I can buy software, TouchCopy for $29 that will help me copy itunes music (not bought through the i-store) and that should solve the issue. Still googling though

[Joeemm]

Hey congratulations, see the Move to Mac is pretty easy ;-) there are a number of magazine available here anyway that guide new Mac users pretty well.

Although I found OSx pretty easy to move to, stuff just works, but it's nice to get some help with applications like Time-Machine, Mac's built in backup, excellent, except especially with an Air you want to backup to an external drive or maybe even "the cloud". I have both, in Aus it costs me $7 per month for unlimited storage ! My machines for work so I'm a bit paranoid :-)

OSx Mountain Lion (the OS on your machine) is nice to get into, but there's an upgrade coming soonish called "Mavericks" which makes the Air an even better choice, with better memory management and so other features I'm looking forward to trying out. You may well qualify for a free (or nearly free) upgrade.

Good luck with the new machine

[Bob]

For the first ten years I ran PCs, only to have them get viruses and the need to defrag and virus scan was a routine I could do without.

It was round a mate's place getting sorted out more times than I care to remember.

My daughter, at Uni, bought a MacBook and was sold on Apple after that.

On recommendation from my daughter, I caught the Apple bug in 2004 when I bought a iMac that still goes now as well as the day I bought it.

I've never defragged or had virus protection on it.

I only use the Apple Firewall that comes with the machine and I upgrade occasionally with free Apple software for bug fixes.

My Apple wasn't cheap, but you get what you pay for . . . . and for me, that ended up being a reliable computer giving me years of good service.

My mate tells me that PCs are more reliable than they used to be years ago, but I still rely on my Apple from day to day.

It works seamlessly with my iPhone 4S and iPad2 and I use iCloud to store some of my photos and files.

The downside is that Apple tend to try to promote their songs and photo programs, which is understandable. You can download MP3 songs to play on iTunes and install Adobe Photoshop for Mac with photographic features.

If there's a PC that works without the yearly cost of virus protection and the hassle of routine maintenance, that just goes and goes and goes, year after year, then please recommend one. I'd be interested to see if their prices are competitive with Apple and don't lock you into Apple songs and programs like Apple tend to do.