i wouldn't get a macbook air just yet.....they are rather pricey and you will have to pay extra for the external dvdrw drive i think. not much HD space either. they do look cool. i would go with macbook or macbook pro.
no problems with my 15' macbook pro here

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AUC Post-5th Semester
Undergrad: UC Riverside

thanks just trying to get a handle on things so I don't make any wrong major purchases.

iphone
The iPhone works great here. I have one, as do a couple other people in my class. If you have Chippie, there is actually free EDGE all around the island! It's very slow, but fast enough to send and receive e-mail. There are also a decent number of restaurants with WiFi. The only thing you won't get here is visual voicemail, as that's tied to the ATT network.

laptop
I would definitely go with a mac, but I'm a little biased. If you look around the lecture halls though, you'll see an awful lot of macs, maybe half. And, more and more people are getting them. They are fully compatible with anything you'd want to do at AUC. I haven't had a single issue on the island. Aside from all their usual advantages, they break less. So, you're less likely to have a problem on the island, and you really don't want to deal with any extra problems here.

Parallels and boot camp both work well, but do different things. Boot Camp is faster as it runs windows totally natively. Actually, A MacBook Pro was the fastest Windows notebook computer that PCWorld Magazine had ever tested! If you want to do windows and mac both at the same time, Parallels works well. However, you really don't need to use either one here. I have both installed, and have never used either.

Between computers, it's really up to you. The MacBook Air would be feasible here since it has the same screen (actually a better screen) than the MacBook and the same keyboard. It also comes with plenty of RAM and a decent processor. It does not have a very large hard drive though, so you may want to get an external hard drive. Also, while the wireless would be great around campus (it's entirely wireless) and in most people's apartments, if you live in the dorms, you'll want to get the USB ethernet adaptor (it's only $29). Really, most of the things that everyone complains about missing from the Air are inconsequential. Most people don't need an ethernet port anymore, you can get a USB hub if you need more USB slots, and who really ever uses a spare battery? However, while you'll be getting the thinnest computer available, and actually a pretty powerful one, it does come with a higher pricetag. Also, if you think you'll want to watch or burn DVD's, you'll need the $99 external DVD burner. You do not need an external DVD player, however, to install software.

Between the MacBook and MacBook Pro, it's mostly about the screen size. The Pro has a much better graphics card, but that probably won't make a bit of difference for you here (unless you want to hook it up to a 30" cinema display). Most people seem to have MacBooks, though there are a good bit of both. Do wait a couple weeks if you're gonna go for the Pro.

That cover everything?

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AUC 4th Semester

you missed the Time Capsule!! haha, I know you like the airport extreme, but I'd like to know your opinion on Apple's 'other' new toy (for those that have not purchased external HD's left)


also,thanks for the info on Chippie's EDGE network - I wasn't aware that was available.... definitely changes the prospects of bringing that phone out to the island

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UCSD --> AUC May08

Time capsule is great, I would have bought it if I didn't already have a fairly new HD and airport extreme. There's not really anything not to like about it...it's an airport extreme with a server grade HD built in. If you need both, it's great.

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AUC 4th Semester

You shure do love the mac. I've been a PC man but with my interest in music and the quality that apple provides is making me want to get one more and more every day. So its either the Mac air or Pro I'll see when i am ready to buy. like the mac air my friend got one off the black market(fell off a truck lol) and that $#!% is out of this world especialy since he produces most of his music e from it. both got ashot for now.

Iphone is going to be crack especially when a good friend of mine figure out how to add memory. He cracked one open and found the HD is the same as the Ipod and is going to try to upgrade to 80g on the iphone. or you could go the bootleg way and get the Ipod touch witch is the same as the phone but no phone interface and does all of the same things. just halla at me. If I come down might have a s#!t load of deals on phones and CPU's alway have to have a hustle especially when you gotta pay for school.

I worked for apple before coming here. The macbook Air is the worst laptop Apple makes for music or video editing (slowest processor, no audio input)

Interesting, considering the iPhone doesn't have a hard drive at all! Best of luck to him though, trying to fit a hard drive in there. Getting an iPod touch is not a bootleg way to get anything. Just because it looks like an iPhone doesn't mean it almost is one. The phone feature is a pretty major feature, as is the ability to use EDGE for internet. Yes, sign me up definitely for a stolen phone or computer....good idea! And good call on advertising that too.

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AUC 4th Semester

ooops not hard drive but memory u know what I mena but until i see his work he can't touch mine. I just know alot of people that work with electronics and the get pretty good deals on bulk. My sister set networks up for diffrent business and is always stuck with 3 or 4 extra laptops so she just sells them.. things of that nature and I j ust can get a lot of diffrent things. I am what u call a utility man. know where everything is at and how much it will cost. I know someone right now that has 4 iphone unlocked and 4sale he is just that good with computers. Itouch is just plain ol bootleg cause it does not use a chip that why i don't like it othe rthan that i could not keep my t-mobile account open.

:danc ing:

1) good luck finding 80 GB flash memory, or anywhere close. Even the Air only comes with 64 GB solid state drive, and it's $999!
2) Does business networks and winds up with a few extra laptops? I'll leave that one alone
3) Having 4 iPhones unlocked "4sale" does not make you good with computers. It means you bought (or stole) 4 iPhones and unlocked them, that's it.
4) If you want to know what Apple products cost and where they're at, you don't need to look any further than their website. Unless they're stolen, iPhones do not cost any less from anywhere else. They are only sold in Apple Stores and ATT retail locations.
I don't even know what this means. English?
Bootleg means made or distributed illegally, so I'm not exactly sure how the iPod touch qualifies as bootleg. It doesn't use a chip? I'm pretty sure it uses at least one.

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AUC 4th Semester

bootleg= not the same as far as the ipod touch i meant that it defeats the purpose while paying the same price as the iphone.

my friend got them unlocked by his co worker at att (iphones).

my friend said the ipod touch uses the same memory as regular ipods and is trying to interchange the two he is kinda good with things like that.

my sister will order what the company wants and sometimes the change their minds and go with a little less than what was ordered and instead or returning them she sells them at her office or to some of my friends somebody always needs a new toy.

gonna try to use my nextell card in my iphone and see what happens hopefully it does but it has no chirp on it.