# Apple Laptops - Where To Buy? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 4, 2010, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apple-laptops-where-to-buy/541983 "2010-06-04T21:42:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Lazlo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lazlo/32/9678_2.png) [@Lazlo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lazlo)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2010, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apple-laptops-where-to-buy/541983/41 "2010-06-06T21:38:12Z")
> [@IAmNotSpartacus](#): > > None of this changes the fact that MacOS is built on FreeBSD. FreeBSD is an open source platform. Nothing you’ve said contradicts either of these points. Considering that you made those two points in order to trivialize OS X, I’d say he contradicted your intent perfectly. ---
**Author:** ![Sinisterniik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/51bf81/32.png) [@Sinisterniik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sinisterniik)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2010, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apple-laptops-where-to-buy/541983/42 "2010-06-06T21:48:32Z")
> [@Lazlo](#): > > Considering that you made those two points in order to trivialize OS X, I’d say he contradicted your intent perfectly. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![IAmNotSpartacus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@IAmNotSpartacus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IAmNotSpartacus)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2010, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apple-laptops-where-to-buy/541983/43 "2010-06-06T21:57:33Z")
> [@Lazlo](#): > > Considering that you made those two points in order to trivialize OS X, I’d say he contradicted your intent perfectly. I was pointing out that OSX is built upon a free piece of software. No further implication was made, in spite of your placement of words in my mouth. In any event Snow Leopard can be purchased stand-alone for less than $200, furthering the point that the premium is really for the brand name, since the software and hardware are not particularly expensive at the wholesale level. And the OS is still built upon FreeBSD, no amount of mouthbreathing will change that. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2010, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apple-laptops-where-to-buy/541983/44 "2010-06-06T22:30:52Z")
> [@Sinisterniik](#): > > Also, they sometimes offer corporate discounts as big as 10-15% off. I have family that works for Google and she has access to these offers. Try asking any friends you know that work in the technology fields they might (unlikely as it is) have similar discounts. Note that employer discounts aren’t limited to technology firms. Most large companies have employee discount programs, although they’re more generous when your employer already purchases the company’s products. But note that a couple of years ago, I wanted to buy a MacBook. I was able to get a discount of about 10% through my employer while I could have gotten a larger discount from the university from which my father retired as a professor. In other words, the educational discount was more generous than the corporate one. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2010, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apple-laptops-where-to-buy/541983/45 "2010-06-06T22:46:56Z")
> [@IAmNotSpartacus](#): > > IAnd the OS is still built upon FreeBSD, no amount of mouthbreathing will change that. If you were to change ‘upon’ to ‘with portions of’, you would be more accurate. OS X uses some of FreeBSD, but it is not as clear cut as you claim. This old freebsd-advocacy [newsgroup](http://lists.freebsd.org/pipermail/freebsd-advocacy/2004-April/001239.html) post says: \*Mac’s operating environment is Darwin. This is an open source BSD style Unix. It was derived from BSD codebases, of which FreeBSD was one. It gets confusing because GNU and Microsoft have managed to label everything from the kernel to the desktop as “operating system”. Darwin is more than an operating system, which is why I used the term “operating environment” earlier. Most of the userand is derived from FreeBSD, with additions from GNU. Apple does use FreeBSD. But not all of Darwin is FreeBSD nor is all of FreeBSD in Darwin.\* ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2010, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apple-laptops-where-to-buy/541983/46 "2010-06-06T23:18:39Z")
> [@jasg](#): > > Sadly, this is no longer true. When they dropped the annual fee to $99 they eliminated hardware discounts. Only Select and Premier members of the ADC (Apple Developer Connection) program were eligible, but the ADC program has been replaced by the $99 Mac Developer Program. IIRC, the ADC program was quite a bit more than $99. > > [http://developer.apple.com/programs/adcbenefits/](http://developer.apple.com/programs/adcbenefits/) My bad. Thanks for the correction! ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apple-laptops-where-to-buy/541983/47 "2010-06-07T04:27:34Z")
> [@Hippy\_Hollow](#): > > \ Microsoft Office has a Mac version, and if there’s a need to use Windows-only apps, you can partition the disk to run as a PC, or emulate Windows using Parallels. As an office professional who was very familiar with Word and Excel, I hated the Microsoft Office Mac version I had (plus it completely gakked my desktop - it didn’t install correctly or something, but it never worked right from Day One). I ended up scrubbing it off. I would like to have Word and Excel, but I’ll buy the Windows version and use them with BootCamp in the future. ---
**Author:** ![Lazlo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lazlo/32/9678_2.png) [@Lazlo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lazlo)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apple-laptops-where-to-buy/541983/48 "2010-06-07T06:23:27Z")
> [@IAmNotSpartacus](#): > > I was pointing out that OSX is built upon a free piece of software. No further implication was made, in spite of your placement of words in my mouth. Ah, the ubiquitous SDMB dodge. So unimaginative and so played.. Take a look at your post: > [@IAmNotSpartacus](#): > > The math is the premium that Apple is able to levy for the gimped hardware that comes in their computers. You are paying for the brand name and the OS, which is built upon an open-source platform (FreeBSD). Funny how you claim I made an unreasonable inference given the biased tone of those two statements. How is this merely “pointing out that OSX is built upon a free piece of software?” And yes, the tone as biased. Objective statements don’t use words like, “gimped,” or, “levy.” Feel free to tell me how you were making simple statements of fact there - I could use a laugh right about now. > [@IAmNotSpartacus](#): > > And the OS is still built upon FreeBSD, no amount of mouthbreathing will change that. I suppose that if I infer that you called me a mouthbreather, that would also be “putting words into your mouth.” This is especially funny since as **jasg** eloquently showed, the “built upon” is a bit of an exaggeration. > [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > As an office professional who was very familiar with Word and Excel, I hated the Microsoft Office Mac version I had (plus it completely gakked my desktop - it didn’t install correctly or something, but it never worked right from Day One). I ended up scrubbing it off. I would like to have Word and Excel, but I’ll buy the Windows version and use them with BootCamp in the future. Yeah, Mac Office 2008 is way different than the Windows versions and I’m not a huge fan of it myself. However, I am able to use it efficiently even though I prefer the Windows flavors. The lack of OneNote really sucks as this is probably the single best Office application ever made. I’m glad I didn’t have the technical issues with it that you did. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apple-laptops-where-to-buy/541983/49 "2010-06-07T07:08:49Z")
> [@Lazlo](#): > > I used to do contract work repairing laptops (Mostly IBM/Lenovo ThinkPads). MacBooks are trivially easy to crack open and fix compared to anything else. Is this just for the Macbook/Macbook Pro lines in particular or all Apple laptops? I had a hell of a time opening up an old Powerbook earlier today and I hope this has changed in later models? > [@](#): > > It boots in seconds, I don’t have to fuck with driver updates (or rolling them back when they’re buggy), and I don’t have to worry about viruses or malware. Furthermore, my “gimped” laptop runs the applications I need faster than anything running Windows 7. Windows 7 boots pretty darned fast. Is OSX still faster? What do you mean you don’t have to fuck with driver updates? OSX drivers don’t get updated? On Windows, most laptops come with all the drivers preinstalled too… you don’t really need to fuck with them either unless you want the latest performance updates for gaming and whatnot. And are you saying OSX runs the same applications faster than Windows 7 on the same system? [/quote] ---
**Author:** ![sparky\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/77aa72/32.png) [@sparky\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sparky_1)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apple-laptops-where-to-buy/541983/50 "2010-06-07T10:35:46Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > **Is this just for the Macbook/Macbook Pro lines in particular or all Apple laptops? I had a hell of a time opening up an old Powerbook earlier today and I hope this has changed in later models?** > > Windows 7 boots pretty darned fast. Is OSX still faster? > > What do you mean you don’t have to fuck with driver updates? OSX drivers don’t get updated? On Windows, most laptops come with all the drivers preinstalled too… you don’t really need to fuck with them either unless you want the latest performance updates for gaming and whatnot. > > And are you saying OSX runs the same applications faster than Windows 7 on the same system? [/QUOTE] I would imagine the newer, one piece (unibody) MacBooks would be much more difficult. The MacBook I worked on was from 2006. Once I got into it (keyboard lifts off after removing a bunch of screws) it was really easy to replace parts. ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apple-laptops-where-to-buy/541983/51 "2010-06-07T13:40:12Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > As an office professional who was very familiar with Word and Excel, I hated the Microsoft Office Mac version I had (plus it completely gakked my desktop - it didn’t install correctly or something, but it never worked right from Day One). I ended up scrubbing it off. I would like to have Word and Excel, but I’ll buy the Windows version and use them with BootCamp in the future. I’ve never had a problem moving documents in Word or Excel from Mac to PC, ever. Office 2008 even handles those .docx and .xlsx files just fine. Did you not uninstall and reinstall? ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apple-laptops-where-to-buy/541983/52 "2010-06-07T14:24:34Z")
To get back to the OP, Apple also has a discount program for government employees. You can save about $100 that way if you are one. ---
**Author:** ![SanDiegoTim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@SanDiegoTim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanDiegoTim)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2010, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apple-laptops-where-to-buy/541983/53 "2010-06-08T01:26:26Z")
Ended up purchasing it through the college bookstore. Apple threw in the Ipod. The printer came with the deal. Last question…I didn’t know Apple made printers. Any good? ---
**Author:** ![JoeH2O](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@JoeH2O](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoeH2O)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2010, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apple-laptops-where-to-buy/541983/54 "2010-06-08T01:34:47Z")
Apple do not make printers - the ones they throw in are just generic inkjets, usually from HP since they seem to have a distribution deal with them. If he’s going to do any serious printing as a college student, I would look for a budget laser printer. The inkjet is going to cost a fortune to run. You can pick up a decent personal laser printer (black and white) for virtually nothing these days, and even reasonable colour ones are coming way down in price. I would find a cheap black and white laser, and keep that free inkjet for occasional colour work. Edit: he could also just do his printing on the college machines. They usually have pretty sweet high-voume lasers in the computer labs, but I like having my own to avoid the crushes when papers are due and everyone and his dog is trying to print. ---
**Author:** ![Sinisterniik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/51bf81/32.png) [@Sinisterniik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sinisterniik)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2010, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apple-laptops-where-to-buy/541983/55 "2010-06-08T01:44:55Z")
> [@SanDiegoTim](#): > > Last question…I didn’t know Apple made printers. Any good? This is anecdotal, but I got that same HP printer (or a slightly older model) and it still works fine 7 years later. I’ll echo that it isn’t the best printer in the world, but it is more than adequate for college life, especially given the 8-16 moves that your son is going to have to make over the next 4 years. The biggest downside: The printer goes through ink kinda fast. Although, most colleges have their own commercial quality printers that students can use for free. I used to use the HP printer for my day to day assignments, but whenever I needed to print off something big I’d just take a walk over to the library and use the school’s. ---
**Author:** ![Lazlo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lazlo/32/9678_2.png) [@Lazlo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lazlo)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2010, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apple-laptops-where-to-buy/541983/56 "2010-06-08T07:32:17Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > Is this just for the Macbook/Macbook Pro lines in particular or all Apple laptops? I had a hell of a time opening up an old Powerbook earlier today and I hope this has changed in later models? I should’ve been more specific. It was a 15" Macbook Pro - the generation right before the current unibodies. > [@](#): > > Windows 7 boots pretty darned fast. Is OSX still faster? Yep. I just timed both booting. My 17" Macbook Pro (unibody) with a Core Duo booted in 54 seconds. My i7 desktop booted in 1:47. Bothe have 4 GB memory and 5400 rpm drives. But you’re right, two minutes isn’t bad at all. > [@](#): > > What do you mean you don’t have to fuck with driver updates? OSX drivers don’t get updated? On Windows, most laptops come with all the drivers preinstalled too… you don’t really need to fuck with them either unless you want the latest performance updates for gaming and whatnot. Yeah, I was thinking of video drivers. I was constantly checking for the latest drivers and a significant portion of the time (about 1 in 5), I had to roll it back because it was buggy for one of my games. That’s my desktop. Windows laptops don’t have a whole lot of flexibility. Video card drivers have to be updated by the laptop manufacturer, not the video card maker, and a lot of laptop companies are lazy about it. I had a Dell XPS that had terrain map glitching in World of Warcraft that was due to the driver. They never released an update and I spent a lot of hours to find a hacked nVidia driver that worked on it. OS X updates much like Windows Updater. The huge difference is that it includes ALL hardware drivers and they test the bajeezus out of the video drivers before pushing the updates. Of course, this means that Macs aren’t really flexible as far as performance tweaking, but again, it’s exactly what I want in a laptop. My desktop will always be a home-built performance rig running Windows. > [@](#): > > And are you saying OSX runs the same applications faster than Windows 7 on the same system? You can’t really do an apples to apples (heh) comparison since the apps aren’t exactly the same, but I can give a couple of examples: MacJournal, the software I now use instead of OneNote, is ready for me to use in 5 seconds after launching it. MacOffice 2008: Word is ready in about seven seconds. Excel in less than five, and PowerPoint in about six. I don’t have Office 2007 on my PC, but 2003 takes over 30 seconds to be ready with Word, Excel, or PP. **SanDiegoTim** : Nice. I got in on a similar deal last year (iPod +$100 discount). Final Cut Expess and Garage Band take the longest to launch, but both take less than 20 seconds. I don’t have their equivalents on my PC. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2010, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apple-laptops-where-to-buy/541983/57 "2010-06-08T16:45:38Z")
On that printer, by the way, the printer itself might be expensive to operate (at least, once the ink that came with it runs out), but it probably also has a built-in scanner, which costs only the electricity to run it and which should continue to work even after the ink runs out. I don’t know how much use you or your son would have for a scanner, but hey, it’s free. ---
**Author:** ![lucassmart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/41988e/32.png) [@lucassmart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lucassmart)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2010, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apple-laptops-where-to-buy/541983/58 "2010-06-09T04:25:43Z")
The deals will come, but you’ll have to wait for them. Check out some available at [http://store.apple.com/us](http://store.apple.com/us). Alternatively, you can look for the cheapest 13" Apple machine at **[Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com)** - that is the best place to get all cheap deals. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apple-laptops-where-to-buy/541983.md?page=2)