The Perennial Question

[jdc]

new white plastic macbook has some good performance numbers

http://gizmodo.com/5386700/macbook-gallery//gallery/8

$924: http://www.macconnection.com/IPA/Shop/Pr...u=10681508

theres no need to for a $2000 MBP if shes been using a ibook

if she doesnt want the white, the extra $200 for the 13" MBP is worth it -- with the backlit keyboard and FW port...

[Black]

The old plastic macbook is heavy, creeky, and does not offer adequate stiffness to protect the internals. The new one may or may not be better-- haven't seen one firsthand.
Sounds like she needs to see what life with a Sony VIAO is like-- nagging her about virii and such is not worth the potential strain on your relationship.

[RAMd®d]

I say don't worry about it and let her get whatever she wants.

She wants a lot and she wants it cheap.


"J___ [her husband] got his computer (a Sony Vaio) for about $850. He's very happy with it. Mac prices are absurd!!!! Captive market...."

She neither wants nor deserves a Mac.

I don't think the price difference is nearly as great as most people think, considering the software you get with a Mac that you most likely won't get with a PC. I don't know what kind of video work she'll be doing, though she implies that J is happy with his $850 purchase. Just what that actually means to here isn't clear to me.


I don't fine the older MB to be creaky at all, but I always handle it with two hands, or on an iLap (by Rain Ind.) and it's light years ahead of a Gr iBook.

The Unibody MacBook is probably noticeably more ridged than the previous model, though not much lighter.

[Sam3]

Here's an added cost for her to consider. The software. If she already is doing video and photo work on the Mac, and she goes to Windows, she'll need to spend money on re-buying software to do what she wants, and re-learning how the new software works.

Productivity-wise, I don't think Windows media creation software is anywhere near as good or as elegant as either Apple's iLife suite or Apple's pro software. If she's using any Adobe products, I don't think Adobe allows cross-grading, meaning she would need to buy new retail versions of Photoshop or whatever she is using.

I would think the previous generation white Macbook would work for her, as it has Firewire.

Oh, and that Vaio will not have discreet graphics. If she is seriously interested in performance for her media production uses, she would need to get a higher end PC, and there the price difference between Mac and Win is negligible.

Currently there are two 13-inch Macbooks in the refurb store for $899. The least expensive 15-inch is $1449.

[OWC Jamie]

Have you turned her old room into an office yet ?

[mrlynn]

billb wrote:
Have you turned her old room into an office yet ?

LOL! No, it's a guest room. I turned the old bedroom area of our (formerly) three-bedroom ranch into a home office, when we put a second story on the ranch. And still three rooms aren't enough!

Thanks for the comments. How much difference does the discrete graphics card in the higher-end MBPs make for video editing?

/Mr Lynn