# new Mac ultra thin notebook



## John Starkey (19 Mar 2008)

Hi all, i am looking for a new laptop and really like the look of the new mac ultra thin laptop does any one know if it is more for muti media stuff or would it suit a me just for my basic needs, regards john


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## Luketendo (19 Mar 2008)

john starkey said:
			
		

> Hi all, i am looking for a new laptop and really like the look of the new mac ultra thin laptop does any one know if it is more for muti media stuff or would it suit a me just for my basic needs, regards john



If you want basic needs, don't spend an arm and a leg.


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## Garuf (19 Mar 2008)

I picked one up in the birmingham apple shop and tried to bend it, (don't ask) and a guy came across and said "please don't do that, I've already had 2 broken this week like that."

It's a case of form over function, remember the 1st ipod nano? They snapped in half too.


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## nry (19 Mar 2008)

You'll get a darn good Dell for ~Â£400.  My wife's was Â£400 delivered, Core2Duo, 2GB RAM (essential for Vista), Vista Home Premium, 15.4" display (TrueBright or whatever Dell call it), 120GB SATA HD, DVD-RW, wireless, can't fault it at all.  Unless you want 3D for games there is perhaps little point spending any more!  Spec has likely gone up since she bought hers about 3 months ago.


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## Dan Crawford (19 Mar 2008)

John, my house is like an orchard! Apples everywhere, 3 iPods, iPhone, iMac, iBook, powermac, the list in endless. 
Buying a mac would be one of the greatest things you did IMO but as its already stated I'd you just wanna surf and use word etc then save your money and get a dell. If your not worried about the cash then buy a MacBook or wait six months for the macbook air to have its creases ironed out. The operating system is the business but will take some learning if your a windows bod so expect to get a little stessed for a month or so but once you've mastered it you'll never look back!


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## plantbrain (20 Mar 2008)

It's a nice computer, no Hard drive, solid state like flash drives.

Really neat, but I can be tough on things too.
The iPhone is awesome(just got that, forget having a GPS, this is much better, I get that + aerial photo's and every hotel or thing of interest I can think of).
The iPod regular is awesome.

I have a PC these days for home but will use the laptops for sure after I mess this one up. But they do not have tablets for Mac's, you can have a company convert one over for you, but it's another 1500$ added to the price.

Just, as these things get smaller, they are easier to mash.
Steve Jobs was one of my clients 8) 
Perhaps later the same designer that he hires will have me come back and do something neat :idea: 
I'll let him know he can pay in Apple products
He's not far from my other clients. 

Regards, 
Tom Barr


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## TDI-line (20 Mar 2008)

Hello John,

 i've recently bought the Macbook Pro, and am now a Mac convenant. I thought about the Macbook Air, but i'm too heavy handed and would have squashed it some how.   

They also seem very expensive for just having a slimline laptop.


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## Ray (20 Mar 2008)

I got my wife a MacBook a year ago for her work.  It was the first time she has ever wanted to unwrap and set up a computer herself   The MacBook price is very competative against an equivalent spec windows laptop.  Its chic.  I get no frustrated/desparate PC support calls at work.  It just works.  She says she still gets a thrill every time she opens it a year later.
When the family PC gets a bit longer in the tooth I'll certainly trade it in for an iMac.


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## Dan Crawford (20 Mar 2008)

I'm loving this folks! a couple of moths ago when i bought the iphone (the day it came out  ) it and Apple in general were slated, how things change hey 8) 


			
				plantbrain said:
			
		

> But they do not have tablets for Mac's


Hi Tom, do you mean like a "pen and paper tablet"? Wacom do one and it's fantastic! relatively inexpensive too http://www.tablet4u.co.uk/wacom.html


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## LondonDragon (20 Mar 2008)

I have been using computers for a very long time and I have to work/repair/clean them on a daily basis.
Since i work at a University and I am responsible for the Student Residential Halls, I see all brands and models coming to me.
Buying a laptop is simple really, first you have to figure out what you need a laptop for. Just for web browsing and writing letters? Gaming? etc...
Gaming you need something powerfull which will be expensive, if you want just to use the web and write some Word documents then basically any computer in the market will do, go for the cheapest, might be a little slower but it will do what you want.
They you have what looks good, then its a different ball game, if you want something that looks really cool then you can't beat an iBook or AirMac, the OS is great for basic needs and comes with lots of software bundle with it. Just remember that getting free applications for a Mac to do stuff  you might need is trickier than a PC.
I have a little Dell the D430, is not cheap but it looks great and performs very well and its also very light and can just fit in the backpack.


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## Lisa_Perry75 (20 Mar 2008)

Hi John,
I personally have a PC so what I'm about to say may sound contradictory. If I could afford a mac I would have one in a shot. Every IT whizz I know ie they have careers in IT such as e-commerce for pricewaterhouse coopers and pro web developers all swear by macs. I know people who are die hard PC fans now trying macs as vista is such pants, and absolutely loving it!

My friend had a laptop running XP, rendering times for a film piece were 16 hours. So he bought a mac book pro which now takes 2 hours. His dads Dell Vista PC (Â£1500 by the way) of which in the 3 weeks he has had it he has had as many replacements just died. It didn't even try it just died. He knew absolutely nothing about computers and he said within 10 minutes he'd figured out the basics, 30 minutes he had it connected to the internet and microsoft office working. Now a once PC fan is die-hard mac fan. He was like, it all just works!!!

No-one can tell me vista is good as my fiance has it, and I use his pc. You know autocomplete? Yeah that doesn't work. Friend tried to send me a picture file over msn? Nope that was quarantined as dangerous and I wasn't allowed access. It dies alot, which my fiance then blames me. His printer doesnt have drivers for vista so his super duper printer only prints in ridiculously low quality   

Vista is quite different anyhow, so why not try a mac? Nearly all the lecturers I know use mac as it is much easier to use than pc apparently! Perhaps don't get the one you suggested as it would be a great waste of money I think. Thats designed for commuters using lappys on train journeys. Go for a macbook or something.


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## LondonDragon (20 Mar 2008)

Also if you so which you can install Windows on the latest Macs  So what do you have to loose?


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## John Starkey (20 Mar 2008)

Hi All, thanks to all of you for your advice, i think as i am just an occasional surfer i will just make do with something basic but not lacking in power so to speak, regards john


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## vauxhallmark (21 Mar 2008)

If the machine is to be your main computer, and you don't want to play loads of 3d games on it then the model for you is just called "MacBook" (not the MacBook Air you were looking at). It has the same size screen as MBA, more powerful processor, bigger hard drive, built in DVD - not quite as pretty, but I'm typing this on mine which is 18 months old and still looks brand new. Does everything I want - runs CS3, NeoOffice (a kind of open office), MS Office (if I wanted to, but chose not to install that on this machine). Still get battery life of 4 hours easy with wireless connection and full screen brightness - couldn't be happier with it. Half the price of MacBook Air, or less.

*Do all your research online, on forums, and by talking to friends*, whether you're getting a Mac or  PC. If you're in the shop and you have a question, you're better off not buying then and doing more online research. Don't rely on anything you're told by a 'sales assistant'. By the time you walk into the shop you should know exactly what you want, and all you need to do with them is haggle over the price, or getting a deal.

Enjoy whatever machine you get.

Mark

PS an earlier poster said that getting free software for OSX was harder than getting it for Windows. Not quite sure what was meant by this, but getting legit free software is no harder on either platform - you just download it. They might have meant that you're more likely to know a PC IT person who can get you pirate PC software than you are to know an IT person who works in a Mac environment - this is true. But if you don't want to steal software it's irrelevant anyway.


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## John Starkey (21 Mar 2008)

Hi mark, thanks for your indepth reply , i think you talk a lot of sense and i take on board what you have said, i have a nephew with a macbook and he says it is ideal for what i want,regards john.


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## beeky (25 Apr 2008)

Have you decided yet?

I'm looking for a laptop too, but as a second to my PC desktop, ideally around 12" screen. Do Macs come this small? Would a macbook connect wirelessly to my PC so I can move files about (music, pictures etc) between them?


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## LondonDragon (25 Apr 2008)

beeky said:
			
		

> Have you decided yet?
> I'm looking for a laptop too, but as a second to my PC desktop, ideally around 12" screen. Do Macs come this small? Would a macbook connect wirelessly to my PC so I can move files about (music, pictures etc) between them?


The answer is yes to both, I have a 12" mac laptop and from OS 10.3x it as an option for windows file share.


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## aaronnorth (25 Apr 2008)

nry said:
			
		

> You'll get a darn good Dell for ~Â£400.  My wife's was Â£400 delivered, Core2Duo, 2GB RAM (essential for Vista), Vista Home Premium, 15.4" display (TrueBright or whatever Dell call it), 120GB SATA HD, DVD-RW, wireless, can't fault it at all.  Unless you want 3D for games there is perhaps little point spending any more!  Spec has likely gone up since she bought hers about 3 months ago.



same here, i've just got a dell for Â£360. It's the Vostro 200 ST (slimline) 19" widescreen, 250GB harddrive, 2.2GHZ, intel core2duo processor, vista business, wirless mouse & keyboard, wireless...


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