Buying the Refurbished Macbook - need advice ASAP!

[Slawek]

Hey guys,
I'm gonna buy the refurbished Macbook that is advertised on the main page, with the new price drop.

Before people start suggesting the Student discount thing with the free iPod, we are in Australia so we don't qualify.

I want to know what is the better value here. My wife is a Uni student so she needs it for school purposes. Watching the odd movie, maybe some creative presentation stuff... but mostly keeping organized and typing/internet use.

I can't decide between these two systems:

1) 13.3", 2.2ghz, 1gb ram, 120gb hdd = $1049
2) 13.3", 2.4ggz, 2gb ram, 160gb hdd = $1149

Yes it doesn't seem like much but we're poor so it's a big difference. What is the better option for her needs? I tend to think it's better to pay the extra $100, but what do you think? I'm not concerned about the processor speed or HDD space, but the ram really.. 1gb just seems like it's not enough these days for anything! And it's shared video too...

Also, I read the buying guide on wiki, and it says to Buy Only If Needed because the current Macbooks are being discontinued and reaching the end of their cycle. New ones coming this year apparently at a lower price point??

I'm in Canada for only 2 weeks this month so I need to order soon, but would you recommend waiting for the new ones instead?

Also the word "refurbished" scares me. I know it's rigorously testing or what not, but is it REALLY like new? I read one review of the screen going blank coz the guys mobo was not dissipating heat properly due to heat sink issues.

Thanks guys, much appreciated.

[Delroy666]

For the usage you mentioned (presentations, watching movies, internet) you probably won't notice a performance difference between the two computers. The RAM can always be upgraded later to 2GB for about $40 if you start using any memory-hungry apps. (e.g. VMware, Photoshop, video editing)

Don't worry about the R-word. All the refurbished Apple stuff I've bought has been completely indistinguishable from brand new. It carries the same 1-year warranty as a new computer and is still eligible for Applecare to extend it to 3 years.

It's anyone's guess when the new models are arriving and how much they will cost. I don't have any inside info, so I can't help you there. :)

[Slawek]

thanks for the reply. it's sort of a toss up between the Macbook and the XPS m1330

I can get the XPS for $1099 *new*, but 2.1, 3gb ram, 250gb hdd, normal screen

Hmmmmm

[Oversized Rooster]

thanks for the reply. it's sort of a toss up between the Macbook and the XPS m1330

I can get the XPS for $1099 *new*, but 2.1, 3gb ram, 250gb hdd, normal screen

Hmmmmm

Obviously NOT the Apple thing. First off, it's refurbished whereas for the same money you can get a NEW PC laptop instead. Second, Windows will allow you to do everything that you need WITHOUT re-learning everything. Third, as a matter of personal preference, I'd stay away from Apple's "designs."

[mflat]

My 2 cents.

Firstly, I've bought tons of refurbished Apple products and have actually had less issues than with their new stuff. Refurbs go through a much more stringent QA than new items off the assembly line. I'd rather have a refurb mac product than a new Dell any day.

Secondly, there's more re-learning than with Windows, but there's more to "learn" to do with Mac. For example, iPhoto, iDVD, iMovie, Garageband, etc. You'll be able to stretch your legs creatively with these top-class applications for which there is no comparison on the Windows side, especially for free.

Thirdly, Apple design is a matter of preference. Some hate their designs. Some would say that they are the industry leader. Jonathan Ives is worshiped for his design philosophy and what he's done with the mac line.

[Slawek]

Okay another quick question..

What about the outer case and battery? I saw a youtube review saying they replace those components but leave the internals the same unless faulty. I can live with that, but can someone please verify that the CASE and BATTERY are new?? I dont want to get an old junky battery that wont keep a charge, or a possibly scratched case.


Also I dont know if this is appropriate to ask or not, but how is the "torrent scene" with Macs? Is software as easily available as it is with Windows? I mean, if I want a piece of software I just search by torrent and bam, I got it. How is it with Macs? Again I apologize if this is not appropriate to ask

[aznangel]

torrents matter more on the number of peers and seeders

however, the client which you use does matter somewhat....
but if you have a good amount of peers and seeders it shouldn't be an issue

a possible solution

partition the hdd into 3

one mac one windows and one data

so you can just use windows for things that are windows specific while dumping all the data on your data partition and simply use OSX for daily use i guess....

and + 1 for the cheaper macbook...ram upgrade is nothing...2.5" are also getting cheaper these days

so shouldn't be an issue with upgrading to better components in the future for a low cost

[Ry079]

I bought a refurb macbook about 1.5 yrs ago. It has worked perfectly, not a single problem. Mac has a good rep for refurbished goods as it comes with the same warranty as new products. As for the torrent scene, its the same as PC's, just d/l the free torrent app called transmission.

As for a learning curve, there isn't a much to learn. I'll admit when I first bought mine I was a bit skeptical to "re-learning" everything as I'd been a PC user prior to this. It didn't take long to realize that after a week of playing around with it there was hardly anything to "re-learn" as well as some things that made me say "why didn't microsoft do this?".

There are lots of free apps out there for macs that will let you do anything you are accustom to doing on your PC. From my personal experience I'll be sticking to macs from now on.

Also-go with the cheaper one- Your wife doesn't sound like a power user so use that $100 for other things you need- I know how it is to be on a budget! You can always upgrade later

[aznangel]

one pet peeve

no right click =(

like i said before, if you dont like it
wipe it ;)

macbooks are capable of both windows and osx

so no worries there

that being said...
would be awfully nice if someone would help them out and get them a free ipod xD

[Slawek]

I just saw they are running out of stock so I ordered the 2.4 Ghz one, oh well..

Anyway now comes the question... what about a mouse? Should I buy that wireless one click mouse? It's $99 here in Sydney..

I need recommendations as to what accessories!

My wife will need a "sleeve" case to put in her backpack and not scratch it.

We will need an Australian power plug thing, so I wonder if just a little converted plug for $2 will do the job?

Thanks guys!!

[SAN66]

IMO the mighty mouse is horrible, only piece of mac tech I've gotten I didn't like. Just pick yourself up any bluetooth mouse you feel comfortable with, I'm currently using a Dell bluetooth mouse.

The mac may not have more than one button, but right clicking is very easy on the macbook, just hold a finger on the trackpad and click the button. Also if you put down two finger in the trackpad you can scroll up and down, left and right with the scrollbars on a window (like the scroll wheel) which is a great feature.

[darkprince]

I dunno about buying refurbish laptops but since this is a Macbook and they usually give 1 year warranty compare to other manufactures only gives 90 days warranty on their refurbish products. I say its a good buy from refurbish macbook.

[Slawek]

What about MSN Messenger? Do they have a Mac version that will keep all our current contacts?

And what about WMV files? Would you recommend Flip4Mac or Windows Media Player for Mac?


Thanks, getting excited!

[phiLLy11]

What about MSN Messenger? Do they have a Mac version that will keep all our current contacts?

And what about WMV files? Would you recommend Flip4Mac or Windows Media Player for Mac?


Thanks, getting excited!

There's a Mac Messenger, it's pretty much MSN Messenger with a bit less functions. Contact lists and everything are still the same (They get imported regardless of Messenger you use)

As for WMV Files, i'd recommend VLC Media Player for absolutely everything. It's played everything I've thrown at it, and there's a mac version of it.

[xb0xb0y]

my 2cents worth.

I know you've already bought it, but i've had ZERO problems with buying factory refurbs. Rest assured you are getting almost no less than brand new. Also factory refurbs carry the same warranty as new. It's been a no brainer for me in saving money by going the refurb route.

As for mouse, screw Apple's offerings. I've never liked any of them. Go for third party, as long as they have drivers for them. My current fav is Logitech VX nano. If you find you like a certain mouse not supported by OSX natively, you can always get a third party app such as USB Overdrive that will allow you to program your own buttons/keys.

Third, there is MSN mesg for OSX, but it's one ugly beast to use. Nothing like the MSN mesg for Windoze. But hey, at least it's available on OSX. As well you can always use MSN live or whatever it's called, in a web browser.

Lastly, you can play about any videos using VLC, and the best thing about it is that it's freeware! Not the prettiest app, but it gets the job done.

[Slawek]

Sweet.. thanks guys.

I'm looking at that Kensington mouse. I need something for her that will take a beating, well, it will be transported daily is what I mean. I wasn't a fan of the Mighty Mouse or whatever, but that Kensington one got excellent reviews apparently... comments??


Also she's gonna be starting from scratch learning from a Windoze environment. Should I download some tutorials from torrents? Are they actually good? It would be nice to have hands on training with someone but it's hard to find the time for that.

[akbar_k]

Big problem if you use MSN on OSX -- no webcam or video conferencing. You can use Skype though.

Supposedly M$ is releasing a version of MSN with those features for OSX sometime this year... but who knows if, and how good it will be.

[SAN66]

I'd recomend getting Flip4Mac (http://www.flip4mac.com/) (MS supported WMV decoder for Mac) and Perian (http://perian.org/) (handles pretty much any other format you can throw at it) for your codecs. This allows you to play pretty much any video you want through front row (which you can't do with VLC). Still keep VLC around for the odd video that won't play and I'd get mplayer too for the odd video that won't play in either. They're all free so there's nothing to lose but harddrive space.

Another thing I'd recommend is getting the Sapphire browser plugin (http://appletv.nanopi.net/) for front row. This thing is awesome if you have a catalogue of TV shows/Movies, it will scour IMDB for descriptions of movies and cover art and download episode descriptions for each episode of your TV shows and then keep everything organized, its seriously awesome, better than XBMC when I had XBMC.

For a compatible MSN IM client I'd recomend Adium (http://www.adiumx.com/) as it works and looks awesome, though its missing a few minor features, winks, msn custom emoticons, video conferencing, etc, but you can customize it. If you search versiontracker there are many MSN clients available, a few that support video conferencing, but most of them are ugly. The best two are MSs Mac Messenger and Adium with growl.

[Slawek]

Hey guys,

I acquired a "copy" of Office 2008 for Mac and it's a .dmg file. I'm obviously new to this, so what am I supposed to do with this? Should I burn it on a DVD and the Mac will recognize it? Do I put it on a USB key and run it from the Macbook when I get it?

Also what about viruses? We have a bunch of pics, movies, songs, documents that we want to transfer from our PC over to the Mac. I keep finding trojans and spyware on my PC, so should I be worried? I heard there are no viruses for Macs, but what's the deal?

My wife is a little upset there is no HOME or END keys. If she wants to be mid-sentence and highlight the words from the cursor to the end of the line, on a PC she would press SHIFT+END. Now, she has to press 3 keys at once to get the same effect. What gives???

[tmpz]

Hey guys,

I acquired a "copy" of Office 2008 for Mac and it's a .dmg file. I'm obviously new to this, so what am I supposed to do with this? Should I burn it on a DVD and the Mac will recognize it? Do I put it on a USB key and run it from the Macbook when I get it?

Also what about viruses? We have a bunch of pics, movies, songs, documents that we want to transfer from our PC over to the Mac. I keep finding trojans and spyware on my PC, so should I be worried? I heard there are no viruses for Macs, but what's the deal?

My wife is a little upset there is no HOME or END keys. If she wants to be mid-sentence and highlight the words from the cursor to the end of the line, on a PC she would press SHIFT+END. Now, she has to press 3 keys at once to get the same effect. What gives???

This should answer some of your questions:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=161784

[Slawek]

Thanks for that link, that's great..

Can someone PLEASE recommend a Bluetooth mouse? It needs to be small, we currently have a USB Microsoft Wireless Mouse 5000 or whatever, it's the one with the transmitter that snaps to the bottom of the mouse when not in use.

My wife has small hands, so a portable laptop BT mouse.. I'm reading mixed reviews on the Logitech 470 and Kensington

Thanks!!

[tmpz]

How about the Logitech VX Nano? It's not BT, but the USB receiver is tiny...

[Slawek]

No we want BT so that we dont take up a USB port, this thing only has 2

[Slawek]

Since I'm buying this laptop in Canada and taking it back to Australia, I need an adapter to use in Australia...

Can I buy a plug from eBay, like this:
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/AU-AC-Plug-for-Apple-MacBook-60W-MagSafe-Power-Adapter_W0QQitemZ110278256727QQihZ001QQcategoryZ46 01QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Or do I need to buy an entire new charging unit? My wifes old Gateway laptop would have heart attacks when we tried to use a cheap, generic converter plug for some reason, so we were forced to buy an Australian charging unit.

I don't' want to kill the battery on this thing, I want to go safe with this. Apple wants $120 for the charger, I can get a China brand one from eBay for $38.99 + shipping on eBay, or that little adapter piece for $2.99 (above link).

I don't want to fry this thing so please give me proper advice :)

[loybond]

Since I'm buying this laptop in Canada and taking it back to Australia, I need an adapter to use in Australia...

Can I buy a plug from eBay, like this:
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/AU-AC-Plug-for-Apple-MacBook-60W-MagSafe-Power-Adapter_W0QQitemZ110278256727QQihZ001QQcategoryZ46 01QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Or do I need to buy an entire new charging unit? My wifes old Gateway laptop would have heart attacks when we tried to use a cheap, generic converter plug for some reason, so we were forced to buy an Australian charging unit.

I don't' want to kill the battery on this thing, I want to go safe with this. Apple wants $120 for the charger, I can get a China brand one from eBay for $38.99 + shipping on eBay, or that little adapter piece for $2.99 (above link).

I don't want to fry this thing so please give me proper advice :)

No, you should be able to use the power brick you have. Most things these days are designed to run on all voltages, just need different plugs. My Macbook's brick works anywhere. You can double check this by reading the info on the Macbrick, it should say 110-240 v or so. That alien-looking plug is fine. Don't buy the Chinese thing. There's an almost sure-fire way to fry stuff. Apple has been pretty good to my Macbook, replacing the interior and exterior after warranty just because it got dirty, and then giving me a new battery after mine seemed to die, also for free. They won't do that stuff if you use imitation foreign stuff.

[loybond]

Hey guys,

I acquired a "copy" of Office 2008 for Mac and it's a .dmg file. I'm obviously new to this, so what am I supposed to do with this? Should I burn it on a DVD and the Mac will recognize it? Do I put it on a USB key and run it from the Macbook when I get it?

Also what about viruses? We have a bunch of pics, movies, songs, documents that we want to transfer from our PC over to the Mac. I keep finding trojans and spyware on my PC, so should I be worried? I heard there are no viruses for Macs, but what's the deal?

My wife is a little upset there is no HOME or END keys. If she wants to be mid-sentence and highlight the words from the cursor to the end of the line, on a PC she would press SHIFT+END. Now, she has to press 3 keys at once to get the same effect. What gives???

You should "acquire" yourself some instructions then! LOL, just kidding. Just put it on your desktop and double-click on it. It will automatically mount it and the installer will start. When it's done, right click and eject it, then you can delete the DMG, or store it somewhere if you want.

Viruses are a non-issue at the moment on the Mac. They can happen, but so far, nothing really has. Those files are a hell of a lot safer on the Mac, trust me. Some pesky people have made MSN malware that can invade your Mac's MSN program too, but that's pretty much the extent of it, and it won't do anything to your files.

There are home and end keys! At least on the aluminum keyboard I'm on. I don't remember if my Macbook has 'em, but you can create your own shortcut keys, so you don't have to press 3 keys to get something done.

[TruE SkiLLS]

one pet peeve

no right click =(

ignorance is bliss.

[aznangel]

No we want BT so that we dont take up a USB port, this thing only has 2

might want to try the logitech MX rev if you want BT...
but it is a bit big...

but a great mouse if youre looking for BT

[Slawek]

Naw, too big.. when I get back to Toronto next week I'll pop into a Futureshop and play with a few mice. I'm thinking Logitech V470 bluetooth

[Slawek]

KAJFHSKLDFH:SODFHSKdf macbook arrived

Can't wait to see it next week..