How to Buy Apple Laptops

Apple laptops are the most reliable, stable, and user friendly laptops available. Even though avid PC users complain about the price and compatibility, these things no longer pose significant barriers.

Follow these steps to buy apple laptops with confidence that fit your needs and your budget.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. 
    
   Low Budget? Go Basic.

   START FROM THE BOTTOM, NOT THE TOP OF MACINTOSH LAPTOPS.
   
   Apple laptops can be pricey. If you start at the high end you may get easily discouraged. Instead, start from the bottom. A brand new, white, 2.0 ghz macbook will more than satisfy 90% of laptop computer users. If you need more power or speed, you can bump up to the 2.4 ghz macbook or the macbook pro.

2. 
    
   Macs Are Virus Free

   FACTOR IN BASIC MACINTOSH LAPTOP BENEFITS.
   
   When factoring in costs, recognize what comes already loaded with the apple laptops, the low cost (often free) of many macintosh applications, and the ease of finding compatibility with windows.
   
   Real life example: The author of this article bought a macintosh laptop four years ago. The laptop has never crashed, never dealt with a virus, never required virus screening software, and never struggled with PC compaitibility. The only program purchased for compatibility: Microsoft Office for Mac. The author uses the laptop nearly nine hours a day, transports it to multiple locations, and has dropped it (agg!) on several occasions. Factor that into the price.

3. 
    
   Save Cash on Extras

   ONLY BUY WHAT YOU REALLY NEED ON AN APPLE LAPTOP.
   
   Do you really need 40GB extra hard drive when 120GB seemed a sci-fi dream seven years ago? If you do, get it. But if you don't work constantly with video or other memory hogs on a regular basis, skip it.

4. CONSIDER BUYING AN OLDER MODEL, OR EVEN A REFURBISHED APPLE LAPTOP.
   
   Computers are becoming more and more like cars. The depreciation on the value of the model is affected by the regular updating with new models. If you buy a brand new model just released it is comparable to buying a brand new model car to get the brand new features. As of the writing of this article, you can buy the computer this author has used for 4 years without fail for $399 completely refurbished with a warranty. A newer dual core laptop can be found for under $800 easily. (See resource section below for links.)

Tips & Warnings

• Talk with a Mac loving friend to find the best free software to download for your Mac.
• Download quicksilver for your apple laptop. It saves huge amounts of time.
• Walk through the PC to Mac tutorial on apple.com to get oriented to the Mac.
• There is a Mac learning curve. Don't get discouraged. PC users regularly find apple computers to be more intuitive and user friendly once they learn a few simple skills. See the resource section for a link to a PC expert who recently switched to apple laptops for this reason.

Resources

• Refurbished G4
• Refurbished Dual Core 2.0
• PC Expert Chooses Apple Laptops and Why

[sanderdoe]

on 5/28/2009 Boy people are funny! Apple laptops are great! even though I'm using a PC. 5*