This is my first post here, but I’ve been reading the forums for quite a long time. I have to say, first of all, that Scrivener is absolutely the best bit of writing software I’ve ever used: I’m 65K words into ‘The Novel’ and going strong, so thanks Keith!
I really need some advice. I’m currently using an old Powerbook G4–the 12" one with an 867mhz processor. I’ve been wanting to get something a bit better for a while, and today I got some fabulous news–I’ve won a prize for my degree work and I’ll soon have about £800 to spend. Guess what I want to buy!
I’m looking at the Macbook 13.3 Core 2 Duo 2.0GHZ 1gb RAM 80gb HDD, in white, from Jigsaw–it’s just under £700 with VAT. That sounds pretty reasonable to me, but I wanted to know if anyone here can recommend anywhere cheaper that’s UK based(and reliable, of course)? Also, I’m not really up to date with the technology–I’ve no idea if the ‘Core 2 Duo’ thing is good or not, so any advice would be much appreciated. Ideally, I don’t really want to spend any more than £700, and it has to be a laptop.
I always tend to buy directly from the Apple store. Given that you have just won a prize for your degree (congratulations!), it sounds like you are eligible to use the Apple UK educational store - you don’t need anything special to use it, you just enter the name and city of your institution:
Crucial provide memory for half the price of Apple and guarantee compatibility. When you buy your MacBook, it will come with 2 x 512MB memory cards. It only has two slots, but for £58 you can replace these with 2 x 1GB memory cards from Crucial, thus maxing out the memory (it would cost £108 to upgrade to 2GB during the buying process via Apple). Upgrading the memory is very easy and adds a lot of extra punch to the machine.
Anyway, whether you buy the extra memory or not, I do recommend going via the Apple UK education store.
Hmmm, I made a really long post here yesterday, but it appears to have vanished… Anyway, I said essentially the same as Keith, though without the discount business (because I have no knowledge of all that, filthy students ).
Basically, if you’re unsure then buy direct from Apple. No resellers in the UK will save you more than 10-20 quid on a brand new Mac, whether desktop or laptop, unless they have a mad sale on. I always buy from Apple simply because if something does go wrong, you can go straight back to the source.
I should add that I’ve been using Macs since 1989, and only ever had one manufacturing defect (on a second-hand machine that was already old enough to be past any reasonable warranty)…
I’ve been using them since '92, but my second machine - a Performa 5200 exploded (literally) with a bang and bright blue flash. Such events are inclined to put one off purchasing the same brand again. javascript:emoticon.
Sounds as if the OP is in the Notts/Derbys area so I can recommend Gordon Harwood Computers. Dealt with them from the beginning and never had a problem.
I’ve been using them since '92, but my second machine - a Performa 5200 exploded (literally) with a bang and bright blue flash. Such events are inclined to put one off purchasing the same brand again.
Sounds as if the OP is in the Notts/Derbys area so I can recommend Gordon Harwood Computers. Dealt with them from the beginning and never had a problem.
In England terms, Colchester is quite a way from Notts/Derby and much nearer to London. But I’ve dealt with Gordon Harwood in the past, ordering over the phone from west London, and found their service excellent. But for the OP Apple Educational sounds the ticket … and yes, get the 2 gig of RAM.
Been using Macs since 1985 and never had any kind of defect of any kind, neither with any member of my family. Only one computer in the shop the whole time, and that was a refurbished machine under warranty (a blueberry iMac that is still going strong for my sister’s grandson).
I also buy directly from Apple. Up till recently, loved that discount! I can’t in good conscience use it any longer since I’m now done with academics. I always order the max RAM I can afford and the biggest hard drive. It definitely pays off in the end.
I agree about the education discount. It’s worth knowing that some colleges and universities have deeper discounts negotiated. At the London college I am at, they are available through a special Apple store only accessible from computers on the college network.
Given the education discount, I think you are better off buying from Apple. Under other circumstances, I’d recommend John Lewis for their excellent customer service (they have just won a best retailer award from Which? – used to be called the consumers’ association) and a free two year guarantee. I have also had good experiences with Cancom for Apple hardware and for accessories.
I’ve been using Macs since 1837, when they were known as “analytical engines”. My first machine was made of polished brass and the first program I ever used was iSteam, which was little more than a piece of paper with several holes punched in it which, when fed through the analytical engine (or the iEngine as it later became known), could calculate the number of ants it would take to cover the surface of Mars to the nearest 10,000 (though it took three weeks to perform the calculation, and then it gave the answer of “4”, an answer of which I am still sceptical to this day). Good times, good times.
Keith
P.S. Yeah, Antony’s reference to Monty Python is still funnier, but hey…
I had a torrid affair with a Miss X, you know… Miss O S X; she lived at the terraced end of Hard Drive… But I knew the game was up when that fellow Turing turned up and started lording it about with his “Roger and outâ€
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