Thinking about a laptop, preferrably a MAC.

[LG Gone Wild]

I need something that I can go room to room with to play various educational DVDs and CDs. I'm tired of PCs. Macs look like more fun.

Which one would suit me? I need one low cost.:)

[HeatherH]

Low-cost Macs are HARD to find, unless you get an old one, used, that someone's getting rid of. . . . .

Good luck!

[Wendi]

I have an iBook G4; it's a few years old now. My dh bought it from a local Mac dealer; it was returned by the first owner and refurbished. It also came with two years of AppleCare, which was great.

You might find a good deal if you Google "refurbished Macs" or see if there's a local dealer who sells new and used Macs.

Wendi

[sdWTMer]

Well, I love my Mac. I'm MacHappy! Hee hee. If you get one there will probably be no turning back.

Good luck on finding a good deal!

:D

[HeatherH]

once you go Mac, you don't go back!

We've been on Mac since 1987, when my dad came home with the first Fat Mac (the inside of the case is signed).

My next purchase - once dh gets a job - is a laptop!!!

My dad works for the mac store near Indy - he gets 3 15% discounts a year. Hopefully I can use one.

Oh, and this is funny - do you know homeschoolers qualify for educational discounts? When they come into the store and ask for the discount, my dad always asks them if they've heard of Sonlight curriculum (I used to use that exclusively). If they do, he knows they're legit! Maybe I should tell him to ask about TWTM -

So, if anyone's near Indy, go say hi to my Dad! He works on Tuesdays :)

[Mom2legomaniacs]

MACs are awesome. We have 3. Dh has one from work as a laptop. We have an IMac desktop and a Macbook. I hated the pc we have. I hated it from the get go. We had a MAC before that and only got the pc to run some educational software for kids (couldn't do that with the MAC at that time -- or much anyway). First chance we got, we went back to the MAC.

They are not cheap though. But totally worth it to me!

[Deidre in GA]

as a new mac owner, your best bet to save on costs is to buy a refurbished MacBook directly from the online Apple Store. refurbished macs come with a full warranty (1 year) and are eligible for the Applecare extended warranty. they are only available from Apple. the refurb store is restocked often and if you want the best deal, say a $750 MacBook, you need to catch them when the store is restocked because they are usually gone within a few hours of posting. the stores are generally restocked around 4am EST so depending upon where you live, you need to get up early or stay up late!

my brother was looking for a used iBook a few weeks ago. he was shocked to find that even on eBay, the old G4 ibooks were going for $500 - $600. Mac retain their value so keep that in mind when you buy. for that amount of money, i advised him to spring a little bit for for a MacBook and get newer technology and a full warranty. he eventually decided he wanted a larger screen and spent that $750 on a used 17" G4 but he felt okay about it because he knew if he didn't like the laptop, he'd get his money back reselling it.

to find the Apple refurb page, go to Apple, then Apple Store, then scroll down and look for the refurb section on the lower left of the page.

[sdWTMer]

I agree with Deidre! I would truly just want to buy from Apple myself. Then I know the reputation of the seller.

[Crissy]

This doesn't fit your price requirements, but have you seen the MacBook Air (http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore?node=home/shop_mac/family/macbook_air&aosid=p202&cid=OAS-US-KWG-CPUBrandTerms-US&esvt=GOUSE103943632&esvadt=999999-0-1079042-1&esvid=102692)?

Oooh, I want one! And I've never wanted anything Mac before. :cool:

[Deidre in GA]

despite its coolness fact, the MacBook Air is not a good choice for homeschoolers. there is no optical drive for playing or burning CDs. wickedly appealing, though!

[sdWTMer]

Good point Deidre! What would be the point w/o the ability to play or burn cd's?

[Deidre in GA]

Good point Deidre! What would be the point w/o the ability to play or burn cd's?

well, the MacBook Air is really intended for the traveling business professional. an optical drive for that market is not that critical while thinness and extreme portability are. it's all about finding the computer that best suits your needs.

[Crissy]

well, the MacBook Air is really intended for the traveling business professional. an optical drive for that market is not that critical while thinness and extreme portability are. it's all about finding the computer that best suits your needs.


So I need to convince my husband of my professional status and of my need to retouch and restore photos on the go, right? :D

[Cadam]

You can get them refurbished and you can get a discount for being a homeschooler. Any chance you have a near-by apple store? They can help you figure out the right way to go for your needs. They do not work on commission and their only goal is to make you happy! Service and customer experience are huge deals at Apple.

I love all of our Apples. Over the years we have had.... umm, 10-15 depending on when you start counting and all except one have been purchased refurbished.

Give yourself time to get use to a new OS but then I think you will be thrilled with it. There are tutorials out there just for "switchers" coming from the pc world.

In the summer time Apple stores have free Apple Camp for kids. You can enroll your kids and then hang out in the store to learn as well. The kids get a t-shirt and end up making something they can take home. Ds has done imovie, idvd and iphoto.

[Jenny in Atl]

We are another happy Mac family (iMac and Macbk). In fact, our last PC just died over the weekend. We can't swing the cost right now but hopefully come fall I will be getting a new Mac Bk Pro and I give my Macbk to my dd to replace her old PC. :D

[melissel]

Another thumbs up for the Macs! I've been user since I had to switch to one for work 12 years ago. They ARE more fun, LOL! And honestly, they last forever. My old iBook lasted for 7 years, and in that time, DH went through 4 PCs (laptop and desktop, though, granted, one was stolen). I love mine.

[materursa]

We love Macs here too! So much fun, and so much more productive! When I switched the only times I got frustrated in figuring out how to do something was when I was "thinking PC" and trying to make it too complicated. We've purchased new, used, and refurbished and not had any problems with any. You can get the educational discount on the online store as a homeschooler too. Also, they have free shipping which I think is for orders over $100. Another thing to keep in mind is that you get almost all the software you need with it. The mail client is excellent, iCal works wonders, iLife is fun, and you can create PDFs from any file. I would suggest getting iWork. So much better than Office, and only about $75.
Amanda

[Musical Belle]

My dh has a Mac for his work computer, and it is too much fun! In our area, educators (including homeschoolers) can get a discount on a new Mac from the Apple store. You might check into that.

[HeatherH]

My dh has a Mac for his work computer, and it is too much fun! In our area, educators (including homeschoolers) can get a discount on a new Mac from the Apple store. You might check into that.

Yes, it's true. I checked with my dad (Mac employee at a storefront in IN), and he said that all you need to do is just show "something" showing what curriculum you use. It doesn't even have to be official.

HTH!!!