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I'm about to buy a new laptop and am an absolute Apple fan. However, I'm not sure which suits me better. What are my main wishes?
I occasionaly help my neighbour's children with a little extra work and so accessing the internet for resources is a must. I want WORD so that I can make up worksheets/docs etc. I like to download music & photographs. I want BBC iPlayer etc. I want to be able to play CDs & DVDs. Which external drive would be best? (It's a shame that's no longer built in.)
Thank you for any advice.
mossopthe Air doesn't come with one. I didn't want to pay £999 for a laptop that didn't have a cd/dvd drive and then have to pay £65 for an external drive...
Thanks for advice, Mossop. Much apppreciated. I was under the impression that the new pros and airs don't have an in-built cd/dvd drive.
Still unclear about pro/air differences. I'm not a computer buff by any stretch...
Thanks very much, mossop. I was under the misapprehension that the pros didn't have a built-in CD/DVD drive.
mossop The last Macbook I had lasted 4 and a half years (and apart from the battery life, it's still going strong really - I just decided it was time for an upgrade!) which is 3 times longer than any Windows machine I've owned so was better value for money for me in the long run.
I totally agree, as my iBook has lasted nearly 7 years with only one upgrade. Friends are on their 3rd pc since then!
my2leftfeetI was under the impression that the new pros and airs don't have an in-built cd/dvd drive.
Actually, you're sort of right. The very newest MacBook Pro (the Retina one) and all MacBook Airs don't have a DVD drive built in. The other current models, however, do.
MacBooks with a DVD drive:
MacBooks without a DVD drive:
Any Mac on the market would meet your needs, but it sounds to me like you want a regular MacBook Pro, as it has a DVD drive. To justify the extra relative cost of the other models (not to mention the lack of a built-inDVD drive), you'd have to really need the graphics for a Retina MacBook or the lightness and portability of a MacBook Air.
Personally, I have an iMac, as I don't need portability.
It's certainly worth going into a shop and playing with the different sized models of the regular MacBook Pros to see which suits you the most. Obviously, then buy it online with the Education discount!
Also check if your school's licensing agreement with Microsoft allows you to purchase Office cheaply through them. My school's does and it's under a tenner. If not, you're looking at full price for the Home and Student Edition (about £80). There used to be an Academic Edition that was the Pro version with a £30-ish price tag, but that's now been replaced by a University Edition that is not available to teachers.
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