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Comments on: Mac to School 2006: The $2,000 Challenge

John Mandes - 09:56am Sep 5, 2006 PST
Guest User

Dan Pourhadi's article, "Mac to School 2006: The $2,000 Challenge," (TidBITS #845, 04 Sep 06) is an excellent piece of writing. It provides valuable information for both the experienced academic computer user, such as a grad student, as well as the novice incoming freshman.

However, in Pourhadi's article I think there are two valuable bits of information that should be pointed out for both groups of users: upgrading ram and selecting and using a carrying case.

If you are going to purchase an Apple Care Warranty (well worth it at twice the price), be forewarned that purchasing and self-installing ram from a source other than Apple could land you in a big mess. If you have a technical problem that requires the return of your Mac to an Apple Service Center for inspection and repair AND Apple determines the root of the problem to be caused by your self-installed ram AND the ram installed in your Mac is not Apple-branded, or Apple-installed ram, your Mac will most likely be returned to you without repair nor will it be eligible for repair in the future. That's why, when purchasing a new Mac laptop, I always am willing to pay the extra bucks for Apple-installed, Apple-branded ram. Sure, you can find much less expensive ram (especially in the higher configurations), but it's hardly worth it for this potential headache.

Also, when shopping for a carrying case for your new MacBook, be sure not to cheap out. It makes no sense to spend as much as -- or more than -- $1,500 on your new Mac and then try to find the cheapest case on the market. Be sure to look for features that are important to you and how you plan to use your new MacBook. Two of the better examples are the Brenthaven Pro12/15 or Profile 12/15, (www.brenthaven.com) and Shaun Jackson Design's Lapdog (www.sjdesign.com). Both are extremely well-constructed, provide excellent protection for your computer and have feature-rich, specific uses. Prices and availability are spread widely throughout the internet so you may need to do some research to find the best configuration and price tag. I own one of each for different purposes which basically come down to whether or not I anticipate wanting or needing to access my MacBook during my travels.

The MacBook is a fine computer and Pourhadi's article does it justice. However, do keep in mind these two major issues (ram and carrying cases) as you budget your final purchasing decisions.

John Mandes (For verification purposes, if necessary:) 210 Hallmark House Hershey, PA 17033 (717) 533-2562

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kspence - Sep 5, 2006 9:57 am (#1 Total: 6)

Posts: 1

Mac to School 2006: The $2,000 Challenge

I would stay away from the LaCie D2 Extreme. My daughter had one that quit in a puff of smoke.

She called LaCie, and they said "Go out and buy a new external Firewire case." They didn't offer to send her, or sell her, a new case.

Turns out the puff of smoke took out not only the board inside the drive case, but the controller board in the Hard Drive inside it! Removed from the D2 case, the drive won't even spin up!

I am more fond of Western Digital external drives.

Ken Spencer

marshall (apparently) - Sep 5, 2006 1:52 pm (#2 Total: 6)

via email

Posts: 126

Re: Comments on: Mac to School 2006: The $2,000 Challenge

[Let's not turn this into a bag recommendation thread; I'm more interested in comments about the general advice Dan gave, and issues relating to gear for students. -Adam]

At 9:57 AM -0700 9/5/06, John Mandes wrote:
>Also, when shopping for a carrying case for your new MacBook, be
>sure not to cheap out. It makes no sense to spend as much as -- or
>more than -- $1,500 on your new Mac and then try to find the
>cheapest case on the market. Be sure to look for features that are
>important to you and how you plan to use your new MacBook. Two of
>the better examples are the Brenthaven Pro12/15 or Profile 12/15,
>(www.brenthaven.com) and Shaun Jackson Design's Lapdog
>(www.sjdesign.com). Both are extremely well-constructed, provide
>excellent protection for your computer and have feature-rich,
>specific uses. Prices and availability are spread widely throughout
>the internet so you may need to do some research to find the best
>configuration and price tag. I own one of each for different
>purposes which basically come down to whether or not I anticipate
>wanting or needing to access my MacBook during my travels.

I agree. I am very fond of my STM backpack as well <http://www.stmbags.com.au/>
[ Got it at MacWorld a year or two back; still looks new. ]

--
Marshall Clow Idio Software <mailto:marshall

idio.com>

Dan Frakes - Sep 5, 2006 5:53 pm (#3 Total: 6)

Guest User

Posts: 1

Re: Comments on: Mac to School 2006: The $2,000 Challenge

On 9/5/2006 9:57 AM, "John Mandes" wrote:
> If you are going to purchase an Apple Care Warranty (well worth it at twice
> the price), be forewarned that purchasing and self-installing ram from a
> source other than Apple could land you in a big mess. If you have a technical
> problem that requires the return of your Mac to an Apple Service Center for
> inspection and repair AND Apple determines the root of the problem to be
> caused by your self-installed ram AND the ram installed in your Mac is not
> Apple-branded, or Apple-installed ram, your Mac will most likely be returned
> to you without repair nor will it be eligible for repair in the future.

This isn't correct. Even if Apple does return your notebook without
repairing it, claiming that third-party RAM was the culprit -- which they
will sometimes do even if it's not the case, in my experience -- that does
*not* preclude you from getting warranty service in the future.

> That's why, when purchasing a new Mac laptop, I always am willing to pay the
> extra bucks for Apple-installed, Apple-branded ram. Sure, you can find much
> less expensive ram (especially in the higher configurations), but it's hardly
> worth it for this potential headache.

A less expensive alternative is to buy RAM from a reputable dealer that
offers a lifetime warranty, but keep your stock Apple RAM handy. If you have
a problem that requires you to send your notebook back to Apple, swap the
third-party RAM out for the original Apple RAM beforehand. (This is also a
good way to check to see if the problem still exists when using Apple's RAM
-- to eliminate the third-party RAM as the cause of the problem.)

Conrad Hirano - Sep 5, 2006 5:53 pm (#4 Total: 6)

Posts: 66

Re: Comments on: Mac to School 2006: The $2,000 Challenge

In article <3c7ee91c.-1

webcrossing.va7qaftEanA>,
"John Mandes" <mandes

earthlink.net> wrote:

> If you are going to purchase an Apple Care Warranty (well worth it at twice
> the price), be forewarned that purchasing and self-installing ram from a
> source other than Apple could land you in a big mess. If you have a technical
> problem that requires the return of your Mac to an Apple Service Center for
> inspection and repair AND Apple determines the root of the problem to be
> caused by your self-installed ram AND the ram installed in your Mac is not
> Apple-branded, or Apple-installed ram, your Mac will most likely be returned
> to you without repair nor will it be eligible for repair in the future.
> That's why, when purchasing a new Mac laptop, I always am willing to pay the
> extra bucks for Apple-installed, Apple-branded ram. Sure, you can find much
> less expensive ram (especially in the higher configurations), but it's hardly
> worth it for this potential headache.

This, frankly, sounds a bit paranoid to me. I have never heard of a RAM
module damaging a computer. I have heard, however, of Apple blaming
third-party RAM for problems for which it couldn't have possibly been
the cause. ("My disk drive is making grinding noises!" "Yup, it must
have been that third-party RAM you installed.") And Apple's repair
centers typically throw in a warning whenever they find third-party RAM,
regardless of whether it has anything to do with a repair, so these
warnings don't really mean much. It's always a good idea to reinstall
the Apple-supplied RAM before sending your computer in for repair,
though, to avoid possible complications.

The upgrade to 1 GB through Apple is surprisingly competitive, costing
only $100. However, the upgrade to 2 GB is not. If I were planning to
purchase a MacBook and upgrade it to 2 GB of RAM, I'd be willing to risk
the negligible chance of third-party RAM damaging the laptop to save
over $250, which is almost a fourth of the cost of the computer itself.
Others may have their reasons for paying Apple's premium, but I don't
think a good one is to avoid potential damage to the computer by the RAM.

> Also, when shopping for a carrying case....Be sure to look for
> features that are important to you and how you plan to use your new
> MacBook.

Students might want to consider a case that will fit inside their
backpack. It's a lot more convenient to lug around just the backpack
than a backpack and a computer hanging off your shoulder.

jwblist (apparently) - Sep 6, 2006 10:52 am (#5 Total: 6)

via email

Posts: 768

Re: Comments on: Mac to School 2006: The $2,000 Challenge

On Sep 5, 2006, at 5:53 PM, Dan Frakes wrote:

> A less expensive alternative is to buy RAM from a reputable dealer
> that
> offers a lifetime warranty, but keep your stock Apple RAM handy. If
> you have
> a problem that requires you to send your notebook back to Apple,
> swap the
> third-party RAM out for the original Apple RAM beforehand. (This is
> also a
> good way to check to see if the problem still exists when using
> Apple's RAM
> -- to eliminate the third-party RAM as the cause of the problem.)

I compromised with my Macbook: bought Apple's upgrade to 1 gig (from
the online store, where it isn't, net, that much more than third
party, unlike their brick and mortar stores); if I later need 2 I'll
buy third party.

--John

Clyde Kahrl - Sep 7, 2006 2:10 pm (#6 Total: 6)

Posts: 26

Re: Comments on: Mac to School 2006: The $2,000 Challenge

With regard to RAM:

Don't forget that it makes a HUGE difference to get matching RAM. Based upon my limited experience, a matched set of 512s is better than a 512 and 1G.

I don't know about the experience in the mac world, but in the computer world in general there is a lot of scary talk about RAM modules of the same size and manufacturer not triggering the DDR features of the memory controller, but I don't know if that is just scary talk or what.

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