Yes, I know that there are a few rumors out there about a supposed upcoming refresh of the MacBook line. But I just couldn’t pass up the deals that ended yesterday and decided to go ahead and order my MacBook Pro.
I ended up with the 15″ MBP (actually it’s a 15.4″ widescreen, but Apple, in all of its hipness, drops the apparently insignificant HALF INCH in its marketing). I ordered the larger hard drive after going through some sites telling how to upgrade that yourself – by cracking the case! No convenient upgrade hatch for Apple fans!
The glossy screen was a free upgrade – some people prefer the matte finish of the standard display – and I enjoy that on my Vista laptop, so I got that, too. I resisted the urge to add memory with the order. I really want 4GB, but in order to upgrade from 2GB to 4GB, Apple wants $180. $180!!! A quick search on the Internets helped me pick up the ENTIRE 4GB kit for less than HALF of that. Anyone want to buy two 1GB sticks of PC2-5300? =)
I also picked up a GREAT deal on Adobe software. The entire Adobe Creative Suite 3 Web Premium Edition was $299. Yes, that’s HALF the price of Photoshop alone! It includes Photoshop Extended, Illustrator, Fireworks, Dreamweaver, Acrobat Pro, and a few other toys. Normally this little box would run about $1600.
Oh, and now for the best part…. My lovely wife works at a local elementary school and was eligible for the educational promo. That was $200 off the MacBook Pro and a FREE iPod touch! No, it isn’t the model that was released last week – that would be TOO cool of Apple. But it’s still a $209 product for free. And I was able to snag the free printer, too. All-in-all, those discounts saved over $500. Add in the better price on memory and it practically pays for itself!
I’ve been using Windows-based PCs since Windows 3.1 was released. And I’ll still continue to use them everyday. But I’m bored. I really enjoy using my Mac Mini and am confident that will translate into a happy experience with my new MBP. I’m not a traitor…. I’m just curious. =)
