[angel252]

First sorry for the post that must now 100 yrs old, but I didn't see any other threads. I'm going to be heading to college in little over a month and have been shopping around for a computer. My friends who use Macs have been praising them on high for years, and I'm not a windows fanboy (though I have some reservations about jumping trains, i'm willing to try). I was all but ready to get a macbook for school until hearing about the recent issues such as heating, whinning, random shutdowns, and all that jazz. My main question here I guess is that can anyone recommend the macbook to student who is most likely going to major in english/history, as well as other creative studies? I am just too afraid that if there are any key issues, the nearest apple store is quite a ride from me. Any help in this would be greatly apprecitaed. Only one of my pals has one, and he loves it. So i'm looking for some great pros and cons. Thanks

[Typhoon14]

There are always going to a small number of units with issues in any product line. The vast majority of people who purchase these systems love them and experience none of these issues.
Heating: The MacBooks have very fast CPUs, and run on the hot side, noticeably hotter than earlier PowerBook models. The machines are designed to run at high temperatures and are perfectly capable of dissipating this heat with no danger to the components. If you wear thin clothing and routinely balance the machine on your lap while working, it could be a wee bit uncomfortable, but it is not something to be overly concerned about.
Whine: Some MacBooks did at certain time emit a whining noise that some people found annoying. Apple has introduced a new revision of the logic board designed to eliminate this sound in all new units.
Random shutdowns: Haven't heard much about this. Needless to say, if your machine is experiencing random shutdowns, the unit or battery is most likely defective and you should take it in and request a replacement unit or repair. That's what warranties are for.
I would go for it. It sounds like the perfect computer for what you want to do (Remember: it can even run Windows, should you need to do so). It is very unlikely that you will have any hardware issues with the machine. The MacBooks are truly some of the highest-performance notebooks on the market in their price-bracket, and the design and OS are top-notch.
One thing: as a student, don't forget to request the student discount and save a couple hundred bucks.

[maflynn]

I think the MB is a great computer and may be an excellent fit for your needs, as for the issues they do not occur in every model.
The heat, take a look here: Macbook vs. Dell and you'll see that the MB is not that much hotter then the Dell and for the most part its running at the same temp. Some of the earlier issues with the heat have been resolved and newer MBs seem to run a little cooler.
Whining, the only thing that whines is the owner /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif my Macbook doesn't whine so I really cannot address this issue.
Random shutdowns - your post is the first of I've heard about this, I frequent a number of mac sites and I've not seen posts.
If you can wait a couple of weeks, then I'd suggest that you do. Apple is having its developer conference August 7th and they typically release/announce new hardware. While its unlikely they you'll see a revision to the MB (because it was just released) do you really want to take a chance.
One final piece of advice when you buy a mac, be it a Macbook, Macbook Pro, iMac, etc. get as much ram as you can afford. 512meg is just too small to do anyhting. Accessing the MacBook's memory is incredably easy and I'd recommend saving some money by getting third party ram over apple. Your paying a premium for apple ram.
Mike

[schokid02]

For what I expect you'll need your computer for in college I would recommend comparing prices on an older model, power-PC based computer. You'd be just fine getting an iBook, which is going to save you some money over the MacBook. It's just something to consider if your looking to save money. Otherwise I'd hihgly recommend getting a MacBook.

[MiniMoe]

Had mine for 2-3 weeks now. It gets used almost exclusively on my lap in my La-Z-Boy while I'm wearing shorts. Yeah, it gets a little warm when I do intensive things like import, reorganize, and clean up 30,000 email messages, or rip a DVD, but when that happens, I just shift it around or put it up on the chair arm for awhile. It's no hotter than my Dell Inspiron.
No mooing or whining, or staining palm rests. Seems Apple's got that fixed by now. Never heard of a random shutdown problem and I'm pretty active on several Mac forums.
I'd buy it from Apple's educational store, build-to-order. I wouldn't have a notebook without a DVD burner, so I got the white 2.0. The 1GB option is reasonably priced and has turned out to be plenty, even with MS-Office. The 80GB is also reasonably priced and I highly recommend it if you want the option to use Windows XP via Boot Camp. I'd also get AppleCare on any notebook, and it's a real bargain through the educational store.
Speaking of MS-Office, if your university has a Microsoft Campus license, you'll be able to get it at no cost. The campus gets a big binder with all the install disks, and may check it out to you, make you a copy, or host it on a network server for you to install from.

[angel252]

Thanks for the help clearing some of that up. I talked to my friend with a macbook too, and you all seemed to have pushed me over into the macbook arena. Now it's just a matter of working my ass. Hopefully, it'll be here soon enough. Thanks

[RichL]

I just book a MacBook about a week ago.
I use it while wearing shorts...I've had no mysterious shutdowns.....no whinning....no problem with the trackpad...
In fact, so far, I have not had any issues?
Go buy the MB...you'll be happy with it.
RIchL

[Vrenir]

I came on here a couple months ago to do pre-purchase research, and now I'm back to say just how awesomely my new Macbook is working!
I bought in-store so that I could test it out before taking it home; I clocked both processors up to 98% for ten minutes and played a lightly-burned DVD, and there were no issues whatsoever. Now, one week later, I have 2GB of Transintel memory in the mail, and still no issues. I'm hoping to get Bootcamp up and running and own an XP Pro code, but am trying to get my hands on an installer disk with Service Pack 2.
It should be noted that my computer does "moo" while running Windows Media Player videos, but the sound is quiet enough that I can barely hear it over the speakers at a reasonable volume. If anything, I actually found the noise comforting, because it let me know that the fans were working. I've also had desktops whose fans sounded like planes taking off, so this is nothing.
The webcam is a ton of fun, and will probably be increasingly useful in the years to come as they become more standard. I've tried webconferencing with a friend, and the report is that the quality over even a weak high-speed connection is "crystal."
If I had to pick one thing that I don't like about this computer, it would be the speaker volume. The output itself seems the same as an iBook, but the fact that the speakers face out the rear of the machine dulls the sound considerably. Fortunately, I have a set of old, unpowered desktop speakers that I have set up on either side, and while they don't boost volume, they face my direction, and the sound is so much better as a result.
So to recap: One week in, and a great experience thus far. Still waiting to install my extra RAM and to find an XP Pro installer cd. Then my plans will be complete.
P.S. - I'm also an English/History major. I used student discounts and a resale of the free Nano to get my cost down, and in a month, I will be able to boast that my laptop is one of, if not the best, portable computer on campus!