The Best Places to Buy a Mac

I had a regular PC for years but once I started using a Mac everything just seemed better. I used Apple computers when I started at Emerson College. I was a New Media major and Macs were perfect for design and video production. Apple computers are very simple yet offer better performance in many areas. The only thing they ever lacked was game play which was fine with me. But todays new Intel Mac's are just as good with computer games. I bought my first Mac in 2003. I bought the first 17 inch Powerbook and it has been working great ever since. I bought directly from the Apple Store which was very convenient because it was the first batch of the new Powerbooks and they were pretty hard to find. I also was able to use their educational discount since I was in college. Teachers are also offered the educational discount.

The initial cost of buying a Mac is more than a regular pc. But it seemed well worth it to me. I have friends that constantly need to keep up to date with virus and spyware protection. Their are some free pc virus and spyware protection but it is a lot of effort. Most people I know tend to buy Norton every year while I don't need to. A new Mac will come with OSX which has always been extremely stable for me. At work I use lots of PC's and constantly need to restart them when the computer or a program freezes.

After buying my Mac I have found better places to buy Apple products. If you don't care about price and want a specific configuration then by all means go through the Apple Store online. The Apple Store is very user friendly and easily allows upgrades through drop down menus. So you can get exactly what you want.

Applecare can be purchased to add 3 years of warranty protection. A new mac will come with one year of Applecare. If you don't buy it right away you can still decide to within a year of purchasing your computer. Applecare was great because it offered great phone support. I used it a few times to figure out connecting a projector and to fix my login items. I also eventually needed to replace my DVD burner. It wasn't faulty but my son thought pennies would fit nicely inside. I got the pennies out and the burner stopped working. I took it to the local Apple Store and they replaced it. AppleCare can also be purchased cheaper at some of the other store's I talk about below.

One of the best deals to buy a new Mac is through Amazon. By buying through Amazon you won't get charged tax and often times Amazon has rebates and includes free shipping. You won't be able to customize your Mac, but you can easily get a common model then add extra RAM yourself. Apple's RAM can be purchased a lot cheaper from other online stores and is easy to install yourself.

Another great place to buy a Mac is to buy a refurb from the Apple Store online. The refurbs are updated constantly. So if you don't see exactly what you wanted check back in a day or two. I did this for my grandfather's Emac and it worked out great. We saved a little over $100 and it looked as good as new. He loves the computer and can surf the internet and play Bridge online without any trouble. A Mac has such little maintenace it works out great for him.

Some other good places are slightly cheaper than the Apple Store but offer lot's of extras through rebates and can allow some upgrades. These would be Macmall and Macwarehouse.

Smalldog.com actually offers various bundles that end up being cheaper than if you configure them yourself through Apple. they also sell AppleCare for less than Apple.

I have found the best prices on Cragslist and Ebay at times, but they are constantly changing. You also need to be careful that it isn't stolen or defective. If you take this route you should get the Serial number and check it with Apple before you purchase your Mac. I would also try to find one that might still have Applecare and if possible try it before you take it home.

The newest Apple Store recently opened. It is located on Boyslton street. I wish I could make it to the opening. But I've got work, hopefully I can go sometime soon. It has 3 floors all dedicated to Apple. The first floor is computers. The second is dedicated to various gadgets like the iphone and various ipods. The third floor is taken up by the biggest genius bar.

A Mac Mini is a great way to introduce a PC user to Apple. The Mini is cheaper than other Mac's and if you already have a monitor and keyboard it is a smaller investment.

For laptos Apple has a few choices and they are all pretty light and durable. The top of the line performance model is the Mac Book Pro. It can be used for intensive work like editing video, using large Photoshop files and playing the newest high quality games. If you need a portable desktop computer this is your choice. The regular Mac Book is great for everyday use. The Mac Book Air is the lightest and thinnest Mac their is. It can fit inside a regular manilla envelope. The Mac Book Air lacks a lot of the features I would need but it is the best wireless computer you can get. The optional Flash based hard drive is amazing but adds too much to the price for me. At that pirce I could get the heavier Mac Book Pro. If you need to carry a computer everywhere and don't need the CD-rom drive it could be great for you.