Hold off on buying a new macbook / macbook pro for just a bit (1 Viewer)

[Ted Todorov]

Originally Posted by DaveF

As a happy MBP owner (2007 15" model), I see the new MBP's and think, "I'd rather have an iPad". I'm curious if and how the iPad will change the buying habits of Apple customers. I spent about $2500 on my current MBP, and figured that come next upgrade, I'd again spend $2000+ on another Mac laptop.

It certainly seems to be happening with us -- my wife's white MacBook died at the end of 2009 -- the plan was to replace it with a 13" MBP as soon as the new models came out. Until then we have been sharing a my 13" MBP and are constantly trying to snatch it away from each other

But now that the iPad is out -- the plan has changed -- I'll get myself a 3G iPad and my wife gets custody of the MBP while she's at home. If the iPad is a household success she'll get one with next year's model.

 

[Craig S]

Originally Posted by Ronald Epstein

Craig,

Can I actually hook up an external BD drive to my
Mac and expect it to work?


Will it work with iMovie/iDVD in addition to Toast?

Other World Computing has a good selection of BD drives that work with Macs (of course lot of vendors sell these, but I like to research on the OWC site because they specialize in Mac add-ons). They sell drives in enclosures with USB and Firewire 400/800 interfaces. Just plug the drive in and OS X will recognize it as an optical drive. You just need extra software (like Toast) to access any of the BD functions as OS X doesn't have the built-in support. OWC has this detailed writeup on how the whole process works:

http://eshop.macsales.com/Reviews/Framework.cfm?page=/Tips/burn-bluray/index.html

As Matt said, for iMovie you just export your movie in the proper resolution. I don't believe there's any way to get iDVD-authored menu systems onto BD. However, Toast does have rudimentary menuing capabilities, which are fine for home use.

Now, I haven't done any of this myself (I use Toast mainly to transfer TV episodes from my TiVos and burn 'em to DVD) - I've been waiting for BD burner & media prices to drop a little more before I take the plunge.

 

[Sam Posten]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Craig S

Now, I haven't done any of this myself (I use Toast mainly to transfer TV episodes from my TiVos and burn 'em to DVD) - I've been waiting for BD burner & media prices to drop a little more before I take the plunge.

Me too. Since 2008.

Anyway, that's a good guide. At risk of continuing a topic of conversation we were asked to curtail in a different thread, I will simply add that if you take the info supplied by OWC above and pair it with http://www.marco.org/491133723 (plus a considerable amount of cash money) and you are good to go for legal Bluray burns of your own material.

 

[mattCR]

BD Media is so cheap right now it's sick. It just depends on where you grab it. I'm picking up BD @ around $2.20/disc. Completely worth it. Even when I'm not using it for Video in BD format, it makes for a great archive/hold format to file away.

 

[Craig S]

Originally Posted by mattCR

BD Media is so cheap right now it's sick. It just depends on where you grab it. I'm picking up BD @ around $2.20/disc. Completely worth it. Even when I'm not using it for Video in BD format, it makes for a great archive/hold format to file away.

That's good to hear. I haven't really been paying attention to media prices. The burners, while not that bad, are still a bit higher than I'd like to pay given the limited use I'll get out of one.

 

[DaveF]

Quote:Originally Posted by mattCR /forum/thread/297885/hold-off-on-buying-a-new-macbook-macbook-pro-for-just-a-bit/90#post_3681107

 

[mattCR]

Ok, that's true, so you're figuring 10 cents for 700MB.
Meanwhile, $2.20 for 25GB
35CDs = 1 BD 25GB.
35CDs @ 10 cents a disc = $3.50.
$3.50 is greater then $2.20.



(because by the time you get that rebate... oh, never mind, I just hate rebates.. but if you buy select BD writers, you get up to 4 free discs on a rebate through NewEgg and Amazon.. so that's the equivelent of 100GB, or 140 CDs)

 

[Sam Posten]

No, he's saying the spindle costs $10 AND he gets a $10 rebate, so its free. 0 is less than whatever you are paying =)

 

[DaveF]

Ah, the dot-com era, how I miss ya Practically getting paid to buy computer stuff.

 

[Michael Harris]

I went to the Apple refurb page and ordered this:

Refurbished MacBook Pro 2.8GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
17-inch high-resolution LED-backlit antiglare widescreen display
4GB memory
500GB hard drive
8x SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
ExpressCard/34 slot
Built-in 8-hour battery
NVIDIA GeForce 9400M + 9600M GT with 512MB
Illuminated keyboard

More then sufficient for my needs considering it is replacing an 8 year old Dell Inspiron laptop. This sucker will have more power than all my other Intel computers combined. Glad I waited until after the refresh.

 

[Sam Posten]

Nice Michael!

 

[Michael Harris]

It should be delivered to my office tomorrow. Oh, and the total with tax came in south of $2K, which is where I wanted to be.

 

[Michael Harris]

My MacBook Pro arrived. Can't wait to get it home.

 

[Sam Posten]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michael Harris

My MacBook Pro arrived. Can't wait to get it home.

Groovy! We demand unboxing pix!

Hehe I feel slimy today, I put MS Office 2010 RTM (ie the final version, not the beta) on my Win7 Bootcamp partition on my MacbookPro today. First time I've fired up the MBP since getting the iPad. Forgot how heavy it is =)

 

[Michael Harris]

You demanded and here you are. I'll be doing the set up once I get home.