MacBook Pro - thunderbolt storage and DVD drive

[RemaL]

great cheera again. I went to the local apple store yesterday and had a good look at what they can do so i'm sold on the Macbook as it meets the needs I want

[RemaL]

ehasler said:

You can often get good deals at the Apple refurb store

http://store.apple.com/uk/browse/home/specialdeals...

I bought both my Macbook Pro, and Mac Pro there, and you couldn't tell them apart from a brand new model. Just double-check the specs to make sure you're not getting an older model (they currently list both the 2012 and 2013 Macbook Pro).

just a question re refurb. I gather you get a 1 year warranty and are there any drawbacks other than not being the first to own the laptop?

[SlidingSideways]

If you buy from John Lewis, you get 3 years warranty now, saving a couple of hundred quid in AppleCare (if you were factoring that into the price).

[RemaL]

SlidingSideways said:

If you buy from John Lewis, you get 3 years warranty now, saving a couple of hundred quid in AppleCare (if you were factoring that into the price).

Just looked as it's 2 year and £130 for the extra year.

[ehasler]

RemaL said:

just a question re refurb. I gather you get a 1 year warranty and are there any drawbacks other than not being the first to own the laptop?

There is a chance that the laptop may have slight cosmetic marks on it - mine has a very small mark on the underside of the case that you can barely see, however my Mac Pro desktop was in perfect condition. They come in new packaging too, so you would struggle to tell one apart from a brand new model.

I suppose the only real downside is if you're after a custom spec, as the available machines tend to be the standard off the shelf models.

[RemaL]

cheers for that. Talked to the wife and she said go new. OK them not bad. I'm in no rush so just going to keep my eye peeled for any offers and look into the Dixon's airport thing.

[GCH]

Pay on an amex charge card, and it extends the standard manufacturer warranty by 1 additional year - this also applies to purchases from the apple refurb store.
Alternatively, buy using the educational discount link (easily found with a bit of googling), and you get three year applecare gratis.

[MrsF]

GCH said:

Pay on an amex charge card, and it extends the standard manufacturer warranty by 1 additional year - this also applies to purchases from the apple refurb store.
Alternatively, buy using the educational discount link (easily found with a bit of googling), and you get three year applecare gratis.

Is this correct about the Applecare warranty with education purchases?

I'm just about to buy and have got my quote from Apple Education, it doesn't make any reference to 3 years free applecare.

[Perik Omo]

Three years Apple Care (1 year standard+additional 2 years) costs £60.00 for a Macbook Pro in the Educational Store and it's call the Apple Care Uplift Plan.

[GCH]

MrsFallon said:

Is this correct about the Applecare warranty with education purchases?

I'm just about to buy and have got my quote from Apple Education, it doesn't make any reference to 3 years free applecare.

Yes.

Education comes with 1yr telephone support and three years hardware warranty as opposed to one . I was rather jetlagged when I typed applecare-apologies- but not a vast difference really.
Either way you are covered longer than standard.
You can indeed uplift this to full applecare - which gives you telephone support- for a discounted rate, as posted above, using the uplift plan.

[RemaL]

I just wish I could find away to get the Education discount.

[GCH]

RemaL said:

I just wish I could find away to get the Education discount.

Enjoy:
http://www.mikewilson.cc/2010/08/18/how-to-get-a-1...

[RemaL]

GCH said:

RemaL said:

I just wish I could find away to get the Education discount.

Enjoy:
http://www.mikewilson.cc/2010/08/18/how-to-get-a-1...

OK reading that and thought WFT it's going to be hard but let me get this straight with a little addition to the URL I can get the Education apple product ordered and delivered to my house

[Perik Omo]

Yes...

[MrsF]

I've had my Macbook Pro delivered and have to say what a lovely piece of kit it is.

I got 15% discount off it and £60 gift card.

The only offer they were doing on Applecare was £48.00

[RemaL]

great to know. just waiting to see if there is any news on a updated model any time soon then order

[GetCarter]

I have a MBP and superdrive. Both work fine, though I use smart DVD creator when burning.

I back everything up in the cloud each day (which also ends up on my Mac Pro desktop), but when I do large file size vids, I copy onto a stick and every week copy everything over. I've given up on spinning external hard disks as so many fail, so now just use SSD (and cloud).

[RemaL]

great thanks for the feedback GC

always handy to have the best ideas on backing up gear. I have only had 1 external HHD fail but always back up on a few so have not lost anything yet of importance.

[RemaL]

well a minor update today so off to get a new Macbook pro. An expensive week as I just got the wife a GT86 last fri