Name: Thrive! NCHE Homeschool Conference
Start: 2025-05-22T00:00:00-05:00
End: 2025-05-24T23:59:59-05:00
Location: Winston-Salem, NC

Tagged: buying computers, computers, Macs

This topic has 30 replies, 13 voices, and was last updated 12 years, 6 months ago by Christine Kaiser.

Viewing 15 posts - 1 through 15 (of 31 total)

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October 21, 2012 at 9:37 pm
Sue
Participant
I have received a grant that will help me purchase a new computer to replace my old, sloooooow one (Yay, thank You God!), so I’m asking some homeschooling families what I should be shopping for.
I know that I need a desktop and not a laptop (for reasons that involve me wanting to secure it so it doesn’t get carried off….but I digress.) Also, I’ve been told I ought to get 4 or 6gb ram. I’ve looked at a 4gb ram, 500gb hard drive computer, and it’s within my budget, but I’m wondering what the typical homeschooling family uses. (As if we are a typical homeschooling family, LOL!)
Thanks.
October 21, 2012 at 9:50 pm
Doug Smith
Keymaster
All of us SCM folks use a variety of Macs.
October 21, 2012 at 9:52 pm
Sue
Participant
But…..I’m scared of Macs….
Oh, wait….that’s Big Macs….
October 21, 2012 at 10:46 pm
crazy4boys
Participant
We have an iMac. It was a learning curve moving, from a PC to the Mac, and there are still some things that come up that we have to ask for help with, but mostly we really like it.
October 21, 2012 at 10:46 pm
Tristan
Participant
Mine is a Dell Inspiron 530. Don’t have a clue any more details, that is just what is on the machine.
October 21, 2012 at 11:14 pm
Claire
Participant
Macs are the way to go! We have a variety and love them all. They are very dependable and you don’t have the constant “issues” that PCs have. They may take some time to get used to but you really can’t mess ’em up.
October 22, 2012 at 1:10 am
missceegee
Participant
Another Mac family here. We have 3 Macbook Pros and an old Mac Mini. No more PCs for us. Never a problem with any of them. Well, unless you count the time that my 2 yo spilled his almond milk into my brand new Macbook. However, I left it alone for a week and it started again no problem. My only advise is to buy it from either Best Buy w/ their warranty or perhaps elsewhere with a Square Trade warranty as it covers all things including accidental almond milk spills.
October 22, 2012 at 1:32 am
HollyS
Participant
We have a cheap computer from Walmart…I think it’s an E-machine. Technology has come so far that a new cheap computer is probably better than what you have. 😉
October 22, 2012 at 1:57 am
LDIMom
Participant
Totally devoted to MACs here. I used them way back in college and since have never considered anything else.
My oldest one is a 2nd Generation iMac. It is 13 years old and has never been serviced. While it could probably use a tune-up, it still works like a charm and does all I ask of it.
I am typing now on my PowerBook. It is a dream!
I second the warranty, but beware that Best Buy warranty does not cover dropping the machine (not that I’ve ever done that).
It was actually a refurbished iBook that I knocked off the back of the couch on accident. Don’t ask me why I temporarily lay it up there, because the den has hardwood flooring. Needless to say the crack was a deal-breaker even for my beloved Mac.
If I could have just one computer, it would be a MacBook Pro, 13-inch display.
Oh wait? I already have one … actually two … we were totally BLESSEd by my FIL who had his own MacBook Pro that he didn’t like b/c he decided laptops are just not his thing … so he GAVE IT TO US to use for school.
Another thing I love is each of our DC has their own account with different internet security settings and some even have time limits (yes some of mine need time limits … sigh … that is another topic though).
All of that to say another vote for a MAC: reliable, affordable, resilient, attractive, user-friendly, can’t be beat!
October 22, 2012 at 1:58 am
LDIMom
Participant
http://www.apple.com/macbook-pro/
Meant to add this link, this is the one I have. Mine is about 1 year old.
October 22, 2012 at 2:17 am
Gem
Participant
Well for a considerable cost savings – we get along just fine with a PC lol – download some antivirus software and you will be fine. I have other apple products and they are terrific – and I am sure a mac is, too – but for “typical homeschooling” stuff a PC will work just as well if you are on a budget. 4mb RAM is the minimum I would get….that is what my computer has and it is fine, but more RAM does not hurt 😉
Get on the email list from Staples and watch their sales – you can often get a new computer on sale there for the price of a refurbished one… or a better one than you thought you could afford because it is on sale 🙂 Tiger Direct and Newegg are other online outlets for both new and refurbished computers. Also walmart has a ton of computers through mailorder on their site… Just bought a laptop for my daughter a few months ago so this is all fresh in my mind 🙂
oh, getting a new computer is fun!!! you are going to be amazed at how fast it is!!!
October 22, 2012 at 2:22 am
Gem
Participant
ouch!!! macbook pro starts at $1200 – my 17″ laptop new was $499 (3 yrs ago) – bought my daughter a laptop, refurbished, for $289… not knocking macs at all because I know they are great, but just pointing out that a PC can be just fine for a lot less $$$ – for typical homeschooling use – reading info, watching video, printing, word processing etc
October 22, 2012 at 2:58 am
missceegee
Participant
Gem, I realize that macbooks are pricey, but a mac mini is only $599 for the computer portion that can be paired with any monitor and keyboard. That isn’t much of a price difference for a computer that can go strong for 10-15+ years.
Contrast to our $600-$700 Sony Vaio? we had that burned thru the cord within months of owning it, was slower than molasses even with the newest most up to date software, had issues with virus/spy software, gave random error messages that required a computer science degree to figure out. That thing was a “top rated” pc laptop at the time and wasn’t worth more than a pile of bricks. It lasted 2-3 years, but the majority of that time as not working well. Our previous computer was a custom built desktop that was cheaper and marginally better, but still proved frustrating with viruses, spy issues (I forget what you call the spy stuff.) and it lasted only 2-3 years.
I bought our first macbook (not a pro) maybe 4-5 years ago for $899 refurbished (full warranty). That computer has never had any issues, never given a weird error message, never needed service and simply works, plain and simple ALL.OF.THE.TIME. Hubby had always used pc(s) and thought I was just a mac fanboy (or girl ) until he started using it and admitted how much better it worked. He still used a pc laptop from work, but earlier this year when it was in the midst of death throes, he decided to purchase a macbook pro for work use. He does run windows on it (I’m a snob and refuse to use any microsoft software.) because he has to do so for work, but he is AMAZED at how much better it works. His previous laptop would take almost 10 minutes to start up with all of the firewall stuff that his tech dept. put on it. The macbook is up and running in less than a minute. Needless to say, he’s a convert, too.
My brother gave me a mac mini for the kids that is ancient in tech years (1st model from 2006 or 2007 I think) and it works fine, too. None of our pcs lasted near that long.
It really is a case of getting what you pay for. Yes, a pc can do the necessary things, but in our experience (and that of many mac converted acquaintances) it will not do it as well, seamlessly or for as long as an apple product.
No, I’m not an Apple employee, but I am an unashamed mac girl who can’t help but point out that there is a reason and value behind that larger price tag.
🙂 Christie
October 22, 2012 at 3:14 am
Doug Smith
Keymaster
Actually, if you compare feature for feature with similar levels of technology and quality of components there is almost no price difference between an equivalent Mac and PC. Macs appear more expensive because they don’t offer anything on the far low end.
There are a couple ways to get a Mac with a discount. There is a “Special Deals” section at the lower left of the Apple store page that features refurbs. The refurbs can be current models or from a generation or two back. The release dates are listed for each model so you can choose easily. All refurbs direct from Apple come with the full 1-year warranty of a new product.
Apple has an event scheduled for Tuesday. If you wait until after that you may find a few more products available in the special deals section if they announce new models.
The other option is to take advantage of the education discount. Start with the “Education Store” near the top of the left sidebar on the Apple store page. You then have to idenify your school. Choose the “K-12” option and type “homeschool” in the search box. That will get you to the education pricing.
Regarding warranties, the best way to go is buy Applecare directly from Apple. Then if you do have a problem you’re dealing direclty with the manufacturer, not some third party. I’ve had some nightmares with third party warranties but Apple has been great.
October 22, 2012 at 3:20 am
missceegee
Participant
Applecare is fine, but DOES NOT cover liquid spills. It voids the warranty entirely which is the only reason I suggested the other warranty options that supposedly cover accidents. I learned the hard way, but like I previously mentioned I avoided that problem by leaving my computer off for a week and then it came back to life.