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I placed an order today at The Apple Store, and I am understandably excited. I have waited a long time to purchase a new laptop, and I’m glad I held off for the one I wanted. Of course when the goodies start to arrive I will do an unboxing post even though it may well be the last one done on this particular MacBook Pro before they are updated. Incidentally, I saved $540 because of academic pricing and the free iPod Touch promotion!

I just read a very interesting article from Tom’s Hardware that set out to bust some of the myths surrounding the price difference between Apple computers and PCs running Windows. What makes this article even more interesting is that Tom’s Hardware is basically a Windows ‘fanboy” site as evidenced by the closing sentence of the article:

The bottom line is the operating system. I personally can’t wait to see the next major release of Windows — that’s more exciting to me than the next release of Mac OS X.

The author, Tuan Nguyen, compares Apple systems to comparable Windows based PCs and find little difference in price. He points out that you start to see a huge discrepancy when you add upgrades to your Apple computer. For instance, if you add RAM or a larger hard drive to your base-line Apple the markups are extreme. The bottom line: if you buy a Mac be sure to purchase your upgrades AFTER you get the computer…of course I don’t know what that will do to your AppleCare Protection Plan.

Read The Entire Article

I’m one of these people that needs almost no time to make certain decisions like have a baby, buy a house, get a new car, and weeks or months to make others like, which grill do I buy, which humidor do I buy, or which computer do I buy.

As I’ve mentioned before, I have been sans laptop for a good long while. That is a difficult situation to find oneself in these days, especially if your work is research and presentation related. I’ve also mentioned that I’m going back to school in a few weeks and that means I will be buying a new laptop, but which one?

The first quesiton I had to answer is should I stay in Windows camp or should I venture back into Mac territory? I say ‘back’ because several years ago I was the proud owner of an iMac…one of the egg shaped dealios. Mine was graphite, and it looked wonderful and hip (at the time). The problem was that OS 9 pretty much stunk. As a matter of fact it was no better or worse than Windows 98, and it required hundreds of dollars of extra software to make sure you were compatible with the rest of the world…and even then it didn’t always work.

Well, much has happened since that time, and not only can the Mac run Windows natively it also has an entirely new OS called OS X based on Unix. Of course Apple products still cost more than most Windows based laptops, but they are also made from better components…right? Unfortunately, according to Consumer Reports this isn’t necessarily the case. Still, there is a lot to be said for Apple as a company, and for their products. Add to that the abysmal failure that is Windows Vista, and in the end I decided to go with a Mac.

Now, which Mac laptop do I buy. There are a few choices here. First, I could buy a MacBook. These are Apple’s ‘entry level’ laptops. They have a plastic case (as do most laptops), and come in white (truly ugly) and black (pretty cool). Of course, the problem with these little beauties is that they are ‘little’ beauties. A 13″ screen just doesn’t do it for me. Of course the other components in the MacBook line are also not a robust as those in the other lines, but the screen is the biggest pitfall for me.

Next up is the relatively new MacBook Air. This sucker is certainly thin and would be pretty cool for the ‘road-warrior’, but I’m not impressed with it specs, and what I really want in a laptop is a desktop replacement or as close as I can get to one.

Finally, there is the MacBook Pro. These venerable machine come in 15″ and 17″ models and are just what the doctor ordered. Lots of RAM, great graphics, USB, Firewire, etc. In addition, the MacBook Pros sport aluminum cases for added durability, and they just look cool in my opinion. AND to make matters even more attractive, if you buy a MacBook Pro (or any of the other Mac laptops) before September 15 you get a free 8GB iPod Touch! Ok, decision reached. Pull the trigger right?

Not quite. It turns out that Apple is going to be releasing new products at the end of September. And of course, when the new products come out the iPod Touch deal goes away. In addition, my HTC 8525 Windows Mobile phone went the way of the Dodo a couple months ago and I need a new phone as well. I’m eligible for an upgrade in May of next year, and I figure I will probably go with an iPhone this time considering the luck I had with my Windows Mobile gear. So the question is this:

Do I purchase the MacBook Pro now, get the free iPod Touch and turn it over to the wife when May roles around, OR do I wait, buy the latest and greatest from Mac at the end of September (a month into school), miss out on the free iPod Touch, and upgrade to an iPhone in May?

It probably sounds easy to most people. They would read this and say, “that’s easy, just…” But for me, this will continue to be a heartrending decision that is made and remade day after day until I finally make myself buy now or wait to long…Oh the humanity of it all!