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javester · 03:27 PM

Why? Its the same warranty and everything. Also, its not a hypothetical exercise. When the Windows booting hack first came out, I actually bought a Mini Core Duo from the local Apple Store and the computation was bang on. Fortunately, Apple came out with BootCamp within three weeks and I was able to return the Mini within the allowed return period. (Regardless, I had to pay the 10% restocking fee)

I thought to myself that now that its officially supported by Apple, I might as well get a "real" machine I can use for day-to-day computing, settling on an MBP 1.83Ghz. I scoured high and low for the biggest bargain. I was even this close to buying a refurb from Apple.

But when everything else was considered, the refurbs from Apple were actually more expensive than an equivalent brand new MacTel from Amazon.

The clincher is that Apple charges sales tax in all 50 states, while Amazon only applies them in North Dakota, Washington, Kansas and Kentucky. A lot of pure online retailers are able to do this. Apple can't, since they're also a "regular" company. Add to the that the Amazon Visa and A9 promos, and you have an unbeatable bargain.

And the reward certificates came within a week of my purchase too! I have since redeemed them for a 3M Privacy Filter, which IMHO, is a must buy accessory.

So, with the $380 I saved, I bought a $170 2GB mem kit from digime.com, a $30 Targus Mobile-X Cooling Stand, the $49 privacy filter, a hipster $50 Incase laptop bag, a $30 Microsoft Wireless Optical Mouse and pre-ordered Parallels for $40.

I now have a totally pimped MBP 1.83 with $10 to spare!

	(#4 (permalink))
javester Administrator Status: Offline Posts: 209 Join Date: Mar 2006	04-29-2006, 08:28 AM Why? Its the same warranty and everything. Also, its not a hypothetical exercise. When the Windows booting hack first came out, I actually bought a Mini Core Duo from the local Apple Store and the computation was bang on. Fortunately, Apple came out with BootCamp within three weeks and I was able to return the Mini within the allowed return period. (Regardless, I had to pay the 10% restocking fee) I thought to myself that now that its officially supported by Apple, I might as well get a "real" machine I can use for day-to-day computing, settling on an MBP 1.83Ghz. I scoured high and low for the biggest bargain. I was even this close to buying a refurb from Apple. But when everything else was considered, the refurbs from Apple were actually more expensive than an equivalent brand new MacTel from Amazon. The clincher is that Apple charges sales tax in all 50 states, while Amazon only applies them in North Dakota, Washington, Kansas and Kentucky. A lot of pure online retailers are able to do this. Apple can't, since they're also a "regular" company. Add to the that the Amazon Visa and A9 promos, and you have an unbeatable bargain. And the reward certificates came within a week of my purchase too! I have since redeemed them for a 3M Privacy Filter, which IMHO, is a must buy accessory. So, with the $380 I saved, I bought a $170 2GB mem kit from digime.com, a $30 Targus Mobile-X Cooling Stand, the $49 privacy filter, a hipster $50 Incase laptop bag, a $30 Microsoft Wireless Optical Mouse and pre-ordered Parallels for $40. I now have a totally pimped MBP 1.83 with $10 to spare! Last edited by javester : 04-29-2006 at 03:27 PM.