How do you distinguish between Macbooks?

[matty-hodgson]

Apple call its Macbooks the exact same thing every year, they always just call it a Macbook, so is there any way to know which model is the newest?

My girlfriend's going to art college next year and wants to get a Macbook for doing her work on, so I had a look around to see if I can find a cheap deal. I found this:

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Produc...7C17503823.htm

But it kinda seems to me that that may be an older model because of the £220 less than the Apple Store price tag.

Any help would be greatly appreciated

[kalniel]

Look at the specs.

Current macbook has an nvidia 320M. The argos one has a 9400M

[matty-hodgson]

Look at the specs.

Current macbook has an nvidia 320M. The argos one has a 9400M

Is that basically the only way to tell?

[kalniel]

Is that basically the only way to tell?

Yup. Occasionally they change the looks of the thing, and who's to say there isn't a difference if you flip them over an look at the fine details, but this is the company that thinks two mouse buttons is too complex, so don't expect detailed model names

(PS the macbook pro is considered worth the extra outlay over the macbook)

[matty-hodgson]

(PS the macbook pro is considered worth the extra outlay over the macbook)

Her older brother has a current-gen Macbook and I have the Macbook Pro and she says she much prefers her brothers out of the 2 so that's the one she's decided to get, but yeah, the Macbook Pro seems like a much better purchase to me.

Is it worth purchasing the software with the Macbook or is it better (cheaper) to purchase it from Amazon or somewhere similar?

[spoon_]

You most definitely want the Alu version.

http://store.apple.com/uk/browse/hom...mco=OTY2ODExMA

Acrylic on these used to crack on the edges... [white ones 13"]

[mrt9888]

The new macbooks won't crack like the old ones as they have a rubber strip instead of plastic.

What software do you want to buy with the macbook as all new Macs come with ilife, you could get openoffice or buy office or iwork.

[matty-hodgson]

Final Cut Express and Aperture apparently. IIRC they were about £250 together when I got my MBP.

I know that she can get an education discount, but does that count with the software too?