buying a mac in the states (1 Viewer)

[HalfHunter]

i will be in new york this summer and was thinking about buying a macbook to bring home with me. the one i want is about €400 cheaper.
what are the pros and cons with using an american one in ireland?

 

[Jill Hives]

I have no problems...you just need a one of those 6 euro adapters since mac has the transformer already in the power cord. Ditich the box before you come back though.

 

[Lefty Frizzell]

i will be in new york this summer and was thinking about buying a macbook to bring home with me. the one i want is about €400 cheaper.
what are the pros and cons with using an american one in ireland?

I did this 6 months ago and i'm glad i did.

The only difference is the @ key and the " key on the keyboard are swapped.

I came home with it and then bought 3 year applecare on ebay for 100 euro. Another few hundred saved.

The US plug on the power adapter can be clicked off and a standard radio UK power cable can be used.

 

[Jill Hives]

The US plug on the power adapter can be clicked off and a standard radio UK power cable can be used.

Does that work? Huh. I should get one.

 

[HalfHunter]

yeah i figured i would have to ditch the box or maybe hide it in my case?
anything else i should watch out for?

 

[Lefty Frizzell]

Yeah the american plug can be detached from the adapter:

Then plug a radio lead where it was.

 

[Jill Hives]

Well, it works both ways. I'd say ditch the box all together (it's cumbersome anyway) and just bring it back like you had it on your way over.

 

[Lefty Frizzell]

anything else i should watch out for?

They'll definitely try to sell applecare protection to you. If you want it wait till you get home.

I got it on ebay for 100 and the code was emailed to me. Worked fine. Its €319 on the irish apple store.

 

[Anthony]

you'll have no probs. I did it from Canada.

 

[HalfHunter]

you'll have no probs. I did it from Canada.

cool.
any long term stuff that i should be worried about, software updates etc ..?

 

[swingkid]

and what about buying software, ie. Logic Studio, in the states?
should be exact same as what you'd buy in Ireland, right?

 

[7 - No tomorrow]

maybe hide it in my case?

Good idea.
Customs will never think to check in your case.

Maybe you could have the receipt tattooed on your forehead?

 

[Wilbert]

cool.
any long term stuff that i should be worried about, software updates etc ..?

No. You'll be fine.

 

[Goodbye]

and what about buying software, ie. Logic Studio, in the states?
should be exact same as what you'd buy in Ireland, right?

I bought Pro Tools from the states.
Its the same thing.

 

[HalfHunter]

thanks guys.
can the region on the dvd drive be changed?

 

[Jill Hives]

thanks guys.
can the region on the dvd drive be changed?

Only four times then it sticks.

 

[Squiggle]

thanks guys.
can the region on the dvd drive be changed?

DVD region on the drive is software, not hardware, driven. So, it won't make a difference.

 

[Anthony]

in os9 there was a great application called Region that would allow you to change the region willy nilly.
I haven't found an OSX version, or haven't looked hard enough.

 

[HMD]

here's the os x version

http://mac.softpedia.com/get/Video/Region-X.shtml

 

[Jill Hives]

here's the os x version

http://mac.softpedia.com/get/Video/Region-X.shtml

Awesome. I have been very careful not to switch back from Region 2 to Region 1 until I needed to.