MacBook Air

[LkptTiger 1]

Go outside. Life is too short to hole yourself up in a game room.

[strosedefence34 175]

well yeah I agree with you with going outside. the amount of times we play wiffleball , soccer, football and even hockey now is ridiculous. I keep running shoes and mesh shorts in the trunk of my car because chances are its going to lead to that. We played so much soccer and wiffleball on my friends lawn that we killed his grass. And i have to say we are pretty hardcore about it to with foul lines and everything. In the raining / winter weather her game room kicked ass. She had so much money, but no ac so we never wanted to go in the summer.

Back on topic: like someone else said they just updated their laptops. If you can and want to wait till the summer when they come out with new ones do it, but if you don't want to or can't they are really good computers

[mack 44]

I would say don't get a laptop as soon as a new one's released as it's going to have flaws. My supernova Pro that I got on launch day was my last time of caving in at something new.

[Jason Harris 31]

My goal is like a lot of parents: have a game room that's fun enough that our girls would like to spend time with their friends at our house, rather than somewhere else where they could get themselves into trouble or danger.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but - as a kid - I have to tell you that I don't think that's ever going to happen. It doesn't matter how much fun shit you might have in your game room: eventually, it's all going to get old and they're going to look for other stuff to do. Like it or not, they're probably going to have to leave the house.

I don't expect it to be a magnet all of the time, but I expect it to work some of the time. Also, getting into trouble or danger, to me, is less about ingesting banned substances (to a point) and more about driving/riding while impaired, vandalizing, spending time with the wrong crowd.

In other words, we've often repeated the cliche of "You can lead the horse to the trough, but you can't make him eat" to our daughters. They know what we mean by it, just as they understand they will be in situations when they'll feel pressured by their peers. At that point, they'll have to make their own decisions, so all we can hope is we've provided enough information for them to make the right decisions.

[usahockey22 0]

]

I don't expect it to be a magnet all of the time, but I expect it to work some of the time. Also, getting into trouble or danger, to me, is less about ingesting banned substances (to a point) and more about driving/riding while impaired, vandalizing, spending time with the wrong crowd.

In other words, we've often repeated the cliche of "You can lead the horse to the trough, but you can't make him eat" to our daughters. They know what we mean by it, just as they understand they will be in situations when they'll feel pressured by their peers. At that point, they'll have to make their own decisions, so all we can hope is we've provided enough information for them to make the right decisions.

Yea, once you hit driving age in high school, everything changes...

Probably the best way to steer your kids away from the wrong crowd is to have them talk to an older cousin, or friend who is at least partly through college, and can enlighten them as to how it works...somebody who they look up to as being cool, but also smart.

In high school you might not be cool if you don't start drinking on the weekends or smoking pot, etc...but fast forward five years down the line. All of the square kids from HS are out making something of their lives, getting degrees, good jobs, finding success. The ones who get into drugs and drinking are the same losers they were in high school. Hindsight is 20/20, but kids don't always believe their parents...someone who they see as a role model and who is a few years older than their own peer group would be good for them to talk to.

I wish I had someone talk to me like that...summer after my junior year, through my first semester of college went a lot like that "dazed and confused" movie. Fortunately I realized my mistake after less than 2 years, and cleaned up my act. A lot of my old "friends" from HS are still doing the same old thing.

[kosydar 0]

Just went to my school bookstore and they have this deal going on. Is it any good? Its the previous model Macbook in black, the one that came out in October for $999. The guys at the store were raving about it, but they might be trying to get rid of some old stock.

[strosedefence34 175]

well with a student ID you can get one for $1,400 plus tax. Its going to be slightly faster. It really depends on what your using it for. If your going to be running a ton of programs at once and need it for like art purposes I would get the newer one. If your going to be using the internet, aim, word, itunes. The one at your school store should be alright.

[mack 44]

Kosy I'd get on that deal as that's a good price for most of those anyway, plus for whatever reason the black ones were more expensive. The best college deals I ever saw were like a free Nano with them, plus if your school allows payment plans all the better.

[kosydar 0]

I ended up getting it. So far so good, except I forgot they don't come with any sort of word program. I bought Applecare for $180, but I didn't open it yet so I can return it. Worth keeping?

[mack 44]

Absolutely. Good plan plus that's a good price for it.

[AnthonyJTa 0]

Yeah, AppleCare for the Macbook usually runs about $250, and you're getting extended service for it. I paid $350 for AppleCare for my G4 Powerbook when it was new. You should be able to pickup the MS Office Student/Teacher bundle on the cheap with a student i.d.

[Law Goalie 147]

You definitely want AppleCare.

[strosedefence34 175]

+1 more for applecare

[Chadd 916]

I ended up getting it. So far so good, except I forgot they don't come with any sort of word program.

Open office has the latest version for mac available for download. It's an easier transition than the new version of MS office.

[kosydar 0]

I downloaded Open Office and it seemed really slow. It made me open up X11 (whatever that is) every time I used it, which got really annoying. I'll check back at the bookstore today and look at word.