What extras should I consider getting on my Macbook for College?

gaming monitor bag image

I will be purchasing a macbook for college in a few months. Do you suggest a macbook, or a macbook pro? What about the amount of memory I need? Extra programs? Basically, if you were to buy a new macbook, and could customize it to be the perfect college tool, what would you suggest getting? Thanks for your help in advance!

Answer
Let's do a comparison of the Macbook versus the Macbook Pro.

CPU
Core 2 Duo 2.26 Mhz (Macbook)
Core 2 Duo 2.53 Mhz (Macbook Pro)
The Pro edition has a CPU that is a little bit faster but the 2.26 Mhz CPU should be sufficient for running the most demanding software unless it you are working with a large amount of data like in video editing applications.

SCREEN
13.3 inch, 1280 X 800 (Macbook)
13.3 inch, 1280 X 800 (Macbook Pro)
Large enough to work comfortably but not so heavy so that it is a pain to lug it around campus.

HARD DRIVE
250 GB (Macbook)
250 GB (Macbook Pro)
Plenty of storage for all your software. It can store a lot of data too. Unless you have a massive collection of MP3 music, high resolution pictures or video files, this is more then sufficient. If you need more storage, you can always use an external hard drive or USB flash drive.

MEMORY
2 GB (Macbook)
2 GB or 4 GB (Macbook Pro)
The base 2 gigabytes is sufficient to run all Mac OS 10.6 applications I can think of unless once again you are working with very large files or doing a lot of multi tasking. Then you can go with the Pro and opt for the extra memory.

GRAPHICS
nVidia GeForce 9400 (Macbook)
nVidia GeForce 9400 (Macbook Pro)
Good mobile GPU for most games at a 13" monitor resolution. Capable with video & graphics editing. Insufficient for some games which demand a powerful GPU. Games like Crysis for example.

PORTS
2 - USB 2.0 (Macbook)
2 - USB 2.0, 1 - Firewire 800, 1 - SD card slot (Macbook Pro)
The SD card slot comes in handy when you want to take your memory card out of your digital camera and view it right away with the Macbook Pro. If you do not work a lot with digital photos, the Macbook is fine. You can also purchase external memory card readers.


The two systems are very similar as you can see. If you are on a budget, go with the Macbook as the drawbacks are very few. If you want to splurge on a faster system to last longer, go with the Macbook Pro. Both are great choices.


ACCESSORIES
Wireless mouse (does not have to be a Mac mouse)
Laptop bag (get padding + handles + shoulder strap)

SOFTWARE

Microsoft Office (pay)
- includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Entourage
- has a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation & organizer/e-mail software
- very powerful
- very popular with Mac & PC users

Apple iWork (pay)
- includes Pages, Numbers, Keynote
- has a word processor, spreadsheet & presentation software
- fairly powerful
- compatible with MS Office formats

OpenOffice (free)
- includes Writer, Calc, Impress, Draw, Base
- has a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation, illustration & database software
- http://www.openoffice.org

Miro (free)
- it can play almost any video format
- very popular video player
- http://www.getmiro.com/

iTunes (free)
- listening to music
- syncing with your iPod/iTouch/iPhone

Burn (free)
- write movies to VCD or DVD
- copy data to CD or DVD
- http://burn-osx.sourceforge.net/Pages/English/home.html

Seashore (free)
- user friendly graphics software
- ability to edit, fix, manipulate photos or graphics
- http://seashore.sourceforge.net/

Pencil (free)
- draw on your computer like you draw on paper
- animate your own cartoons
- http://www.pencil-animation.org/

Drawberry (free)
- powerful vector graphics drawing software
- very popular, has lots of downloadable clipart
- http://raphaelbost.free.fr/DrawBerry.html

Xee (free)
- picture viewer & organizer
- http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/19978

Skype (free)
- instant message
- free voice chat for computer to computer talk

Adobe Photoshop (pay)
- powerful graphics editor
- many filters and effects

Xtorrent (free)
- bit torrent client for you to share and download files

Dreamweaver (pay)
- powerful web design & creation software
- supports HTML, CSS, javascript, php, flash

Flash (pay)
- create multimedia content for the web
- animation, steaming audio, video
- supports actionscript

Games
- The Sims 3
- Spore
- Civilizations IV
- SimCity 4
- Second Life
- Age of Empires III
- Guitar Hero World Tour

Could you tell me what day when I get to finish watching the game?

John

I was watching game 5 of the MLB World series and the game was suspended do to rain. Could you tell me what day when they will resume the game?

thanks for your help and and answers!!!!!!

Answer
No World Series tonight; Game 5 may resume tomorrow
20 minutes ago

PHILADELPHIA (AP) â The World Series won't resume until Wednesday night at the earliest. With rain still falling in Philadelphia, Major League Baseball decided not to attempt to complete Game 5 between the Phillies and Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday night. The completion of the game tentatively was scheduled for 8:37 p.m. Wednesday.

"While obviously we want to finish Game 5 as soon as possible, the forecast for today does not allow for us to continue the game this evening," commissioner Bud Selig said. "We are closely monitoring tomorrow's forecast and will continue to monitor the weather on an hourly basis. We will advise fans as soon as we are able to make any final decisions with respect to tomorrow's schedule."

The game, played in increasingly heavy rain, was suspended Monday following a 30-minute delay with the Phillies and Rays tied 2-2 after 5 1/2 innings. It was the first time a World Series game that began wasn't played to completion on the same day.

Philadelphia leads the Series 3-1 and is hoping to close out its second title, its first since 1980.

Carlos Pena hit a tying, two-out single in the sixth for the Rays, and the umpires called it moments later. By then, every ball and every pitch had become an adventure because of the miserable conditions.

"The infield was tough. The ball would do funny things," Phillies second baseman Chase Utley said. "It was in bad shape. It was not playable."

If Pena had not tied it, Selig said he would not have let the Phillies win with a game that was called after six innings.

"It's not a way to end a World Series," he said. "I would not have allowed a World Series to end this way."

MLB changed its rules on suspended games in November 2006, adding a provision to resume them rather than replay them. In either case, this would have been a suspension because the visiting team tied it in the top of an inning and the home team never got to bat in the bottom half.

"It was terrible. The field wasn't bad, but it was the worst conditions I've ever played in," Tampa Bay third baseman Evan Longoria said.

The delay forced the Rays to find a hotel in Wilmington, Del., about 25 miles away.

About 10 minutes after the game was officially suspended, an announcement was made at Citizens Bank Park telling fans wrapped in plastic sheets they were done for the night.

By then, many had left their seats and streamed into the concourses. They crowded six or seven deep, trying to see any of the game before the umps signaled for the tarp.

Because it was only lightly raining when the game started, MLB hoped it could play a full nine innings. Quickly, however, the showers turned to a steady downpour and the field became a quagmire.

By the middle innings, the grounds crew was running shuttles onto the field, carrying bags of a drying agent â baseball's version of cat litter â to absorb the water.

No luck.

A puddle formed on home plate and umpire Jeff Kellogg resorted to using a towel rather than the usual whisk broom to wipe it clean.

Batters kept blinking back the rain drops and pitchers struggled with their footing. Strong gusts dropped the wind-chill factor into the 30s, and fielders covered their bare hands between pitches.

All-Star shortstop Jimmy Rollins of the Phillies chased a popup all over and dropped it for a tough error in the fifth. There were pools of water at every base and the Phillie Phanatic wore a rain slicker for his routine.

B.J. Upton beat out an infield hit with two outs in the sixth on a ball that Rollins bobbled. Upton stole second and hustled home on Pena's hit, with left fielder Pat Burrell's throw home plopping into a puddle in the grass.

Fans showed up hoping they'd be witnesses to a World Series championship. Shane Victorino got them cheering with bases-loaded single in the first for a 2-0 lead off Scott Kazmir.

Rays manager Joe Maddon tinkered with his lineup, dropping the slumping Pena and Longoria one spot each â they were a combined 0-for-29 with 15 strikeouts after four games.

The Tampa Bay stars ended their hitless ruts in the fourth when Pena doubled off the right-field wall and Longoria followed with an RBI single up the middle that made it 2-1.

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