Read First: A Guide to Buying Apple Products

[Yuiichi]

So you want to buy your first Mac but don't know what to get? Here's a guide to help you get the most for your money!

General
-Yuiichi: "If you need it now, buy it. If you can wait, wait for the next Apple event". This is a general rule of thumb when looking to buy a new Mac. Quite often, one can get stuck in a position of just "waiting for the next upgrade" - a real drag to your productivity. Guides like MacTactic or Mac Rumour's Mac Buyer's Guide (Community Recommended) can be a big help in the decision to wait or to take the plunge.

Purchasing
-Yuiichi: Apple overcharges for their Built-To-Order RAM. When purchasing a new Mac, buy the least amount that you can from Apple and upgrade yourself later! Where does one get RAM? Order directly from a company like Crucial (Community Recommended). An added advantage to Crucial is the really handy "Memory Advisor" to help you make sure you buy the right RAM! Need help installing? Apple has support documents up for every model that has user replaceable RAM such as the iMac, MacBook, and MacBook Pro.

-lonnie: Apple Certified Refurbished Macs are just as good as a new product. You get the same hardware you would with a new mac - only you get it at a discounted price. The warranty is the same as with a new Mac (1 year) and AppleCare is available for refurbished Macs too - you really have nothing to lose.

-lonnie: Call. Talk to someone. Call an Apple Certified Reseller. You'd be surprised what deals you can get that are not advertised just by talking to someone. Buying online is convenient, but can end up cost you extra dough. Computers are a large enough purchase that several places are willing to negotiate some to get you to commit to the sale.

-lonnie: Friends and Family. Do you know an Apple employee? If you do, do you know that there is a Friends and Family plan that will roughly cover the tax on a purchase of a computer. If you have a really good connection at Apple - employees get a once a year 25% off discount. If they aren't going to use it for a large purchase, see if you can buy through them

-baseballboy828: If you are a K-12 or college/university staff member or a college/university student, you are eligible for great discounts from Apple on certain products. These discounts only apply to new products, but the discounts generally bring the cost of an new Apple product far below that of a refurbished model. Educational discounts can also have other perks. For example, in the past Apple has offered a free (after rebate) iPod Nano when purchasing a new Mac with an education discount. For more information, visit the Apple Store for Education.

Usage
-Yuiichi: Backup, backup, backup! Many potential disaster situations can be avoided by having a solid backup solution and now that Time Machine is included with 10.5 Leopard, we all have less of an excuse not to do it!

While a single external hard drive (recommendations on brand will be included later) may be "good enough" for many users, those of us who have vital data stored on our Macs should consider having a "full" backup plan. This can involve having multiple external hard drives which are stored in alternate locations. Some suggestions might include: your workplace, your parents house, a relatives house, etc.

For those of us who want a more robust backup solution than Time Machine offers, SuperDuper! (Community Recommended) is a great option. With the ability to "clone" your drive, hard drive failures become less of an utter catastrophe and more of a simple annoyance that booting from this clone solves.

-lucamacis: The seamless integration between a Mac and the internet helps my day to day use immensely with dotmac. I can access any of my files, anywhere I wanted, using iDisk. Also, Apple has very good storage options with dotmac Mail, which can be used with Mail.app (Community Recommended). The nicest option, I think, is web galleries. You can post any pictures you want from your iPhoto library for anyone to see. It's easy to use with a beautiful interface for your friends and family.

-notabadname: Screen selection for the MacBook Pro - the glossy screens look great in the right lighting, such as indoor overhead lighting with no backlighting or windows (the store); they also provide an noticeable increase in contrast ratio under those circumstances. But if you have never used a glossy screen and plan on using your laptop outdoors or opposite a wall with windows that will provide a rear reflection, use caution - try before you buy. The reflections can be very strong, and really make the screen hard to use in those environments. I would experiment with a friend's laptop if they have a glossy screen to try before buying your first glossy screen. I believe this is only an option for the MBP, not the Air or MB (glossy comes standard). I was disappointed in my first glossy experience, and personally would only use the matte finish now for traveling, sunny airplane cabins and sitting out on the sidewalk at Starbucks. Addendum (by Yuiichi): this is really a matter of preference; after using my glossy MacBook for over a year and a half, I haven't had any serious problems with glare. The only complaint I have is that the glossy screen is a dust magnet and requires frequent cleaning.

-baseballboy: Don't pick the glossy screen if you need accurate colors. People who are serious about color will want to pick the matte screen, which has much more realistic colors.

Service
-houltmac: Always buy AppleCare (Community Recommended), simple as that. With the larger displays and mostly built-in components of the iMacs the price for repairs can be expensive. Very often a single repair can more than cover the cost of AppleCare. The same goes for Mac minis and the notebook range also, since everything is miniaturized, built-in and being moved around it's susceptible to damage and pricey to fix.

AppleCare can also drastically improve the resale value of your Mac on eBay. For those who don't tend to update their machines too often, it can be a good wake-up call to say it's about time to update to a newer model when the AppleCare runs out also.

If you have home insurance, check to make sure that accidental damage (drops and spillages) are covered for your notebook also. It can really be a life save when an estimate comes back as only $100 less than a new machine.

-houltmac: Wherever possible backup your machine before you take it in for repair. If you have Leopard there is no excuse not to use Time Machine and it can save arguments over data loss that you will almost certainly not win.

-houltmac: Wherever possible check out your local Apple Store and AASPs (Apple Authorized Service Providers) prior to leaving your pride and joy with them. Turn around times can vary wildly, as can pricing (though you should have AppleCare) and also workmanship. While none of these things should vary, they do. Check how busy they are and wherever possible stick to the people you know as it will save you hassle in the long term.


TO ALL COMMUNITY MEMBERS!
Any advice you have for people wanting their first Mac is welcome! Please post below and I'll work it into this main post, which will eventually become a sticky!

Also, I would also like to get some "Community Recommendations" on certain products/services/apps/etc which we always recommend anyways. I have added a couple myself already and am open to other suggestions! This is meant to be a quick and easy way for new forumites to get their questions answered with a degree of certainty about the quality.

Thanks!

[houltmac]

Service Tip: Always buy AppleCare, simple as that. With the larger displays and mostly built-in components of the iMacs the price for repairs can be expensive. Very often a single repair can more than cover the cost of AppleCare. The same goes for Mac minis and the notebook range also, since everything is miniaturized, built-in and being moved around it's susceptible to damage and pricey to fix.

AppleCare can also drastically improve the resale value of your Mac on eBay. For those who don't tend to update their machines too often, it can be a good wake-up call to say it's about time to update to a newer model when the AppleCare runs out also.

If you have home insurance, check to make sure that accidental damage (drops and spillages) are covered for your notebook also. It can really be a life save when an estimate comes back as only $100 less than a new machine.

Service tip: Wherever possible backup your machine before you take it in for repair. If you have Leopard there is no excuse not to use Time Machine and it can save arguments over data loss that you will almost certainly not win.

Service tip: Wherever possible check out your local Apple Store and AASPs (Apple Authorized Service Providers) prior to leaving your pride and joy with them. Turn around times can vary wildly, as can pricing (though you should have AppleCare) and also workmanship. While none of these things should vary, they do. Check how busy they are and wherever possible stick to the people you know as it will save you hassle in the long term.

That's all for now, I have rambled enough.

[Yuiichi]

Thanks a lot Matt! I've added your great tips to the filling out list!

Keep any tips, suggestions, comments coming! This community has an immense wealth of knowledge, as we've all seen - no tip is too small or basic for this list! Also, new members/new switchers - I'd love to hear from you as well! Have you learned anything from us/other places that is not represented on this list? Make a post!

[lonnie]

Purchasing: Apple Certified Refurbished Macs are just as good as a new product. You get the same hardware you would with a new mac - only you get it at a discounted price. The warranty (applecare) options are available for both refurbished and new macs - so you really have nothing to lose.

Purchasing: Call. Talk to someone. Call an Apple Certified Reseller. You'd be surprised what deals you can get that are not advertised just by talking to someone. Buying online is convenient, but can end up cost you extra dough. Computers are a large enough purchase that several places are willing to negotiate some to get you to commit to the sale.

Purchasing: Friends and Family. Do you know an Apple employee? If you do, do you know that there is a Friends and Family plan that will roughly cover the tax on a purchase of a computer. If you have a really good connection at Apple - employees get a once a year 25% off discount. If they aren't going to use it for a large purchase, see if you can buy through them.

[Yuiichi]

Thanks for those tips Lonnie - added to the list already! I did change the wording around for the first one (just to clarify that the normal 1 year warranty comes with refurbs too)! Hope you don't mind!

Keep them coming guys!

[lucamacis]

Usage: The seamless integration between a mac and the internet helped my day to day use immensely with dotmac. I could access any of my files i wanted using iDisk, have very good storage options with Mac Mail as well as being able to use Mail.app with my dotmac email address which is a fantastic program. The nicest i think however is web galleries. You can post any pictures from your iphoto library for anyone to see. It's easy to use with a beautiful interface for your friends and family.

It's not much but i hope this helps you a little Yuiichi. I wanted to contribute atleast one thing! lol

[Yuiichi]

Thanks a lot Luca - great tip! I've added it to the list! I did change some wording - I hope it's alright

Keep any tips you guys can think of coming!

[baseballboy828]

Education Discounts; If you are a K-12 or college/university staff member or a college/university student, you are eligible for great discounts from Apple on certain products. These discounts only apply to new products, but the discounts generally bring the cost of an new Apple product far below that of a refurbished model. Educational discounts can also have other perks. For example, in the past Apple has offered a free (after rebate) iPod Nano when purchasing a new Mac with an education discount. For more information, visit the Apple Store for Education.

[Yuiichi]

Thanks for the tip BBB, educational discounts are incredible money savers!

Keep those tips coming!

[notabadname]

Under usage: Screen selection for the Mac Book Pro - The glossy screens look great in the right lighting, such as indoor overhead lighting with no backlighting or windows (the store). And they provide an noticeable increase in contrast ratio under those circumstances. But if you have never used a glossy screen, and plan on using your laptop outdoors or opposite a wall with windows that will provide a rear reflection, use caution. The reflections can be very strong, and really make the screen hard to use in those environments. I would experiment with a friend's laptop if they have a glossy screen to try before buying your first glossy screen. I believe this is only an option for the MBP, not the Air or MB. I was disappointed in my first glossy experience, and personally would only use the matte finish now for traveling, sunny airplane cabins and sitting out on the sidewalk at Starbucks.