13inch or 15 inch mac

Thanks for the reply. Did you buy a virus software for your mac and also do you get Microsoft word on student discount?

Thanks for the reply. Did you buy a virus software for your mac and also do you get Microsoft word on student discount?

No problem I honestly dont think the 15 inch is worth the extra money. No i didnt buy any virus software, my friends told me it wasnt necessary for a mac but I may research it a bit more.

Nope I havent got word or anything yet as I wont need it till september, and I dont know if you can get it on discount. But if you buy the mac with student discount at an apple store or whatever theres an offer where you get a free £70 app store voucher. The guy in apple showed me a programme called 'pages' which is basically the mac version of word and I think im just going to get that. He showed me how to save files so that they can be used on word and showed the same thing with the mac version of Powerpoint and excel and it seems easy enough. Even without the £70 voucher, they only cost about £13 each so its way cheaper than forking out £100 just for 3 programmes

you most definitely do need anti-virus programs for your mac. there are a few virus's floating around at the moment and they're going to become an increasing problem.

as for office software either go for the apple versions, or buy microsoft office for mac off software4students.

No problem I honestly dont think the 15 inch is worth the extra money. No i didnt buy any virus software, my friends told me it wasnt necessary for a mac but I may research it a bit more.

Nope I havent got word or anything yet as I wont need it till september, and I dont know if you can get it on discount. But if you buy the mac with student discount at an apple store or whatever theres an offer where you get a free £70 app store voucher. The guy in apple showed me a programme called 'pages' which is basically the mac version of word and I think im just going to get that. He showed me how to save files so that they can be used on word and showed the same thing with the mac version of Powerpoint and excel and it seems easy enough. Even without the £70 voucher, they only cost about £13 each so its way cheaper than forking out £100 just for 3 programmes

I think I used to use my laptop keyboard, but I don't see any reason you couldn't use a USB keybard and mouse. In fact yeah, my old housmate had a really nice apple keyboard and wireless mouse he used, so when he was at home it was basically like a desktop computer with a big screen.

I'm not sure exactly which cable because I think the newer macs have a different connector to mine, but all you need is a cable that connects the HDMI out on your mac to a standard HDMI cable that goes into the back of the monitor. Mine was just called a HDMI to Mini HDMI adapter and cost about a tenner, but a newer mac needs a slightly differnt one. But if you are unsure then just give apple a call or pop into a store, or even PC world or an independent computer shop will tell you which. I have two or three friends that all have their macs hooked up to a decent monitor for home use. It really is a better option by miles and cheaper, so long as you don't think you'll need the extra size macbook screen when you are out and about.

So you need

mac
monitor
speakers + cable to go from headphone output on mac to speaker input
HDMI lead (prob comes with monitor)
Apple HDMI lead adapter for whatever HDMI output the mac has

£1200 approx (minus your student discount for mac) and any computer shop will tell you which leads.

Buy speakers and monitor from Amazon as will be cheaper than shops.

oh is it. what one do you recommend?

i was told not to get a virus software as it will slow the laptop down and it's not needed so now you mention it.......

You don't need Anti-Virus at this moment in time. There are still no viruses which can be described as being out in the wild (spreading rapidly during normal day to day operations), most viruses for Macs are so tiny they're only proof of concepts. Before anybody is like "lol flashback" that wasn't a virus, it was a trojan and most of the mainstream AV software would not have stopped the trojan.

However this could all change as no platform is immune to virus attacks.

If you /really/ want AV software, then the only useful Anti-Virus software for a Mac is ClamXav. The mainstream ones run on elevated privileges which can actually heighten your chance to vulnerabilities.

Read more about it here: http://guides.macrumors.com/Mac_Virus/Malware_FAQ

Oh i see. Have you got an anti virus system on your mac?
Also do you recommend any cleaning software like ccleaner?

Do you reckon i should download clamXav?

Oh i see. Have you got an anti virus system on your mac?
Also do you recommend any cleaning software like ccleaner?

Do you reckon i should download clamXav?

Errrrr the MacBook air. I need a cd slot to pay DVDs

Oh i see. Have you got an anti virus system on your mac?
Also do you recommend any cleaning software like ccleaner?

There is a rundown of Mac security software here:

http://lifehacker.com/5800267/the-non+alarmists-guide-to-mac-malware-protection

And a good blog post on keeping your Mac secure here:

http://blog.scottlowe.org/2012/04/09/8-things-to-help-keep-your-mac-secure/

Although some of the measures are a little advanced...

I'd ignore any blog recommending people download Sophos for Mac. It runs on elevated privileges = avoid.

Anti-virus software typically runs on elevated privileges in order to be effective, this is also true on Windows. The guide you linked on Mac rumors cites two posts from a forum user as the source of this information that Sophos is potentially harmful to your security. Forgive me if I find it rather hard to believe that every major security vendor except those producing ClamXav and VirusBarrier express would just overlook this. Can you show me a case where these security products were demonstrated to be exploitable, in the wild OR in a proof-of-concept scenario? Because that forum user doesn't provide any evidence for his claims...

I could be wrong here, but I'm a little sceptical.

Edit: A member of the Sophos software development team actually responds to these claims in a thread here:

http://openforum.sophos.com/t5/Sophos-Anti-Virus-for-Mac-Home/Sophos-should-be-avoided-as-it-could-actually-increase-your-Mac/td-p/5583

I have saved 1k for a mac, which i thought i would be the 13inch mac book pro. However i am concerned about the screen size. The 13inch looks tiny compared to the 15, but the 15' mac is obviously a lot more expensive.

Not sure if i should buy the 13 or wait till next year and save again.....for the 15inch mac

Edit: http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1019945

http://securitytracker.com/id/1024089

Nothing to do with one Mac forum poster, who nonetheless is actually well reputed on the issue of Computer Security, so we're not talking about some tom, dick or harry off the street.

Any person within the computer security industry will tell you to avoid elevated privileges Anti-Virus it's a huge no no.

I'm not excluding Sophos here as some other mainstream AV software for Mac operate in the same way.

ClamXav is still a stronger AV package than Sophos and completely free (no free trial or limited features modes etc).