Challenge the known. Embrace the unknown.

You need an external hard drive. At the very least, get one that is the same size as your computer’s hard drive. An 80GB drive costs less than RM300.

Then, back-up regularly. Set a fixed time to do this every week or perhaps daily (overnight). Use the Time Machine feature, if you are on Leopard. Time Capsule’s available soon and you may want to have a look at that.

Ignore this advice at your peril.

We have tested all three lines at school and here’s what we came up with:

If cost is a number one concern: get the iPod Nano. It is very compact and can play videos and songs. Don’t expect to read anything off it, though. And you would still need a separate external back-up drive solution (which costs RM200-300 for an 80GB drive).

If you’re looking at an all-in-one solution , get the iPod Classic. The 80GB version will cost less than an iPod Nano+Back-up Drive. The 160GB will cost a bit more.

If you’re willing to dole out the cash, the iPod Touch is the way to go. It is the only model that allows you to read your notes (after converting to pdf) and the wi-fi capability allows you that little bit of freedom when you want to look up something on the go.

Related post: (scroll down to read)
January 3 : Which iPod?

We have recently arranged for special pricing for iPods (the ones that can play video) and ACPP (Apple Care Protection Plan - see post below). Do bear in mind that they are both optional.

iPod Nano 8GB RM 746.00 (Elsewhere: RM 829.00)
iPod Classic 80GB RM 990.00 (Elsewhere: RM 1099.00)
iPod Classic 160GB RM 1349.00 (Elsewhere: RM 1499.00)

ACPP MacBook RM 854.00 (Elsewhere: RM 899.00)
ACPP MacBook Pro RM 1234.00 (Elsewhere: RM 1299.00)
*ACPP is also available for iPods and Mac desktops - pricing is available at school.

These are available now for order at school.

Related posts: (scroll down to read)
January 23: ACPP
January 3 : Which iPod?

Used Apple notebooks and desktops are now for sale at the School. This is on a “first come, first served” basis.They all run on OS X. The notebooks come with just basic software (no iWork) but the desktops come with iWork ‘05. If you would like to book a unit, drop me an email (Dr Iskandar Rizal at rizal@cempaka.edu.my) with the following info:
i. Your name
ii. Unit(s) you would like to purchase.
iii. Your contact handphone number.
Click on the link below for more details, including pricing.
Pre-loved Macs For Sale
Please note that the figure indicating numbers sold is not updated.

All Macs come with a standard 1-year international warranty. ACPP is a programme which you can subscribe to to extend this warranty period to 3 years (i.e. a further 2 years).

Only a small proportion of Macs will run into serious problems (as do all notebooks) but if yours happen to be one of them, it could prove to be quite painful. A logic board replacement, for example, would cost upwards of RM1000 to repair. Display problems could run into figures where you may be better off buying a new machine! Therefore, I would highly recommend this for peace of mind.

Students who bought their machines last year will be at the tail-end/past their warranty period and this is far urgent for them to sort out. Newly-purchased MacBooks (from the School) will either have the 3-year OS Protection or ACPP bundled. Both are great deals. If you have the 3-year OS Protection, you may want to consider getting the ACPP. If you are already on ACPP (and you will know this as you would have been given an ACPP pack upon purchase with instructions on how to register-and you have to register on your own), you’re all set.

You may order ACPP packs from the School Office.

The latest batch of MacBook orders are being fulfilled and deployed, starting this week. This is quite a huge number and the whole process is expected to take up to the end of next week, well in time for the Chinese New Year holidays and Student Training Days.

We are scheduling this for mid-February. Please refer to the following schedule to see when your slot is. It will be held in the School Hall (Damansara) and North Hall (Cheras). Sessions will run from 8.00am to 3.30pm, stopping for break and lunch.
Cheras
11 Feb : Year 7 & 8, Form 1 & 2
12 Feb : Year 9 & 10, Form 4
Damansara
13 Feb : Form 1
14 Feb : Form 2
18 Feb : Form 3
19 Feb : Form 4
20 Feb : Form 5
Please bring your MacBook along, fully charged! You may also bring your charger/spare battery. There will be charging stations at the front of the hall. Please ensure that all software have been installed.

iPods are not compulsory and remains an option.

However, if you’re thinking of getting one, you should get one that can play video. A lot of good academic resources now integrate video. iPod Shuffles and the old iPod nano are severely handicapped by having no video-playback.

Here’s my breakdown:
iPod Nano
PROs: Slim and small (very cute), casing comes in many colours, video playback is good quality.
CONs: Small screen, small hard drive capacity.

iPod Classic
PROs: Bigger screen. Huge hard drive and so, can double as an external drive for back-up purposes.
CONs (compared to the Nano): Bulkier. More expensive.

iPod Touch
PROs: Awesome screen. Has wi-fi ability– so can surf the internet, retrieve email, Maps. Able to view notes exceptionally well.
CONs: The most expensive iPod. Small hard drive capacity, compared to the Classic: cannot be relied upon as an external back-up drive but the capacity is pretty substantial (especially now that it comes in a 32GB model).

iPods (Nano, Classic and iPod Touch), iPod casings, MacBook casings and other peripherals will be available for purchase at school at extremely attractive prices (lower than at regular stores) from our vendors. Look out for new displays in the Student Tech Lounge in mid-January. I would like to emphasize though, that iPods are not compulsory and remains an option.  

There are presently 3 models available. All are available through the School.
i. 2.0 GHz White MacBook -entry level, processor speed is respectable, 80GB hard disk space.
PROs: Very good value (cheapest of the range).
CONs: Cannot burn DVDs (but can burn CDs and read CDs & DVDs).

ii. 2.2 GHz White MacBook-mid-range model, processor speed slightly higher, 120GB hard disk space.
PROs: Higher processor speed, bigger hard drive, can burn DVDs.
CONs: Higher price tag.

iii. 2.2 GHz Black MacBook-mid-range model, processor speed slightly higher (same as model ii), 160GB hard disk space.
PROs: Bigger hard drive compared to model (ii) but other specs are the same. Some prefer black to white.
CONs: Highest price tag.

RECOMMENDATION
First know this:
i. Increasing the MacBook’s RAM will make a bigger difference than the higher processor speed.
ii. Hard drives may be upgraded separately (e.g. you may increase the entry-level model hard drive to 250GB if you like buy purchasing the hard drive separately).
iii. The white MacBooks may be cleaned by using a non-ketone-based nail polish remover. (Note that ketone-based ones may damage the notebook!)

Therefore my recommendation is this:
Get the entry level MacBook (i.e. 2.0GHz White) if burning DVDs is not important to you. Otherwise, you should look at the 2.2 GHz models.
All three should do an OK job for desktop publishing/video-editing activities. Here, you would want to upgrade the RAM to the maximum (Corsair RAM is very reasonable at the moment at RM70 for 1GB and RM150 for 2GB RAM at Low Yat Plaza in town). Increasing your hard disk space is an option which can be done at any time and can be looked at later. Heavy-duty desktop publishing and video-editing are best done on a MacBook Pro or desktop (and really not necessary until perhaps when you get really serious later on.