Im thinking about buying an Apple MacBook during my CRP. Ive heard somewhere that we get a small Cast Member discount on Apple products, can anyone confirm if this is true ??? Also, i know its a silly question but does anyone know if i buy a MacBook in America, am i going to have problems using it when i return to the UK? Any help is greatly appreciated ;D
Erm, I'm not sure about the discount. I've not yet worked for Disney, so I have no idea, but you could be right...Steve Jobs IS a Disney executive too, so I could see where that would be possible. I do know that Apple USA has a student discount (I believe it's 10%), they will probably give you a little bit of a hassle if you're schooling in the UK and not the US, but apparently it still works (http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=311932)... it might be easier if you have an ISIC card, but as you can see in the link above people have gotten it without one, so you can always try even if you don't. Hopefully it works for you! However, if there is a Disney discount, I don't think that you'd be able to combine the two. Despite all that, I can safety tell you that the charger that comes with the laptop ranges from 110-240V, so you would be able to just grab a travel adaptor in the US for the UK (although it would have to be a good one, laptops take lots of energy to run!) and use it in the UK that way... However, I believe it would be better (albeit, probably more expensive) to just ditch that charger when you come home from the USA (until, of course, you go back, if/when you do!) and grab one from the UK apple store (http://store.apple.com/uk/product/MC461B/A?fnode=MTY1NDA2Nw&mco=MTM3NzE4Nzg) so that power-wise, everything will work flawlessly. And, as far as my research tells me, the warranty is valid worldwide so there should be no issues there either (http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals/worldwidewarranty_popup)... just make sure you confirm that with Apple first before you buy the Macbook, of course, as I could be wrong! Both options for power should work though, so it's your choice! The only thing you'll definitely have issues with when you get home, as far as I can think of, would be playing DVDs on the laptop. Software discs/files, like Adobe Photoshop for example, should be fine as it's all the same file extensions no matter where you are. But, USA macbooks only support Region 1 (North American) DVDs. According to this post, though, you should be able to change to Region 2 (European) directly on the laptop, or get some kind of program that will convert it all for you (http://forums.techarena.in/hardware-peripherals/1341064.htm). I don't know which methods will work or not, or how easy it will be as I've never had to do it, so that would be something you'd have to try out for yourself. Also, it might be wise for you to do a little bit of research on internet capabilities, as I'm not sure how the UK servers and internet settings vary from US ones. This could affect your internet on the USA macbook with a UK connection by either slowing it down majorly or not connecting at all, whether it's through an ethernet cable, wi-fi or bluetooth. I do know that all the servers and settings vary for data on cell phones. As such, you probably wouldn't be able to use any kind of data USB stick from a UK cell phone company that plugs into the laptop and connects anywhere, because the company will most likely use the same servers/settings for these as they do normal data on smartphones. You probably won't be able to tether data/internet from a UK cell phone either. However, as for a home internet connection on a computer, I'm not sure. I couldn't find much by just googling it, which makes me think that it's not much of an issue (or else, someone would have mentioned it), but I would ask an Apple rep or someone who is in the know about that kind of stuff before purchasing just to be on the safe side. Other than that, you should be good! I hope I helped, and didn't just give useless information or repeat things you already knew haha.
Yes you do get a cast member discount but it is only available online through the website (not in the actual stores). In terms of using a macbook bought in the US in the UK it works fine. If you look at apple power adaptors they actually separate into 2 parts the adaptor and the plug. You can buy the travel adaptor set from apple and have the uk end. That simple! Warranty-wise it is valid worldwide (and I would definitely recommend buying the extended warranty). I've had my computer fixed in both the US and UK. Internet-wise the settings are basically the same. The only thing that may be noticeably different is the keyboard. The US keyboard is different to the UK one so the £ key is absent. This is resolved using a keyboard shortcut involving the # key. In terms of the DVD drive you can just switch that over to region 1. I have a vague recollection that someone told me that the drive initially sets to the region of whatever dvd you first put in the drive but I'm not sure. either way you just inset a dvd from the region you want it to be set to and if it's not the same as the computer it'll prompt you to change it. Simples!
