Community Newsletter: Q&A: MacBook or PC laptop for college?
- 8/22/08 4:21 PM
Go with the Mac
by cdtphilpot - 8/15/08 8:03 PM In reply to: MacBook or PC laptop for college? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Congrats on starting college. It's fun and exciting. I just graduated from the University of Oklahoma in May and I bought a Macbook at the end of my junior year. It's the best decision I ever made. I got so tired of my HP laptop and it going to the shop and me having to use the computer labs that I decided to switch. It really doesn't matter if you have a Mac friendly school because 1) In two years I've never needed any service with my Mac, and 2) In my experience most of those IT kids were no help any way outside of getting you connected to wi-fi.
When I switched to Macs it took about two hours to figure out the minor differences, and every piece of software I owned worked on my Mac. I don't have to worry about viruses, spy-ware, mal-ware, blue screens or anything really. Plus you don't have all that crap ware that clutters up PCs.
I now work as an IT manager and I don't find it hard working on PCs at work and Macs. In fact our company is looking at switching to Macs and cutting the IT department to just me in order to save money. Getting rid of 3 IT guys and just having 1 will pay for itself in 1 year.
Best solution is - DO BOTH!
by bassplayinpapa - 8/15/08 8:04 PM In reply to: MacBook or PC laptop for college? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Wendee,
Buy a MacBook Pro with OS X operating system, and buy VMWare Fusion that opens a "virtual machine" and in that machine load Microsoft Windows XP. This gives you the best of both worlds right now. Certain things Windows does better, like Microsoft Office bundled applications, and other things Macs do better like photos, videos and music or the integration of all three.
My MacBook Pro is set up with four "Spaces, three of which are OSX and one of which is my Windows XP machine. I run Microsoft Office Pro 2002 in my Windows space, especially Outlook, which holds my 2400 contacts. This syncs with my BlackBerry perfectly. I also run my personal finances on Quicken for Windows which is vastly superior to Quick for Macs. I also have one website which only runs in Windows Internet Explorer.
In OSX I run my Mozilla Firefox browser with all its extensions, Adobe Photoshop, iWorks, iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie, iEverything_else.
So I really have the best of both worlds! As a web developer, photo guy, video guy that needs both sides of the fence, this combo is awesome!
Yes, this is the most expensive option.
If money is an object, and for many students it is, then go with a PC laptop. You can't beat Windows XP (skip Vista for now) and basic Microsoft Office.
Best wishes
IE Websites in Firefox
by computerkid101 - 1/27/09 11:56 PM In reply to: Best solution is - DO BOTH! by bassplayinpapaJust to let you know, there is a Firefox add-on called "IE Tab". It is one of the best add-ons that I know of. You can manually switch between the Firefox engine, or the IE one within your firefox window (hint hint you don't need IE 
. I am currently running a PC (and looking forward to purchasing a Macbook!!) and I do my Windows Updates with this add-on.
P.S. It will automatically switch to IE engine when it's a IE only website so it blends in perfectly!
apples verses oranges
by Chrisjachar - 8/15/08 8:16 PM In reply to: MacBook or PC laptop for college? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Wendee,
I am a orange person by day, an apple by night. My Imac at home is suitable for for all my needs, but it comes at a cost. My family likes the apple for itunes and pictures, the pc is for work. I had a virus on my pc that shut down my work laptop for days..The apple computer is working out aok. If you can afford the apple, take a bite and enjoy!
Mac or PC?
by ren_x - 8/15/08 8:22 PM In reply to: MacBook or PC laptop for college? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
The trendy answer is, Mac. Like walking around on campus with an iPod, no fashion ensemble is complete without a Mac. What it comes down to for most students is fashion vs. function. Do you want to fit into the hip, blue jean wearing, disheveled longish hair casual, no care in the world crowd, or the pocket protector, glasses, engineering major, I'm here to work and learn crowd?
Sure, the PC is more functional especially for your math and science classes, sure it is less expensive, but, does this really matter?
Macs are MORE functional, AND they're cool!
by technewsjunkie - 8/16/08 8:37 AM In reply to: Mac or PC? by ren_xThe notion that Macs are fashionable and not function is completely untrue.
Applle absolutely makes cool "looking" computers, but that in no way means they sacrifice functionality. In FACT Apple regularly wins Industrial Design Awards, and the word "Design" there refers to functionality as well as aesthetics (looks).
You can have both Form AND Function by getting a Mac. AND you can run Windows at the same time!
I use both Macs and PCs everyday, and have for my entire IT (Information Technology) career.
The Mac vs PC
by FurryDog1 - 8/15/08 8:23 PM In reply to: MacBook or PC laptop for college? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Hey Wendee, my daughter starts college next week and just switched to a Mac. It is a lot more virus safe and will boot up a lot quicker. It will also find a wireless network faster than a PC could ever do. I have both at home with the same amount of RAM and my Mac will always boot up quicker. It is a good idea to get the Microsoft Word addition for Macs. Apples version is not that great. The one real thing that is a bit different is your cut, copy and paste keys. With a PC, it is the Control key plus X, C & V. With a Mac it is the same keys but using the Alt key in conjunction with X, C & V. Also, whenever you download a file it will land up on your desktop. Installing software requires that you double click on the CD icon. It will not automatically load. Good luck with your decision.
same as you
by thill321 - 8/15/08 8:30 PM In reply to: MacBook or PC laptop for college? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
i am going to be a college student next year and i had to purchase a macbook for my school. i was going to buy a sony vaio because i had always liked their products. i am completely happy with my macbook and couldn't possibly be happier. it is a little bit different than having a pc but the transition isn't really that hard. plus, macbooks have fun programs that come with them. in the end it really comes down to what you are going to need it for. i am a music major so come of the best music programs are available on mac. if you get a mac you won't be sorry but you will have to change some things from your pc world (i.e. your music if you save it anything but mp3) also beware that macs do no come with microsoft office, you have to purchase that seperately. i hope this has helped you and if you have any other questions please feel free to ask.
misconstrued
by chappejw - 8/16/08 1:51 AM In reply to: same as you by thill321PCs don't come with Microsoft Office either.... But regardless, you can use Open Office from Sun Microsystems which is literally a drop in replacement.
Go with the Mac
by fastboxster - 8/15/08 8:40 PM In reply to: MacBook or PC laptop for college? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I'd go with the Mac while in school. You can always use the VMWare or bootcamp for those rare instances where you run into software that requires the PC. Use the Mac while in school if only because you can. You'll likely get stuck with a PC at work in the future. You'll be glad you got the exposure to the Apple in school.
good choices for the next computer decade
by ubiquitus1 - 8/15/08 8:44 PM In reply to: MacBook or PC laptop for college? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
140 articles needs a lot of time to read, I did the first and last page, the pro 'n cons, then give it up. The most of your advisers have a good topic in their phrases. You work with a PC now, so don't invest time and more money to change to another OS and much more to learn the layout of a quite another keyboard. You're looking for a handy gadget to carry it probably day by day to college. So get my advice: look for a Lenovo product (joins your budget) and try to reduce the weight by choosing a 14,1 wide screen machine. It's clear: a 15.4 (or wider) display needs more inches and the weight increases much more. The PC provides you more of college-needed software than Mac supports. And start for the first with WinXP - cause you have the freedom for best technical software and later upgrade it to Vista, you've all the time of the world for it. I join for 8 weeks now a new T61 machine and I am happy with it and I know the MacBook and MacBookPro inside my friends circle - there's no other choice for me and my bureau machine and join the daily keystroke. If you want more pros and cons to know so post me back with greetings from Germany and Ubiquitus
Mac and viruses
by irlandes - 8/15/08 8:55 PM In reply to: MacBook or PC laptop for college? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
A correction here. Several people have said the reason Mac does not have problems with viruses is because there aren't many so no one bothers to write viruses for them.
This is not true, though a very large competitor wants you to think that.
On Unix or Linux based machines (I believe Mac is Unix derived, not Linux) every single file has permissions, as to user or group. If you are logged in as user, no virus can enter any system file, period.
It is entering the system files which enable viruses to destroy or take over Microsoft computers.
Users themselves cannot write to or modify system files.
There are at least 800 estimated viruses for Linux/Unix machines. However, they can't work and none are "in the wild". They simply can't get into the system files.
I received a Linux virus last year, from the former soviet union. I clicked on it, and it asked me for my password. A windows virus would have instantly taken over the machine. In my case, when I saw what it was, I just canceled. It is somewhere on my HD and not going to do anything wrong.
No longer true
by Igiveup2 - 8/15/08 9:46 PM In reply to: Mac and viruses by irlandesThe big security flaw in Windows up to and including XP was having default administrator privileges for users, which, allowed modification of system files. With Vista, system files are no longer accessible unless someone with administrator status elevates the privileges to allow a particular process to access system files. There is no intrinsic security advantage to Mac OS relative to Vista, other than it being less targeted by malware authors than Windows.
Mac all the way!
by seanramirez - 8/15/08 9:03 PM In reply to: MacBook or PC laptop for college? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Wendee,
There are so many more options and "pros" with the Mac. Here are just a few:
Virtually virus-vulnerability free environment
You can run Office on Mac
You can even dual-boot so you run both Windows and Mac
Great support
Superior OS
Quality, quality, quality
I am a former Windows user. I find Mac is much more efficient and fun to use. You can purchase a MacBook and some software that will still fit your $1500 cap. Good luck in school!
If you're running a MAC . . . .
by laptoplg - 8/15/08 9:34 PM In reply to: Mac all the way! by seanramirezI am a 20+ year PC user. Note, I didn't say Windows. I was using PC's before Windows. Running DOS, Basic, and stuff that makes me sound older than -- well, older than Vista. We'll leave it at that.
Bought my first MAC eight months ago. Amazed how fluidly I transitioned. It runs more reliably than any PC based laptop I've ever run.
I do have a few very specialized applications which were never written for MAC. No equivalent -- only run on PC. There's a great solution there. Parallels. Makes your MAC open platform. Lets you run a virtual computer with other operating systems -- seamlessly going from one to another -- so you can run PC in one, Lynux in another, MAC OSX in the background and even cut and paste from one to another. Never needing to reboot.
Whatever you end up buying, make sure to buy a big enough hard drive, and enough RAM, that you don't outgrow the computer. The rest will work itself out.
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