Community Newsletter: Q&A: MacBook or PC laptop for college?
- 8/22/08 4:21 PM
The "right" computer
by toms.singlemalts - 8/18/08 9:02 AM In reply to: My 10 cents by sepvOK please step away from the flame throwers. It is time to be an agnostic.
Answer the following to help narrow your quest.
1 what specific applications do you need, are there specific apps you need for your program.
2 What platform do these specific apps run on and what is the cost of these apps?
3 What platform is supported on campus ?
remember that all standard office type functions and be done on a Mac, Windows or Linux system
The answers to items 1,2,3 will tell you how much flexibilty you have on the specific computer and budget.
Take a deep breath do the research and pick what you need.........Good Luck
Irrelavent
by chappejw - 8/18/08 9:47 AM In reply to: The "right" computer by toms.singlemaltsThese questions are irrelavent...
It's spelled "irrelevant"
by boatschool - 8/18/08 11:00 AM In reply to: Irrelavent by chappejwAnd actually, the questions are quite relevant. The point of the post is to provide the young lady bound for college some useful information to consider.
Wendee, these are good questions for you to consider. Good luck on your decision and college.
Here's why....
by chappejw - 8/18/08 11:58 AM In reply to: It's spelled "irrelevant" by boatschoolThese questions are irrelevant...
1 what specific applications do you need, are there specific apps you need for your program.
The number one program that you will likely need is an office program for making .doc documents, powerpoint presentations, and perhaps some spreadsheets and diagrams. You can certainly use OpenOffice for free on Windows, Mac, and any version of Linux to do all of those. Or you can use Microsoft Office for a substantial cost on Windows or Mac, minimum $150 If you use any other software in university it will be provided on systems on campus since some students don't have laptops, therefore this question is irrelevant and a waste of time to consider.
2 What platform do these specific apps run on and what is the cost of these apps?
Again, since you can run equivalent versions of software on Windows and Mac or Linux, there is nearly no need to be concerned. This question would be relevant if we were in 1995, however it is 2008.
3 What platform is supported on campus?
This question is misleading since Mac users will need little support other than a network access key to connect to the wireless lan at school. Many math and science professors are quite familiar with Mac if not advocates. Nobody is going to tell you you can't use a Mac at school.
From my experience through university one extremely important factor you should know about is time. You have very little time to waste in university. You can not afford to have to take your windows system to the local electronic store to be reformatted because of a virus, trojan, or malware, possibly loosing all your hard work in the process and then without your system for 1 or 2 weeks sometimes longer. To put it bluntly, Windows sucks ass and is a waste of your time and everyone else around you who has to wait for you to continuously get your system in working order. In school you must be productive, consistent, and always improving. Do you see why all those professionals out there who need to be just that are using Mac. When you see scientists, professors, and people who run mission critical operations on tv, you will notice the systems they use are 99% Mac. In university, everything is mission critical, deadline oriented. Don't mess around. Get a Mac.
silly last point
by endaugust - 8/19/08 8:15 AM In reply to: Here's why.... by chappejwyou were on until your last paragraph about time in university...
students waste time in university like they would waste time anywhere. they're not anymore time pressured than if they were in any other industries.
and it's not a given that a windows os computer will inevitably need more attention and time to it than a Mac. I've owned multiple PCs in over the years and I have never had to run to a computer store to fix trojans viruses or whatever else. i'm not saying that this doesn't happen. but i also have friends who own Macs and they have cried over their computer woes just as often as anyone else.
these prejudiced myths being repeated over and over don't make them facts.
silly last point?
by chappejw - 8/19/08 3:27 PM In reply to: silly last point by endaugustanyone who has finished a degree in school can verify that time is important when you are in school.
Yes, windows does require alot more maintenance than a Mac for the fact that you will be doing virus scanning, registry cleanups, and spyware and adware scans, which you will not need to do on a Mac. I know this from first hand experience as a technician and software engineer. If you don't believe this, then phone your local Best Buy and ask them how many Macs they get in for repair compared to Windows. It is not a matter of popularity, they are two completely different operating systems under the hood. One is a security nightmare called Windows, and the other is a unix based secure operating system.
Prejudiced myths? prove it.
silly point
by endaugust - 8/21/08 6:28 AM In reply to: silly last point? by chappejwI have a Master's degree with honors at an Ivy League school. Trust me, I and others wasted time. (Not bragging but to prove a point).
And lol. virus and spyware scanning in done automatically in the background. And there are free clean up software that can be done with a couple of clicks. And done in seconds, IF you even have to do it at all. How would Wendee waste her time with this? You're exaggerating to prove a silly point.
I thought you were talking about having to bring a computer to the shop and wasting time there.
That happens with Mac as well. Proof? My Mac friends gripe about their machine breaking down more often than I do with my PCs. That's all the proof I need. Macs are not immune to OS and machine crashing. I'm not saying that in general Macs are more unstable. I'm just saying that both PC and Macs are imperfect. Mac fanboys make Macs seem like it's indestructible. IT'S NOT!
And you're the one who brought up myths, *you* need to prove it.
Masters degree in what? Walmart greeting...
by chappejw - 8/25/08 12:29 AM In reply to: silly point by endaugust"...there are free clean up software that can be done with a couple of clicks. And done in seconds, IF you even have to do it at all. How would Wendee waste her time with this?"... um by having to do it in the first place... Since she is asking for advice in this column we can assume she is totally incompetent.. haha...
"I thought you were talking about having to bring a computer to the shop and wasting time there."... Yes, Mr. I have a Master's degree at an Ivy League School, whether she has to do all the scanning for crap herself or pay someone else to do it it's an utter waste of time. Proof? Here's some first hand experience. All of the Bachelor of Arts students, MBA, Biology, Chemistry, Math, and other program students constantly ask all the comp sci. students... "Hey, you do comp sci hey, do you know how I can fix my Windows? My laptop is running sooo slow and I just reinstalled it like 2 months ago, but now I have **** popping up all over the place and my antivirus says that it will expire in another week and I will not be protected? Do you know which ones are good and how can I install them. Should I just reinstall my Windows? or should I try something to fix it... I can't seem to get my (insert any P2P client here) to connect... blah blah blah..." No ****, this is the typical university student which actually is the whole reason for this thread. Wendee is her name, and she is in this same situation. I highly doubt your "Mac friends gripe about their machine breaking down more often than I do with my PCs" argument. How is that proof of anything other than your biased opinion? Your points are completely wishy washy. Perhaps need to take some more writing classes or something... Maybe just keep on chuggin for the Ph. D...
resort to name calling...
by endaugust - 8/25/08 6:32 AM In reply to: Masters degree in what? Walmart greeting... by chappejwha!
ppl resort to ad hominem attacks when they're losing an argument. ha!!
prejudiced myths?
by chappejw - 8/25/08 11:32 AM In reply to: silly point by endaugustit seems that you are the one who brought up "prejudiced myths"...
Mac Book / PC laptop
by mapiche - 8/18/08 9:33 AM In reply to: MacBook or PC laptop for college? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Hi from France.
If it's your first pursache,if you don't know Windows, don't hesitate, choose a Mac Book.
You 'll find much less viruses and other things like this.
If it's the opposit, don't forget that security is more difficult with windows. There are many more attacks against Windows that Mac. Ergonomy is different. Personnally, I don't like.
Good luck for your studies.
Michael
Mac or PC?
by lpinsc - 8/18/08 12:23 PM In reply to: MacBook or PC laptop for college? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Good luck in college, Wendee. I use a Mac at home and PC at work. There isn't too much of a learning curve between the two. I completely agree with the advice of checking with the school and other students to see which platform is more friendly to your campus. The main thing I've noticed with a Mac is the software costs a lot more (some PCs come bundled with MS Office; but it's ~$400 additional for Mac), and not all software is Mac-compatible (like the genealogy programs I prefer) so also allocate the funds to buy whatever additional software you might need. Also use your search engines - there are freeware/shareware programs available similar to the "standards", at a much lower cost.
I would not buy an Apple
by aMUSICsite - 8/18/08 1:01 PM In reply to: MacBook or PC laptop for college? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
PC laptops can be "configured" from a few companies such as Leveno, etc. and they are extremely fast and stable. I would definitely look into them.
Mac can run BOTH OS X and Windows Vista
by Practical-Mac - 8/18/08 1:16 PM In reply to: MacBook or PC laptop for college? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Another consideration is what applications will be running on it?
If the needed application runs on only 1 platform, that is your choice.
The big advantage of the Mac is you can easily run Windows (and/or Linux) on it as well, and that could be the answer to you question. A computer that can run any OS.
MacBook or PC Laptop
by {Eagle} - 8/18/08 6:43 PM In reply to: MacBook or PC laptop for college? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I would recommend a PC laptop, because you already know the OS, and you won't have to worry about running into software compatability problems. Also, there are many more choices of manufacturers and you can find a laptop suited to your needs much more easily and cheaper than you could customize a mac. And if you run into trouble I'm sure your college's IT department can help you with a PC, while there will be far fewer people who can help with a MacBook.
And to all the fanboys that think that I'm just promoting M$, I have a MacBook Pro, and a Quad Core linux server with a 1.5 TB RAID array, and I would still recommend a normal PC for your average consumer.
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