OT: Mac vs. PC for school

[Vin82]

I'm going back to school and I need to buy a new laptop. I know there are some tech people here, and I was wondering what your thoughts were as far as what's a better type of computer for a college setting...

I'm interested in recording and such, so Garage Band would be nice...

....so what are the pros/cons of different laptops?
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[deseipel]

note: I don't own a mac, but I spent a year fixing both macs & pc's. I also spent a seperate year selling computers. I appreciate both and don't think one is 'better' than the other. The following is mostly factual and based on my experience.

as someone who used to sell macs and pc's, both are fine for college work.

MS Office runs on both platforms, I believe that Open Office runs on on both if you want a free type of office software.

Macs are historically harder to find software for (in general) and don't have a lot of games that are compatible (is this still true? it's been a few yrs).

PC's are historically more open in terms of hardware (mostly due to Windows driver compatibility). More PC manufacturers = more hardware variability = more hardware options for PCs. This is probably debatable and only relevant if you have to upgrade something. And this may not be true since Apple started using Intel chips.

Apple computers are always the same price for the same model. They don't allow their official resellers to put them on sale below their suggested price. So you might as well buy if from Apple directly, Best Buy isn't going to have better prices is the point.

PC/Windows typically have more problems only because Windows runs on the premise of being compatible with almost anything built to run a pc. This means more hardware variability and more room for software and hardware errors. Apple restricts hardware and thus, less problems, but this means your have less choice for hardware (is this still true?). Windows machines, and it's hard to say why, typically are more victim to viruses/malware/spyware. Apples OS isn't usually the target for bad stuff, but that's not to say that viruses aren't out there and won't be soon.

In terms of value for the money spent, it really depends on your own definition of value. For example, if I go to Dell's site and look at some refurbished laptops that are 3-6 mos old, chances are I'd get a better 'deal' on the laptop vs. browsing Apple's list of refurbished laptops. Apple doesn't appear to budge a heck of a lot on price. And I'm not talking about spec to spec either, I'm talking about a company's willingness to blow stuff out. That's their prerogative to make profit, but their necessity to make a profit margin isn't and shouldn't be my problem when looking for a good deal. But I digress.


In short, get what ever you get, max out the RAM, max out hard drive speed, get Firewire & USB. I'm not hung up on how stupidly thin or how shiny something is, the fact is the coolness factor wears off fast and at the end, will it do what you want to?

In my time of selling computers, most can get by with buying the 500-600 laptop, but if you're really going to get into recording, that's different. So, figure out exactly what you want it for cuz a 400 refurbished Dell can do 'college stuff'.
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DeSeipel

[matricks]

Serious question-- what are you majoring in?

The reason I ask is that I used a Mac to get through engineering school and it was kind of a pain to get certain software for it... some I couldn't even get at all. I was overall pretty happy with it in terms of being super-reliable, not to mention I am not a gamer, so that didn't even factor in. However, the fact that I would have to stay at school to work on certain projects because the software wasn't available, kinda was a drag.

But like I said, my Mac was solid, for what that is worth.
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[chris perra]

Whenever it's time for me to upgrade my computers, I always ask the same question... and so far I've always bought a P.C. For several reasons,..

1: I started with a PC, spent awhile learning about them, how to troubleshoot and fix them,. to the point where I build my own desktops now.

2: Access to software, easier to find software for PC,

3: Price,, Macs are alot more..

But, To maximize a PC's value, you have to know the brands, and components..

If you don't want to deal with having the responsibility of knowing everything about computers, a Mac is a good choice, they are user friendly and have good quality components with all their models.

In a nutshell Macs are more expensive,.. But User friendly..

PCs are cheaper and have more software options, but are potentially more user intensive.
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www.myspace.com/chrisperra

[Morgenthaler]

I've used both pc and Mac in an academic setting.

I prefer Mac because of the interface and the overall
performance.

I love how easy it is to store/syncronize between my
MacBook, my iPod and my iPhone.

On top of that I've been using Omnigraffle
and other Mac programs, so it makes sense for me to stay
on Mac now.

I don't care which is fastest, to be honest.
For me the UX is paramount, and I prefer Mac.
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Copenhagen, Denmark, Europe, The World

[drumming sort of person]

http://www.theonion.com/video/new-apple-friend-bar-gives-customers-someone-to-ta,17693/

http://www.theonion.com/articles/apple-claims-new-iphone-only-visible-to-most-loyal,2772/

http://www.theonion.com/articles/apple-unveils-new-productunveiling-product,2162/

[sejuba]

the answer is: it really depends but my general opinion is that
i think PC´s are better because they are much cheaper and pretty
much as powerful as any mac. Plus the fact you can now run
MAC OS X in a PC (google "hackintosh").

Also, if you settle for a pc, i´d recommend
checking out Newegg. Very good prices.

http://www.newegg.com/
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[cjbdrm]

I wouldn't recommend using a PC laptop for recording unless it has a TI chipset. Been there, done that...
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[Gaddabout]

What do you normally use? That's what you should probably get. Any new OS is going to have a learning curve and you don't want that to get in the way of actually learning what you want to learn.
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Fat guys play fatter.

[Steve Holmes]

A little heavy handed perhaps DSOP? At least offer some genuine feedback in addition to the slew of anti-mac links?
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HOD webmaster
ICQ 480460307
AIM mrdrumming
http://steveholmes.wordpress.com/

[drumming sort of person]

[sejuba]

"Similar to what Mike said, it’s a combination of Apple’s excellent, excellent emotional marketing and their very ‘average user’ products. An iPhone may lack some of the performance of a Droid or BB, but most ‘average’ users will be so excited about how simple it is to look at pictures! go online! video call! play games! that they will come back to Apple again and again. Apple makes easy, fun products – and that, combined with the fun marketing, makes for sales."

Apple is about marketing. The iPad is a joke, the new Iphone 4 has major reception issues, their FaceTime capability is a scam "Video calling has been available for a decade now and Apple’s version is actually significantly inferior to its competition. As opposed to Nokia phones, Android phones, and even some Windows Mobile phones, FaceTime only works over Wifi and only to other iPhone 4s."

I´m not an Apple hater but I doubt the money they ask for their products are worth the purchase.
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[drumming sort of person]

http://www.thestar.com/business/companies/apple/article/838519--olive-jobs-is-both-a-genius-and-a-jerk

[shedder]

get a mac and run both OS X and windows. if you stick with osx then great, if not at least your windows computer will look nicer than others.
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[sejuba]