<p>Just talked to a couple people and they are suggested Apple laptop instead of Dell. Talked to IU and they have support for both and said it does not matter. Any suggestions? </p>
<p>I was a little worried based on going into Kelley with an Apple.</p>
<p>Yet another thing that was in radonOmega’s amazing “secret” posting. He said business majors would be very sorry if they got Apples. Evidently a PC is the way to go.</p>
<p>Get a pc. I just finished freshman year and I have already had 3 classes that required PCs.</p>
<p>Laptops aren’t essential for first-year students. You can get by with a 2 gig jump drive to store data for K201 or K204. Plus the personal e-mail accounts are 100 megabytes, so you can store big files in your e-mail and retrieve them on the tons of pc’s around campus. Kelley had a chat for direct admits last summer and two of the honors students representing Kelley said that laptops can be a nuisance to carry around and that some profs don’t allow people to take notes with them as they can be a distraction. Also, a lot of professors provide Powerpoint lecture notes that they send to everyone in class via Onestart. Probably need a laptop for I-Core, though, and they are required for MBA students.</p>
<p>Get a Mac. You can run windows on a Mac. Business majors aren’t “sorry” they have Apples. You’ll be fine with a Mac, you can run Office on a Mac. Furthermore, there are plenty of computers to use in case you don’t want to work on stuff on your laptop. Also, if you’re wary of the cost of buying Microsoft XP o Vista, it’s only $20 from the IU bookstore. The office suits for both Mac and PC are free for download for students. In the end, it’ll come down to personal preferences and choose whichever one you are more comfortable with. Nonetheless, I don’t think having a Mac will handicap you in the b-school.</p>
<p>Anyone else from the Business School…Mac or PC</p>
<p>Although I like Macs, a PC is the way to go for Kelley. It will save you a lot of time and hassle for computer classes.</p>
<p>Junior- finance/accounting major- just finished ICORE.</p>
<p>Get a PC - your life will be much easier b/c anything with excel runs BETTER on a pc period. You can get by on a Mac but is it really worth it? To me… no. Plus the shortcuts they show you during K201/4, X201/4 are PC keyd short cuts. During ICORE if you’re doing the finance section, you’ll be doing it on a PC whether you want to or not (your groups not going to risk any incompatibility issues). </p>
<p>My roommate has a mac and regrets it for all the above mentioned reasons.</p>
<p>Go with a mac, having a PC is overrated for the B-school. You can run Windows XP or Vista on the Mac and it’ll probably run better than the Dell. You can have the best of both worlds with a Mac, enjoy the digital iLife suite and excellent Mac OS X, while using Windows for Excel. During freshman year when I took k204 and x202, I used a Mac and completed most of my assignments. The only part I used a PC for was at the library because I didn’t want to pay for the student version of @RISK.</p>
<p>So for the people who are recommending a PC, next question is Dell or Sony (apparently the two options with IU discounts)? And is the IU discount really significant enough to go with one of these two vs. HP or another brand?</p>
<p>I would not go HP…we’ve had two as a family and they are not that great.</p>
<p>I got a HP, the IU discounts aren’t that great (HP offered more bang for the buck after all discounts were taken into consideration). Also, something I noticed is that ~70% of the computers I saw in business classes were HP (free market at work with consumers maximizing marginal utility?)</p>
<p>Im also looking into buying a laptop. How do you take advantage of the IU discount does it have to be from a store or is there some code you can get from IU that allows you to type it in when you buy or something.</p>
<p>This is a starting point:</p>
<p>[ComputerGuide:</a> Deals by vendor - Knowledge Base](<a href=“http://kb.iu.edu/data/antj.html]ComputerGuide:”>http://kb.iu.edu/data/antj.html)</p>
<p>Be sure to check the prices with the coupon deals with Sony and Dell. It may be cheaper to buy off the regular site or you may be able to get your student discount plus the coupon.</p>
<p>I just may have to take back what I said about the HP, I forgot my sister has one for school and she did not have any problems. Plus I looked at the pricing w/discounts and at this point HP had some good deals. </p>
<p>I am waiting till July for the back to school deals make a decision. Based on the feedback Apple is out for the business students.</p>
<p>For those who are still undecided and still thinking about a computer, let me say that having an Apple in the B-school will NOT put you at a disadvantage. It appears that people have the perception that an Apple won’t function as well as a PC and you’ll be facing compatibility or productivity issues. First, you can run windows a mac, it’s a three step process once you buy the Windows OS disc form the bookstore only $20. Furthermore, there is Office for both Mac and PC for free online. </p>
<p>As for the ~70% of computers in classes were PCs, please understand that’s a really really small sample. Out of a lecture hall of 250 people, there’s at most 5-6 people with laptops. In smaller classes, there’s only 1 or 2. As earlier people have noted, most people don’t bring their laptops to class. </p>
<p>Why would you run windows on a mac? It’ll run better and you can easily use the shortcuts, I’ve done it before. Next, probably the most significant advantage of getting a mac your ability to get the best of both worlds, windows and mac on one computer. Furthermore, the value and aesthetic appeal of a mac is higher for macs. </p>
<p>The only reason I would recommend a PC is if you’re really budget conscious. Even then, I see the extra $100-$200 is worth the ability to use two operating systems, superior digital lifestyle software, no hassle with virus/spyware/bloatware, and better overall quality.</p>
<p>I think the real title of this thread should be what size laptop ultra portable or mid size. It appears you do spend a fair amount of studying away from your doom, and would need something more portable. </p>
<p>I orginally though a mid size laptop with a 15 in screen would be portable enough. I viewed some ads on the IU site and noticed students selling larger laptops that were just a few months old or new. The reason for selling (they said) was for something smaller notebook size. </p>
<p>Question for current students: Based on other posts, it may be hard getting PC stations to work at IU during the day, so buying something a notebook might be the way to go. This means less screen and power…if this is for a business major…Any opinions?</p>
<p>“Based on other posts, it may be hard getting PC stations to work at IU during the day.”</p>
<p>Where did you read that that is a problem at IU?</p>
<p>When we were taking a tour the student guide told us. In addition, we were at the library on a Friday afternoon…not a pc station to be found.</p>
<p>BUMP!</p>
<p>I need to hear more opinions from past/current students/parents.</p>
<p>I currently have a Mac at home and I really like using Macs. I’m going to be a freshman in the business school next fall and I want to be sure which computer would be preferred: Mac or PC. </p>
<p>Waht percentage of Kelley undergrads have Macs vs. PCs.</p>
<p>Would buying a Mac force you to have to do some homework/projects on the Kelley computer labs?</p>
<p>Although the bootcamp feature on Macs allows windows to run on Macs, my friend used it when a couple years ago and it was absolute S*^#! It took hours to set up the program, and when he was finally able to use it, the computer crashed. Luckily he didn’t lose any files, but I don’t wanna take that chance. I’m going to buy a backup drive to save all my files on in case whatever computer I buy crashes.</p>
<p>Anyways, if I had to buy a PC, I wouldn’t be in a big disdvantage because I have some experience running Microsoft Word and Excel on my high school’s computers. However, I find Macs much more comfortable, reliable, and easy to use.</p>
<p>^^^(Please refer to my previous post)</p>
<p>I really hope someone can help me. I plan on buying a laptop very soon.</p>