<p>I really want to get an apple laptop but i'm not sure if its good for college. Does anyone know if Cornell, or most colleges, are compatible with apple? I'm applying for mechanical engineering if that makes a difference.</p>
<p>Realistically, PC is your best bet. Here is why:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>More people use it, so if something goes wrong, you have plenty of people to call. Not a lot of things go wrong with Macs, but you never know.</p></li>
<li><p>More software that you need for your classes is gonna be on the PC and not the Mac. And it will be cheaper through your university to boot. Some software just will not be available on the Mac.</p></li>
<li><p>It's easier to get free software for the PC, if you know what I mean.</p></li>
<li><p>If you play games, PC is better.</p></li>
<li><p>If you want to do anything that is related to Linux, PC is better.</p></li>
<li><p>You get more power for your dollar from a PC.</p></li>
<li><p>Macs, because they are different, are more fun to use, but this is more of a novelty thing.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>There are a lot more reasons, but I'll let others chime in.</p>
<p>Thanks, yea I pretty much just want the novelty thing. I guess I should go with the PC, those are some good reasons. So what's a good pc laptop to get? my bro got a Dell but I hate that thing.</p>
<p>Why the person is wrong:</p>
<ol>
<li>More people use it, so if something goes wrong, you have plenty of people to call. Not a lot of things go wrong with Macs, but you never know.</li>
</ol>
<p>Apple has great customer support, and I'm sure plenty of people have macs at Cornell. Also, I have never had anything go wrong with my mac.</p>
<ol>
<li>More software that you need for your classes is gonna be on the PC and not the Mac. And it will be cheaper through your university to boot. Some software just will not be available on the Mac.</li>
</ol>
<p>You can get about anything for mac, and you still get education discounts. You even get a $200ish discount on the mac.</p>
<ol>
<li>It's easier to get free software for the PC, if you know what I mean.</li>
</ol>
<p>Pshh, plenty easy to get it for mac, and there are no viruses in the process.</p>
<ol>
<li>If you play games, PC is better.</li>
</ol>
<p>There are more games for PC. But you can run Windows natively on Macs easily, so all you need is that "free" copy of Windows.</p>
<ol>
<li>If you want to do anything that is related to Linux, PC is better.</li>
</ol>
<p>Can do linux on mac easily.</p>
<ol>
<li>You get more power for your dollar from a PC.</li>
</ol>
<p>Maybe. You can still get a great macbook or iMac for under 1k.</p>
<ol>
<li>Macs, because they are different, are more fun to use, but this is more of a novelty thing.</li>
</ol>
<p>The mac interface is awesome. dunno why you would say it is a novelty. I love the great integration of everything.</p>
<p>Overall, Macs, don't get viruses, can run windows if you want to, are more reliable, and are basically better in every way. Get a mac.</p>
<p>You don't have to pick because Apple is fricken amazing.</p>
<p>They let you run Window or Mac OS on their new machines.</p>
<p>Have the best of both worlds; Excellence of a Mac, universality of a PC...</p>
<p><a href="http://www.apple.com/getamac/windows.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.apple.com/getamac/windows.html</a></p>
<p>macs are also WAY overpriced and break down more easily and often compared with a PC. thats a fact. apple products suck. every single appple product i've bought has been taken to the genius bar because of some malfunction. once again, APPLES SUCK.</p>
<p>I have never had to take any apple computer to get fixed. I sent in my iPod, and I was just given a replacement, even though there was only the slightest problem (mainly I wanted a new iPod). They sent me a prepaid box to sent it to them in, and it took about a week. Macs are not way overpiced. The computers are definately better than any windows computer I have ever used.</p>
<p>apple sucks, especially their ipod, i think their goal is to make their product as complicated as possible. I mean why itunes? what happened to drag and drop? why can't i move songs back into my computer (after i reinstalled) and why does the stupid auto sync feature suck so much?</p>
<p>and yes, i back everyone else's point in saying that for the same specs, macs are more expensive.</p>
<p>I've had the same old Mac laptop for about 3 years now (it's a 12" Powerbook G4). It was my first mac after having gone though 2 HP's and 1 Toshiba laptop. I've just purchased another laptop after one funks on me. It took a little getting used to, but now it's absolutely the ideal laptop for me. If I were to drop it, I'd only settle for an identical laptop. </p>
<p>I've never encountered a program I couldn't use on the Mac. This includes a bunch of weird statistical programs. The Cornell store that sells macs will consult with all teachers on the programs they use and their compatibility ... they notify students if there's any program that wont work, though I am really not sure if there are any. </p>
<p>Another sweetness issue is how easy it is to use for anything. I was at a friends house and in a bit of an emergency with a paper than needed to be printed. No drivers for the printer were installed on my mac, but this wasn't a problem. I just plugged it in and it did the rest of the work for me and I printed the report moments later. Awesome. </p>
<p>A surprisingly large number of my friends use macs as well ... they're just as sold as I am on the product though. None of them have had any problems what so ever with them either. Not sure about all of this poor reliability stuff comes from ... I've gotten used to lending my laptop to my PC using roomate and girlfriend. </p>
<p>Also, I downloaded the free Norton Business Pro (something like that) anti-virus software ... by far the best and most powerful available at any given moment. It's free for Cornell students through uportal. I have NEVER cleaned anything from my Mac, so i figured it would be a good idea after a solid few years of use. I used to clean my PC's every month and they were always loaded. So, I let it run for 3 or so hours as it ran through my entire machine. The result: nothing. What a waste of time.</p>
<p>Are you serious about the iPod? It is amazingly simple compared to every other MP3 player I've delt with. Every Apple product I have used is simple and easy to learn. Also, when you factor in the price of windows and all the software that you have to buy that comes free with a mac, it comes out almost even.</p>
<p>"It is amazingly simple compared to every other MP3 player I've delt with."</p>
<p>same here. It's a pretty basic operation, even with iTunes. My grandpa used itunes as well ... he died not long ago from old age. I've had MP3 players from creative, but the iPod is simply the best. My brother had problems with his after dropping it in the street, but they just sent him a brand new one. I've had mine for years now (yes, it's outdated) but it still works perfectly. My only complaint: I set it up for use with my PC at the time and I don't think I can use it with my mac currently (I had the iPod before I bought a mac). Then again, I havn't really tried much either. </p>
<p>"when you factor in the price of windows and all the software that you have to buy that comes free with a mac, it comes out almost even."
I never cared ... better usually costs more anyways. I'm glad I unloaded the $1550 for my tiny mac.</p>
<p>Your iPod should work with your mac if its formatted for PC. If it doesn't work right away, you could just run the iPod updater.</p>
<p>When do you recommend buying a laptop? I am considering buying a macbook. and how are the student discounts?</p>
<p>yeah, my initial attempt wasn't really much more than just trying to plug it in. Not a big deal, my 40 gig ipod has about 25 gigs worth of music - my laptop has far less. I just went to all of my friends houses and plugged in my ipod there and got all of their music.</p>
<p>I'd buy it in the summer, get used to it and get it equiped in the weeks before comming to campus. Check apple.com for discount pricing.</p>
<p>So with this "free" windows for a mac so you can run pc software, even games?</p>
<p>I think so. But, I don't play games. Somebody else verify.</p>
<p>Unless you're a gamer (or are looking for an ultraportable), I'd strongly recommend a Macbook or Macbook Pro over any PC notebook. Sure, you usually can get more for your money with a different brand, but the Apple premium has dwindled in the last year or two.</p>
<p>Of course, it's a matter or personal preference.</p>
<p>Edit: To those above, yes, you can even play games. Whether you're running Bootcamp or Parallels you can do anything you'd be able to do on a PC (which is especially favorable with a Macbook Pro, with its 256MB X1600)</p>
<p>
[quote]
1. More people use it, so if something goes wrong, you have plenty of people to call. Not a lot of things go wrong with Macs, but you never know.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>And you take it to the Apple store and voila! Not so bad.</p>
<p>
[quote]
2. More software that you need for your classes is gonna be on the PC and not the Mac. And it will be cheaper through your university to boot. Some software just will not be available on the Mac.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>MS Word, STATA, and many other key programs are available for the Mac at universities nationwide at a similar discount.</p>
<p>
[quote]
3. It's easier to get free software for the PC, if you know what I mean.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>It's just as easy to get it for the Mac, if you know what I mean.</p>
<p>
[quote]
4. If you play games, PC is better.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>True. Though that's slowly changing. </p>
<p>
[quote]
5. If you want to do anything that is related to Linux, PC is better.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I don't know that I agree with this. Ubuntu and other Linux iterations run great on the Mac. After all, Mac OS X is just a UNIX-based OS...</p>
<p>
[quote]
6. You get more power for your dollar from a PC.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Not necessarily. Compare the Macbook with other laptops of similar build quality, and the Macbook prices favorably. </p>
<p>
[quote]
7. Macs, because they are different, are more fun to use, but this is more of a novelty thing.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>How about the fact that I'm more efficient in Mac OS than I was in Windows? Is that just novelty?</p>
<p>Here's more info to consider. This coming from a Computer Engineering & Computer Science major, though I'm not claiming to be an expert about this particular aspect of computing.</p>
<p>
[quote]
And you take it to the Apple store and voila! Not so bad.
[/quote]
That's fine for some people, but I don't want to keep taking my computer to an Apple store. I fix my computers myself, and have been doing it with great success for many years.</p>
<p>
[quote]
MS Word, STATA, and many other key programs are available for the Mac at universities nationwide at a similar discount.
[/quote]
Outside of "key programs," there are many, many Windows applications unavailable for OS X. I use many of these, including Albatross18, guitar software, Picasa 2, and Steam.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Not necessarily. Compare the Macbook with other laptops of similar build quality, and the Macbook prices favorably.
[/quote]
The MacBook is priced fairly, although slightly expensive. But the real catch is the lack of features and customization. My ThinkPad has a fingerprint scanner, a TrackPoint, five mouse buttons (whose functions can be individually assigned, a must for me), a removable optical drive, a ThinkLight (keyboard light), SD memory card reader, and a 7-row keyboard.</p>
<p>Plus it has the usual features found also in MacBooks, such as a built-in webcam, built-in microphone, Firewire, 3 USB 2.0 ports, trackpad, gigabit Ethernet, solid casing (such as a "titanium" lid"), 802.11a/b/g, Bluetooth, and the Active Protection Sensor (which detects shocks to the hard drive and parks the head before impact, similar to Apple's Sudden Motion Sensor, but introduced earlier and with an included software utility to see its status and customize its sensitivity).</p>
<p>
[quote]
How about the fact that I'm more efficient in Mac OS than I was in Windows? Is that just novelty?
[/quote]
Perhaps. Expose, though cool at first, quickly becomes cumbersome as you start using lots of windows. I've owned an iBook and Mac mini, both with OS X, and I always found myself coming back to Windows to get real work done.</p>
<p>So while Macs are fine, I'm certain I'm better off in the Windows world (unfortunately or not). When there's a Mac laptop with a pointing stick and at least 2 mouse buttons, I'll consider it. And yes, I know you can use an external mouse, but that requires carrying it around and having more desk space, which decreases overall efficiency. Not to mention the fact that I almost enjoy using the TrackPoint more than a mouse.</p>
<p>By the way, a number of folks have managed to run OS X on ThinkPads and other PCs, so it goes both ways: perhaps you can get the better PC hardware but run your OS of choice.</p>