Computer choices and deals?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Southern California
1

<p>Did a search on the topic of computers at USC, but came up mostly with pointless "Mac vs PC" religious wars. The far more practical questions are</p>

<p>[ul]
[<em>]Is either type (PCs or Macs) clearly prevalent?
[</em>]Is the support staff equally competent with both?
[<em>]Do network services work well with both?
[</em>]Does the answer to the above apply to wired, wireless, or both?
[<em>]Is there a reason to prefer one over the other for academic reasons, e.g., software that is so much better on one over the other?
[</em>]Does the school offer any interesting discounts? Most academic hardware discounts nowadays are worthless and can be easily beat with judicious shopping
[<em>]Is any particular brand of laptop particularly well supported on campus?
[</em>]Do any manufacturers offer noteworthy support/warranty extension programs. D has managed to go through three iPods in the last few years, I am sure that she will be equally "careful" with her shiny new laptop, so the extra cost of an extended warranty is probably well worth it, as long as the manufacturer stands behind it.
[/ul]</p>

<p>Feel free to add your own insight, as long as there is no evangelism involved. I invite computer reps to stay off this thread, unless they are providing factual information on warranties/etc provided by their employers :D</p>

2

<p>I'd say it's 50/50 pc vs. mac. There's not a clear favorite, though there are far more macs here than in the general population.</p>

<p>I don't know since I've never contacted support asking for anything pc or mac specific, but for the most part, they're equally knowledgeable. The computer labs have both Dell and Mac hardware and in select labs, Sun workstations. Plus, instructions usually are provided for both pc/mac.</p>

<p>Wired and wireless both work well with my mac, and I'd assume it works well with PC's too. The wireless can be slow and flakey sometimes depending on where you are, but it's not a PC/Mac issue.</p>

<p>Some majors might require software that runs on PC, but I don't know of any in particular. Most academic software in my major (engineering) like Matlab, Mathematica, etc have mac versions. Plus, for CS classes Mac can actually be a bit preferable since it is essentially Unix-based and CS classes program on the unix servers here. </p>

<p>Worst-case scenario, if you get a Mac and need to run PC software, you can buy a copy of windows and install it as a dual-boot or under a piece of software called Parallels.</p>

<p>USC offers the standard Apple academic discount, that you get on the apple website, at the bookstore, with maybe some occasional specials.</p>

<p>Lots of people seem to have Dell's and Apples, but otherwise, nothing that is especially well supported over the rest.</p>

<p>Macs come with 1 year limited warranty and you can buy 3 years worth of Applecare. </p>

<p>If the concern is accidental damage, then technically, warranties don't cover that. Sometimes they might give you the benefit of the doubt, but to be sure, insurance is probably a better option. </p>

<p>I'm actually looking into laptop insurance myself. Usually you can get it as an fairly cheap addon to homeowners (but with a rather large deducible) and there are a lot of companies now that advertise zero-deductible laptop insurance. Insurance would cover things like accidental damage, theft, etc that are not typically covered under warranty.</p>

3

<p>There was a poster here, Amazon3001, who worked at an Apple Store and was an Apple Campus rep at USC as well. He ran a thread about Apple for a while- maybe that might include some useful info:
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-southern-california/324425-apple-questions-answered-mac-guy.html?highlight=apple%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-southern-california/324425-apple-questions-answered-mac-guy.html?highlight=apple&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

4

<p>when I looked on the USC website they offer 15% discount on mac's and Dell's. Also ipods are discounted as a usc Student. Most companies offer discount "student licenses"</p>

5

<p>You can get refurbed Macs on apple's website, and also the macbook/macbook pro models have changed specs recently so you can get a "New" slightly older model for a great discount at MacMall or other resellers. The warranty still goes thru Apple and you can still buy Applecare (a great deal for students thru the educational Apple website).
Dell offers refurbs on their website also; items change every 20 minutes. Their extended warranty also covers accidental damage. The only drawback is you need to be a bit more computer savvy, especially with the systems running Vista, which is still rather buggy.</p>

6

<p>

Yeah, saw this thread. This is exactly the type of person who had drank a bit too much Apple punch that I invited to stay off this thread :D Thanks for pointing it out, though.</p>

<p>Thanks to everyone else for the rest of the replies, particularly about the educational AppleCare tip, I will look into it.</p>

7

<p>With the number of Macs here on campus, you'd think Apple has the majority markeshare of laptops sold (I'm typing this on my MacBook Pro). </p>

<p>It's definitely safe (if not recommended) to buy a Mac for use at USC. Switch!</p>

8

<p>From my experience, PC's are the majority, aside from film/art students perhaps. There are certainly a sizable group of Mac users though, maybe 35%-40% or so? The computer labs have both, so either way works.</p>

<p>I know with some courses with a lot of online content, BUAD-304 Organizational Behavior and BUAD-250a Accounting for example, there are extra steps you need to go through to ensure you can view the online lectures on a Mac. Here's the instructions for my 250a course: <a href="http://www-marshall2.usc.edu/elearning/tech-docs/MacHandbook.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www-marshall2.usc.edu/elearning/tech-docs/MacHandbook.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>I wouldn't go so far as to say I'd recommend a Mac, but if that's what you prefer you'll be okay provided that you're willing to take some extra time for certain programs and/or online content.</p>

9

<p>Last week while we were at orientation we checked the prices of computers at the USC bookstore. They had great deals on Dells and Apples laptops (they told us the models on sale, were new for spring 2008 and they were receiving new inventory for fall 2008).
My D who will be a BME freshman wants to get a MacBook Pro for school. The sales person at USC told us that Viterbi students need to use PC for a lot of their classes. Can anyone comment on this?</p>

10

<p>I've never needed to use a PC for anything school related in Viterbi, that I couldn't use a mac for. (I'm EE/CS though, not BME, so I don't know about that)</p>

<p>As an insurance policy, you could either buy a copy of windows & parallels so you can run windows on the macbook pro (which does cost some extra money) or count on using one of the many PC's in the computer labs if it ever comes up.</p>

11

<p>It might just be me, but i saw mostly macs, but for SURE both are equally compatible with school functions, etc</p>

<ul>
<li>In one class we had to do powerpoints, and they had adapters for the laptops for both mac/pc for the projector</li>
<li>When we were learning how to type Japanese characters onto MS word for my japanese class, she had Mac and PC handouts</li>
</ul>

12

<p>I know I already wrote in this thread (saying Macs are the way to go), but I just wanted to emphasize how using a Mac is NOT an "issue/problem" at USC, from personal experiences.</p>

13

<p>either way you won't have problems. just choose one you like. I use both although personally i own a PC. (computer assistant in a mac computer lab) If you are used to a PC then get a PC. If you are used to a mac and would like to keep it get a mac. it's that simple. I mean if you aren't used to your new OS you might be fumbling around your first few days/weeks in college with your new compy but sooner or later you'll get used to it</p>

14

<p>Tuitionsaver - By chance, do you know how much they were selling the Apple laptops? Thanks!</p>

15

<p>Education discounts
The</a> Apple Store (U.S.) - Welcome to the Apple Store</p>

16

<p>Matthew M: I do not recall exactly, but maybe $100-200 less than the equivalent newer models.</p>

17

<p>This is truly the lowest prices that i have ever found, and the variety of systems offered is incredible (all name brands). The website has some type of automated bot that queries retail and online sellers. It lists (each day) the daily specials. Enjoy.</p>

<p>cheap</a> laptop discount laptop cheap notebook cheap dell laptop deal laptop computer reviews</p>