<p>I'm probably going to be attending CMU (SCS) in fall 2005. Would any current students care to share advice on what computer to bring?</p>
<p>I'm going to be bringing a Mac, that much is certain (but let's not get into a platform war). The first question is: laptop or desktop? I've asked around with friends and family, and most of them say I should go for a laptop. Then the question becomes: PowerBook or iBook? And which model?</p>
<p>i visited cmu this weekend and oh-my-god i saw alot of powerbooks.</p>
<p>Apparently macs are making a comeback among the super elite...</p>
<p><a href="http://paulgraham.com/mac.html%5B/url%5D">http://paulgraham.com/mac.html</a> (stories linked on slashdot a while ago)
<a href="http://www.macdevcenter.com/pub/a/mac/2002/05/14/oreilly_wwdc_keynote.html?page=2%5B/url%5D">http://www.macdevcenter.com/pub/a/mac/2002/05/14/oreilly_wwdc_keynote.html?page=2</a></p>
<p>I'm also considering getting a powerbook (even though I've always been a mac hater), but I haven't investigated the details of it yet. My main problem is that most of the essential software and games that I've acquired coughcough only work with Windows. A PC desktop-OSX laptop combination might work well. I'm also considering getting a tablet PC.</p>
<p>Get a Laptop</p>
<p>karthikkito: you sure they were PowerBooks? iBooks and PowerBooks look quite similar when closed. Anyway, good to know CMU has a good Mac-using community. I've been stuck in my Windows-only high school for 4 years, and it's been computer hell.</p>
<p>So I guess for me the choice comes down to PowerBook or iBook. I've also already got a Palm m130 for contacts, appointments, deadlines, etc.</p>
<p>yep...many of the ones i saw were open and being used on the grass, under a tree, on a bench...etc:)</p>
<p>i'm sure there were ibooks there are well, though.</p>
<p>as a follow up, i was reading the factbook from the thread <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=47401%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=47401</a> and saw this interesting number for 2004 (page 72):</p>
<p>Macintosh (2004): 123
Windows (2004): 176</p>
<p>so, given apple's market share, it really does seem to have a strong presence in the public clusters.</p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>A MAC!!??!!</p>
<p>Anyways, I would get a Power Book.</p>
<p>My advice would be to wait until you get here, it just might be cheaper. And depending on your major, like if you are CS or Design/Art, you would want a Mac. (laptops are preferable)</p>
<p>MACs are dumb. There is a small but dedicated Mac user group on campus. Unfortunately there are even mac clusters used for some programming courses. Linux is spreading more and more so you may want to look into that especially if you are using a notebook.</p>
<p>Personally, I would go for a notebook. When the weather is really nice outside, it is noce to sit out and write code (I am a CS major). I regret bringing a desktop, but I may get a notebook this year, but next year at the latest.</p>
<p>Oh, I thought they recc'd Macs for CS majors. </p>
<p>Personally, I love the IBM Powerbook, and you can get a great deal once on campus. Do they still require Macs for Design?</p>
<p>"When the weather is really nice outside, it is noce to sit out and write code (I am a CS major)."</p>
<p>are all cs majors like that? :P</p>
<p>Thats what I would like to do (I am a CS major). I will be a sophomore next year, so I just got a new desktop coming in to CMU. I may get a notebook if I can find something to do with my desktop. I can't really justify having both.</p>