<p>
[quote]
90+% of businesses use a PC platform.....
[/quote]
and 90% of those are using MS/Office that is available for the Mac. My company has both. I recently asked our IT guys what they thought about Macs. They said that if the company went all Mac, then they would only need half the internal support staf, so they didn't like them.</p>
<p>idad:</p>
<p>the biggest reason corporate america has gone pc is bcos they are cheaper to purchase for the capital budget. There are plenty of business sw programs that run only on a pc platform. Yes, Mac can run Win-tel, but rather inefficiently.</p>
<p>A 10% market share is worse than Sony Beta.</p>
<p>Don't want to make this into a Mac-PC debate -- The market has already made that call. And, for students who will graduate and move into the work world that is not graphics-oriented, a PC is the choice du jour.</p>
<p>From what our IT guys say, the Macs often run Windows better and faster than our Dells. As for cost, similar configured Macs are now often cheaper than PCs.</p>
<p>So what would be recommended? I plan to use it for basic usage (internet, word processing, music, photos) and a couple games.</p>
<p>Off the apple website:
~13 inch white macbook
* 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
* 1GB memory
* 80GB hard drive1
* Combo drive</p>
<p>Ships: Within 24 hours
Free Shipping
$999.00</p>
<p>~13 inch white macbook
* 2.16GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
* 1GB memory
* 120GB hard drive1
* Double-layer SuperDrive</p>
<p>Ships: Within 24 hours
Free Shipping
$1,199.00</p>
<p>Or I can get a combo from my college computer store
~ * 13" White Apple MacBook:
o 2.16GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor
o 13.3" glossy TFT display with 1280x800 resolution
o 120GB 5400rpm Serial ATA hard drive
o 1GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM PC2-5300 (on 2 DIMMs)
o 8x double-layer SuperDrive (CD/DVD+/-RW)
o Intel GMA 950 graphics processor w/64MB DDR2 SDRAM (shared)
o mini-DVI output port
o Airport Extreme wireless (802.11n)
o Bluetooth 2.0
o Built-in iSight camera
o Apple Remote control
o Mac OS X v10.4 Tiger
o iLife '06 and Front Row software
o 6-cell Lithium Ion battery
o 5.2 lbs. (12.78"W x 8.92"D x 1.08"H)
o 3-year AppleCare extended warranty</p>
<pre><code>* Microsoft Office 2004 Pro for Mac OS X
(contains Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Entourage, Virtual PC)
* Brenthaven security lock for laptops
* 25' Cat5 Ethernet cable
* Free 2GB flash drive with package purchase
</code></pre>
<p>Note: This computer is eligible for Apple's Major in Mac iPod promotion</p>
<p>Price: $1,373</p>
<p>While the package from my school looks good, I'm a bit cheap and don't like spending a lot of money lol. And I would also have to wait until August to get the computer. I don't know what to do...</p>
<p>We just went through this same decision. First off, we decided that the super-drive and more memory was worth the cost to step up to the $1199. After that, your school's offer boils down to $175 more. Office for students with a college discount is about $150, so you are spending $25 for a lock, cable and flash drive. Pretty good price for these items if you want them.<br>
25' of ethernet cable is pretty generous - if your school gives you one it probably won't be this long. If your dorm is wireless, it's not important.... Looks like a draw - how much do you want to use it this summer?
One point for waiting is that the warranty period won't start until August, so you are covered longer into the school year.
Our D opted to get it now. Got a "free" $99 printer at the Apple store as well as the cool blue Nano she wanted. (free after rebate = not quite free)</p>
<p>Go with the $1199 MacBook (you will need the HD space and the ability to burn DVD's). You can get the Office academic version for $135.00 (or less), a 2 GB flash drive for $20 (or less), a security lock & cable for $25 (or less), and you will not likely need a 25 ft CAT-5 cable. So there is no need to wait. </p>
<p>You may want to add extra RAM, but this can be done at anytime.</p>
<p>Considering that package includes the AppleCare warranty, I'd say it's a really, really good choice. Go for it.</p>
<p>etselec makes a good point. I overlooked the Apple Care, that is about $190 with edu discount, so the college package may be worth the wait. Since you are an accepted student, are you sure you have to wait until fall?</p>
<p>Yeah thanks for all the good advice so far! I would have to wait until August, because they want you to purchase it there during orientation, and mine isn't til August.. so yup.</p>
<p>Just a question for urbanite--what games?</p>
<p>For the most part, I've found that the Macbook's integrated graphics card is friendly with games than Dell integrated graphics cards (I don't actually know why though... in theory, they're the same), but it'll still cause some problems on higher end games (or even medium end games such as Call of Duty 2).</p>
<p>If that's a priority, you might want to get the Pro instead.
Also, I would suggest another stick of RAM--but this, of course, is for the gamers. ;)</p>
<p>how much time are you going to want to spend on games in college?
My D didn't even have time to read a book that wasn't related to her classes, not even traveling on the train from school to home- she sure wouldn't have had time to be sucked away playing games.</p>
<p>re education discount
You can go to the APPLE website- and click on the education store- if you are enrolled in a college- ( or work for a district or even a PTA officer), you can get the education discount by buying through the website</p>
<p>Apple also has released Safari ( its web browser) for Windows- however it is beta, so may have some bugs
( which probably isn't a new thing for windows users)
I use Firefox- but am going to try it- let you know</p>
<p>
[quote]
how much time are you going to want to spend on games in college?
My D didn't even have time to read a book that wasn't related to her classes, not even traveling on the train from school to home- she sure wouldn't have had time to be sucked away playing games.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>You'd be surprised how much some people play, especially World of Warcraft, DoTA and the like. There are people who literally can fill 40 hours a week in those games.</p>
<p>However, as for people like me, it's nice to run the game, watch the introduction cinematics, click on something, quit, and go back to work at least somewhat satisfied. Either that, or do some stress relief playing before finals (after finishing studying most of the material somewhat in advance).</p>
<p>It's be a disappointment if instead you got an error box that said, "Your graphics card may not be supported or you may need new drivers."</p>
<p>Vista is basically exactly the same as Windows XP, except many programs, drivers, and devices do not run on it. My advice is to find a copy of Windows XP and install it on the new computer when you buy it. Then, later you can install vista when there is some reason to.</p>
<p>You'd be surprised how much some people play, especially World of Warcraft, DoTA and the like. There are people who literally can fill 40 hours a week in those games.</p>
<p>No I realize that some people do play a lot- but they are huge time suckers and given all the opportunities on campus would be a shame to be spending it doing something you could do at any time.</p>
<p>I do know students that play games @ Reed, D had one friend who beat teh
computer playing "Set" reportedly, but generally they are more likely to play um board games- Cranium was always a big hit :)</p>
<p>However if you already have an application that you know you need, of course check out the specs to get a processor to handle that</p>
<p>do you guys think Vista will be good to use if we buy it next year?</p>