<p>Hi everyone! I'm a member of the Class of 2016 and an M&T studying Mechanical Engineering and Finance. On campus I am in the Penn Symphony Orchestra, Penn Electric Racing, and Wharton Trading Group (Technology-Media-Telecom team). I was recently hired as Apple's UPenn Campus Rep, but I also use a Thinkpad (which is dual-booted for Windows 7 and Linux) for my engineering classes. This means I have experience with basically every major computing platform you might use here at Penn. If you have questions about what sort of computer you will need for your school/major, feel free to get in touch! </p>
<p>I’ll be entering Wharton in the fall and was wondering if Penn/Wharton is more mac-friendly (or conversely more PC-friendly). Also, does Penn offer student discounts or a program that allows us to buy computers at lower prices? </p>
<p>Hi everyone! I thought I replied to this earlier but it seems my post got lost somehow. I will do my best to address your concerns; of course feel free to ask more!</p>
<p>For both of you it is worth noting that Penn Computer Connection offers special discounts on computers for students. They usually have a back to school sale starting around June which will give further discounts and possibly extra add ons (I got a free printer with my computer I bought last year). You will receive a mailer about this May.</p>
<p>For Adelice, Wharton isn’t really more inclined towards either computing platform. Mac is more common based on my own observations. I personally have found certain features of modern Macs (gestures, multiple desktops, battery life) very useful for working on just about anything. To be more specific, the best options would probably be the MacBook Air 13" or either MacBook Pro with Retina. These all give you the benefits of portability, long battery life, and all flash memory (which combined with the latest Intel processors makes them very fast). I have yet to need a CD drive for anything (engineering included) so the likelihood that you will need that is very slim.</p>
<p>For Rebel11, I think that for a bio major much of the above would apply. I am less familiar with the computing needs of bio. From what I have seen you will use your personal computer mainly for relatively general things (email, web, word, excel, powerpoint, etc) and any more complex programs will be used on lab computers instead of your personal computer. I would suggest staying on the safe side with more power than an ultrabook (any of the new very thin/portable computers from Apple, Samsung, etc) would supply. Any MacBook Pro (dependent on how much you are willing to spend) would probably be best since I find Mac to be very fast and easy to work with day-to-day and it is very easy to install Windows if it becomes necessary.</p>
<p>Hi Ojenkins, What would you recommend for SEAS? S is thinking about Bioengineering or the Chemical and Biomolecular engineering majors. He has always used PC’s and we have heard that they are better for engineering majors. Is that true? And if so what are the basic minimum that the PC or Mac should have?
Thanks!</p>
<p>Mamalumper, based on my own experience either Mac or PC will work fine for SEAS. There are programs used in SEAS which run only on Windows, but since Penn doesn’t give all students copies of those programs you will generally be using lab computers for that sort of work. Penn also has access to Microsoft Dreamspark, which gives students free copies of certain Microsoft programs, so you can always easily install Windows on a Mac if it becomes necessary.</p>
<p>I bought a Thinkpad when I came to Penn since I was under the impression that having a Mac in engineering would be a big problem, but I found that to not actually be true. In hindsight I think a Mac would have been a better choice even just for three reasons, 1) Portability (Thinkpads are durable but also bulky, MacBooks are slightly less durable but much nicer when you have to carry them all over campus), 2) Battery Life (with a MacBook you are almost guaranteed to get 6+ hours of battery, my Thinkpad usually got 3-5 depending on use), and 3) User interface (including running multiple desktops, gestures, simplicity, etc). As someone with experience in using both on a day to day basis, if I went back and did it all over I would have bought a MacBook Pro. They are better designed, better built, better to use, and even for someone like me who had little experience with modern macs until recently very easy to learn.</p>
<p>Regardless of what you end up buying, the best way to get it will be through the back-to-school sale from Penn Computer Connection. You will get a mailer about this around May. They will have the best prices available on computers for students and they will let you search computers based on what school you are in (so you can be sure to get one that will meet the hardware requirements). </p>
<p>Feel free to post with any further questions!</p>
<p>What model Thinkpad do you have? With extended batteries on the right models (i.e. not a W series), battery lives of over 6 hours are possible, with some models even being able to go up over 10! (Like the X series) </p>
<p>The newer models are also getting much sleeker too. My dad has a few year old tablet Thinkpad from his work, and yeah, it’s thick and very heavy, but nowadays they’ve really fixed that. </p>
<p>I was thinking of getting whatever the successor is (since new Thinkpads usually arrive in the summer) to the 12" x230t to use at college. I realize I won’t always have a plug to use and that space is at a premium everywhere at college, so this model seems to fit the bill. I’m also much more comfortable with Windows. I know it can be put onto Macs, but that just nullifies any possible battery advantages.</p>
<p>I have a T530. I just have the standard battery in it but I was still usually able to pull 4-5 hours out of it, and a friend with a T430 and extended battery got significantly longer than that. The T530 is quite a brick though (about 1.4-1.3 inches I believe and 5.5-6 pounds) which made carrying it around campus not so pleasant. I have a Mac Air now and I use the thinkpad only occasionally, usually to do Solidworks stuff over the remote desktop just because it is connected to a 21" 1080 monitor which is nicer for CAD.</p>
<p>In terms of computers in general, it may make sense to hold off on upgrading if you can. The new Intel processors with Haswell architecture (successor to Ivy Bridge) are supposed to come out this summer and they will give much better speed, graphics, and battery life to all computers. You can bet all new macs will have them within a month or two of release, and PCs should be around the same time if not a bit later. </p>
<p>In terms of space (or plugs I guess, just to address the questions you asked), I wouldn’t say having a small laptop is a big advantage. It might be easier to put it on the desks (but that’s what laps are for haha) and I can’t really think of another place where space saving would help much. Plugs though are certainly rare; most lecture halls only have them on the aisles and the popular study spaces (Starbucks, other cafes, bookstore) often have all plugs occupied. Battery life is key; my Thinkpad got decent battery life and the air (thanks to solid state drives) is significantly better.</p>
<p>In terms of mac vs. PC, what you get is totally up to you. Just to add a personal note though, I would definitely at least take some time to get out to an Apple Store (or if you are at Penn Previews I will be at the library giving demos, feel free to come by) to at least see what’s on offer. When I got this job most of what I knew about Apple was from trying stuff out in stores and my knowledge of the main company ethos, I hadn’t owned one of the modern macs until I got my company laptop and I picked it up almost immediately, since they are so easy to use well.</p>
<p>Hey Oliver, it sounds like you’ve had enough of thinkpads. Too bad! I love my 2007 T61! How could you not love a computer that cost you $250 (including aftermarket SSD) runs solidworks better than my (newer) MBP13" and is functionally indestructible? You’re right about battery life though.</p>
<p>Anyways, I’ve been thinking about getting a MS Surface Pro for classes and something bigger and less portable for things like solidworks. Does this sound like a good idea to you? What do you think are the pros/cons of the surface?</p>
<p>I mainly just got fed up with all the annoying little glitches and screwups with windows. I’ve found Mac to be a lot nicer for using on a day to day basis; everything just works all the time. There are also a lot of really useful features on Mac which Windows doesn’t have that I find make me more productive. There’s also the portability factor; with my thinkpad in my messenger bag I would have room for maybe 1 or 2 notebooks and it was really heavy (the corner actually wore right through the heavy duty canvas!) which was not pleasant when I have to carry it everywhere.</p>
<p>That said, I would agree that having something to take notes on is quite nice for classes. I don’t know much about the Surface Pro. Just looking at the first review on google ([Final</a> Review: Microsoft Surface Pro - Forbes](<a href=“http://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonevangelho/2013/02/25/final-review-microsoft-surface-pro/]Final”>Final Review: Microsoft Surface Pro)) which reflects a few things I had heard before, it has a few issues that still need to be worked out. The general consensus I’ve heard is that the Pro sits in a sort of weird spot where it is not quite a laptop and not quite tablet. It isn’t powerful or functional enough to really compete with ultrabooks (even though at $1000 the price is almost the same) but it is also significantly thicker and heavier than most tablets and with battery life (~2.5 hours, so basically 1-2 classes) far below other offerings.</p>
<p>I personally use an iPad with a Bamboo capacitive stylus for all of my classes and I have found it to be an excellent choice. I charge it once every 2 days and use Notability to take all notes and do all homework on the device; with the iWork suite as well I would probably not carry a laptop if I didn’t have to use secure connections for my work with Apple. </p>
<p>If you have any questions about any of this feel free to let me know!</p>
<p>Hey Oliver,
Hope you’re still checking this thread, would really appreciate your help.</p>
<p>I just got into UPenn and I want to switch to a mac, but got an email from them saying that I would use more windows software than mac software. I was thinking about using parallels or VMware fusion and dual booting windows 7 on a retina display 13 inch macbook pro (i5, 8 GB memory, 512 or 256 GB solid state drive), but am worried that it would make the programs run too slowly especially when using CAD software like autocad and solidworks and because the macbooks don’t have discrete graphics cards. Boot camp also won’t work for me because I’m probably going to use windows and mac software equally.</p>
<p>Then there’s also the option of using the virtual pc and connection to the labs, but I’ve heard it can be quite a hassle sometimes (can we do this from anywhere?). I’m really looking for any good reason to switch to a mac (haha), but I’m still skeptical as to whether it would be a good choice. Could you help me out with this?</p>
<p>I’m more confused than ever. You are saying that Windows will definitely be necessary one way or another, so I don’t understand why not go with a windows laptop instead of Mac? I’m sorry I’m just trying to understand all the technicalities. My S will be a Comp. Sci major and we were planning to buy him a new laptop. Whats the advantage in buying a macbook and installing windows, rather than buying a samsung or something ? Sorry if I’m not as savvy as you guys. Thanks for taking the time to help.</p>
<p>More and more people in science seem to be using Macs. The user interface is very nice and it had the unix terminal so you don’t have to partition the hard drive to install Linux.</p>