<p>this year accepted students are being pushed to buy this IBM notebook computer in an effort to homogenize the student's computers for better tech support and some MYnotebook brogram. sounds kind of dumb to me, and that everyone having the same computer wont really make that much of a difference. you are not forced to get it though. I'm a mac girl and having been dying to get a new power book for college. all the anti mac proganda they have on their website has forced me and my father, well my father really, to reconsider. he doesnt want me to have issues if my computer breaks while im down their or if there are things that can only be done on the IBM. any insight? any other mac users? any current students know if a decent amt of students use macs?</p>
<p>A good number do</p>
<p>The only advantage i can see is they bundle it with four years of support. AppleCare only gets you three years. I noticed UVA is offering packages including Macs and they have four years of Mac support with theirs. I think it might be worth it to ask your Apple store to find a way to include four years of AppleCare support with your new purchase in light of what W&M is trying to do to get you to purchase a Windoze machine, and considering the offer UVA's Apple Store affiliate is offering. Won't hurt to ask.</p>
<p>Yeah the only benefit for going with the IBM is if you drop your laptop and it breaks or if you spill stuff on your keyboard you just send it to IT and they give it back to you in an hour or two depending on how busy they are.</p>
<p>It's also a very good laptop. I've been very pleased with the IBM.</p>
<p>I was thinking about this the other day. In intro psych, I looked around the lecture hall and counted. Roughly 20% of the computers being used to take notes were macs. The people I know who use macs hardly ever need to take their computer to IT. If you have a serious problem with your computer, there's an apple store in Richmond that you can get a ride too. The people at the Apple store are way more knowledgeable than any IT person. I guess it's nice, as someone mentioned, to be able to get a new keyboard if you break yours, but seriously, why are you breaking your computer keyboard? Why are you spilling things on your computer?</p>
<p>It takes half of the professors multiple tries to turn on the projection screens in class to show things from the computer. This "fully integrated" computers into the classroom experience idea is not going to happen for quite awhile. If you absolutely need something that you can't use on your mac, there are a bunch of computer labs you can use. Or, you can buy Windows and run that, and all its programs, on your new mac also.</p>
<p>If you're a mac person, stick with your mac.</p>
<p>thanks! </p>
<p>soccerguy your post made me so happy =]</p>
<p>do many people bring speakers and monitors for their laptops? also, will a printer with copy/scan/fax capabilities be better?</p>
<p>A monitor? Probably no room for that - though you might consider a smallish LCD monitor that can do double-duty as your TV - you'll need a cable-ready monitor for that. I guess that makes it a TV with VGA input. Similarly, you can use a DVD drive on your notebook as a DVD player - saves space, but make sure you've got a good warranty, as they'll usually wear out faster than a regular DVD player, and are a lot more expensive to replace. </p>
<p>Speakers? Sure, if they're small. But if you have an MP3 player, you might prefer a dock with speakers. </p>
<p>Printer - a small-footprint decent-quality inkjet is all you'll need - but since you're doing it anyway, one with photo printing capability, and scanner/copier function would be useful, and won't really cost much more. Fax you'll probably not need, and that usually costs a bit more - in a pinch, if you can scan, you can fax from your notebook.</p>
<p>When you get a roommate assignment, you'll want to coordinate that stuff with them - most people get their own printers, but share things like tv's, mini-fridges, etc, as there's not generally much room for duplicates.</p>
<p>Mac's suck at Excel. That uni-mouse clicker doesnt help either. They're juvenile and unnecessary. That being said, I'm a Finance major so I'm biased.</p>
<p>
Mac's suck at Excel. That uni-mouse clicker doesnt help either. They're juvenile and unnecessary. That being said, I'm a Finance major so I'm biased.
</p>
<p>You sound like the PC guy from the Apple ads. Do you find pie charts fun?</p>
<p>I have speakers for my laptop, and I would say a fair number of people have those. But, as Squiddy said, speaker-docks for the iPod are quite popular. I know lots of people who have those too.</p>
<p>I would say you don't need a different monitor. My 15" screen is big enough to fit 2 word docs side by side, and is more than big enough for any websites. We do have a separate tv, and we watch it every day. On the other hand, some people never watch tv. Freshmen year the tv in my room was unneccessary because I would just watch with other people in the lounge, but upperclass dorms aren't really social like that, and people watch in their rooms. And I live in a campus apartment so we don't have anything like a lounge.</p>
<p>I have a printer with copy/scan capabilities, and am happy I got one. I don't use the features that much, but it's nice to have when I do need it. Definitely worth the minimal extra cost, IMO.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Mac's suck at Excel. That uni-mouse clicker doesnt help either. They're juvenile and unnecessary. That being said, I'm a Finance major so I'm biased.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>just so you know, you can right click on a mac, even with only one button. I will admit that I use a mutlibutton mouse though, complete with 360 degree scroll ball, made by Apple. And I'm pretty sure Excel is the same on a Mac, though I hardly ever use it and could be wrong.</p>
<p>My S said he can get a much better windows based notebook for the same price than the thinkpad they are selling for $1,475. It only has a 2mhz processor. I think the only temptation to buy the thinkpad is the warranty.</p>
<p>and the fact that its a thinkpad which is probably the highest quality pc laptop brand.</p>
<p>I like UVA better, they gave my other S choices: low, middle and high end.</p>
<p>Here's the deal: I work in IT. If you buy a Mac and something goes wrong, we will be able to offer almost no support whatsoever. Just this past week, a girl brought in her Mac because she can't print to any of the campus printers. She tried everything she could, and had all of her Mac-savvy friends try to help her out with no success. We had to send her away with her problem unresolved. This kind of thing happens all the time, and we are seldom able to offer any kind of support. In addition, if something physically breaks, we are unable to service the parts since we are not an authorized service center for Apple. So if you buy a Mac, be prepared to completely support it yourself. Finally, compared to PCs, Macs are overpriced and underpowered for the hardware inside.</p>
<p>That said, I have also had a chance to demo this year's myNotebook. In my opinion, it is a decent (but not "great") machine. It differs a bit from previous models. Whereas the T42 and T60 were strictly business-class machines, the Z61t is more of a consumer-oriented model. It includes features like an integrated webcam and a widescreen LCD, but the laptop case is now made from a flimsier material and seems much more fragile than past models. I mention this because I'm picky, but it probably isn't an issue because of the included warranty. The warranty is the biggest reason why you should get a myNotebook. The ThinkPad Protection plan covers your notebook from hardware failures and accidental damage for four years. Considering that a single spilled soda can fry $800-900 worth of components, the warranty is certainly worthwhile. Even some of the most careful students have dropped their laptop once. Aside from accidental damage, hardware failures happen all the time. But since the TSC is an authorized service provider for IBM/Lenovo, we have extremely fast turnaround times on repairs, usually same-day if brought in first thing in the morning. Whether you break it or it breaks itself, you almost never have to wait more than 24 hours for repairs if you have one of the myNotebooks.</p>
<p>If you don't mind a compromise, you can get a Dell. We're also a Dell-authorized service provider. This allows you great freedom in configuring your machine while ensuring we can still provide hardware support. Repairs take a little bit longer (3-4 days) but we can still cover you.</p>
<p>Bottom line: feel free to buy a Mac, but you're digging your own grave. (Unless you're going to apply to the Business School - then definitely get a PC.)</p>
<p>As far as monitors/speakers/printers go, it's largely your preference. If you want to bring them, you can find the room. I have two desktop computers, a laptop computer, speakers, and a 19" LCD all sitting comfortably on my desk with plenty of room to spare. I didn't bother with a printer because there are a sufficient number of public printers all over the place. I've only needed a scanner once, and there are likewise plenty of those that will scan documents and automatically email them to you. The public printers/scanners are all black and white, though... if you need color then you can consider bringing your own printer.</p>
<p>Lastly, if you want a space saving solution... my computer also doubles as a TV/TiVo because I have a TV tuner installed - check this out: <a href="http://www.hauppauge.com/pages/products/data_hvr950.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.hauppauge.com/pages/products/data_hvr950.html</a></p>
<p>
[quote]
Bottom line: feel free to buy a Mac, but you're digging your own grave.
[/quote]
All I can say to this narrow-minded view from a college staff member is I'm glad my daughter chose not to attend W&M! I understand you're referring to digging a service-grave, but the cost comparison is a bit slanted, also. We can go on debating Apple vs. Windoze forever (and there are many email lists that do just that), but in twenty years and nearly a dozen Macs in my family, we've visited Apple exactly three times for repairs. My oldest is in her third year of college (at her second school) with her iBook and visits the glass Apple Store in Manhattan only for entertainment. Her first school supported Apple and even had a virtual Apple Store affiliation on-line. My second child will go off to school with a MacBook. I think W&M should revisit this policy. Even UVA has support and packages for Mac computers for students, most likely because much of the faculty uses them by choice. W&M needs to come out of the dark ages, IMHO.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Just this past week, a girl brought in her Mac because she can't print to any of the campus printers. She tried everything she could, and had all of her Mac-savvy friends try to help her out with no success. We had to send her away with her problem unresolved.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>email the file to yourself, and print</p>
<p>if it's too big, burn a cd, and print.</p>
<p>personally, I don't know anyone who has tried to print from their personal computer to a campus printer.</p>
<p>PD</p>
<p>I can tell you that in the real business world, I have met exactly zero people who use Apple products. It seems they are used exclusively in non profit and higher education environments. I am not saying Macs are not better than PC's, just that they aren't used. I am a CPA with 24 years of experience, and have never had a business client who used a mac.</p>
<p>It's sort of like VHS vs Beta, Beta was better quality but couldn't get a foothold.</p>
<p>Yeah, and GM sells more cars than Toyota....whoops! That's just not the case anymore, is it? If you're an accountant, stay in the Windows environment. Just don't even bother to look at architects' offices, advertising firms, or anyone doing web design. Or music, or newspapers and magazines. And of course if incompatibility with a print server is the issue, you can get a jump drive nearly free in a Cracker Jack box these days. FWIW, my daughter has no problem printing to her school's printers from her iBook, and that's even using Appleworks!!! She never uses her own printer to the extent when she actually wanted to print something in color, her HP cartridges were dried-up. </p>
<p>No more nonsense about which is better. This should be about why W&M seems to be proud of their incompatibility across platforms, and how they can resolve the issues simply, and easily. Check the market share Apple has in laptops, the only computer really relevant to college students, and you'll see why I say W&M have their collective heads in the sand. Last time I looked Apple had 12% of the U.S. market and around 6% of the world market for portable computers. But then I'm an Apple guy so my figures might be suspect since I can't manage a spreadsheet! ;)</p>
<p>I just don't think W&M is big enough or has the financial resources to support fully all makes and models of computers. So they probably made the best decision they could, and that was to support the PC platform.</p>
<p>Don't want to start a debate on which is better, I would probably agree that Apple is better! (unless your talking ipods, mine died 3 months after I bought it).</p>
<p>Is there a reason you are bashing W&M when you don't even have a child there? Just curious.</p>