computers

<p>should i get a pc or mac for UF</p>

<p>wat are you taking</p>

<p>Probably doesn’t matter. I know a handful of guys who got through engineering with mac’s.</p>

<p>I know the “trendy” thing among college students is to get a macs, but I love pc’s more.</p>

<p>not sure what im going to be taking but probably something business related</p>

<p>microsoft office is now for both windows and mac, so it boils down to aesthetics.</p>

<p>mac.</p>

<p>but If you want to save some real dough, I am sure dell has some sort of nice laptop that comes with office for free.</p>

<p>while with mac you will have to download a less than legal mac version office, which might be hard to find…maybe not…
or pay up for the real deal.</p>

<p>Or if you know how to, just install windows on a mac laptop…If you dont know how im sure theres many smart people at uf that you will meet that can do it for ya.
I know its simple to replace mac with windows, but I know someone that set it up to ask you if you want to use mac or windows when you turn it on…</p>

<p>really though mac has more options, but it is a costy laptop</p>

<p>Does it really matter, i mean unless you are taking graphics or art buy a cheap PC, they are durable.</p>

<p>As aforementioned it really doesn’t matter too much, especially since you can always just install Windows via boot camp on a Mac. But PC would be the way to go if you want no compatibility issues, such as using Visual Basic or using academic sites that only run with IE (there currently is no support for IE on Mac anymore), but the issues are few.</p>

<p>for the same price as a mac, dell sells the xps laptop…I am super happy with it and its as small as a mac…xps != big</p>

<p>macs will cost you at least $100 more for the same specs on every model.
most are more like $300; macbook pros are about $700-$1000 more than their pc equivalents.</p>

<p>best place for buying computers is in weekly ads from places like office depot</p>

<p>be careful with stores like office depot and best buy…I always tend to see gross overpricing
or see if a circuit city is having a clearance sale near you! 90% off! lol</p>

<p>^ Circuit City exists no more (I used to work there).</p>

<p>Most people only need a computer for note-taking, word processing, Internet browsing, and entertainment purposes. Some majors have more specialized software/uses, but for basic use you won’t need a souped up, powerful machine. Find out what your needs are exactly and then begin to evaluate your options.</p>

<p>-If you reallllllly want a mac but still need the comfort of Windows, you can use bootcamp to dual boot. Figure out why you want a mac first. Everyone previous was right about them being more expensive. If it’s a reason like “everyone has one” or “it’s trendy”, reevaluate.</p>

<p>-Plan on doing a lot of graphics/video editing? Get a mac.</p>

<p>-Want more customization and software options? Get a PC.</p>

<p>-Microsoft Office shouldn’t be a dealbreaker; there is always OpenOffice and/or GoogleDocs.</p>

<p>-PCs will be cheaper, so if you’re thinking economically and want more features for your buck, go with a PC. If money is not an object, you may want to pay for the simplicity of a mac.</p>

<p>-There’s nothing wrong with purchasing from stores like Office Depot/Office Max/Best Buy/Staples/Fry’s. Know what you want when you’re shopping and don’t fall into the traps of being upsold to. You’ll find some of the best deals in the weekly circulars July-September.</p>

<p>This is going to be an endless debate, no matter where you ask. There’s a lot more helpful information on a similar thread in the “College Computers” subforum.</p>

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<p>I think that was a joke by rsala</p>

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<p>Well one thing I discovered is that (at the least) Best Buy swaps in cheaper/less powerful parts on laptops. I thought it was fishy that a laptop I bought was 500 bucks cheaper in Best Buy than online through the manufacturer’s website. As it turns out, the hard drive was slower and had less space, I had half the RAM, etc.</p>

<p>I used to have a windows laptop, but recently I got a mac and it was well worth it. I love it</p>