<p>I have a new macbook pro and it gets hot but not unbearably so, i guess
also, if you log in to some page with your pennkey at an apple store, they'll give you penn discounts. that's how i got mine.</p>
<p>I don't want to rehash things by bringing up this MSFT vs Apple debate again, but I just wanted to point out that the biggest reason I was thinking about getting a macbook was that the technical support just about blows away anything most other competitors can offer. The genius bars offer free, in-person support and are a welcome change from trying to wrangle with off-shore customer service that is hard to understand and doesn't actually help. That, and the build quality of the Apple line was almost enough to make me switch over.</p>
<p>However, I found a dell configuration that I liked better. The price difference can be a pretty big factor when you really go bargain hunting. + I've used windows machines all my life and if you know your computer it is not too difficult to prevent against spyware/malware/viruses/etc. Yes, there will be more security threats because virus writers tend to target the masses (ie windows), but free software such as AVG, Spybot, Adaware, & Zonealarm are simple and effective ways to keep your laptop secure. Control your ports, use firefox, and scan your computer regularly</p>
<p>Someone had to do it.</p>
<p><a href="http://cad-comic.com/comic.php?d=20060513%5B/url%5D">http://cad-comic.com/comic.php?d=20060513</a></p>
<p>wrong link =P</p>
<p>JohnnyK:</p>
<p>I'm a very experienced PC user. It's what I've used for my whole life. I'll be attending Wharton in the fall, so I know I'll have to run Windows, if nothing else for the sake of the school's requirements. I know I use a ton of programs not supported by the Mac.</p>
<p>However, I'm thinking of doing this. iLife and Garageband are seriously cool. There's no way to use Mac programs on a PC, and Macs are indeed much sexier than PCs, so....I figure I'll just buy a mac laptop (macbook, powerbook, not sure, don't know enough yet) and put Bootcamp on it. This way, I can access those Mac programs I've always wanted to use, and have the sexy hardware.</p>
<p>MY QUESTION to you is: will spending the mejority of my time on the PC be taxing on the mac? Is bootcamp intended to work only for a few minutes or something? From what you seem to be saying, If I boot into XP on the mac, it <em>turns into</em> a pc. Could I then theoretically use it in Windows for a year straight and see no difference had I been using a dell or any other regular PC?</p>
<p>I hope I made my question clear. This seems to be the best option to me for anybody. I do not care one bit about ALL THOSE VIRUSES FOR PCS OMG. If you're savvy at all, you won't catch any on a PC. I have one antivirus program that I haven't touched (free, by the way), and I have not gotten a single virus in a year. Add Adaware and Spybot, and you're golden.</p>
<p>Mac laptop + bootcamp, with most of the time on XP seems to be the best option until Mac gets its support up there.</p>
<p>"There's no way to use Mac programs on a PC, and Macs are indeed much sexier than PCs"</p>
<p>1-Yes way...... It's called emulation. <a href="http://www.windowsdevcenter.com/pub/a/windows/2005/01/18/PearPC.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.windowsdevcenter.com/pub/a/windows/2005/01/18/PearPC.html</a> (not the best way to run a program, but it does work)</p>
<p>2-Yes indeed, Macs are much better looking than Pcs.. for the extra price tag you're paying >.<</p>
<p>Interesting Joeyjoey.</p>
<p>Seems like people are having some trouble with this PearPC, and that it only runs in a window, meaning it will run slowly. From my understanding, Bootcamp will allow you to start up in a different OS, meaning it becomes that OS, rather than a different window.</p>
<p>If that is true, native macos + bootcamped XP is better than native XP with pearpc'ed osx.</p>
<p>And yes, you're paying more, for more. that's how life works.</p>
<p>you dont need a mac to boot both osx and windows. you can do it just as well with a pc. believe it or not, bootcamp is not an original idea. i have a friend who has linux, osx, and windows all on the same computer, without bootcamp.</p>
<p>pearpc isnt slower becuase it runs in a window, firefox isnt slow because its in its own window. the problems with pearpc are because it is sharing resources with the currently running os.</p>
<p>and paying more for more isnt true at all, thats not how life works.</p>
<p>really miishuu? enlighten me on how the economy functions with this interesting principle of getting more for less.</p>
<p>how doesnt it function? thats really a terrible idea, you dont go out and buy the most expensive thing you can find because ull get more from it, that just doesnt happen.</p>
<p>shrug well you can question whether or not the extra utility is worth the extra dollars, but I do not think it is much of a question that spending more money will generally get you better build quality. Lenovo and Apple produce some of the most expensive computers, but in return they give you phenomenal build quality</p>
<p>Flipperbw, It's called marginal analysis.</p>
<p>"the best decision is made by weighing the marginal benefits aganist the marginal costs. "</p>
<p>IMHO, I think people get suckered into buying a macs because of hype. "All the cool college kids have them!"</p>
<p>And I can't seem to run any of the latests games on full settings on a mac, as they don't seem to have powerful video cards.</p>
<p>All in all, if got the money, and want to look cool with a mac, go ahead and buy one. However, if you acctualy use your pc outside of microsoft programs, or you are a power whore (like me), then I highly recamend buying a PC (customized).</p>
<p>wow. you guys are going way too in-depth with this more for more concept. all I'm saying is if you want more, you usually have to pay more. </p>
<p>joey, what do you mean by (customized)? Customized how?</p>
<p><a href="http://www.xoticpc.com/%5B/url%5D">http://www.xoticpc.com/</a>
(Expensive site, but the only thing at the top of my head atm)</p>
<p>geeeez haha, i always wondered why one wouldn't just get a desktop at that point. Wouldn't the cost savings in components (graphics cards, hard drives, displays, and disc drives are cheaper for towers than pcs, no?) be almost enough to purchase a small portable laptop for when you need something to carry around?</p>
<p>But if not, I would imagine that the heat/power/weight that these things generate/consume would make transporting them a pain</p>
<p>whoops i meant "towers than laptops"</p>
<p>For those of you who will be attending Wharton and are going with the Mac (also would like JohnnyK to weigh in here) -- are you getting a MacBook Pro or just a MacBook? </p>
<p>Is it necessary to spend the extra $$ on the pro?</p>
<p>osolito, im going to wharton and getting the mac. I haven't really decided between the macbook and the pro...</p>
<p>its something like 1482 for the white book, 1682 for black (20 more gigabytes) and 2000 for the pro (2.0 ghz). </p>
<p>I'll either get the black book or the white pro. The difference is a personal preference; you'll do fine with the regular, but the pro will be a little quicker and have a bigger screen.</p>
<p>if the difference between the white and black is only a 20 gig difference in HDD space, do you think the paint job is worth $200?</p>
<p>it's a tough question...for some reason, apple opted to give us 1 gig of ram, so thats where you'll see the money being "saved". $200 for just a paintjob and 20 gigs seems like and IS a rip off, but there's really nothing you can do. I know my needs and that 60 is probably going to be too little for me...</p>
<p>This brings up the idea of an external harddrive. Now that I think about it, I'll probably do that. Now my decision is the bigger screen, and for that I'm going to go into the apple store and try them out.</p>
<p>Check out campusexpress for the accessories or whatever option it is, they have a "brick" which has a couple hundred gigs...way more than enough. 60 should suffice just carrying it around, and you can have an external HD for videos, movies, and the uh, other stuff.</p>
<p>:)</p>