Laptop for college freshmen 2013-Mac or PC?

Student Lounge College Life
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<p>I don't have a home computer but my mom might br willing to get me one next yr for senior yr.I heard they give discounts to students when you are in college is that true? What's the difference from a mac and pc..</p>

<p>I'm using a mac for graphic arts class and I love the illustrator program for making art and it has safari or firefox.the only thing I hate is copy&paste because it's different but I like that the word typing program is already on it b/c most of my public library computers don't have typing like that unless I type it on my email or something...</p>

<p>I heard Macs are more expensive if they get less viruses then I think its worth it.</p>

<p>Sent from my SPH-M910 using CC App</p>

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<p>Apple does give discounts for students. Of course, the mac is still more expensive than the PC, even with that. If money is the biggest factor, the PC is much cheaper.</p>

<p>If you’re going for graphic design I have to say that I think mac is a good option. On my mac, I feel like the color on the screen is perfect every time and the printed versions of anything I make in photoshop or illustrator come out identical to what I had on the screen. Maybe it’s just the PCs I’ve had, but I feel like the color is just never as good on them.</p>

<p>You do get used to using command instead of control, it just takes a few days of fumbling, that’s all. It’s like learning to ride a bike or use chopsticks. Give it a bit of practice and you’ll forget it was ever a problem. Actually, with anything on the mac. Once you get used to how it works and how everything is organized, it’s very simple and easy to use. Easier than a PC.</p>

<p>The downside I feel I do need to mention is gaming. If you’re really into video games, macs are unfortunately lacking in that department. I understand that you CAN play PC games on mac through parallels or rebooting it into windows, but it seems like it would be a huge hassle if you like playing a lot. It’s been better throughout the years, but there’s a lot of games that still just don’t have a mac version.</p>

<p>Otherwise, I think macs are great. Every PC I’ve ever owned has had viruses all over the place, while my macs have never had a single virus. So yes, you do pay more initially, but the computer lasts it’s money’s worth. If you can afford it, I think it’s worth it.</p>

<p>I’m far from an expert on this, but that’s just my two cents.</p>

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<p>I’m an apple homer, so i would suggest the mac… but it all depends on how much you can spend. if you can only spend 1k, the mac might not be best, because you can get an awesome specially designed PC for the price of the basic MacBook Air (which i think is horrible). So, it would help to know your budget before I can really recommend a good computer for you.</p>

<p>Some colleges do give discounts for college students. I do know that some retailers give discounts as well. In the summer Apple and Dell have great sales on personal computers, designed for college students. Apple also gives $200 off of all computers for students year-round.</p>

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<p>If you’re an art student, you need the Mac. Anyone else, it depends. Architecture generally requires a PC, not a Mac, again depends.</p>

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<p>What can a mac do that a PC can’t? Are you aware photoshop is also available for PCs?</p>

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If you have a PC, your won’t look like a “real” art major. Only engineers and business majors use PC’s. If you are doing art, you need a Mac to look legit.</p>

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<p>If you’re willing to put down the money, Macs are worth it. Think of it as an investment. Usage life in a Mac is usually much longer than an avg. PC, Apple’s natively built apps (most of which are bundled for free, unlike Windows) surrounding media and the like don’t have a matchable PC counterpart, the ease of use is usually unbeatable, with Apple users rating higher on customer satisfaction. The Apple platform has virtually no fragmentation whatsoever, so you’re really guaranteed an overall better computing experience.</p>

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<p>Such as what?</p>

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<p>O I didn’t know PCs could have photoshop and illustrater ect…the only good thing about macs is that it doesn’t get viruses as much</p>

<p>Sent from my SPH-M910 using CC App</p>

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<p>Here is my stance: <semi non="" biased=""></semi></p>

<p>Macs and PCs both have their pros and cons. Good Macs can be very expensive, compared to a PC, and yes, their built in apps are often more powerful than a PC alternative, but I’d hope to god if you’re majoring in something you won’t be using built in apps for those jobs. Also, almost no one codes viruses for macs, and using macs can be more simple than a pc.</p>

<p>PC’s on the other hand are cheaper for their power, if you know what to look for will last just as long as a mac, and there is tons more software to use. Effectively anything you can find on mac, you can find on pc, or at least a better version, and you have SO much more control over your system with a pc. Unfortunately there are viruses, but no one who knows how to use the internet properly should ever have problems with this.</p>

<p><biased> macs are computers for people who don’t like to or can’t deal with computers, they get the job done well for a price; pc’s are computers for those who like computers, and know how to use them well, and you will have so many more options available.</biased></p>

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<p>Mac is for those who don’t want any trouble from their computer. Who has ever said “I love my PC!” If you want to mess around with the innards, get a PC.</p>

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<p>@bl4ke360 Such as iPhoto, Garageband, iWeb, and the like.</p>

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<p>^^wait what those apps-inDesign,photoshop,ect…aren’t free? I doubt my hs would pay for them since they say we had budget cuts eventhough we got new Mac computers.</p>

<p>@}~’~-</p>

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<p>No they are not free. Photoshop and inDesign are part of the Adobe Creative Suite that needs to be paid for to use but there may be free open-source alternatives for programs like Photoshop. And often schools get funding from programs from the government or companies like Adobe so they can afford Macs. </p>

<p>IMO, the Mac is preferred due to its stylish design and great battery life and probably for one to be “hip”. Those who have PCs can still get Mac OS X though (not legal)</p>

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<p>Yeah, I it’s worth mentioning that most entry level Macbook Pro’s can pull off a 8-10 hour battery life.</p>

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<p>@blackjack21 To your last point, it’s on the contrary. Being computer-knowledgable myself, I whole-heartedly say OS X and Linux are better platforms to code on rather than windows. Macs provide stability and greater reliability in software development, which is why Macs are the computer of choice for devs in Silicon Valley.</p>

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<p>I don’t know someone said the MacBook Air was horrible. I suggest you go to an Apple store, if there’s one convenient, to see for yourself. Maybe not quite enough for heavy duty design work, but great for ordinary use.</p>

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<p>I’m thinking of going to San Diego or Sacramento but if I don’t have a computer I could use the school’s</p>

<p>@}~’~-</p>

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<p>Apple also gives $200 off of all computers for students year-round.</p>

<p>No, they don’t. It’s $100 off the MacBook Pro and $50 off the MacBook Air.</p>

<p><biased> macs are computers for people who don’t like to or can’t deal with computers, they get the job done well for a price; pc’s are computers for those who like computers, and know how to use them well, and you will have so many more options available.</biased></p>

<p>Uh…no. There are plenty of techies who prefer to use Mac or who use both. And there are a lot of people who didn’t get a Mac because they “don’t get viruses” (which isn’t true, but the way. The <em>truth</em> is simply that fewer people make viruses for the Mac - but that may change as Apple gains a greater share of the consumer market).</p>

<p>The thing is, for your average consumer (including a student doing student-stuff) who knows how to surf the web the main difference is preference. I used PCs for years - through college and most of grad school - because I couldn’t justify paying the premium to get a Mac, which does the exact same thing my PC does, except differently. I also use statistical programs and none of them were available on the Mac at the time. PCs are great. I loved my Toshiba and I still have it, just in case. (Didn’t love my Dell, which was a piece of crap, or my Sony Vaio, which was a piece of crap that cost more than the freaking MacBook I bought. I could’ve had a MacBook 3 years ago had I done a proper price comparison. But that was the hardware, not the software.)</p>

<p>I started making more money and switched to a Mac, and I honestly do prefer it. It’s true that PCs come with lots of bloatware and most of the software that comes standard on a Mac is usable and great - however, on a PC that’s easily fixed by simply removing the bloatware.</p>

<p>I do think the screen graphics are better on my MacBook. Everything looks so vibrant and colorful. But that’s because I had been using lower-end PCs that were cheaper.</p>

<p>And now more and more things are available for Mac because more people get Macs. I can run my SPSS statistical package in Mac OS X, and I installed Fusion (which is like Parallels) so I could run SAS and any other programs that won’t run on a Mac. I can run both operating systems right on this computer and switch between the two of them, which is nice.</p>

<p>I’m not a techie myself, so I don’t want to get under the hood and I don’t care about that. However, I do know some techies that program with Macs. Almost all of the engineering majors here have Macs. (Most of the business students are a mix, though, and I see more PCs there than Macs. Not really sure why.) I will say that unless you know what you’re doing, it’s harder to customize your Mac, but honestly I think the average person won’t really want to.</p>

<p>And of course the aesthetics of the Mac are nice, but there are more PC makers that are making high-end PCs that look like the Mac. Lenovo has a great line of IdeaPads that are stylish and functional. And my first laptop was an IBM (the company that sold to Lenovo) and it’s still running - that was 8 years ago. My aunt has it now.</p>

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<p>The Apple infrastructure is improving as well. When you take an iPhone/iPad photo it appears instantly on your Mac (if turned on!), contacts are instantly synced between iPhone/iPad/Mac, all music on your Mac is instantly available on iPhone/iPad, downloads appear on all devices automatically, docs available on all devices. Since I don’t know PC: has Apple caught up yet?</p>