<p>I plan on majoring in industrial design and/or engineering. can any current or pass design students recommend what type of laptop is best? I've been an ibm user all my life but know that mac's seem to be preferred in areas of design.</p>
<p>Most computing is done in the engineering cluster, for better or worse.</p>
<p>i'm not a design/engineering student, but i want to recommend u sony/compaq/ibm
personally i don't like mac
if u really love osx u can install osx on the windows laptops and make a doublt-boot</p>
<p>I've been using both kinds of computers since the '80s (!), and my son is at ND using a Mac. But I was hoping an engineering/design type would answer this, because it's a question of software (and money). Macs are tops for most design fields, but there are some engineering applications that are Windows only. Of course now that Macs are Intel machines, you can partition your harddrive and install Windows on one part, and OSX on another, and boot into whichever environment you prefer. Or you can run Parallels software which will create a virtual Windows environment , in its own window, right on the Mac desktop. I know many people who want a Mac 90% of the time, but have some work-related app that is Windows only, and they use this solution. I have Vista and Parallels installed on my iMac, and it works great. Really intensive, memory-hogging Windows apps, though, might be too much for this emulation set-up. And there might be some lingering compatibility issues even with booting into Windows on a Mac, so do your homework before you plan on using a lot of Windows apps on a Mac.</p>
<p>So if the software you anticipate needing is available for the Mac, and you can afford one, I'd say get as much Mac as you can. The Macbook Pro is a much more powerful machine than the Macbook. If you're going to be doing design, you'll want the Pro for its better graphics capability and speed. My son's using the cheapest Macbook (not Pro), and it's fine for MS Office and Web browsing, but you wouldn't want to design on it.</p>
<p>I wouldn't plan on buying an IBM-compatible and installing OSX. It's not designed for that, it's buggy, and there's really no reason to. Let your software needs (and your bank account) make the call.</p>
<p>Dad seems to have a good insight. I am not a computer person, but with many discussions with my IT guy Dad is pretty close. I am kind of surprised the university, or department does not have a recommended computer. I have a daughter who goes to another university and each individual department recommends and specs it out for you. They have a computer store on campus selling 5-6 of the major brands and all the support is through this group as well. All they sell is the computer, some hardware and software. Any problems, bring it in and they fix it on the spot. All upgrades included while a student. Her major (teaching) required a MAC, so bought it at her orientation. I know ND (any university) isn't in the selling of computers, but what a service. ND may have the same setup, but I have not seen or heard of it yet. I bought a MAC for about $250 cheaper than any of my people could find it for. </p>
<p>Good luck jonoam!</p>
<p>You can always visit the Tech website for ND-oit.nd.edu. Perhaps you could find answers there. Our student is an engineering major-but I couldn't tell you exactly what he has on his computer. It is a laptop. It is not a Mac. He is also planning to upgrade this summer--but has not shared that info with us yet. Whatever he has, it has suited his needs so far, esp as an eng major.</p>
<p>my mom uses a mac with windows applications and it runs extremely slow, at a speed i don't have the patience for. thanks for the suggestions on contacting the departments and tech website, i was looking for some personal experience to supplement their recommendations so this has been a great help! thanks all!</p>