<p>i second averything cards4life. i LOVE my ibook, its soooooo much better than the sheisty toshiba i used to have- and hey, macs dont crash and dont get viruses. who can complain about that?</p>
<p>ETA: it was cheap too</p>
<p>
[quote]
it's about what's in the laptop as in hardware</p>
<p>get a least a 1 gig of CPU </p>
<p>30 Gig of harddrive space</p>
<p>128 Meg of RAM (though 256 nowdays is considered the lowest you should go, but RAM on ebay is only 10-30 bucks.)</p>
<p>and wireless card or internet connection which most new laptops will have already.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Yeah... those might have been good specs a year ago or so haha.
Get 2 Ghz processor, at least 80-100+ Gb hard drive and at least 1Gb of ram. Not hard to come by in laptops these days, and will be needed to handle Windows Vista properly.</p>
<p>
[quote]
macs dont crash and dont get viruses. who can complain about that?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>That's because they're niche products. Hackers aren't going to waste their time by trying to hack an operating system that is used by 5% of the population. Worthless.</p>
<p>And Apples are overpriced. A similarly spec'd Dell costs $500 bucks less than a comparable iBrick.</p>
<p>Haha, I love this fanboy mentality. Seriously, they're computers.</p>
<p>how compatalbe are macs - can you do everything you can do on a pc with a mac?</p>
<p>You can get pretty much all the functionality of Windows through Boot Camp or Parrellels on a Mac.</p>
<p>if your into windows, go for either a vaio or alienware, there is a new vaio with 160 gb, the nvidia 7400 graphics and 1080P HD, for a little over $1500 at bestbuy and nothing can really beat that deal, also alienware will last you extremely long if you dont kill it with games and crap, just treat it right and use it like a normal comp. and its a great little tool so both are really great deals</p>
<p>I would really buy one. You can record the lecture while writing your notes and later listen to it while revising the notes, etc. The type of computer I wouldn't think would matter much unless you're doing something with visual graphic or architecture and you need to use RAM hogging programs like AutoCad or any Adobe software.</p>
<p>This may be a stupid question...but can you download Microsoft Word or any programs like that onto a Mac? I've been using that my entire life, but I'll probably be getting a Mac for college. I'd love it if I could still use that program, though.</p>
<p>Get a MacBook! I think it's absolutely perfect for college use; it's durable, extremely reliable, runs Mac OS X, and has a gorgeous look. (but I'm getting a MacBook Pro because of the larger screen size and aluminum design)</p>
<p>EeVeE25: Yes, but you have to buy the entire Microsoft Office for Mac. If you're heading off to college, you can save $$$ and get the education version/discount. I have that on my PowerBook, and I actually like it more than the PC version of Office.</p>
<p>I love how running Windows is a "feature" of Macs. If you're gonna do that get a damn Windows PC.</p>
<p>i think that from my experiences, computers that run windows take way too long to load. I used a sony viao for a week and hated it because by the time it started actually doing things, class had been going for 10 minutes. Macs are good, but they are extremely expensive. Look at an iBook (MacBooks are insanely overprived.) Also, if you can figure out the OS, get a Linux. They are sooo hard to use at first but if you can get it down, they are just so much better</p>
<p>
[quote]
ith so many Mac supporters here, I have to fulfill my internal desire to disagree with the majority.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>That's a poor reason to disagree. You should disagree because there are reasons to do so, not because you simply must disagree.</p>
<p>
[quote]
So here's my argument. Mac's suck.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>That's a conclusion, not an argument.</p>
<p>
[quote]
They're overpriced,
[/quote]
</p>
<p>This doesn't mean that "Macs suck." Mercedes Benz cars are overpriced, but we wouldn't conclude that they "suck."</p>
<p>
[quote]
GUI is supposed to be "streamlined"
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Okay...</p>
<p>
[quote]
but it ends up being annoying when you can't figure out how to cut and paste because of the one button mouse,
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Let's see here:
1) Command-C, Command-P
2) Edit->Copy->Edit->Paste (Since the interface actually is streamlined, this menu-instruction is applicable to every application).
3) Highlight the text, tap the trackpad with two fingers (which is the equivalent of a right-click), and click "copy." Use the same trackpad manuever for paste, but this time clicke "paste."</p>
<p>Those are three pretty simple ways to do it. Unless you're mentally challenged, I don't see why this is more difficult to do on a Mac than on Windows.</p>
<p>
[quote]
upgrades/repair services are ridiculously overpriced
[/quote]
</p>
<p>1) Really? I don't know, all my upgrades have been pretty cheap. Heck, you can use third-party RAM that you purchased off of Newegg, if you want. I don't see the big deal.
2) You get a one-year warranty, and the opportunity to get an extended warranty. You pay for any damages that are caused by you or that occur outside of the warranty period. For some of my repairs under warranty, Apple went ahead and replaced my machine with a brand new one! I don't know, they're pretty generous.</p>
<p>
[quote]
, and they can't do games well.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Now this statement is absolutely ridiculous. If one were to purchase a Macbook, one could simply install Windows under bootcamp and run those games.</p>
<p>
[quote]
If you're gonna do that get a damn Windows PC
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Why waste the money? If your Mac can do many tasks better than Windows can, and Windows can do one task better than Macs can, does that necessitate your buying a Windows PC? Hardly. I need to use Microsoft Access, which sadly isn't available on the Macintosh platform; I don't switch because I need to run this program: I merely install Windows and run the program when I need to. Installing Windows on a Mac and running once in a while to get that program is not worth buying a whole 'nother laptop, especially when I love my Macbook for nearly everything else.</p>
<p>
[quote]
That's because they're niche products. Hackers aren't going to waste their time by trying to hack an operating system that is used by 5% of the population. Worthless.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>This may be the case, but it cannot demonstrate that there aren't any hackers who attempt to compromise the Mac platform. Let us discuss some simple Macintosh stuff:</p>
<p>The Macintosh OS is built on a Unix base, so technically, the userbase of the underlying operating system is much larger. Additionally, many hackers prefer to use Unix to launch attacks, and also because the platform is more secure. I would know: I did some hacking when I was younger.</p>
<p>Now why is it that Unix is more secure? One reason, and this is the only reason I will list, is that the privileges of the user are limited by default. When you buy a Macintosh, the user is automatically the administrator of the computer; however, being the administrator does not give you the privilege of altering or deleting system files; for such an act could be very damaging. As such, the user has limited rights on his or her Macintosh because the administrator can only do so much. Now, since the user has limited rights, by extension, any malicious program also has such limited rights. Perhaps the program will delete some files here or there, but there is no way it can damage files that are untouchable by the user</p>
<p>Before you try to criticize the Mac for not giving its users freedom, you can actually have the freedom: just log on as root. Moreover, when you do logon as root, you are warned about the potential dangers. I've never had to use root in my duration of my Mac-use, and only really advanced users have a reason to use that account.</p>
<p>The CHMOD system inherent in Linux and mimicked in Unix (and thus the Mac OS) is much more secure than anything Windows can offer, just short of annoying pop-ups asking me whether I want to install a program or save a file to the desktop (Windows Vista is very bothersome).</p>
<p>I also heard Microsoft word/excel/ppt sucks with macs</p>
<p>
[quote]
I also heard Microsoft word/excel/ppt sucks with macs
[/quote]
</p>
<p>It doesn't "suck." It just runs slowly on Intel-based Macs because it is still using Rosetta. Fortunately, most Macbooks, iMacs, and all of every other line offer at least 1GB of RAM (standard), so Office is perfectly fine. Also, Microsoft is releasing an Intel-native version later this year, which promises to mirror the GUI enhancements of its Windows counterpart (ie., the ribbon, and so forth).</p>
<p>Some screenshots:
<a href="http://www.appleinsider.com/article.php?id=2383%5B/url%5D">http://www.appleinsider.com/article.php?id=2383</a></p>
<p>paulfoerster: so I guess you decided not to get a Mac. What a pity.</p>
<p>nspeds,
I have imacs at work & a pc at home. I'm pretty ambidextrous when it comes to using either, but I do miss the 2nd button on the mouse. Especially in this instance:
How do I select text and then print JUST my selection & not the whole darn page? I have actually resorted to copying and pasting selections onto a document in order to print selections. :p If you could help I'd be eternally indebted!</p>
<p>BTW, D has a laptop at her school and has not carried it anywhere yet. But, for those of you buying one,
MAKE SURE YOU GET ACCIDENT INSURANCE!
Hers wasn't even a year old when she spilled "a little" milk into it. Phew, Dell sent her a box and in 2 days it was on it's way back, fixed for free! If she’d had a PC, it would have only required a new keyboard probably whereas with the laptop she needed both that and the modem replaced. The insurance also protects her if she ever "drops" it. I can definitely see that happening as well when and if she ever carries it anywhere. So spend the little extra (I forgot how much $150-200?) and get the insurance. It's good for the 4 years you're in school.</p>
<p>um my macbook pro can be insured for $2300 for like $70. The thing's WORTH $1799. So definitely cheaper per year than that.</p>
<p>I love my Lenova Thinkpad T60 :)</p>