<p>I so so wanted to get a Mac when I went off to college, but my major required a PC because the drafting software we had to use only runs on XP. I could feasibly get one now but, you know, this one still works and I can't really afford to throw thousands of dollars around. I have a Dell, the exact same model that I swear about 60% of the students in my class showed up to college with. The rubber coating on the bit of the power adapter that gets plugged into the computer started to wear out a while ago, but that's the only thing that was ever 'wrong' with it and that was probably my fault for dragging it around so much anyway.</p>
<p>I'd say whatever you end up with, get a nice warranty with it, one that covers for accidents and so on. My dad got one when he ordered my computer and I thought he was wasting his money. Then I dropped the laptop off my bed and cracked the screen on a table. =X Would have cost twice the price of the warranty to fix it, but as it was, it was totally free.</p>
<p>I dunno. The program itself was buggy and shoddy and a rip-off version of autocad but the school was too cheap to get actual autocad licenses so we had to use that. It crashed enough during regular use, I would think that using it any other way would make it worse. Do you know if you can run 3D programs like Maya with Virtual PC or would the computer curl up and die?</p>
<p>Wow, what school is forcing the students to learn with fake autocad?!?!? That seems very short-sighted of the administration & makes you wonder about their priorities, especially if the program keeps crashing. Must be really aggravating!</p>
<p>Heh. It's Drexel, they use something called Microstation. Their argument is that it does better 3D work than Autocad which it very well may do, but that doesn't mean that it still doesn't suck. This is for architecture students, I don't know what they make the engineers use.</p>
<p>The reason I asked about Maya is because it was the first 3D program that popped into my head, I don't know whether there are Mac versions of it or not but I just assumed that if you could run Maya (or Max or whathaveyou), you could run the drafting programs as well.</p>
<p>Unless of course you have a lot of software that's PowerPC dependent...in which case wait. Other than that, it plays WoW, who cares about the rest?</p>
<p>Haha, looking at reviews and talking to people, I think I might wait for MacBook pro generation 2 before I actually shell out the cash to get one.</p>
<p>Well, I'd like more applications to be ported to universal binary so they run at the full speed that the new intel chip can provide, and there are a few minor kinks/complaints with some of the new features like the magnetic power cord that I am sure will be worked out with a bit of time.</p>
<p>I bought a nano the day they came out - my roommate bought one last week. His came with a little case and stuff that I believe must have been added to the product after enough feedback/complaints. If I'm going to shell out 2.5k for a laptop, I'd like it to be revised enough so I have no complaints whatsoever.</p>
<p>I'm probably getting the macbook pro. There are a few kinks right now, but they should be fixed by the time I order. For me, macbook pro is the future , and the powerbook and ibook are the past.</p>
<p>my aunt has a mac and she seems to have problems transferring files from mac to pc and vice versa... anyone have comments abou tthis?</p>
<p>i have a dell inspiron.. it's awfully slow now and the battery died. i hear the latitude line is better. i've had this one for about four years now and im planning to get a mac when i go off to college, but i'm a little wary of learning it.. the controls don't seem as intuitive as the simple start menu that windows has.</p>
<p>Certain filetypes are still problematic, but for the most part file transfers go smoothly. Is she running OS X?</p>
<p>Your laptop is four years old? Have you regularly defragged and cleaned out old junk? What OS is it running? I have a four year old system at home that runs well, but just needed some cleanup. </p>
<p>Batteries die in all laptops. 'Tis the nature of the rechargable battery.</p>
<p>I don't want to start a Mac/PC flame here, but there are two myths in this thread that do not help college students decide on a computer platform.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>I have used PCs and Macs since 1987. There has "always" been "tons" of Mac software, but it was not in computer stores in the "old days". PCs had more but most of it was not very useful and everything of import (except games) has been available for the Mac for a long, long time. I was always baffled why anyone would buy from a walk-in store. The selection, even for PC software, is always less than universal and the employees almost uniformly know next to nothing about what they are selling. Mail order and now direct download has virtually everything in existence, is usually cheaper, and was clearly the way to go and often still is. On campus college book stores may be different, but I bet they vary.</p></li>
<li><p>Macs are not expensive when you make appropriate comparisons. You get what you pay for. As was mentioned, they are generally higher quality build, they include many standard features that are options on PCs and they simply work. Your time is valuable. For example, every Mac ever sold since the mid 1980's has included networking and local expansion bus hardware and software. Current Mac software (iMovie to name just one popular example among many) runs rings around the PC alternatives (especially for "free") and is even useful for college students.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>However, not previously mentioned is the fact that PCs are generally more expandable, which is definitely an advantage in certain situations. This might not matter much for a new user with basic needs but it will for someone with major expansion needs.</p>
<p>Make sure you consider all costs, not just purchase price, and what you get in return before choosing a platform. And checking with your schools IT department can be useful. Some send you information even if you don't ask.</p>
<p>UCLAri: I have a three-year old Acer, two year old Gateway and a one-year old HP (all windows based) that are all dying. I highly doubt that this is an anomaly.</p>
<p>Besides that fact:</p>
<p>People that switch from PC to mac GENERALLY don't go back to PC.
People that switch from mac to PC GENERALLY go back to mac.</p>
<p>If you want a comparison of the satisfaction rates in the two systems, there it is.</p>