<p>Hey Let me join! I'm a computer science major and I going to SMU and we're the MUSTANGS!</p>
<p>whoo! GO MAC USING COMPUTER MAJORING MUSTANGS</p>
<p>hahahaha that's the best wording ever</p>
<p>The Numb3rs dude uses a Macbook Pro. 'nuff said. ;)</p>
<p>I personally love Macs (yes, I have one..:p) Windows doesn't come standard on them but, like it's been said, there are programs like Parallels or Boot Camp for you. All you need is a Windows disc. </p>
<p>If you're sure that all or most of the programs you'll be using for CE will run on a Mac, then I say go for it.</p>
<p>eh just a little note-
my friend in electrical engineering (he's a senior) only bought his dell laptop b/c he needed some sort of cable to fit to finish some project (I have no clue what it is, it looked like some super duper microchip thingy...only not so small.) and the macbook did not have the port for the cable to go into (yes I am lost in the world of engineers...I'm a psych major!).</p>
<p>^Are you talking about PCI card slots? yes, Macs lack those but the new Macbook Pros have ExpressCard slots which are backwards compatible with PCI using an adapter.</p>
<p>I still have yet to find a use for my expresscard slot. =/</p>
<p>I have an asus a8js and I love it. You wont find any other laptop that fits a radeon X1700, a 5 ghz processor, and a gig of ram (expandable up to 2 gigs) into a 14" screen laptop. Its portable and powerful.</p>
<p>5 Ghz processor?! :eek:</p>
<p>How much is that thing? $12k?</p>
<p>seriously...it looks like it's around $1500ish with the standard 2.0 Ghz..</p>
<p>that laptop has to be overclocked as no laptop comes with a processor at that clockspeed standard.</p>
<p>I'm thinking the same thing. It would be outrageous.</p>
<p>1) Splitting ram to run 2 OS at the same time ... how is that a GOOD thing?
2) How do you keep your mac from being stolen?</p>
<p>Well for the splitting of the ram to run 2 os at the same time is good because you don't have to restart your computer to start that second operating system virtually</p>
<p>as for keeping it from being stolen, keep it with you as much as possible...i dunno</p>
<p>A mac's just as likely to be stolen as a PC...although most will steal a mac first.</p>
<p>Are you suggesting that the 2ghz processor has been clocked to 5ghz? That sounds ridiculous.</p>
<p>For college, I'd recommend a laptop with the smallest footprint possible. Tack on an extended battery and you're set for the whole day (roughly 8 hours with my Lenovo X60). If you want real power just bring a desktop as well.</p>
<p>heres what you should/need to do</p>
<p>call the college you are enrolling in, particularly heir computer engineering department, and ask them if they would recommend a mac or a pc... after that then by yourself a laptop</p>
<p>heres the thing. with a laptop you can go OUTSIDE and do work. most campuses have wireless connection so you can go to the quad or a nice grassy area, sit under a tree or on a bench or a table and do your work instead of being trapped in the library/your dorm</p>
<p>plus, for presentations should you need them laptops are better</p>
<p>also, consider that you will be travelling from your home to your college at least a few times a year.... laptops are really convenient there, too</p>
<p>A key issue in selection has to be reliability and maintainability. My oldest D's Toshiba laptop bought it (hard disk) within three months, and the replacement wasn't any better. We use starts-with-D D600-series equipment at work exclusively and it's been very troublesome, between battery recalls, disk drive failures, and motherboards overheating -- we average a repair a year per employee, which is just awful.</p>
<p>D #2 is going to college with a MacBook...</p>