Mac vs. Dell

Student Lounge College Life
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<p>I’m just saying that the OP should get it, out of my recent experience with Dells. I have a 3 year old Inspiron 1521, and the extended warranty was definitely needed with it. I had to use it for 2 replaced processor fans, more replacement battery chargers than I can count, and lots of other little things. Then, right after the warranty expired, my hard drive failed…just my luck.</p>

<p>An interesting article on some of Dell’s problems: [In</a> Faulty-Computer Suit, Window to Dell Decline - Yahoo! Finance](<a href=“http://finance.yahoo.com/news/In-FaultyComputer-Suit-Window-nytimes-2375403564.html?x=0]In”>http://finance.yahoo.com/news/In-FaultyComputer-Suit-Window-nytimes-2375403564.html?x=0)</p>

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<p>Linux is actually an easy OS to use. It’s not the black and white DOS screen you guys are thinking about, nor does it require extensive knowledge of coding (or coding at all). Its just like Windows and Mac.</p>

<p>Mac was built on UNIX; Linux was built on UNIX.</p>

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<p>Ubuntu is just like Mac.</p>

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<p>Good like explaining how to install Ubuntu to the typical consumer. Or even explaining what a distro is.</p>

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<p>Inspirons are definitely bottom of the line when it comes to Dell. I have an older one though, it works just fine…but as always, your mileage may vary.</p>

<p>The XPS is nicer and I haven’t had any problems with it either. The Latitude is built to an extremely high quality though.</p>

<p>Linux is extremely easy to use. However, I still don’t prefer to use it - because of incompatibilities, mostly. If it were widespread, it’d be great.</p>

<p>Heck, Ubuntu is easier to install than Windows or OSX.</p>

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<p>Well, I am looking for a laptop for college as well and Dell vs. Mac is exactly my dilemma. I was thinking about Dell Inspiron 11z. However, after reading some of the reviews and opinions I am thinking more and more about Macbook Pro 13". It seems to be durable, fast enough, battery life is apparently great. Plus, I was not satisfied with previous two PC laptops (a Toshiba and an Acer).
I’m also glad that my school offers a discount for Apple products. $100 is always something. Plus, as I hear, the back to school promotion gives me a free iPod Touch 8GB. However, when I put it in my cart online it still says I have to pay for it. I read that I have to submit my claim online within 90 days from purchase date. How does it exactly work? Do they simply send me my money back? Do I pick it up at Apple store?</p>

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<p>It’s very easy to submit the rebate claim. You simply do it online. A few weeks later, Apple with send you a check for the amount of the rebate. My younger son just received his rebates in the mail yesterday. He received one rebate check for the printer and a second rebate check for the iPod. It took about 3 weeks to arrive.</p>

<p><a href=“http://store.apple.com/us/browse/campaigns/back_to_school?mco=MTgxNTgxOTU[/url]”>http://store.apple.com/us/browse/campaigns/back_to_school?mco=MTgxNTgxOTU&lt;/a&gt;
^go to this link and read STEP 3----“submit rebate” section.</p>

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<p>I see, it’s seems simple. Just what I’d expect from Apple.</p>

<p>Oh, as for printers - I did not know there were rebates for them as well. I looked Apple’s website up and it was written that they offer a rebate of up to $100. So picking Epson Stylus NX420 All-in-One Printer (costs $99.95) along with my Macbook Pro would mean that for $1100 I get MBP, iPod Touch 8GB and a printer, right? Wow, it looks like a great offer.</p>

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<p>There is nothing as polarizing as politics or the PC/Mac debate! For those of us who aren’t computer geeks it is very frustrating to figure out what the best purchase is. I called numerous departments at the college my daughter will attend and still didn’t get an answer that showed any preference based on her college needs.</p>

<p>We ended up buying the 13" Macbook Pro. Yes, it was more expensive initially, but one of the big selling points for me was the magnetic power connection. I have a very nice Toshiba that can no longer be powered up because of a fualty connection. I bought an inexpensive PC (also Toshiba) for home use but ended up needing to add on products and services that increased that price considerably.</p>

<p>The Macbook came out of the box and was up and running in 5 minutes flat. I’m not saying that the Mac is better - but for my daughter’s needs and her computer skill level it was the better choice.</p>

<p>Also, when she visited the business school at her college (jr. level class) about 50% of the class had Mac and 50% had PC.</p>

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<p>Yeah Kvasek I think I’m going that route also. Sounds like a decent deal to me.</p>

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<p>Well comparing Dell to Mac is not essentially debating on PCs, but build quality. Dell in the recent 5 years declined in quality and has had numerous legal issues with sending out defective products knowingly. Mac also has much better service and resale value if that is a concern to you.</p>

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<p>Amen to the better service! The hard drive on my son’s Macbook failed, after 4 years of abuse, including bouncing around dusty roads in rural Africa for half a year. He brought it in to an Apple store, and they replaced the drive, gratis! I’m still not sure what exactly happened, except that they admitted that the particular drive in question had proven problematic. Still, to replace a 4-year-old drive for free is amazing. </p>

<p>As for the PC-Mac debate, it is very frustrating. In general though, you don’t see those on the Mac side of the fence ridiculing those who have chosen the PC side. I can’t say the same for the PC advocates. Just look at some of the CC threads to see those recommending Macs as being denigrated for being effete elitists who foolishly pay extra money just for a status symbol. I respect individuals who choose to use Windows-based computers, and acknowledge that pretty much in all cases the initial cost is substantially less. I still would recommend a Mac for college-going students who are the ones asking the questions on this site. Invariably though, the discussion gets hijacked and turns into a Mac vs. PC debate between proponents of both camps. Usually the original question gets lost in the shuffle.</p>

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<p>Yes, that’s particularly annoying, and there was even a little of that in this thread!</p>

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<p>And, as a playwriting/film double major, I find his/her remark especially offensive. :slight_smile: Lovely.</p>

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<p>get a mac, it’ll last you a long long time.</p>

<p>lets just say- ive had my dell for a little over a year and it has overheated or crashed on me several times. of the times it crashed- it destroyed over 8-10 hours of work for 2 of my term papers. I dont download music and i only used it to surf the web and for school notes. my dell’s battery life is also at 45 minutes after a year of use.</p>

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<p>Did you just prove my point? :D</p>

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<p>DEFINITELY go with the mac. All pcs - laptops specifically - will slow down
significantly within two years until they reach the point of not working.
[Atleast that’s my experience].
I have a 13" macbook pro which i bought last july, and it still runs like its
brand new. I loveee it.</p>

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<p>If you know how to take care of your computer, that’s completely untrue. I’ve a 4-5 year old Compaq (lowest of the low end HPs, I got it before I knew anything about computer hardware), and it runs fine to this day.</p>

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<p>haha then it’s entirely possible that I just didn’t know how
to take care of my pc. so if you’re knowledgeable about computers
then I guess you’d have no problem with either one</p>