<p>I need to get a laptop for my son who is going to be a freshman engineering student at UW. We are leaning towards the MacBook Air or Pro. Any recommendations from fellow engineering students? Thanks!</p>
<p>I’m not in UW, but if your son wants a really lightweight laptop with a really long battery life, then he should get the MacBook Air, but if he wants a more powerful one then he should get the MacBook Pro (I’d lean more towards the Pro). If you plan on getting the Pro, you may want to upgrade the hard drive to SSD because it’s faster.</p>
<p>Make sure you buy the MacBook through the Apple Store for Education website ([Official</a> Apple Store US - Buy iPad mini, iPad, iPhone 5, MacBook Pro, iMac and More](<a href=“http://store.apple.com/us-hed]Official”>Education Pricing and Student Discounts - Education - Apple)) for a student discount.</p>
<p>Well the MacBook Pro line is rumored to either be refreshed September 10 or some time in October. This refresh will give the MacBook Pro 10+ (due to the new Haswell CPUs) mainly, other features are speculation at this point. The Macbook Air, on the other hand, has already been refreshed a few months ago to give 9-11 hours of battery life. I’d hold on until September 10 just in case (unless he needs it before then!).</p>
<p>In terms of the present I’d buy him the MBP. The MBA only has 128 GB of storage at the base model (but its blazing fast), compared to the 500gb on the MBP. The MBP is also more powerful in terms of CPU performance and it comes with an CD drive.</p>
<p>Currently I’d suggest you buy either Macbook at Best Buy. They are having a back to school sale and giving $150 off the MBP with another $100 off possible via student discount (you need a valid .edu email), for a $250 discount in total. Its currently a lot better discount than buying from Apple directly. This sale ends September 6, which again, might indicate a MBP refresh coming soon after and it’s Best Buy trying to get rid of current stock before the new ones come in. Link:http://*******/11JKyZq</p>
<p>Also if you’re no dead set on a Macbook, you could always get a Windows laptop. Perhaps one of these: http://*******/15dtUqo. $ 700 for 50% more RAM, .1 in thinner, faster hybrid hard drive, bigger screen, and touchscreen compared to the base $1000 MBP. It’s a little slower though CPU wise and doesn’t come with a backlit keyboard.</p>
<p>@nbms03 and DaveSpool - Thanks so much for the advice! I need all I can get.</p>
<p>No offense, but after working with the engineering faculty at the UW, I would recommend a Windows laptop. What is the point of buying a macbook when he needs to install Windows on it? And viruses? Mac’s can easily catch viruses, and odds are UW would require him to install an antivirus software either way. For the amount you will spend on the macbook is equivalent to a beautiful Windows laptop that can perform faster than a Macbook. If you really want that “Mac” feel, install Linux. </p>
<p>The software for Engineering is popular on the windows platform ultimately, and today’s industry is heavily focused on Windows as of right now.</p>
<p>Linux does not give the “Mac” feel.</p>
<p>The point of getting a Mac is to get something with great build quality, good design, one of the most accurate and capable trackpads, long battery life, and high resale value, among other things.</p>
<p>There are numerous flavors of Linux OS’s that have dumbified it for students who are afraid of the command line (Ubuntu). Part of being an engineer is to work with an environment and to take actual risks. </p>
<p>The point of anyone getting a Mac nowadays is to buy into the brand. Face it, and admit it, I can find the same exact laptop at Best Buy that is around $700 - $800. It is going to be as shiny and come loaded with features Mac users might not even get.</p>
<p>End of the story, you will need Windows. Why on earth buy a MacBook to install Windows?</p>
<p>I am sorry for sounding so rude, but it is time some people are actually told the truth, and not buy into a shiny logo.</p>
<p>Krine11, you are right about needing Windows but you are wrong about Macbooks being overpriced. There is a reason that many people choose Macbooks over Windows laptops and it is not because they are ‘buying into the brand’.</p>
<p>The new Macbook Airs have 12+ hour battery life. NO Windows laptop can match that. But even if you disregard battery life it is still almost impossible to find a cheaper Windows ultrabook with the same specs. The Macbook Air’s best competitor is the new Acer Aspire S7 and that costs a whopping $1500! Don’t believe me? Go ahead, find an ultrabook with at least 128GB of solid state storage and a 4th generation i5 for $700-$800.</p>
<p>And don’t forget about the Retina Macbook Pros. When I purchased a laptop earlier this summer I searched long and hard for a Windows laptop that could match the 15" Retina Macbook Pro in portability, performance, and screen quality. Price wasn’t an issue for me. I found some Windows laptops that were more powerful but they were twice as thick and twice as heavy. I found some Windows laptops that were more portable but they couldn’t match the performance. I couldn’t find any Windows laptops with comparable screens. Long story short, I failed and I ultimately I settled for the Razer Blade ($2K), which matches the MBPr 15 in portability and performance but has a sucky screen.</p>
<p>I got a Windows laptop because I knew that I would need to run Windows-specific software and I didn’t want to go to the trouble of switching between Windows and OSX. However, if you aren’t planning on running Windows-only software then I recommend getting a Macbook. Not only are they amazing machines, but they also have great resale value and Apple has fantastic customer support.</p>
<p>Krine,
The op asked for advice concerning laptops, not criticism. Perhaps more constructive advice would include /specific/ alternatives which you consider superior. </p>
<p>It’s been over a decade since I’ve owned a Windows machine. I’ve personally had difficulties with Windows’ security failings (as have many family, friends, etc.), and haven’t run into those issues (yet) with Mac. It’s likely that the “exact same” $700-$800 laptop found at Best Buy is also twice as heavy, has cheaper components, doesn’t have an iOS option, and is virus-prone. Maybe I just don’t know how to use a Windows machine. </p>
<p>PS - Coffeelover, don’t buy Office for Mac (or Windows machines!) - your son can get a heavily discounted to free version from the UW!</p>
<p>Happy computer hunting everyone! :)</p>
<p>@OldDwag</p>
<p>People are already into the brand. What you just said as “security failings” can be just as applied to Macs: [? Safari hacked in five seconds at Pwn2Own](<a href=“∞ Safari hacked in five seconds at Pwn2Own”>A $1 million car? Here are 11 of them)</p>
<p>Windows are prone to viruses because they have a bigger population of users using specifically Windows OS. But, unless you are an complete idiot who clicks on everything you see on the internet, and download every piece of file out there on the interwebz, there is no way anyone else can complain about a virus in this point of time. Have you heard of Ultrabooks? They are just as light as the “MacBook Air” and offer the same components. To claim that those laptops cheaply made is just another point that people who own Macs always bring up, other than the shiny metal, what else is there to brag about the MacBook? Why would anyone want an iOs option? I encourage you to at least demo the latest Windows and say that it is virus prone or has numerous failings.</p>
<p>There is a reason why today’s industry is heavily relied on Windows, from Government, to HR, to Medicine, to Engineering, to Education. </p>
<p>I am only using this tone of matter because I am sick of people buying into the MacBook scheme and use false excuses to defend their $1200 investment.</p>
<p>The only true reason to buy a Mac is for its durability. Not saying PC laptops aren’t as durable, but Apple’s design with their Macbooks are really top notch. Also, the claim of “Macs can’t get virus’s” is not true. Although most hackers and virus programmers are more familiar with PC, Macs can get virus’s (is it virus’s? or virus’? I’m dumb) just as easily as PCs in some situations. </p>
<p>I’m both a Mac and PC user and I find that I like Macs more only because I do editing and a little programming, but since you’re going into engineering, a PC might be a better choice because a lot of programs and software are more compatible with PCs than Macs.</p>
<p>But just to add, I have run into more software (and sometimes hardware problems) on PCs than Mac laptops. I’ve gone through 3 different PC laptops (2 HPs and an Asus) whereas I’ve only had 1 Macbook Pro which is the 2011 model.</p>
<p>I bought my brother a ASUS machine three years ago for $650 during Christmas, he games on it, codes, never had to defrag and installs updates as prompted. </p>
<p>Getting a Mac is an excuse to having a dumbified OS that does everything for you.</p>
<p>I said it.</p>
<p>Krine, did you even read my post? My challenge still stands: find an ultrabook with the same specs as a MacBook Air that is significantly cheaper.</p>
<p>And since when has having an operating system that is easier to use been a bad thing? You sound like the typical elitist Windows user who thinks that Mac users don’t know anything about computers.</p>
<p>Macbook Air has worked out well for our son who will be starting his third year at UW. He has been taking mainly Math, CS and EE classes and he says he is not handicapped in any way.</p>
<p>All this talk about Mac vs. PC and dumbified OS is quite entertaining.</p>
<p>Sent son to school w a macbook. By the time he was a senior ME he realized the software he needed didn’t run on Mac. Check a dell xps for an engineer</p>
<p>Seriously. I’ve spent then past ten years working on computers, mostly PCs. My home computer is a Mac for a reason. Some people have preferences. <em>shrug</em></p>
<p>The first two comments are completely correct. The Airs aren’t as much of a performance drop as they used to be, but if you’re hoping to get him something to last all four years, I’d suggest waiting until the new MBPs drop and upgrading it to an SSD. That being said, they just refreshed the Airs. One other thing to consider is that students can request remote access to UW systems so he should be able to do everything he needs to with an Air.</p>
<p>One major thing to note is that everything on the Air (RAM, hard drive) is soldered to the board, meaning it can’t be upgraded later. The Pros, on the other hand, can be easily upgraded by anyone with the internet, some common sense, and a tiny screwdriver. If you do go for the Air and plan on having him use it as long as possible, order it from Apple and max out as much as you can, and then get the AppleCare.</p>