<p>All in all, mr OP if you want to take computer advice from some little girl named “Laurie beth” whose computer knowledge stems from Itunes and a webcam then by all means, BUY MAC!!! : )
Okay im done ahaha</p>
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<p>You asked for a thread debating Windows vs Apple. You got a thread debating Windows vs. Apple.</p>
<p>I’m a Mac user. They’re great computers, but what makes them different is the software. I don’t just mean the Apple-provided software, but also third-party applications. They tend to be of significantly higher quality, with far more attention paid to user interface. Remember, design isn’t how it looks, design is how it works. UI matters.</p>
<p>Bottom line, there’s a reason MacBook Pros dominate the reviews from various magazines, including PC Magazine. They’re fine machines.</p>
<p>Of course, a lot depends on what you’re doing with it. Do you need a desktop-class, state-of-the-art video card to play the latest games? If you do, you’re better off with a cheaper desktop, or a 9 pound laptop that offers that. Some businesses have created custom, Windows-only software, though that issue is somewhat negated by tools like VMWare Fusion. </p>
<p>But for the majority of what college students need a laptop for, Macs are more reliable and provide better-designed software. For the geeks among us, Mac OS X has at its core BSD, and consequently runs most UNIX software. Tools like Fink provide a front end to install it easily, and Apple provides its own X11 distribution.</p>
<p>If you do get a Mac, give some serious thought to picking up Apple’s iWork as well. It’s a $79 office suite that is better in a lot of ways than Microsoft Office. Does it offer advanced Visual Basic macros like Office? No. Does it allow you to produce beautiful documents automatically thanks to better typography, like the use of custom ligatures? Yes. Keynote, the PowerPoint competitor, is head and shoulders above Microsoft’s offering. And each iWork app can open and export standard file formats, including PDF, DOC, XLS, and PPT.</p>
<p>Windows 7 is a fine operating system, but its simply not yet to the level of OS X. If money is the end-all factor, look at a PC, but in my experience Macs last much longer. Every Mac I’ve owned is still in use, including a 2003 eMac and a 2005 PowerBook–and those were from before Apple switched to Intel chips. Both run just as well as the day they were bought to do the same tasks–there’s no “bit rot,” no time-accumulated slow down in the machines.</p>
<p>Setting that aside, a fair comparison between Mac and PC prices makes the price difference much less significant. A Mac will still probably cost $100-$200 more, but it wont be twice the price. You can’t say, “I can get a plastic Celeron laptop for $499–Macs cost so much!” Apple doesn’t sell bargain basement models. </p>
<p>Anyway, good luck with your decision. I guess my final piece of advice is this: whatever you do, don’t get a second rate, dirt cheap laptop. It wont last you, and you won’t be happy in the long run. Spend about $1000-$1200 whether you get a Mac or a PC. If you go with a PC, look at the Lenovo ThinkPad T410. Doing this will get you a laptop that lasts through college. Splitting $1200 over four years works out to less than a dollar a day.</p>
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This post was dumb, immature and ignorant. Most of the rest of the posts in this thread have been useful and not of the I absolutely love my macbook pro! I got it last week, and what a difference! and i’ve had my macbook pro 13" for about 2 months, and i’m still in love with it variety.</p>
<p>To get back to the OP question. I owned both a mac and a pc.
I would recommend the mac<br>
1.) Most important if you can afford. No point of stretching your budget on something that will be outdated in 6 months or so. Stay within your buying power.
2.) You only have very basic cpu skills. The UI makes a computer experience much easier
3.) And you not close to a power user cpu wise.</p>
<p>A few plus to pc are:
1.) Generally cheaper.
2.) Can be upgraded as technology moves a long. This can be very hard to do with a mac.
3.) Software library is pretty vast. Some majors are more pc friendly than mac. Even with that said, there is usually some work around for mac users.</p>
<p>Alternatives to macs just from personal experience, Toshiba, Lenovo and Dell are all good choices. I would recommend dell just for customer service alone. Lets say you drop your cpu and screen breaks. Call dell and they will send a service tech to your dorm usually the next day to replace your screen. Its way more convenient than having to send your laptop in and waiting weeks to get it back.</p>
<p>PC will not get a virus if you keep your security measures up to date and stay away from sketchy sites. If you a smart user, you will not get a virus.</p>
<p>xSidx1337x, you are a disgrace to both Windows and Mac users. There are plenty of intelligent and creative people who use Macs. For example, Google employees, MIT professors, VFX specialists, and video game developers. I tried to politely reason with you but you keep coming back with really dumb comments. Do you have some grudge against Steve Jobs? You shouldn’t. He is one of very few billionaires who try to be greener. He doesn’t walk around in some fancy suit acting like a bigshot like Bill Gates, though he is a bigshot, but that is not my point. I highly doubt you have used both Windows and OSX.</p>
<p>nick_scheu’s post is probably the best here. Note the OP asked “is the MBP is really worth it?” Therefore it is only logical to give as much TRUE information and let the OP to decide.</p>
<p>Godzilla, i think you are failing to realize that the people posting on this board are not “Google employees, MIT professors, VFX specialists, and video game developers”…
Mostly they are looking for a note taking internet surfing device. I’m just trying to dissuade him from following the general spoiled brat trend of people new to using computers that seem to hold Apple on a high pedestal because facebook looks better on their macbook pros than on a dell. All in all, MJM hit the mark when he said "very basic cpu (although idk why the hell he would say CPU?) skills)… </p>
<p>Thank you for calling me a disgrace, even though im really looking out for the OPs wallet.</p>
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Um, okay then. I never said if he should buy a Mac or not. I definitely use a computer for more than iTunes & webcam, however.</p>
<p>To answer the original question here…
As a user of both Macs and PCs, I do think that the Mac is worth the price, if it’s affordable for you. If it’s totally out of your price range, then you can undoubtedly find something else that will be sufficient for your needs in school, at a lower price. If you don’t use your computer for anything heavy duty, or don’t have too many computer skills, it is perfect for that as well. I chose to get a Mac for college, and I’m completely happy with it, but it was also financially viable for me. If you are really opposed to spending that much on a computer, then go for something less expensive, but something more than a $300 laptop.</p>
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lol what?.</p>
<p>She’s arguing that Macs are worth the price, but if you can’t afford one, you can’t afford one.</p>
<p>A Toyota Camry is worth its price, but if you can only afford a Yaris, that’s what you have to get.</p>
<p>This is in contrast to, say, a Mercedes Benz SL-Class, which is priced at $100,000. While there are surely improvements between it and a lower priced car, the differences aren’t large enough to justify such a high price.</p>
<p>Another way of looking at it is luxury versus premium:</p>
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<p>(<a href=“http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2009/05/luxury-vs-premium.html[/url]”>http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2009/05/luxury-vs-premium.html</a>)</p>
<p>MacBook Pros are premium products. I’d argue that Mac Pros, Apple’s high-end desktop, is for most people a luxury product, though for some professionals it may legitimately be a premium product.</p>
<p>Apple’s customer service makes it a desirable alternative to some of the PC equivalents of a MacBook, like the ASUS U35/45JCs. While the latter laptops do have good - or better - specs for a significantly lower price, it must be noted that ASUS customer service sucks.</p>
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<p>Well, I suppose this depends on the buyer’s income. Though I come from a relatively comfortable background, I consider MacBook Pros to be luxury products, for you can get something just as good (and long-lasting) for cheaper; getting a Mac seems to be - for some, this is - the result of a desire for a particular brand, not necessarily a certain product.</p>
<p>Please do not compare any product supported by Steve Jobs to the engineering of Germany’s finest automobile company. Apple’s are more like BMW, highly overrated. (Audi ftw.) : )</p>
<p>Just wanted to comment on something for a second. On these forums, there seems to be a lot of “Should I get an i3/i5/i7?” questions/comparisons, despite the user giving only minimal usage requirements.</p>
<p>With computers, esp with people on a budget like college students, it’s extremely important to remember to buy to your needs, not buy to the market. Just because something is new doesn’t mean you need it or even, that you’ll see a performance increase over it.</p>
<p>Your average college student only listens to music, goes online, IMs, watches videos, does homework, and takes notes on his/her laptop. This is extremely basic usage, and a Core 2 Duo is still more than enough power for these people. Even though the i3/i5/i7s are newer and more powerful CPUs, I am extremely confident that for most college students, they will not notice ANY performance increase, despite the extra price tag.</p>
<p>Even with gaming, it’s doubtful you’ll need a strong CPU. The only games that require a powerful CPU are physics-intensive games like GTA IV or AI-intensive games beyond the scope of SCII. Even with today’s popular games like SCII or MW2, a Core 2 can still run these games just fine, and the extra money for the CPU is better put towards upgrading the graphics chip.</p>
<p>So in short, just because something is new and current doesn’t mean you have to buy it.</p>
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Premium and luxury definitions will depend on the consumer for other factors than wealth. In the “war” between Macs and PCs, there is no winner. There’s no loser either. Macs and PCs aren’t even fighting the same war. Macs vs PCs is exactly like apples vs oranges. They’re both niche products. Macs are so expensive compared to PCs because it made a unix based system that’s nearly idiot-proof to use (whereas linux… ehehehe), fairly stable, and comes bundled with many idiot-proof programs that the people targeted for buying macs (mostly artists) would likely use, where “idiot” means not-so-computer savvy… AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, it’s the only producer of Mac computers! Apple controls ALL production on its computers which use its own proprietary software, and therefore has total control on a market which consists only of them… and of course they would jack up prices as much as they can before people start throwing tantrums. I would say MacBook Pros specifically are neither premium nor luxury, though I do think they have ridiculously high prices ></em><</p>
<p>PCs, on the other hand, are cheap mostly because of competition. How many PC producing companies do you see vs how many Mac producing companies? PCs are also made in a very DIY fashion. it’s as easy as getting a case, and shoving in whatever parts you like, and easily being able to take them out. PC Laptops are a lot less able to do this, of course, but are still a lot more flexible compared to a Mac laptop. PCs with windows are also a lot more plagued with security issues, but can do infinitely more. I lol every time someone says something about playing games on a mac. The security issues are nothing though, if only you just don’t do stupid things. PCs are a lot more tailored to the tech savvy crowd, the industrial crowd, the DIYers, the progamers and the programmers… i don’t think you’d really see macs purchased in bulk for corporate offices either, because of how damn expensive they are for what corporations need them for (basic work)
For a student with basic computing needs, however, I would definitely steer them away from a Mac</p>
<p>Different machines for different people, it all depends what you need</p>
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<p>In my opinion, the price is what makes it a luxury, if one is operating from the definition of luxury as “the quality possessed by something that is excessively expensive.” :)</p>
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<p>Oh, certainly; my statement was necessarily a generalization, for one cannot really make other types of points in such discussions.</p>
<p>I used to own PCs, and I knew enough to take care of them. I didn’t run an anti-virus, because I didn’t need to. The thing is, I got tired of having to deal with it. I’d rather not have to think about having a stable computer. </p>
<p>As for the artist stuff… That’s a very 90’s mentality. Honestly, these days, I think PC desktops are better choices in many ways for professional creatives–people with the knowledge to maintain them, access to professional IT specialists, etc. All of the high end creative software is available for both PCs and Macs.</p>
<p>The bottom line is that both PCs and Macs can do high end stuff, and both can do low end stuff. With PCs you get more flexible purchasing options at a slightly lower cost in a fair comparison, and a much lower starting price point. </p>
<p>With Macs you get a more stable, better designed system, with fewer worries for average users, at the expense of fewer purchasing options and a slightly higher price. You know when you buy a Mac you’re getting a good machine.</p>
<p>Look at the HP Envy. They’re practically considered MacBook Pro clones, and they cost roughly the same. More in some cases, less in others. </p>
<p>As you say, its all relative. For some people, a ten year old Kia is a luxury. For others, a Mercedes is the low-end.</p>
<p>If you look at the professional reviews for MacBook Pros, and if you look at their sales figures, I think it’s clear that these machines–particularly the 13" model–are squarely in the mainstream. I think it’s objectively fair to call them premium–a higher price for added features like build quality, 10 hour battery life, and Mac OS X–and not luxury.</p>
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<p>Not all game developers use Mac, it’s usually just the graphic/model designer who usually also happens to be the web designer and hence Mac enthusiast as well :D</p>
<p>The standard stereotype for determining whether a techie is more inclined to use a Mac is by asking them whether they develop with Ruby and whether they do any “premium/professional web designing”.</p>
<p>The point of that post was to show that not all Mac users are incompetent and arrogant idiots. </p>
<p>You took that out of context and if you read the previous posts before that you will know that I did not say anything about “all game developers use Macs”.</p>
<p>One more minor point… Mac hardware gives you the freedom to use software for all three major platforms in a fully supported way. Running Windows through Boot Camp is no different from using it on a regular PC, and Apple provides Windows drivers for all their hardware (well, all since 2006). You can run UNIX software on OS X itself, or install a Linux distro through Boot Camp if you choose. And, of course, you can run nearly any x86 operating system through VMWare over OS X.</p>
<p>This is one reason, aside from software like Coda, that web developers tend to prefer Macs. With one machine, they can test on every major OS. A Windows machine lets you use every major platform except Mac OS X which, like it or not, has a fairly large installed base.</p>
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<p>Uhh… who’s fault is that? Most certainly not Microsoft. In the EULA of OSX, (if you read it), you will see that you can only install OSX on Apple branded products. Plenty of Windows based computers can run OSX and some people opt to do that. Thus the term Hackintosh.</p>
<p>There use to be a company that sold these "Hackintosh"es… Until Apple served a Cease and Desist. When they didn’t, Apple brought their lawyers.</p>
<p>Edit: the company was called Psystar. See <a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psystar_Corporation[/url]”>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psystar_Corporation</a></p>