<p>Macbook Pro for CS and/or CompE any good?</p>
<p>what are the pro and cons??
I was thinking of getting a 15in one with top specs</p>
<p>Most programing languages should be supported by both OSX and Windows so the OS shouldn’t be a issue. If you do buy a Mac, you can always duel boot Windows if the language is no compatible (but why would you want to do that?)</p>
<p>My current laptop (Asus M50VM-B1) has a similar spec to the new, unibody Macbook Pro but it only cost me $1400,compared to the $2000 Macbook. If you getting the top of the end Macbook Pro for gaming, then you might as well as get a gaming laptop. So short, Macbooks only has the brand, looks and customer support? nothing else</p>
<p>*Edit: Don’t forget that some of your classmates maybe hardcore PC fans and think that your unprofessional if you do get a Mac</p>
<p>well how about sony fw series with top of the line specs?</p>
<p>I don’t suggest getting a Sony. They are really overpriced, have crappy parts that tends to fail pretty quickly, and Sony takes a very proprietary approach to almost all their products, so fixing/replacing parts and buying accessories will cost a lot more than with other companies’ laptops.</p>
<p>really? i get how sony is overpricing everything but i never heard that sony has expensive parts…well to add on top of that sony can double apple’s specs and still cost around 2-3k</p>
<p>I’m using an MBP as a computer science major, and so far I’ve had no problems. In fact, in my school, the computer you use really makes no difference, since we SSH to the school’s Linux machines for most of our work anyway. If anything, I prefer working on my Mac over working on a PC because it’s built on Unix, so the command line is similar to Linux.</p>
<p>Check with your school to see if they have any preferences, as some schools are particular. If they say they don’t care, they mean it. In fact, most of the people in my computer science class (and, actually, most of my friends in general) have Macs.</p>
<p>Use Mono for C# and VB.NET</p>
<p>
[QUOTE=LUKEJDAVIS]
Use Mono for C# and VB.NET
[/quote]
I don’t think that’s a good idea. Mono is absolutely horrible.</p>
<p>What’s so horrible about it?</p>
<p>
[QUOTE=LUKEJDAVIS]
What’s so horrible about it?
[/quote]
Mainly licensing issues and dependency on Microsoft to provide up-to-date API information, which often results in release delays.</p>
<p>That’s nominal. If he wants a way to program in the .NET languages its the best option and C# experience is one of the most sought after skills in software design.</p>
<p>
[QUOTE=LUKEJDAVIS]
C# experience is one of the most sought after skills in software design.
[/quote]
Not really. According to the [the</a> TIOBE index for January 2009](<a href=“http://www.tiobe.com/index.php/content/paperinfo/tpci/index.html]the”>Home - TIOBE), C# comes in 6th place, with a mere 5.6% of the market. He would be much better off learning Java (19.0%), C (15.9%), or C++ (10.1%). And you can’t forget that C# and .NET in general is an absolutely horrific platform (not that Java is much better).</p>
<p>Haha, sure srunni. If you read how those numbers are compiled you would probably be impressed with C#, seeing how it represents population and the languages above it have been around for 10 more years. The TIOBE list doesn’t measure demand.</p>
<p>What specifically is so “horrific” about C#? Do you even know C#?</p>
<p>Something totally irks me about nerds that are in love with open source and think all things microsoft are the devil.</p>
<p>EDIT: Also, if you were worth your weight as a programmer you would know that the differences between learning C#, Java and C++ are nominal and that it would be great exposure to someone to be able to familiarize themselves with all the technologies. You’re telling him to not even look at a language that represents a massive swath of the market.</p>
<p>
[QUOTE=LUKEJDAVIS]
If you read how those numbers are compiled you would probably be impressed with C#
[/quote]
``The ratings are based on the number of skilled engineers world-wide, courses and third party vendors.‘’</p>
<p>Nope, still not impressed at all.</p>
<p>
[QUOTE=LUKEJDAVIS]
seeing how it represents population and the languages above it have been around for 10 more years. The TIOBE list doesn’t measure demand.
[/quote]
It doesn’t need to measure demand. The market will automatically move towards areas of demand, so all the index needs to do is determine those population fluctuations. It is an indirect, but accurate, method of assessing demand.</p>
<p>
[QUOTE=LUKEJDAVIS]
What specifically is so “horrific” about C#? Do you even know C#?
[/quote]
No, I don’t know C#, and I have no intention of learning it. The environment I develop in has absolutely no Microsoft machines, so I have no use for it. What I don’t like about C# is:
(1) it requires a virtual machine (a problem that Java shares, but a problem nonetheless), which greatly increases resource usage. While this may not matter in some situations, the software I work with is computationally intensive, so it does matter to me.
(2) many of the classes that are commonly used are non-standard, and result in cross-platform compatibility issues.</p>
<p>
[QUOTE=LUKEJDAVIS]
Also, if you were worth your weight as a programmer you would know that the differences between learning C#, Java and C++ are nominal and that it would be great exposure to someone to be able to familiarize themselves with all the technologies.
[/quote]
If you were worth your weight as a programmer, you would know that the differences in the actual implementation of Java and C++ are enormous. The biggest problem with computer science education these days is that graduates have little to no practical experience working with software of practical value. Professors focus far too much on the theory and end up leaving their students high and dry when it comes to skills necessary in the real world.</p>
<p>Just because Java and C++ have similar syntax does not mean that they are similar at all in actual use. For example, if you do not have experience writing computationally intensive applications, you do not realize the performance benefits of C++. And if you do not have experience trying to debug 30,000 lines of spaghetti code, you do not realize how big of a relief it is not to have deal with memory allocation bugs in Java.</p>
<p>
[QUOTE=LUKEJDAVIS]
You’re telling him to not even look at a language that represents a massive swath of the market.
[/quote]
I understand that for Microsoft fanboys such as yourself, learning C# is the first priority when starting to program. However, from a practical standpoint, he is more likely to find a job if he knows Java than if he knows C#. Not everyone has time to sit around learning the ins and outs of all the languages.</p>
<p>It looks like main issue you have with C#/Java is that it is slower than C++. That’s true, but telling the OP that it is a “horrific platform” is incorrect, it is still widely used and will increase in popularity. </p>
<p>As for the “cross-platform compatibility issues,” they are solved with the .NET implementations.</p>
<p>This is like telling him not to learn Java. You just have an issue with a language that requires a virtual machine. </p>
<p>Back to the subject though: If you get a Mac then you can learn Java, C++, and STILL learn the .NET using Mono.</p>
<p>I don’t know how we got so far off topic.</p>
<p>I don’t have any issues with Java. While I don’t personally use it/want to use it, I think it works very well as an easy-to-learn language that has amazing cross-platform compatibility, which puts it a notch about C# (which is why Java’s doing so much better).</p>
<p>
[QUOTE=LUKEJDAVIS]
As for the “cross-platform compatibility issues,” they are solved with the .NET implementations.
[/quote]
That’s not entirely true. For example, Mono doesn’t support .NET 3.0.</p>
<p>To clarify, all I’m saying is that he should learn Java <em>first</em>. There is nothing wrong with learning C# later on.</p>
<p>if any of you are true CS fans(JK), you know that theory, not language, is the most important. Learning different languages for computers is pretty simple once you master about two languages. I agree that learning something like Java or C is the best way to go, just because thats how I did it and because C is like the foundation for many MANY things.
As for the original question, I personally would go with any notebook that has old enough hardwares for a Linux distro. 
Although, macs are fine too since you can’t really get a better software-hardware compatibility then macs. Also, now that OSx is unix, i have no qualms about them.</p>
<p>now is it really worth it to even get a mac anymore?? we dont even know when snow leopard is coming out…so should i wait and see or should i start digging into other stuff?
and now that sony is cutting back on a ton of production … which just only drives the price of its goods even higher…im probably not going to get that…then…</p>
<p>Mac OSX vs Windows 7
Mac vs PC</p>
<p>the battle goes on but from my standpoint the OSX is going to fail after steve leaves his spot to tim cook</p>
<p>ugh… this year is going to be such a hassle…</p>