<p>I'll be attending UC Irvine next year under a Mechanical Engineering major, and I'm just wondering if I should bring a Mac-based or a Windows-based laptop with me.</p>
<p>I currently have a mid-2009 Macbook Pro, so if I do end up getting a PC, I'll just bring both along with me. However, based on some forum searching, it seems as if there are certain Windows-only software that is incompatible, or just doesn't run as well, on a Mac. I know there's Bootcamp, but I might as well just buy a separate laptop if I'd need to install Windows on my Mac.</p>
<p>Virtually all of the engineering computer programs you will need are already installed in the engineering computer labs which are open 24/7. Sometimes the doors to some of the labs are locked, but if you are on the engineering mailing list you get sent the door codes. Also, there are usually engineering people in there during all hours that can let you in. </p>
<p>To answer your question, go with a windows based laptop. Some of the programs (most of which are coding utilities) which you will need to run as MechE/AeroE are as follows: Labview, Fortran 77, Solidworks, Matlab, Wolfram Mathematica. Those are the programs/coding languages which I most often use. </p>
<p>Some obscure ones I’ve used/used less often are as follows: Maple, Granta CES, ProE Wildfire, Autocad</p>
<p>Also, throw in the basics such as Microsoft Office, C++, C, Java, etc. </p>
<p>The additional programs/languages you will use are dependent on the industry/industries that you work in and the research projects which you are involved in during your undergrad years. </p>
<p>This is not a comprehensive list by any means, but coming from a graduating multi-major engineering student including MechE…I hope it helps.</p>
<p>From what I heard, Windows being Windows will be versatile in every way. Down side is most Windows laptops tend to be a lot fragile compared to Macs so people get new laptops ever 2-3 years because after 1 or 2 years it overheats quickly and get viruses etc etc. I’m getting a Mac because it seems like in the long run Macs will survive all 4 years of college + more without having problems. You should ask a Computer science major on their take for Mac vs PC.</p>
<p>@UCLAri: Well, I guess I never really understood the point of running a Windows OS on a Mac, when the purpose of getting a Mac, for me, personally, was to avoid all the minor/major annoyances the came with Windows. Hopefully that made some sense.</p>
<p>I guess I’ll just pick up a Windows-based laptop this summer. Does anyone have any suggestions? I’ll do some research, of course, but a place to start would be great. </p>
<p>Also, it wouldn’t really be necessary to bring both laptops, would it? OH! One more question: when do students begin working with the types of engineering software Anteat3r mentioned?</p>
<p>The MechE/AeroE program has changed quite a bit since I started but this is the most up to date breakdown I gather from underclassmen for the UCI curriculum: </p>
<p>If you declare multiple engineering majors then your skillset will grow accordingly. I highly recommend that you become proficient in as many languages/programs as possible during your 4 undergrad years to become more marketable for jobs. Many of the languages/programs I know were acquired through projects, undergrad research, and industry experience.</p>
<p>Also, don’t forget to get out and live a little. Engineering isn’t as difficult as most make it out to be. Manage your time and best of luck!</p>
<p>its call dual-booting. When you’re cruising the web and watching videos, use your Mac OS. when you need to do work in solid-works or whatever, restart the computer and fire up windows. bootcamp + windows is going to be cheaper/easier then carrying around two separate laptops. </p>
<p>
statistics please?
I have friends who break their laptops within the year and others, like myself, are going on 3 years + (one person is going roughly…6?). I’ve noticed that people who tend to break/get viruses on their laptops tend to be less tech educated, regardless of the OS they use. But thats just my view. </p>
<p>@OP: if you really don’t want to get a PC, dont get one. there are always computer labs on campus and you can find time to work on whatever work you need to do in there. Besides, you’re freshmen year won’t require you to do anything besides programming. their are fortran compilers on Mac if you dont want to use the computer lab.
And then theres always the option of a virtual machine, although that might be too technical for you (if you do EE or CS, it shouldnt be though…)</p>
<p>Thanks for the informative response, flemmyd. </p>
<p>If possible, I’d like a few more suggestions as to which route would be the best to follow:</p>
<p>a. Buy a Windows-based laptop and bring both my MBP and Windows laptop with me next year.
b. Install Bootcamp on my MBP.
c. Don’t bring a Windows-based OS and stick with my MBP and resort to using computers stationed throughout UCI.</p>
<p>I’m really tempted to go through with option A, however, is it logical? Would it even be necessary to bring my MBP with me if I already have a Windows laptop in college?</p>
<p>why don’t you just go with option C. if you find yourself needing a windows computer, and the computer labs being unavailable or whatever, you can buy bootcamp or a whole nother computer then?</p>
<p>There’s no rule that says you have to have all your computers before you even start freshmen year…</p>
<p>Your best solution is to dual boot and/or to run a VM. If dual boot, your Mac OSX and Windows partitions are largely independent of each other at the system level. Even if you by sheer idiocy, ignorance or cosmic coincidence somehow manage to mess up Windows… it only takes 20-30 minutes to reinstall it. An operating system is just like any other piece of software, it’s generally not that hard to install or all that complicated.</p>
<p>Computer problems are most often caused by the users and not the computer when dealing with your typical consumer. Abuse combined with ignorance is the issue. I do not get viruses despite not running an AV.</p>
<p>There is no such thing as a low end Mac. All of apple’s products are either mid end or high end. Their failure rates are squarely in the middle of the road at a given price range. If you’re worried about hardware failure, might I suggest ASUS?</p>
<p>And with all due respect, THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU WANT TO DO IN LIFE. Engineers are supposed to be tech-savvy, do-it-yourself problem solvers. You’re not quite there yet and you only have 3-5 years to get there. Most employers will be able to tell if you’re afraid of using a computer. Also be prepared to get used to linux/bsd in some way or another, command line isn’t that much further away.</p>
<p>I don’t think versatile is the right word. Most programs work with windows because most people use windows for personal computing. Mac compatibility is often an afterthought.</p>
<p>Fragility has nothing to do with the Operating System. The difference between retail windows and mac laptops is that windows laptops are manufactured by different companies such as ASUS and Toshiba. They order OEM versions of windows and preload it with the computers. All Macs are built by Apple with the prices of parts hugely marked up.
You will get better hardware for the same price if you buy a windows laptop over a mac laptop.
Viruses don’t affect Macs as much due to a combination of malware builders not targeting the smaller market and incompatibility with programs that give the users the potential to **** up.
The best way to avoid viruses is to know how to use your computer. I do not use any AVs and I haven’t had a virus since I built the computer I’m on. Even if I did get a virus, I could just wipe my primary drive and reinstall windows.
It pains me to use other people’s computers. Most of the times, they have 10 toolbars on every browser and the worst types of P2P while blaming everything on the operating system.
As for how long a computer will last, it depends totally on your preferences. Technology improves fast. Lately, Intel has been releasing a new processor generation very year, yet I can still see newer core2s which are 3-4 years old as being viable right now.</p>
<p>Mmmk, well after taking everyone’s advice into consideration, how would this Windows-based laptop work?</p>
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<p>As said before, the first thing I’d do before making ANY purchase is making sure you’ll actually need to. You probably won’t for a while.</p>
<p>The student edition of windows 7 is $30… pirate edition is $0. Both are significantly cheaper than completely buying a new computer. This is what my roommate does, it works well(he doesn’t even use Mac OSX anymore which I find hilarious)
I’d still say that VMware/VirtualBox/Paralleles would be a wiser(and simpler in the long run) choice as you can then keep all of your documents on files on a single machine - it would make the coordination of your work simpler. Installing windows can in a simplistic way be described as popping in a disc, reading what the screen say and pressing ‘next’ about 5 times, typing in your name and then hitting ‘next’ a few more times. It’s designed in such a way that an illiterate 4 year old child could get it done through trial and error.</p>
<p>As far as laptops are concerned, HP doesn’t exactly have a reputation for quality machines, I’d be looking more into Asus or Toshiba if quality were a concern. If you haven’t heard of Asus… and a lot haven’t… let’s just say that they MAKE a lot of computers and consider their partners (such as Apple and Dell) to be marketing companies and end user technical support…</p>
<p>If you HAD to get a new system though, I’d get an ultraportable if I already had a more standard laptop such as a macbook. They’re cheaper and they do the job well enough. The Toshiba Satellite S1305wh I bought off a friend for $300 gets close to 10 hours of battery life and it runs well enough to satisfy every desire I have other than gaming.</p>
<p>Your mid-2009 MacBook Pro is probably still way more than enough for anything you’ll need to do. If you wanna buy a new laptop, then be my guest, but you probably don’t NEED it.</p>