<p>I'm not sure if it's worth mentioning, but I will be attending either Grinnell College or Lewis & Clark College next year. I will likely be one of the following majors: International Affairs, Political Science, Psychology. I will also be doing some extensive foreign language study, and plan to continue to study art in college (I'm pretty involved in art in school right now, and would like to continue in college!)</p>
<p>As it is, I have little experience with a Mac. I've only ever really used one in my art classes when editing photographs, making lay outs for art show invitations, etc. Outside of that, the only Apple program I know is iTunes. I've otherwise used Windows all my life. I use my current computer for typing word documents, watching movies, managing music on iTunes, internet research, etc. However, I get tired of Windows' numerous "you need this driver"s, required updates, virus susceptibilities, etc. From my little experience using a mac, yet extensive online research, everything about a mac seems easy to use. </p>
<p>But now the difficulty comes when choosing one. Where do I start? The laptop will be a graduation gift from my parents. I probably have a $2000 limit. Is the Mac Book Pro an ideal choice? What are the fundamental differences between it an a Mac Book? Does it just run faster, have more memory, etc? Do both have the same programs and features out of the box? </p>
<p>Now, given my college needs and studies, are there any additional programs I need to buy? I think the only additional one I will need will be Microsoft Office for Mac. Does anyone know how much this costs? Is there a discount for students? </p>
<p>Are there any other good programs for mac? Or worthwhile ones? The .mac thing looks cool, but I still don't really understand what it's used for. Does anyone have experience with this product? </p>
<p>I sometimes use bit torrent and bit clients to download music. Can I do this on a mac?</p>
<p>Ok, lastly...When to buy? What to buy when? I will probably buy the Mac in August. I'm just concerned about buying a brand new machine in August only to have some new amazing thing come out next month. I know that's the nature of consumer electronics, but I'll be making a four year investment with this computer and want to have a high quality, reliable machine. </p>
<p>And for current mac users...Are you pleased? Is the Mac OS better than Windows? Oh, and do all new Macs come with Leopard out of the box, or do you need to buy it separately?</p>
<p>That was a long message with lots of questions. Thanks for reading and please reply soon!</p>