So I'm thinking about getting a Mac for college

<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>

<p>To answer a couple of questions:</p>

<p>[Transmission[/url</a>]</p>

<p>Wait until July. There are heavy rumours say MAJOR design change come july. Then again they always say this. But it would be worth your time to wait....
[url=<a href="http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=467134%5DApple"&gt;http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=467134]Apple&lt;/a> Notebooks to See Major Design Changes? - Mac Forums](<a href="http://www.transmissionbt.com/%5DTransmission%5B/url"&gt;http://www.transmissionbt.com/)&lt;/p>

<p>Your school should have discounts for the software you are looking for.</p>

<p>Instead of .mac you could make your own website by getting your own domain/hosting photos/finding storage/access to other mac computers/mail... elsewhere, however I suppose it is quite convienient to have it integrated with everything else (I suppose that is why you are getting the mac, integration, user interface, style, ease of use).</p>

<p>My d loves her Mac, also having grown up with Windows. We didn't trust Vista when it came out last year, so went the Mac route. She got the MacBook Pro just to avoid obsolescence.</p>

<p>If you're continuing art work, I'd suggest the Mac as well.</p>

<p>As to buying it, check with your school. Many schools have discounts for their students on the machines and on the software for the machines. My d got Office for less than $100, while the Apple store wanted at least $150, even with their student software.</p>

<p>All new Macs now come with Leopard.</p>

<p>i got a mac last year for the same reasons. it is so worth it. i don't get ****ed off at my computer all the time. sure, a program locks up once in a while (every couple weeks maybe?), but unlike windows, it doesnt lock up the WHOLE system, just that program. so you can just go do something else while it sorts itself out. its so much cleaner and simpler too. no installing programs, no drivers, no annoyances. it takes a while to get used to. and you have to make sure you REALLY learn how to use it by reading things online, or asking a knowledgeable friend. you could get stuck not knowing how to do something for a while, and losing the full potential of the mac. </p>

<p>I have a Macbook Pro. I got it because i felt like the 13" screen of the Macbook was just too small. I needed at least 15". for what you want to do, the speed probably won't matter, but if you want to do things like video editing, or playing games, the better video card on the MBP is the main advantage. the MB video card is really bad.</p>

<p>don't get Microsoft Office. it sucks. honestly. get this program called NeoOffice. it's free, and open source - updated by thousands of developers constantly. it is completely compatible with all Microsoft files, and you can make spreadsheets, powerpoints, etc. anything MS Office can do. i've used it for a year and have needed nothing else. </p>

<p>.Mac is used for online storage, so if you want to make a website basically. </p>

<p>there are great programs. all new macs come with leopard, and programs called iLife, which includes iPhoto (for managing and editing your pictures), iMovie (for making and editing movies), Garageband (for making music), iDVD (for formatting and burning DVDs), iWeb (for making websites). also, you get Time Machine, which is great for backing up your computer in case something goes wrong. you'll need an external hard drive for that. </p>

<p>there are great programs for anything you need to do. if you need windows for something (like if you have to go on a website for a class that only works with Internet Explorer) you can get a program called VMWare Fusion that allows you to run windows and Mac OS at the same time. its really cool. but you need to buy a copy of Windows if you don't already have one. XP is good enough.</p>

<p>bittorent -- you can use Azureus, which is popular for windows, and there's also one called transmission. </p>

<p>the newer macbooks pros will probably come out before august, but you can never know. the last update was way behind schedule.</p>

<p>Thanks for everyone's help so far!</p>

<p>I've also heard of a p2p program that is designed for macs called Acquisition 2...Is this any good?</p>

<p>I never had any huge problems with my traditional PCs, but I got a mac for college because I was curious and I'd heard good things.</p>

<p>It's awesome, I'm a total convert - I find the system very intuitive (I didn't even realize some of the strange things about windows until I was no longer using it) and it works like a dream even though I really abuse it.</p>

<p>Anyway, I got a plain macbook (one of the white models). I don't think you'll need the pro, but I guess if it's a gift you might as well get the best you can buy. There's a ton of sites that compare the features of various macs if you search on google.</p>

<p>the thing about windows is that there are all these things that make absolutely no sense. its just that you've used it so long, you've memorized all of them, and it seems ok. but when you go to mac, everything just makes logical sense, everything is consistent, things are well organized and put in their place. it makes it really easy to figure out how to use. i think if you found an adult that has never used a computer before, and just hand them a pc with no help, it would be a mess. if you gave them a mac, i think they could probably figure it out after a while and the computer would still be functional.</p>

<p>My D and I just came back from touring Lewis & Clark…she’s a fall admit. L&C had more Macs than any large organization I’ve seen. Most offices had iMacs. Most students had Mac laptops. The school definitely supports the MacIntosh platform. My D and I both have MacBooks, but if you have the $, get a MacBook Pro. It’s noticeably faster and you will appreciate the larger screen size, especially for watching TV on Hula late at night in the dorm. Also, you WILL want Office. It’s probably around $100 for the student version when purchased through the college.</p>

<p>Last post: 04-12-2008, 11:56 AM</p>

<p>Apple just announced upgrades to the Macbook Pro line:
[Apple</a> updates MacBook Pros with Core i5, i7 processors | Laptops | MacUser | Macworld](<a href=“http://www.macworld.com/article/150575/2010/04/mbp_update.html]Apple”>Apple updates MacBook Pros with Core i5, i7 processors | Macworld)</p>

<p>I recently switched from PC - I’m only a Grandma, but for what it’s worth - I got a 27" iMac (Amazing) for my desk and a macbook (the while one, 13") for my laptop. I’m still getting used to all the nuances but I’M LOVING both! I installed openoffice.org for free - instead of Microsoft Office & it works great…I’m going to be purchasing a computer for my GS as a H.S. graduation present - I hope he chooses a Mac - I will purchase through his school’s website, the schools usually all have discounts for their students and last summer some great free perks (ie: ipod, printer etc.) were included. The ‘specials’ have not been announced yet…I’m waiting I will leave it to GS tocheck out the updates posted - thanks for the link!</p>