<p>entomom--is apple leopard supposed to work in the same way as bootcamp/parallels?</p>
<p>im just confused because every student/IT guy that i talk to tells me that its 50/50 with arch students having macs and pcs. i know that macs have good graphics, but do those students who have macs regret getting it because of the "hassles" to always have to convert files and programs in order to work on a pc?</p>
<p>Sashimi - what do you mean by a computor lab? Is this a room filled with the school's desktops that you have access to, or someplace that you go to hook up your laptop? When we stopped in Rand during our visits all the students had laptops right at their workspaces. We're going through the same thing as Laurstar (D will be joining you in August).</p>
<p>Leopard is the upcomming OS upgrade for Apple (current is Tiger). Bootcamp is a free download from Apple right now (see their website), but will be installed together with Leopard when it comes out in Oct. </p>
<p>My understanding (which is limited) is that most people like bootcamp better than parrallels because it runs easier (less memory or whatever) and likely because it's free. The Apple website does say that with bootcamp you have to boot up in either Windows or Tiger, and then reboot to switch OS's. I don't know how much of a pain that is, you'll have to ask people who have used it.</p>
<p>I think we're all in the same boat as far as trying to figure out which system is best. My D is looking at the 17" MacBook Pro today, trying to decided between portability and a bigger screen for graphics work. Too many choices!</p>
<p>as far as the screen, my solution is the get the 15.4" for portability, and then keep another screen (not from apple) sitting on my desk at home that I can connect when I need to do big layout work. I've had a 17" Dell, and I just can't bring myself to drag that beast around with me if I don't really, really, really need to.</p>
<p>re: bootcamp vs. parallels, I asked around about this and the consensus is that the reason people prefer bootcamp is because booting in just windows uses the graphics card and RAM more effectively than running windows parallel to OSX/Tiger/Macwhatever.</p>
<p>^^^ thanks for the confirmation, that's the conclusion we came to, just ordered a 15" for my D. Glad that decision is over and we can move on!</p>
<p>We talked w/ the computer store rep at her U. today. I'm paraphrasing my understanding:</p>
<p>Parallels simulates the Windows environment. It is not actually running Windows. Bootcamp partitions your hard-drive so that you are actually running Windows. The archi. dept. does not recommend running Autocad using Parallels, but said Bootcamp is okay. No one knows how it will run w/ Leopard, but it should be the same as Bootcamp. The sales rep suggested we forgo Bootcamp and wait until Leopard comes out in Oct. Most new archi. majors won't be using Autocad the first year anyway (at least at her school). But, if the student has other Windows programs (i.e. MS Office for Windows), they can still use them with Parallels, and not have to re-boot the machine between applications. Per the U, Parallels will technically slow the process for Windows based programs, but it is not enough that most users would notice. Bad side: You have to purchase extra programs (Leopard when it is available, and Parallels), so technically that should be figured in the premium you are spending to purchase the Apple. </p>
<p>entomom...we're doing the same thing: purchasing the 15" unit, and will add a larger third-party screen if needed later (I'm guessing in about a year). We were considering the Apple add-on package w/ 20" monitor, and went to the Apple store to see it. The sales rep actually quietly suggested that we look at 3rd-party vendors for better value. (shhhhh....). In fairness, his point was that it would be better for us to spend the extra money to upgrade the video card & hard-drive. That made sense to me.</p>
<p>igglesfan-the computer labs are for the arch students to use. they connect to all the plotters, laser cutters, 3d printer etc so you use these computers to not only work, but also print your work out. not everyone has a really powerful computer so students often work in the computer labs. also, sometimes rendering takes forever, so students sometimes take up like 4 computers at a time just to render. the biggest problem i think at cornell architecture is the lack of computers in the lab. they're usually full most of the time. </p>
<p>the laser cutter is also on high demand so it's hard to find time to laser cut your work. the laser cutter works non stop all day and all night just because people are always using it. it even caught on fire last year cause it was overworked. anyways, that's a different story.</p>
<p>And I thought finding the right comforter was going to be the biggest headache this summer . . . </p>
<p>. . . Thanks for the guidance, everyone - keep it coming!</p>
<p>kjo,
Thanks for the info about how parallels vs. bootcamp runs, that makes sense. That sounds smart about getting Office for Windows if she does end up using parallels. My U rep said that the upgrade to Leopard was free, is that uncorrect? The desktop idea sounds good if the 15" proves to be too small. Since my D is not sure she will stay with arch, we will hold off on upgrading the memory and buying Windows XP for now. Clear as mud!</p>
<p>Entomom...the free upgrade probably depends on the school. It will not be free at my daughter's U.. Their Apples come w/ Tiger installed. Bootcamp could be downloaded free if we wanted (but we're going to wait as mentioned). Bootcamp is basically a "beta" (trial) version of part of Leopard. Her U. is expecting Leopard to cost about $80 - $90 (student price) for the upgrade, but Apple has not yet set the price. They are expecting it to arrive in October, and will assist w/ the installation once it arrives. Unfortunately, I believe that means that anything my d. installs on her laptop prior to that time, however, will be wiped out with the new operating system installation. I'm hoping the U. has some way of preserving her files during the transition.</p>
<p>In general her school does not have the greatest student discount prices. I believe MSOffice Pro runs about $90 for example. I know students at other schools who can get it for $30. </p>
<p>FWIW, the apple store rep also suggested we wait to upgrade memory (storage memory...not the hard-drive or video card memory). He said the 2GB memory should be fine for now. He said it is the ONLY thing that can be easily upgraded later, and assumed the cost would of course come down later as well. He also said if more memory were an issue in the future, she could also purchase remote memory as well, which is even easier than upgrading the laptop memory.</p>
<p>Yes, same here, we'll just bump up from 2 to 4 GB of RAM if necessary later. Thanks for the info on Leopard, my D will have to ask about upgrades when she goes for orientation next week. UM has MS Office 2004 Pro (includes a Virtual PC Windows emulator) for $42 and MS Office X for $10. Guess I need to do more research on which one she should get. We will also get an external HD for backups.</p>