<p>So I will soon be purchasing a laptop for college. At home, I've only ever used a windows/dell but the "funness" of a mac book is appealing. Cost really isnt that big of an issue seeing as my darling parents are covering most of it :) I will be going into theatre so besides the basics, im going to need something to the effect of microsoft office. also, it will need to be able to run CAD. </p>
<p>Ive heard macs never get viruses, which is very nice, but what are the cons about it?</p>
<p>Macs are quite expensive when compared to their PC counterparts.</p>
<p>Back in the day, they could not run as many apps as a PC, but with the switch to Intel and dual booting, it is possible to run Windows OS.</p>
<p>You will be told to get a PC by those who own a PC, and told to buy a Mac by those who own a Mac. It really is a matter of opinion, and I would definitely go down to an Apple store in order to checkand see if you like OSX.</p>
<p>Also, why are you buying one now? If you wait until the summer months, Apple will give you a discount through your school, a free iPod, and a free printer.</p>
<p>If you need to run CAD you would have to dual boot with windows.</p>
<p>My family owns both, I'd say get a Mac, especially if you're a creative person. My computer that I use every day is a PC and generally, I hate it. I use my mom's Mac whenever I can. I'm getting a MacBook Pro for graduation, most likely..</p>
<p>But I'd wait until summer because even though you can get the student discount + the free iPod and printer. And the new OS will be out by then, plus the new MacBooks will have some original issues worked out. (Something weird with the trackpad, I think..) It's a pretty sweet deal.</p>
<p>by "soon" i meant i am starting some preliminary research and buy one whenever the sweet deals come out. Can some explain the "dual boot" system for windows with a mac. Ive heard it before, is it something you have to purchase?</p>
<p>Apple</a> - Mac OS X Leopard - Features - Boot Camp</p>
<p>There you go. You will need to buy a copy of XP/Vista and install it to a partition on the hard drive.</p>
<p>If you're going into theatre, I would suggest a Mac if you have no preference--and this is coming from a PC owner. I don't know if you're going into performance or tech or what, but if you end up needing to edit video, create posters, edit images, etc., a Mac might be more helpful than a PC.</p>
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<p>iWork can replace Office to an extent. if you need Excel for huge spreadsheets (for labs, say), get a copy of MS Office if you don't already and dual boot or run it through virtual machine. Excel on Office for Mac is an utter piece of crap, and Numbers isn't as good of a program. CAD will require dual boot.</p>
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Ive heard macs never get viruses, which is very nice, but what are the cons about it?
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</p>
<p>there are a few viruses for Macs. few meaning one or two. one is a DNS changer. the difference between Mac and Windows is that Mac viruses are extremely specific (and much smaller in number...) and won't cause the whole system to fail.</p>
<p>most of the cons having to do with Macs is because of the laptop design, not the operating system. specifically, port selection and placement. Apple could put at least one more port on every laptop model, but they don't.</p>
<p>thanks for the input! i have another question though, are macs typically more expensive than pc laptops?</p>
<p>yep definitely.</p>
<p>Yes they are. But you also have to factor in the cost of all of the software that comes with a Mac, and figure out how much having a computer that works with you rather than fighting you is worth.</p>
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figure out how much having a computer that works with you rather than fighting you is worth.
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Yeah, this is an important one. With a Mac, it's either Apple's way or the highway. Very little customization is possible.</p>
<p>if you even slightly think that you might need windows for something crucial, don't buy a mac. yet, if you'll be a theater major, it seems like you might be getting into editing stuff with imovie or final cut, or either some visual stuff that requires adobe stuff. for those, macs are definitely better.</p>
<p>"if you even slightly think that you might need windows for something crucial, don't buy a mac"</p>
<p>If you buy a Mac, you can run Mac or Win software with Boot Camp.</p>
<p>If you buy Win, you can never run Mac.</p>
<p>"With a Mac, it's either Apple's way or the highway. Very little customization is possible."</p>
<p>As a Mac fanboy, I'm sure I don't know what I'm missing. :) Customize what?</p>
<p>macboooooooook</p>
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As a Mac fanboy, I'm sure I don't know what I'm missing. Customize what?
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<p>what is in the computer. Like a Blu-Ray drive</p>
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Yeah, this is an important one. With a Mac, it's either Apple's way or the highway. Very little customization is possible.
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</p>
<p>I was actually commenting on the operating system aspect of the computer...</p>
<p>well, what i was trying to say is, if you think you might need windows, then just stick with it. don't pay at least $500 more for a mac if you won't fully use it. windows is not that bad of an OS, and it's totally usable.</p>
<p>
I was actually commenting on the operating system aspect of the computer...
So was I...Mac OS X allows for very little customization.</p>
<p>"Mac OS X allows for very little customization"</p>
<p>Can you be more specific? I have lots of add-on customizations on my Macs. E.g., in the menu bar I can see the cpu load, network and disk activity, memory usage. I get an alert when my Mac tries to send a network packet to an outside address where permission hasn't yet been granted (to try to thwart hackers). Things like this.</p>
<p>Or do you mean another kind of customization?</p>