<p>
<p>There is NO more durable laptop. End of story.
</p>
<p>Ever heard of Panasonic Toughbooks? Some of these are easily twice as durable as thinkpads and I can think of laptops more durable then the toughbooks. One should be very careful when using absolutes because someone like me could be around.</p>
<p>1) I actually ran Vista RC2 through bootcamp, in addition to the newest Microsoft Office. The former was rather unsatisfying; I must say, however, that the new Microsoft Office is outstanding! I was willing to restart to Vista just so I could use the new Word, but my patience with Vista only lasted for one week.</p>
<p>2) Microsoft Office for the Mac is actually quite slow for Intel processors unless you have at least 1GB of RAM. Microsoft is developing a new version of Office for the Intel processor, and it should be on shelves later this year.</p>
<p>nspeds,</p>
<p>I'm really looking forward to Office 2007 on the Mac. I'm kinda sick of Office 2003 being slow...</p>
<p>
[quote]
I'm really looking forward to Office 2007 on the Mac. I'm kinda sick of Office 2003 being slow...
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Me too. It is awful!</p>
<p>If I'm lucky, I might get my hands on a beta a couple months before it is released! I was using Office 2003 about four months before release;)</p>
<p>Heh. </p>
<p>I actually bought my copy...:rolleyes:</p>
<p>Oh, I was given a free copy from Microsoft after it was actually released.</p>
<p>I don't get this stuff through illegal channels. It is given to me:D</p>
<p>I have three more licenses to Office 2003. I'm a happy camper</p>
<p>from what i've read, Windows Vista Home can not run on third party software emulators like Parallels (unless you buy the Business Edition I believe it is). Anyways Vista is supposed to run on BootCamp but Parallels gets screwed which is a shame because Parallels is supposed to be a much better program than BootCamp.</p>
<p>Here's an article that explains what I mean.</p>
<p>Paul,</p>
<p>I agree that you should check out an Apple story and, with an open mind, see what you think. If you like the OS X interface and think they run well, get a MacBook or MacBook Pro. If not, go with the ThinkPad!
Your questions have each largely been addressed, but if you have more, either we can answer them or someone at the Apple story could.
Btw, though, you keep talking about having multiple programs go into one tab on the start bar (somewhat like the Dock in OS X). Actually, in OS X, all of your Word docs will be under a single icon (a giant, stylized W), all your Firefox browser windows will be represented by a single icon (the Firefox symbol), etc. Furthermore, if you do, in fact, want a "Start Menu," you can easily create one or two...or more! All you have to do is drag any folder (i.e., your Applications folder would be a good place to start!) to the right side of the Dock and it'll create a "Start Menu" right there for you!
I should also mention that connecting and disconnecting USB hardware devices is much less of a pain--you just press Apple-E or drag the icon to the trash bin in your Dock (at the bottom of the screen) and Voila! ...No right-clicking a silly USB icon and wading through a bunch of cryptically named peripheral devices!
You'll find it's very intuitive, but definitely go check it out and see what you think!
Either way, good luck with your choice of a laptop!</p>
<p>I think you will find overall Mac OS X to be far more intuitive and "easy" to use than Vista. you can drag files/photos, etc. around, iTunes/iPhoto/iMovie/iDVD/GarageBand works perfectly together with the Mac and the SuperDrive.</p>
<p>It may (but shouldn't) seem intimidating at first, switching, but believe me, you won't regret it at all.</p>
<p>bump..........</p>
<p>Son has the thinkpad and hates it. Daughter has one of the Mac laptops (don't know which) and loves it--though she does do a lot of digital photo stuff.</p>
<p>Paul, at this point what would change your mind?</p>
<p>I've visited a lot of campuses in my college hunt. My unscientific survey shows that the better the school (in terms of academic quality and sharpness of student body) the more likely it is that Mac laptops outnumber PCs. For what it's worth.</p>
<p>Paul, why bump this thread?</p>
<p>
[quote]
My unscientific survey shows that the better the school (in terms of academic quality and sharpness of student body) the more likely it is that Mac laptops outnumber PCs. For what it's worth.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>...there are very few, if any, schools in which macs outnumber PCs. I am quite sure that Princeton, Harvard, and Yale are schools in which PCs actually outnumber macs.</p>
<p>nspeds,</p>
<p>IR/PS, though an awful sample, might be an exception where there are more Macs than PCs. But that may only be for the 1st years, and thanks to the Macbook and MBP...</p>
<p>
[quote]
Son has the thinkpad and hates it. Daughter has one of the Mac laptops (don't know which) and loves it--though she does do a lot of digital photo stuff.
[/quote]
Why would he hate thinkpad</p>
<p>He says it is slow, he bought an extra drive for it as (I don't know much about computers) I guess he needed more storage, also has had virus problems (that is somewhat better after investing in some more expensive anti-viral programs). I've never questioned him much as I don't understand much about computers--either they work or they don't as far as I'm concerned. Just know that he says he would much prefer a different brand even if he stayed with PC. (Has thinkpad because that's what school provides)</p>
<p>At NYU with a student body of nearly 40000 kids (including grad and professional schools) the NYU computer store guys all recommend apple. According to them, apple users are a vast majority.</p>
<p>
[quote]
At NYU with a student body of nearly 40000 kids (including grad and professional schools) the NYU computer store guys all recommend apple. According to them, apple users are a vast majority.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>As much as you would like to think, NYU is not ranked #1 by any ranking of undergraduate schools, so this doesn't support prefrosh's post, if it purported to do so.</p>