<p>I've been researching on a laptop for college recently, and have been considering a mac. However, i cannot seem to see whats so good about them. Their specs seem low compared to windows run PC's and they seem to be more expensive. Also, i usually do not enjoy using macs, but this is probably because i don't use macs at all.</p>
<p>What laptop should i get for college btw?</p>
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<p>You and everyone else with common sense. </p>
<p>What sort of work will you be doing on your laptop?</p>
<p>lol im planning to be an economics major</p>
<p>They have better battery life, besides that, nothing. They are just the “it” thing so peoples parents get them for them.</p>
<p>good things about a mac:</p>
<p>1) the laptops are well-made–the keyboards are nice and the build of the laptops are solid. </p>
<p>2) os x is well-designed from a user interface standpoint. the software integrates well with the os, unlike windows, and especially unlike linux.</p>
<p>They’re c00l.</p>
<p>They’re also good if you think Microsoft is not evil enough of a company to buy from.</p>
<p>1) they have “cool” mouse pad gimmicks
2) they come in white
3) they cost a lot of money, so people think they’re cooler</p>
<p>You can run Windows or Linux on your Mac. It will likely last longer - studies say that.</p>
<p>I had an awful experience with PC so I switched to mac. I paid for an upgraded 2,000 computer (was a present from parents for christmas/birthday combined) and it was delivered to me. It worked fine at first, but I had difficulties with the computer and eventually had to send it in. It took a month for them to send it back. I received it back with a broken screen, and had to send it in again. When you send things in again, it uses up a certain amount of times they’ll fix your computer for free on your warranty - and they included this, even though it was their fault. The computer came back again with a small black spot on the screen, but I didn’t return it because I had difficulty talking with customer service (it’s very difficult to get in touch with them and from my experiences they speak minimal english) and I didn’t want to use another warranty charge. Also, the battery life sucked and I was told I would have to pay 250 dollars to buy a new one.</p>
<p>Some how I got a virus on it with Mcafee (I don’t click on any crazy downloads, I promise!) and it just made the computer run extremely slow. My experiences with PC were fine before that, and I still use my PC desktop. But for school, I have bought a mac. So far I really like it - the only complaint that I have is that it’s easily scratchable on the outside, but you can buy a case.</p>
<p>I haven’t gotten any viruses or had any problems. They have amazing customer service - I called them on a busy friday night and was put through right away with someone who listened to every dumb computer question I had. We even began talking about college and our jobs while she waited for information 
Overall I am still getting used to the mac (I have been using a PC my entire life) but I really love how easy it is to use and how nice the design is.</p>
<p>Go to a mac store and try one out! It’s expensive, but it lasts a super long time.</p>
<p>I started out with a PC and vowed I would never switch. But, lo and behold, I did. I LOVE my MacBook. I also have an old PowerBook. I have never had a problem with either one. No virus, no spyware, no crashes, no nothing. The only complaint is that it is hard to upgrade the OS. That means that Firefox and Safari are not currently working well with the old Mac, because these current (latest editions) browsers are not accepting the older operating system. So, on that computer, I switched to Opera as the browser, and that works fine. I would never switch back to a PC. My husband has a PC and is always complaining about one thing or another. Crashes, impossible downloads. Etc. I just laugh a bit (silently!) and go back to my Mac.</p>
<p>Also, at my daughter’s university, almost everyone uses Macs. Don’t know what the situation will be at yours. But-- do check with the tech services to be sure that no matter what you choose, they will be able to support it with software, etc. before you commit to one OS or the other. That has been an issue in the past.</p>
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PCs run Windows and Linux, and you don’t have to dualboot to run them either. And there are no reliable studies that prove Apple products last longer than other products. The only studies that exist to prove that dumb point are studies made by Apple fanboys, or studies funded by Apple themselves. </p>
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<p>This is true, Apple has great customer service compared to some other laptop manufacturers. But many laptop makers have great customer service as well; I’ve heard great things about Acer and Dell. The point is, you shouldn’t let aesthetic design and customer service be the dealbreaker. Lenovo customer service is terrible but they make some of the most reliable business laptops around. But if you care about such trivial things such as how many glances you are going to get for carrying an overpriced, hip gadget, or a more chatty person on the line for tech service, then go buy a mac.</p>
<p>It’s annoying when someone refers to Apple fanboys and then talks about “hip gadgets” in a negative tone. Grow up. I mean, really, what a sad set of comments.</p>
<p>First, every actual study of the installed base of computers shows that Apple products remain in use for years on average beyond PC’s. Maybe that’s partly because PC’s are cheaper and thus replaceable, maybe not. Second, Apple is always at the top of reliability studies. That’s not fanboy stuff, doofus. </p>
<p>Keep your invective to yourself.</p>
<p>Look how many OEM PC/laptop manufacturers there are. Of course Apple will be more reliable than some, less reliable than some. Like I said, comparing these two user bases in terms of manufacturer reliability is pointless and any results are merely junk statistics used as Apple cannon fodder. Besides that point, more consumers than ever are building their own desktops. If you take care of your PC and upgrade when needed, it can last infinitely longer than a Mac desktop. Just thought I would throw that out there, since you were mentioning the OS X as a whole.</p>
<p>But please, keep it civil. There’s no place for Romantic over-exaggerated emotions in the realm of technology discussion.</p>
<p>That was my point. Two references in your post that were nothing but inflammatory rubbish. Watch your tone and others will watch theirs.</p>
<p>Not a big fan of them. Unless you’re a graphics/media editor or Steve Jobs, I don’t really see a reason why any college student would need a Mac. Horribly overpriced compared to other laptops, and offer little more than OS X instead of Windows.</p>
<p>Yes, there are much less viruses out there for Apple, but with safe practices online you can minimize your risk on a PC as well. I run nothing more than a virus scanner, and both my desktop and my laptop have been clean for years (I scan monthly for viruses). Just stay away from shady sites and don’t click on links you don’t know about.</p>
<p>As for customer service, it depends on who you buy your laptop from. I run an Asus myself, and I found their CS to be amazing as well. I’ve worked with Asus before for both my GF’s desktop (I put an Asus motherboard in there) and for my laptop, and they have been extremely accommodating in both instances.</p>
<p>Personally, I’d go with a laptop from Acer or Asus, and would definitely avoid HP and Dell.</p>
<p>I find OS X to be superior to Windows 7 and ridiculously superior to any other version of Windows. Everything just works smoother and better.</p>
<p>Mac laptops are made of higher-quality components, particularly the keyboard and the screen. Just look at a Mac screen in a store, then compare the sharpness and contrast to that of most other laptops. </p>
<p>Macs cost more initially, but if you look at total cost of ownership, including cost of upgrades, extra software, service & maintenance, etc., they will end up costing you less per year. It has been my experience that Macs last far longer than most other brands. My kids both got new Macs when entering college, and they were still going strong 5 years later, running the latest version of OS X? I don’t think that you can say that about just about any Windows machine.</p>
<p>@ALF: The keyboard is just a scissor-switch keyboard that can be found in many different types of laptops. It’s no more “high quality” than any other laptop. </p>
<p>As for the screen, it’s just another LED display. When the Aluminium Unibody MacBooks first came out, they were one of the first to use LEDs, hence their sharper look compared to most other laptops using TN Panel LCDs at the time, but that too has changed. Many PC laptops now use LED displays just like the Macs, so again, they’re no more “higher quality” there.</p>
<p>For the comment on cost of ownership: My first laptop I paid $450 for. After five years of use, the cost of ownership has become… $450. Absolutely no money spent on service and maintenance, and mind you this is a Compaq we’re talking about, HP’s lowest of the low-end models. It still has the same AMD Sempron and 40GB IDE Harddrive it came with originally. So yes, I can say the same thing about any Windows machine as well.</p>
<p>As for an OS, it’s personal preference. I’ve used XP, Vista, 7, and OS X extensively, and my favorite is Windows 7 (run Windows 7 x64 Ultimate on my PC and Windows 7 x64 Professional on my laptop). I can go into many reasons why I prefer it over OS X and definitely over Vista (I’d just like to think Vista never happened…), but it’s still personal preference. If I really wanted Mac OS X, I’d just buy a similar configured laptop for half the price of a MacBook and turn it into a Hackintosh system.</p>
<p>Honestly, a bit of good research into laptops can get you a laptop just as good, if not better, than a MacBook. Asus is my personal favorite because I’ve extensive experience with them before. They’re a well-established company with excellent RMA policies and customer service from its history as an enthusiast company (Asus motherboards are widely regarded as one of the best). Acer is another personal favorite of mine, as their laptops (especially their Timeline series) are very good deals for college students, given its emphasis on portability over power. As long as people stay away from the “bad seeds” (namely Dell and HP for their customer service), they can have just as good of an experience as with Apple. The reason Windows-based PCs get their bad rep is that people just don’t research and instead fall into the whole marketing hype. </p>
<p>Even a simple Google search on laptop failure rates yields this link:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.squaretrade.com/htm/pdf/SquareTrade_laptop_reliability_1109.pdf[/url]”>http://www.squaretrade.com/htm/pdf/SquareTrade_laptop_reliability_1109.pdf</a></p>
<p>which found that in their study, three Windows-based laptops had lower failure rates than even Apple (again, notice Asus). Unless you’re a die-hard for OS X or a media editor, Apple computers are mostly marketing made for people who don’t thoroughly research.</p>
<p>Edit: I just found out that the newer MacBooks use Rubber-Dome switches, which is even worse than scissor-switch keyboards. A true “high quality” keyboard would use mechanical key switches (similar to old IBM keyboards). I’ve typed on rubber domes and on true mechanical keyboards (I use a Filco Majestouch w/ Cherry MX Blues for my desktop), and the MacBook Keyboard is definitely as low end as 99% of laptops. They really are nothing special and nothing “high quality”.</p>
<p>I truly don’t get the need of some PC users to spend so much time trying to defend PC’s when they are 90+ percent of the market. A subset of PC users has a hard time with Macs. They just do. It’s sad.</p>
<p>@Lergnom: I’ve used both myself. Nothing against the Macs themselves, but I just get irked easily by untrue statements. Since this is considered a “help” forum and not a computer enthusiast forum, many people who ask questions on here genuinely do not know, and many more pass by to read up, and incorrect statements can lead them to make the wrong choice and potentially cost them money, and in this economic environment, college students need to make the wisest possible financial decisions.</p>