<p>I need a reliable laptop for college, and I don't know which of the two to choose. I had a dell for the past 3 years, and it was terrible. I wouldn't mind trying out a vaio, but a MacBook sounds appealing as well. I don't know which would fit my mAjor better, so help?</p>
<p>Macs are certainly more reliable, more durable, and just better than most PCs for the sole reason that their OS was designed to work perfectly with the hardware. I would recommend getting a MacBook Pro, if you have the $$, but a MacBook is fine as well. You won’t get viruses, the Unix-based OS is much better than the Microsoft ****, and etc. If you plan to play games, though, it gets a bit worse 
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<p>P.S. Their batteries last longer, and they have a longer overall life…</p>
<p>P.P.S. I guess I am a little biased, but I’ve used both, but my family has completely switched to Macs now Good luck with whatever you chose!</p>
<p>Your major doesn’t have any special computing requirements, I would think. Buy what you want. </p>
<p>FYI, Apple now supports Windows 7 through Boot Camp (and through virtualization) so you have no worst case with Mac because you can run whatever OS you want.</p>
<p>Don’t waste your money on a Vaio. They’re have a low spec to cost ratio.</p>
<p>yeah, my family supports windows because my uncle works for microsoft, and the rest of my family works in the technology field, which is dominated by windows. Cost isn’t an issue, and i actually would rather have a macbook pro, but i need to convince my parents that an apple is right for me.</p>
<p>If you actually want a Mac, then make sure you look at the academic pricing and then talk about how it runs Windows. The ability to work with multiple OS’s is something.</p>
<p>I’d highly recommend against getting a Mac. They’re immensely overpriced for what they are.</p>
<p>I’d actually recommend an Asus UL series or Acer Timeline series laptop. They are much cheaper than Macs, can match it in specifications, and have better battery life. Load it up with Windows 7, and you’re good.</p>
<p>And the whole myth that Macs don’t get viruses are completely untrue. Macs aren’t more secure, they just happen to be less used, so in the past they were unappealing targets to hackers. After all, why make a virus for a system only a small population uses? But with the rise in the MacBook’s popularity, esp with college students, there has been a rise in viruses for Macs.</p>
<p>Go with Asus or Acer and avoid Dell, HP, and Apple.</p>
<p>It doesn’t matter what you pick. The only benefits of getting a mac are better technical support, good looks? , and it has an OS you may prefer.</p>
<p>I don’t think the macbook is immensely overpriced for what you get. More expensive than you could find in a Windows machine? yes but I don’t think its a huge difference. </p>
<p>Now the macbook pro…that’s another issue especially when you get to one with a good Graphics card. at $2000 you should be getting a lot better than a mid level graphics card.</p>
<p>I based my answer off on the MacBook Pro, which is what most people mean when they say “MacBook”. Sorry for the confusion :)</p>