Mac or PC?

[Sbrideau]

Macs don't have antiviruses, yet we are starting to see viruses on Macs. And buying a mac to install Windows is a waste of money. Also you should go with something else than AVG as it is one of the worst antiviruses nowadays, such as MSE or Avast or Avira (and even then, I think Avira is starting to decline as well nowadays)

 

As for battery life of my laptop, it used to last 4:30 hours (17" screen and basic battery), now pretty much lasts 3:30, but that's not like my friend's Acer that only has 20 min battery life on his (that was a year ago when both our laptops were 2 years old, for his, I don't know how long it lasts today) so there is battery life loss, but 1h after 3 years is very good I think.

[cheeky16]

The new macbooks get 7 hours. No matter how you look at it you get what you pay for. You can walk into apple with any issue and it's free. It's a premium product, that's the only way to look at it.

[Sbrideau]

The new macbooks get 7 hours. No matter how you look at it you get what you pay for. You can walk into apple with any issue and it's free. It's a premium product, that's the only way to look at it.

I've never had any issues on Windows or Linux based computers, why would I pay more for a Mac?

[cheeky16]

The new macbooks get 7 hours. No matter how you look at it you get what you pay for. You can walk into apple with any issue and it's free. It's a premium product, that's the only way to look at it.

I've never had any issues on Windows or Linux based computers, why would I pay more for a Mac?

 

I thought my reply was pretty obvious. Cheap OS upgrades, battery life that destroys any windows machine, top notch hardware. If you've never owned a mac you wouldn't understand. I was the same way before I bought mine. I went and spend $1500 on an HP tower and crashed it 6 times in 4 days and decided I wasn't going to fight with it anymore. I went to the apple store and won't look back. The customer service from Apple is 10x better than any other company out there. They diagnose for free. Windows charges you $60 to call them for support for Windows 7. I suppose you could take it in to a computer shop and pay them the $60 to look at it.

[Sbrideau]

Lol, HP. Let's say that I don't know what they do to Windows, but they always have problems on their Windows installations.

 

Top notch hardware, there is top notch hardware in other brands as well, such as Asus. And they charge you when you call M$? Never knew that. Also, why are you avoiding the Linux discussion, doesn't cost anything to upgrade, and same with the programs.

 

Also, there is no Apple stores where I live so it would still cost me upwards of $100 to have service, just like the Windows based computers, but that's the price of not having good computer shops around, which is why I built my computer myself this time last year.

[jasignhagj]

The apple store in my city is funny, as it's 98% kids messing around while their parents shop and homeless people who don't have internet at home, and maybe 2% people actually buying something. If you're lucky, you can find a kid who forgot to sign out of Facebook, and have some fun. When the ipod touches were still running 3.3, someone went in and jailbroke them all, and the iphone 4 in the rogers kiosk is somehow jailbroken.

 

Anyways, on topic, calling windows for support is the worst thing you can do. Online forums will give you far better support, for free.

 

I could build a computer for under $1500 that would beat the $2800 iMac easily. Macbooks are alright if you have the money to spend and don't care for gaming, but are still ludicrously overpriced.

[cheeky16]

The apple store in my city is funny, as it's 98% kids messing around while their parents shop and homeless people who don't have internet at home, and maybe 2% people actually buying something. If you're lucky, you can find a kid who forgot to sign out of Facebook, and have some fun. When the ipod touches were still running 3.3, someone went in and jailbroke them all, and the iphone 4 in the rogers kiosk is somehow jailbroken.

 

Anyways, on topic, calling windows for support is the worst thing you can do. Online forums will give you far better support, for free.

 

I could build a computer for under $1500 that would beat the $2800 iMac easily. Macbooks are alright if you have the money to spend and don't care for gaming, but are still ludicrously overpriced.

 

The macbooks are still overpriced for sure. But for me the ease of use it worth it. I'm not saying the Asus laptops aren't good, I've just never had one. And I would not buy an iMac because I have also built myself a pc.

 

AMD Phenom II X6 1090t

8GB DDR3 1333MHz

60Gb OCZ SSD

1TB Raid 1

Bluray burner

3 monitors

lots of other stuff

 

Still the one thing that sets the macbook pro apart for me is the battery. Light up keyboard being next probably. Optical audio output is also nice. And the LED monitor. Most other brands with these features are over $1000 last I looked, my macbook was like $1300 I believe.

[cheeky16]

I also was not overlooking the Linux distributions but most people are not comfortable using it. I for one have not spent much time with it and would likely not head down that path. There is a smaller community for Linux and I don't believe there are Office products for Linux out there. The reason the topic started for was for a student heading to school. I would definitely make sure that I was running the Microsoft Office Suite. It's a lot easier for notes, course outlines, projects, etc. Powerpoint itself is more than worth buying.

[glasscube]

The apple store in my city is funny, as it's 98% kids messing around while their parents shop and homeless people who don't have internet at home, and maybe 2% people actually buying something. If you're lucky, you can find a kid who forgot to sign out of Facebook, and have some fun. When the ipod touches were still running 3.3, someone went in and jailbroke them all, and the iphone 4 in the rogers kiosk is somehow jailbroken.

 

Anyways, on topic, calling windows for support is the worst thing you can do. Online forums will give you far better support, for free.

 

I could build a computer for under $1500 that would beat the $2800 iMac easily. Macbooks are alright if you have the money to spend and don't care for gaming, but are still ludicrously overpriced.

 

Still the one thing that sets the macbook pro apart for me is the battery. Light up keyboard being next probably. Optical audio output is also nice. And the LED monitor. Most other brands with these features are over $1000 last I looked, my macbook was like $1300 I believe.

 

My laptop gets 7 hour battery life browsering the web. I never understood the need for a backlit keyboard but if you like the rice more power to you. Now a days it is easy to configure stuff to really bring out battery life. (SSD upgrade, underclocking CPU/GPU, turning down fans, etc etc)

 

I also was not overlooking the Linux distributions but most people are not comfortable using it. I for one have not spent much time with it and would likely not head down that path. There is a smaller community for Linux and I don't believe there are Office products for Linux out there. The reason the topic started for was for a student heading to school. I would definitely make sure that I was running the Microsoft Office Suite. It's a lot easier for notes, course outlines, projects, etc. Powerpoint itself is more than worth buying.

To be honest, I would say community is one of the strong points for using Linux. Always lots of people willing to help you and spend their time to help you.

As far as office suites the is open office, and probably a lot more.

[Guy]

Wow, sounds like it's still kinda unsure for me. If it helps i'm wanting to major in biology so i'm not sure what that entails.

I'm assuming that you'll just need the normal internet and word processing capabilities, unless you need specific software? That would definately be something you would want to check with your Uni to see if it is exclusive to either mac or windows. If you don't need specific software, then why get a mac when pc's are much cheaper?

 

I'm thinking of getting a mac and just installing windows and linux (i think my brother has a copy of windows somewhere)

I would question the point of getting a mac and then going and installing windows. Windows laptops can be and a majority of the time are much cheaper than mac laptops, so if you're going to get a mac laptop just to install windows, that would seem pointless and a waste of money to me. I would strongly advise against buying a mac simply because of its looks.

 

as far as virus protection i heard that a lot of windows don't come with good scanners (My bf was kinda stupid with his vista and felt he didn't need one, derp)

Perhaps windows doesn't come with good virus scanners, but there are many many out there to download. Programs such as avast, avira, avgand microsoft security essentials, as well as malwarebytesand ad-aware are all out there to download for free. Linux very rarely gets viruses, if you were wondering. Macs can get viruses but due to the smaller proportion of market share there aren't many (it isn't worth the coders time).

 

I was wondering if Macs came with any specific virus scanning software. I currently use Trend Micro and AVG (two separate computers that are owned by my parents).

See above

 

Would both be easily downloaded onto mac and pc? i'm wondering b/c i have had a couple of email hacks (i have no idea how it keeps happening) but i'm thinking it might be a school computer. (i have since just started bringing the crappy linux run old old ubuntu on a dell computer found in a dumpster ha ha)

See above. Macs do have security software available, and it is definately advisable that it is installed.

 

 

If you don't need a mac for a specific reason, such as the OS, I would advise against buying one. I would be cautious if the single reason for getting a mac was simply for looks. They are quite a bit more expensive than equivilant PCs, Apple has really ludicrous prices sometimes. PCs have more compatibility among programs, because of the higher market share. The community is bigger than that of macs, so if you do encounter any problems you can get help quite easily. Laptops generally aren't upgradable, so that shouldn't be something to take into account. There is the threat of getting a virus, but so long as you are smart and don't download anything dodgy or go on bad websites, and have a quality anti-virus and anti-malware, you should be fine.

 

Personally, I would draw up some kind of pro/con list to having a mac and pc, reasons specific to you. If there are no strong specific reasons to getting a mac, go with a pc. They really are quite a lot cheaper a majority of the time. I also don't particularly like the closed environment of mac os, but that's more a personal opinion.

 

 

There is a smaller community for Linux and I don't believe there are Office products for Linux out there. The reason the topic started for was for a student heading to school. I would definitely make sure that I was running the Microsoft Office Suite. It's a lot easier for notes, course outlines, projects, etc. Powerpoint itself is more than worth buying.

There may be a smaller community, but this is based on the fact that the market share of Linux is small compared to windows. However, the average tech-related knowledge of Linux users would be higher than Windows or Mac users, and also more of them would be involved in some kind of community. You day-to-day user of windows/mac who use their computer for mundane things will not be part of the community, yet they are still part of the market share, whereas I would guess that a majority of linux users are involved in an online community. With regards to office software, that is completely untrue about there being no office suites on linux. There's Openoffice, Libreoffice, KOffice, and more. They are all good alternatives to MS Office. Oh, and they're all free. Office on Mac is also a pain, TBH.

 

 

I've tried to be as un-biased as possible with all of this, by the way.

[cheeky16]

Wow, sounds like it's still kinda unsure for me. If it helps i'm wanting to major in biology so i'm not sure what that entails.

I'm assuming that you'll just need the normal internet and word processing capabilities, unless you need specific software? That would definately be something you would want to check with your Uni to see if it is exclusive to either mac or windows. If you don't need specific software, then why get a mac when pc's are much cheaper?

 

I'm thinking of getting a mac and just installing windows and linux (i think my brother has a copy of windows somewhere)

I would question the point of getting a mac and then going and installing windows. Windows laptops can be and a majority of the time are much cheaper than mac laptops, so if you're going to get a mac laptop just to install windows, that would seem pointless and a waste of money to me. I would strongly advise against buying a mac simply because of its looks.

 

as far as virus protection i heard that a lot of windows don't come with good scanners (My bf was kinda stupid with his vista and felt he didn't need one, derp)

Perhaps windows doesn't come with good virus scanners, but there are many many out there to download. Programs such as avast, avira, avgand microsoft security essentials, as well as malwarebytesand ad-aware are all out there to download for free. Linux very rarely gets viruses, if you were wondering. Macs can get viruses but due to the smaller proportion of market share there aren't many (it isn't worth the coders time).

 

I was wondering if Macs came with any specific virus scanning software. I currently use Trend Micro and AVG (two separate computers that are owned by my parents).

See above

 

Would both be easily downloaded onto mac and pc? i'm wondering b/c i have had a couple of email hacks (i have no idea how it keeps happening) but i'm thinking it might be a school computer. (i have since just started bringing the crappy linux run old old ubuntu on a dell computer found in a dumpster ha ha)

See above. Macs do have security software available, and it is definately advisable that it is installed.

 

 

If you don't need a mac for a specific reason, such as the OS, I would advise against buying one. I would be cautious if the single reason for getting a mac was simply for looks. They are quite a bit more expensive than equivilant PCs, Apple has really ludicrous prices sometimes. PCs have more compatibility among programs, because of the higher market share. The community is bigger than that of macs, so if you do encounter any problems you can get help quite easily. Laptops generally aren't upgradable, so that shouldn't be something to take into account. There is the threat of getting a virus, but so long as you are smart and don't download anything dodgy or go on bad websites, and have a quality anti-virus and anti-malware, you should be fine.

 

Personally, I would draw up some kind of pro/con list to having a mac and pc, reasons specific to you. If there are no strong specific reasons to getting a mac, go with a pc. They really are quite a lot cheaper a majority of the time. I also don't particularly like the closed environment of mac os, but that's more a personal opinion.

 

 

There is a smaller community for Linux and I don't believe there are Office products for Linux out there. The reason the topic started for was for a student heading to school. I would definitely make sure that I was running the Microsoft Office Suite. It's a lot easier for notes, course outlines, projects, etc. Powerpoint itself is more than worth buying.

There may be a smaller community, but this is based on the fact that the market share of Linux is small compared to windows. However, the average tech-related knowledge of Linux users would be higher than Windows or Mac users, and also more of them would be involved in some kind of community. You day-to-day user of windows/mac who use their computer for mundane things will not be part of the community, yet they are still part of the market share, whereas I would guess that a majority of linux users are involved in an online community. With regards to office software, that is completely untrue about there being no office suites on linux. There's Openoffice, Libreoffice, KOffice, and more. They are all good alternatives to MS Office. Oh, and they're all free. Office on Mac is also a pain, TBH.

 

 

I've tried to be as un-biased as possible with all of this, by the way.

 

I must agree with your post. You bring in many good points. I completely agree with making a list of pros and cons for each laptop. Being the basic computer user as it seems the person who made the original post seems to be I would stay away from Linux. I myself would like to start venturing into different distributions but don't have an extra computer to test it on. I do know there are boot discs etc, but school keeps me a little too busy to be playing around much on my computer right now. If you do have a laptop that lasts 7 hours I'd be amazed. The only laptops I've ever seen get that much battery time are macs. Don't get me wrong I prefer to use windows over osx. My experiences with laptops have only been good with the mac. But like I said it depends on your personal needs. I'm still unsure as to why everyone is against macs because of their high price. Anywhere I've looked to get a similar quality laptop the prices are comparable. If you've never owned or used one you may not exactly understand the benefits of owning a mac, there is a reason so many are being bought right now.

[Sbrideau]

, there is a reason so many are being bought right now.

That reason is called Marketing. Apple is marketing geniuses.

[Guy]

[hide="Project: hide the massive quote chain]

Wow, sounds like it's still kinda unsure for me. If it helps i'm wanting to major in biology so i'm not sure what that entails.

I'm assuming that you'll just need the normal internet and word processing capabilities, unless you need specific software? That would definately be something you would want to check with your Uni to see if it is exclusive to either mac or windows. If you don't need specific software, then why get a mac when pc's are much cheaper?

 

I'm thinking of getting a mac and just installing windows and linux (i think my brother has a copy of windows somewhere)

I would question the point of getting a mac and then going and installing windows. Windows laptops can be and a majority of the time are much cheaper than mac laptops, so if you're going to get a mac laptop just to install windows, that would seem pointless and a waste of money to me. I would strongly advise against buying a mac simply because of its looks.

 

as far as virus protection i heard that a lot of windows don't come with good scanners (My bf was kinda stupid with his vista and felt he didn't need one, derp)

Perhaps windows doesn't come with good virus scanners, but there are many many out there to download. Programs such as avast, avira, avgand microsoft security essentials, as well as malwarebytesand ad-aware are all out there to download for free. Linux very rarely gets viruses, if you were wondering. Macs can get viruses but due to the smaller proportion of market share there aren't many (it isn't worth the coders time).

 

I was wondering if Macs came with any specific virus scanning software. I currently use Trend Micro and AVG (two separate computers that are owned by my parents).

See above

 

Would both be easily downloaded onto mac and pc? i'm wondering b/c i have had a couple of email hacks (i have no idea how it keeps happening) but i'm thinking it might be a school computer. (i have since just started bringing the crappy linux run old old ubuntu on a dell computer found in a dumpster ha ha)

See above. Macs do have security software available, and it is definately advisable that it is installed.

 

 

If you don't need a mac for a specific reason, such as the OS, I would advise against buying one. I would be cautious if the single reason for getting a mac was simply for looks. They are quite a bit more expensive than equivilant PCs, Apple has really ludicrous prices sometimes. PCs have more compatibility among programs, because of the higher market share. The community is bigger than that of macs, so if you do encounter any problems you can get help quite easily. Laptops generally aren't upgradable, so that shouldn't be something to take into account. There is the threat of getting a virus, but so long as you are smart and don't download anything dodgy or go on bad websites, and have a quality anti-virus and anti-malware, you should be fine.

 

Personally, I would draw up some kind of pro/con list to having a mac and pc, reasons specific to you. If there are no strong specific reasons to getting a mac, go with a pc. They really are quite a lot cheaper a majority of the time. I also don't particularly like the closed environment of mac os, but that's more a personal opinion.

 

 

There is a smaller community for Linux and I don't believe there are Office products for Linux out there. The reason the topic started for was for a student heading to school. I would definitely make sure that I was running the Microsoft Office Suite. It's a lot easier for notes, course outlines, projects, etc. Powerpoint itself is more than worth buying.

There may be a smaller community, but this is based on the fact that the market share of Linux is small compared to windows. However, the average tech-related knowledge of Linux users would be higher than Windows or Mac users, and also more of them would be involved in some kind of community. You day-to-day user of windows/mac who use their computer for mundane things will not be part of the community, yet they are still part of the market share, whereas I would guess that a majority of linux users are involved in an online community. With regards to office software, that is completely untrue about there being no office suites on linux. There's Openoffice, Libreoffice, KOffice, and more. They are all good alternatives to MS Office. Oh, and they're all free. Office on Mac is also a pain, TBH.

 

 

I've tried to be as un-biased as possible with all of this, by the way.

[/hide]

Being the basic computer user as it seems the person who made the original post seems to be I would stay away from Linux.

I would definately agree with this.

 

If you do have a laptop that lasts 7 hours I'd be amazed.

I'm sure there are some out there :P

 

I'm still unsure as to why everyone is against macs because of their high price.

Seems kind of self explaintory.. high price with macs = apples incrediblely high markups. That's undeinable fact.

 

If you've never owned or used one you may not exactly understand the benefits of owning a mac, there is a reason so many are being bought right now.

I'd be geniunely interested to hear them coming from a mac user, not being sarcastic or anything. I haven't used macs much, and I'd like to hear an honest perspective from the other side of the spectrum, so to speak. And above poster is right, apple are marketing wizards. Just look at the queues that there were for the new iPad O.O

[obfuscator]

The biggest reason macs are successful is marketing, simple as that. Apple has always excelled at marketing (dating back to the first ipod) and that's what's made their products so popular.

[cheeky16]

I've posted my reasons as to why I would buy another macbook pro as a student. Yes they cost more, which I think is worth the price. Most of the money for the computers is spent up front. When the new OS comes out it's like $25 vs Windows at say $150+. Being a student you can grab Windows 7 for around $100 right now. Checking Microsoft they charge $60 for a phone call to get some support. Apple meanwhile has a free geniusbar at the back of every store that is free for all diagnosis and repair if under warranty. For windows this all depends on the manufacturer, most often resulting in shipping off the computer for weeks. The laptop design and build is superior to most other brands out there. Having seen several hinges, buttons, power cords, etc break on other brands. The apple charger is virually impossible to wreck under normal circumstances. No pulling the laptop off the desk in lecture. The backlit keyboard is wonderful for everyone that doesn't necessarily use a computer for hours per day. The audio output jack doubles as an optical audio output to hook up directly to your surround sound. LED screen on every Macbook Pro. There is no real need to run antivirus unless you are going to lots of websites you shouldn't. Windows if you don't have antivirus sooner or later your system will be crippled.

 

If you really take into account all of the features that are included and compare it to a laptop with similar features it will not be too shy of the price of the mac. Which for most users can be made up for with the customer support. Sure if you don't have an Apple store near home the support isn't going to do you any good. In that case you're better off buying another brand and sticking with Windows. There tends to be a lot more shops out there that have more experience with the windows operating systems.

 

This is all my personal opinion obviously. But when comparing the numbers of issues I've heard from people around school about laptops the macs tend not to have as many. They do still have problems though, one girl I know replaced her hard drive 5 times, all under warranty though. That was back in 2008 though and I haven't heard of any other issues with hard drives since. It still comes down to your budget in the end though. If you can afford $1300 for the Macbook Pro I would spend it. If not go buy a windows machine for $700 and replace it every couple of years. I don't know many people running windows on a machine much more than 2 or 3 years old that isn't so slow you want to pull your hair out. Yet some people are still running macbooks that are 5 years old with no issues.

 

I don't want anyone to get the idea that I'm trying to bash windows or anything but try starting with similar quality products when comparing prices and features. There are many underlying benefits of owning a mac that windows users just don't understand until they own one. Two years ago before I bought my first Macbook Pro I was in the same boat, thought they were overpriced and it would be ludacris to spend that kind of money on a 13" laptop. Even when I purchased the laptop I had doubts. I've since changed my mind about them and would buy another if I had a need for it in the future.

 

So just to compare some top end Windows computers with the Apple I decided to build a couple almost identical.

 

From Dell

 

Alienware 15" laptop:

$2699.99

2.17Ghz i7

 

Apple

Macbook Pro 15"

$2649.00 - 2399.99 with 2.2Ghz i7

2.3Ghz i7

 

Both with similar processors, 8GB Ram, 500GB Sata II 7200rpm, DVD burners, Backlit LED displays.

 

It is tough to find any other brand with similar spec processors. Others offer similar processors but don't offer backlit keyboards and other things, Alienware was the easiest to compare with the Apple.

 

Also once all of this is said and done, Dell wants me to add a subscription for Antivirus, basic service so they will answer questions over the phone. All of these things tend to add up in the end.

 

I do run a windows desktop also so I'm not purely mac. There are also a few compatability downsides with the mac as well, definately get Office, Pages and Numbers just doesn't cut it. Well at least in University it doesn't.

[Guest Rob]

Alienware is way overpriced, that's really not a good one to use as an example.

 

For $1724.00, you can get a dell XPS with 8gb ram, 750gb 7200 rpm hard drive, a 2gb geforcce g40m graphics card, and a 2.3ghz i7. Backlit keyboard, too, and a dvd burner.

[cheeky16]

Alienware is way overpriced, that's really not a good one to use as an example.

 

For $1724.00, you can get a dell XPS with 8gb ram, 750gb 7200 rpm hard drive, a 2gb geforcce g40m graphics card, and a 2.3ghz i7. Backlit keyboard, too, and a dvd burner.

 

And you would buy a Dell? I've never met a computer tech that would ever recommend a dell. They actually say to stay away. The least reliable computers out there.

[Sbrideau]

The new HP models are pretty good though, unlike even just 1 year ago. I think they cost less than Dells as well.

[cheeky16]

In the end it comes down to what is important to you. It's a very personal device that needs to suit your needs. There are many things on my mac that I find nice that others would not care for at all. I had an HP laptop before this one and there was nothing really wrong with it I just wanted something faster.

[Robert_R]

Build a PC with i7 processor and 8 gb of RAM. I know dell XPS 15 with i7 and 8 gb RAM is under 1500 if not closer to 1300. Personally I'm getting a Dell next year for college. Install Linux. Go. Although I'm not too sure how good GIMP is good for photo editing compared to something like adobe photoshop.

 

 

IMO mac is for people who have little knowledge of computers and need the customer support. Really that's the only positive thing I can say for getting a mac instead of a pc. Their customer support is very nice. But really it's pretty easy to know what's wrong. If your computer is crashing: scan for viruses -> if no viruses back up important files and restore from last saved state -> if that didn't work you can do one last thing you could do before bringing it to someone, clean install of the operating system (most people wouldn't do this but some people have backups of everything somewhere) or just skip that step -> if that didn't work you probably have a hardware problem and you need to bring it to someone.

 

Also, at the guy a few posts above about macs. All those hardware things you mentioned can easily be made for a PC. And you compared a severly overpriced PC to the macbook pro. You can put all the same things that alienware laptop has on it in a Dell XPS for almost $500 less. It's a brand name thing.

 

Basically, when you buy a mac you buy two things: An average computer in terms of internal hardware and a name. You're basically paying extra to say you have a mac.

[Guest Rob]

Alienware is way overpriced, that's really not a good one to use as an example.

 

For $1724.00, you can get a dell XPS with 8gb ram, 750gb 7200 rpm hard drive, a 2gb geforcce g40m graphics card, and a 2.3ghz i7. Backlit keyboard, too, and a dvd burner.

 

And you would buy a Dell? I've never met a computer tech that would ever recommend a dell. They actually say to stay away. The least reliable computers out there.

Fyi, Alienware is made by dell. And, My last dell lasted me about 6 years of heavy use (+4 hours a day). And I'm on a Dell Studio right now, and I've never had a problem with it before.

[cheeky16]

I'm sure none of you have ever used a mac for an extended period of time. I'm not going to post anymore. They simply just work. No scanning for viruses, restoring, or fresh installs. It takes a few hours to do a fresh install on a pc and when you're a busy student in the middle of a semester you just don't have time to be reinstalling everything to get your computer to work again.

[jasignhagj]

With all respect, you have to try really hard nowadays to get a virus. If you check what you download and scan weekly, you should never have a problem.

 

I've posted my reasons as to why I would buy another macbook pro as a student. Yes they cost more, which I think is worth the price. Most of the money for the computers is spent up front. When the new OS comes out it's like $25 vs Windows at say $150+. Being a student you can grab Windows 7 for around $100 right now. Checking Microsoft they charge $60 for a phone call to get some support. Apple meanwhile has a free geniusbar at the back of every store that is free for all diagnosis and repair if under warranty. For windows this all depends on the manufacturer, most often resulting in shipping off the computer for weeks. The laptop design and build is superior to most other brands out there. Having seen several hinges, buttons, power cords, etc break on other brands. The apple charger is virually impossible to wreck under normal circumstances. No pulling the laptop off the desk in lecture. The backlit keyboard is wonderful for everyone that doesn't necessarily use a computer for hours per day. The audio output jack doubles as an optical audio output to hook up directly to your surround sound. LED screen on every Macbook Pro. There is no real need to run antivirus unless you are going to lots of websites you shouldn't. Windows if you don't have antivirus sooner or later your system will be crippled.

 

If you really take into account all of the features that are included and compare it to a laptop with similar features it will not be too shy of the price of the mac. Which for most users can be made up for with the customer support. Sure if you don't have an Apple store near home the support isn't going to do you any good. In that case you're better off buying another brand and sticking with Windows. There tends to be a lot more shops out there that have more experience with the windows operating systems.

 

This is all my personal opinion obviously. But when comparing the numbers of issues I've heard from people around school about laptops the macs tend not to have as many. They do still have problems though, one girl I know replaced her hard drive 5 times, all under warranty though. That was back in 2008 though and I haven't heard of any other issues with hard drives since. It still comes down to your budget in the end though. If you can afford $1300 for the Macbook Pro I would spend it. If not go buy a windows machine for $700 and replace it every couple of years. I don't know many people running windows on a machine much more than 2 or 3 years old that isn't so slow you want to pull your hair out. Yet some people are still running macbooks that are 5 years old with no issues.

 

I don't want anyone to get the idea that I'm trying to bash windows or anything but try starting with similar quality products when comparing prices and features. There are many underlying benefits of owning a mac that windows users just don't understand until they own one. Two years ago before I bought my first Macbook Pro I was in the same boat, thought they were overpriced and it would be ludacris to spend that kind of money on a 13" laptop. Even when I purchased the laptop I had doubts. I've since changed my mind about them and would buy another if I had a need for it in the future.

 

So just to compare some top end Windows computers with the Apple I decided to build a couple almost identical.

 

From Dell

 

Alienware 15" laptop:

$2699.99

2.17Ghz i7

 

Apple

Macbook Pro 15"

$2649.00 - 2399.99 with 2.2Ghz i7

2.3Ghz i7

 

Both with similar processors, 8GB Ram, 500GB Sata II 7200rpm, DVD burners, Backlit LED displays.

 

It is tough to find any other brand with similar spec processors. Others offer similar processors but don't offer backlit keyboards and other things, Alienware was the easiest to compare with the Apple.

 

Also once all of this is said and done, Dell wants me to add a subscription for Antivirus, basic service so they will answer questions over the phone. All of these things tend to add up in the end.

 

I do run a windows desktop also so I'm not purely mac. There are also a few compatability downsides with the mac as well, definately get Office, Pages and Numbers just doesn't cut it. Well at least in University it doesn't.

 

First, the appeal of alienware is the graphics capability. Last time I checked even the most expensive macbook used Intel HD integrated graphics.

Second, you should never buy a dell from their site, the markups are ridiculous. However, you can find decently priced alienware laptops on third party sites.

Third, the only reason the alienware is that expensive is that the new i7 processors haven't been rolled out yet by dell, while apple got them out faster.

Fourth, shop around a bit more. Take a look at the ASUS G73SW-A1. It has:

Core i7 2630 - 2.0ghz

8gb DDR3 1333mhz RAM

1tb (2x500gb) HDD

Blu-ray combo drive

GTX 460m 1.5gb GDDR5.

 

All but the processor are better than or equal to the macbook. Oh, and did I mention it's only $1799, $800 cheaper than the macbook.

[Sbrideau]

Build a PC with i7 processor and 8 gb of RAM. I know dell XPS 15 with i7 and 8 gb RAM is under 1500 if not closer to 1300. Personally I'm getting a Dell next year for college. Install Linux. Go. Although I'm not too sure how good GIMP is good for photo editing compared to something like adobe photoshop.

 

Dells are still pretty slow. My Intel Core i3 (dual core) desktop with 6GB of RAM I built this time last year is much faster than the 6 month old Dell with i5 and 8GB of RAM that I use at work. And for the slowness, no I don't think the network would be a cause since it's only connected to the network for the Internet. Also, I have 3TB of hard drive while the computer at work has 1TB.

[Guy]

[hide=Woo long reply]

For windows this all depends on the manufacturer, most often resulting in shipping off the computer for weeks.

You're comparing having a minor problem with a mac, like a broken disk drive or whatever, with a large problem with a pc, such as frying the motherboard. If you fry the motherboard on any computer you're going to have to send it away. Although to be honest, with my dell laptop, I managed to mess up the motherboard and I got a technician round to my house within the week who replaced it then and there. It all depends on the brand.

 

The apple charger is virually impossible to wreck under normal circumstances.

As are rather a few chargers.. my dell charger is still as good as new after 4 years and counting.

 

The backlit keyboard is wonderful for everyone that doesn't necessarily use a computer for hours per day.

Um... touch type. You don't need to look at the keyboard.

 

There is no real need to run antivirus unless you are going to lots of websites you shouldn't. Windows if you don't have antivirus sooner or later your system will be crippled.

Again, windows has a bigger market share and thus is a bigger target for virus makers.

 

They do still have problems though, one girl I know replaced her hard drive 5 times, all under warranty though. That was back in 2008 though and I haven't heard of any other issues with hard drives since. It still comes down to your budget in the end though.

I do hasten to say that HDDs are made by other companies, thus neither a pc manufacturer or apple is really at fault if it fails.

 

I don't know many people running windows on a machine much more than 2 or 3 years old that isn't so slow you want to pull your hair out.

*raises hand* I have.

 

There are many underlying benefits of owning a mac that windows users just don't understand until they own one.

I did say this last time, but I would be geniunely interested in hearing these benefits from a mac user. You can't just tell me 'oh you just have to believe it because I say', this is a kind of Russell's teapot thing.

 

From Dell Alienware 15" laptop $2699.99

Apple Macbook Pro 15" $2649.00

>Dell

>Alienware[/hide]