Should I buy a Mac or a PC?

[Tristan Lall]

Originally Posted by Chris is me

Apple doesn't license Mac OS X to other platforms. It's against their EULA to install it on a non-Apple machine, and is thus illegal and very tricky at that.

I'm going derail the thread briefly to point out that an EULA is a contract, not a statute in its own right—so in general, violating it is contrary to civil law, not criminal. (You can do criminal things that happen to violate the EULA, but fundamentally, it's an issue of contract law.) That means they have to sue you for breach of contract to enforce it. In doing that, they risk their EULA being scrutinized by a judge or jury, and perhaps being ruled invalid. Given the defects inherent to many EULAs, this is a big risk for the company.

Possible defects include:

1. You've paid for the software before you have the chance to review the proposed contract, however it is not possible to return the opened software if you decline the terms of the licence. (Better EULAs suggest contacting the manufacturer directly for a refund in this case.)
2. Because the purchaser wasn't presented with the contract prior to sale, it isn't clear that the contract terms were ever seen by the purchaser—only by the person installing the software (so intent to form a contract is in doubt). And if the purchaser asks someone like their minor child to install it, and the child ignores the licence, has a contract been made? (Children don't usually have the legal right to sign contracts on behalf of others.)

So, while violating an EULA may be immoral under many circumstances, it's not necessarily illegal, and the consequences are a roll of the dice rather than a certainty.

[youngWilliam14]

I just got a 15" MacBook Pro for college. There is a link the Apple store to get a product for education, and it'll knock off a couple hundred dollars from the cost. i'm putting open office on mine (which i like much better than the current version of microsoft office *shivers*)

i've had an hp laptop for about 3 years now, running XP. right now it's just sitting on my desk, unused, and even though the hardware was up to date when i got it, even XP was often a pain

i've used mac's as often as i can, and i've always found them more user friendly than windows

all macbook pro's include bootcamp, which makes it extremely easy to set up a dualboot. you need a license for the second os, but since hp gave me a copy of vista for free...

and i only ever use the vista boot to play crysis

[Akash Rastogi]

In both cases, Macs and PC's, whatever happened to the saying that "its a user problem?"

I used to have an old iBook and I had 0 problems with it. None at all. My applications were for simple schoolwork.

Current Dell Inspiron= 0 problems. Of course I wiped the drive before using it as to get rid of any and all useless crap.

You've yet to state what applications you would be running.

Having owned both, I would recommend a Mac because of robustness during travel. I treat my laptops well yet the Mac held up A LOT better than the Dell. Then again, its one of those "plasticy" Dells.

eidt: Like people said, def borrow a friend's Mac for the night and see how you like it/react to the interface. I for one got addicted to my friend's new MacBook. Iz naace.

Let us know what your intended major is and at what school. You can find computer requirements on your school's site.

[Molten]

Originally Posted by Joe Matt

BOOM. Roasted.

Originally Posted by Akash Rastogi

Iz naace.

Why does this discussion always bring out a less then professional atmosphere?

[MrForbes]

Originally Posted by Molten

Why does this discussion always bring out a less then professional atmosphere?

Because it's a religious discussion at it's core

[youngWilliam14]

Originally Posted by Molten

Why does this discussion always bring out a less then professional atmosphere?

you tell me:

[SushaK]

i personally prefer PCs to MACs... but partly becaus I have a PC. and honestly I LOVE it! also I feel like HP is one of the best brands to buy right next to DELL. mostly it depends on what you are going to use your computer for... more entertainment, games, software, school work, etc. ? because PC's and MAC's are both better in some departments than others

[t41w4ne5ef0b]

Originally Posted by squirrel

Because it's a religious discussion at it's core

that's got to be the best statement ever.

Anyways I have no clue what applications I will be required to have. I only know that I'm doing Mechanical Engineering as my major. The college has decided to make freshmen sign up for classes one week before school starts...so I'll know then...after I've bought a laptop (probably). I already use Open Office so word processing won't be an issue. As far as I know, Sony is offering windows 7 upgrades June 26th. Go tohttp://sony.com/windows7 and see for yourself.

Thanks to everyone for their help. I'm probably going to stick with Windows now that the Windows 7 upgrade is coming soon. Although I'm still considering Mac since their hardware actually comes out LESS than an equivalent Sony

[youngWilliam14]

one more thing to keep in mind: macbooks last longer than windows laptops. every dell and hp i've worked with has gotten to be much slower by the end of one year of using it, not because of the software i'm running, but because they use cheap parts that wear out fast. i've never seen that problem on a mac

[MrForbes]

Hardware doesn't get slower.....but software does....or at least software grows, surpassing available resources.

I think the phenomenon only happens to Windows computers simply because there is way way more software available for them

[youngWilliam14]

well when the computer takes forever just to get the the os's loading screen...

[Dave Flowerday]

Originally Posted by youngWilliam14

one more thing to keep in mind: macbooks last longer than windows laptops.

{citation needed}

every dell and hp i've worked with has gotten to be much slower by the end of one year of using it, not because of the software i'm running, but because they use cheap parts that wear out fast. i've never seen that problem on a mac

As squirrel said, hardware does not slow down over time. Hard drives can become fragmented making an OS take longer to boot up, etc. but the hardware itself won't change. A completely fresh install on a computer should be as fast as the day it was purchased. However, what tends to happen is that people's perception of what is "fast" shifts over time as they're exposed to newer and faster machines elsewhere.

As for durability, you can't simply do a Windows versus Mac comparison. Consumer-grade Dells are somewhat flimsy in my experience (I owned one for years), while my Lenovo ThinkPad I bought last year is extremely solid (which is why I got it). If you watch for sales you can get the more rugged types of laptops (Lenovo or the business-grade HPs and Dells) for around the same price as the consumer-grade ones. Also, if you really need durability, I think a Windows machine wins hands-down with options like the Motorola ML900 or the Toughbook. As far as I know there is no Mac equivalent to these.

As many other people have pointed out in this thread, the choice of computer is should be based on your needs. I now own a Mac Mini in addition to my Windows machines. I really like the fact that Mac is Unix under-the-hood, and the GUI really is well done. However, there are a lot of programs that I use that simply don't run on a Mac, making a full-time switch to Mac impossible for me (many of these are software development, engineering, and programs I use at work). Also, Macs are more expensive for my needs. My high-end 15" Lenovo that I bought a year ago, which had everything I needed, was under $900 and included an upgraded screen resolution (1680x1050), which is an absolute requirement for me. A quick glance at the Apple website and the only laptop I could find with a resolution equal to or higher than that was the 17" MBP for $2500. There's probably an option for it on one of the less expensive laptops, but given that the lowest price laptop starts at $999, it's obvious that I could not find a Mac that was equal to the cost of my Lenovo.

For a new college student I recommend looking into what software programs you will be using in the next 4 years, and which platforms they run on. In fact, the more I think about it, my recommendation for an incoming freshman might be to buy a cheap machine (low-end or used laptop, or netbook, something less than $3-400) since in your first year or two you're likely to only need Internet and some word processing and other generic tools that will run on any machine. Save the big $$$ you'd spend on a new Mac or Windows laptop and buy that towards the end of your sophomore year, when you have a better understanding of what software tools you'll be using (and when the machines have gotten more powerful for the same cost).

[MrForbes]

The low end machine suggestion is a great idea Dave....and an added bonus is that it won't run good games, so you won't be wasting time gaming when you should be studying!

[Molten]

Originally Posted by Dave Flowerday

In fact, the more I think about it, my recommendation for an incoming freshman might be to buy a cheap machine (low-end or used laptop, or netbook, something less than $3-400) since in your first year or two you're likely to only need Internet and some word processing and other generic tools that will run on any machine. Save the big $$$ you'd spend on a new Mac or Windows laptop and buy that towards the end of your sophomore year, when you have a better understanding of what software tools you'll be using (and when the machines have gotten more powerful for the same cost).

This is an excellent idea. Besides, by the time you get to your junior year, almost any laptop you get will be 'outdated'. I will say there is one tool I've used on my computer for school that has taken decent amount of work and that was to use remote desktop. Our school has these so I can use software on my computer without getting software on my computer. Not sure how much strain that is, but it is convenient.

[s_forbes]

Originally Posted by Molten

If there are any other college students out there, please continue my line of thought with your experiences(both agree and disagree with mine). As a previous searcher of advice(can't find my old laptop thread), this type of advice just seems more easy to process.(not to mention a bit less biased)

My room mate and I both came to the U of A in 2006 and got new laptops at the same time. I got an HP with XP on it, and he got a Macbook. They both do what they need to do, and I can't really say that one works better than the other. He ended up dual booting XP, because Quake 3 is important.

After three years of use, both have already broken and been repaired. My hard drive exploded, and his had a hard drive issue as well (IIRC). Mine was fixed at home, his was mailed off, but they were both repaired without too much hassle.

The only real difference is the software packages available as a college student. My roommate is the only person I know that owns a legal copy of Photoshop, since it was cheap enough after discounts for him to buy it (still expensive though...). There are various other Mac products available at discount, too.

The software that I've put on my laptop includes Inventor, Solidworks, and MATLab. I should mention that all of these are FREE to me as a U of A student... I probably wouldn't have them if I had to pay money (I'm a cheapskate. )

If I were going into college now and needed a new laptop* I would almost certainly not buy a Mac. I can't rationalize spending so much on a computer when you can get one with similar hardware for half as much (again, I'm a cheapskate).



*I should also mention that I don't really need a laptop for college, I could get by no problem with a desktop computer to do my assignments on. The only benefit I've seen from bringing a laptop to class is that you can keep yourself entertained during boring classes.