macbook or windows for a high school student?

Question

which one and why?

what model?

i will be using it for instant messaging, research, homework, essays, assesments, email, browsing, myspace etc.

Answer 1

I would get the same as your school has, as you only have to learn how to use one system.

If it was me I would get a windows based system because they support more games than macs do and more people have them.

Answer 2

Portable or not? Assume that a portable that is going back and forth to high school might get a lot of abuse (weather, lockers and other such things).

Based on what you say you want to do you could even consider a used machine if you are getting a Mac. Macs are pretty standard so there is not a lot of options. Hence a used Mac that has a recent operating system upgrade will likely fit what you need and not cost very much.

Note that if you are expected to run specific software then take that into account. I sort of doubt that most high schools are that picky these days as they will mostly care about Word, Excel, an internet browser, and email. It might matter if you are taking a specialize class but any class will assume a computer lab with the specialized software.

The reason for suggesting a used machine is your tastes and needs will likely change in a few years. Rather than spending a lot of money now you could get a machine that works and use the difference for an iPod, phone or other item that is more important at school

Answer 3

Those are pretty simple tasks. Almost ANY computer in the world will do those things with gusto. For Windows vs Mac: Go with what you already know. The hardware is just as good on both sides of the fence. Go to Best Buy and get the cheapest thing they have, because you don't need a lot of power for web browsing (which is your primary purpose). The one thing you will want is a lot of RAM. 512MB at the very least. If you decide to get a PC, do it quickly. Windows Vista is coming out soon and it requires a much more powerful (and more expensive) computer to run.

Answer 4

i would say macbook, the cheapest model macbook. looks like the only programs you would need is a word processor so you could buy or download microsoft word for mac. also if you really needed to you could install windows on a mac using parallels or boot camp.

Answer 5

macbook * 1.83GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
* 512MB memory
* 60GB hard drive1
* Combo drive
this is good also check if your school is under a student discount for macs. get Office 2004 for Mac - Student and Teacher Edition. thats a good combo