Windows or Apple Mac?

Question

I am currently at University looking to invest in a new notebook. I mainly use my laptop for: Writing essays in word, Internet, Occasional PowerPoint Presentation, Uploading Photos/Videos, Web chat / Instant Mesaging.

I have been looking at both windows based machines and the macbook but am still unsure which to choose.

+ what is Macs compatability like, if i'm looking to print documents off which i have done in word on a mac, will i be able to do this at university which uses windows machines?
Are most programs which you can buy compatable with a mac?

As you can probably tell i'm angling toward the mac, but i just don't have enough experience to make the decision. (£900 is ALOT of money to a student!!!)

Answer 1

MS Office on a Mac is the same as on a PC when it comes to what you can do and the file formats. Hence there is nothing really different there.

Connecting to a printer seems easier on a Mac so that might be a none event.

Check out the link below for what Apple says to people traveling from a PC to a Mac.

The following should be the item that convinces you. If you buy a Mac and then later buy MS Windows from Microsoft you can run your Apple hardware as if it was a traditional PC. Hence you can hedge your bets and still have a Mac. You can not do the reverse if you buy a PC.

Answer 2

its not just the machine, include the software cost as well
there is also the lifetime cost.. ie the amount you spend on the machine over time to keep it working

bearing in mind you are a student you can get student editions of software at knock down prices, you can also occasionally get student discounts (sometimes at the university your are at). Obviously you wouldn't want to copy soiftware form your mates.. would you (mind you you may be able to get hooky software for Macs these days as well)

You pay a heck of a premium for Apple Products, (sort of similar to Sony Vaios..) personally I dont think the price is worth it.

When you laptop goes wrong, and it will, then it will almost certainly be cheaper and easier to find a Windows Laptop repairer, you can probably find mates who can assist for free.. I donbt that you will find that many Mac helpers (there will be some... but potentially a lot fewer)

I dont believe the macs are easier to use hype.. they may have been years ago pre windows.. but no longer

So in the end its up to you...

Id happily consider buying a windows laptop from any iof the major players (eg HP, Dell, Toshiba or others). Id have a look at Acer, MSI, I'd also consider Lenovo (they took over making laptops form IBM)

Make sure your budget includes antivirus / firewall. I know the Apple promoters will claim you dont need AV for Apple.. dont believe it, viruses exist.

Personally if I were you Id spend nowhere near that amount and pocket the saving.. you can get a reasonable laptop for around £5..£600, if you want to spend more then consider gettign a larger screen and dual core processor, dedicatred video memory (NOT Shared). Alternatively put some of that saving into a decent laser printer. printing at Uni costs a bomb (get a reasonable quality B&W laser for around £50..£100.

Unless you have a specific need for an Apple, and probably that means a specific piece of Apple compatible software that you must use then Id steer well clear.

Answer 3

I used PCs before being hired as a graphic artist. My company uses only macs in the art dept. so, I had to learn to use them.

For one, macs are far better IMO. That is for my purposes and for ease of use.

However, the basic thing you need to know about macs vs. PCs is that they do not use the same software. It's heading that way with the dual processors but it sounds to me like you need to stick with a PC.

It's going to be much cheaper, which as a student you might really need to consider. You aren't designing things and you just want to basically type. That's why you should stick with a PC.

Yes, you can type things on one or the other as long as you save the file so that it's compatible. It seems like you're not interested in making things work so much as just wanting something you can use as you've been using PCs.

A mac is a great thing to look into if you're considering designing or doing creative projects other than writing. Maybe somewhere down the road you can purchase a used one and tinker. If you think now is the time that you want to try the more creative things, get a mac.

To simplify your life and to get a better deal on the purchase price (it's not worth the more dear powerbook if you're not going to be using it for all the reasons it is), grab a laptop PC.
Good luck at school!

Answer 4

With regards to printers specifically, Macs come preinstalled with drivers for a vast array of printers, so in most cases the Mac can print straight out of the box with no setup or installation required. Printers are not machine or OS-dependent, so your university using Windows primarily makes no difference. In fact, as Macs were the pioneer of Postscript, you are more likely to find printers Windows has trouble printing to.

Apps are available for the vast majority of tasks on the Mac, often superior to the Windows version (as is the case with office). Even if you need to run one specific obscure PC application, you can run it within Windows on the Mac, as Macs can now run Windows natively. You can do this either by booting into Windows itself, or by booting into a Windows virtual machine under Parallels.

Also, the price you quoted doesn't seem to include the education discount, which is normally around 15%, and available to all students. Check the Apple Education store below.

Answer 5

For the sake of the student pocket, I would recommend purchasing a Windows lappy. You'll only need it for the basic things like you have stated. Macs are mostly directed toward graphic designers, print designers etc because of what they can offer. So unless your course permits you to use certain software etc, stick to a Windows which is by far cheaper. Try dell.com for a bespoke one.

and in regards to jkomets comment, you can purchase an Intel based Mac which can run a program called Parallels which will run both a Mac OS and Windows OS along side each other and IF you needed to upgrade the memory size you could. ( i have one and did that)

Answer 6

This is a great question! Why? Because I would like to dispell all of those ads out there, from Apple; suggesting that PC's are far less capable than Macs... nothing could be further from the truth!

Simply put; If you are into video editing, then I'd get a Apple (Mac), if you're a standard laptop power user (sounds like you are) then i'd get a PC. Macs are very expensive for what you get, they are the only game in town, so if you want a Mac... well, Apple is the only way to get it; if you want a PC, there's lots of competition, so the prices are competitive. My opinion on Macs are thus... do a web search for "internet helpdesk" and watch the video from the Canadian Troupe; Three Dead Trolls in a baggie, at the end, listen to what he tells the little girl to say to her father, next time his PC is broken...

Lastly, make certain you get yourself a good battery, Dell offers a 9 cell, but Gateway has a 12 cell... it allows for more time off a charge cord, but it's a bit more $$$. Two things to pay attention to, in buying a laptop (or any computer, for that matter); RAM and Video! if your laptop is running XP, get yourself at least 512Mb RAM (1Gb is better), if you look into the specs on the video, it'll tell you if your video is shared (which means the cpu has to work overtime, doing video, and your RAM is also shared, (which means your RAM is divided too); this tremendously slows down the system! Ideally, you should have a video card, with it's own video processor, and at least 128Mb fast video RAM.
If you're using Windows Vista, you ought to have at a minimum of 1Gb RAM (but I'd go with 2Gb if you can afford it) Again, make sure the laptop has it's own video card, with it's own video RAM, if possible... but with 2Gb RAM, you can get away with shared video... my philosophy on buying computers is to spend the money now, and you'll be happy with your purchase for a good five years or more! I paid almost $3000 for a Dell system (desktop) and today it's still faster than many of the new machines being sold! Don't buy the top technology, but like 2nd or 3rd from the top will do. Hope this isn't too lengthy, and that it helps a little... feel free to email me for specific Q's anytime!

Answer 7

In addition to Mac OS X being awesome, you can run Windows on a Mac. I run XP Pro on my iMac and it's awesome - I've never had Windows run so well on any computer in my whole life! I switched to Mac last September and I don't see myself every buying a PC again. I'm not AGAINST PC's at all - however I totally prefer Mac (and if I NEED Windows I run it on my iMac). Cheers!

Answer 8

for AIM i know windows is better for the most part mac is better little easier to work with I am facing the same issue their might be student computer programs out their to ya know Mac is better system but the world uses Windows... I found maybe this software program hears the link on macs website maybe will offer the best of both worldshttp://www.apple.com/getamac/windows.html good luck

Answer 9

Most universities have IP printers, you'll have no problem printing with the MAC, just get Microsoft office for the MAC. MACs are considerably less vulnerable to viruses, a Mac can last up to 7 years and you can update it easily, plus its easier to use.
Buy quality!

Answer 10

well, first thing is what are you studdying, i am still of the belief that macs are of best use in design and art whereas ibm compats(windows, linux etc) are best for real computing (please dont slap me mac lovers) printing things out and program compitabillity will allways be a problem but in the most part there is usually an easy work around

the best thing to do in my view is borrow someones ibook and someone elses ibm compat have a pla with them both and see which one you get on better with

if you are use to ibm then in my view id stick with them as there will allways be more software and less problems with compatability