PC or Mac laptop for college?

Question

PC or Mac laptop for college?

Answer 1

The idea that a Mac is faster boggles me, because that is completely false. However, making the transition is easy if you are somewhat computer-saavy. IMO, go with a PC, unless you enjoy being trendy and have money to spend on a Mac.

Answer 2

I would get a mac, they don't really take that long to get used to

Answer 3

Don't bring it to school, it is at risk of getting stolen. Happens all the time, trust me!



I've used both the PC and Mac (and still use and have both) and prefer the mac hands down. It depends on personal preference. Macintosh are absolutely NOT virus-proof, YES they do get tremendously less though. That is because viruses that work on the PC cannot work on the MAC and vice versa. Since PC's represents over 90% of the computer market and MAC only 8%, it is not worth it for most virus writers to write mac viruses because they target a very small percentage of the audience. That is why they get less. I would still recommend installing virus software on the mac if you have since the viruses are still out there.



Macintosh are not faster at all. It doesn't really depend on whether it is MAC or PC. What mostly matters is hardware. RAM, Hard drive integrity, and processor speed are what mostly matter. Viruses and malware can also cause a computer to be slow.



IMPORTANT:

Since Microsoft markets their products to other companies, there are by far many more PCs to choose from. Here is how I would rate the following companies by product:



1. Toshiba (best laptops for PCs!)

2. HP (Great computers altogether and customer support is great!)

3. Dell (Ahh, soso, but satisfactory.)

4. Sony (ahhhhh, SUCKS. I had a Sony laptop that kept freezing for years. I repaired everything and nothing worked. Four of the keyboard keys fell off while typing, they were plastic!)



I'm not sure about the other companies.



The MAC on the other hand, your stuck with Apple's computers. I would recommend the Macbook for you if all you are going to do is edit documents etc, but nothing crazy like graphic design. They are expensive though and you can get a PC for much cheaper. However, the Mac operating system is great and easy to use. Keep in mind that if you have Microsoft Office for windows, it will not work with Mac. You'll need to purchase Microsoft Office for Mac seperately, sorry. I would recommend getting like Office 2008 or 2011 as they're the most recent versions. You could probably get a cheap version on Amazon. If you do get a Mac, wait though as the OS X Lion will be coming out. Right now it is OS X Snow Leapord as the default operating system so if you get one now, you'll need to upgrade and spend more money. Avoid that and get one in Summer 2011 when OS X Lion will become the default. It has many new features that are great like the app store and has stuff very similar to what you can do on the iPhone and iPad. Here is a sneak preview.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsUYHrsYa2U



I've used PCs most of my life and just recently started using Mac about a year and a half ago. Yes, the operating system is different and you'll need to learn how to use it, but you'll eventually get the hang of it as I did. Only took me a few days to figure it out. Here are some important differences:



1. When you close an application on Windows, you just click the X button. On Mac, there is an X button but that will just close the window. After, you need to go up to the upper left corner and close the application. If you don't you will be running many apps at the same time and not even now it causing the computer to slow down.



2. On Windows, you use the control panel. On Mac, you use the system preferences which is simple to use and organized. Love it!



3. To delete an application on Windows, you need to go to the control panel to delete under add and remove programs. On Mac, so easy. Go to the Application folder and select the desired application or program and just drag it to the trash on the dock, that simple!



4. Mac downloads are a little different. On windows, most downloads are followed by ______.exe. On the mac, it is ______.dmg, just in case you aren't familiar with it, that is what it is. Nothing to worry about.



5. To configure disks, go to the Utilities folder on in the Application folder and select disk utility. Very easy to use but don't mess around to much as you don't want to accidentally erase all your data. On windows, it is so much harder.



These are the five largest differences that I first saw, so I thought I'd point them out. If you do get a Mac, buy it on the Apple website because you can customize what you want built in.



Hope this helps!

Answer 4

To first solve your fears, its not hard to switch to a Mac. All you have to do is get used to not being able to close out a program by clicking X and not having a taskbar for window management. I actually switched to Mac in 2007 and then switched back to Windows before that year was over. Here is why.



First, I am going to address Toby's post which was pretty well thought out.



-He does talk about the registry being an issue, but most users (possibly you) have never even heard of the registry. To an experienced user it is not hard to decrypt and the probability of getting a registry error from normal usage is very little. I wouldn't call it a mistake for Microsoft making the registry as it does organize all the keys in a clear format. If there is an argument, then I will say that most kexts in OSX are not possible to edit when issues arise compared to the open Windows registry.



-Windows also doesn't really need defragmenting anymore with NTFS (it was a problem earlier in 3.1 and 95 but has been addressed since 2000 and XP).



-His statement about locked down hardware is not always a good thing because you have no upgradability or customization, two of the main reasons people don't buy Macs.



-Mac users often have to worry about drivers even more than Windows users. First, mostly every piece of hardware works on Windows, but not on Mac. If you have an older electronic device, it is highly probable you will never find a driver to use it on a Mac. Also, you are relying on Apple to write drivers, which they often don't do well. You can search for firmwares killing the battery and display flickering. On Windows, you can always roll back the driver or find a new one that is updated often. Also, Windows update on Windows 7 totally decimates Software Update on Mac when looking for drivers.



-Macs can get viruses, but it is true that it is not as common as Windows. He cannot say that Macs DO not get viruses. And most of the time viruses now don't effect system performance noticeably and only steal your personal information. Heres a question. Do you run an anti-virus program on your Mac? Since most of you don't and virus makers are more interested in stealing your SS# instead of slowing your computer down, how do you know you don't have a virus?



-The suburbs comparison is not valid. PC owners only say Macs are overpriced because their hardware is below-par. The $1200 MacBook Pro has only a Core 2 Duo and integrated graphics. A $900 ASUS U41 laptop has a Core i5 (destroys Core 2 Duo), a decent 1GB 425M dedicated graphics card, faster and larger HD, more ports, same 10 hour battery life but with a removable battery, non-slot loading disk drive so your disks don't get jammed, way more ports, USB 3.0, and is lighter. The environment of using a Mac vs PC is the same. This is more like comparing two houses in the same neighborhood, one with all the features like a patio, pool, etc. and another that is small and simple.



-Your final comparison is also not valid. I agree the BMW costs more, but the Ford also has the same features (SYNC). The resale value depends on each model so I will not address that. BMWs come standard with few features; not all come with a GPS, you have to pay a lot for it like everything else. It is also a common misconception that BMWs are reliable, but they are not. BMW along with Mercedes and Audi rank as some of the lowest on the 2010 reliability ratings, are prone to fail often, and cost a lot to fix (just like a Mac XD). You can search 135i, 335i, and HPFP for a problem many drivers have that has been known since 2007 but not fixed yet. Ford ranks much higher on the ratings and has cheap domestic parts. Plus, I don't even like fords. I drive an Acura.



I would get a PC. Look on a reputable website for ratings and just shop around for $800 at a retail store. It is hard to find a PC with lower specs and fewer features than a MacBook at that price. Don't fall for the Apple Kool-Aid, but if you are just dying for a MacBook, get one. If it fails within 2 months, crashes, or you have to send it in 5 times in a year (like mine), then you will know what to do next time. If it doesn't do any of the above and you like it, then stick with it.

Answer 5

lol girl,if u want a fast system without any bugs and without viruses,get linux.There is a lot software in linux especially for college-of course its free.

Answer 6

It's not long to get used to a MAC, they are actually easier to use. But there is no way a mabook is faster in any way when compared to similar PC, also the "virus" argument is not a good one in my opinion. This was a statement made by MAC a few years back and it's not really true. You see, there are more viruses on PC because there are way more PC in use in the world today. But as a user, you have almost as much chances to have a virus on a MAC than on a PC. The usage will dictate that probability. If you use your PC for school and work, and if you refrain from downloading tunes and games illegally, you should never have any problems (oh and don't open attachment from unknown contacts or download "free stuff" such as free emoticons!! )



The price alone isn't worth it. If you want a MAC because they are cool, go ahead, it has become the main reason anyways! But technically speaking, MAC and PC are the same, they just have a different OS and one is made for serious work, the other is aimed at ease of use...if you find it easy to work with a PC, why change and pay more?

Answer 7

i would get a mac they don't brake as easily

Answer 8

Macs are NOT virus-proof. Macs can and do get viruses. It's just more uncommon because most viruses target Windows since it's the dominant operating system. If you really want a virus-free computer, install Linux on a PC.



Also, Macs are not faster. In fact, it's the opposite: a similarly priced Windows-based PC will be faster than a Mac.



And finally, I've used Windows pretty much forever and Mac OS frustrates me to no end. Yes, you can get used to it, but if you're already adept at Windows, why make the switch? All the software you want for college is available for Windows anyway.



Of course, it's ultimately up to you, but I would be VERY weary of getting a Mac since you seem to only want them based on lies you've heard rather than actually using one yourself and enjoying the experience.

Answer 9

The first and foremost difference isn't noticeable to the average user, except that this difference results in better stability, security, and performance. Mac OS X *is* BSD Unix. They call it Darwin BSD. In fact, if you've ever used Linux, and you're a command line type of guy, then you'll find that the commands on OS X are identical to those on Linux (or FreeBSD or OpenBSD or NetBSD or HP-UX or AIX... you get the idea).



So then all Apple does is take this Darwin BSD and slap their Graphical User Interface (GUI) on top of it. Now, among the differences between Unix and Windows, one of the most important is that Unix has no registry. The bottom line is that's one reason why Unix far less likely to crash than Windows. The registry is the single worst mistake that Microsoft made when designing Windows.



Here are some factual problems with the registry:



1) Has a finite size limitation unless you manually change it.

2) Gets fragmented, slowing down your computer.

3) Is cryptic, poorly documented, and difficult to edit.

4) When you uninstall software, it still leaves a bunch of junk in the Registry. This also can happen with those text files in Unix/Mac; however, with lots of text files, extra leftover settings aren't a big deal, but in the Registry--because it's a single database, this causes it to keep growing over time, which can severely affect performance.

5) If a text file with settings gets messed up, corrupted, or deleted, then you've only lost the settings for one application. If your Registry gets messed up, then you may not even be able to start Windows.



Macs don't need to be defragmented. To oversimplify, the reason for that is that they don't let files get fragmented in the first place.



The reason that creating Hackintoshes are difficult is because Apple ONLY makes drivers for Apple computers. If you're trying to make a Hackintosh on a computer with hardware that isn't compatible to Apple's drivers, then you're going to have a bad time. This is a double-edged sword:



The bad news: You pretty much have to use Apple hardware to run Mac OS X, and that hardware is expensive.



The good news: Mac users never ever EVER have to worry about drivers. Never. In fact, if Ubuntu was to control what computers it could be installed on, like Apple does, then it would pretty much be the same thing as a Mac, but with a different GUI. Obviously, you can't run Mac programs on Ubuntu, but my point is that they'd have equal reputations for stability and ease of use.



Now the virus issue. CAN a Mac get a virus? In theory, yes. DO Macs get viruses? No. All the pro-PC guys will tell you that Macs can get viruses. They'll scream about it until they're blue in the face. OK, then where are all the questions on Yahoo Answers from Mac owners who need help dealing with virus infections? Where are they? Hello pro-PC guys... I'm talking to you.



The pro-PC guys will go on and on about how Macs are overpriced, and can get viruses. That's like saying, houses in the suburbs are overpriced, and they can get robbed, so I'm just as safe buying a cheaper house in the ghetto. Personally, I feel safer in the suburbs.



I see it like this: A Ford and a BMW will both get you where you're going. Sure, the BMW costs more, but it's nicer, it has cool features like a rear-view camera for backing up, it comes standard with a GPS Navigation system, retains its resale value better, and it is far less likely to break down. I'll close by saying this: We've all heard stories about people switching from Windows to Mac. I know several dozen such people personally. What I've never heard of is a Mac user switching to Windows.