Buy MacBook now?

[jairic]

It's true that you can run Windows on a MacBook, but that "feature" is disproportionately expensive. The MacBook seems like a great product, and I want one too. I'm in college now, and I would love to have a MacBook, instead I have a $500 Compaq laptop with a dual core AMD processor and 2 GB of RAM. You would be infinitely better served by buying a less expensive notebook and maybe some software, or study materials, or attending some extracurricular training sessions, etc. I don't intend to be rude, I feel what you're saying, the MacBook looks great; it's just not at all practical for a student.

On the other hand, if your financial situation is such that a MacBook is not an extravagant expense, and you can afford to buy an XP license along with it, and an Office License then it's a really cool item to have. I know that if I had a MacBook I'd be the envy of my classmates, which is part of why I want one. Anyway, good luck whichever route you choose.

 

[wolfeyes89]

Um the license shouldn't really be a problem tho. Um whistle* whistle*

 

[Ethan_Kaizer]

To be honest, I don't feel the cost justifies the software or hardware in a macbook. According to their website now, the cheapest Macbook is 1000 dollars, and it comes with a 13 inch screen, Core 2 Duo 2.1GHz cpu, 1 gb ddr2 667 ram, and a 120gb 5400 rpm hdd, and Intel graphics. Considering shipping, warranty, and tax, you're figuring over 1200 bucks.

For 1200 on newegg, you could get an Acer laptop with a very nice 18.4" screen, a C2D 2.26 GHz CPU, 4GB DDR2 ram, a 320GB 7200 RPM hdd, Vista Home Premium 64 bit, and NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT 512mb dedicated graphics. With a warranty it's about 1300, but look how much more powerful it is in comparison.

So I personally feel a Windows laptop would just be better, maybe it's just me. I'd also personally want to be able to do a bit of gaming, so I'd like the extra RAM and dedicated graphics, and better and bigger hard drive, as well as the fact that there aren't many games for Macs.

 

[Lexluethar]

To be honest, I don't feel the cost justifies the software or hardware in a macbook. According to their website now, the cheapest Macbook is 1000 dollars, and it comes with a 13 inch screen, Core 2 Duo 2.1GHz cpu, 1 gb ddr2 667 ram, and a 120gb 5400 rpm hdd, and Intel graphics. Considering shipping, warranty, and tax, you're figuring over 1200 bucks.

For 1200 on newegg, you could get an Acer laptop with a very nice 18.4" screen, a C2D 2.26 GHz CPU, 4GB DDR2 ram, a 320GB 7200 RPM hdd, Vista Home Premium 64 bit, and NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT 512mb dedicated graphics. With a warranty it's about 1300, but look how much more powerful it is in comparison.

So I personally feel a Windows laptop would just be better, maybe it's just me. I'd also personally want to be able to do a bit of gaming, so I'd like the extra RAM and dedicated graphics, and better and bigger hard drive, as well as the fact that there aren't many games for Macs.

BUT IT NEVER CRASHES, FAILS, OR GETS VIRUSES!! THAT IS WHY YOU PAY EXTRA!!

Just kidding, they do all of the above.

 

[j12]

There is no shipping when you buy directly from apple. But you can't really compare the prices of laptops with different screen sizes. 13.3 inch laptops are overall a bit more expensive than the extremely popular 15.4 inch laptops. You should only compare other 13.3 inch laptops to the macbook.

 

[Ethan_Kaizer]

BUT IT NEVER CRASHES, FAILS, OR GETS VIRUSES!! THAT IS WHY YOU PAY EXTRA!!

Just kidding, they do all of the above.

Lol, the sad part is, that's what some people actually believe.

 

[aspire]

For 1200 on newegg, you could get an Acer laptop with a very nice 18.4" screen.

Yes because that's exactly what I want to lug between classes...

The smaller the laptop the more it costs for the same specs. This is a fact of life, get over it.

On the other hand, if your financial situation is such that a MacBook is not an extravagant expense, and you can afford to buy an XP license along with it, and an Office License then it's a really cool item to have. I know that if I had a MacBook I'd be the envy of my classmates, which is part of why I want one. Anyway, good luck whichever route you choose.

It's called Open Office numbnuts... And most universities offer free copies of Vista Business to students in any computer discipline.

I'm majoring in Computer science now and atleast at my university a macbook wouldn't be a good choice. All of the first several CS classes reqire Microsoft Visual Studio so you have to use XP or Vista. After that the classes either contine to use Windows or use linux (I'm pretty sure they use Ubuntu).

I'm a computer engineer and the only software we've used in the programming classes is a text editor and some kind of compiler program, almost all of which run on any of the 3 operating platforms out there.

 

[marquee]

is it true that a mac osx rarely crashes or gets infected by a virus? and isnt it actually MORE user friendly than windows?

 

[aspire]

is it true that a mac osx rarely crashes or gets infected by a virus? and isnt it actually MORE user friendly than windows?

They rarely crash (Not saying they don't, but my PC's do crash more often in comparison) and when running OSX, getting infected with viruses and spyware is quite rare.

Depends what you grew up using. My first 2 computers growing up were Macs and when I got my own it was a completely natural transition. For someone who has never used a computer before, it's also generally easier than a pc. But for someone who grew up on PC's and then gets a Mac it can be a little more difficult because you have preconceptions as to where everything is and what things do.

 

[Puddle Jumper]

is it true that a mac osx rarely crashes or gets infected by a virus? and isnt it actually MORE user friendly than windows?

That's all apple marketing.

OSX can get viruses and at a security conference it was even hacked significantly faster than Vista. As far as crashing more than windows I have never had xp crash once in the two years I have had my laptop.

I have used osx before and it feels like an average linux distro. Ubuntu is a much better alternative to windows in my opinion since it is free and can run on any system. Plus with compiz ubuntu looks better than osx or Vista.