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MacBook or PC laptop?


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I need a new laptop for college, and I really want a MacBook. However, the software bundle required for my major (which is categorized as a business-type major but I really see it as more technologically-oriented) only runs on Windows. I initially find this to not be a problem, seeing as I could run Boot Camp to natively use Windows for the bundle, but I soon begin to wonder if Mac OS X would ever get any use on the MacBook. The only other academic use for the laptop would be to run Microsoft Office, which (according to reports) seems to crash consistently in Rosetta. In addition, I may or may not purchase a desktop (preferably a Mac Pro) for my dorm, which would probably see more non-academic use than the laptop. Given these circumstances, I'm beginning to wonder if I should just buy a PC laptop instead, seeing as Windows would probably see more use in classes than Mac OS X.

 

Any suggestions?

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Or Parallels - that way you can run Windows in OS X. I have the feeling that you'd end up using the OS X side of things more than Windows. Also, expect a Universal office around the end of this year/early next year (my guess). I'd go with the Mac... but wait until after WWDC to see what comes out. :P

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i bought a macbook pro best purchase i ever made

with the ability to run both operating systems you cant go wrong.

 

not only can you run windows native, mac os x native and linux try that on a regular pc.

think about it the macbook is an excellent choice.

 

i go to collegue and strictly use windows for school and bussiness-when i want to lay back i use mac os x for everything personal just the way i wanted it.

 

good luck on your decision right about now the dual native capability is very attractive on apples part.

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I think that the biggest obstacle is that the college says that it won't support Macintosh computers in the event of a problem (although they might be talking about PowerPC Macs).

 

Also, the laptop recommendation lady, although knowledgeable of Boot Camp and possibly Parallels, stated that compatibility problems arise as well as hardware limitations (such as the lack of a right mouse button on the track pad and the inability to use Control-Alt-Delete)

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Universities dont support macs for one reason. Universities HATE Macs! jk

 

But seriously, with 3% of the population using them, and people who actually know how to support a mac few and far between, most institutions simply dont have mac people on staff. That's just the way it is. I worked in a call-center back in the day, there were 500 PC support people and 5 mac support people (I was a mac support person), and my day consisted of about 80% idleness (which worked for me). Btw, please dont flame that the reason for this is that macs are better, blah blah. That wasnt the issue.

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Universities dont support macs for one reason. Universities HATE Macs! jk

 

But seriously, with 3% of the population using them, and people who actually know how to support a mac few and far between, most institutions simply dont have mac people on staff. That's just the way it is. I worked in a call-center back in the day, there were 500 PC support people and 5 mac support people (I was a mac support person), and my day consisted of about 80% idleness (which worked for me). Btw, please dont flame that the reason for this is that macs are better, blah blah. That wasnt the issue.

Not true; just the business people hate Macs, primarily because business software isn't written for Macintosh computers and they see a Mac as a wasteful investment if it is to be used strictly for work. In fact, the university apparently requires Macs for those interested in more artistic-type majors.

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I would just like to add one comment:

 

On dual-boot OS 9/OS X systems, I could hold down the X key on restart to boot into OS X. Will that work with the Windows-OS X dual-boot systems?

 

No. At least not on any of the test systems we tried it on.

 

Yes you can, but instead of X, you hold down Option. That will bring up the OS selection menu.

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on one hand the support issue won't realy be a problem. if you run ubuntu on your ibook and can throw together a pc you should be just as capable as the university tech support to fix any issues you may run into. if you are intent on getting a mac book go ahead and wait till for the developers conference before sealing the deal otherwise you run the very probable risk of getting a system that will be outdated or drop in price a week after you make your purchase. apple's work with ntfs driver programers also bodes well for upcoming windows compatability.

 

on the other hand you can buy a new acer notebook with mbp specs for the price of a regular mac book.

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Actually you can get the OS X laptop and run Darwine on it so the Windows app will run from OS X

Except that Darwine doesn't execute 99.9% of all Windows apps. Even if it does? How about, slow? lol. Heck, even WINE does not run a sizeable amount of executables..

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  • 2 weeks later...

Well, I have to choose today whether I want a PC laptop or a MacBook. The biggest concern is final Vista compatibility and compatiility with the following programs:

Office Professional

Visual Studio

Visio

Project

OneNote

 

If all of these programs run flawlessly on a MacBook, I may consider getting it. I also plan to use it to store Halo PC and Halo CE, so I would like to know how well that performs on a MacBook as well (although it's not near as important). I have already chosen a Sony VAIO as an alternative if the MacBook won't run those programs flawlessly.

 

If I do choose the MacBook, what problems have arisen as a result of using Windows on a Mac compared to using Windows on a PC?

 

Finally, it wouldn't be legally possible for the college to forbid an Apple computer that meets the specified requirements or to discriminate against me for buying one, would it?

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