MacBook Pro

ajmull

I'm going to college in the autumn as a mature student. I'm considering maybe a Toshiba Satellite R630 laptop. However, I've now seen the MacBook Pro and could stretch to that. Would it be worth it do you think?

Secondly would there be likely to be any compatibility issues with material to from college?

omen80

Not worth it unless you want to use if for a specific purpose such as audio recording. If it's just for working on documents etc and browsing the internet then save yourself 500 bucks and go for a Windows system.

Sad Professor

Apple's Back to School promotion is expected to start tomorrow. It'll either be a rebate on an iPod or an iTunes voucher. Also, if you are going to a university you might be entitled to the Apple on Campus discount of 10 percent. Otherwise the regular student discount is 7 percent.

And no, there shouldn't be any compatibility problems, but it depends on what you'll be using the Mac for. I see loads of people with Macs in college. They are everywhere these days.

Unfortunately asking if Macs are "worth it" tends to kick of a fanboy debate. The Mac users will say yes, the non-Mac users will say no. It's best to decide for yourself and look into any specific concerns you might have about software, etc. Have a look in the Mac forum.

Matt Bauer

From my own experience, it's 100% worth it. I wanted a system that "just works", and paying more for that upfront was worth it to me. But with that said, it depends on your requirements/needs. There is no definitive answer. Anyone who claims that there is, is probably a Mac/Windows fanboy.

UnLuckyAgain

I use a MacBook myself, though like someone said already, i'm obviously going to sing its praises as i'm a macfan! If you're the type who just wants a computer with no fuss involved, then pay the extra for a Mac (believe me, after numerous Windows computers, the extra cost is worth it to get rid of the stress of crashes, viruses etc).

As for college work, sometimes in my college when it came to submitting assignments, the lecturers would say "now I'm not sure if it will work for any Mac users" but if you have Microsoft Office for your Mac, you can just save files as the exact same format as Windows. Simples.

I've mine over 2 years now and it still runs as fast and smoothly as it did when I first got it.

GarIT

ajmull wrote: »

Secondly would there be likely to be any compatibility issues with material to from college?

It really depends on the course say if you were doing graphic design or anything to do with media the mac would be a lot better. If you were doing something like engineering there will be tons of issues, a lot of cad software wont work on mac at all. You'd have to fork out for a windows licence and install it alongside your mac os. Ask what other people are using on the forum for the college you want to go to. If the mac will be compatible with any possible software you might need the mac is definitely worth it. I'm a Microsoft fanboy btw.

omen80

Ok I'm not singing the praises here of a windows laptop but I find the problem is that most people have no idea how to maintain them. If you can do that then you won't have any problems with one....I never have.
On the other hand I do prefer Macs because I record and mix audio a lot and need high performance. However, if you're just looking for something for college then as I said save yourself some money and just get a windows laptop. It makes no sense for anyone to get a mac for doing every day tasks.....unless you have loads of cash to spare!

fionny

Save yourself the money and get a windows machine, macs are pretty and are good as stated for graphic design etc... but dont have any huge advantage... as for the "just work" argument I call bull... I had a iMac for a few months and it crashed on a regular basis the only difference is its not called a crash on a mac its a "kernel panic"

You will get a much better machine for the same money or an equal machine for less and with that you can buy neccessary software like office etc....

itac

One thing to take into account is whether you'll be working on macs or pc's when you're in college. If it's a pc/windows based world, stick with a pc, especially if you're not going to be doing anything other than the basics. I work with students a lot in a mostly mac based environment-however, a high percentage of them would have personal pc's-compatibility between programmes, hard drives and connections can be a pain when transferring stuff from college computer to their personal pc!

Also I agree with Fionny, Macs do crash on occasion, just like any software that's not dealing with what it's doing, although mine has only crashed twice in the last year, as opposed to my pc which would crash once a month. I suppose if you really just want a mac, then go ahead, but if it were me, and I had the choice of keeping €500 for a nice holiday, or spending it on something I didn't really need, I'd have my flights booked...;)

Cuddlesworth

Depends entirely on your course, needs and budget. Overall if money is tight don't bother, spend the money on a next business day four year warranty and a decent external drive to back up on. Both of which would server you far better.

scoobyjack

Got my first MacBook Pro (13") recently, and it WAS worth it.

Just for the trackpad alone... I have always absolutely hated trackpads and always needed an external mouse - no longer with the MacBook. All others are just miles behind.

Also, there's the incredible battery life, and it runs very cool too due to the aluminium body.

I'd go for it.

Cuddlesworth

scoobyjack wrote: »

Got my first MacBook Pro (13") recently, and it WAS worth it.

Just for the trackpad alone... I have always absolutely hated trackpads and always needed an external mouse - no longer with the MacBook. All others are just miles behind.

Also, there's the incredible battery life, and it runs very cool too due to the aluminium body.

I'd go for it.

High quality trackpads, running cool and incredible battery life are all hallmarks of a high quality laptop. Not just MAC's. The issue here is that high spec laptops are rarely seen outside of MAC's for most people. And they still come cheaper.

scoobyjack

Cuddlesworth wrote: »

High quality trackpads, running cool and incredible battery life are all hallmarks of a high quality laptop. Not just MAC's. The issue here is that high spec laptops are rarely seen outside of MAC's for most people. And they still come cheaper.

Yeah, fair enough, I just haven't seen anyone else pick the trade-offs between all those, size and weight as well as the Mac (for me). And I still think the touchpad on the Mac hasn't been beaten yet for size, feel, and... lack of buttons.

ajmull

Thanks for the help everyone. Will have to decide one way or another.

muff03

GarIT wrote: »

It really depends on the course say if you were doing graphic design or anything to do with media the mac would be a lot better. If you were doing something like engineering there will be tons of issues, a lot of cad software wont work on mac at all. You'd have to fork out for a windows licence and install it alongside your mac os. Ask what other people are using on the forum for the college you want to go to. If the mac will be compatible with any possible software you might need the mac is definitely worth it. I'm a Microsoft fanboy btw.

funny that, I did B. Eng in electrical engineering using my MacBook, got a windows partition on it and ran everything like CAD, Dialux and Croc Technologies. You can get Matlab for Mac now, while CAD can be downloaded from Autodesk for free once you are a student. So this argument is invalid.

omen80

muff03 wrote: »

funny that, I did B. Eng in electrical engineering using my MacBook, got a windows partition on it and ran everything like CAD, Dialux and Croc Technologies. You can get Matlab for Mac now, while CAD can be downloaded from Autodesk for free once you are a student. So this argument is invalid.

I would have to say though that putting a windows partition on a mac is defeating the purpose of getting a mac in the first place. Remember it's the operating system that's superior, not the hardware.

muff03

omen80 wrote: »

I would have to say though that putting a windows partition on a mac is defeating the purpose of getting a mac in the first place. Remember it's the operating system that's superior, not the hardware.

Agreed, I'm just pointing out that even the more software needy courses can be done with a Mac, in case thats what they want to hear. I already had the MacBook before I started in college so I was stuck in that regard. Had I been looking for a laptop before I went, and since nearly every bit of software is available without a whole pile of looking for windows, getting a windows based laptop is the more economical and logical way to go.

Matt Bauer

Many CAD and engineering programs are now available for Mac. But if you really need to, instead of a Windows partition, a great alternative is to install Parallels.

AlmightyCushion

scoobyjack wrote: »

Yeah, fair enough, I just haven't seen anyone else pick the trade-offs between all those, size and weight as well as the Mac (for me). And I still think the touchpad on the Mac hasn't been beaten yet for size, feel, and... lack of buttons.

I've never really cared about the lack of buttons, I actually prefer buttons but you are right, for size and feel the touchpads on the macbook pros are still the best I've used and I've used quite a lot. Saying that other manufacturers have upped their game recently.

Matt Bauer wrote: »

Many CAD and engineering programs are now available for Mac. But if you really need to, instead of a Windows partition, a great alternative is to install Parallels.

As good as virtualisation is, there is a performance hit which could be significant for more power hungry applications like CAD.