Looking to buy a Laptop; Should I get a Mac OS or stick with a Windows OS? (4 Viewers)

[bawd]

but the student discount really is not that much anyway is it?

According to the site it's only for students of high education institutions, i.e. Universities.

 

[want2bdifferent]

yeah i knew that but it is not that much anyway i don't think

 

[seakebab]

Discount is still a discount, Macs are expensive.

 

[ClockworkSoldier]

Well, a Mac would suit you more if it's going to be a study tool.
Mac's boot faster than a Windows machine, so they are suitable for quick dictation and notes.
Windows have all the programs, but all office programs are available on Mac as well, and are fully compatible with Windows.
Generally, a Mac is more stable and less prone to viruses, so crashes and paralysation from viral infection is far less, so your data is more protected if you intend to use the internet.

Games, general use and productivity = Windows.

Mac = Productivity, specialized jobs and internet.

Keep in mind though, we are seeing a trend towards Mac since the unveiling of Vista. More games are being brought out on the Mac OS because of the sudden change in some people's attitude toward Vista.
I have both, and I love both. Both have pro's and con's, so choose wisely. Mac is more user friendly, but most know how to use Windows more as they were brought up with it.

Added plus: Mac's can now run Windows XP OR Vista through BootCamp. So you can have the best of both worlds on the one computer.

Hope this helps.

 

[emytaylor164]

Well, a Mac would suit you more if it's going to be a study tool.
Mac's boot faster than a Windows machine, so they are suitable for quick dictation and notes.
Windows have all the programs, but all office programs are available on Mac as well, and are fully compatible with Windows.
Generally, a Mac is more stable and less prone to viruses, so crashes and paralysation from viral infection is far less, so your data is more protected if you intend to use the internet.

Games, general use and productivity = Windows.

Mac = Productivity, specialized jobs and internet.

Keep in mind though, we are seeing a trend towards Mac since the unveiling of Vista. More games are being brought out on the Mac OS because of the sudden change in some people's attitude toward Vista.
I have both, and I love both. Both have pro's and con's, so choose wisely. Mac is more user friendly, but most know how to use Windows more as they were brought up with it.

Added plus: Mac's can now run Windows XP OR Vista through BootCamp. So you can have the best of both worlds on the one computer.

Hope this helps.

what about a sub-notebook like the eee pc MSI wind or Acer aspire one

 

[bawd]

Well, a Mac would suit you more if it's going to be a study tool.
Mac's boot faster than a Windows machine, so they are suitable for quick dictation and notes.
Windows have all the programs, but all office programs are available on Mac as well, and are fully compatible with Windows.
Generally, a Mac is more stable and less prone to viruses, so crashes and paralysation from viral infection is far less, so your data is more protected if you intend to use the internet.

Games, general use and productivity = Windows.

Mac = Productivity, specialized jobs and internet.

Keep in mind though, we are seeing a trend towards Mac since the unveiling of Vista. More games are being brought out on the Mac OS because of the sudden change in some people's attitude toward Vista.
I have both, and I love both. Both have pro's and con's, so choose wisely. Mac is more user friendly, but most know how to use Windows more as they were brought up with it.

Added plus: Mac's can now run Windows XP OR Vista through BootCamp. So you can have the best of both worlds on the one computer.

Hope this helps.

Thanks. I've already decided I'm getting a MacBook. But thanks anyway. *puts one dollar coin into piggy-bank labelled 'MacBook Money'*

 

[bawd]

Is $150 off a MacBook enough for you?

Obviously not a big enough discount for want2bedifferent, lol.

And I guess it's a small discount relative to the RRP.

Besides, the ETR allows high school students to claim back half of the money up until $1,500.

 

[Pace_T]

macs are rubbish.
nothing is compatible on it and hence you cant do much on it.
and whoever said vista is much more prone to viruses, from my experience thats not the case.. ive got antivirus software on my vista laptop which came with it, and i havent had a single virus in over a year.
the only thing i can think of that would be tempting about a mac, imo, is the battery life compared to vista computers.

 

[bawd]

macs are rubbish.
nothing is compatible on it and hence you cant do much on it.
and whoever said vista is much more prone to viruses, from my experience thats not the case.. ive got antivirus software on my vista laptop which came with it, and i havent had a single virus in over a year.
the only thing i can think of that would be tempting about a mac, imo, is the battery life compared to vista computers.

Update: Macs are EXTREMELY compatible with Windows. Bootcamp, Office 2007 for Macs etc etc. The other way around, however...

 

[ClockworkSoldier]

Update: Macs are EXTREMELY compatible with Windows. Bootcamp, Office 2007 for Macs etc etc. The other way around, however...

Exactly. Windows machines cannot run Mac programs, but a Mac can run the entire Windows operating system, and that includes anything that can be installed on that platform.

Just to brag a bit (hehe)... I'm scoring a MacBook Pro (Not sure what size screen etc, but all are good) for $500 brand new . I'm going to SAE next year and they offer them to students at that price, no obligations, no hidden fees, no future expences and you keep the computer after you finish your course.

 

[bawd]

Exactly. Windows machines cannot run Mac programs, but a Mac can run the entire Windows operating system, and that includes anything that can be installed on that platform.

Just to brag a bit (hehe)... I'm scoring a MacBook Pro (Not sure what size screen etc, but all are good) for $500 brand new . I'm going to SAE next year and they offer them to students at that price, no obligations, no hidden fees, no future expences and you keep the computer after you finish your course.

Zomg. I want to go to SAE now. Enrol in a random course, then escape. Maybe UNSW or USyd have a similar program. Damn. Can you buy more than one? Maybe you could be kind enough to buy one for me as well, and I'll pay you.

 

[AsyLum]

Update: Macs are EXTREMELY compatible with Windows. Bootcamp, Office 2007 for Macs etc etc. The other way around, however...

Exactly. Windows machines cannot run Mac programs, but a Mac can run the entire Windows operating system, and that includes anything that can be installed on that platform.

Just to brag a bit (hehe)... I'm scoring a MacBook Pro (Not sure what size screen etc, but all are good) for $500 brand new . I'm going to SAE next year and they offer them to students at that price, no obligations, no hidden fees, no future expences and you keep the computer after you finish your course.

Sorry, I must've been asleep when Microsoft decided to start manufacturing computers?

edit: And as far as I know, the only limitation preventing Mac OSX being installed on x86 has been a *gasp* authentication chip/program on the Mactels?

 

[emytaylor164]

Sorry, I must've been asleep when Microsoft decided to start manufacturing computers?

edit: And as far as I know, the only limitation preventing Mac OSX being installed on x86 has been a *gasp* authentication chip/program on the Mactels?

I am pretty sure he meant a machine running windows

 

[Any1]

whichever yoru comfortable with

 

[AsyLum]

I am pretty sure he meant a machine running windows

Well thats untrue then since there are ways to get leopard going on x86

 

[youBROKEmyLIFE]

Sorry, I must've been asleep when Microsoft decided to start manufacturing computers?

edit: And as far as I know, the only limitation preventing Mac OSX being installed on x86 has been a *gasp* authentication chip/program on the Mactels?

No, it's that you don't have EFI on the PC and driver support. If you install EFI or an EFI emulation layer and get the right driver support, Hackintoshes are awesome.

EDIT: What they meant is that there's no darwine-like API emulation layer to allow the transparent running of Mac applications on windows machines, whereas there is darwine on the mac to run pretty much any windows program (Sans .Net ones, but the mono project is working on that)

 

[emytaylor164]

Well thats untrue then since there are ways to get leopard going on x86

I am well aware of that but when someone says "windows machine" they generally mean a computer running windows.

I am well aware that you can run leopard on an x86 machine.

 

[Melisoverschool]

get whichever one your school uses otherwise it might be difficult to switch between the two

 

[bawd]

get whichever one your school uses otherwise it might be difficult to switch between the two

No idea whether you're responding the first post or another one as to as I had a post before yours asking whether to get a standard MacBook or a MacBook Pro, as well as 1GB or 2GB memory, 2.1 or 2.4 Ghz, but it somehow got deleted. Anyway, that's my new question, taking in mind I will use the MacBook for school work, organisational programs and general media software.

BTW, my school uses crappy ass HP laptops, even after they won some Commonwealth Bank prize of $110,000 to go towards funding for technology, they purchased cheapy laptops. It would have been awesome if they bought MacBooks instead (considering they give significant discounts to educational institutions buying in bulk). I'm also very versatile so I wouldn't have a problem switching between the two.

Oh, and whilst I'm here, could current Mac users please inform me whether it is possible to save documents created on iWork Pages as PDF files? I've heard that Pages has much sexier features than MS Word, and since Word files can easily be saved as PDF (I do this to keep the original formatting and ease of using fonts without having to download them to the school computer since it still uses Word 2003). In addition, is it possible to somehow open Keynote presentations on Windows without losing all the features and effects? (Or should I just bring my Mac to school for school presentations)

 

[youBROKEmyLIFE]

You can create PDFs from any printing dialogue in any application in OS X. Anything you can print, you can save as a PDF.