Adding Reply Archived Topic: It will not be bumped to the top of the forum. Topic Mac or Windows? (For college use.) Membername   Not a member? Sign Up Free (takes 20 seconds) Password   Forgotten your password? Post Font: Verdana Arial Black Georgia Comic Sans Impact   Size: Tiny Normal Big Huge   Color: Default Dark Red Red Orange Brown Green Olive Cyan Blue Dark Blue Indigo Black [ Check Spelling ] [ Post Preview ] [ LiveTags ] FAQ Keyword Search: Post Options Favorites Manager Notify me of new replies to this topic by email Notify me of new replies to this topic by private message Original Post knotsotypikal Posted at 11:06 pm on Sep. 24, 2006 I'm getting a new notebook/laptop computer for college, and I don't know which one I should get. Right now I'm taking graphic design classes which is something I might want to do in the future, and apparently Macs are the best for that. I'm mostly using the computer to write papers and such, and for internet of course. I also have a lot of music I keep on my computer as well. I'm kinda sick of Windows and would love something new. We use the new (I think they're new) G5's at school for graphic design, and they are amazing. You press one of the F# buttons and this thing pops up, and I saw some girl playing games and all kinds of stuff on it in class. They seem pretty cool. Which do you think is better for college use? And which kind do you reccommend? I know Macs are more expensive, but that's not really an issue right now.

Replies sydpao Posted at 11:52 pm on Sep. 29, 2006 Go for Mac... based on your activities, i think a macbook will be a good ally for you...Ü espresso8097 Posted at 2:26 pm on Sep. 29, 2006 Windows-ease and very familiar Mac-if going into Music/video, or are used to it Linux/Unix Base-if you know stuff or arent afraid to learn. BRam03 Posted at 6:15 pm on Sep. 28, 2006 Go PC with whichever OS you want pleaseremove Posted at 11:14 am on Sep. 25, 2006 Right, my reasoning is more on the hardware side. I suggest an IBM (Lenovo) Thinkpad. They are built to last. The case is considerably better at brushing off very hard knocks. Also, IBM's have been known for their impressive functional design for a long time (such as the lid closing so there is no "through gap" and the little keyboard light so you can use them in the dark). As has been said there is no different in performance these days, anything with a dual core will be fine. The other reason I mention thinkpads is because they come with all sorts of lovely tools for allowing you to switch network profiles easily (idea for campus's where you might go from ethernet to wireless a few times a day. The final reason is because the battery life is stunning. They get real world performance of 5+ hours on the standard battery and if you spent a little more you can get the large version which has been tested past 8 hours of real world use, great for lectures and wandering round working at random tables dotted around campus. I will admit they do not look as sleek as other laptops out there, but when you are paying this much money i think its more important to get something that has the power and the features you need. I never gave them a second look until a few years ago. Now having used them for full days at a time I know what I’m getting as soon as my upgrade is done. Stormblazer Posted at 8:13 am on Sep. 25, 2006 Quote: from knotsotypikal at 12:06 am on Sep. 25, 2006 I'm getting a new notebook/laptop computer for college, and I don't know which one I should get. Right now I'm taking graphic design classes which is something I might want to do in the future, and apparently Macs are the best for that.   I'm mostly using the computer to write papers and such, and for internet of course. I also have a lot of music I keep on my computer as well. I'm kinda sick of Windows and would love something new. We use the new (I think they're new) G5's at school for graphic design, and they are amazing. You press one of the F# buttons and this thing pops up, and I saw some girl playing games and all kinds of stuff on it in class. They seem pretty cool.   Which do you think is better for college use? And which kind do you reccommend? I know Macs are more expensive, but that's not really an issue right now. Reccomend a PC for college use. If you're that desperate to use something besides windows, then try Linux. From the sound of it, you don't need anything fancy, so just use something like Ubuntu or Fedora Core. And stay away from Dell. Trastie Posted at 11:42 pm on Sep. 24, 2006 Quote: from I Am the Underdog at 11:16 pm on Sep. 24, 2006 Quote: from knotsotypikal at 11:12 pm on Sep. 24, 2006 So the whole "Macs don't have the blue screen of death" thing isn't true? One big thing that's leaning me towards a Mac is the interface - Vista seems to look kinda like it, but I'm not waiting for it. Macs do not have the blue screen of death. I think what Chris ment is that operating systems are operating systems - CS2 on a mac will be the same as CS2 on Windows. (aside from it looks better). Personally, my mac(s) have never crashed (and I didn't turn off my G3 iMac for literally 2 years) nor had any viruses (and I do download music off Limewire). I've never had any problem with a Mac, except I got a MacBook with a bad motherboard. However Apple fixed it within a day (by switching the motherboard, transferring my files on to a new MacBook, and giving me the new one). Id go with a mac myself, if not only that I've had this for a year now and hasn't crashed once...I can't say the same about any other computer I owend till I decided to buy a mac. TheUnrealSlimShady Posted at 11:42 pm on Sep. 24, 2006 It happened when I was testing this trick I saw on a video. I was trying to crack my own network with KisMAC, but ended up with that. I don't know how it happened, though. I think it was doing a brute force attack when that came up. I Am the Underdog Posted at 11:24 pm on Sep. 24, 2006 Quote: from TheUnrealSlimShady at 11:14 pm on Sep. 24, 2006 Quote: from knotsotypikal at 11:12 pm on Sep. 24, 2006 So the whole "Macs don't have the blue screen of death" thing isn't true? One big thing that's leaning me towards a Mac is the interface - Vista seems to look kinda like it, but I'm not waiting for it. It's half true. They do crash (I've had it happen), but there's no blue screen, just a nice, little window that tells you in many languages to reboot. Looks something like this: (That's a bad picture, it's not actually blue, it's more gray and transparent.) How odd! I've never seen that before, when does it happen for you? I Am the Underdog Posted at 11:16 pm on Sep. 24, 2006 Quote: from knotsotypikal at 11:12 pm on Sep. 24, 2006 So the whole "Macs don't have the blue screen of death" thing isn't true? One big thing that's leaning me towards a Mac is the interface - Vista seems to look kinda like it, but I'm not waiting for it. Macs do not have the blue screen of death. I think what Chris ment is that operating systems are operating systems - CS2 on a mac will be the same as CS2 on Windows. (aside from it looks better). Personally, my mac(s) have never crashed (and I didn't turn off my G3 iMac for literally 2 years) nor had any viruses (and I do download music off Limewire). I've never had any problem with a Mac, except I got a MacBook with a bad motherboard. However Apple fixed it within a day (by switching the motherboard, transferring my files on to a new MacBook, and giving me the new one). TheUnrealSlimShady Posted at 11:14 pm on Sep. 24, 2006 Quote: from knotsotypikal at 11:12 pm on Sep. 24, 2006 So the whole "Macs don't have the blue screen of death" thing isn't true? One big thing that's leaning me towards a Mac is the interface - Vista seems to look kinda like it, but I'm not waiting for it. It's half true. They do crash (I've had it happen), but there's no blue screen, just a nice, little window that tells you in many languages to reboot. Looks something like this: (That's a bad picture, it's not actually blue, it's more gray and transparent.) knotsotypikal Posted at 11:12 pm on Sep. 24, 2006 So the whole "Macs don't have the blue screen of death" thing isn't true? One big thing that's leaning me towards a Mac is the interface - Vista seems to look kinda like it, but I'm not waiting for it. I Am the Underdog Posted at 11:12 pm on Sep. 24, 2006 I recommend a Mac if you can afford it.   I use my MacBook 2.0 GHz for the same things you are planning to do (Photoshop, Pagemaker, word processing using Office 2004, music) and mine works wonderfully. It won't lag if you're using photoshop, office, iTunes, internet, and more.   The G5 is one model old now, the new ones are just called Intel Macs. PowerPC (I think they called them that, it was like 8 years ago) > G3 > G4 > G5 > Intel Macs. I have about 1.25 GBs of music on my MacBook, and iTunes loads within a second. The one thing that I dislike about my MacBook is that when I have Airport & Bluetooth (wireless internet and wireless mouse thing) on along with 'Better Performace' on (instead of Better Battery life) and my screen on full, I only get about 3.5 hours of battery life. Without energy saving on, bluetooth off, etc then I get around 5 hours. Edit: the other main thing I do is music recording. I use an external mic (though the built in one does just fine for basic users) and GarageBand (bundled) to record & make CDs for local bands and stuff, and once or twice I've recorded sermons at church for audio-casts. I do everything from making the CDs to making the album covers. I generally charge about $75 for the CD and then $10 for each CD (CD, cover, case) after. My MacBook has almost paid for itself. TheUnrealSlimShady Posted at 11:10 pm on Sep. 24, 2006 I've used all three major systems (Mac, Linux, and PC at one point), I can safely say that they're the same damn thing with a different interface and way of doing things (if on Linux). I saw absolutely no difference between the way graphic design programs run on a Mac or on a PC. Really, it's up to whatever you want. Oh, G5s aren't new, by the way. All 13 previous replies displayed.