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04-09-2006, 04:07 PM
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#16 | | Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Long Island -> Brown
Posts: 3,908
| niisan...the sz series is customizable so that you can make it really powerful. thats why i like the thing so much. go to sonystyle and you can customize it. | 
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04-09-2006, 10:28 PM
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#17 | | Junior Member
Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 89
| Quote: |
Niisan, just for interest, what apps are you talking about. Because, just about anything that you need will run on OSX especially if you feel your computing needs don't warrant a laptop (an IBM laptop and self-built PC user, for the sake of full disclosure).
| Well for one, games.  | |
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04-09-2006, 10:32 PM
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#18 | | Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: LINY/Providence
Posts: 1,928
| That's not really an issue with the Intel macs, and additionally, any laptop that you get for gaming is going to be too large/heavy to be practical for use in class, etc and so a desktop is a much better choice in that case since the laptop will never move and also be far more likely to overheat than a more portable laptop. | |
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04-09-2006, 10:39 PM
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#19 | | Junior Member
Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 89
| Hm, that's true. My main concern is not games though. My main concern is the lack of alternative applications on the apple. For example, what would be a good, free photo editing application like Photoshop for the mac? The PC has numerous free and cheap applications. I can't afford the full price for Photoshop. Is Photoshop Elements Apple compatible? Also, what about the Office Suite? Does Apple have their own that is fully compatible with Office and just as good?
Finally, I don't play games too much. But I do love to play the occasional popcap game like Feeding Frenzy, Heavy Weapon, Bejeweled, etc. And I must admit, I do love a strategic game of Age of Empires II and Rise of Nations. Nothing intensive but they're only for the PC...
EDIT
WOW! Never mind! I just found a nice list of awesome alternative software. And not to mention, upon first glance, each app seems much nicer than their PC counterpart. There's a whole bunch of software for the mac. I've found 5 or 6 chat applications, 10 IRC apps, and roughly 8 Browsers. This is actually pushing me over to the apple side.
Any idea how much the new 13.3" MacBooks will cost? More or less than the current crop? Now my main gripe is that stupid one button mouse. How does a normal logitech, microsoft two button mouse work on the apple? What would the right click do?
Last edited by niisan; 04-09-2006 at 10:59 PM.
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04-09-2006, 11:06 PM
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#20 | | Junior Member
Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 89
| Man, Apple's are expensive! I can't muster $2,500 for a laptop.. Hopefully the new 13.3" macbooks are cheaper. But if they're like PCs, the smaller it becomes, the more expensive it is.. | |
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04-09-2006, 11:19 PM
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#21 | | Junior Member
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 59
| Apple also gives Brown students a 10% discount.
You can get any number of different mice for a Mac. I'm currently on an older Powerbook G4 with a 1-button touchpad and I'm using a Kensington turboball trackball. It has 4 programmable buttons and a scroll wheel. You can basically have your mouse any way you want it. | |
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04-09-2006, 11:21 PM
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#22 | | Junior Member
Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 89
| Is that added on top of an educational discount? Or is that just the normal education discount? Do I have to purchase it at the campus to get the discount? Though even with the discount, it's still $2200+... | |
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04-09-2006, 11:27 PM
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#23 | | Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Long Island -> Brown
Posts: 3,908
| Sony or Toshiba over Apple.
Much less expensive...there is like a $500 difference at least. | |
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04-09-2006, 11:29 PM
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#24 | | Member
Join Date: Aug 2004
Posts: 572
| Point of note: as a Brown student, you will be licensed to use photoshop while here, so price is not an issue. | |
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04-09-2006, 11:39 PM
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#25 | | Junior Member
Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 89
| I give up on Apple. Way too expensive.
The Vaio line is absolutely stunning. That's what I'll be going with. Perhaps I'll get a Mac Mini to play around with though. It's small, perfect for the dorm. | |
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04-09-2006, 11:45 PM
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#26 | | Junior Member
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 59
| I think it's just the educational discount. You get it at almost any college. There's a macbook pro for $2000, that's $1800 with the discount. Not that much more than a Vaio. | |
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04-10-2006, 12:07 AM
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#27 | | Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: LINY/Providence
Posts: 1,928
| First off, I'll state that Toshibas, while cheap, are probably the worst laptops on the market in terms of quick and early failure of major components. They'll cover it a good amount of time, but their QC is terrible. Apple is expensive, I agree, but there are a lot of reasons why I feel it's made up for, and while I don't own one, I don't think it's something that shouldn't be considered more often especially witht eh education discount. For the record, here is a list of software you'll get for free while at Brown: http://software.brown.edu/dist/sw-win.html (Windows) http://software.brown.edu/dist/sw-mac.html (Apple) | |
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04-10-2006, 12:54 AM
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#28 | | Junior Member
Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 89
| Macs are marvelous. Beautiful and powerful. But their massive premium price just isn't worth it. A nice Sony Vaio can be had for $1200. That even leaves me with money for a desktop. I'm still wanting a desktop and laptop. But my major concern is the size of dorm rooms. How big are the rooms and would they accomodate to both a desktop and laptop? | |
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04-10-2006, 01:08 AM
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#29 | | Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: LINY/Providence
Posts: 1,928
| I'll email you a picture of the corner of my room with my desk and **** from move in day (oh god, if my room was that clean now...). | |
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04-10-2006, 01:13 AM
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#30 | | Junior Member
Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 89
| Hey! That would be great. Use this email: oiosnap [at] gmail.com | |
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