Mac or Dell?

BananaSandwich15 · 06-16-2009, 01:25 PM

I'm buying my laptop through SCI and I'm trying to decide between the Dell Latitude E6500 and te MacBook Pro that was released about a week ago. I don't really have a preference between one of the other, but I've only used macs at school and I'm not very familiar with them. Also the Dell has the Complete Care warranty. All I ever saw at Princeton were macs but does it matter?

Also since I'm not in B.S.E do I even need those computers or should I look at the regular Macbook and Dell E4300?

Harambee · 06-16-2009, 01:39 PM

Get the MacBook Pro. It has everything you would need and If i'm not mistaken you can get a free iPod as well with one of their offers. Macs are very user friendly and it's fairly easy to get used to them.

eating food · 06-16-2009, 01:51 PM

I love how people who were accepted to Ivies are worried about adapting to a new operating system.

BananaSandwich15 · 06-16-2009, 02:01 PM

^ It's called being human. Humans worry about things they're not familiar with. I'm asking if one is better than the other, not whether or not if i'll have trouble with the mac.

George2007 · 06-16-2009, 02:06 PM

2 Macs 2 big head-aches with reliability.

I would get the cheapest laptop with the stuff you need. You will have to replace it after 3-4 years anyway. Dont worry about the extra stuff they try to sell you like printers. You can use the library or other campus locations.

whats the stuff you will need?

wireless, a nice big screen, and Microsoft office.

the rest is not what you need but what you want. music downloads, games, video, etc.

ray121988 · 06-16-2009, 04:42 PM

Banana, people at school don't buy the more expensive computers because they "need" the extra computing power for engineering or whatever - they get them simply because they're nicer and (like George mentioned) have bigger screens. No one (including professors) cares which computer you get. Btw, I went with the larger Dell.

AppleAtPton · 06-29-2009, 11:03 PM

Hey BananaSandwich15,

I am Class of 2010 and I'm the Apple campus rep for Princeton. Congrats on getting in to Princeton! I'm sure you're excited!

As the Apple campus rep, I of course recommend the Mac, and as you mentioned, Macs are super popular at Princeton. About half of all incoming students choosing them over PCs. See the articles below:

1) Students are Mac-in' it - The Daily Princetonian
2) On-campus Mac users quadruple - The Daily Princetonian

By choosing a Mac, you can escape from MS Vista and use the very intuitive, secure and reliable Mac OS X. Macs offer many great creative programs for video, photo, webpage and music editing, which are not included with PC purchases. Moreover, you can also get all of the MS Office programs for Mac including Word, Excel and PowerPoint. By choosing an Apple computer, you're making an investment in a computer that looks awesome and performs exceptionally. It is much less susceptible to viruses, spyware and malware than PCs. Bottom line, a Mac will easily last you through college, it has all of the programs you need for work/play, and it has an amazing design!

We regard to the particular model to get, I would say that it depends on your budget. If you can afford the MacBook Pro, you will get a higher user experience with that model than with the MacBook. That said, the MacBook is still a fabulous machine that will beat out either of the Dells form the Princeton Student Computer Initiative (SCI) Store (Student Computer Initiative (SCI) -*Student Computer Initiative (SCI) - Student Computer Initiative (SCI)).

Please let me know if you have more questions. My e-mail is d-e-s-h-l-e-m-a@princeton.edu (without the dashes).

cicero_oratore · 07-08-2009, 11:14 AM

Asking if you should get a Dell or Apple is like asking if you should get crap or crap.

JTC007 · 07-09-2009, 06:59 AM

Go with Apple! If only for the reason that many people I know who bought Dells were often at OIT getting their laptops fixed, while my friends with macs rarely have problems (including me!).

Peytoncline · 07-28-2009, 08:37 PM

Get the Apple.

Rupac · 08-03-2009, 12:03 PM

Yikes, i'm the minority here D= i got a dell latitude e6500 and i'm really happy with it

ceebee63 · 08-03-2009, 11:25 PM

All my roommates and I had Macs, all our friends had Macs, every single person I know had a Mac. Except some rich kid down the hall who had two, one PC and one Mac. Ridiculous.

Shiraz9 · 08-19-2009, 12:25 AM

About 3/5ths of the people I know on campus have a mac. That being said I went PC and am not regretting it. A few had a couple difficulties adjusting to OS X, but mostly I just preferred windows since I already am used to it, it works better for a few of my classes, and it's a 'better value' in terms of what you get for the price. And everything works with windows, while there are a few cool things that you come across that macs just aren't compatible with. But they are prettier than the dell on the outside, I'll give them that. Don't get a regular macbook if your going apple though, not worth it, either go pro or get a PC

alamoksha · 09-03-2009, 02:55 PM

There are so many people on campus with macs. That said, I'm still using windows. Windows-based systems are cheaper...and that's what it's really come down to for me. Most of my friends who bought the SCI macbook freshman year have had to buy new macbooks this year (senior year) because of hard drive crapout issues. So no matter what type of computer you buy, expect problems eventually. That's just one of those facts of life. I grew up using Windows, I feel really comfortable with Windows, and so I continue to use Windows. End of story. Don't feel like you NEED to switch operating systems because more people use the mac os at Princeton. Use whatever you're most comfortable with, with the realization that no matter what computer you buy, it will probably have to be serviced at some point. Also, Vista issues have been for the large part resolved (no more blue screens of death) and the upcoming Windows 7 release holds a lot of promise as well.