Apple Computer Question

Parent Cafe
1

<p>We have 4 laptops in our house, all Dell (mine is through work, my kids each have a Dell laptop, H has an older, somewhat creakier Dell laptop). We’re all used to Windows, just because my work needs drove the adoption of a desktop and later laptop(s) in our house.</p>

<p>My kids’ usage is fairly typical / standard – Word and Powerpoint for school, “light” Excel, coordination of music and video with their iPhones and, of course, Internet surfing / Facebook. Neither is a gamer and neither is doing any kind of video editing or heavy graphics. </p>

<p>D and S are both expressing interest in getting an Apple laptop next year before they go away to college. They are fortunate enough to have a loving grandparent who will bankroll this as a graduation present.</p>

<p>A) Will it be pretty easy to convert from Windows to Mac?
B) Would they have to buy new printers, or would Dell printers work with a new Mac?
C) Is there any downside to this plan – that is, will it make a difference on most college campuses which they use?
D) Any opinions on the specific Mac computers? (I think the MacBook Air is so cool, but pricey.)</p>

<p>I, myself, would move to an Apple laptop if I could since I’ve been incredibly pleased with my Apple products (iPhone and iPad), but I’m unable to simply because I’m tethered to work.</p>

<p>Any helpful advice welcome. Thanks.</p>

2

<p>I was an early adopter of Apple products in the 80’s, then went back to PC’s for the reasons you describe.</p>

<p>That said, I had too many blue screens of death in the mid 2000s and went to a mac, after my friend who is a computer tech suggested I do so. </p>

<p>I had a Mac Mini for three years and then sent off S1 and S2 to college with mac laptops, soon joining them a couple of years ago with a laptop of my own. </p>

<p>I haven’t looked back. </p>

<p>Husband has a PC and had a horrible malware virus on it a couple of weeks ago. I spent about 4 hours, several glasses of wine and nearly pulled my hair out until I figured out how the two software spam/virus checkers didn’t catch it and isolate it. I know how to fix that problem now, at last.</p>

<p>Never had a virus on a mac. </p>

<p>Ever.</p>

<p>I run Excel and Powerpoint and Word on my Mac. No problems. I also like the Mac word processing called Pages and Keynote, which is their version of Powerpoint. I prefer Keynote to Powerpoint, any day of the week. To share with another non-mac user, I generally send Keynotes as PDF’s, so there is no trouble viewing them.</p>

<p>I have Quicken on my mac. Some people don’t love the mac version of Quicken, but it doesn’t seem to bother me.</p>

<p>When a Mac has problems, it is usually easily correctable with an appt at the local Apple store with a “Genius”. I have had a few problems. One son dropped his computer and it was very expensive to fix. (We bought student insurance after that.)</p>

<p>For my H’s business, he is getting ready to change computers at the end of the year. He told me he is changing to Mac. ;)</p>

3

<p>Also, I don’t think you would have trouble with your Dell Printers. You can check the Dell website and see if it supports mac products. </p>

<p>Some people have had trouble with some devices with the upgrade of Snow Leopard. You can check that out. </p>

<p>I migrated all my data on my PC to a Mac when I made the switch. It was a little time consuming, but it all turned out okay.</p>

<p>Some majors require a certain type of computer. My S is engineering and sometimes uses the school computer lab for specific projects that he can’t do on his computer. But then again, I doubt he could do them on a PC, either.</p>

4

<p>

I used to do a ton of research to find the best laptop for college, I easily spent dozens of hours searching and researching, so maybe I can help.</p>

<p>Overall, I find the MacBook Pro 13" to be one of the best all-around portable laptops on the market. I’ve owned a variety of other laptops in it’s size/weight class, and in real-life usage the MBP 13" is just the most satisfying.</p>

<p>The MacBook Air (also 13") is very tempting due to it’s light weight (3 lbs), but it’s battery life is less than half of the full MBP 13", and it lacks some nice features like the clickable trackpad and glass-panel screen without being too heavy to comfortably carry around with you everywhere (4.5 lbs).</p>

<p>I had a 3-pound ultra-portable 13" at one point and although technically it was far better in terms of portability, the 13" MBP is just more satisfying to use because you don’t have to worry about the battery dying.</p>

<p>In fact my MacBook Pro’s battery life is so great (depending on what I do I sometimes get 8 hours out of a single charge), I don’t think I could go back to anything less. It’s just so nice not to be tethered to a wall outlet all the time.</p>

<p>So my recommendation is the 13" MacBook Pro.</p>

<p>Advantages:</p>

<ul>
<li>A clickable glass trackpad with multitouch makes navigation painless (unlike most laptop trackpads)</li>
<li>Relatively fast CPU and GPU processors for a laptop of it’s size</li>
<li>4.5 pounds, just enough to be comfortably portable</li>
<li>The entire laptop (casing) is built from solid aluminum and sturdy glass. This makes it very durable and practically impervious to everyday wear</li>
<li>Glass-paneled screen means you don’t have to worry about accidentally destroying/scratching the relatively sensitive LCD (which is exposed in most laptops)</li>
<li>Incredible 6-10 hour battery life (yes, I’ve gotten 10 hours out of it :slight_smile: )</li>
<li>Excellent screen quality</li>
</ul>

<p>Disadvantages:</p>

<ul>
<li><p>Being made of glass and aluminum means if dropped onto concrete or other highly rigid surface, it will dent or the screen could possibly crack. However not many laptops at all can survive drops anyway.</p></li>
<li><p>50% heavier than ultra-portables like the MacBook Air or others.</p></li>
</ul>

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<p>I’m a PC person and so is my DH, but one of the kids turned into a die-hard Applehead under the influence of her BF (now husband). She got an iPad as her big birthday present. This led to the other kid wanting a Mac as her big birthday present (instead of an Ipad which we were planning on getting for her), and we just plunked down a whopping amount of money on a MacBook Pro 13", and DH will be using her Dell, because his home laptop is at the end of its useful life. I’m glad to hear that MacBook Pro 13" gets good reviews. We have not open the darn thing yet because I’m still trying to figure out what it would take to replace this kid’s software (not just Office, but a bunch of much pricier stuff!!) DH refused to pay $100 for the data transfer service offered by the Apple folks. He says he can do it. :rolleyes: Is is easy to move the PC files (Office files and Adobe Suite generated files) to a Mac that has the appropriate software installed on it?</p>

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<p>There will be no problem switching. I switched a while back and will never go back. The Mac is so much easier to use than a PC. I would advise against the Air – someone told me yesterday there is only one port which is inconvenient and if she had to do it over again, she’d get a Macbook. Printers will not be a problem. I wirelessly print to the laser printer hooked up to our PC desktop. I don’t think it will make a difference on a college campus. The only advice I think I heard on college computer is that certain science major (can’t remember which) need a Mac to run certain programs – it’s all hazy in my mind at this point what that was about. </p>

<p>My own dilemma is this – I have a 15" nonglare Macbook and I’m considering getting a new one while my husband takes over this one. I’m thinking of switching to the glossier finish (as it’s cheaper and the colors are more vivid) but I can’t decide between 13 and 15 inch. My daughter’s second Mac laptop, she went from a 15" to 13" and wished she’d done that in college when she was toting it everywhere. Mine doesn’t get toted much at all. The 13" seems kind of nice as it’s less bulky, etc. The only reason I can see to stay on a 15" is because, from time to time, I watch TV shows or movies on my computer and a bigger screen is nicer for that. Has anyone made the switch to a smaller screen? Any recommendations?</p>

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<p>sorry if this doesnt help, but apples suck and are stupid unless you are an art major. If you want any respect in this world get a PC
hahaha</p>

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<p>Oh, one more thing to the OP. Tech support has an upside and a downside with Macs. When my daughter was in college there was no Apple store in her town – a major hassle on a few occasions. I think tech support on college campuses can help with both. But the major upside is that you get a human being right away when you call Apple (within 5 minutes) and you can hear them and they speak English well (they are in the U.S.) and they are very good at troubleshooting and walking even the most clueless person through the steps. I remember my husband being on hold with Dell for hours just to talk to someone. It’s hard to be on hold for a long time when you’re in college and on a cell phone.</p>

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<p>Had always owned PCs and have a PC network in my office. After both of my kids switched to Mac laptops for college, I got myself one also. </p>

<p>Second the Macbook Pro 13’’ for practicality and portability. Apple will usually have college discounts, sometimes with free ipod, AppleCare plan, etc: [Student</a> Discount - Apple Store (U.S.)](<a href=“http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/education_routing]Student”>Education Pricing and Student Discounts - Education - Apple)</p>

<p>Printers are a non issue-they pretty much give you the printer these days and make it on the ink cartridges.</p>

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<p>Post #7.</p>

<p>So helpful and articulate.</p>

<p>Did you type that on a PC?</p>

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<p>

I originally bought a 17" laptop because I figured “the bigger the better”, but I was wrong, because it ended up not really being used portably anyway - just a glorified desktop.</p>

<p>When I transitioned to a 13", I found it really wasn’t bad for watching movies, at least not significantly different from any other laptop when you’re viewing it so close anyway. If you really want a nice screen for movies, no portable laptop is going to satisfy you size-wise – you might as well pay ~$250 for a nice 24" full HD monitor you can plug into.</p>

<p>

I have both PCs and Macs, and I’m a software engineer. I assure you, Apple products come with advantages and disadvantages as anything else, but are by no means stupid. If you want to ague about it feel free to PM me, because you’re right that that comment doesn’t help anyone on this thread.</p>

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<p>My husband has a 17 inch laptop. It’s much bulkier to carry in a bag.</p>

<p>I like my 13 inch. Not so good for movie watching, but much more portable.</p>

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<p>We are almost a Mac family…H is the hold out because he runs AutoCAD and it is PC only. ( I know you can run “windows” on a mac…so explain that to him, no me…lol) Our D17 has a MacBook, but we will upgrade her to a MacBook Pro 13 for Christmas probably. The printers should be fine, BUT Apple usually does a free printer with MacBook Pro purchase around Christmas time and then with an itouch during the summer for college bound kiddos. If they want help with all their files AND you live close to an apple store, spend the $100 and purchase 1 to 1. They will get one hour of instuction per week for a year on all things Mac and they can share the work. (My mom and I do that…she goes one week, I go the next…they really don’t care) They will help with files…everything. Tell them what you need help with and they gladly give it.</p>

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<p>Re watching stuff on a laptop – sometimes I’ve watched stuff with my family or kids. We put the laptop on a bench and watch. I think a 13" would make that more difficult, but I think I am leaning toward the 13".</p>

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<p>I know there is Apple Eye TV, but can you plug in a mac to a tv without expensive cables? I hadn’t really considered it before this thread. </p>

<p>There is a firewire port and a usb port. It might work. Anyone tried it?</p>

16

<p>The Apple dude who sold us the MacBook showed us a simple port adapter that converts the Apple proprietary monitor port to a VGA port for connection to an external monitor. I guess we shall try that when I figure out the answer to my file moving question.</p>

<p>A-ha, this must be the thingy:</p>

<p>[Apple</a> Mini DVI to VGA Adapter - Apple Store (U.S.)](<a href=“Power & Cables - Mac Accessories - Apple”>Power & Cables - Mac Accessories - Apple)</p>

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<p>You can also get a mini port to HDMI adapter.</p>

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<p>^^According to the reviewers on the Apple site, Apple does not manufacture them anymore :eek: But I saw one in our Apple store!</p>

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<p>[Amazon.com:</a> Mini DisplayPort to HDMI TV Monitor Adapter for Macbook: Electronics](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002AHAP4M/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_3?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B003NZ694A&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1HFDE03Y83RKNYVANZNK]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002AHAP4M/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_3?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B003NZ694A&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1HFDE03Y83RKNYVANZNK)</p>

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<p>Thanks! But is it made by Apple? :wink: (Yeah, like they “make” any of their adapters :rolleyes:)</p>

<p>Can anyone answer my question about moving files? Would a simple transfer to an memory stick and then to Mac work? Or do the files have to be manipulated with to make them readable with Apple versions of Adobe and Office?</p>