<p>The MacBook & MacBook Pro speed benchmarks are nearly identical. The difference would come in intensive 3D graphics or 3D games. One can get a USB modem from Apple for $44 (student discount). The screen real estate is the same for the new 13 inch MacBook and the older 15 inch Powerbook G4. Also the MacBook supports monitor spanning making it very easy to add second LCD monitor if it becomes necessary. I’m not sure for typical college use I would spend the extra dollars for a MacBook Pro. Go for the larger HD. A minimum of 1 GB of RAM is essential as well, 2 GB is better. It is very easy to install, so use ramseeker.com to find a good price not Apple. My youngest S loves his MacBook.</p>
<p>My campus is almost completely covered with wireless, and students at my school often use laptops in class, though part of that is because I am a computer science major. (Whether the laptops are for notes or not, that’s another issue.) I almost always took my laptop with me during the day (14.1" screen, not Apple though I wish it was), and never found it to be too heavy, since I usually had only it and a notebook and pencils. I don’t think that the 15.4" Macbook Pro would be too much of a burden; it is thinner than my laptop, and my boyfriend often carried around his 17" Powerbook.</p>
<p>My campus also has widespread wireless as well and many many people take advantage of it. Carrying a laptop around is worth it, IMHO.</p>
<p>However, I see little reason for using laptops in class. I’m computer science computer engineering major and I bet 90% of people using laptops in class (either CS or non CS classes) are not using the laptop to take notes or whatever.</p>
<p>For math, science, and engineering(including CS), bring spiral notebook(college rule) and pen/pencil. If you’re inclined bring graph paper. That’s it. Rarely would you need anything else.</p>
<p>That said I use a linux desktop PC right now and I will buy a Macbook some time this summer (or possibly whatever Apple releases at WWDC in august)</p>
<p>The macbook pro is not that un-portable. I have friends that have them and they are some of the thinnest and lightest 15" notebooks around. Not at all unreasonable to carry in a backpack. The macbook itself is thinner in the front/back width (they are about the same side-side length as macbook pro, due to widescreen LCD) and is made of durable plastic rather than aluminum (which can dent, though not very easily)</p>
<p>If money is not an issue then macbook pro is a good choice, you can’t go wrong really.</p>
<p>It is absolutely essential to invest in at least 1GB of ram, or preferably 2GB. Mac OS X uses more RAM than PC’s do, traditionally. If you’re technically inclined you can save several hundred $$$ by buying third party ram and installing it yourself instead of having Apple do it for you.</p>
<p>Sorry, I’m a little confused – is it not possible to use Photoshop/Paintshop Pro/etc. on the regular MacBook?</p>
<p>I also have a question regarding the macbook – my son has saved up money and plans to purchase the macbook in August. He was going to upgrade it to 1GB of ram, but it seems like 2GB is a better option. where would we buy it cheaper and how do we install it? I am not really computer savvy, but I do routinely open my tower and install/connect/clean it. It seems like installations are usually pretty straightforward.</p>
<p>also – how much harddrive should he get? He does not play games, does have some pictures and video – and he is getting into podcasts and will be making his own this fall.</p>
<p>can an external monitor and keyboard be used on the macbook? He is getting the 13" for portability, but I am wondering if he will need a larger monitor at his desk.</p>
<p>thanks for the great info on this thread!</p>
<p>m_c: Yes the MacBook handles all those applications well. My son has one and it performs beautifully. It is in the area of higherend 3D graphics, or games that rely on rapidly rendering 3D graphics, that there is a very real difference. The MacBook does a great job with HD video as well.</p>
<p>hsmomstef: Go to ramseeker.com, they list the price for many vendors. We purchased 2 GB of RAM for about $180.00 and had no problem installing it ourselves.</p>
<p>A little note on why one needs more RAM. When Mac went to intel chips it had to provide a way to run older software designed for the IBM chip it historically used. OS X for intel provides emulation software known as Rosetta. This software must run as well as the application, accordingly more RAM is very useful for better performance. As new versions of applications are released using “universal binaries” that will run “natively” on both chips, the RAM requirements will not be so great, and the performance will greatly increase. Even with Rosetta, the speed increases with the new computers make-up and speed lost via emulation as compared to the PowerBooks for many applications. All the software shipped with the new Mac’s are written to take full advantage of the new chip set. This applies to both the MacBook and the MacBook Pro. Having said all that, the best way to increase performance in a computer is to provide as much RAM as one can (faster hard drives are also nice).</p>
<p>thanks idad – one more question. When I go to ramseeker, I can choose budget, top-quality 3rd party or OEM. of course, there is a price difference. I am tempted to go with the OEM ($278) rather than the 3rd party ($218) since the cost diff isn’t bad. 2GB ordered with the macbook would cost me $450 – so it is definitely worth doing it myself.</p>
<p>Thank you idad! That was a big help :)</p>
<p>Even if you do not plan to run Rosetta, it is a smart idea to get at least 1GB RAM.</p>
<p>One note about selecting RAM. I would look and see what other macbook users are using (“Crucial” brand seems popular) You do not want to overpay for ram but having ram that does not work properly is a major annoyance because it can cause completely random, hard system crashes and freezes. Quality ram is a must! Newegg.com is another excellent place to searh - look in the reviews for each stick to see if anyone is using in a macbook.</p>
<p>External monitor and keyboard are fine, in fact, that’s what I intend to do. However, external keyboard and mouse must connect via USB (non-Apple is ok) and not the older PS/2. Also the mini-DVI to DVI or mini-DVI to VGA adapter is needed from Apple depending on whether the external monitor is DVI or VGA.</p>
<p>As for hard drive space, it is good to look at how much space is being used o your current computer. Big things that suggest needing more disk space: using Windows/Boot Camp, or storing a lot of video.</p>
<p>You have several options for more hard disk space. One is to have upgrade by Apple, which is easy and isn’t too expensive. Another is to upgrade the hard drive yourself - unlike most notebooks, both the RAM and the Hard Drive in the Macbook (not the pro) are user-upgradable. </p>
<p>Alternatively, if you are planning to dock to an external monitor+keyboard anyway, a external firewire hard drive on the desk is a cheap and handy alternative to add 300GB+ to your macbook. You can’t carry it around with you, though.</p>
<p>Am I mistaken or did jbusc state that the Macbook Pro is not user memory upgradeable? </p>
<p>Given that new Macbook Pro’s default to only occupying one of the two available meory slots, how would I fit in a pair of 1 GB SO-DIMM’s to get to 2GB total?</p>
<p>If you have two slots and one is filled by a stick, in order to put two 1GB sticks in you have to take the stick in there out.</p>
<p>The RAM in the Macbook Pro is user upgradable, the hard drive is not. Both the hard drive and ram are user upgradable in the Macbook (not Pro).</p>
<p>Of course, if you’re very technically proficient there is probably a way to hack your way in and upgrade the Macbook Pro hard drive yourself. But it wouldn’t be easy and you void your warranty.</p>
<p>jbusc – I am learning alot! thanks.</p>
<p>right now my son uses an hp laptop with limited harddrive, so he can’t put alot on it. I think we will upgrade the harddrive and eventually plan on adding an external harddrive. I need him to use this for at least 3 years.</p>
<p>When I look at the 20 inch cinema display from apple, the monitor comes with 2 USB 2.0 ports and 2 firewire 400 ports. I am thinking that he could connect the keyboard and mouse, printer, IPOD and external harddrive via these ports (would need to add another hub) and that way he would only need to connect the one cable (to the monitor) when he plans to work at his desk. Does this make sense?</p>
<p>I just want it to be easy for him to set up at his desk, rather than having to plug in 6 different cords.</p>
<p>we thought about the wireless keyboard and mouse, but I read mixed reviews on them.</p>
<p>It does make sense, except that I would think that you would have to plug the USB and firewire cables from the monitor into the macbook in order for the ports on the monitor to work. So then you have about 5 cables to plug in when you sit down (the magsafe power cord, wired network/internet, monitor, USB, and firewire) You could do the same with a monitor without ports on it by getting a $10 USB/Firewire hub or port replicator.</p>
<p>5 cords really isn’t too much, you can reduce one more by using wireless network but not sure if that really makes things easier.</p>
<p>Wireless keyboards are kinda mixed, just like you said. Maybe half of people with them absolutely love them and half don’t like them at all. I would shop around, read reviews, and buy from a place with a generous return policy :)</p>