There has been a fair amount of discussion regarding tablet PC’s on the Virginia Tech forum. The overwhelming consensus, was to stay away from them at all costs. All the students who actually had to use them at VT stated that they were expensive junk.
Two years ago we had to go through this same scenario with D1. She tried out the Dell’s, the HP’s, the Toshiba’s, and wound up with a MacBook. Not the pro, but the basic MacBook. Two years later she’s still using the thing and carries it with her everwhere. It was her choice and she had never used a Mac before. It has really been easy for her to use and been very dependable. And, when we added up all the features and performance (remember - 2 years ago) it was competitive with the comparable PC laptops.
Now D2 HAS to get a high-end 15" i7 MacBook Pro for her architecture program - now those suckers are expensive! (This one better hold up like her sister’s)</p>
<p>veovis56 - There are specific free programs that I use on my PC that have either an acknowledged-to-be-buggy/backdated Mac version or don’t offer a Mac version at all. In some cases, switching to a similar program is an unacceptable solution (e.g. specialized telnet clients, each with unique scripting requirements). I still prefer the vast availability of choices in Windows freeware, which allows me to do research and pick the best option–with backup options if the first choice doesn’t work out–after taking into account reliable reviews, etc.</p>
<p>PC vs. Mac, to simplify it even further, is essentially price vs. hassle. Some people prefer Apple’s customer service, and others prefer tinkering on their own even if it takes a greater amount of their own time. I’ve never seen a Mac price-competitive with comparable on sale PCs… which are easy enough to find with three months’ notice, while Macs never go on sale as a rule.</p>
<p>Two years ago, my sister and I bought HP laptops. Both laptops were pretty good many problems related to overheating appeared. These problems were pretty universal and HP denied any responsibility until the warranties expired. Both laptops are bricks. To make things worse, the only person you can talk to is some well-meaning but unhelpful and bordeline moronic kid in India. </p>
<p>My sister made the switch to a large Mac. Since she does some light graphic work, she has been very happy. I followed her but bought a smaller version. Switching from a PC environment is NOT that pleasant and many standard programs are nothing but a pain on a Mac. For instance, the Mac version of Office ranges from OK (Word)to plain awful (Excel). After a few weeks of annoyances, I gave the Mac to my dad. One WEEK later, he gave it to my mom. She says she loves it but she is still trying to navigate the different (weird names) organization. So much for ease of use! In the meantime, I bought another HP and I simply pray I won’t have to deal with a Gupta or Patel anytime soon. If this one starts acting up, I’ll buy another similarly priced one, and still be better off than with the Mac. OTOH, based on my experience with the IPhone, the service at Apple stores is pretty impressive. </p>
<p>As far as I am concerned, Apple is more flash than substance (well some flash could be used on the Ipad) and few people like to admit that using the beautiful computers comes at a price at the cash register and in the aggravation department (brought by a close environment and a number of annoying requirements that Apple fanboys seem to be quite happy to accept.) </p>
<p>IMHO, if you think the IPAD is a must have, you’ll like the Mac. If you hesitate, you better off with a PC.</p>
<p>We were advised by someone who had older kids in college to go Mac for DS#1. She said all of her kids’ friends either came to school with a Mac, had switched to one, or wanted to. We are a PC family but all my kids will go to college with a Mac.</p>
<p>(And BTW–I’m not big on buying extended warranties but go ahead and do this for any laptop you’re sending off to college. Best $200 I ever spent.)</p>
<p>I just ordered the ASUS U30JC A1. It has everything I’m looking for and gets great battery life. The reviews were fantastic as well. Decided against Dell, too many overheating problems.</p>
<p>Mac certainly has its pros, but I feel the pros don’t outweigh the cons. Macs are very aesthetically pleasing, I understand that. They also have cool gimmicks (multitouch track pads). And they don’t get viruses or other infections very often (although I’ve never had any on a PC, save some easily removable spyware). But the price is outrageous and the software is limited - it might be good software, but like Keil said, the limitation is key. I know that some people can, but I simply can’t justify paying $500-$1000 more for a laptop because it looks good and because it withstands a beating from questionable internet use; i.e., downloading virus and spyware filled porn, torrents, and websites.</p>
<p>HP has heating problems and Toshiba has battery life issues (which they are very slowly repairing). Dell has some hardware issues, but Asus and even Acer get rave reviews. Toshiba and Dell both offer laptops that are quite aesthetically pleasing. It all depends on what you want. My problem with Macs is that Apple is ripping off it’s customers - and I don’t like to be ripped off, especially as a naturall frugal person. If you have the extra $1000 to shell out on a comparable Mac and that’s what you want, by all means; just acknowledge that Macs are not worth the price. I personally hate the operating system, but other than that, I’d be perfectly willing to spend an extra $100-$200 on a Mac - but not the $1000 they’re offering. (Although I also hate other features, this is for comparison’s sake.)</p>
<p>It was an industry-wide problem caused by defective graphics chips
from nVidia. I’ve had three motherboard replacements for two MacBook
Pro computers. The nice thing is that I just brought it to the Apple
Store and took care of the problem. Apple was nice enough to extend
the warranty to three years when most other companies only extended
warranties to two years. Dell my give you another computer if you yell
at them long enough. There are people out there with four to six
motherboard replacements. Think of all of the downtime on those
systems.</p>
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<p>I install Windows on our Macs so both Mac OS X and Windows are
available. I spend most of my time on Mac OS X because I prefer an OS
with a Unix base. I use Linux at the office for development work but
we have a systems team that manages the environment so that we don’t
have to do any system maintenance.</p>
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<p>If you walk down Newbury St in Boston, you’ll see a lot of high-end
stores and there are many that shop at these places. They may pay for
a high-end product, the quality of service, a good warranty or very
knowledgeable staff. But there is some aspect of these that keeps them
in business.</p>
<p>I’ve used a lot of different hardware and operating systems over the
last thirty years. Apple’s is pretty nice for what I do. The kids like
Mac OS X and the ability to switch to Windows. In general, we can figure
out the incompatibilities and work around them. Windows has the same
issues and some additional issues that aren’t seen on Mac OS X. A lot
of those are already well-known.</p>
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<p>The value of an item is different to every individual. Saving time on downloading and installing Windows Updates or Windows Anti-Malware or in Windows shutdown time may be highly valuable to someone with a high income where $1,000 is a trivial amount of money.</p>
<p>This is a college conference where parents routinely pay $50,000 per year for four years per child when they could spend much less for public universities or community colleges. Are those private universities not worth the price? That depends on the family involved.</p>
<p>The new HP Envy 14 looks like an awesome piece of equipment, although it has that queer Island keyboard… I’ll have to see if anything else with a decent keyboard comes out, but if not, I think this just shot to the top of my list. It ships on June 27th.</p>
<p>Discussions on Mac vs PC approach religious fervor. I like to think that I’m rather ecumenical on the matter and remain glad that there is a choice. Competition in product design and manufacturing is a good thing. Unfortunately, that doesn’t make purchasing decision making simple. One person’s ideal is another person’s trial. As the saying goes - Your Mileage May Vary.</p>
<p>I am seeing a larger number of the really small netbooks on campus every term. For a lot of students who don’t need to do heavy computing graphics the portability and low cost (like $300-350) make them a better choice than the larger laptops.</p>
<p>Don’t discount them a being “toys” by any stretch of the imagination.</p>
<p>QuietType has a good point, and I should try not to be so patronizing. It’s just tough, as the kind of person who looks for the best deal possible. I push that on others too often.</p>
<p>I’ve been reading this thread as we are trying to decide between Mac and PC as well. This thread has been very helpful and has given us more to consider. </p>
<p>One mistake I have made in buying laptops is to choose the bigger screen over the lighter weight. Toting that big laptop through airports was very tiring. And to make matters worse, I wrenched out my back and had to spend over $500 in physical therapy - all because of my heavy laptop.</p>
<p>It doesn’t seem like a few pounds should make such a big difference but it does. And, many students will be carrying their laptops all over campus. I can see why the lightweight netbooks are gaining in popularity. </p>
<p>A question: when students are using netbooks, do they have a bigger laptop back in their dorm room that they use for writing longer papers, etc.? The tiny keyboards on the netbooks could make typing cumbersome. And, if they do use both a netbook and a larger laptop is it possible to network the two? Or is that something that just happens naturally if they are using their school’s network?</p>
<p>My brother has used Pcs both at work and at home for decades- he recently researched extensively ( he’s an engineer ) and bought a high end Dell.
However, shortly after he got it, various things went wrong that were linked to the mother board, and they gave him an estimate of over a month to analyze it and get it back to him.</p>
<p>I have always had macs & I can either fix it myself, using sites like ifixit or I can ship it to Apple and get it back in a few days.</p>
<p>I have had a 15" laptop, tad too heavy- the way the new 13" screens are configured- it is much easier to haul around and the keyboard is comfortable. Have tried out a netbook, but since I would have still needed a " real" computer, it seemed wiser to stick with the macbook.</p>
<p>I have a netbook that is used extensively for travel and as a backup at home. The keyboard is definitely too small to do any serious work for an extended period of time. I can’t imagine anyone using it as their primary computer (although some brands of netbooks have a different size keyboard than mine.) But I have always thought a netbook would be convenient to take to class if you like to type your notes instead of writing them out.</p>
<p>There are some pretty light-weight 13-15" laptops out there now. My son has a 14" he takes to HS daily. It’s very thin.</p>
<p>Apple makes a small and light full-size Bluetooth keyboard which might work well with a netbook. It works quite well with the iPad and my daily backpack carries the keyboard and iPad now instead of my 8 lb MacBook Pro. The Apple keyboard weighs 11 ounces.</p>
<p>We got both our kids Lenovo laptops for college. They have held up very well. S1’s is five years old and still going strong. S2’s is two years old.</p>
<p>I purchased a 14" ASUS N81-VP D-2 as a Christmas present for myself. It was customized through xoticpc.com so it ended up costing an arm and a leg but I have had absolutely zero problems with it so far and I LOVE IT! Unfortunately, this model is no longer on xoticpc’s website but you can find standard models (but they still have great specs) on other sites for a very very reasonable price. It is a happy 3 way marriage between sleek design, functionality, and portability. </p>
<p>My computer came with Windows 7 and I haven’t experienced any problems with it.</p>
<p>[Newegg.com</a> - ASUS N81 Series N81Vp-X1 NoteBook Intel Core 2 Duo P8700(2.53GHz) 14" 4GB Memory 320GB HDD 7200rpm DVD Super Multi ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4650](<a href=“Are you a human?”>Are you a human?)</p>
<p>I also second the UL suggestion.</p>
<p>On a side note, my last laptop was a Dell Inspiron. It was a piece of junk. The 1st day I had it, I had to do a system restore on it three times. It was always crashing, and it came with VISTA. The Inspiron also had problems with overheating. Another strike against it couldn’t run the Sims 3. But those are just my experiences.</p>
) and bought a high end Dell.