<p>I haven’t purchased a Windows laptop in a while but I do install Window on our Macs as VMs or via Boot Camp. The nice thing about the OEM installs is that they don’t come with most of the crap. I still have to tweak some programs that startup automatically that we don’t need.</p>
<p>On desktops I don’t bother doing the tweaking as the processors, bus, memory, SSDs are all so fast that it doesn’t really matter.</p>
<p>My MacBook Pro (17 inches) is 3.5 years old and only runs about 2:30 on battery but it does everything that I need it to. I’d like to upgrade but there’s no way I can justify a new model as the old one works fine. My daughter’s is 4 years old and running fine. I’ve offered her an upgrade but she doesn’t want to go through the hassle of move her old stuff over to a new machine.</p>
<p>I do my work in Unix so having Mac OS X makes life overall easier.</p>
<p>Don’t have a Mac, but my iPhone needs a periodic kick in the butt - the e-mail or Safari would freeze, and only a power off/on will cure the problem</p>
<p>granted, I have only had my iphone since April- but haven’t had that problem yet ( knock on wood)</p>
<p>People outside of engineering programs ( where applications may only be windows based) may want to consider how many " my computer ate all my files/I have a worm" threads there are because IMO those seem to be dominated by those with computers running windows.</p>
<p>I have had macs for twenty years & have never had a " blue screen of death" ( or even the chimes of doom)
Lots of spinning * beachballs*, but that isn’t fatal.
;)</p>
<p>Kids of this generation can adapt to anything. If they were using a PC and want a MAC it is mindless for them to switch over. Even I could do it, and it required almost no extra thought. Mac is more expensive but oh so much better quality. Simply no comparison</p>
<p>THANK YOU!! to all who responded to our post. You have given us lots to think about and discuss. We will go out looking in the stores, because I would like myself and ds to see the computer if possible. We looked on line at several of the brands mentioned. Not sure if we will buy in store or online.</p>
<p>Ritosmom - in the same boat. H took S to Frys to look at computers. S has a very specific one he wants that we’ll probably end up getting it. S has an android phone, didn’t want an iPhone…he uses his phone for music too. S does not want a Mac. </p>
<p>So go with what your ds wants and what works financially. Good luck!</p>
<p>dont get the macbook white because they just got canceled. i would get macbook pro 13". the thing is AMAZING! i have the base line and it runs extremely well. battery last me average 5-5.5 hours surfing the web. its light and easy to carry around. its more secure. if your kid has iphone or itouch, he can sync notes from his laptop to his phone and touch so that he can always access the notes. if he has itouch, he can make free text messages and record lectures which he can then sync to his mac. i still have a dell that is about 4 years but i mostly used it as a desktop and didnt move it a lot. the battery sucked. most pc will say they have 5 or 6 hour but they get more like 3 or 4 hours if you are lucky. right now, the battery barely gets 40 minutes.
i heard HP has a lot of quality issues. </p>
<p>macbook pro 13" for $999 at microcenter. great deal.</p>
<p>I have a Toshiba laptop computer. I’ve had 2 Toshiba computers in my life and have been very happy with both (the one I have right now actually weighs the same as a MacBook Air!)</p>
<p>DS is struggling with the mac vs. pc decision now too. He uses both so learning either is not an issue. He hates the fact that the mac is so much more expensive, but really wants a back lit keyboard and an anti-glare screen. He does use it for photoshop and final cut pro but also might need need business software for his major, so his use is really mixed. He is having a hard time deciding. It is true that once you spec the pc out to the higher levels the price difference is not as much, but still several hundred dollars more… of course for that, he is getting all the features he wants. He is really trying to find a pc that will meet all of his requirements but always comes up with something wrong with each model. I think he really wants the mac but has to work through justifying it.</p>
<p>I think a lot depends on the field, and what others at the college are using. My son is a music major (composer), and he went to college with a PC from a company called Rain, that was configured for music. He really liked it. But now, just two years later, he’s switched to a Mac, because that’s what the other students and his teachers are using, and he also felt the PC wasn’t reliable enough if he wanted to use it for electronic tracks in live performances.</p>
<p>Both D’s have Mac laptops; S (gamer boy) has alienware. Both D’s have Iphones; S has something else also. Me - no laptop or smart phone, typing this on a very old and very slow Mac desktop. I proudly maintain my computer illiteracy - if anything ever happens to H, I will be in serious trouble with our home network!</p>
<p>Just got back from Office Depot. They have a Lenovo thinkpad edge e420 (which is 14") for 449.00. DS actually wants the 15.6 so we will order it on line, but the prices direct from Lenovo are great this week. What I didn’t realize about the Lenovo’s is that they are practically indestructible. You can drop them or pour an entire bottle of water through them and they won’t break. Sounds good for a dorm environment. On line deals include free upgrade to 6 gigs ram and a free fingerprint scanner. It also has an hd web cam. If you go on line and create an account, they give you a coupon for 10% off of your first order. Whats odd is that both the 14" and 15.6 model are the same price when ordered on line.</p>
<p>I’ll be taking an HP Envy 14. I found a 25% discount from Techbargains.com, so I was able to add in some hardware upgrades without worrying about the extra cost. Be aware that if you get this the trackpad is imperfect, and it works particularly poorly with Google Chrome. Having a mouse will be helpful.</p>
<p>i’ve used a toshiba (i am on my second comp). My first died of something of my own fault (my antivirus wasn’t up to snuff and working on major school presentations multitasking did not work well).</p>
<p>Make sure you get something that has a really good processor. Mine is an i5 :3</p>