So I'm thinking about getting a Mac for college

So I'll be a freshman in college next year and will likely be one of the following majors: International Affairs, Political Science, Psychology. I will also be doing some extensive foreign language study, and plan to continue to study art in college (I'm pretty involved in art in school right now, and would like to continue in college!)

As it is, I have little experience with a Mac. I've only ever really used one in my art classes when editing photographs, making lay outs for art show invitations, etc. Outside of that, the only Apple program I know is iTunes. I've otherwise used Windows all my life. I use my current computer for typing word documents, watching movies, managing music on iTunes, internet research, etc. However, I get tired of Windows' numerous "you need this driver"s, required updates, virus susceptibilities, etc. From my little experience using a mac, yet extensive online research, everything about a mac seems easy to use.

But now the difficulty comes when choosing one. Where do I start? The laptop will be a graduation gift from my parents. I probably have a $2000 limit. Is the Mac Book Pro an ideal choice? What are the fundamental differences between it an a Mac Book? Does it just run faster, have more memory, etc? Do both have the same programs and features out of the box?

Now, given my college needs and studies, are there any additional programs I need to buy? I think the only additional one I will need will be Microsoft Office for Mac. Does anyone know how much this costs? Is there a discount for students?

Are there any other good programs for mac? Or worthwhile ones? The .mac thing looks cool, but I still don't really understand what it's used for. Does anyone have experience with this product?

I sometimes use bit torrent and bit clients to download music. Can I do this on a mac?

Ok, lastly...When to buy? What to buy when? I will probably buy the Mac in August. I'm just concerned about buying a brand new machine in August only to have some new amazing thing come out next month. I know that's the nature of consumer electronics, but I'll be making a four year investment with this computer and want to have a high quality, reliable machine.

And for current mac users...Are you pleased? Is the Mac OS better than Windows? Oh, and do all new Macs come with Leopard out of the box, or do you need to buy it separately?

That was a long message with lots of questions. Thanks for reading and please reply soon!

The simple answer to all of your questions is: yes.

Yes, you should be able to do everything on a Mac that you've been doing on Windows. Typing documents, listening to music, etc.

Yes, there is a student version of Office and it retails for roughly around $129. You can check with your university to see if it offers any further discounts on software. And yes, there is torrent software available for Mac.

The main difference between the Macbook and Macbook Pro are size and speed. The Pro is obviously the larger, faster model. However, considering your needs, I think you should focus more on portability and screen size. To be honest, the Macbook and 15" Macbook Pro both offer great portability, but the latter offers a larger screen with a higher resolution. This would be great considering you're big on the arts.

August is actually a great time to buy a computer. Apple is expected to roll out updated models in June, and the summer often has some sort of deal where you get a free iPod with a Mac.

And finally, yes, I am very pleased with my Mac. I bought mine in the middle of college and find it hard to believe that I hadn't had one up till then. It's really useful to be able to have a laptop to take between classes, especially one as easy to use and hassle free as a Mac. I close the lid, go to my next class, pop the lid open, and continue where I left off without worrying whether or not it'll come back from standby, a problem you get more often than you should on a Windows machine.

I don't actually have a mac yet but I think I can be helpful for some of your questions.

I'm going to go ahead and state this as opinion but I'm gonna say it's pretty accurate too.

Depending what you are doing with a computer should be the #1 influence of which type you pick. Or in some cases people just go the best most expensive so it stays current for a while.

From what I know about computers in general I'd say:

Macbook - Would be excellent for any types of word processing, presentations, adobe photoshop, the majority of your art programs (Adobe Photoshop cs3 is the most used one), as well as your basic entertainment like music, and videos.

Macbook Pro - For the things listed above Macbook Pro is overkill, however if you want to get into those crazy Final Cut Programs, High End Gaming, and plan to have enormous amounts of music and videos Pro is the way to go.

The difference between the two hardware wise from what I can see is basically just graphics card, and hard drive space. Depending on which model of each a small ghz increase. I really don't think you should choose hard drive space as important quality though, because they have the time capsules to offer, as well as it's a LOT cheaper to just buy a off brand plug and play harddrive. Shoot I think you can get a terabyte now for less then 500 bucks.

So if I were you I'd ask myself whats the maximum you want to do with your mac. If you aren't comfortable saying that you'd never want to play games or anything graphic intensive then go pro, if you are happy with the little things in life and aren't going to be running your system hardcore go with macbook as it's an excellent choice to. Just depends what you want.

onilawliet said:

So I'll be a freshman in college next year and will likely be one of the following majors: International Affairs, Political Science, Psychology. I will also be doing some extensive foreign language study, and plan to continue to study art in college (I'm pretty involved in art in school right now, and would like to continue in college!)

As it is, I have little experience with a Mac. I've only ever really used one in my art classes when editing photographs, making lay outs for art show invitations, etc. Outside of that, the only Apple program I know is iTunes. I've otherwise used Windows all my life. I use my current computer for typing word documents, watching movies, managing music on iTunes, internet research, etc. However, I get tired of Windows' numerous "you need this driver"s, required updates, virus susceptibilities, etc. From my little experience using a mac, yet extensive online research, everything about a mac seems easy to use.

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Thats a great start

But now the difficulty comes when choosing one. Where do I start? The laptop will be a graduation gift from my parents. I probably have a $2000 limit. Is the Mac Book Pro an ideal choice?

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For what you plan on using it for, the MacBook Pro will much much more than capable then what you plan on using it for. Even the base model. Its an overkill really

What are the fundamental differences between it an a Mac Book?
Does it just run faster, have more memory, etc? Do both have the same programs and features out of the box?

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The main difference is that the MacBook Pro comes with a video card, and the MacBook does not have one at all. And you cant add one ether. This helps if you are doing video editing and such, but you have no problems there. It does run faster, simply because the faster processor. As of now, both are capable of the same amount of ram. Both come with the same Apple software.

What would matter to you, between the MacBook, and the MB Pro.

Screen size, color, keyboard, $$$.

Anything you buy with the  logo on it will be much more than enough for what you would use it for.

Edit: unless you play games, or something that you didnt list. And not games like, minesweeper, or old school starcraft. I mean GAMES. Again, screen size is a big thing there

Now, given my college needs and studies, are there any additional programs I need to buy? I think the only additional one I will need will be Microsoft Office for Mac. Does anyone know how much this costs? Is there a discount for students?

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The Student version is $150. So yes there is.

Are there any other good programs for mac? Or worthwhile ones? The .mac thing looks cool, but I still don't really understand what it's used for. Does anyone have experience with this product?

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There are hundreds of good freeware programs, you will learn about them in time. .mac is only worth it if you own several Macs. Its is mainly used to sync Macs, and store information via the internet. It has many more uses, but its use is very limited if you only own one Mac.

I sometimes use bit torrent and bit clients to download music. Can I do this on a mac?

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Although I would advise against it. Limewire, Frostwire, BitTorrent and the like, do have Mac versions. They are the exact same, other than the computer you are running them on.

Ok, lastly...When to buy? What to buy when? I will probably buy the Mac in August. I'm just concerned about buying a brand new machine in August only to have some new amazing thing come out next month. I know that's the nature of consumer electronics, but I'll be making a four year investment with this computer and want to have a high quality, reliable machine.

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Wait as long as you can till you need it. But computers now adays are powerful enough to where your not going to need that extra tiny boost that next months verison will have. New things will ALWAYS come out. Dont worry about it. Its likely you will buy yours, and in a month they will be updated. Its happens. So I advise not to worry so much. But FYI the MacBooks are rumored to have the BIG updates in June.

And for current mac users...Are you pleased? Is the Mac OS better than Windows? Oh, and do all new Macs come with Leopard out of the box, or do you need to buy it separately?

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Very pleased, as almost all will tell you here. But this is a bias site. I would recommend playing with one before you buy. It is personal preference. And yes, all new Mac come with the updated software and OS. No need to buy leopard if you purchase a new Mac.

That was a long message with lots of questions. Thanks for reading and please reply soon!

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Anytime, its what we do here

Ooo I'm sure you've probably seen this already but if you are afraid of the new operating system there is a video here at the apple website that's amazing, and it will make you feel a lot more confident about the switch. It did for me anyway It has just wonderful things:

http://www.apple.com/macosx/guidedtour/

If you have $2000 to spend, go with the Macbook Pro. Its more powerful, it has a dedicated video card which is good if you want to play video games or do editing. Its bigger, but for its power, it is light and small. You get a bigger screen and a backlit keyboard. The wifi range is a bit smaller due to the aluminum casing. (plus now they have multi-touch trackpads) you can also get an educational discount on your mac.

As far as word goes, it's expensive. I use iWork, which is much cheaper, opens word docs, and can save as word docs. There is also open office or neo office which is free.

there are lots of very useful free apps available for OS X, I can't think of any to list now though. As far as .mac goes, i use it for my e-mail, i connect to my dads mac at home wherever I am in the world (I can screen share or just access files) and I use iWeb to host my photos online. If you don't see yourself using those things then it isn't worth it, otherwise, i recommend it.

Transmission is an amazing program for the mac for downloading torrents

The MacBook Pros usually update in june, so august is the BEST time to update (i got mine last august)

All macs today come with leopard out of the box. I find leopard to be far superior to vista and xp. It has a few kinks but most of the problems were ironed out in 10.5.1 and 10.5.2 and it looks like 10.5.3 is right around the corner.

Hope I helped ;-)

One thing to also figure in is getting Apple Care - so during the 4 year investment period - 3 of them will be covered and I think you might be able to purchase the care plan again (don't quote me though). When I went through UNI , I had three friends doing media and they all had the regular MacBook it was lighter and smaller for them to carry around. Also - If you're a student apple offers a student discount.

I used Windows all my life too and there were times when the system actually was OK (but that was when it had been running for several hours), but still a bit unreliable. Never thought I'd switch to Macs, but I guess I got inspired by something and decided to buy one without having tried the system for more than a few minutes (we use iMacs for movie editing in class, but I never got to actually try it to detail).

Turned out that I like OSX very very much and I've decided that if I have to sit in front of a computer for a living sometime, it must be running OSX: my life is simply too short for Windoze.

Thing is, with OSX you get a lot of good software in the package and it isn't as bloated as many Windows programs are, + they crash a lot less. In 6 months, I've probably had only a few crashes and that was Firefox, a third party app. The apps that come with OSX are very functional and they only have the features you really need: no overkill apps so to say.

jennymac81 said:

One thing to also figure in is getting Apple Care - so during the 4 year investment period - 3 of them will be covered and I think you might be able to purchase the care plan again (don't quote me though). When I went through UNI , I had three friends doing media and they all had the regular MacBook it was lighter and smaller for them to carry around. Also - If you're a student apple offers a student discount.

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You can't renew AppleCare, but if you buy with an American Express card, you'll get an additional year of coverage through them. That's what I did and now I have a four year warranty on my Macbook.

Along the same lines ...

I am also starting school in the fall but I will be attending graduate business school where the recommended computing environment is Windows. I am trying to make a case for buying a MacBook instead. Since I have never owned a Mac before and since I have only used one sporadiaclly and for very short times, I am concerned about over stretching myself given the fact that the start of school will be a very busy time for me.

I will be mainly working with Excel spreadsheets, Word and PDF documents, using the internet and doing statistical modelling. I also will need to log in to the local wireless networks on campus and the printer networks. I know nothing about printer networks and protocols.

I know that with Fusion (VMware) and Bootcamp, I can run Windows applications on my Mac. I am also aware of the Mac versions of Office from Microsoft. I am concerned about being able to run the course specific Excel macros on the "Office for Mac" versions of Excel. I am also concerned about the MacBook's keyboard shortcuts for various programs.

Are files created using the "Office for Mac" suite fully compatible with Windows based versions of the same programs?

Thank you so much for your time and help!
Cheers,
Bandy

While I can't answer the Excel questions, I have a few pointers for those switching to Macs. I'm a college student myself and have watched some of my friends make the switch since high school.

1. Don't hesitate to try iWork. The cost is far less than that of Office, you get a superior presentation program, and files from Word/Excel/PowerPoint can be read and written. While I'm not sure about macro compatibility, I have never had a problem with a basic Word/Excel/PowerPoint document when opening it with Pages, Numbers, or Keynote, respectively. The interface is friendlier and while the programs are a bit simpler, they can take care of just about everything you'd probably need and have some great templates. Bento is a good basic database if you need one from what I have heard (I haven't tried it yet but am buying it this summer).

2. Find alternatives to Windows staples. For example, the Mac does not come with Paint. Paintbrush, an open-source program, will fill that void. The shareware Klondike program should take care of anyone's solitaire addiction. iMovie is superior to Windows Movie Maker (especially if you get the old version, I think it's still available for iMovie 08 owners) and TextEdit replaces both Notepad and WordPad--and adds some good features like a spell check.

3. Use Safari and Mail. While Firefox is available and email can be checked through web-based clients for most accounts, Safari is a friendly browser and is becoming more and more compatible with websites by the day. Mail may be quirky at times, but the simple interface is very elegant.

4. Buy a good mouse. I used to give this tip out because many Windows users could not adjust to a one-button mouse. Now I give it out because many users do not like the Mighty Mouse (myself included). Try it at the store--and by try it, I mean to use it for 15 minutes.

5. Play around with the OS before you get to school and do actual work. This way you can become a master of the system and the applications by the time you have to do something with it. OS X isn't exactly Windows and it will take some time to get used to.

6. Keep resources around. These forums are a good place to start. You might also want to get a subscription to one of the Mac magazines and find a local user group. The best advice is to get to know someone who is a veteran Mac user (by veteran, I mean someone who has been using Macs for over a decade). They can help you with many problems, especially if they are "power users", and hopefully are only a phone call or walk down the street away. There are also plenty of books such as David Pogue's "Missing Manual" series that may be of use.

7. Explore the computer on your own. Trial and error is how I've learned most of my computer skills and I've found it has worked well for others who have a desire to learn and have a high curiosity level.

8. If you're getting a laptop, invest in a good case.

I see the original poster is considering psych--props to you! (I'm a psych major myself). If you choose it, I'm sure you'll find it very rewarding.

Thanks for everyone's help so far. The Mac certainly seems like a good product. Now I just have to wait until August.

Any other tips/advice?

Oh, and is Acquisition 2 a good p2p/bit torrent for mac?

I personally use Transmission as my torrent program, but back when Acquisition was free it was pretty good.

oh, acquisition isn't free? hmm...so transmission is the next best option?

And for current mac users...Are you pleased? Is the Mac OS better than Windows?

yes and YES!

p.s. with mac you won't be able to use IE

bump!

margaret438 said:

And for current mac users...Are you pleased? Is the Mac OS better than Windows?

yes and YES!

p.s. with mac you won't be able to use IE

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my mac at work can run IE - a mac version (i am assuming u mean internet explorer here?)

but why you'd want to run that piece of *** software i can't think?

firefox and safari are both perfectly capable browsers....

to onilawliet: if you intend to run any type of software in the future that is heavy on the graphics side (animation, CAD, film editing, games etc) get the pro as it has the dedicated video card. otherwise the macbook will do all that you need it to... you can always add more ram to it at a later stage too (either direct fro apple or from other stores that sell the stuff cheaper)

if you are a registered student, apple do a student discount, go to their website store and find the number to ring.

yes i am very-very-very-VERY happy with osx. I use it at work for 3D CAD and it's as reliable as the word means! i have a macbook at home for the fun stuff and i loooooove it!

margaret438 said:

And for current mac users...Are you pleased? Is the Mac OS better than Windows?
yes and YES!
p.s. with mac you won't be able to use IE

Click to expand...

sorry for my static but:

-the mac is not to network aware, my work has a ntfs network and that is not going to change. my disadvantage.

-my new mac portable has bricked already, only 6mo old, never had that happened with the less inexpensive xp portables. people laughed at me.

-i got the mac TimeMachine backup to work on a network but took some effort.

-itunes networked is sloooow and there are no 3rd party replacements that are currently in active development

-i priced a mac desktop server and it just to expensive, it was a decimal point off.

strip off the apple hype and a mac is only slightly better if microsoft would get their act together.

In my opinion, as a student, and someone who grew up on windows, mac OS x is so much better. I guess when you get into more technical stuff like the user above, maybe it isn't "perfect" but no OS will ever be. I have always had so many problems with windows, always having to do so much maintanence. Not with my macbook pro....it's an incredible system that runs so perfect. I got time machine up and running without too much trouble and even set up my second external hard drive in windows format to read and write on my mac. I am planning on getting windows for my mac just because I need it for certain things, but am sure that I will RARELY be on it, unless I absolutely need it.

To me, as a personal opinion, mac OS is entirely better than windows.