hey everybody
i need to purchase a laptop for presenting various presentations. budget is not the problem, but technically i dont know what should i get. those presentations include video, music, flash, i need it to be ready for the latest multimedia and 3d features exist today. i heard that mac has a lot of advantages over a windows laptop, is that true? sorry about my questions. any help will be really welcome.
processor? drives? ram? 3d card? specific ibook model?
i'll be happy for any comment.
yours.
It's really a good idea to give some type of budget estimate. You can get an entry level Macbook for $1099, which would probably not cut it for you...and you can spend upwards of $4000 for a highly upgraded 17" Macbook pro. I'm not sure where you'd stand in the Apple food chain.
Basically, for current machines, you have the Macbook line which are 'consumer level' laptops, and you have the Macbook Pro line which are the 'professional level' laptops. The MBP's are superior to the MB's in just about every department, but that are significantly more expensive. The best thing to do is take a look on the Apple site and see the differences for yourself.
Macs have the advantage of being very well designed and easy to use. The iLife software suite they come loaded with allows you to do a lot with different types of media (photo editing, video editing/converting, ect. music, movied, DVD making and burning, ect.). The programs work well and are easy to use. They are, however, not very powerful compared to professional level programs that perform the same functions...
iPhoto, for instance will let you edit photos on a basic level, and is more than enough for most people. But it's nowhere near how powerful Photoshop is. iMovie is a fine video editor if you want a simple, easy to use program with a decent amount of features. But it's limited compared to professional video editing software.
The disadvantage that you may have with a Mac (as i'm assuming you will be using it for work), is that you may run into compatibility issues here and there. For instance, programs you're used to using that aren't available for Macs. Keep in mind that all current Macs can run Windows in a dual boot fashion (not an emulator). So if you have Windows installed on it, that issue is moot.
In short, i'd come up with a rough budget and see what line of machines would suit you. Then decide what it is you need to do that iLife applications won't fit the bill for (ie. you have a need for professional level software). From there, you can see what your options are for 3rd party software, if you need it, and make a decision as to weather or not the machine would be right for you.
Hope that helps.
-Nick
