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General discussion

Mac or Microsoft

Apr 24, 2009 11:47PM PDT

Hi
I want to buy a laptop for my son. Its his graduation. I am not sure if I should get him a mac or microsoft laptop. He is leaving for university next year and he told me because he will be studying music and interpretation in music, some of his friends told him a Mac is better. Any help would be very much appreciated.
Thanks
Julia

Discussion is locked

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We have that under discussion
Apr 24, 2009 11:51PM PDT

In this forum so PLEASE read those former replies. I'll give you the short answer.

Ask the school for details on what deals they have. Local schools here have a 4 year laptop. That is, you get 4 years of repair and support for a nice price. You can't beat that.
Bob

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mac or Microsoft
Apr 25, 2009 1:56AM PDT

Would you know in what cat

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In this very forum.
Apr 25, 2009 2:03AM PDT

The "I need a laptop for college" discussions are on every page it seems. After a few hundred I now note what I wrote above.
Bob

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The Mac is better at some things
Apr 27, 2009 11:19PM PDT

and a Windows PC is better at some things. Just saying an Apple is better is like saying that the majority of people are wrong since Windows PC's dominate the market share by a huge margin.

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More Usage than Brand
Apr 28, 2009 1:58AM PDT

Hi Julia ?

I know you?re kind of getting jumped on for asking this question, but it?s a valid question and I think you deserve some input. The most important thing, beyond brand, beyond aesthetics, beyond everything else is: what kind of computing is the laptop needed for? If your student is planning on working with some compute and graphics-intensive fields, that requires a different computer than say a student who is going to use their computer for primarily document creation (like Word docs, etc.).

The best thing to do might be to check with the university and see what sort of specs students in the same emphasis area are using.

By setting them up with a PC that will meet their needs not just for now, but the future, you can not only give them a tool that will help with their education, but a tool that they can count on.

Cheers,
Ron
Windows Outreach Team

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Good Answer
Apr 28, 2009 4:21AM PDT

It still comes down to the job the computer has to do.

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Mac vs. Windows
Apr 28, 2009 4:27AM PDT

Like someone else said it comes down to use.

Engineering and Technical fiels. Windows.
Art & Graphics Either Windows or Mac though Mac is a favorite.

Music...call the U and ask the department.

Are they a gamer? Windows unles you have to have a Mac for the school or they only game on consoles.

One thing about Windows Laptops. Specs vary a lot. You get what you pay for. (The 4 years service and support plan isn't a bad idea given the low end laptops that people can afford have a 2 year life give or take). With a Mac you get better specs and you pay for them as well. Apple don't make junk, and the windows world makes everthing from junk to excellent laptops.

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Nail. Head. Got it.
Apr 29, 2009 1:42AM PDT

Renegade Knight is definitely right with his statement that you're going to see a lot of variance in the specs on a PC as opposed to an Apple product.

However, I think if you put computers speced out the same right next to each other (Apple and Mac), you're going to see that your money is going a lot further with a PC (just look at the recent commercials).

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Software too
May 4, 2009 10:16PM PDT

Well, check out with the school the software they will be using (if any). It's ideal to have something similar as it will allow your child to have further practice off-school hours on their own (instead of staying in school if they happen don't wish to).

Is he using a desktop at the moment and am comfortable with it? Is he quite familar with the some softwares that can be used for each platform/OS? If so, then you can safely let him decide with some form of a budget of a list that he's looking at, then decide from there.

Looking at it, he's undecided due to friends' recommending him. Ask him to get a try of it in the store of the relevant software and his comfort level with it, followed by the technical support for hardware and software for it.