   I need to pick up a laptop for university. How are those mac things?
  I'm taking CS, and I was strongly recommended to get a mac mainly because of the unix. Now, I've only used a mac a few times, and I usually stayed away from them for games sake. However, since I'm going away to university, and getting a laptop, games are going to be at a minimum anyways. I was told almost all of my programmign will be done in unix, and I'd use the laptop for mainly documents and movies after that. Would you recommend one? I know it's very opinionated, so try to tell my why I should go for one or the other. Also, as far as regular laptops go, I was thinking about a thinkpad (more powerful, and rugged), but what about those LG's? I really don't know very much about them quality wise.thanks a lot.   
  I'm in the same situation. I'd LIEK a mac, but price is THE deciding point for me, and there are nice $700ish Dell laptops...so I'll jsut install linux. :)   ;  I love mine, it was worth every penny.  Just be sure to get the word viewer or you'll get pissed off a few times when teachers try to distribute word documents.CM   ;  The dude in the university store said that you could use microsoft office on em (a mac version) Is this true?  Oh yeah, how long do they last? Are they different from regular comps as in they won't become obsolete in 5 years, or they will? Also, is this "airport exchange" just built in 802.11? I would do a lot of research myself, but I'm using someone else comp (I'm on vacation), and it has aol, dialup, and it's really old.edit: how hard is linux to install?   ;Quote:Original post by Vasant56The dude in the university store said that you could use microsoft office on em (a mac version) Is this true?I think soQuote: Oh yeah, how long do they last? Are they different from regular comps as in they won't become obsolete in 5 years, or they will?Not realy. I personaly think that PPC is better than X86,but meh...Quote: Also, is this "airport exchange" just built in 802.11?iirc.edit: linux is easy to install. or.. as easy as ever.   ;  Hopefully I can be of some use as a hybrid user (owns a PC desktop back home and uses a PowerBook at school).While you will be working mainly in Unix, you should also look at what you would like to be using your degree for after you graduate. Unix is unix is unix mostly, so unix on a unix machine will be the same general experience on a Mac when running Terminal. If you're looking to work in unix after graduation then I would suggest the Mac. Both laptop models (iBook and PowerBook) will do great for unix work and and other general programming you might want to do (objective-c) is a pretty nifty language. Apples are great for creative work in video, imaging and audio as well. You spoke of doing some digital video work, which an iBook or PowerBook (best choice for video) will let you do really nicely, a portable little video editing station.Now if on the other had you would like to do game related work after graduating, I would suggest the PC, but perhaps get yourself a copy of Linux installed as well so you can work with a Unix-friendly environment. It will allow you to work on game projects, share them with your friends, and still get that core Unix training.Either way, it really depends on where you'd like to find yourself after graduation. Best of luck and when it comes to which model to get when you select either Mac or PC, we'll be here to help.   ;Quote:Original post by Vasant56The dude in the university store said that you could use microsoft office on em (a mac version) Is this true?Yeah, but that's just more money on top of the already expensive laptop.  The viewer is free.*edit: Also, your laptop will come with a trial version of Office.  CM   ;Quote:Original post by AcousticaEither way, it really depends on where you'd like to find yourself after graduation.I disagree. I'm currently using a 4 year old desktop, and I'm feeling the pressure to upgrade, so 4 year life for a laptop sounds about right. That means, graduate, buy new computer.   ;Quote:Original post by C-JunkieI disagree. I'm currently using a 4 year old desktop, and I'm feeling the pressure to upgrade, so 4 year life for a laptop sounds about right. That means, graduate, buy new computer.Ah well I guess what I meant was that, for the duration of those four years in college, if I was to find myself in a PC environment after graduating, I would like to get as proficient in that arena as possible during those four years. And to answer a few questions:Microsoft has Office 2004 Mac Edition, if you are a student you can pick it up for approximately $180. It has Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Entourage (Outlook merged with Project).Expect to "upgrade" every four years or so if you want to stay marginally near the level at which the majority of people are working in, though if you take good care of your computer, whether PC or Mac, it can last a decade or more.Every PowerBook now has an AirPort Extreme installed as well as Bluetooth, the iBooks have the option to have both in, but those are built-to-order.   ;Quote:Original post by Conner McCloudQuote:Original post by Vasant56The dude in the university store said that you could use microsoft office on em (a mac version) Is this true?Yeah, but that's just more money on top of the already expensive laptop.  The viewer is free.*edit: Also, your laptop will come with a trial version of Office.  CMIsn't open office available on mac?   