Macbook vs PC Laptop for school use

I'm seriously considering purchasing a notebook for the upcoming school year as I think that I will be spending a significant amount of time on campus, away from my desktop. I'm really not looking for a gaming rig, but it would be nice if I could get something affordable that has the potential to run Vista relatively smoothly. Initially I wanted to hold out on getting one until Vista was released, but I'm slowly changing my mind.

My price range is probably around what the 2.0 GHz dual core Macbook sells for with the upgrade to 1GB of ram. This looks like a pretty good machine, but after looking at some Windows only laptops in the local Best buy and Future Shop ads, it's also looking like a worse deal. However I know very little about current computer hardware, especially when it comes to notebooks.

Really, I'm only looking to use the machine for running Microsoft Office, Firefox, watching a movie here and there and listening to mp3s. Oh, well, and probably some BitTorrent (uTorrent). Wireless is a must, but it also needs to have an ethernet port so that I can use the internet in the lab and at home. I'll probably use a USB key or re-writable DVDs in order to transfer files betwen the laptop and my desktop.

I'd appreciate any advice you guys can give. Links to good laptop review spots are also good. One last thing, plz take note of my location - Canada. This means I can't order from NewEgg and have to pay 15% taxes on whatever machine I end up purchasing.

Thanks.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Wait, you're planning on running Vista as your primary OS? I'm not sure I follow your statements exactly, so correct me if I'm wrong.

I mean, buy whatever hardware you want, if you're not going to spend most of your time in OS X, there's not too many reasons to buy a MacBook, unless you just really love the form factor.

Also, if you ARE going to buy a MacBook, don't buy the RAM from Apple. Just buy RAM on your own—cheaper that way.

As far as price goes, Apple tends to put a bit of extra cost on their notebooks. This is mainly because they are a small company and rely on hardware profit margins to stay afloat, unlike Dell who slice their margins down to razor-thin levels and rely on volume to make it up. Like I said, if you're not planning on running OS X most of the time, don't bother. That said, if you're INTERESTED in OS X, the MacBook is clearly the way to go.

Finally, in terms of features and what you want to do with it, a MacBook would easily accomplish those tasks you listed (and more). Well, except for the using µTorrent, a Windows-only application (however, there are obviously torrent programs for OS X—I recommend Azureus, personally). It comes standard with WiFi and Bluetooth as well as gigabit ethernet, and obviously it has a DVD-RW drive and USB ports.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Well, to be honest, if you just need it for word-processing, using the internet and watching some movies (and do you really need Vista to do those things?), you could just get an older model, possibly even used, and save yourself a ton of money. There's no use in paying for power that you don't actually need, if you say you won't use it for gaming (or heavy image editing). For your needs, I don't think it really matters whether you get a Mac or Windows-computer; just personal preference.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

I want it to be Vista ready so that I can continue to use it with updated stuff once people stop making XP updates. And you know, it'd be nice to be able to not use XP. I will definitely probably be using Mac OSX as my primary OS if I got the Macbook. If I do get a Macbook, I'd like to purchase it when Leopard ships with it (well, I guess that I could always download the OS and install it myself....). I basically only need Windows because some of my lecture recordings don't work on Macs. Will Bootcamp run Vista?

I'd really rather not get a used laptop.

Ok, so I guess I need some more specific questions: Intel Centrino Duo or the AMD thing - Which is better?

If I decide to go with a Windows only laptop, is Dell a decent option? I know that their desktop rigs are stupidly overpriced, but I know basically nothing about laptops. Would it be better to get a Sony Viao or something from Toshiba, HP, Acer or Compaq?

Another thing - for screen size, I'm looking in the range of 13 - 15 inches; widescreen.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

so far, dell has nice quality laptops. Mine (used) is a latitude, old as a dinosaur, but runs XP nicely (even with 128 RAM!!), microsoft word, utorrent, but is a bit laggy on firefox. otherwise, it's a nice machine for being as old as it is.
I also got my desktop from Dell (new), and they have had been pretty nice when it the harddrive went poo-poo (even went as far as upgrading our new harddrive that we got for FREE installed for FREE and other things...)
I recommend dell. quite nice. from hearing from my friends who have mac books (he's sent it in twice over the year he has had it to the factory to get it fixed again and again!!)

I was speaking idiomatically.

Ah, I would not recommend Dell. They make great desktops, sure, but their laptops are subpar.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

What kind of Dell laptop have you used? I ask because I have a Latitude D610 that I love, and their new D820 models are pretty sweet if you want the larger 15.4" widescreens {the D620 is basically a smaller widescreen version of the 820 but I haven't had the opportunity to play with one yet}. The only problem with the Latitudes is that they are a little expensive. One of my friends has an Inspiron that he really likes, but I just don't particularly care for the Inspiron models, since they are very "home user" feeling.

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I've had my Dell laptop for about 2 years, and the thing is amazing. Dell laptops are cheaper then most others you'll find. Far lower then a Vaio from Sony. I personally like Dell laptops, and think they're a great deal and most new laptops you buy now will be Vista capable (Aero is iffy depending on your graphics card, if you have one at all @_@).

Sadly, the breaking point for a laptop for me is the keyboard. It has to have the backspace key all the way on the end and windows key on the bottom left. It's a small thing, but when you get a new computer only to realize the layout is different, it can be annoying =O

I would say go for a Dell or Gateway. HP's and Compaq's seem to be bulky from what I remeber. Fujitsu's seem flimsy and aren't for people who are going to be out and about with their computer. Vaio's are beautiful and light, but expensive as all hell. I've never used a Mac, so I can't vouch for the MacBooks.

All the best~

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Originally Posted by Mucknuggle

I want it to be Vista ready so that I can continue to use it with updated stuff once people stop making XP updates. And you know, it'd be nice to be able to not use XP. I will definitely probably be using Mac OSX as my primary OS if I got the Macbook. If I do get a Macbook, I'd like to purchase it when Leopard ships with it (well, I guess that I could always download the OS and install it myself....). I basically only need Windows because some of my lecture recordings don't work on Macs. Will Bootcamp run Vista?

BootCamp of course does not officially support Vista yet (though some people have managed to get the beta to boot). BootCamp is still beta software and will be until it ships as an official feature of Leopard. Of course, Leopard doesn't ship until Spring of '07, so I'd imagine Vista will be supported just fine by then. But, you might not want to wait THAT long to get a MacBook.

I would wait through the month of September though. As Intel's Merom mobile processor (Core 2 Duo instead of the Yonah Core Duo that currently occupies the sub-Mac Pro line) is debuting, I'd imagine we'll see updates across the board to this newer, faster dual-core chip. This might come as early as the Apple Paris Expo in September. So, keep your eyes peeled and check the rumor sites (MacRumors is a good place to find a collection of credible rumors) to see what's up.

Also, what format are your lectures in that you can't listen to them on a Mac? The only audio format I know of that won't play on a Mac is WMA that has DRM on it. Everything else is supported one way or another.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

It's not the audio. McGill uses some software that used to not work on Macs. One is called COOL (Course something something something), which I don't think works on Macs because it uses Windows Media Player. I'm not sure if it has been converted to work for Macs yet. The other software is Media Site Live. These two things allow you to watch a video of the PowerPoint presentation in sync with the audio recording. It's wonderful. I use it a lot.

A Mac lover that I know says that the new Macbooks should be out around Xmas. I wonder... I'm hoping that the next line doesn't have integrated graphics because that's basically the only reason why I don't want to get one. I really dislike Windows. I just want to have it around for the rare time when I'll need it for something (perhaps for some software, or to decode a certain video codec that isn't supported on the Mac).

EDIT: Also, is it easy to pirate Mac software? e.g. Microsoft Office, the new version of Mac Os X?

There's nowhere I can't reach.

I will say, I've got the MacBook Pro that is use alot, and it works very well using "windows".

I've got boot camp installed and running very well (even plays HL2). So that is obviously a windows option. But the other option I have installed is Parallel's Desktop and it works wonders. You can't drag and drop or copy paste between the Windows "window" and OSX. But it runs very smoothly as it runs windows natively instead of emulated. I have MS Office installed on it, Paint Shop Pro, Swishmax, and even OCTGN and it works with the Airport, the USB ports, mouse, DVD drive, everything. It's a great option for a situation like yours (powerpoint audio, or WMV/A playback) or for testing (html in IE, etc.) because you just run the PDesktop Windows, open the program you want, and go. Easy as pie.

I highly recommend the Apple stuff. Once you go Mac, especially the MacBook lines, it is hard to go back. There are alot of upsides to the MacBook line: the power adaptor, OSX, Front Row + Remote, great battery life, small/light formfactors, the sweet iSight camera, two finger scrolling... Everything on them seems to be so much better thought out then most laptops. After using it, the only reason to stay with Windows PC, is because of some of the incredible programs available. If they were all on Mac as well, I wouldn't even boot windows. But having the options of PDesktop and Boot Camp makes it that much easier to make the Mac decision.

I would recommend checking Apple's refurb list for better prices as well. You still get the same warrenties, so its a great deal. The laptop I got is a refurb, and not a issue with it yet!

Oh yeah, you do know about the Free iPod Nano deal for students buying a new MacBook/MacBook Pro?

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by Mucknuggle

EDIT: Also, is it easy to pirate Mac software? e.g. Microsoft Office, the new version of Mac Os X?

If you know where to look. If you decide to go Mac, drop me a line. I'll see what I can do to hook you up.

And yeah, I'd say if you just want Windows for stuff like that, you'd be better served by Parallels than BootCamp. You only really need BootCamp if you want to be playing Windows-only games. So, uh, I agree with Dayvon. Way to be on top of things, man.

How ya doing, buddy?

I more or less decided to go Mac with my laptop a while ago, but the Integrated Graphics bother me a shit ton. Also, I'm so used to OS X now thanks to constantly using it in the lab with our G5 and 23 inch widescreen display. I miss the F9 function in Windows. However, I'm still a total Mac noob.

I think that I'm going to tough it out until the next line of Macbooks/Macbook Pros come out. I'd like to get something with the new gen Centrino Duo chip and also possibly avoid integrated graphics.

One last question: re Word 2004, my friend was mentioning something about it being able to record as you type, but he didn't explain. Does it playback an audio recording and sync what I've typed with it or something?

This parallel thing is an OS X program that runs Windows while OS X is running? Won't that totally suck up your system resources?

Davyon: How well does parallel run while using say, Media Player Classic to play a video with one of the more resource heavy codecs?

Also, the free iPod Nano is tempting. I've got an iPod video, but I can't exactly use that while I do cardio since I don't want to destroy the moving parts while I'm jogging. The Nano would be of great use.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by Mucknuggle

I more or less decided to go Mac with my laptop a while ago, but the Integrated Graphics bother me a shit ton. Also, I'm so used to OS X now thanks to constantly using it in the lab with our G5 and 23 inch widescreen display. I miss the F9 function in Windows. However, I'm still a total Mac noob.

I didn't even know F9 had any particular function in Windows. What does that do, exactly? And, I mean, integrated graphics are a bit of a bummer but given what you want to be doing with the machine, I'd say they're plenty adequate. However, you're certainly free to wait.

Quote:

One last question: re Word 2004, my friend was mentioning something about it being able to record as you type, but he didn't explain. Does it playback an audio recording and sync what I've typed with it or something?

It has a "note-taking mode" that will record audio while you're also typing notes, but I don't think it syncs your typing. Also keep in mind that you need to get professors' permission to record them.

Quote:

This parallel thing is an OS X program that runs Windows while OS X is running? Won't that totally suck up your system resources?

Well, not entirely. It's not like the old Virtual PC, which had to completely translate x86 instructions into stuff the Mac's PowerPC could grok. Fortunately those days are over. I mean, you might not want to run other massively intense tasks while using Parallels, but I've heard that the speed is quite acceptable.

Quote:

Davyon: How well does parallel run while using say, Media Player Classic to play a video with one of the more resource heavy codecs?

Again, I think you'll find that between QT and VLC, there's not much you can't play in OS X, media file-wise.

Quote:

Also, the free iPod Nano is tempting. I've got an iPod video, but I can't exactly use that while I do cardio since I don't want to destroy the moving parts while I'm jogging. The Nano would be of great use.

It is a nice deal, but it's probably designed to help move MacBooks before the chip switch. I'd imagine the deal is set to run out shortly before the machines are revved. It's unlikely you'll be able to get a new, Core 2 Duo-powered MacBook AND the free iPod nano.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Parallel's runs very well. It's obviously not "fast" but in general terms it is fast. Windows runs best when it has less installed, and that usually happens when you run a PDesktop on mac, you only put on what you need... so your windows install stays nice, clean and bog free. Let's put it this way, I would say it runs at about 2/3's to 1/2 the speed of my P4 3.0ghz. So, when I run a photo filter, it takes like 2-3 seconds, not 1. Also, the interface is just a touch laggy. Kind of like if you were only seeing 15 frames/second, like when you move your mouse quickly, it just kind of appears there instead of moving there.

This all might sound bad, but really it's not. I mean, I use it to do my photo editing right now, big stock photos too (2500x1800ish), and it doesn't feel slow to me. Excel, word, others feel fine.

Some of the things it can't do. I have had trouble with anything that runs on cmd line (such as LAME, and x264). It doesn't seem to want to work with those particularly. Also, some of the registry stuff seems screwy. Like FFdShow won't install into the registry. It's kind of weird. You can trade files back and forth from the virtual drive to your Mac THROUGH A NETWORK. In other words, you can't just access the virtual drive of your PDesktop windows like you would if it were a were just another drive. You have to go through a network, just like if you were going to exchange files between your MacBook and your home PC (sign in the drive, have permissions set, etc). So, for any basic functionality stuff it works great, just dont expect wonders.

The best thing about PDesktop is that it doesn't seem to bog down OSX at all. You can Expose out of it or use the hot keys. Heck most of the time I have it minimized and run Final Cut Pro without a hitch. About the hot keys, right click is emulated through a user set hot key (I have mine as shift+control+mouse). Scrolling works with the two fingers just like OSX too. You can set the resolution of Windows to change the window size. You can set custom sizes via the PDesktop interface before boot up.

About the MPC in PDesktop, since I've never gotten FFdShow to install, ive never tried it. I wouldn't recommend trying this though. PDesktop is great for anything that doesn't need "real-time". Like I said it seems a touch laggy, so I imagine twitch gaming is not the best idea. Also, I've not tried ZNES or anything in it, but I would imagine that emulating inside a virtual desktop is not going to work, or be worth it if it does work.

FELIPE NO

Seems like Bootcamp is the way to go for my needs. Thanks.

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Originally Posted by Mucknuggle

Seems like Bootcamp is the way to go for my needs. Thanks.

Bootcamp works pretty well. You lose a bit of functionality when you go to Windows (as of Bootcamp Beta1). The newer version has the iSight which is good. The Beta1 also doesn't have right click simulation which sucks if you dont have a mouse handy. It drains the batteries MUCH faster, like I'd say twice as fast. This might get better as Apple writes the drivers for each laptop better. So far, the keyboard shortcut keys (volume up-down, etc.) don't work in Bootcamp either.

Overall, it doesn't seem to have too many issues. Like I said, I have Steam installed and have tried most everything else successfully.

Jam it back in, in the dark.