Computer for college bound son - Mac book pro?

[WDD]

Need to get a lap top for the son headed off to college. He'll be a business major. Thinking of Mac Book Pro 2.9 Ghz with 13 inch display. Trading screen size for processor speed and memory. And heck - he's young with good eye sight - doesn't need the large size screen that his ancient dad could use.


He'll get the word, excel, etc from the school for $10 - so not worried about what it has pre loaded on it.


Thoughts ?

[WDD]

Insurance - he's 18 and will be in college - what could possibly happen? So - any advice on insurance ? Theft, water damage, fire, lost it, disappeared during a toga party?

[Faa Q]

MacBook Air (check their refurned for best prices). Samller and lighter with plenty enough computing power for college stuff unless he is into media creation stuff (video, etc).

For insurance, check out SquareTrade. Used them for several of my electronics items and they have very good customer service. I know a few people that have made claims with them and been very happy.

[bigdave43]

Business runs on PC's not Mac's. Get him a nice Intel I7 based laptop, so that he can handle the hard stuff as well as games. The kid's like to play games to relax. If he was going into graphic arts, I'd get him a Mac.

[Faa Q]

Originally Posted by bigdave43

Business runs on PC's not Mac's

He's learning, not working. Writing papers, researching on the net, reading email, taking notes, etc are easily done on the Mac. Plus, they are less susceptible to viruses and in my experience are more reliable. There's a reason why Apple tops customer satisfaction ratings.

[NewFZ]

Originally Posted by Faa Q

He's learning, not working. Writing papers, researching on the net, reading email, taking notes, etc are easily done on the Mac. Plus, they are less susceptible to viruses and in my experience are more reliable. There's a reason why Apple tops customer satisfaction ratings.

Not flaming, just my .02. These arguments are have been the justification for Mac cult members overpaying for computer products since day one. The only reason they MAY be less susceptible to viruses is because the hacks that write viruses aren't going to waste their time affecting only 1% of the computers out there. If 25% of the computers out there were Macs, rest assured they'd be full of viruses. The reliability issue is unproven. And even if they were more reliable, who cares when their parts cost two or three times as much? Apple tops customer satisfaction ratings since the ratings are surveys. Who is going to say they are unsatisfied with a machine they overpaid for? No one wants to look stupid. And besides, do you really want to buy something from a company that is OK with using their products to track your every movement without your knowledge?

Buy him an ultrabook with 64bit windows 7, an SSD, and an I5 processor. He'll never experience a virus and as another poster stated, business runs on windows.

[Rabeet]

Originally Posted by bigdave43

Business runs on PC's not Mac's. Get him a nice Intel I7 based laptop, so that he can handle the hard stuff as well as games. The kid's like to play games to relax. If he was going into graphic arts, I'd get him a Mac.

The most valuable company on the planet is run on Macs.

[Jared]

Originally Posted by Faa Q

MacBook Air (check their refurned for best prices). Samller and lighter with plenty enough computing power for college stuff unless he is into media creation stuff (video, etc).

For insurance, check out SquareTrade. Used them for several of my electronics items and they have very good customer service. I know a few people that have made claims with them and been very happy.

Statefarm offers 20-30 dollar a year full replacement personal item replacement on laptops. I've used it twice, no rate hikes, very satisfied.

My two cents - I own two mac laptops, the airs are a waste of money. If they are paid for by someone else then cool but otherwise the price is prohibitive for what you get. Buy him a 13" Macbook pro. If it meets my needs it will surpass your kids needs.

[MotoPD]

I got a big $400 HP in law school that I'm typing on four years later. They had a bad rep for quality back in the day but they're much better now. My wife uses hers (much nicer than mine) for running photoshop/lightroom/etc. and it does great for her. Mine's been thrown, stepped on, and lugged around and even though it's cracked open at the corner it works fast, runs cool, and does everything I need it to.

Having recently done the school thing (well, sort of recently), your kid's gonna screw it up in a couple years and need a new one. Add to that the additional issues of getting some very specialized software to work on Mac platforms I'd suggest a sub $500 Toshiba or HP.

[flbusa]

Probably a good thing not to be able to play games.

Young men can be so easily distracted.

[Blind Spot]

Originally Posted by flbusa

Probably a good thing not to be able to play games.

Young men can be so easily distracted.

Seriously, if you're distracted by video games in college your priorities aren't well rounded...and supple.

[JustinRobert]

Originally Posted by Blind Spot

Seriously, if you're distracted by video games in college your priorities aren't well rounded...and supple.

A 18-19yo distracted? Im sure that has never happened.

[bigdave43]

This video says it all. Enjoy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOAUI...eature=related

[t84a]

Go on the school's website. Most have deals with manufactures and most want you to buy what they tell you. If you do that, the school will support it.

[whittlebeast]

Ask the juniors and seniors at that school and in that major what they would rather have.

Beast

[carpe_diem]

It will get damaged. Save yourself some money and buy a PC. If you want something small and light, get an ultrabook.

If you get a virus running win7 with MSE (and Windows Defender/Firewall), you deserve it. I haven't had a virus hit in years and my machine has been running (more or less) 24x7 since win7 came out.

[Bill A]

Originally Posted by carpe_diem

It will get damaged. Save yourself some money and buy a PC. If you want something small and light, get an ultrabook.

This.

IMO, the new MacBook Pro is the best laptop available.

I have been using Win laptops for decades. None of them compare to the MacBook Air I bought Alana this year. The MacBook Pro eclipses that!

But i think it is highly likely to get damaged by constant travel--classroom to classroom, in and out of the backpack, etc, or by any number of "accidents" that could occur by students that age.

My sons ALL prefer Macs (they all own Macs). I think what I would do for them is offer them a sum of money toward a laptop...maybe $800, and let them choose what they want. If they want the MBP, then they can kick in their own money toward the upgrade. I think they will appreciate the laptop more that way, and be inclined to protect just a little bit more than if they had no skin in the game.

But then, I've been worn before.

[eflyguy]

MB Air, all the way.
..a

[jethro]

I'm sure I'll need a flame suit for this, and I should preface that I am a PC guy from way back, but I'm also pretty open minded, and I want to understand why anyone would pay the premium for a Mac laptop at all? I bought a cheap Dell 2 years ago, it's one of the fastest booting and working computers I have ever used. It was $800 and I have had not one single problem. You need to spend $400 more to get into even the cheapo Macbook. I'm not understanding the economics.

[eflyguy]

No flames.

There's plenty of existing discussion regarding Mac vs other OS here and on the interwebs.

Unless money is really a factor, those who use Mac appreciate the value.

Think of it like a car - or even a bike - forget about speed and handling (performance) or status, does anyone need the comforts and elegance that comes with a more expensive vehicle? A cheap car still gets you there. It's about the experience - in this case, user experience.

There are also some applications that are better on Mac, and of course some designed only for PC as well.

Win7 finally does not suck compared to OSX, but using both regularly, I still reach for my MB unless I absolutely have to use my "mobile workstation"..
..a