Dell Vs. Mac...

okay.. can we agree all electronic computing type things are rubbish? lol

_aravena - if you want pics of the dell memory compartments i might be able to sort something tonight?

The only reason I won't do it on a laptop is...Idk where it goes and what not. Desktops are easy. I need my laptop and if I screw up...bye bye latop.

Not a big deal though mate, but if you want you can PM them to me for later use.

Being a college student and probably a higher risk of damaging a laptop to lots of travel and use I was going to say get a Toughbook (Panasonic), but then realized the 2k budget. personally, I've never played around on a Mac. Going through the whole Microsoft mcse ordeal I was always a stout PC guy, but my wife used an Ibook or whatever it's called and was impressed and was going to get one, BUT software she needs for work isn't compatible. Although Apple HAS had software expanded to suit them, they still have stuff that's not. But general personal use shouldn't be a problem.

Quite frankly, until I bought my toughbook I was giving up on laptops. Too dang fragile for my use. I had a tiny Sony Vaio which was thin, powerful and near perfect, but...it being so tiny and lightweight (for travel) the screen cracked too easily.

Hop, skip, jump -

MBP, refurbed, $1700 ish.

Personally I wouldn't touch a MB for a main laptop. It has no integrated graphics and it has a 13" screen. The MBP has a bigger screen, a dedicated gpu, and the ability to support up to a 30" external display.

With the mac, you can dual boot to windows if you need to.

That being said, if you're going to spend most of your time using windows and not OS X, then there's no point in owning a Mac. I didn't read your school's requirement, but if you're doing and Computer Science studies, then you'll be spending most of your time in windows. Plus some professors may not want to teach you how to use the mac version of a program. If you're doing a creative arts major, then your school may already be equipped with Macs.

flipstyle72 wrote in post #4822366
Being a college student and probably a higher risk of damaging a laptop to lots of travel and use I was going to say get a Toughbook (Panasonic), but then realized the 2k budget. personally, I've never played around on a Mac. Going through the whole Microsoft mcse ordeal I was always a stout PC guy, but my wife used an Ibook or whatever it's called and was impressed and was going to get one, BUT software she needs for work isn't compatible. Although Apple HAS had software expanded to suit them, they still have stuff that's not. But general personal use shouldn't be a problem.

Quite frankly, until I bought my toughbook I was giving up on laptops. Too dang fragile for my use. I had a tiny Sony Vaio which was thin, powerful and near perfect, but...it being so tiny and lightweight (for travel) the screen cracked too easily.

And there's a company named Speck that provides excellent cases for the MB and MBP. They're no where near toughbook grade, but they protect the exterior well and they're hard plastic, so they'll stop a few bumps and bruises...then again, I wouldn't want to be throwing around a $2000+ piece of hardware unless that's what it was made for.

^Yeah. I don't get what he's talking about. I've had my laptop for 2yrs now and one before that for 2yrs. Never broke. But I don't throw it around or anything. It's expensive like my camera and I treat it with care.

crazyskillz07 wrote in post #4818664
Im in a bit of a situation here. I am going away to a school next year where a laptop is required. I have 2,000 USD to buy a laptop.

Personally, if you decide to go with a MacBook, I'd suggest you get the entry-level white one, unless you need the DVD burner - then get the next model up. Get minimum RAM and HD. Buy 4 gigs from a third party and either a 320/5400 or 200/7200 2.5"x9.5mm drive to swap out (5 minutes to do both an user-accessible). This ought to put you around $1400 with your student discount. With the other $600 buy things you might like to have - 22" to 24" display, bluetooth keyboard and mouse, external firewire drive, 5.1 surround sound system, LCD TV. You know, all those things college kids need.

_aravena wrote in post #4822399
^Yeah. I don't get what he's talking about. I've had my laptop for 2yrs now and one before that for 2yrs. Never broke. But I don't throw it around or anything. It's expensive like my camera and I treat it with care.

i dont. mind you its a works laptop and we have 3 year dell accidental damage cover...

mind you i havent broken it yet..

I was talking about flipstyle. Didn't know panasonic's had some hardcore laptop.

And don't let the Apple fanboys fool you.

They don't always "just work". You may have problems with the Mac just like you may have problems with a Windows notebook. If they did just work there wouldn't be fixit forums, apple care, or anything like that. **** happens.

Also, standard Apple warranty blows vs. Dell. With Apple, you have three months that you can call Apple and have your laptop sent in for repair, after those three months, you're stuck with having to make an appointment at an Apple store to take the computer in to be fixed. They won't even talk to you on the phone unless you have Apple care. It's really annoying when Dell who sells "cheap" computers will provide tech support up until the day the warranty expires.

That's something to keep in mind. If you live pretty far from an Apple Store and want to feel 100% confident in the product, Apple Care might be something you want to look into, despite the high cost.

^Yeah but with Dell pending when you call you get, "Ello, can I help you my friend?" "Thank you now call again."

Oh , i guess I forgot to mention that was being said in an Indian accent.

You haven't called Dell in a while it appears.

http://www.cnn.com …all.centers.ap/​index.html

Everyone knows to buy from corporate.

Village_Idiot wrote in post #4822461
And don't let the Apple fanboys fool you. They don't always "just work". You may have problems with the Mac just like you may have problems with a Windows notebook.

No one claims they don't have problems on occasion. But Apple consistently ranks at the top for customer satisfaction. For examples, see:

http://www.pcmag.com …le2/0,1895,2184​103,00.asp
http://laptopmag.com …Support-Showdown-2007.htm
http://www.bloggingsto​cks.com …pack-at-consumer-reports/

Personally, I have seen a slight decline in quality and CS from Apple over the last year. I think the iPhone has sucked away some of their resources (e.g., Leopard delay) and Leopard sure has some annoying bugs in it. Hopefully, the 10.5.2 update (Apple's largest and which should be released any day now) will resolve most of these.

_aravena wrote in post #4822426
I was talking about flipstyle. Didn't know panasonic's had some hardcore laptop.

Google Toughbook or just click here.

Yeah, my first laptop I mainly used it in office (to and from home) which didn't break actually.

But I needed something for when I have to work in the field...not to say I'll deliberatly do things to put it at risk, but if they offer something that can with stand 100lbs on top of it, splash proof keyboard, and resistant to impact shock... I'm THERE! lol. Kinda like, I don't NEED the big @ss 4x4 I drive, but I can tell you who the only one driving around the streets of New Orleans when it floods down here. (except for Katrina, I drove it straight to Texas..:lol

Tony-S wrote in post #4822530
No one claims they don't have problems on occasion. But Apple consistently ranks at the top for customer satisfaction. For examples, see:

http://www.pcmag.com …le2/0,1895,2184​103,00.asp
http://laptopmag.com …Support-Showdown-2007.htm
http://www.bloggingsto​cks.com …pack-at-consumer-reports/

Personally, I have seen a slight decline in quality and CS from Apple over the last year. I think the iPhone has sucked away some of their resources (e.g., Leopard delay) and Leopard sure has some annoying bugs in it. Hopefully, the 10.5.2 update (Apple's largest and which should be released any day now) will resolve most of these.

Yes they do. Just go to a mac forum that has ravenous fanboys running around telling people who ask if they should switch or not, "Do it, it just works". All because of their stupid Justin Long commercials.

I don't care how they're ranked; if I pay over $2000 for a laptop, I would expect the company to at least give me phone service for a year with the rest of the warranty. Especially when it's an issue of having crooked keys on the keyboard, something that was wrong with the computer when I took it out of the box. Using it for a business also doesn't leave you with a lot of time for being able to not have the computer around. They won't even talk to you, the response you get is "If you would like to help me you could purchase the Apple care program at this time..."

Having to drive 120 miles to an Apple store to drop off the notebook so they can ship it to a repair depot and then ship it out to me when I could have saved nearly $40 in gas by making a phone call and shipping it directly to the repair depot is really, really, poor customer service in my opinion.