I need a laptop

[BigSKINBauer]

So, i need a laptop. UMD has deals with apple and Dell. They have dell latitude laptops and all apple products that we can get deals on (which i hardly call a deal). I can get another company but if I stick with the suggested ones there will be lots of students with the same computer and the school offers support so if i need help i can find it. I like the apples and now that I can get windows on it I am liking it more. The macbook pro looks good because we can download windows to it.

If I get a macbook pro what will I need to do to have windows running on it and also do i need to get microsoft office for both the mac and the PC part of the laptop? How much will all that software cost? What is the main differences b/w a mac and PC? I know nothing about computers and I know some people here do. Are there any other laptops you suggest? I am thinking price might be an issue but the apple is expensive. I think some other family members will be giving it to me as a gift so i could go higher if it is better.

What do i need to do specifically to get my super computer with windows and mac running together with all the good word and powerpoint stuff going?? Are there anyother intel based macs comming out soon? Should I wait? I like the size of the macbook pro but what do you all suggest in terms of size. When should I buy my computer? I don't really need it until the August but I guess I should start looking and if I get one over the summer it might be helpful because I am taking some classes and I might get used to it.

Thanks

I'll probably bump this monday morning when all the working types take time off during the time they should be working to check out the warpath.

[That Guy]

apple laptops are GOOD. by it as late as possible, price never go up.

to run windows on it, you just need the bootcamp software (free from apple) and a copy of windows (legit or otherwise).

you only need 1 copy of office, but it'll only work on whichever OS (apple/windows) you buy it for. Since you can boot either at any time, that shouldn't be a problem.

as for prices on software, windows in like 80-100$, office is $99-400 depending on the version (student is the $99 version)...

your school has a deal with microsoft though, so you should ask about it. at my school, we got 26CDs of MS software a year (office/visual studio, msdn, visio, windows, etc etc). You get that cause every student pays like $35 per semester to MS whether they use the stuff or not, and they pay it whether MS releases updates or not (sometimes you pay it and get nothing in return). Its a bad deal, but since you'll probably be forced to pay it anyways (in the tech fee/lab fee or whatever), might as well see what you can get.

that whole deal might only be for tech majors, i'm not sure...

[That Guy]

one thing you can do (if you have a computer guy willing to help you) is order the cheapest upgradeable parts (like ram) for the apple and get those things yourself on sale (if you're good at doing the rebates)...

I wouldn't recommend it if you really don't know that much about computers though.

[CooleyAsCanBe]

I bought my additional Apple RAM from a company that specializes in it. Costs about 1/2 what it would have from Apple. I haven't had any problems with it for the 18 months its been in.

[That Guy]

apple ram is just normal ram. you can get it super cheap when best buy/compusa/staples etc has it on sale with rebates, or just get some from newegg.com

[BigSKINBauer]

Thanks a lot,
I don't know what RAM is but I'll definately look into buying it seperately. I intern at an IT company so they have so computer savvy people there that probably know how to make computers.

I understand the boot camp download but the problem is the darn windows I don't want to buy it. I mean i know a million people do it illegally but I don't know where to get what i need. I actually bought MS office, the student edition, so I'll I can put that on my other computer when I get it. It says I can use it 3 times woo-hoo.

I guess the office will be on the windows side of it then. Why would someone use the MAC OS over windows? What is better about Mac and whats better about windows?

As for the software, the site on the computer stuff at UMD.edu is pretty piss poor. I don't understand half of it. It seems like it is talking to the teachers and not the students. The teachers get everything free but I don't know what they mean for the students. I'll figure it out, i'll e-mail them or something

Are there any good Intel macs comming out soon or before august? Also are there any other computers that I should look at or rule out? Any companies that really suck or are really good?

Thanks

[jamf]

The BSB, Some universities are partners with microsoft. I got a copy of WinXP Pro, Win 2k and a bunch of other goodies. Check with UMCP.
DeF: RAM is Random Access Memory. It is the part of the computer that processes information. When a program is started it is loaded into RAM to be run.
Basicly, when you open a program, It gets sent to the RAM. The more ram you have, the more programs you can have open without windows slowing down. Ram is very important. without enough ram, you system will be sluggish no matter how fast your processor is.


Laptops: Apple looks great. Nice OS and lots of coolness but Windows PC's are probably your best bet.

Some things to think about:
What are you using it for?

• Is it a Desktop replacement?
• Do you want a mobile PC with great battery life?
• You want to use it as a bigass ipod...

If you're going to need a Desktop Replacement: Its a Laptop that is big, 17Inch screen with Athlon 64 or P4HT processors. Dont forget the RAM, you will want atleast 1 gig but 2 gigs is great! THis laptop is made to sit at a desk most of the time with very daily travel.

If you're looking for a Mobile PC: you want a thin laptop with either a Turion or Pentium M Processor Or Pentium DUo MObile.. Those processors extend the battery life by only using enough power to run the current programs. Plus those are great processors! Also, you will want a more manageable screen size. the 15.4' screen looks great but isnt that big as a 17'. But if you can afford it, they have those little laptops with 12' screens, they look great but i dont know how usefull it is. would be awesome if you were a business traveler.

if you want a media machine to play your mp3's while sitting next to a tree while chatting with a hippie... pick something that is shiny.

Also: Look at the screens. Watch demo videos on various laptops in side by side comparisons. Not all laptop screens are created equal. In my opinion(and most peoples), Fujitsu crystal view laptops are the best visually. They are stunning. Best buy usually doesnt carry them around here but find one and watch a demo vid on it, you will be amazed compared to standard laptops. Some toshibas have great screens too. If you are going to watch movies on your laptop or just want a kick ass screen. Go to the store and compare laptop screens in person.

Since you arent to Techno savvy, I recommend you get a Windows laptop with all the components you want allready installed. Granted memory is easy to install, you really dont want to deal with that stuff.

another consideration: Where to buy. Some other people might be able to help you with that. I know best buy offers insurance and stuff like that, decide if you want it or not. also check out return policies for computers.

Most Importantly, Enjoy your purchase

[jamf]

Here is a link to great reviews: http://www.notebookreview.com/

[BigSKINBauer]

wow, thanks. There are so many computers it is so stinking confusing. i don't know what to do. I guess all i'll use it for is downloading some stuff, writing in word and surfing the net. There are just so many. I'll have to figure it out some. it'll need to travel a lot.

If i do get the macbook and put windows on it will it run JUST like windows. I mean it is then esentially a windows computer then, right?

Next what is windows vista? is that like a new word or a new XP ME kind of thing? If I was to download that boot camp thing and put XP on it would i want the vista thing later?

I'll ask what the school offers in terms of software.

[jamf]

Vista is the Operationg system. Like XP, ME, 2000 and Mac OS X. Its a while new windows .

[That Guy]

Originally Posted by BigSKINBauer

If i do get the macbook and put windows on it will it run JUST like windows. I mean it is then esentially a windows computer then, right?

yeah, it is. but if you buy from apple they charge a lot

if you want the best deal, using something like fatwallet.com and waiting for a good deal on a dell laptop is pretty cheap, or getting an amd64 laptop on rebate from best buy/staples/office depot/circuit city...

about once a month you can get either a $500 intel (celeron - crap processor that'll seem slow) or amd (sempron, a bit better), or about 750$ amd 64 laptop... all of which require rebates to get the full savings (200-300$ that you get back 4-8 weeks later :/ ).

[skin4Life28]

dont forget though if you do buy a mac and put windows on it apple will not help you at all.

[That Guy]

circuit city has a amd64 15.4" 1gb ram laptop for 780$ this week (no rebates i believe).

[jdlea]

I built a HP on their web site like last weekend with 2 gigahertz duo core processing and 2 gigs of RAM. It was only like 1600$ it was a badass notebook. If I get one, I'm getting an HP.

[TheMalcolmConnection]

BSB, www.cyberpowersystem.com

Daseal showed me this site a while back and you can get a dumbed down AWESOME bare bones PC and put your own components in it. You only really need Apple if you're planning on doing any type of graphic design or video editing. The new machines are great, they gave us some spec machines to test here and they fly, however everyone knows the problems that Apple has. I'm not biased because I have to use both everyday, so my advice is to NEVER listen to someone who says you should never buy a Windows machine because some people are up Apple's ASS.

However, if your school recommends Dells (meaning they will work on them for you when they break) I would go with the D620 Latitude. I buy those for all of the users I support here and they all love them. I have bought them for the President of the University and all of the Deans. Make sure you get one with the dual core because it'll use less battery and be crazy fast. Also, you might want to ask your school if they can put a base image on it after you get it because Dell loads all sorts of stupid shit you don't need. You could spend hours cleaning off crap that Dell loads in addition to doing the enhancements that your school SHOULD have done in their image.