College MacBook: The Windows missing link

I am currently in the market for a laptop for college. Now I am not looking to buy atm but I am getting ideas for the fall semester. My overall goal is to provide mobility in my life and not feel like I have to depend on the desktop to handle my computing needs. I have been looking at Apple's OS X for the past 1 1/2 years and feel it's finally time to start making the switch.

Computer Science Major
-Not intended for Gaming
-Not intended for Graphic Design/Video Editing (outside of iLife)
-Able to boot Windows (XP or Windows 7) if needed.
-Able to run iWork, iLife, iTunes, etc. w/o issues.
-Last for 2+ years w/o needing upgrades (unless desired) or replacement.

As you can see I will still need a dependent on Windows. This comes down to several classes that I have taken in which there wasn't Mac equivalent software to some programs I needed, so I will need options. What I don't know is how system resources on the Mac suffer when you boot to Windows. Would I need to buy higher system resources such as a strong processor? Will a 2.0 be sufficient or would I need a 2.4 or even have to look at a MBP's 2.66GHz? Now I don't know if I am overlooking anything else and I get the impression from looking at other posts that I wouldn't have an issue but just making sure before I spend the money and make the switch.

 

IF you are not using anything graphics intensive, then the Macbook should serve you well. It is small, portable and light. I would recommend getting 4 GB of RAM.

However, look specifically into what Windows software you will need. That will be the biggest factor.

I have a Macbook Pro but I don't take advantage of its power except when using Final Cut Express. I don't run Windows since it was the OS I was 'sick of'.

 

^what he said.also,can you please tell us what programs you couldn't find for mac os x?

 

I'm sophmore CS student and so far none of the classes I have taken use the Windows envrionment but rather there is a strong push to learn Unix. What software are you looking at that there isn't a Mac equivalent?

 

You seem best suited to a Macbook, but if you have the money do go and see a macbook pro aswell. The screen on the Macbook pro is beyond awesome, while the screen on the macbook is disappointing in comparison.

 

well,I compared macbook and /air side by side and the difference was very small...

 

What are you learning and what compiler do you use? Just curious no real reason behind asking.

 

My school uses mostly Unix and Linux as well. In fact I dont remember ever writing code in Windows. If I am working in Windows it is SSHed into a Unix/Linux server.

 

About half of my courses have been exclusively Java and have used the Eclipse IDE. Last semester I took a course that focused on C and Unix (including subtopics such as shell scripting and Perl). For compiling C i've always used GCC. Currently, I'm taking a systems course (mostly assembly code and C) and a course that uses SML. So far Eclipse, TextMate, and Terminal have been my best friends.

 

Sorry for the late reply, I just got home from work. Well I am not sure what I will run into in the future but here is an example. In my Object-Oriented Programing class we used two programs...

Alice
http://www.alice.org/

ArgoUML
http://argouml.tigris.org/

Now for Alice you can download the program for 3 different O/S's but for Argo they only showed it for Windows. Now I did a Google search and some site did have a Mac version of Argo but I not sure how well that version is. I would prefer not to load Windows on my Mac at all but since I am still early on in my CS education I don't know what to expect and would want the ability if needed to load it.

 

So how do you like Alice?

 

if you are using windows 90% of the time, then do not waste your money. go and get a rugged computer like asus.

 

For what it is I think it's a pretty cool program.

 

lots of apple users dual-boot! you can do that if you find mac versions of your needed programs unsuitable!

 

I use visual studio in my bachelor in CS. i dual boot windows and i must say if you are going to run a virtual machine, you have to get 4gb of ram. Windows Xp boots fine but anything above it(Vista, windows 7) lags terribly. There's noticeable lag when loading programs.

 

I say try to buy an old MBP on clearance or refurbish from Apple. Apple has the best reputation for refurbished items. You will get a lot of machine for not a lot of money. You will pay in the range of $1299-$1500, which is in the range of the new MB unibody and you will get a far superior machine.

 

Just run windows in OS X using vmware like parallels.
It's worth getting OS X especially if you are a coder, UNIX based and there are a LOT of development tools that run on UNIX or OS X.

The only exception might be if you are coding exclusively in .net/asp and need all of that proprietary microsoft stuff (MS database apps, IDEs), then it might be worth just staying on a windows machine.

 

I don't understand why nobody has brought up the fact that you're just buying a mac because it's a mac. If you're dependent on windows for software, then why are you buying a mac? wouldn't it make sense to buy a competing sony or HP and save money? You also have to add in windows licensing to the mac price.

I didn't read the entire thread, but if all of the software isn't available it would make sense to just get a Dell or something. Let's not forget the recently revealed data that showed Apple has the highest failure rate, with Acer coming in second.

 

#1. Well the idea is own a Mac but have the option to run Windows if ever needed.

#2. Do you have a link that shows this "recently revealed data that showed Apple has the highest failure rate, with Acer coming in second"?

 

don't forget to show the data showing that apple has best CS!

 

I agree. They usually just replace the product without questioning, but it depends on the situation, but 8 times out of 10 they will replace the product without looking back. Especially with AppleCare.

 

Facepalm

If he's going to major in computer science chances are he'll troubleshoot any issues himself

 

How about a ToughBook? They seem to be more rugged and sturdier than Asus, or any other company.

 

I had the link, it was (I believe) an article that was by PCmag. It was on Engadget.com.

But then again, if you have to make an apointment just to see one of the "geniuses", you can't put that all on switchers. And the fact that you have to make an appointment is a double sided sword. You get "great" 1-on-1 help, but you have to WAIT to get support instead of walk-in help.

Let's not forget the recent macbook pro issue, not apparent in the 15". Both of engadget's pros were affected. Maybe I just expect more for $2800 minimum. This issue had been around for a while, so why didn't apple figure out it might happen? because they had already built a bunch, so I can guarantee a refresh in 4 months with a new GPU.

Let's also not forget the hinge incident with the MBA. Even though it was obviously apple's fault, they didn't cover it.
EDIT: found it!