Buying Mac vs PC help

[yelesomnerual]

Hi, I know this has nothing to do with clep, but i've been on instantcert and the internet so much lately studying for cleps and dantes and finding resources that my old laptop has really been getting some major use and i'd like to buy a newer, more efficient one.
my price range is limited to about 1100.
i bought a small toshiba for 900, but i really fell in love with the mac notebook. the size, the weight, just perfect for transporting to school, starbucks, the library..my life, you know?
but i've always had an anathema for macs, ever since elementary school when they'd always bust while i was playing kidpix.
but i realize macs have changed. i'm just not sure if i could make the adjustment from windows. i'm not a big media person, but i am very into my pictures and music.
any suggestions? i thought this might be a good place to ask since you all are obviously intelligent and computer users.
any stories, reviews, or advice would be extremely helpful. this is a great opportunity to procrastinate studying in a productive way!!
Thanks,
lauren

[gcalvin]

I bought a Macbook in mid-April, and I'm very happy with it. I got the black model for its larger hard drive. Part of the reason I bought it is because I'm an IT contractor, and my current main customer has about a dozen Macs on site. They have another company that supports the Macs, but I wanted to be familiar. It came with 2 gigs of RAM, but I bought an upgrade from crucial.com, so I have 4 gigs now. I also bought VMware Fusion and an OEM Vista Ultimate so that I can run Windows apps. It works fine, but you might be happier with Windows XP.

As far as price goes, the low-end Macbook is $1099, and pretty much nobody discounts them. An extra $200 gets you a somewhat faster processor, more RAM, a bigger hard drive, and a SuperDrive, which allows you to write DVDs. Don't do it for the processor or the RAM. Buying third-party RAM is much cheaper, and for your intended uses, processor speed is very unlikely to be a bottleneck for you. I'm glad I have a SuperDrive, but if you don't think you'll need to write DVDs, then don't spend the money. You can get an external DVD burner later on for less than $200, if you decide you need one.

VMware Fusion is $80, and you can get XP Pro SP2 online for around $120. You can download a 30-day trial of Fusion, and there is also the Boot Camp option for installing Windows, but that means you boot into Windows or boot into Mac OSX, and you can't run both at the same time. But if you install Windows under Boot Camp, you can then use that installation if you install Fusion later on.

I have been using Windows since 3.1, and Linux since the mid-'90s. I had occasional exposure to Apple, but was not a big fan. Since buying my Macbook, I find I am using it at least 90% of the time, and rarely even starting up Fusion. I use Windows for a few pieces of software that require it, and to sync my Windows Mobile device. I use NeoOffice on the Macbook to read and write Word and Excel files. I prefer web-based GMail to any external mail program, although I do have Outlook and Entourage installed so I can support other users. I prefer Firefox to Safari or IE, and it works perfectly for everything except my Rosetta Stone online subscription (requires an older version of Shockwave), so for that I use Safari or go to Windows mode.

Anyway, hope that helps!

-Gary-

[yelesomnerual]

Gary,
Thank you for your time and detailed response! I'm glad to hear that you are happy with your MacBook. If you or anyone else replies again, i believe the macbook i am looking at has 1 gig of ram, while the toshiba i bought has 2. how will this difference affect me (i am quite ignorant of computer techie stuff...)?

[gcalvin]

Frankly, 1 gig is probably not enough. What will happen is that your computer will start using "virtual memory" -- swapping out pieces of programs in memory to your hard drive. This is very slow, as the hard drive is about a thousand times slower than RAM. But the good news is that you will go to Memory upgrades, flash media, and usb storage at Crucial.com and buy four gigs of RAM for just over $100. Don't buy it from Apple -- they want $300 for the same memory. It's a bit of a pain to do the upgrade, as there are three tiny screws holding in a little metal bracket that you have to remove. If it scares you, find a friend, relative or neighbor to do it for you. It's a ten-minute job if you have the right tools (basically, one of those little eyeglass screwdrivers). With four gigs of RAM, you will be able to run Mac OSX and Windows simultaneously, with several programs running happily in each OS.

-Gary-

[originalbigjim]

before you think about buying a mac you need to watch this series of youtube videos
YouTube - Mac Spoof: Boot Camp

[CLEP101]

Just giving my 2 cents.
I've only used PC's my whole life. Don't know much about the Mac's but I've heard lots of good things about them. But I wouldn't buy one. Right now, I wouldn't spend more that $700 or maybe $800 for a brand new one (PC). They have some pretty good ones out there. You Can probably spend less if you can get someone to build one for you. Most of the new laptops coming out come with 2Gig memory right off the bat. I have 6 PC's, 2 desktops and 4 laptops. 2 Gateways, 2 HP's and 2 Dells. I haven't had any issues with any of them. Don't ask me how I got all of these computers. They just sort of fell on my lap.

[yelesomnerual]

Hahaha. I always wonder about people that have that many computers... How do you pick every day! Agreed, my brother would gladly build me something but... I'm more of a simple person, just want the basics, kind of a plug and play. Agree on the price of pcs as well. the toshiba i bought was 750 and the specs look great. But the mac is so pretty...and lightweight... not that that's a good reason to pay 1099 for 1GB, but whatever.