What kind of Computer should I buy?

[ma_ta]

Hey,

 

I'm thinking of replacing my PC for next september as I will be going into first year of med...Currently, I have a toshiba laptop which I bought 3 years ago....I don't really like it because it gave me a lot of problems...for instance, the screen had a lot of issues with it (the screen was only visible at certain angles and at other angles, it would completely dissapear). At one point, the powercord stopped working so that had to be replaced. Another time, the adaptor broke down so I had to buy a new one, and I think I've had viruses/ spyware infections a couple of times as well...at this point, the screen is fine (i got it fixed) but I have to continuously keep the laptop plugged in for it to work (the battery does not charge anymore) yeah....so not happy with my computer right now :S....anyway, I'm not that great with technology so I'm looking for a laptop which is easy to use, light (as I do a lot of traveling), and will allow me to avoid all the hassel that I had to go through with the toshiba....my brother suggested a mac but I just want your input...and if i do go with the mac...which model would you guys suggest? Again...I really don't know that much about computers so if you guys just keep that in mind while making suggestions...that would be awesome!

 

Thanks in advance

[a41]

Just get a cheap netbook or something. You probably have computer labs at school, and you really only need computers to check email and wikipedia in med school.

 

If you want to be hip and trendy and have something pretty to look at go with the mac.

[NewfieMike]

besides being hip and trendy, macs are incredibly computers. I'm never going back to PC

[justletmein]

besides being hip and trendy, macs are incredibly computers. I'm never going back to PC

 

agreed. I was hesitant to switch because of the price and I really thought it was just hype.... but I cant tell you how sweet it is to say goodbye to viruses, spyware etc...

 

Plus the ONLY program I have found without a version for Mac is Microsoft Access... no big deal.

 

To quote a wise man, once you go "mac", you never go back

 

Do yourself a favor and buy a macbook.

[whale.of.a.time]

I was just like that once upon a time as well. Now I've converted to mac (like NewfieMike). I actually still have my laptop PC, but my desktop is a mac and so is my SO's laptop. It is really a wonderful, powerful computer.

 

I would suggest a MacBook (you really don't need a macbook Pro). If you're really strapped for cash, you can go for the macbook White, which is the old plastic top version. The new one is all aluminum. If you're gentle enough, the White should be fine for you. Some people have had some cracks in the plastic though. The aluminum one is much stronger. Not to mention that the new track pads are glass, huge and the whole damn thing is a button. That sold me right there!

 

If you can wait, there is a huge Mac conference in June when they release the new version of everything...after that, prices can sometimes change. Also, I think all the new macs will come with Snow Leopard instead of Leopard (their version of Windows)....so it's worth waiting a few weeks.

 

Also, last hint: if you buy a macbook in August/Sept (not exactly sure when the deal starts) and you're a student, you get the usual student discount (maybe $200 or so) AND an ipod touch free!!! Which has wi-fi and can use all of the apps that the iphone can. Meaning epocrates, skyscape, etc.

 

 

 

Just get a cheap netbook or something. You probably have computer labs at school, and you really only need computers to check email and wikipedia in med school.

 

If you want to be hip and trendy and have something pretty to look at go with the mac.

[rmorelan]

agreed. I was hesitant to switch because of the price and I really thought it was just hype.... but I cant tell you how sweet it is to say goodbye to viruses, spyware etc...

 

Plus the ONLY program I have found without a version for Mac is Microsoft Access... no big deal.

 

To quote a wise man, once you go "mac", you never go back

 

Do yourself a favor and buy a macbook.

 

Help me out here, what exactly is so amazing about these computers. I still have no idea what the hype is about

[NLengr]

Macs suck performance wise. The only time they are good is when you compare an out of the box mac to an out of the box non modified generic PC.

 

Here is a graphic which I feel illustrates the point quite well:

 

Macs are popular as hell in my class. Then again, 99% of the people do not care about the computer as long as it looks pretty and works decently well for browsing the web/playing music/movies, so I can't fault them too much. Physicians are BY FAR the least tech savy of ANY profession. It's almost embarrassing. The number of times I've seen lists of numerical data written out into a word document instead of put into an excel spreadsheet makes me want to scream.

 

Speaking of poor understanding of technology med school also has a significant number of people who buy VW's and then are surprised when they break constantly and cost a fortune to repair.

[NLengr]

Plus the ONLY program I have found without a version for Mac is Microsoft Access... no big deal.

 

 

Ironically enough I'm currently using Access for data management on a research project. But for the average med student, they wouldn't need it as they probably don't have the background to run it.

[WestEastMountGuy]

Mac's are not "bad performance wise". While I would agree for a serious computer user Linux or Unix run systems both offer advantages over Macs, you can't seriously suggest that people running Windows Vista have an advantage over Mac users as far as performance. The main disadvantage of macs is hardware customization (although for 95-99% of people this isn't a problem for what they do), and software availability (an diminished problem since the mac market is growing and Mac hardware can run Windows, linux and Unix now).

[WestEastMountGuy]

Ironically enough I'm currently using Access for data management on a research project.

 

There are alternatives or BootCamp. But once again: For most people not a problem.

[rmorelan]

Macs suck performance wise. The only time they are good is when you compare an out of the box mac to an out of the box non modified generic PC.

 

Macs are popular as hell in my class. Then again, 99% of the people do not care about the computer as long as it works decently well and is pretty looking. Physicians are BY FAR the least tech savy of ANY profession. It's almost embarrassing.

 

You know that might be part of the problem I have with understanding macs. I am a computer programmer, being one for years. I built my machine from scratch (you haven't used a PC until you have a tri moniter system, hehehehe), so did all of the people in my general group of friends. I can't think of a problem I can't fix , and know how not to get into trouble in the first place.

 

That being said I am really trying to understand why people flock to these machines - there must be something? No one I know has one, so it is hard to try on out

[NLengr]

Macs are like a hybrid of Toyotas and VW's (I'm more of a car guy than a computer guy so it's my best anology).

 

Toyota's are soulless, don't have great performance (mediocore handling, power, braking etc.) and are on the high end of cost. But they are reliable so people love them. But those are the people who look at their car in the same way as they look at their dishwasher.

 

Macs are like VW's in that they have that whole hipster "I'm so counter culture because I use THIS type of mass produced product" thing on the go. Oh and the creepy cult-like love of the product.

[ontariostudent]

Macs appeal to those who like shiny pretty smooth things but don't care about knowing how they work. The Mac OS is a million times cooler than windows and the built in programs (like for mail, photos, video editing, etc) are way better. I'm tech savvy in that I know how to find my way around a computer, but I'm not interested in knowing anything that isn't necessary. With the mac I had tons of cool shortcuts and things I could do that I can't get with a PC. Also, they are wayy better looking than the vast majority of PCs, and the only PCs that are better looking IMO are way more expensive.

[WestEastMountGuy]

I would actually argue that its like an expensive stylish foreign car. High quality and can only be looked after by specific dealers. Many dislike them because they aren't what's normative, while those who do great at doing their car repair themselves would hate them because they aren't designed to be ripped apart.

 

I think a lot of the appeal from those not in it for the cool factor comes with the fact you can do many things easier on a Mac. For example the iLife programs really pioneered the way for people to manage their own media WITHOUT taking numerous classes.

 

The reason why many choose macs is because unless you have a great deal of time to invest becoming proficient in manipulating a PC to do everything they want to do. I've used both and to be perfectly honest I still can't stand to use PCs for the simple fact that they make actions more difficult.

 

Why make something more difficult if you don't have to?

[A-Stark]

Oh, give me a break - Macs are not any easier to use than the average PC. It's simply a matter of what you're used to. Anything new and different takes a bit of time to get used to, but there's no "manipulation" required.

 

That being said, I want a shiny new Macbook (or Air?) for my next laptop. I won't justify my decision based on anything but aesthetics, though.

[1234]

get a PC as some med apps are PC only (from my experience at Toronto) . But don't go out of your way to buy a computer because of med school. If you want one cuz its time for an upgrade, go for it. But if it turns on, its good enough to get you through med (in most cases).

[bones]

I think of myself as an intermediate-advanced computer user, and I find I always end up needing little applications here and there... like something to view XML files, or a PDF editor, or something to mount ISO images, or a software that can record from the line in port and save as an mp3, or something to convert FLV to AVI, or an N64 emulator, etc etc.

 

I've always had luck finding such applications for the PC, with relative ease. I'm wondering, can the same be said for the Mac? In other words, how easy is it to find little programs here and there that can help with those odd little things one might need to do on the computer at a given time?

 

Plus, do you think that all of our peripherals (i.e. Windows Mobile PDAs, cell phones, CD/DVD burners, mice, etc.) are now pretty much all Mac compatible?

 

I'd never considered switching to Mac, but lately things have been getting out of hand with PC security. Of course, if everyone goes Mac, it's only a matter of time before malware hits the Mac world hard.

 

Then there's Linux...

[kaymcee]

The guy who posted the tricycle vs. motorbike picture clearly hasn't spent any appreciable amount of time in OS X.

 

I used to be absolutely pro-Windows until I actually worked in computing and technical support. You can do the the same thing, perhaps in a slightly different way, on both OS X and Windows. Windows trumps OS X in some ways, and vice versa. I switched to a MacBook Pro when I went into medical school and I love it. I'm a huge fan of multi-touch; I don't think I could use a Windows notebook anymore.

 

For general laptop computer buying tips:

 

Pay attention not only to screen size in inches but also to the resolution of said screen. Some cheaper 16 or 17-inch notebooks may just have a low-density, crappy screen with the same number of pixels as a 15-inch one.

 

Don't be fooled just looking at GHz of processor, MB of RAM, and GB of HDD because it doesn't tell the whole story. Processors, memory, and hard drives come in different qualities and speeds, and it's worth having a closer look. Cheaper computers are cheaper for a reason.

 

Netbooks are generally useless for computing. They have cramped keyboards, minimally-functional displays, and have a planned obsolescence in probably a year or two, tops. You'll be sending and receiving a whole lot of e-mail in medical school—get something that works rather than something that's just small.

 

Great deals can be had on eBay, Craigslist or the Online Apple Store. You can get refurbished or used Macs for great prices. I got my computer this way and I saved $500. I haven't researched the refurbished/cheap Windows market, but I'm sure it exists, too.

 

Congrats on your acceptance and good luck with your computer hunt.

[whale.of.a.time]

Also, a mac has a different way of dealing with memory than a PC does. I'm not at all tech savvy, so someone else may be better at explaining this.

 

From what I understand, macs use little isolated packets of memory for each program running, while a PC just doles out parts of the same memory. I'm sure I've screwed that up royally, but the end result is that PCs freeze completely if one program crashes (at least mine certainly does! ctrl-alt-delete my ass, never works), but you can force quit a crashed program on your mac and the rest of your computer continues to work perfectly.

 

That has saved me many times on the desktop.

 

Also, I couldn't really care less about the aesthetic

 

oh, also, you can use Parallels to add windows to your mac, so you can run every windows program out there. So really, why not?

[a41]

Netbooks are generally useless for computing. They have cramped keyboards, minimally-functional displays, and have a planned obsolescence in probably a year or two, tops. You'll be sending and receiving a whole lot of e-mail in medical school—get something that works rather than something that's just small.

 

Better spend $2000 to send and receive emails rather than $300 on a netbook and $10 on a keyboard! How functional do you need your display to be for reading emails? In 2 years, it'll still be able to send and receive emails.

 

I don't have the disposable income that most people have, but I get along just fine splitting time between my netbook and my school's computer labs. I don't have issues with the smaller keyboard, but I'd consider myself more dextrous than most. Plus I love the fact that the netbook is so portable.

 

I'm not trying to turn this into a Mac vs. PC thing. If Macs were super cheap I'd be using one too. All I'm saying is that you don't need to spend a lot of money to read emails.

[1234]

it all depends on how much you use your computer.

 

Most people dont simply use their computer for 5 minutes to check their email. They spend hours on it. And having a cramped up system to allow for mobility, sooner or later it becomes slightly irritating and inconvenient. But it is all personal preference.

[RCP90]

This should do the trick:

 

Sager NP9280

17" WUXGA 1920 X 1200

Nvidia GeForce GTX 280M 1GB DDR3 Video Memory

Intel Core i7-965 Extreme Quad 3.20GHz

6GB (6144MB) DDR3 Triple Channel Memory

320GB 7200RPM SATA II & 2nd 320GB 7200 RPM (yes, that's two hard drives)

Raid Config 0

Vista Ultimate 64bit

1 HDMI output Port

1 DVI output Port (no HDCP support)

1 eSATA Port (VISTA only)

4 USB 2.0 Ports

4 Audio Jacks

1 RJ-45 LAN (10/100/1000Mbps)

1 RJ-11 Modem

1 IEEE-1394a Fire Wire

Built-in 3.0M Digital Video Camera

 

[NLengr]

End result is that PCs freeze completely if one program crashes (at least mine certainly does! ctrl-alt-delete my ass, never works), but you can force quit a crashed program on your mac and the rest of your computer continues to work perfectly.

 

The key when you ctrl-alt-delete is to go into processes and shut down the locked up process. Going to the applications tab and just hitting end program is useless.

[WaveSense]

I used to hate macs too... never understood why people would use it. Then my dad bought one and regretted it so he gave it to me... I will honestly never go back to PC.. I don't even know why but it just feels right if that make sense lol..

 

Also along the way I read some articles comparing the mac laptop to pc equivalents and their conclusion was that macs are not more expensive than the pc alternative.. they only seem more expensive because there is not alot of options. So if you require something in between what mac offers you then its best to go PC.

 

The funny thing is it seems that only PC users look down on mac users like we're some sort of plague. but we don't really care what kind of computer you use as long as it gets the job done

[whale.of.a.time]

The amount of time you use the computer, and the programs you need to run on it are definitely the key factor, I think.

 

I also don't have a bunch of extra cash, but was using a lot of big programs at the same time, etc. so the mac was able to handle that better.

 

If you only ever use a computer for emails and the like, all you really need is a blackberry/iphone/itouch at the end of the day. Don't even need a computer at all!