Laptops

[mosaik]

Just wondering what sorts of specs should I get for a new laptop? I used just a plain toshiba through my undergrad and that was suffice. Is there a lot more required for med school? Graphics? Programs? Otherwise, I could pick up a cheap laptop and an epic desktop if that works. Only I'm not sure how often I'd be at home. Help!!!

[A-Stark]

Not much more at this point. PowerPoint, Adobe Acrobat, Word, a browser, mail client, and video player are really all you need.

[Dmitrip]

trust me, go for a mac!

[Dr. Jan Intor]

without a question go for a mac, yes they are a little pricey but they are light years ahead of PCs. I have had one for 2 years and have enjoyed every minute of it. Also, they have a good resale value so you can get good money for your mac if you want to upgrade a couple years down the road!

[leviathan]

without a question go for a mac, yes they are a little pricey but they are light years ahead of PCs. I have had one for 2 years and have enjoyed every minute of it. Also, they have a good resale value so you can get good money for your mac if you want to upgrade a couple years down the road!

How are Macs lightyears ahead of PCs?

[rmorelan]

Just wondering what sorts of specs should I get for a new laptop? I used just a plain toshiba through my undergrad and that was suffice. Is there a lot more required for med school? Graphics? Programs? Otherwise, I could pick up a cheap laptop and an epic desktop if that works. Only I'm not sure how often I'd be at home. Help!!!

 

The med students I talked to didn't indicate you needed a super end laptop. They didn't really need anything special to do what they needed

[Dr. Jan Intor]

How are Macs lightyears ahead of PCs?

 

Comparing Leopard with Vista...very few crashes (do only crashes I've experience have been with microsoft programs, Word and Excel etc). Overall much more user friendly. Less prone to viruses. And so for everyday use and school purposes I'd say it runs much smoother than vista

[A-Stark]

Meh. Macs are internally identical to PCs and simply run a pretty version of Unix. I have *never* had a virus on a single computer I've owned, but PCs get viruses more often simply because more viruses are designed for them. There's no intrinsic difference in susceptibility.

[AssayPlate]

Comparing Leopard with Vista...very few crashes (do only crashes I've experience have been with microsoft programs, Word and Excel etc). Overall much more user friendly. Less prone to viruses. And so for everyday use and school purposes I'd say it runs much smoother than vista

 

Seeing how Leopard is just a glorified UNIX operating system, you could get the same stability, lack of viruses, and smoothness on any PC laptop simply by installing a unix/linux. Mind you it wont be as user friendly, but there are some Linux distributions out there that are very very user friendly now days.

 

My personal opinion on things is that for all the bad rep the newer windows operating systems are getting, they are fairly stable and that crashing and stability isnt that much of an issue any more (I think my vista laptop crashed once in 2 years - and even that was due to a hardware issue). I think windows is still more compatible with the vast majority of softwares and hardwares out there and that's a big plus. And for the price of a good apple laptop, you could afford to buy a good PC laptop now and possibly replace it with another good PC laptop in 1.5-2 years from now if you want.

 

Having said that, I should mention that I'm just not a big fan of Apple in general

[ontariostudent]

I love how every single "Laptop?" thread gets turned into a Mac vs. PC debate.

[Laura_333]

I love how every single "Laptop?" thread gets turned into a Mac vs. PC debate.

 

Haha so true! I have always had a mac b/c my dad was a computer teacher and loved them...but even I am sooooo sick of hearing how macs are the best/easiest and pcs are junk, or that macs are expensive wastes and pcs are amazing. Basically, I think either is fine. I would be interested to hear more about specific pcs to know what people's favorite computers are etc and which ones perform best.

[ontariostudent]

Haha so true! I have always had a mac b/c my dad was a computer teacher and loved them...but even I am sooooo sick of hearing how macs are the best/easiest and pcs are junk, or that macs are expensive wastes and pcs are amazing. Basically, I think either is fine. I would be interested to hear more about specific pcs to know what people's favorite computers are etc and which ones perform best.

 

I am buying a new Macbook Pro in the next few weeks and I'm super excited, but these threads drive me crazy bec the average computer user will be fine with any computer, PC, Mac or other. I can't tell you how many of my friends have switched to Macs and don't know anything about them. They like them because they're pretty, and don't even know how to use all the cool features. My friend has had a mac for a year and doesn't even know that her OS is called Leopard. Does anyone with Vista or XP not know what they have? I don't know, it seems a lot of people buy Macs for the wrong reasons (bec they're trendy/cool/pretty) and it's wasted on them. They would probably do better with a PC because it's what they're used to and they don't have to go out of their way to figure out how to do what they've been doing their whole lives.

 

If you aren't computer savvy and don't care to spend money to be trendy, but a decent PC laptop. There are many in the $600-700 range with similar specs to a mac that would cost at least $400 more, and they will be way more than adequate for your med computing needs. Don't waste your money on something you won't learn how to use properly. Macs have a learning curve if you're coming from PCs, and if you're not going to figure it out there's really no point. Besides, they say Windows 7 is better than Mac OS in a number of ways, so if you wait to buy your laptop till October you'll have what I hear is an awesome PC operating system.

 

Bottom line: If you want functionality and don't care about trendy gadgets, stick with a reasonably priced PC. You won't need anything more than that. If you wait till October you'll get a great new windows operating system that I have heard is a big improvement over Vista. All you crazy Mac proselytizers are going to create a whole generation of people who can't use their computers but insist that they are better than everyone else because they have a shinier, pricier machine. Leave the Macs for people who appreciate them!

 

My $0.02.

 

PS. Love the avatar Laura/Pam.

[RCP90]

I am buying a new Macbook Pro in the next few weeks and I'm super excited, but these threads drive me crazy bec the average computer user will be fine with any computer, PC, Mac or other. I can't tell you how many of my friends have switched to Macs and don't know anything about them. They like them because they're pretty, and don't even know how to use all the cool features. My friend has had a mac for a year and doesn't even know that her OS is called Leopard. Does anyone with Vista or XP not know what they have? I don't know, it seems a lot of people buy Macs for the wrong reasons (bec they're trendy/cool/pretty) and it's wasted on them. They would probably do better with a PC because it's what they're used to and they don't have to go out of their way to figure out how to do what they've been doing their whole lives.

 

If you aren't computer savvy and don't care to spend money to be trendy, but a decent PC laptop. There are many in the $600-700 range with similar specs to a mac that would cost at least $400 more, and they will be way more than adequate for your med computing needs. Don't waste your money on something you won't learn how to use properly. Macs have a learning curve if you're coming from PCs, and if you're not going to figure it out there's really no point. Besides, they say Windows 7 is better than Mac OS in a number of ways, so if you wait to buy your laptop till October you'll have what I hear is an awesome PC operating system.

 

Bottom line: If you want functionality and don't care about trendy gadgets, stick with a reasonably priced PC. You won't need anything more than that. If you wait till October you'll get a great new windows operating system that I have heard is a big improvement over Vista. All you crazy Mac proselytizers are going to create a whole generation of people who can't use their computers but insist that they are better than everyone else because they have a shinier, pricier machine. Leave the Macs for people who appreciate them!

 

My $0.02.

 

PS. Love the avatar Laura/Pam.

 

Nice response.

 

I like PCs because something always goes wrong, and then you go all self-directed, problem-based-ish and learn how to fix it. It's really a lot of fun, and you feel more comfortable and confident with your computer. The fun is in the tweaking, not something that works as it is. If it ain't broke, fix it till it is.

[A-Stark]

I am buying a new Macbook Pro in the next few weeks and I'm super excited, but these threads drive me crazy bec the average computer user will be fine with any computer, PC, Mac or other. I can't tell you how many of my friends have switched to Macs and don't know anything about them. They like them because they're pretty, and don't even know how to use all the cool features.

 

I'm going to get one because (a) they're pretty and ( I want a free iPod touch. My current MP3 player just does not have enough space anymore.

 

All told, a new Macbook Pro will cost me less than my current ThinkPad did, though for the specs it'll still be on the pricier side.

[leviathan]

Comparing Leopard with Vista...very few crashes (do only crashes I've experience have been with microsoft programs, Word and Excel etc). Overall much more user friendly. Less prone to viruses. And so for everyday use and school purposes I'd say it runs much smoother than vista

I usually keep my computer on or in sleep mode, and the uptime for Vista is in the order of weeks. The only time it goes down is to do a system update. It has crashed once in ~2 years of using it, where it locked up and I had to reboot it. The virus part has nothing to do with being lightyears ahead, rather about being less popular and nobody cares to write Mac viruses. Macs are more aesthetically pleasing, but they lack functionality.

[morkelkey]

Hello...

I think Window XP is the best operating system because if your laptop configuration is high than Window XP gives nice performance compare to Window Vista....

[vanillafield]

I'm going to get one because (a) they're pretty and ( I want a free iPod touch. My current MP3 player just does not have enough space anymore.

 

All told, a new Macbook Pro will cost me less than my current ThinkPad did, though for the specs it'll still be on the pricier side.

 

Yup gotta pay the price for getting a Mac... though with the Macbook Pro the battery life is now at least 7 hours, which is pretty interesting.

 

plus Mac can now run windows.. and i find the mac environment really user friendly, as well as iworks (msword) and their version of ppt are really easy to work around.

 

I still like PCs(my desktop is one!) and am very used to the Windows environment. For MED.. even if you get the most basic laptop nowadays, will still be suitable for you i believe.

[richermartyn]

Hey guys,

I'm totally computer illiterate, but looking at buying a laptop. Does anyone have any suggestions?

I'd like something relatively light, and hopefully not too extremely expensive.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

[tooty]

^^ this guy is a spammer.

 

do NOT click on the link. it might have a virus and out of principle.