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College Computer

EmperorDarius said:
I don't consider Apple products from being overpriced. I think that the screen and the battery is quite good.
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The screen is terrible on my MacBook - just looking at it straight on when it is flat on my desk I can see a clear difference between the colours at the top of the screen and the colours at the bottom. It's a cheap display and when you are paying so much for the computer you should not be getting components that are of such poor quality. As for the battery, I'm lucky if I get more than two and a half hours out of mine with the display at a reasonable brightness and WiFi on. This is a step backwards compared to the MacBook I had before.
 
neiltc13: This is not a windows vs. mac thread. it's a mac laptop vs. mac desktop thread. If you really found it necessary to throw in your $.02 for windows despite the OP's unambiguous statement that he "needed a mac," then fine. But continuing to debate the relative merits of windows and PCs vs. OS X and macs at this point is really thread hijacking. Lord knows there's an ample number of other threads for those discussions.
 
Another vote for laptop here. I use video / image editing programs a lot, and the 2.0 unibody does me very well. I agree with what some posters above me said - if you want a bigger screen for when you're at home, there's always the option of buying an external.

As for me personally, think I'd perish if I had a desktop at uni... think you'll soon find you'll end up wanting to drag your computer around quite a lot for work at class / in the library / over at friends...
 
I just finished my junior year of college and I can tell you.. there's no way in hell i'd be able to use a desktop. A laptop is a must.
 
zioxide said:
I just finished my junior year of college and I can tell you.. there's no way in hell i'd be able to use a desktop. A laptop is a must.
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That's interesting. I went through four years of University and I owned a laptop but rarely used it.
 
DeusInvictus7 said:
Just get a macbook, and with the money you save, get a nice 24" monitor for working at home. That's what I did. :D
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this is the best advice.

a laptop at uni is essential, i can't stress that enough, and for your needs, portability is key, alongside value for money (when you take your laptop everywhere it innevitably takes some abuse, especially around students!:p).

For photography you want a nice large display. For the cost of a mbp you could get a macbook and very nice screen for working back in your room.

You may also want to wait untill you get there to buy it, as the Back to school promo is on and you also get (at least in the UK) a massive discount (i think mine is 14%)
 
...college is for work AND fun...get an iMac for your dorm room with a lock on it and a netbook that you can carry anywhere... much better battery life, lighter and if you destroy it, its only a few hundred dollars vs a minimum ~$1K for the cheapest :apple:
 
J&JPolangin said:
...college is for work AND fun...get an iMac for your dorm room with a lock on it and a netbook that you can carry anywhere... much better battery life, lighter and if you destroy it, its only a few hundred dollars vs a minimum ~$1K for the cheapest :apple:
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Seconded, however remember that you can't really do any significant typing on a netbook (unless you have *tiny* hands!).
 
my vote: iMac

I am a graduate student, and have used a laptop throughout my college years. A Mac laptop is an excellent option, but... If I were starting over today as an undergraduate, considering Apple's current product line... I would get an iMac instead, and have an iPhone or iPod Touch for carrying around campus.

I never took my laptop to the library because I was concerned about it being swiped if I accidentally dozed off (LOL, like that never happens in college). When I was at the student union or local Starbucks, I actually wanted to talk with other students rather than pecking away on my laptop keyboard. The only time when the portability of a laptop was of benefit is when I went home in the summer/winter breaks. However, I rarely needed to do school work over the breaks, so an iPhone and using family computers would have been sufficient. When you are going to class, you can have an iPhone or iPod Touch for staying in touch with your friends through email, texting, facebook, etc, and also for voice recording of lectures if you choose that.

Back in your dorm room, you have a computer with a large display, great for photography work (getting aperture?), renting and watching movies, and it can even be your television (get the El Gato TV tuner). Get some good speakers and think of it as an entertainment center when you aren't working. You can also put a huge hard drive in it for storing lots of digital media, etc.

As a graduate student, I'm now traveling more as a I transition from school to professional life (conferences, etc), doing more presentations, so a laptop for me at this time makes more sense.
 
Another option to consider, cost depending, is what I do: buy a macbook (you'll never regret it) and then buy an additional monitor (doesn't have to be an Apple one) to have at home and plug in when you're doing serious editing at home for massively increased screen real-estate!
 
MacBook + LED cinema display

Apple Ink said:
Buying an external monitor is an excellent idea.. heck it's literally a necessity if you go for a notebook! But be sure NOT to waste on some itty-bitty one. Rather save up and get a nice LED backlit screen! LED backlit is basically a boon for photo-editors. Otherwise correcting things like gamma might restrict you to the middle 75% of the screen only!
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I totally agree. I love the size of my MacBook. It's very noticeable if you plan on carrying it around with you often. Here is a thread to help you choose which one to get.

I'm in the process of getting an LED cinema display to use with mine. They may be expensive (student discount bumps it down to $799), but once I saw it up close in an Apple Store my opinion changed. It's like having LED, one of those expensive MB chargers, a USB hub, and an iSight camera. Some people would call it a good deal. As far as how well it would perform editing pictures, you may have to do more searching. But here's a thorough review of it. Read the full review. It helped me a lot.

I say go for the 2.4 Ghz aluminum MacBook and use the remaining money - assuming you were thinking of the MacBook Pro - and add atop of that and get the LED cinema display. Portability + desktop real estate.
 
Wel, it depends. iMac is completely worth the price. I mean, you get exactly what you spend for it. It's a great first computer, powerful enough to cover all your needs and more. Both 20" and 24" screens are great (although, clearly, 24" is better:p).
I'm not 100% sure that MB and MBP are worth the moneys. I mean, they are both great laptops, however I feel them a bit overpriced.
Said that, all depends upon your real needs . For instance, will you use you computer to take notes during classes, i.e. bringing it all around the campus? Or you only need it in the dorm? In the first case you have to buy a laptop, whereas in teh second case you can have an iMac.
I'd suggest, in both cases, to take advantage of back to school promotions, if any, to save some moneys.
In the case of laptop, MB is a good and smart choice, it has a much wider portability over the bulkier MBP. I don't think you'll need the extra MBP power, eventually with the saved moneys you can buy extra RAM. And, eventually and if you feel the need, a larger screen.
 
Dani23 said:
Hi everyone . . .

I'm going to college this fall and, being a journalism and photography major, need to purchase a Mac. I'm trying to decide whether to get an iMac or laptop, and which to buy. Any suggestions?

Thanks!!!
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Get a macbook and a big screen for your dorm, it would be perfect for you.
 
Thanks, everyone, for your imput! :)

This has given me a lot to think about. I'll try to contact some people at the college I'm going to to see how often I'll need to bring it to class, but as it stands now I think the idea of getting a laptop with an external monitor sounds like a good idea. Hopefully I can save up for an iMac and get it in a few years.

nieltc13: I must get a Mac, because that's what the School of Mass Comm uses and I don't want to deal with conversions. My current computer does use MS, but at work I get to use a Mac and love it.
 
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