College/Grad STUDENTS: Do you see a better product?

[Bloodstar]

I'll be running on a 2005 12 in. iBook G4 soon here, though most of my work is extremely light and amazingly still doable on a PPC machine. Better than being on an Aspire One, too, even if the architecture's old. Decent stopgap machine, at least.

I'd like an 11-inch Air or 13-inch Pro to at least get up to speed, but alas, money is in a very tight crunch and work doesn't seem like it'll come very easily. If I can land a job, though, I'll probably grab up a used Core 2 Duo MacBook at some point. If I really need Intel sooner, though, I always have a decent PC I can hackintosh...

Going for web development here, although I really haven't been able to put what I've learned to much use. Thinking about looking into computer repairs as well, though I don't know the major name for that. Perhaps as a secondary...

 

[Jswoosh]

I'm a graphic communication student and I just picked up the new MBP 13" I kinda wish I went for the MBA because its more portable but I'm not really concerned with power or size considering I'll be buying the new iMac's when they come out. Plus a large amount of my major classes all have 27" iMacs so I can stop buy when the labs are open if I need to work on anything until I get my iMac

 

[moez]

I have a 2007 15" Macbook Pro. running like a charm. 17" would have been better since it is my TV/Movie Player also but the price difference is great to have justified the screen size bump.

The 15" works great though. Easy to carry around on most messenger bags and backpacks so if I have to take it to classes or school, although not as convenient as 11" or 13" would be i am sure.

 

[Aerizon]

3rd year engineering student using 2009 15" MBP.

Recently swapped out the HDD for a 160GB SSD and it just screams. I have windows on it for office and some other engineering programs like MATLAB. I think the 15" is a great balance between portability and power. Plus it has better speakers.

Regarding the MBP vs MBA, for engineering I would definitely not recommend the air as a primary computer. if you're tight on money then I would get the 13" over the MBA. Again, I can't speak for other disciplines but if you're crunching numbers, the processor is important.

No issue with moving files to windows. You just can't write to the windows partition from OS X and vice versa. So you have to be in windows to copy over your file from the OS X partition. Or you could always transfer files via a external HD or from the internet.

Sidenote: I used to carry around a 13" vaio but that got old quick because I had to bring along the power bricks due to dismal battery life. I ended up leaving the vaio at home and using the university's computers most of the time. If battery life is important to you then all the more reason to choose the MBP.

 

[Young Spade]

What current students are using in terms of macbook standard vs. air vs. pro and 11"vs13"vs15" and DO they wish they had purchased a different machine for their usage.

I am currently ending my first year here at a Uni and I have a BlackBook from 08.
I love the computer; very fast, very clean, very efficient. This is my first Mac and coming from Windows I don't think I would have picked any other machine. Yes there are Pros going to the new MBP with the Glass Trackpad (coming with all new ones now), the backlit keyboard, and the improved battery.

HOwever my current battery holds up pretty well (about 3 hours max) and I just ordered a spare off of the internet so when that gets here I'll use that as well. I'm also always around a charger so battery life isn't really an issue.

A better video card would be nice so I could play higher quality games, however I'm not much of a "PC" gamer so it doesn't really matter that much.