510Gamer

August 23, 2009 at 8:33pm

+1

-510

pcfxer

August 23, 2009 at 12:45pm

Personally I don't like my entire laptop's chassis flexes when I type. I also don't like a heavy, thick and NON-portable laptop that runs hot and has the loudest fans in the world. I am ofcourse talking about my old Toshiba Satellite with a Pentium Dual Core processor. What a terribly build POS. I had many issues connecting to wireless and the like even in Windows, PC-BSD and Solaris. Terrible issues- to the point where my friends would laugh. 

 

I sprung for a macbook and I'm not turning back soon. The first minute I had a solid wireless connection and was up and running for class. I work so well with OSX that I am more product in class as well; the same goes for gnome/compiz-fusion. Solid build quality, terrific screen, BSD underpinnings, easy updates to newer versions of OSX (Not so with a hackintosh) and increased productivity (portability). 

 

That said, if any student thinks that a netbook replaces any laptop (macbook or not) they are just wrong. A netbook would not work for students in my program (computer science) as they need multithreading (SMP, costs more),  DirectX 9 capabilities and enough RAM to run Eclipse (though you can use javac/javaw just the same). Not to mention with Windows, most netbooks boot in two minutes and take a minute to shutdown - factoring that in you lose some good not taking time there.

 

Not to mention that pain of scrolling when debugging code - my word! 

gendoikari1

August 23, 2009 at 9:01am

Most of the people at my school are Apple fanboys/fangirls. There are a select few going against the grain (like me and my friends). These people are the sole PC gamers in the entire place. Maybe because having a PC lets you have such things as a GTX 295, or a Phenom II X4 965. On the cheap.

Khaled

August 23, 2009 at 5:36am

You can choose what you want based on what applications you need: Linux, Mac and Windows OSes now have a large library to choose from.

 

Problem with these MS hunters ads: they never show you the actual specs, a MaximumPC reader will read the specs and know the difference between a T7700 and an SP9400 for example ...

jbelkin

August 22, 2009 at 10:18am

If anything, people would read Max PC should be saddened by these poll results. It basically says that the WIN PC eperience is so bad that people are ONLY willing to pay $299 for a machine - they don't care it has a feeble graphics card, old processor and a tiny screen. That because this things is so horrible to use, price is the ONLY objective because they have to have something to use. This is why Vista failed and so will WIN7. no one would pay $299 for an OS for a machine that cost $299 that they HAVE TO BUY. Face it, the WIN PC experience is like auto insurance now. I have to have it - what are the minimum requirements and how little can I pay.

Conversely, the Mac experience is worth much more - as Max PC users can attest - you get what you pay for - the newest pocessors, better to best graphics cards, etc, etc ...sure, Macs cost more but in return you get a full size screen, functionality, reliabilty, software (not trialware), no malware, trojans or viruses and free tech support. Sometimes it takes going to college to learn that value trumps "cheap."

But real people know this as in the worst recession while every PC manufacturer is losing 15-60% of their market, Apple & Macs are GROWING at a 12% rate and that Acer makes 2% margins on netbooks because that is the only PC selling - in other words, only the rock bottom pricing for anything that resembles a WIN PC is "good enough."

Nothing wrong with that but don't confuse a $299 or the WIN PC experience as the only PC experience. If using a personal computer is a low priority, a WIN PC will do - just like some people are fine with a $400 car, spending no more than $2 on food or wearing free t-shirts, that's all fine but don't think that is fine for everyone or even after you turn 23.

That's why Macs are still growing at 10-100 times the PC market - value wins in the long run but you'll learn. Eventually you'll be able to afford a real computer and you'll see what it's all about,

 

Devo85x

August 22, 2009 at 6:28am

It was the worst thing ever... we couldnt get Wine installed (why he wanted wine when it should have boot camp, I have no idea... and I only looked at it for about a minute so...) the glass touchpad that the mac people go crazy about SUCKS!!!  My finger was slightly moist because I had a drink with me (this was at school... dont worry, it wasnt moist enough to do anything to the laptop) but the glass did NOT give me a smooth glide surface... then he tried to change windows by doing the thing when all the windows come up at once (dont remember what its called) but when I go to click on the right window, the mouse goes off a bit and opens up a NEW thing ?!?!?! wtf? not to mention his dock literally took up half his screen... hopefully this was just one of the shitter macs... but somehow, I doubt it... oh and for college (im a sinior in high school now) I am considering getting a Dell Studio laptop... good price, and (as long as i get a 15 inch) gives decent performance.

Grun

August 22, 2009 at 3:35am

Like most I use a PC at work and at home but since I am a grad student I checked out the the Apple student "discount" last year and it was a a joke - $50 on a MacBook and $200 on a macbook pro.  I ended up buying a Dell XPS laptop with better specs and a 3 year warranty for about $1K less.  I don't think Apple is even trying for the college crowd........until the coolness factor won't sell and parents won't pay the big bucks on a mac for the kid.

I Jedi

August 22, 2009 at 12:43am

Personally, I never understood why a college student would prefer a Mac over a PC. Macs have a lot of programs for them, but at the end of the day the PC, imo, is just so much more flexible.

vinniec09

August 21, 2009 at 9:39pm

Bought a netbook for my kids to play on their websites to free up my computer for myself, what a waste of $399. It will not play 1/2 of the web sites that my kids like to play on and is slow. Who ever came up with this idea of repackaging a P3 and sucking us out of more money???

mdkplus

August 21, 2009 at 7:44pm

I am currently attending TJC in Tyler, TX. When I see an advantage to buying a Macbook over a PC then I would be more inclined to pay for the higher priced proprietary machine. But as of now  the Mac hasn't proven to me to be better, easier, or more versatile to use than the PC. It doesn't run Adobe CS4 any better than my current Toshiba with it's 64 bit OS and Core2 Duo. So what's the advantage? With the PC I  get a multitude of configuration options, including totally free available software on the internet from the OS on up. Can I pick up a brand new MacBook for 399.00?  NO. I was able to pick up a decent PC notebook for that much with pretty much the same hardware config. That was less than it cost for my friggin textbooks! Sorry Mac, you lose.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hutif

August 21, 2009 at 7:20pm

For the record, Apple has been bundling the basic iTouch with macs for several months now.  Also, Macs own the $1000+ laptop market (they just broke 80%), so I think this shows more of a shift to lower priced netbooks then anything else.  If Apple doesn't bring in a cheap laptop (and lets face it, they won't) they could lose this demographic.

ChampagneBob

August 21, 2009 at 4:06pm

Apple will post record sales for the next reporting period..... that will debunk this puff piece that proves nothing.

DBsantos77

August 21, 2009 at 3:32pm

I have yet to see someone using a PC at the college I attend, I own an HP, most guys that work in my classes - 3D Work, use MacBooks.

D.E.

August 21, 2009 at 2:51pm

Apple has BEEN losing control of the market. People are starting to wake up that for the same price, you can get a very handsomely equipped laptop for the same price of a somewhat humdrum macbook. People want their money to go further and while Apple is having mega success with their iphone, they still are not the laptop kings that they want to be.

DarKarvin

August 21, 2009 at 2:14pm

I just run a regular pc with linux, looks and does everything a mac does, include not play games.

 

deismanj

August 21, 2009 at 1:59pm

I'm not surprised.  With this bad economy of late in general there were more unemployed and those that were employed were earning less than they were a year or 2 ago, so it's not really surprising students, and people in general, are being more cautious towards high prices and are more budget conscious.