[raechelle]

So, I'm doing a course in TV & Broadcasting. I need some sort of new laptop but do I go for a mac or not?

They're obviously extremely expensive and if I buy it I won't have much savings left. It's not essential as apparently I'm using an editing software that you can't particularly download anyway however I've always wanted a MAC and can edit using some software available. Also, I won't need to pay extra for virus protection and I think Apple products not only last longer but have a good customer service.

Opinions???

[Profesh]

Firstly: Mac is an abbreviation, not an acronym. Secondly: unless you happen to be a corporation, paying for anti-virus software is a colossal waste of money; and even if you are a corporation, paying for (almost) anything other than NOD32 is also a waste of money.

I hope this helps.

[Corryms]

Get a Windows laptop.
You can get a similar spec laptop for about 1/3 of the price.

[Corryms]

(Original post by BrannyT)
If you want bad customer service

Customer service varies between manufacturer.

(Original post by BrannyT)
viruses...having to pay for virus protection

1. Mac's can also get viruses, so i'd recommend you get virus protection even if you own a mac.
2. 80% of the time, when you have a virus, it's due to downloading something you shouldn't have been.
3. Who pays for virus protection anyway?

(Original post by BrannyT)

a computer that's easily breakable

Unless you can speak on behalf of every laptop ever made, I think this statement might be slightly biased....

(Original post by BrannyT)
limited warranty

How much is an extended warranty, £50? You could by a windows laptop and 10 extended warranties, and it would still work out cheaper than a mac.

(Original post by BrannyT)
and a computer that will probably break when you drop it onto a concrete floor or set on fire when you spill water on it, get a Windows laptop

I think common sense is a big factor here.

I own a mac and a pc, and I have to say, unless you need a Mac for a specialised piece of software, only available on OSX, there's no real reason to buy a Mac, for anything other than looks.
You could buy a decent laptop for £300 -400, with the same specs as a Mac, and have £500 left to spend on whatever you want.

[AmyJ]

(Original post by BrannyT)
However, if you want bad customer service, viruses, a computer that's easily breakable, having to pay for virus protection, limited warranty and a computer that will probably break when you drop it onto a concrete floor or set on fire when you spill water on it, get a Windows laptop

Happy buying!
Brandon

You're an idiot.

[Wookie42]

Getting a Macbook Pro would suit your needs, but do you need one? No. I love mine, but I don't try and convince anyone that a similar Dell/HP machine wouldn't do the job.

[el.sammo]

I used to think that macs were basically a waste of money and you were just paying for the brand and the shiny logo.... I couldn't have been more wrong. My friend eventually convinced me to get one and I'm absolutely in love with it. So easy to use, extremely fast and I just find it very user friendly with excellent customer service from apple. But go with whatever thinks suits you

[JLXP]

(Original post by raechelle)
So, I'm doing a course in TV & Broadcasting. I need some sort of new laptop but do I go for a mac or not?

They're obviously extremely expensive and if I buy it I won't have much savings left. It's not essential as apparently I'm using an editing software that you can't particularly download anyway however I've always wanted a MAC and can edit using some software available. Also, I won't need to pay extra for virus protection and I think Apple products not only last longer but have a good customer service.

Opinions???

Here is the not the best place to ask for advice when it comes to Mac, due to a vast amount of haters who give neg to anyone that recommends Apple.

I was in a fairly similar situation to you, and decided to get a macbook pro 13".

With your university discount you can get 75% off the 3 year apple care, which is always worth noting

[Corryms]

When you have only ever used a PC, Mac's look exciting and interesting.
When you get the Mac, you think they're really cool, and can't believe what you've been missing out on, then tell everybody that they're great.
When you use a PC again you realise that Mac's they aren't that good.


Ask a Mac user what's so great about them, and their only valid answer will be looks, or user friendliness.
Their boot time is faster, but actual speed during use is negligible.

[LightninLew]

PC every time. I'm not sure why this whole Mac vs PC thing exists, probably due to the way Apple advertise. They are essentially the same thing. People claim Macs live longer, but why would that be so? They are made from the same components (Macs are more consistent, but if you go for quality PC components you'll be fine), but Macs are harder to maintain and upgrade, so logic would dictate that a well maintained PC would last longer than a Mac. I've had my PC since 2007 and have only just replaced the graphics card this week and everything else works fine. Works fine.

Macs can get viruses, it's just that viruses made for Windows won't work on a Mac, but people do make Mac viruses. Anyway, you aren't going to get a virus unless you download things you shouldn't or click links in unexpected emails. Just to be on the safe side, you can get free anti-virus software like AVG anyway.

I think the "Genius Bar" is what Apple call their help desks, just because they call them "genius" doesn't mean they're any better than the guy at your local PC repair shop, PC World, or in my experience, the internet can teach you to diagnose and repair pretty much any problem with a PC.

[Intriguing Alias]

(Original post by raechelle)
So, I'm doing a course in TV & Broadcasting. I need some sort of new laptop but do I go for a mac or not?

They're obviously extremely expensive and if I buy it I won't have much savings left. It's not essential as apparently I'm using an editing software that you can't particularly download anyway however I've always wanted a MAC and can edit using some software available. Also, I won't need to pay extra for virus protection and I think Apple products not only last longer but have a good customer service.

Opinions???

Grr, Microsoft Security Essentials is free and brilliant!

[LightninLew]

(Original post by JLXP)
Here is the not the best place to ask for advice when it comes to Mac, due to a vast amount of haters who give neg to anyone that recommends Apple.

I've not been here long, but I'm guessing that's because it's people like this that recommend Macs.

(Original post by BrannyT)
Mines been dropped onto concrete and survived, it's had water spilt on it, and survived

[thetobbit]

(Original post by raechelle)
So, I'm doing a course in TV & Broadcasting. I need some sort of new laptop but do I go for a mac or not?

They're obviously extremely expensive and if I buy it I won't have much savings left. It's not essential as apparently I'm using an editing software that you can't particularly download anyway however I've always wanted a MAC and can edit using some software available. Also, I won't need to pay extra for virus protection and I think Apple products not only last longer but have a good customer service.

Opinions???

1. You don't ever need to pay money for virus protection, there are plenty of superb free anti-virus programs available for download.
Macs are more resistant to viruses because who would want to hack a mac?

2. I can't disagree with you on the durability aspect and the customer service (i dont have much experience). However is these 2 aspects really worth paying 900 odd quid on a laptop?

[JLXP]

(Original post by LightninLew)
I've not been here long, but I'm guessing that's because it's people like this that recommend Macs.

Indeed, welcome to TSR by the way

[Igrisok]

The laptop I'm typing this on now cost me £133 from Argos (via hotukdeals.com) and it does word processing and basic internet browsing just as well as any other laptop. 2GB RAM, 1.3GHz processor, 250GB hard drive and Windows 7 contained in a plastic box measuring 11 by 8 inches. It's pretty much all you need for doing most degrees, although I'm not so sure with TV and Broadcasting; if you're going to be using fairly intensive video and image editing software, my little Acer Aspire probably isn't the one for you! But if you aren't, don't get a MacBook or whatever, it's completely not worth it.

Also, please be aware though that there's an eagerly waiting multitude of free antivirus and antimalware options out there - avast, Ad-Aware, Malwarebytes to name a few - so please don't fork out when you don't need to!

[Corryms]

Go on the Dell outlet website.
Bargains galore.

[raechelle]

Thanks for the replies!
Swayed away from Macs slightly - they do seem ridiculously overpriced. I obviously use it at college and I suppose if it's that essential for me to use Mac software I can just be an excellent student and stay late editing away.
Thanks guys!

And point noted about the anti-virus software.

[henrysickle]

Just gonna throw in my opinion. I've used Windows machines since '95 (well, I've grown up with them), and I'm now using a MacBook Pro.

The reason being is that I do a media based degree, and the majority of computers we use within seminars are Mac's, so I figured it would be useful for me to have one since I'd be using one the majority of the time I'd be in university.

You say you're doing TV and Broadcasting. What software will you be using? I know that in my university the majority of media based courses prefer to use Mac's due to that fact they primarily use applications that are solely available for OS X.

So based on that, if I were you, I'd find out exactly what software you will be using, along with what computers your university prefers to use within the media department. If it turns out they use both Windows based machines and Mac's, and the software you will be using is available on each operating system, then I suggest you get a Windows machine, as you will save money and still have the necessary tools. It's a no brainer. However, if it turns out you'll be predominantly using Mac's on your course, with software you can only get on OS X, the obviously go for a Mac.

[raechelle]

We'll be using Avid apparently and working largely on Macs. I'm assuming I can stay late-ish in the library/in my courses area and hopefully find a Mac there. It'd be more convenient having my own though.

[edjunkie]

Get the computer that runs the software you need. Whilst some editting software is available on both platforms, a version that orignated on the MAC OS and was then ported to Windows, tends to be better on the original platform and vice versa. If you have to use a particular software package, make sure the PC version has all the features that you need. It is quite likely if your college/university uses the Mac version of the software that there will be fewer people who are familiar with the PC version and vice versa. If you need help with some less common element it can be a problem getting help.

If you decide on an Apple product, make use of Apple Educational discount, it can reduce the price differential significantly. Apple usually run a promotion during the summer for students which can make the pricing more attractive.

People get hung up about the hardware specification, but really what makes a difference is the efficiency of the operating system and software that it runs. My experience is that unix based operating systems (of which Mac OSX is one) make much better use of the hardware resources.

Apple have control of the hardware and operating system and take the time to make sure they work well together. When they get it wrong, it tends to get fixed relatively quickly. The Apple fans are quick to howl if an update goes wrong. Companies that develop software for Macs have fewer hardware/software variables to consider, so it can make it easier to develop for the Mac platform.

My experience with Windows operating systems is that every generation needs a higher hardware specification to run the basic operating system tasks. If you have a problem on PC, it could be hardware, operating system or software, once it is not a hardware problem, it is not necessarily the with PC manufacturer problem. If it is some obscure interaction between windows operating system and software on your PC, hard luck if applying the latest updates doesn't fix the problem. Often applying the latest updates can introduce a problem. Avoid running multiple processor intensive applications at the same time, they generally don't "play" nice and fight over the resources. Very few PC applications make the best use of the resources available to them for backward compatibility reasons.

Yes you can get free software antivirus software for PC. But whatever you use, you need to make sure it is set up to protect you. Besides downloading something, a common source of malicious software is copying files from friends you trust and then not ensuring that your anti virus program scans your USB stick before you can extract any data.

Buy what you can afford and makes you happy.