Well, I have decided that I will purchase a MacBook (hopefully Pro). My budget is around US$2,000 and I want it to be usable for all four years of my undergraduate college life. I'd also prefer if it had about 2.0-2.5 GHz Core 2 Duo processor and at least 2GB RAM.
 
Anyway, would any of you mind answering some questions:
 
1. When is the next Mac OS being released? Will it cost extra?
 
2. Are Macs upgradeable? Like if I want to increase my RAM to 4GB after a year or two, is that possible?
 
3. Can I use my copy of Photoshop CS3 (which I have on Windows), or would I have to buy a new version for the Mac?
 
4. Are there any major applications that are not supported by Mac?
 
5. How tough is the MacBook Pro? It looks so cool and shiny, but does that compromise its durability?
 
6. We all know Windows 7 will have improvements, but does anyone think it will be better than the new Mac OS?
 
I'm looking for more pros and cons, so feel free to bash Windows and praise the Mac in any way you desire.

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just remember windows is more widly spread so i would say that you could probably get more than a mac but macs are probably safer

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1. The new Mac OS X release will be called Snow Leopard. I think it'll be released in August. Some say July is also possible though. It will cost extra, it's like going from Vista to Windows 7 if you buy a MacBook now. Although, it isn't that expensive. Leopard in the Apple US store.
 
2. Yes that's possible.
 
3. Nope. You'll have to get a different version for Mac.
 
4. Name something that you use and we can try to tell you. I haven't missed out any important software. There is Microsoft Office for Mac, although it misses a few programs (Access, OneNote, any more?). There are some very great web development App's on the Mac though.
 
5. I believe the new aluminium laptops are pretty tough! However, I never had one in my hands so I can't really tell.
 
Ah, and please edit your topic title before any of the Moderators will have to do this.

1. Some people do say July, but since OS 3.0 for the iPhone is expected for July, I fully expect Snow Leopard to be released August.

2. Yep, upgrading the RAM or HDD is pretty simple, though anything else would require someone who's qualified - the macs are packed pretty tightly.

3. You'll need to get a mac version

4. Not that I can think of - and in terms of creative software (video, 3D engines, etc) the mac is a much better platform.

5. I should think it's pretty solid - my friend has dropped his several times already and it's running fine, just a few small scratches (and I didn't even notice them!)

6. I doubt it. Though Windows 7 will be an improvement on vista, Snow Leopard will be an improvement on Leopard - in other words pretty god damn awesome. And in terms of just Windows, I don't see much improvement except speed and multi-touch.

7. Mac looks better in every way shape and form - the computers look better, the OS looks better, the dock is the greatest thing on any computing platform.

8. Macs are built by Apple, the OS is built by Apple, iLife and iWork are built by Apple - that means everything works seamlessly, unlike on Windows where there are tons of laptops "built for" the OS but none of them are really perfect.

9. In my personal experience, I bought a Vista laptop, not an Apple Mac. Reason - I had very little money and very little time. I regret that decision. After using Vista for a year now, and using my sisters macbook (tiger) on and off for the past two years, I wished to God I had bought a mac. I'm currently saving up and trying to make some money - I intend to buy a new mac as soon as Snow Leopard comes out.

10. If you don't buy a mac and get Windows 7 I will hate you.

EDIT: In case you hadn't noticed, I am extremely bias in that I love macs to death and hate windows. Except 98, that was good, and still is when I run it. I just love macs because they work better, and also very importantly (for me) they look so much better, laptop and OS. And I hate the graphical style of Windows, and the unbelievably slow speed with which Vista runs, it's really put me off.

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Now that both Ghost and me have predicted August, I am sure that will be the right date.  

iMac? LOL, don't waste your money. For $2000 you can get a much much much better PC. Apple computers are weak and way over priced and you don't get much. You said C2D 2.5GB and 2GB of RAM, for $2000 you can have Quad Core and 8GB of RAM and still have money left over.

If I was to buy a gaming desktop, I would probably get a Quad (or maybe Eight) Core PC. But this is for college and graphics work. I have had enough experience with laptops running Windows to say no. And yes, I agree Macs are insanely overpriced despite their superior performance, but hey ... PCs run Windows and other crappy OS while Macs run the Mac OSX. Given the choice to run the Mac OSX on a PC, I would choose it hands down -- especially now that I've seen how pathetic Vista is, and the fact that despite all the improvements in Seven, it'll probably only be as good as XP.
 
Anyway, my decision is still not final, I'll take demos of both PC and Mac before deciding, though yes, I am tilted towards the Apple side.  
 
Also, I've seen several theft reports in the U of I campus area, so I'm not sure if expending 2,000 dollars is such a good idea; I might go for a cheaper 1,000 or 1,500 dollar normal Mac Book or PC. Unless of course, insurance covers almost the entire cost. I'll just have to go there and see for myself.
 
Man, I ramble on forever!

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well yes this is true windows vista and windows 7 are only as good as xp and xp has been around for ages but if you are tilting towards the mac side than go with a mac  
 
and i know this really dosent have anything to do with this but what about the interface do you like the mac one or the windows one???

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I don't know, I haven't really played around with the Mac interface much. I like the Windows interface, but mostly because I've been using it for 14 years or so now.

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Buy a macbook  1,599$ they have 4gbs (+$100and a 2.4ghz procccesor bplus they are small and portable a good hdd only $1,699
 
P.S. You can get a $50 educational discount

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Your Toast Has Been Burnt, and No Amount Of Scraping Will Remove The Black Parts!

 
1-They are upgraded generally in 2 times in a year.
2-Yes they are upgradable but hardwares are a little bit expensive.
3-Yes you can use PS CS3 in intel macs
4-If you are a coder, you can't use .net in MacOs but you may install XP or Vista with bootcamp
5-Tough better than any other laptops
6-Windows, in any time cannot beat MacOs, their all work is to imitate MacOs So be sure any version of Windows cannot catch Mac....
 
So, buy it..!    
 

Why would anyone want to mess around with .net when they can use xcode?  :^^:

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Ummmm ... because some people actually have to work with VB or C#?
 
I think he means Visual Studio, by the way.
 
But I won't be needing VS in college, so that's not a problem.

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That's even worse!

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There is a God www.ie6nomore.com
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Not really. If you're using Visual Studio, you're probably working for a software creation company, and Windows may suck, but it's what most consumers use today.

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I'm glad I don't work for a software creation company then Mac and xcode all the way for me :^^:
 
And if you get a mac, you have to do some programming for it  

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Okay, so as one person has mention, there is Boot Camp. You can use Boot Camp, Parallels, CrossOver, etc to run Windows, and therefore Photoshop CS3.

Other than that, I think much of this is answered pretty well.

Oh! And they're support is amazing. I was able to replace my battery for free due to a small physical deformity on a corner. My friend just got his hard drive replaced for free on his PowerBook G4. His warranty expired a month ago as well, gotta love the Genius Bar.

Plus they are really nice on the phones.

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I have bad news, my personal budget's just taken a 5,000 dollar hit.
 
So no more MacBook Pro. I'll probably just get a MacBook now ... or if things get even worse, a Dell running Linux with XP for running Windows apps.

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Uhoh, how long will it take to get up to MacBook range?

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Ummm ... I'm not sure what you mean. I'm already at the MacBook range, but I have to consider the money I'll need for buying extra software as well. My biggest concern at this moment is Photoshop. If I get a Mac, my current version won't run ... and I will be forced to spend about 200 dollars more (thanks to educational discount of 800 dollars! )
 
Next, there is the question of OpenOffice. Does it run on Mac, or will I have to buy MS Office?
 
I'm a little unsure about job opportunities for freshman international students ... if I can earn even 500-1,000 dollars a month ... well, I could get a MacBook Pro then.

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NeoOffice is excellent for a Mac. It's basically OpenOffice "tweaked" for a Mac..
(and its free).
 

May I ask where you're going? To the States?

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Yes he's going to the USA.

Urbana Champaign, Illinois, US.
 
I would have personally preferred living in Europe (it's so beautiful; more culture; calmer people) but the US has better higher educational value.

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You know, now that I think about it, you might be better off with iWork.
 
It's cheaper, uses less resources, they have more professional presentation templates, etc. I would recommend that over Office. (And yes you can convert to an Office format with it as well).
 
Have you ever tried sliderocket.com?

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No idea what iWork or sliderocket is. I'm going to sleep now ... take a look at it tomorrow.

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