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Originally Posted by viator122
I'm heading off to law school in a month or so and I need to buy a laptop computer. Currently I have a Sony P4, 2.66ghz, 1GB RAM, 320 gigs of HD space and a 17" ViewSonic flat panel monitor - a pretty decent computer for what I use it for and I hope will last me through the 3 years of law school as a primary computer.
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It should. Definitely hold on to it. If you get an Apple, you may still find a Windows machine handy in a law school environment.
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| I hear very good things about the Apple laptops as far as reliability and quality. My school has student offers for computers with both Dell and Apple. They seem to be comparable value as far as cost vs. features goes. Plus, if I buy a Mac I get a free iPod Mini. However, I noticed that the HP laptops are pretty cheap; are they no good? |
I really like Macs, especially the laptops. I've been using them as my primary computers since about 1986. My PC is used mostly for gaming and iTunes services.
If your school has deals on Apples too, I'm guessing they're pretty Mac friendly. Just make sure. Some law schools are nearly hostile towards Macs. I'd never turn down a free mini either.
If you go Windows, consider the Dells since you get a discount. I'd probably not bother with HP given the Dell discounts. IBM laptops are still nice premium laptops. I also like some Toshibas and Fujitsus.
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| What I'd like to know is what issues and difficulties there are in operating a PC and a Mac. I'll be taking notes on the laptop and backing them up to my PC. Will I be able to do this with a USB drive? Can I network the two together? |
As long as all the apps you'd want to use at school exist for the Mac, you shhould be fine. For example, Office for Mac includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Entourage. Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files are cross platform compatible. PDFs are cross platform too. Actually the Mac OS lets you create PDF files natively as a printing option, which helps a lot when sharing files. You can also read most Windows formatted discs if you need to access documents. So if you had a FAT32 or NTFS CD, or USB/FireWire drive, you'd be able to access it.
I'd highly recommend an app that I use on my PC too. It's call MacDrive 6. You install it on your Windows machine and it lets you read and write to the native Mac filesystem (HFS+) effortlessly. It works really well. I use it since I have an external drive in HFS+ that I back up my Mac and PC with. Also, you can boot up Apple laptops into Target Disk mode which makes it act like an external drive. So you just hook it up to another Mac or a PC with MacDrive with a FireWire cable and it mounts like a disk. Really cool for transferring files easily.
As for networking, yes you can network Macs and PCs pretty easily. You can also share printers too.
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| Any other bits of wisdom or advice for a potential first time Apple buyer would be appreciated. |
Again, just make sure Apples are a realistic option in your law program. And make sure there are Mac versions of the apps you'd need to use, or that there a good viable alternatives. If you find out you'd need to use VirtualPC for most of your work, then there's little point in getting the Mac.
WiFi is standard on all Mac laptops now. I recommend 512MB as a bare minimum for Mac OS X (for Windows XP too). Look into MacDrive 6 for your PC too. I think it's indispensable.
Also check to make sure if you're using existing scanners and printers, that there are drivers for the Mac. The drivers may already be built in. Be aware that Macs do not have built in parallel ports. And I don't think adapters are cost effective.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=301175
http://www.apple.com/macosx/upgrade/scanners.html
Digital cameras really should just work.
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| EDIT: Oh, and the AppleCare plan - is that a no-questions-asked repair/replacement plan? Does it cover accidental damage? |
I'd say if you buy a laptop from anyone, consider service plans. Laptops are just gonna see more wear and tear, shock, etc than desktops. They're also much, much harder to self service. AppleCare is not a no questins asked policy. It simply extends the warranty and tech support. Dell does offer additional protection. Also, some companies offer laptop insurance if you're concerned about that. No idea if it's worth it.
