I own a Sony Vaio with XP and have not had a problem with it yet. I also got it at a very good price.

What does a Mac have as in programs like Microsoft Word and such? Because most professors that I have had at EKU have wanted assignments turned in on Word if they are supposed to be turned in online.

You can get MS Office for the Mac. Most people, including most students can get by just fine using a free application like Open Office, Star Office, or the new Lotus Symphony application, all of which use the ODF format but can also read and write the MS files. (You can also download the Windows versions of these applications and try them out before springing for a Mac.)

 

If money was not an issue and my job did not require me to work on a Windows PC, I would own a Mac (or maybe a Linux box) myself. Unfortunately, I am saddled with a laptop that runs Windows XP.

 

Most major graphics applications are available on a Mac, such as Photoshop, Illustrator, Freehand, Painter, etc., and many of them were available on a Mac first. In fact, Microsoft shipped Excel for the Mac before they released the Windows version.

I own a Sony Vaio with XP and have not had a problem with it yet. I also got it at a very good price.

 

That is what I have also and I love it.

I have a Dell Inspiron that I have had for over two years. I cant say I really have any complaints about it, but the hard drive did crash once but Dell took care of it at no cost to me. I lost a few things but I keep a lot of my important files in my emails so I have them if something happens. If you are looking for under a grand, a Dell or some other Windows based computer are about your only options. There may be one mac that is under a grand, I am not really sure. Whatever you get, I would get an external hard drive. I am getting one for Christmas as I have some work stuff that I keep on here now.

 

My next laptop will probably be a Mac is something that I will say though. As has been said, you dont have to worry about viruses and such and they do seem a little nicer than PC's. A lot of my friends have gotten them recently and love them compared to PC's.

Just configured out a Dell 1530 delivered for $850 with Windows XP. Do not get VISTA!!! You realize that these machines do not come with MS Office installed and that is an aditional cost.

You can get MS Office for the Mac. Most people, including most students can get by just fine using a free application like Open Office, Star Office, or the new Lotus Symphony application, all of which use the ODF format but can also read and write the MS files. (You can also download the Windows versions of these applications and try them out before springing for a Mac.)

 

If money was not an issue and my job did not require me to work on a Windows PC, I would own a Mac (or maybe a Linux box) myself. Unfortunately, I am saddled with a laptop that runs Windows XP.

 

Most major graphics applications are available on a Mac, such as Photoshop, Illustrator, Freehand, Painter, etc., and many of them were available on a Mac first. In fact, Microsoft shipped Excel for the Mac before they released the Windows version.

 

Im a Graphic Communication Management major and we are encouraged to have Macs, simply because of how well they work with said applications.

Just configured out a Dell 1530 delivered for $850 with Windows XP. Do not get VISTA!!! You realize that these machines do not come with MS Office installed and that is an aditional cost.

 

Ain't nothing wrong with Vista. In fact, I like it rather more than I ever liked XP. Fewer bugs, better interface, more secure.

 

I do have one complaint about Vista, however: I can't play GT-R or NASCAR SimRacing on it. :mad:

 

As for Office ... download OpenOffice.org. It's free, the newest version (2.3) is excellent and it's not the resource hog that MS Office is.

I like Vista more than XP too. I haven't had a problem with it yet.

I like Vista more than XP too. I haven't had a problem with it yet.

 

If there isn't anything wrong why does Microsoft keep extending the cut off date for purchasing XP as your operating system?

If there isn't anything wrong why does Microsoft keep extending the cut off date for purchasing XP as your operating system?

 

He didn't say there wasn't anything wrong with Vista in general. He simply stated that he hadn't had a problem with it.

He didn't say there wasn't anything wrong with Vista in general. He simply stated that he hadn't had a problem with it.

 

Thanks.:thumb:

Mac OSX Leopard is amazing....

After reading what everyones had to say I'm about to purchase the laptop within the next week or so. Just have to finish Christmas shopping then see whether I can pay cash right now or if I'll need to finance it since I'll also have to pay tuition for next semester in a few weeks as well.

 

Thanks everyone for their input with everything.

What did you decide?

Hopefully a mac.