Aqua-Soft ForumsAlright, im new here, so hopefully I dont get bashed for this thread 
. Anyway, im starting college in June, and id definitely like to have something to take notes with and use for class, etc. Im also an "aspiring" graphic designer and plan on using photoshop quite a bit.So I debated for a while wether to get a pc laptop, or a mac laptop. I decided I wanted the best of both worlds, and since ive already got a desktop pc, I said "screw it, ill get a mac". Now the thing is, which mac? Ive heard good things about all of them, but there so many to choose from! The macbook? The emac? the iBook? What do you guys suggest? Opinions are much appreciated.
Best Mac for school?
make sure you talk to your program and look in your course guide as that will dictate which applications you will need to use and if they are available/compatible w/ mac.
if all is well, i would consider a 12" ibook or powerbook... when i was in school i dreaded carrying my dell inspiron 8100 due to its size and weight. attending a very large school, meant walking all over and riding public buses... i wish i had gone with something much smaller and lighter... my next laptop will be an ibook, but im hoping for a single core intel chipset...
If all you plan on doing is notetaking and Photoshop, I suggest you look for a used 15" (12" might not cut it for PS) iBook for cheap.
If you fooll around in school like I do, get a macbook. 
I'd have to say get a 12in Powerbook and an external monitor.
Perfect for notes in class... get a gig of RAM for photoshop. When in your dorm, hook up your 17in badass (or bigger if you actually have money).
The prices should also fall significantly USED if you shop around, now that everyone wants a MacBook Pro.
MBP is horrendously expensive and will be highly theft prone on any campus.
gnomexp is on the money... like i stated earlier... smallest, lightest laptop will keep you happy, trust me... and the external monitor will allow your a decent resolution for photoshop.
Look around for used ibook and monitors are super cheap now... even w/ a new ibook, you could be looking at the combo for around 1200$ and spend the other 800-1300 you saved on the MBP on the one important thing in college... beer
Apple has some great deals with their refurbished machines. They have some PB 12" for $1100
Just remember, iBooks cannot use external monitors without mirroring them at 1024x768 WITHOUT a screenspanning hack that voids AppleCare. If you don't anticipate screwing up your graphics hardware, go for it. Otherwise, keep it safe with the 12in PB.
really?! i didnt know that... what output is available on the PB? i thought it was the same mini-DVI... do you know the max resolution of ibook and PB?
http://www.apple.com/education/hed/students/discounts.html
try going there. If the school you're going to has an apple store like mine does, then you can go talk to a campus rep there. If your school GD program is like mine, they have specific models they want you to get. Your best bet is to get a Powerbook. I wouldn't suggest a macbook pro right now b/c adobe cs2 doesn't run too fast under Rosetta. Hope we have helped.
Just remember, iBooks cannot use external monitors without mirroring them at 1024x768 WITHOUT a screenspanning hack that voids AppleCare. If you don't anticipate screwing up your graphics hardware, go for it. Otherwise, keep it safe with the 12in PB.
That hack is hardly dangerous and can be reversed easily. I have been doing it for years.
Heres a brief overview of the world of Mac (welcome to our community by the way! and welcome to the wonderful world of mac);
All Macs come with iLife- comes with;
· iTunes; play songs and videos- low hassle easy music organisation.
· iPhoto- Organise your photos easily and without hassle.
· Garage Band- Make music like a pro fast and easily (lots of fun).
· iMovie- Make movies fast and easily (more fun).
· iDVD- Create ur own DVDs with movies u've made or just home video collections
Lots of fun to entertain you and your friends, simple, easy to use and low hassle and integrates fantastically with the operating system.
ALSO OSX comes with;
· -(the best OS on earth duh)
· Finder and Spotlight- find and organise your school work easily.
· iCal- Calender program; good for organising urself in school
· Safari- Web browser- surf the internet no probs.
· Dashboard- a series of little "widgets" that give u cool info like the weather, movie times, a calculator, a clock, a mini calender- literally heaps of extra little gizmos
· and more...
Are you after a laptop to take to classes or just a desktop computer to do college work at home?
LAPTOPS
iBook
- cheapest ($999- $1200)
-slowest (1.33Ghz-1.42Ghz) and (512Mb-1.5Gb ram)
- 12" and 14" inch display
- White glossy finish
Powerbook (IBM- PowerPC)
-Expensive ($1499-$1999-$2499)
-faster than iBook (1.5Ghz - 1.67Ghz) and (512Mb- 2GB of Ram)
- cool metallic finish
MacBook (intel)
-Expensive ($1999 - $2499)
-Fastest -uses two CPUs (two brains; 1.67 or 1.83GHz x2) and (512MB - 2Gb ram)
-Entertain ur friends with "frontrow"- play DVD's, play music, show photos thru an interface as easy as iPod...
-New innovative features-keyboard lights up in the dark, new magnetic powerplug prevents accidents...etc etc
If you have the $$$ forget the powerbook and iBook get a macbook! its faster, newer and has more innovation and frontrow.
DESKTOPS
eMacs are no longer built...so here's you options
Mac Mini
-Cheapest ($499-$599-$699)
-Slowest (1.25Ghz-1.42Ghz) and (512Mb-1Gb Ram)
-Display not included
Is the iBook of desktop Macs
iMac- G5 (IBM-PowerPC)
-Expensive ($1299-$1699)
-Faster than mini (1.9GHz-2.1Ghz)
- 17” and 20” inch display
-Entertain ur friends with "frontrow"- play DVD's, play music, show photos thru an interface as easy as iPod...
-New innovative features- power light dims in dark room etc…
- The whole computer in the LCD screen!!!
IMac (intel)
Same as iMac g5 (above) except;
-Faster than mini and iMac G5 -uses two CPUs (two brains; 1.83Ghz-2Ghz x2) instead of one, uses intel instead of PowerPC.
PowerMac
-Extremely expensive ($1999-$2499-$3299)
-Extremely fast- 2xCPUx or 4xCPUs ( 2GHZ-2.3GHZ x 2 OR 2.5GHZ x 4) and
-great for photoshop and professional work.
Desktop summary
Get an iMac- get the intel iMac- its faster, 2x if you believe the website. Also it has frontrow and heaps of cool innovation + you don’t have to buy an additional screen!
Avoid the Mini- its too slow for photoshop work- only if you’re strapped for cash.
If you really are loaded with cash then get the PowerMac- it’s the fastest mac on the planet…and u can use it in the future for photoshop work…you’ll never experience a speed hitch…but seeing as you’re only beginning out I’d recommend just sticking with the iMac for now, until your sure.
Woah- that was more work than expected…hope that helps. Please correct any of my mistakes…
levi . the perfectionist...
perhaps you should redefine perfection to "misreads the question"
the dude's asking which laptop to buy, and he already has a desktop...
second half of your post was useless... very well thought out... but useless
LEVI - great post, very informative
since mac hates to post full specs of their system, do you know the max resolutions of the laptops? I'm assuming the 12" and 14" are both 1024x768 which is pretty crappy with todays standards.
admin: possible pin?
12 & 14: 1024 x 768
Powerbook 15": 1440 x 960
Powerbook 17": 1680 x 1050
MacBook Pro: 1440 x 900
i'm currently in college right now and my school had a sale on 12" iBooks. I got mine for $760. you can prolly get good deals on educational purchases through the online apple store if you buy it through your university. i got my iPod through the school too and saved about 15% i believe.
personally, i'd recommend the 12" iBook. 
i've been lugging it all over campus and whatnot and it's helpful in class to tak notes if you type faster than you write.
Doesn't the Intel Core for Mac Books and the new Intel Breed of Apple products use Rosetta to run photoshop? Ars tecnica stated that Photoshop on Intel will lag and show performance issues,
so [dirtyblaize] if your planning to use Photoshop alot and to its full potential I suggest you get a powerbook.
youre going to definately want to go with a macbook pro.
built in isight for talking to friends etc. when i go to college, im going to leave one of my old macs here and convince my brother and sister (who will both be out of college by then - im the youngest, my sister is a sophmore in college) to get macs, so i can talk and stuff on ichat with all my family.
I'd only suggest a MacBook Pro if you intend to use a Mac for a long time, just because Photoshop WILL be built for Intel down the road. Plus... Photoshop will run better than on my 867MHz and that ain't bad.
admin: possible pin?
No offense, but this isn't exactly a sticky-worthy topic in my uninformed opinion 
.
-NC
well considering the fact that many students may find the topic by searching for school and mac and finding a comprehensive review of all mac laptops and desktops, i think otherwise...
i think many students (being a recent graduate) may find this to be very informative...
but then again you are a mod and im not... so yea...
Someone COULD make a guide to all general macs released in the last 5 years or so. That way, we could discuss the old TiBooks, early AluBook problems, Quicksilvers galore, why the Graphite G4 sucks, etc.
If people knew that they could find an 867MHz Quicksilver WITH 21in Apple CRT for 500 and then upgrade the processor to a dual-1.4GHz for only 300ish, it's a steal over a Mac mini.
levi . the perfectionist...perhaps you should redefine perfection to "misreads the question"
the dude's asking which laptop to buy, and he already has a desktop...
second half of your post was useless... very well thought out... but useless
Well he says that he was considering an "eMac" which is a desktop computer...not just a laptop.
I first bought an iBook (long time ago now), and I wish someone had helped me with what to buy as far as desktops go, because I ended up buying an underpowered eMac- and now I wish I'd bought the iMac...
And besides- this guy is new to the forums and apple- so I thought it would be good to give him an idea of his options in the future.
SO not totally useless
yeah sorry dude... had been meaning to correct myself after a revisit to this thread...
sorry if i offended u...