Hey, I was just wondering want type of laptop would be good? I am going into first year Life Science and I was debating whether to buy a MacBook Pro or a HP Laptop. I am leaning more towards getting a MacBook Pro 13 inch 2GB Memory, but I had a few questions....

1) What are the most commonly used programs for completing homework/projects?

2) Are there any programs in first year/upper years of life science that only work on a certain type of operating system? Are there any programs that work only on windows and not on mac os x? (If you can recall please post the applications that are used by the profs of life science classes)

3) If I dual boot the MacBook with windows as well, is 2GB Memory going to be enough?

Thank you!

I can answer 3 because I'm a techie geek.
For Windows, optimally you should have 3-4GB for Vista/Windows 7.
2GB of memory is low, and if you're using Vista, it's quite the resource hog, and 2GB may not give you the best performance.

I would just get the HP. Apple laptops are a bit overpriced, and you would get more bang for your buck by going for a Windows-based laptop. Plus, if you buy now, you should get a free upgrade to Windows 7, which is supposed to be superior than Vista.

Originally Posted by Inferno

I can answer 3 because I'm a techie geek.
For Windows, optimally you should have 3-4GB for Vista/Windows 7.
2GB of memory is low, and if you're using Vista, it's quite the resource hog, and 2GB may not give you the best performance.

I would just get the HP. Apple laptops are a bit overpriced, and you would get more bang for your buck by going for a Windows-based laptop. Plus, if you buy now, you should get a free upgrade to Windows 7, which is supposed to be superior than Vista.

Thanks for a quick reply I personally hate Vista and if I do dual boot I'll probably do Windows XP. But I think you're right, dual booting on a 2GB memory would certainly slow down the computer. Not a good idea!

I'll agree. While the Macs are built very well and Apple provides excellent customer service, as someone who knows computers I personally can't justify the price for a Macbook. Especially when you get to the smaller laptops. As all the components are jammed into a tinier space, the price goes up!

You won't have any software compatability problems at all. I personally own an HP laptop, and it's been great for me. Do take advantage of the Windows 7 free upgrade, it's what windows Vista SHOULD have been. I bought my laptop over a year ago so I got shafted on that.

Originally Posted by AnthraX

Hey, I was just wondering want type of laptop would be good? I am going into first year Life Science and I was debating whether to buy a MacBook Pro or a HP Laptop. I am leaning more towards getting a MacBook Pro 13 inch 2GB Memory, but I had a few questions....

1) What are the most commonly used programs for completing homework/projects?

2) Are there any programs in first year/upper years of life science that only work on a certain type of operating system? Are there any programs that work only on windows and not on mac os x? (If you can recall please post the applications that are used by the profs of life science classes)

3) If I dual boot the MacBook with windows as well, is 2GB Memory going to be enough?

Thank you!

Hey,
Last year I hardly used my computer for class. You will be mostly studying from your textbook/notes.
For bio labs you need excel for graphs and of course word as well as powerpoint for a presentation in first term. Other than that you really only need a computer that connects to the interet to check the course website.

No problem! I personally would wait until 7 comes out (generally positive reviews about it, so far) and dual boot it with that. It's up to you however.

First I strongly disagree about getting more "bang for your buck" for the hp laptop. As an owner of a Macbook, OSX comes with basically everything you need pre-installed as opposed to Windows. You also get the reliability of the OSX operating system without the troubles of Vista. I find that Apple products are priced very competitively considering all the features you get right out of the box. I would go with the MBP if I were you but if you are leaning towards windows (I don't know why anyone would) I would check out some dell laptops. As for your question about programs needed for science, I basically just used Microsoft word the most and there isn't any specific software you need for any science courses as far as I know.

Originally Posted by u.yousaf

First I strongly disagree about getting more "bang for your buck" for the hp laptop. As an owner of a Macbook, OSX comes with basically everything you need pre-installed as opposed to Windows. You also get the reliability of the OSX operating system without the troubles of Vista. I find that Apple products are priced very competitively considering all the features you get right out of the box. I would go with the MBP if I were you but if you are leaning towards windows (I don't know why anyone would) I would check out some dell laptops. As for your question about programs needed for science, I basically just used Microsoft word the most and there isn't any specific software you need for any science courses as far as I know.

I think it would be great to get a MacBook Pro but I am like 90% newbie to Mac OS X software (I have been using Windows for several years now). I know like most of the basic stuff, using Safari, iTunes, iWork etc. but don't know the commands and shortcuts and other necessary stuff about Mac OS X.


Thanks for all your replies.

How long do you think it would take me(or an average person) to get used to this operating system and to the basic programs such as iWork?

Also, about the battery life, I heard the battery drains out pretty quickly on Windows running laptops compared to MacBook given that they are running the basic stuff. Myth or fact?

Anything else about windows or macbook, please feel free to tell me.

Thank you very much!

Originally Posted by AnthraX

I think it would be great to get a MacBook Pro but I am like 90% newbie to Mac OS X software (I have been using Windows for several years now). I know like most of the basic stuff, using Safari, iTunes, iWork etc. but don't know the commands and shortcuts and other necessary stuff about Mac OS X.


Thanks for all your replies.

How long do you think it would take me(or an average person) to get used to this operating system and to the basic programs such as iWork?

Also, about the battery life, I heard the battery drains out pretty quickly on Windows running laptops compared to MacBook given that they are running the basic stuff. Myth or fact?

Anything else about windows or macbook, please feel free to tell me.

Thank you very much!

You don't need to know the shortcuts. It's just useful to know. Gradually you'll get used to it. It'll probably take you a week or two. The keyboard shortcuts are actually shown on the keyboard.

Originally Posted by AnthraX

I think it would be great to get a MacBook Pro but I am like 90% newbie to Mac OS X software (I have been using Windows for several years now). I know like most of the basic stuff, using Safari, iTunes, iWork etc. but don't know the commands and shortcuts and other necessary stuff about Mac OS X.


Thanks for all your replies.

How long do you think it would take me(or an average person) to get used to this operating system and to the basic programs such as iWork?

Also, about the battery life, I heard the battery drains out pretty quickly on Windows running laptops compared to MacBook given that they are running the basic stuff. Myth or fact?

Anything else about windows or macbook, please feel free to tell me.

Thank you very much!

The shortcuts are pretty much the same as windows just instead on press control you press command.

Originally Posted by AnthraX

I think it would be great to get a MacBook Pro but I am like 90% newbie to Mac OS X software (I have been using Windows for several years now). I know like most of the basic stuff, using Safari, iTunes, iWork etc. but don't know the commands and shortcuts and other necessary stuff about Mac OS X.


Thanks for all your replies.

How long do you think it would take me(or an average person) to get used to this operating system and to the basic programs such as iWork?

Also, about the battery life, I heard the battery drains out pretty quickly on Windows running laptops compared to MacBook given that they are running the basic stuff. Myth or fact?

Anything else about windows or macbook, please feel free to tell me.

Thank you very much!

The battery problem is a definite fact. In terms of using the operating system, it's extremely easy. This was my first mac and previously I had always used windows. I learned the basics very quickly and you pick up on the shortcuts fairly quickly as well. I actually found OSX to be easier to use than Windows and I personally don't use iWork since MS office is the norm but the software is very similar.

Originally Posted by syaseen_360

The shortcuts are pretty much the same as windows just instead on press control you press command.

I think he was referring to shortcuts that aren't on Windows like when you make all the windows appear on the screen and can select them. Or the shortcuts on the multi-touch pad such as scrolling (using 2 fingers) and the backwards and forwards in the browser (4 fingers). There's also shortcuts for Firefox but you have to activate them in the about:config and they are different (They use circular motions to move backwards and forwards.

Originally Posted by jhan523

like when you make all the windows appear on the screen and can select them.

That's actually not really a shortcut. There's a dedicated button for that.

Originally Posted by u.yousaf

That's actually not really a shortcut. There's a dedicated button for that.

I consider it a shortcut

Sorry if this was already said but yes: Windows batterys overall suck. The plus side is that after about a year of having a laptop with a windows system, the battery price usually goes down drastically because of newer models.

I was fighting over this issue myself. Personally, I chose a Windows because I've only known Windows in my life.... That and I can fix it, if a problem occurs. With a mac, not so much.

EDIT: anyone ever notice mac batteries seems to never drop in price.....