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Macbook v. Dell Latitude (or other Dell)

post #1 of 12
2/9/09 at 8:13pm
Thread Starter 
I'm looking to get a laptop for college (i'll be starting in the fall). My intended major(s) are either: Biological Sciences/Biology, Spanish, or Business. I want to go into Medicine. I'm not sure what kind of laptop I want, or what the best buy would be. I've grown up on Dell and have had one my whole life, I've never had a mac. Up until my good friend recently purchased a mac, I never really even considered one - but he loves his and it makes me want to get one as well. I'm not so sure as to what I'll be doing on the laptop other than the misc. school work. Video Editing and graphics design interest me, but its nothing I'm going to be doing professionally, but it would be cool to mess around with. I talked to a guy at the apple store today and he said that if I was looking to do any big-time graphics and video editing that a macbook is not a good choice, due to the video card. What are some pros and cons of each (Dell Latitude v. Macbook)? Would a macbook be good for graphics and video editing? How good is the iMovie and how well do the Adobe Suites run on a mac compared to the Dell? Any advice/opinions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
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post #2 of 12
2/9/09 at 8:50pm
The MacBook is just as good at video and design as the MacBook Pro. The only things the MacBook really can't do over the pro are 3D and real time effects rendering that rely on the video card. Otherwise everything is done by the CPU and not the GPU.

If you're going to major in biology a Mac will be great because it's Unix based. There are many open source *nix based applications used in the biological and medical sciences that will run on a Mac with little or no modification neccessary.
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post #3 of 12
2/9/09 at 9:03pm
Thread Starter 
Does the mac do HD video stuff? The camcorder I'm looking to buy supports HD; does the macbook?
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post #4 of 12
2/10/09 at 2:28am
The MacBook will do HD. However, you must make sure that your camera does not rely on Firewire (aka IEEE 1394 or i-Link) for the transfer of video unless you're going to get the 999 MacBook and not the 1299 or 1599. The new unibody MacBooks do not have support for Firewire.
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post #5 of 12
2/12/09 at 1:27pm
I could reccomend either the Latitude or the older MacBook models, however the newer ones I do not reccomend at all. You can't replace the battery in it like just like with the iPhone and the iPod. Only way to replace the battery is send it into Apple and have them replace it which I know I certainly cannot stand.

Also, if you got an on-site warranty with either a Latitude or an Apple system both Apple and Dell use the same company for on-site service.

The battery thing may not be an issue to you. I go through a battery a year because I use my laptop untethered ALOT so they get worn down rapidly. If that's not really an issue for you I'd say just compare the prices for comparable services at that point.
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post #6 of 12
2/12/09 at 3:15pm
Um, no.

The new 17 inch MacBook Pro has a non replaceable battery. The 15 inch MBP and the two unibody MacBooks have easily replaceable batteries.
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post #7 of 12
2/12/09 at 5:22pm
You do realize, that the new 17-inch battery is quite awesome and a replaceable battery should not be a deal breaker?
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post #8 of 12
2/16/09 at 7:20pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by visu View Post
You do realize, that the new 17-inch battery is quite awesome and a replaceable battery should not be a deal breaker?
Not when your laptop is your primary system for getting work done. It's a little difficult to keep a desktop hooked up inside a car.

I run about 900 charge/discharge cycles through my laptop a year, that means once a year if I owned a 17" MBP I'd have to send the thing off to have its battery replaced. On any other laptop I can waltz into batteries+ and waltz out with a new battery, if the need is urgent enough, otherwise I just find one on eBay.

Before you mention an Apple store, closest one to me is in Oklahoma City.
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post #9 of 12
2/16/09 at 8:02pm
Quote:
Not when your laptop is your primary system for getting work done. It's a little difficult to keep a desktop hooked up inside a car.
You got that right.
What the heck were they thinking when they took the removable battery out of a portable? Kinda like the iphone way of thinking I reckon.
At any given time, it's useful to have a fully charged spare battery handy.
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post #10 of 12
2/19/09 at 8:50pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pollisand View Post
The MacBook will do HD. However, you must make sure that your camera does not rely on Firewire (aka IEEE 1394 or i-Link) for the transfer of video unless you're going to get the 999 MacBook and not the 1299 or 1599. The new unibody MacBooks do not have support for Firewire.
The Macbook does HD? I can only assume you mean the Macbook 'display' can handle HD. I thought the Macbooks were notorious for not having any BluRay support what so ever?

I've seen a Macbook Pro here recently. Awesome machine. Runs great. I just couldn't see myself owning one nor would I recommend them. Too many applications I use aren't supported in Mac without Bootcamping Windows. And if I'm going to Bootcamp Windows, why not just get a Notebook running Windows with the same hardware as the Macbook for less money?
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post #11 of 12
2/19/09 at 8:59pm
Blu-Ray is not the Alpha and Omega of HD.

Macs have been doing HD video since before HDDVD and Blu-Ray were on the market. Hell, even iMovie, Apple's consumer video editing software, supports HD video.
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post #12 of 12
2/19/09 at 9:41pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Melodis View Post
.... And if I'm going to Bootcamp Windows, why not just get a Notebook running Windows with the same hardware as the Macbook for less money?
Correct observation, but many users are preferring certain brand/model over others simply because of personal preferences; like why get a Sony if a Gateway can do the same jobs (my example) ;-)

cheers ...
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