What is Digg?Warning: The Content in this Article May be Inaccurate
Readers have reported that this story contains information that may not be accurate.Sponsored by HowLifeWorks
How to Make Your PC as Fast as the Day You Bought It view!
howlifeworks.com - What's the fastest way to restore a computer to its original blazing glory
171 Comments
- sencha5, on 10/12/2007, -4/+76I heard they respond well to money, usually the difference between what you paid for and what you want.
- mrhahn, on 10/12/2007, -25/+95@hammydude
You bash MacBooks for being "Expensive and slow and crappily made" and then recommend Dell?! - rodbibeau, on 10/12/2007, -20/+53@hammydude where did you get your price estimates? Have you looked around? 1400 for a macbook is about the same as a dell. But the macbook has many more features and better battery life than the dell - not to mention is an extremely solid machine.
right now mac kills all other makers for best laptop for the money. - cheez, on 10/12/2007, -9/+42I bring mine to school, and it works great, never had a problem with it. it's the best size for school
- noahhoward, on 10/12/2007, -10/+28You're asking for a few hundred dollars of hardware free?
Maybe return your Mac Book and then buy a Mac Book Pro - Xeworlebi, on 07/25/2008, -2/+17There is no 12" MacBook only 13,3" and the 15,4" and 17" are only MacBook Pro.
- mrASSMAN, on 10/12/2007, -2/+16"That's why they say to install Windows on it."
No.. they said you can if you need to. Seattle Times is not affiliated with Microsoft. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -10/+22Seattle Times.
As in the same location as Redmond, this hits really home to Microsoft. No where else are they more entrenched than Washington State. - PhillyMJS, on 10/12/2007, -7/+18@Xyrx:
"Mac's are not best for school. I used Mac's for 6 years going through elementary/jr/sr high school, and my first job had a PC."
You don't use computers in grade school and high school to learn _Windows_, you moron. You use computers in school to learn the _concepts_ of using a computer that you can apply in different situations on different machines.
The claim you're making that using Macs in school left you unprepared to use PCs in real life, is like claiming that learning to drive in a Toyota left you unprepared to drive a Ford or a Chevy.
~Philly - ttntyler, on 10/12/2007, -3/+14"Now how did a Mac help me prepare for a career? It didn't. Not being exposed to a PC for those 6 years gave me a late start."
Late start? If you are "tech savvy" enough, you should be able to easily adapt to the PC environment. I very rarely use PC's and when I do I know how to get around fine.
Application wise, I haven't come across many that aren't mac compatible (other than games, of course. but that doesn't help you "prepare for a career") - rasterbator, on 10/12/2007, -0/+10Looks like Vanguard went with his own solution and decided to burn the laptop and blame Apple.
http://digg.com/apple/MacBook_Joins_the_Club_of_Igniting_Laptops
http://www.gizmodo.com/gadgets/laptops/macbook-joins-the-club-of-igniting-laptops-199368.php
Nice catch, hinkbot. I think Gizmodo needs to remove this bogus story. - Timit, on 10/12/2007, -8/+18rodbibeau:
not that i recommend Dell, but here it is: http://www.dell.com/content/products/features.aspx/featured_basnb?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs
I'd save enough and get Macbook over those Dell any day - ultima301, on 10/12/2007, -1/+11@ socbret
The random shutdown problem has been completely fixed. The logic boards they produce are no longer faulty, and a recent firmware upgrade fixed the fan problem. My macbook is running perfectly right now. - mrASSMAN, on 10/12/2007, -8/+18Wasn't the random shutdown fixed with the latest firmware update?
- skyspine, on 10/12/2007, -11/+20I can see that you didn't bother to look.
http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=us&cs=19&l=en&oc=iB130S1&s=dhs
Catch that with an educational discount and the price difference is huge. - ZekeSulastin, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10Because maybe some people actually feel like using software legitimately .>
- alexp2ad, on 10/12/2007, -5/+13So stupid, yes it's the best, if you have enough money to buy an expensive laptop and a license for windows XP for a School child. :/
And if you think your child will be safe walking around with that much hardware. - mrASSMAN, on 10/12/2007, -2/+10@Crypty
I had those same experiences.. but in the past decade macs have changed completely and I would definitely prefer a Mac to a "PC" these days. - robwall, on 08/05/2009, -4/+12Hmmmm - just maybe, and perhaps I'm out of line suggesting this, the school's aren't there to train you for a job. Maybe, just maybe, they are there to train you how to think. Radical idea, I know, but its worth thinking about!
And my MacBook works *sooooo* sweetly at work when I run Remote Desktop Connection to connect to the Windows terminal server. - BannaEast, on 10/12/2007, -3/+10I don't think most schools can afford Macbooks with Parralels and a seperate windows licence.
- econoar, on 10/12/2007, -9/+16The world officially has a hard-on for Macs
- woxidu, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8It's first worth noting that nowhere in this article is an opinion being masqueraded as fact. The title, "Apple Macbook is Best Computer for School says Seattle Times" is a fact. It's a fact because a writer for the Seattle Times has said that Macbooks are the best computer for college kids.
Also, as noahhoward said (and I don't realize why he's being dugg down), this is a strongly supported opinion. The article might be summed up by saying, "A Macbook is the best computer for a college student because _____." If you want to attack his argument, attack his reasons or attack the way he's attached his reasons to his assertion. I think that his reasons and good and they're well attached to his overall point. Dugg. - shawnanigans, on 10/12/2007, -3/+10The cheaper Dell is obviously much cheaper but the article is about the BEST computer for school and the MacBook is it, not because of the price but because of what it can do for the price.
- skyspine, on 10/12/2007, -24/+31rodbibeau, I think the main problem is the 'many more features' aren't always needed and, especially in poorer families, it's far easier to spend $400 - $500 on a cheap Dell that comes with Windows than to buy a much more expensive Mac as well as a copy of Windows to dual boot. For the vast majority of college students, a Mac is overkill.
- CrackIsWack, on 10/12/2007, -4/+11I recently made the switch from my PC laptop to a 13.3" Macbook and I am extremely satisfied with my new Mac. Most of the people who down macs have never even touched one. OSX is better than Windows XP, period. No viruses or spyware. OSX is UNIX based...it is virtually impossible for it to crash. Students can definitely benefit from OSX's ease of use and fluid operation.
I have Windows installed on my machine but have not encountered any task that requires me to run in Windows.
@hammydude
Buy a Dell, huh? You think Mac's are "crappily made"? hahaha! Feast your eyes!
http://www.thisisbroken.com/b/2006/08/dell_latitude_u.html
And how are Macs slow? They use the same hardware as PCs! The only difference is the design and OS! - Clbck, on 10/12/2007, -5/+11My school (Seattle suburbs) gave everyone Macbook's this year. I guess they're fine for school-work...
- rolf, on 10/12/2007, -2/+8Most of the time, the environment is similiar enough for you to adjust. Also, it is not the school's job to teach you the nitty gritty specifics you might/might_not run into a job because it varies so much from job to job. They are there to teach you higher level concepts that you should be able to translate regardless of environment.
This is a standard argument against Open Office in schools, people say MS Office is used at work so it shoudl be used at school. But this ignores the fact that OO.org is 90% similiar in UI and that by the time most students get a job (after college) the highschool version of Office 2003 (or '97 in some cases) they learned will already be outdated by Office Vista and the specifics there will be a little different as well. - Broccoli, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7Um not for me, i used pc for 15 years before my mac and i can honestly my mac has given way way less problems then my pc's.
- anphanax, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6I think they should do multiple environments myself. If you're learning C++, your school should give you the opportunity to try multiple IDEs and Compilers (Visual Studio /w MS's C++ compiler, KDevelop/emacs/vim/nano /w g++, XCode for Mac OS X). And of course this applies to other languages (like Eclipse or NetBeans for Java). Getting people stuck on one platform + one IDE isn't good for them, flexibility-wise :P. I've been trapped like that before.
- trunkster, on 10/12/2007, -11/+17That's why they say to install Windows on it.
- IanCube, on 10/12/2007, -7/+13Although its expired now, you were able to get a nice notebook for about $550 the other day.
http://www.slickdeals.net/#p7980 - mrASSMAN, on 10/12/2007, -2/+8Schools, teachers and students, get heavy discounts from apple.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Dell, Dell, Dell... there are other companies you know; I have a 12" averatec that I use with Altera for my circuits class and it suits me. I see a lot of Macs since a good deal of people get good discounts in the campus computer store. I didn't want one because the computer I have cost a bit less and the intel Macs were not out.
Maybe I would consider one now, but I dont need another laptop. Can people stop with all the hating? - adolfojp, on 10/12/2007, -5/+10Exactly! If you intend to run Mac only software get a Mac. If you know that you will need Windows down the road; why buy a machine that requires Parralels and a Windows copy to do it?
It doesn't make any sense at all. - noahhoward, on 10/12/2007, -15/+20It's a well supported opinion like it or not.
- inkswamp, on 10/12/2007, -4/+9@mfratt: "Riiiight. When I had my Mac, 1GB was hardely enough."
What exactly were you doing with the machine?
Right now, I'm running OS X 10.4 on a 600 Mhz G3 iBook with 384MB of RAM and it runs like a dream. Obviously, I'm not doing any high-end video or production work on this, but it runs just fine. Typical usage of OS X does not require 1GB to be usable. It never has. - jay42, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6MacBook : $1099 (unless you can get an edu discount)
2 Gigs Ram (Crucial): $250
XP Home: $200
Grand Total: $1550
So where exactly do you get $2-3k - Quix, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Sounds like your info on Macs is about 5 years old too...
- angelp, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5$2000 to $3000? What Macbook are you looking at? Maybe you should actually know what you're talking about BEFORE you start typing.
- friend18, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4That's why it's recomended you upgrade the ram...
- rickcarson, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4I notice little or no difference between 640MB and 1GB, they both work fine.
In the Activity Monitor however, I notice that even with 1GB Safari can chew that up pretty quickly (I tend to have about 10-12 apps open).
However, with 1.5GB I notice in Activity Monitor that there is always about 200-300MB free, even when I'm using 'the beast' (XCode).
So I think the 'sweet spot' for amount of memory is probably around about 1.25GB.
However, let me add again, that the difference between 640MB and 1GB and 1.5GB really only shows up in Activity Monitor, they all run fine even from a power user's perspective. The whole "add more memory to make it go faster" is *much* more true in Windows land than OSX land.
Disclaimer: I don't edit full length movies. If you do, your mileage may vary. - rolf, on 10/12/2007, -3/+7Ah, completely missed that. I'm going by the old models from last year when I bought a Powerbook for the parents. Glad to see they upped the specs in this direction as well.
- socbret, on 10/12/2007, -4/+8I returned my Macbook 17 days after purchase for a Macbook Pro because of the random shutdown problem. If you are nice and knowledgeable about the problems you are having, they should let you make an exchange. They probably won't exchange it though if you just don't like the thing, you need to have serious problems with it.
Until they come up with a solid solution to the random shutdown problem, the Macbook isn't the best solution for a student right now. I really loved my Macbook when it worked, and would much rather have the macbook's size when going to class. But at least now I can take my editing work on the road with me.
I would wait a month or two until they get the problems fixed to buy a Macbook, your just going to cause yourself alot of headaches now. - UnknownBadger, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5well a even better reason for getting a macbook is that they give a decent student discount and £100/$179 off an iPod
- radiofrequency, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3"I used Mac's for 6 years going through elementary/jr/sr high school, and my first job had a PC. I never touched a PC until 2 years after I graduated high school. Now how did a Mac help me prepare for a career? It didn't. Not being exposed to a PC for those 6 years gave me a late start."
The fact you're still successful without those 6 years of PC use shows how unimportant the difference in platforms really is. Smart people can switch from back and forth from Mac to PC to Linux and back without any trouble. The choice should be made based on overall security and functionality towards a particular task. - jay42, on 10/12/2007, -6/+9"is like claiming that learning to drive in a Toyota left you unprepared to drive a Ford or a Chevy"
or like learning to drive a Bently left you disappointed when you had to drive a Ford or a Chevy - ThirdPrize, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Cost of Paralells = £70
Cost of Windows license = £100
Look on Steve Jobs face = priceless - TheZorch, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5 mrmidgetman wrote:
"marked as inaccurate. Windows based machines are often much better and they are also much cheaper."
Marked as stupid. I guess you didn't bother to do a price comparison. Apple has a very good educational program for schools to buy equipment at discount prices. The best MacBooks are as expensive and/or slightly less expensive than Dell laptops.
Also, check out any Apple Store and you'll see a section dedicated to educational software for kids. There is a lot of educational software for the Mac, a lot more than even I knew existed. Also, Parallels and BootCamp will allow schools to run Windows based software on a Mac, or they can use Darwine (WINE for Mac OS X) to run them native in Mac OS X without even running Windows at all.
Mac OS X can be locked down much better than a Windows machine can. A majority of Windows' security settings are buried and you almost need a degree to know how to configure them, but Mac OS X does not hide them. Macs are virtually immune to viruses both because of the architecture of Mac OS X (which is based on Berkley Systems Distribution Unix) and the fact that 99% of the most common viruses "require" either MS Windows or MS Outlook on MS Windows in order to work. Mac OS X has Parental Controls built into the OS but Windows does not.
Best of all, and this is important to me, Mac OS X has incredible Accessibility features. VoiceOver is incredible! I'm visually impaired, I can see large monitors but I have many friends who are totally blind. They have to have state agency assistance to get $400 software called "Jaws" for Windows that does Text-to-Speech. Jaws is extremely picky as to what kind of sound card you have, what kind of video card you have installed, and it doesn't always work with every program. Apple offers devs free tools for making their software VoiceOver compatible. VoiceOver works with iTunes, but Jaws DOES NOT. Mac OS X "Leopard" will offer support for Braille (text for the blind representing letters, numbers, and symbols using raised dots) displays. Again, the software for this on Windows is extremely expensive.
Don't let the Microsoft propaganda machine trick you into thinking Windows is better than Mac. I'm not saying Mac is perfect either, far from it, nothing is, but it is a lot better than Windows. As soon as I can I'm switching to a Mac Pro. - jay42, on 10/12/2007, -3/+6Care to elaborate? It's probably a good choice since you can work in OSX/Linux/XP all on one machine!
- WiseWeasel, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I thought it was known as a rainy place with a high suicide rate...
-
Show 51 - 100 of 171 discussions
© Digg Inc. 2009
— Content created and posted by Digg users is