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qusai
04-12-2006, 01:54 PM
Hi,
Well, I have been accepted into the graphic design program in Algonquin College and will be moving there in a couple of months. I read on their website that Mac PCs will be used for all applications used and I need a new laptop before I go.
I have NO experience with a Mac but wanted to know if it would be necessary to get one, and how different is it than Windows powered machines? I have been using Windows for many years but I want to switch to Mac i guess?
Any good laptops for Mac?
Lol, I don't know how many questions are crammed up in this post but I'd really appreciate some help!
Thank You
Q
G-Man79
04-12-2006, 02:02 PM
Good questions you ask. Experience it for yourself, you must.
http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/
May the GDF be with you.
orkaknos12
04-12-2006, 02:49 PM
I can't believe that a design school would want you to use laptops.. laptops are for editing word documents on a plane - not doing serious design work. There are so many reasons why laptops fail compared to a good old tower.
-Jon
qusai
04-12-2006, 03:02 PM
no no, they don't want us using laptops but I read that they use Mac pcs (not laptops) in the school. Since it is in another country, i don't want to take a tower with a monitor and all that back and forth so I will be buying a laptop.
and G-Man, I'll go to an Apple shop and check the Macbook out! Since I have no experience with Macs, I'm just going on by user opinions and comments.
Patrick Shannon
04-12-2006, 03:22 PM
Schools generally like laptops for portability.
Yes, get a MacBook Pro. Now granted you're going to have to wait until native Intel graphic applications come out (though the PowerPC apps will still run under Rosetta transator), but the primary reason is that you can now run WinXP on the Intel Macs like butter. So best of both worlds.
DesignerScott
04-12-2006, 04:23 PM
toshiba m200 or toshiba m400 still wins my vote.
You'll just miss out on all of the mac only crap that your school will probably provide. But you'll save money over buying a wacom tablet this way, and the resolution kicks butt
Amandy
04-12-2006, 04:51 PM
I remember my first day of school on a Mac. I hadn't touched one since the 6th grade. But fellow students and teachers are a great help and if your school is anything like mine the first computer class, mine was basic photoshop, will go over what you need to know. How to log in, search for files, learn short cuts, starting application ect. Most of the important design programs are very similiar key functions as a PC. Once you get the mac its pretty easy after that they were made to be user friendly afterall :) but anyways you will be fine don't let the Mac thing worry you trust me that is about the last thing you should be concerned about.
Laptop wise umm I couldn't tell ya I was broke in college so the labs were my use many nights til 2 in the morning then they would kick us out. I am still broke but hopefully a new puter is soon on its way
qusai
04-12-2006, 05:52 PM
Thank you all for the input, I am just trying to sort everything out as soon as possible because I dont want to be doing all this 1 week before classes start. If I will be getting a Mac I want to be able to use it for a couple of weeks and get a feel of how they work.
Scott: the m200 and 400 look tempting, but I want something that will be exactly similar to what I will be using in class. Since money is not an issue and my parents are getting me the laptop and tablet, I'm good to go :P
I guess I'll buy the MacBook Pro when I get there and not from here since there is a difference in the power supply.
Thank you all for the input, I am just trying to sort everything out as soon as possible because I dont want to be doing all this 1 week before classes start. If I will be getting a Mac I want to be able to use it for a couple of weeks and get a feel of how they work.
Scott: the m200 and 400 look tempting, but I want something that will be exactly similar to what I will be using in class. Since money is not an issue and my parents are getting me the laptop and tablet, I'm good to go :P
I guess I'll buy the MacBook Pro when I get there and not from here since there is a difference in the power supply.
Tell them you need the 20 inch version with a Wacom Cintiq. You should also realise you can run Windows on it if you ever needed to.