University Computer

[Tony]

crossley7 @ Fri Jul 29, 2011 10:35 am wrote:

the new macbook air (it does put me over a bit i know which is why im not excited about it)

Are you considering that with the educational discount? http://store.apple.com/ca/browse/campaigns/back_to_school

Even if you don't buy software/media yourself, the $100 app/itunes store giftcard would hold near cash value.

[crossley7]

If I get a macbook, then i most definitely will try to use all possible student benefits i can get including the giftcard. But it is almost completely offset if I decide to get a CD drive to play some games and the fact i will likely need the 128 GB version since 64 is a tiny hard drive and i have many different programs that are on it. That would fill it and then a bit

Edit: and in response to Demon Wasp's post, I prefer Windows out of familiarity and even if I get a mac, I will likely run windows on it (I just don't like the mac OS particularly from experience), but I have never seen Linux and don't know how it runs/programs available for it etc.

I would have to look it up and find one in a store just to test it out a bit.

Edit again: Just looked up the lemur ultra thin and it looks perfect for what I need and way cheaper than a macbook even with a few add on features. Now just to test out the OS somewhere and I found myself a computer... or I can find if you can run windows 7 on it

[DemonWasp]

Or, you could test it out on your own computer. It's simple, safe, doesn't need you to install anything, and can run directly off of a CD or USB key: http://www.ubuntu.com/download . Most of the applications will be roughly the same -- you still have Firefox and Chrome (well...it's Chromium, but effectively the same thing), and instead of Microsoft Office you can use OpenOffice / LibreOffice.

In fact, if you want an application that does X, just look for X in the software centre, find something that sounds cool, and install that (for free). The big area that Linux falls short, application-wise, is in gaming. Almost no games are written to work with Linux, and even compatibility projects like Wine can't run most games (to see whether your games are supported, check http://appdb.winehq.org/ -- if it says "gold" or "platinum", they are).

Also, if you were planning on installing Windows anyway, you can do so with a system76 machine. Then, you aren't wasting any money on buying an OS you won't use anyway (Ubuntu is free, OSX isn't). On the other hand, you may find it more convenient to get a PC with Windows pre-installed.

Unfortunately, system76 doesn't have any store fronts, so you wouldn't be able to actually interact with one of their laptops before buying.

[cheese_cake]

doesnt your (OP's) school support a particular brand or what not? getting a machine endorsed by your school would get you better prices and technical support.

[crossley7]

Well, I'm still in high school and never use the school computer (just bring my laptop in, it is way easier than having to constantly worry about being on a computer that has the same programs i do.) so there isn't much benefit in that way, and I believe I have a copy of windows 7 and microsoft office student kicking around somewhere that I will be able to install without making the additional purchase.

The hassle of trying to find a decent priced computer with windows installed and with good specs is a huge pain I've gone through once and rather not have to repeat that process too many times

Even if I don't find those copies of win7/microsoft office I'm confident that linux will be good enough for most things. As it is I mostly use it for coding and internet so little compatibility issues there

[Tony]

crossley7 @ Fri Jul 29, 2011 4:42 pm wrote:

... I'm confident that linux will be good enough for most things. As it is I mostly use it for coding and internet so little compatibility issues there

other than obviously

crossley7 @ Fri Jul 29, 2011 2:30 pm wrote:

...if I decide to get a CD drive to play some games...

On a tangental topic -- considering that getting games through Steam is both much cheaper and more convenient, do you guys still get physical media, or is this just for legacy collections?

[crossley7]

I haven't bought a new game on a disk in years, but I also almost never buy a game period. And it is probably 3-4 games that I play from time but not regularly.

I love my ancient versions of roller coaster tycoon 2 and the sims deluxe edition. Great time wasters

[SmokeMonster]

Just dual boot Linux with Windows. You can have windows to play the games that you want and use Linux for programming. Linux is a much more conducive environment for development (and productivity in general). Once you use linux for a while you would gag at the idea of going back to windows. Besides most of your assignments in school are probably going to marked on *nix, I mean you could just do your stuff on windows and then ssh into the school's *nix boxes to test if it still works on those machines but why not just work on the real thing? Mac is pretty much a waste of money unless you wanna make a statement.

[crossley7]

School? Assignments marked? you clearly don't go to my school Don't think I officially handed anything in until my final exam and I probably know more c++ than my teacher, yet he still lets me use it for whatever I want.

I plan on using a Linux/Windows combo once I decide to purchase the laptop. Milking what I can out of this one, but likely will have a new one by the time CCC comes around this year.

And Mac works for a few things, but I use it for none of those, so I'm skipping on it.

EDIT: Forgot to mention that even though I didn't hand anything in and did problems I wanted to do, not class assignments, he still gave me a 100 for some reason...

[mirhagk]

Tony @ Fri Jul 29, 2011 4:55 pm wrote:

On a tangental topic -- considering that getting games through Steam is both much cheaper and more convenient, do you guys still get physical media, or is this just for legacy collections?

Actually this is kinda off topic, but CD's can be much cheaper since they are often in discount bins, so not getting a cd drive is probably a bad idea.