Mac User has to buy a PC - need advice

grandma joy | July 17 2017 | jacquej

[jacquej]

My grandson has been accepted into the Business School at the University of Michigan, and we are all happy for him.

Here is the dilemma. They strongly advise that all incoming student have a PC, not a Mac. Since we are all Mac users from way back, we do not know enough about PCs to make an intelligent purchase.

We do know that Macs can run PC software partitioned, but it seems that there are some software programs that do not run well on partitioned Macs (proprietary, maybe?)

So can you all offer to help, without turning it into a platform fight?

[BrandtMichaels]

Better would be to see if you can run MAC operating system on the PC.

I know I was never able to interface the MAC to midrange and mainframe computers in 30+ years developing code, but never had a problem connecting my PC to bigger iron.

[Flick Lives]

We do know that Macs can run PC software partitioned, but it seems that there are some software programs that do not run well on partitioned Macs (proprietary, maybe?)

If you use The Mac's built-in Boot Camp app it will install a separate bootable partition that is a Windows machine. It's not an emulation ;the Mac is running with an Intel chipset. There should be no compatibility issues.

[Mariner]

HP laptop with Windows 10.

[Flick Lives]

For that reason, if you wish to purchase a Mac you should be mindful of the added expense of purchasing the necessary software (Fusion or Parallels, Windows, and Microsoft Office) so that you can run Windows and any associated applications when the time comes.

Somebody in the UMich School of Business needs to update this web page. You *can* install emulators such as Fusion, but they are extra cost; or you can just use the built-in Boot Camp app to setup a dual-boot Mac with Windows and OS X. The best of both worlds!

[higgmeister]

I’ve found that old-school IT types are very diehard in their dislike of Apple even in the face of there no longer being any appreciable functional divergence as far as software and network connectivity.

Look, I'll finally admit it right here. I despise Apple because it is the liberal socialist's choice. The invasive and surreptitious way they inculcated themselves into the young minds in elementary schools across the country. The "1984 Apple's First Macintosh Commercial", raging against "Big Brother" yet the Apple culture actually embracing every tenet of Big Brother Socialism. The bewildering idolatry for Steve Jobs.

But back to practicality, in over 30 years at Verizon Business, I worked with hundreds of PC's, a couple of OS2 platforms, some Linux/Unix systems for special platform access, but zero Apple products. Apples are for children, artists or dreamers with their heads in la-la land.

In 1982 I got a TI-99/4A and since then I have had at least seven PC's as they have gotten better and more powerful. When Windows first came out we had to boot up the PC to the DOS prompt and then load the .EXE file to launch Windows. My wife has an iPad which she stopped using when the novelty wore off. She has an iPhone but is envious of my Droid and will change to that in the next few weeks.

At the end of Kelly's Heroes, Oddball trades with the Germans for their Tiger Tank. Moriarty, tells Oddball he's crazy for making that trade! Oddball says, "it's a mother beautiful tank", and Moriarty replies "it's a piece of junk!" "The fuel system leaks all over the place, it's a piece of junk!" Then Oddball replies, "always with the negative waves, Moriarty." "Always with the negative waves." Apple is that Tiger Tank, all hype and no substance but seems cool to a crazy person.

[Neidermeyer]

I agree with the “don’t skimp” advice ,, if the kid needs a laptop buy new ... if a desktop I’d buy a lightly used “workstation” type computer... There is a big difference between the pro and consumer pc’s ,,, touchscreens drive me crazy but win10 is the easier and more secure solution for the OS. Buying used will get you high quality for 20% of the new price.

[buffaloguy]

The bottom line is this:

Your grandson needs to use a computer without failure at 2:00 am without any problems.

The environment is pc based and he should be using that tool for his production.

If his school is as tough as mine was he will be writing 90 page business analyses with charts. Go with what they tell you. It is possible that if you don’t you will be buying a second computer because of normal updates to Windows that are incorporated into the Windows environment.

Businesses don’t normally use Apple computers and he needs to train on the computers that they will use.

[Crusher138]

My experience, for what its worth...

Son #1 goes to University that “suggests” a Windows machine. He ignores their suggestion, uses his Macbook Pro, and never had an issue. He used Pages to write his papers and saved them as Word docs to send them to his professors.

Son #2 goes to University that “requires” a Windows machine. We had already bought him a Macbook Pro for graduation, so we load up VMWare Fusion, so he can run Windows and Mac at the same time. The wife had a year old Lenovo laptop that she no longer used, so we sent it with him just in case.

Again, it was a problem overblown. Son #2 never has to use his cludgy Lenovo. His Macbook Pro was just fine when connecting to the University network, accessed the assignment pages just fine, and saving Pages files as Word files is simple and worked.

My suggestion, buy a CHEAP Windows laptop, just in case, but send him off with both his Macbook Pro and the cheap PC.

[Paperpusher]

Off-lease Lenovo business laptop with windows 7. He will likely use Lenovo in business

[Sequoyah101]

2009 day after day after day and usually never turn it off. I maybe reboot it once a month. It has been used and abused. Thrown in a non padded briefcase, strapped in, put in the cargo hold of a helicopter many times etc.

The hard drive is starting to make some noise so I am in the process of replacing it with an SSD one.

I find Parallels klunky and am thankful I don’t have to use it much. Not using it much is probably why I have problems with it.

I was forced to buy a PC about a year ago because my bank uses an IBM product called Trusteer that was not Mac OS compatible. That was a disaster. Windows 10 is a mess. The thing crashed, I got the bank to make arrangements for the Mac, put the PC in the closet and forgot about it.

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

Ping.

[bigtoona]

Surface Pro or Surface book are great choices, well made with quality similar to the Mac products. You can also get one used on Ebay for a good price including add-ons if the expense is too high for a new one.

[Crusher138]

Apple is that Tiger Tank, all hype and no substance but seems cool to a crazy person.

So much for not turning this into a flame war...

Higgmeister could not be more wrong.

IBM itself has many employees using Macs in the business environment. Just Google "IBM Macs" for any number of news stories that have been done on the subject.

I am a heterosexual, male, conservative business owner, who used to build Windows boxes for a living. When I started my own business, I decided I wanted to spend more time being productive and less time messing with computer issues, so I went Mac.

Through work I have contact with dozens if not hundreds of business owners on a constant basis. I would estimate Mac penetration into the business environment at about 20%.

The days of incompatible file formats and hardware are mostly over. Many programs you will use in a business environment have Mac counterparts. The hardware you are most likely to use - keyboards, mice, monitors, USB drives, etc. - generally will work on both platforms.

Apples are for children, artists or dreamers with their heads in la-la land.

I'll be sure to mention that to Rush Limbaugh and President Trump next time I see them...

[RoadieFan]

If you are used to a Mac, I would go with that for a host of reasons. But first and foremost, is the quality of customer service from Apple IF anything should happen to it while in college.

My daughter had her roommate kick her Macbook Pro off of the top bunk and across the dormroom. Screen shattered, case shattered, keyboard broke. And it was OFF of warranty. We took it to the Apple store in Indy. They charged us $300 to rebuild it all, her data all intact, and she had it the next day...DELIVERED to her dorm.

I have been working in IT since the early 1990s. I am fluent in All flavors of Windows, MAC, and Linux. My current position is a Dell only shop. After working with them now for 3 years, I would never buy a Dell. I have seen far too many new machines fail.

Ignore the University and throw VMWare on it, or even Crossover from Codewavers. Both are very easy to use. And worse case, you can always activate bootcamp and toss Windows 10 Home on it.

Now, IF you buy an Apple product, buy it from the REFURB store. Apple puts the SAME warranty on refurbs as on new, and you will save yourself some serious money.

I have a PC at work, an PC at home for gaming, but my workhorse machine is my Macbook Pro. I don’t like having to fix my own stuff.

[Sequoyah101]

Adding to previous post on this thread. I should also mention I’m a consulting engineer. I make a living WITH a computer not by constantly tinkering with and WORKING ON a computer. I don’t have an IT department, just me.

I had PC’s for years and replaced them about every two years because they just got full of junk and quit. Other people I know do the same thing.

My peers made fun of my “tree hugger, liberal toy etc.” and tried to blame any incompatibility on the Mac. Thing is though, when they were rebooting, arguing with their PC and calling IT for help I was the guy who was doing the work without stopping to fix the PC. The Mac OS just works and the machine is well built. As noted, mine is an early ‘09 model that has had one battery change and needs another.

[Sequoyah101]

Guess I’m a crazy person because I’d much rather have the Tiger Tank, leaks and all with its 88mm gun that will blow a hole clean through a Sherman and catch it’s gasoline on fire in an instant as opposed to the Tiger’s diesel that is not nearly so ignition prone. They called Shermans Ronsons after the lighter. It took 5 or more dead Shermans to knock out a Tiger. I’m finding about the same ratio of dead PCs to a Mac.

So I’ll keep my “all hype and no substance” Mac and just keep working and creating without irritation from the Gates empire.

[Sequoyah101]

THAT is Customer SERVICE!

We have an iMac out in the shop here at the farm. It gets all kinds of abuse I’m sure from dust to heat and all manner of metal grinding dust from the welding area across the shop. It keeps on ticking. We do keep it sort of covered most of the time with an old sheet my wife sewed into a neat little cover. Maybe a PC could survive but the Mac does.

[higgmeister]

So much for not turning this into a flame war... Higgmeister could not be more wrong.

Excuse me but the flames started with this dig about diehard IT types in their dislike of Apple.

"I’ve found that old-school IT types are very diehard in their dislike of Apple even in the face of there no longer being any appreciable functional divergence as far as software and network connectivity."

I simply needed to explain the justified dislike of the Socialist Apple Corporation.

It was priceless irony at the fall of the USSR, that Boris Yeltsin called his New Russian Socialist Party, "Yabloko" (Я́блоко) which is Cyrillic for Apple.

[Svartalfiar]

Are you looking for a laptop or a desktop? Is he planning on playing games or simply using very basic Office/accounting programs?

Sager makes some good stuff, they actually are the underlying manufacturer for many parts in the more well known laptops (Dell doesn’t manufacture almost anything themselves). But, they do tend to be better laptops with an eye towards gaming.

https://www.sagernotebook.com/home.php

But, if you’re only looking to spend maybe $500, you can pull almost anything off of BestBuy or Microcenter. No need to really spend the $$ on improvements you don’t need. Try to get Win10 Pro, but if it’s more than $20 extra, Home is fine. You’re gonna have a hard time finding something with Win7 on it.

Also, once you have the laptop, it’s generally a good idea to delete a lot of the extra crap they come with, and there’s several programs I’d suggest installing: Malwarebytes, VLC player, ClassicShell, and several others.

[higgmeister]

Guess I’m a crazy person because I’d much rather have the Tiger Tank, leaks and all with its 88mm gun that will blow a hole clean through a Sherman and catch it’s gasoline on fire in an instant as opposed to the Tiger’s diesel that is not nearly so ignition prone.

To paraphrase you know who, if you want your Socialist machine you can keep it.