I build desktops and can certify a system, but I buy off lease laptops because corporate models are rugged. My T-30 came clean, so last week I recommended a T41 from Bob Johnson to a neighbor and it came the same way. With a RAM upgrade to 1 gig he paid $330 delivered. So if you're on a budget and want XP loaded then give it a look.

It's a trade-off, like most business decisions. PCs have the cool games and cheap prices, but you get nickel-and-dimed to death with operating systems, crashes, and viruses. Macs have great graphics and good system stability, but it's a pain to get them fixed and customer support still varies wildly. Even as a Mac owner, I recommend PCs to college students, unless they are in Art or Music. In that case, the Mac platform may be better for them. Of course, a Mac user can buy software to run Windows now. The differences between the two are very very slowly becoming less.

But, it's a MAC.

Pretty impressive that observed battery capacity seems to live up to Apple's claims.

Usually it seems as if they get their numbers based on how long the battery survives while opening and closing a few windows on the dimmest screen setting, and doing nothing else.

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#2 | Posted by SamBarber
#3 | Posted by 8roper

The Macbook Pro runs on an Intel processor, and can very easily be configured to run Windows - you can partition your drive and boot right into Windows for the full-fledged experience (BootCamp, free but requires XP, Vista, etc.), or run it parallel to Mac OS X (third-party software).

Of course, you can go back and forth and in between OSes if you have different things to do. One can even really nerd out and tri-boot by adding their favorite build of Linux.

Apple provides all the drivers and etc. you need for your particular Mac's setup to make everything work right away when running Windows through BootCamp...so that at least all the hardware is running fine for a few days before Windows just being itself begins to have issues...

#4

what, if anything, do you lose in performance, though?

ubuntu

The software that I administer at work will not run on a Mac.

Lot's of technical and scientific software won't run on a Mac OS.

I agree with Sam, if you're into art, get a Mac, if you are into technical apps, get a PC.