OK, I know it's asked and answered here somewhere. For my 7th grader, MAC or PC (Dell) laptop? MAC seems to be $1000, Dell has 'em for $500. What am I missing? Also, someone told me Mac is up to about 20% of the market....

 

well heck, for $500 less, does it matter?

i know not the technical answer but seriously, it is a 7th grader, it will be fine for him/her.

 

Apple's market share is 7.7% for desktops, 9.9% for laptops.

 

Mini macs are a lot cheaper.

But if you shop that, you can get better buys. Depends on what your 7th grader is going to be running on it.

 

> someone told me Mac is up to about 20% of the market

That person is wrong 100%.

If an adult I would say take a look at the Mac, but, for a 7th grader, get the much cheaper PC. When it gets wrecked, lost, or stolen, it will be easier to replace or fix.

Plus, none of the good games and software run on the Mac. If they want to do JAVA programming, then the MAC might be a plus. Otherwise all the simpler software tools such as Visual BASIC make the PC a better choice.

 

Macs are supposed to be easier for non computer people to use.

Since Macs are less popular, there are fewer JERKS writing viruses to infect you.

Since Macs are a "Single Source" product, ie no competition, prices are higher for everything Mac related.

It has been a long time since I had a Mac and a PC to compare side by side, but way back in the early 90s when I did have both, the Mac of equivalent generation was significantly slower on daily tasks than my PC. And like I said, most software and accessories were more expensive.

PCs are much easier to use now than way back, but they still have their gotchas that make them a pain for computer illiterates. And of course everyone unemployed software hack in eastern Europe and Asia, writes viruses for PCs.

Most schools I have heard of have standardized on PCs so having the same at home may make it easier for a kid.

My 14 and 15 year olds have been using a Windows PC since 1998 and have no problems other than they play too many games.

My personal opinion is that other than viruses, the PC is probably the better choice.

Good Luck,

Jim Henderson

 

At this point, I'm looking at getting a Mac for my next machine. I like the build quality on them as well as the OS. The only problem is that I use mostly Windows apps for work. Now that I can run Windows on them that is becoming less of an issue.

 

I now have a Mac at home, and I really do like it allot. If I was going to buy a lap top for my kid, I go with a PC format (dell, or?). It is a more "common" system to learn and stay familiar with, which would be of greater benefit for my kid, IMO.
But I'll keep my Mac for personaly use. Pretty awsome machine.

 

For a school kid I'd see what the school is using - they're pretty well split between the Mac and PCs.

Personally, with some additional money to spend? I can get a PC which runs PC stuff, or I can get a Mac which runs Mac stuff and PC stuff - no brainer. And the 8 core Intel Macs run XP as well if not better than the 8 core HPs we have here...

 

I vote for the cheaper route.

 

a 7th grader is going to want to play games. mac's suck for program compatibility. go with the pc

Matt

 

That's total BS. All my Mac programs are compatible...

And the Intel Macs can run Windoze too, so how much more compatible can you be?

 

yea, if u know how to hack the bios to support it. its not exactly legal. just because it can, doesnt mean you should.

Matt

 

Not true at all Matt - no bios hack needed, entirely legal, entirely supported - off the shelf shrink wrap software:

http://www.parallels.com/en/products/desktop/

It works really well too...

 

Most software is mac and pc compatible well at least any popular software...I'd get a PC though mainly because it'd give your child knowledge for the work world where basically all computers are basically PC's. Also its cheaper.