[tvfollower]

I need a computer for:

-Web design
-Web programming
-Web browsing
-Programming in odd languages (college computer science courses use odd languages...and I'm going into college next year)...which might be a problem
-Word processing
-Chatting with friends
-Absolutely no gaming

I want my computer to:

-Look amazing
-Be highly configurable
-Allow me to use an alternative AIM client (Trillian sucks, and Gaim is error prone at times)...i.e. Adium or iChat
-Be very portable, so I can carry it from class to class
-Not crash
-Be fast
-Be responsive
-Run Linux applications

So...should I get a PowerBook? Do I have enough reasons to?

Or would I be happier with a PC notebook, such as the Dell Inspiron?

[The Placid Casual]

A Powerbook sounds perfect for your needs.

I would advise you to try one out an Apple Store and see what you think of OS X as well...

After this, I don't know how you would even be able to consider a Windoze machine!

[tvfollower]

I've tried OS X, and it's truly amazing. I love the GUI and everything.

I just have some fears...becuase I have a 2.53 GHz Dell desktop, and OS X's reaction time, compared to my fast computer running XP, makes me sad .

[schmoe]

Sounds like a PowerBook would serve you well.

For your web stuff you have a wide variety of browsers: Safari, Camino, Firebird, Mozilla, Opera, and yucky old IE. Since IE for Windows has lots of compatibility issues you'll probably want to test your pages with a Windows computer, or use Virtual PC.

I haven't heard of a CS language that doesn't have support on Mac OS, but it depends on how ignorant your professors are. Some might require projects submitted in Microsoft's proprietary Visual Studio project format. Of course maybe your school teaches .NET in CS, though I have no idea why they would except bribes from MS.

On the other hand if you are going to be using advanced languages like Lisp, Scheme, Haskell, OCaml, etc you'll find that the tools are open source and compile just fine on OS X. Of course the mainstream C, C++, Perl, Python, etc come with the OS X developer tools.

Office.X gives you Microsoft Word on OS X. It performs reasonably well, and you could get AppleWorks or something else if you like. There are several AIM and IRC clients available.

I don't think you'll find a prettier laptop anywhere, and the PowerBooks are all quite portable though the 12" and 15" more than the 17".

OS X runs very well on the latest PowerBooks, I have no speed or responsiveness complaints and if you search my posting history you can see that I moved back to the PC world for a bit because I wasn't happy with Apple's progress. But I'm back, OS X just can't be beat.

OS X doesn't run Linux applications, but most apps that work on Linux can probably be compiled to run on OS X.

If you are particular about aesthetics and usability, and still like Unix *grin*, then Mac OS X is the best OS right now imho. If you don't care about aesthetics and usability, and just want to fiddling around with tweaking things then Linux is probably a better choice.

If you want to go with Linux, you are best off getting a Centrino based laptop. They have amazing battery life and still excellent performance. I'd avoid Dell though, their defect rate for laptops is really bad right now and the quality is abysmal.

[PowerTower Fan]

Originally posted by tvfollower:
-Programming in odd languages (college computer science courses use odd languages...and I'm going into college next year)...which might be a problem

For this reason alone, I would get a Powerbook. I'm currently taking a course on compiler design and talk about obscure languages. I've had to use Bison, Yacc, and Flex. At my university all the labs for every class I've taken needed to be run on UNIX servers, so using OS X has made my life much easier than using Windows and running something like Exceed or using Linux. I do all the work locally on my PB and its worked out absolutely great. I much prefer using OS X than running Red Hat on my PC.

[tvfollower]

Originally posted by schmoe:
On the other hand if you are going to be using advanced languages like Lisp, Scheme, Haskell, OCaml, etc you'll find that the tools are open source and compile just fine on OS X. Of course the mainstream C, C++, Perl, Python, etc come with the OS X developer tools.

Sweet, that's even more incentive! Huzzah!

Originally posted by schmoe:
OS X doesn't run Linux applications, but most apps that work on Linux can probably be compiled to run on OS X.

Close enough. And actually, I really don't have much of a need to run Linux applications, but I think it's cool to be able to .

Originally posted by schmoe:
If you are particular about aesthetics and usability, and still like Unix *grin*, then Mac OS X is the best OS right now imho. If you don't care about aesthetics and usability, and just want to fiddling around with tweaking things then Linux is probably a better choice.

Linux is awesome, but I feel that I need an OS with more compatibility, support, reliability, etc.

Originally posted by PowerTower Fan:
For this reason alone, I would get a Powerbook. I'm currently taking a course on compiler design and talk about obscure languages. I've had to use Bison, Yacc, and Flex. At my university all the labs for every class I've taken needed to be run on UNIX servers, so using OS X has made my life much easier than using Windows and running something like Exceed or using Linux. I do all the work locally on my PB and its worked out absolutely great. I much prefer using OS X than running Red Hat on my PC.

Sounds awesome!

More incentive to buy a PowerBook would be appreciated, even though I'd say that by now I'm quite set on getting one :-D!

[khufuu]

Originally posted by tvfollower:
I've tried OS X, and it's truly amazing. I love the GUI and everything.

I just have some fears...becuase I have a 2.53 GHz Dell desktop, and OS X's reaction time, compared to my fast computer running XP, makes me sad .

This is switcher anxiety. I went through this about a year ago when I moved from my old 233 PII to this iBook. I stressed about the potential slowness etc.. etc.. Guess what? I got over it. I like my mac much better.

I think the new pbooks are coming out very soon and will probably buy one then. I can hardly wait.

As long as your not gaming... go for it.