[MatConv]

I am wondering to buy a MacBook Pro for my university research work (and fun too, personal use!), but recently, due to MBP is not so cheap and have various problems (for example heat dissipation and wireless connection), I am asking if is not better to buy a powerful nice machine (like Sony Vaio FE or FZ, or some Toshiba model, which have same hardware components but are cheaper) and installing Linux (Ubuntu or Scientific Linux).

What can you advice me???

[bballe336]

Linux will never be as well developed and smooth as OSX. I have extensive linux experience (many flavors of ubuntu, red hat, etc), and none of them come close to being as easy and fun to use as OSX. Also the MBP runs hot, it isn't a heat dissipation issue, and I haven't even heard about the wireless issue you're speaking of. If you buy a PC machine you won't have the same build quality you get with a mac, or the reliability.

[mduell]

It really comes down to the OS. Do you want to run OS X or are you happy with Linux? If you haven't used Linux but are thinking about it, I'd say go with the MBP.

Originally Posted by bballe336 

and I haven't even heard about the wireless issue you're speaking of.

Take a look around.

[VValdo]

Well, you ARE asking in a mac forum so you can expect to get a heavily slanted OS X response.

That said, the nice thing about a mac is you can dual-boot into linux if you want. Also, you can use vmware fusion or parallels to run both at the same time (which is exactly what I'll be doing)

I wouldnt' worry about hardware problems as those should all fall under warranty.

W

[romeosc]

DUH!
You are here: MacNN Forums > Hardware - Troubleshooting and Discussion > MacBook Pro & PowerBook > MacBook Pro or a PC&Linux?

[bballe336]

Originally Posted by mduell 

Take a look around.

I've had that happen, it just happened a few minutes ago actually. It doesn't seem to happen on my home router. So I'm not concerned, all you need to do is re-select the network you want and you're good to go in ~3 seconds.

[Simon]

Originally Posted by MatConv 

I am wondering to buy a MacBook Pro for my university research work (and fun too, personal use!), but recently, due to MBP is not so cheap and have various problems (for example heat dissipation and wireless connection), I am asking if is not better to buy a powerful nice machine (like Sony Vaio FE or FZ, or some Toshiba model, which have same hardware components but are cheaper) and installing Linux (Ubuntu or Scientific Linux).

What can you advice me???

I work for a university as well. We use Linux a lot and I definitely think it can be quite some fun. We're using mainly Scientific Linux 3 and 4 but also Ubuntu. I like tinkering around on Linux and FOSS can be a great thing. OTOH I like OS X too. Especially when it comes to non-work related things it's so much nicer IMHO so I wouldn't buy anything else than a MBP. You could also consider a ThinkPad if you're looking for a quality notebook. It's not cheap either, but IMHO the biggest issue is that doesn't run OS X. Unless you're sure you don't want OS X, you should consider a MBP set up for Ubuntu/OS X dual-boot. In any event, get a quality notebook. Not some cheap bulky plastic crap. If this is going to be your work machine it should be reliable.

[ginoledesma]

Get the MacBook Pro and run all the OSs you want either via BootCamp, Parallels, or VMWare. :-) Even the MacBook should do well for most types of work (unless the GPU/VRAM is a necessity).