[mojo_mattv]

Well i suppose the time has come that i should start looking at laptops for university next year. Anyways im at a loss of what to do expecially since the beginning of all of this "Vista" bussiness. I was talking to some people last night who were telling me that Vista has software in it that without the users choice or notification searches and destroys any pirated software in the hard drive. That could be bad news for the likes of me. I was then told to check out imacs as apparantley they are user friendly and extremely versitile (compared to windows OS). Any comments or helpful pushes in the right direction would be appreciated.

[chris]

What are you taking at school? What programs do you need to run? How much do you want to spend? What features are important to you?

Off the cuff, without any of this knowledge I'd say get a MacBook... but fill in some of the blanks and I'll toss in another two cents.

[mojo_mattv]

many isnt really a big issue because of scholarships trust fund etc. but Im taking either chemical engineering or cell and molecular biology. Basically wherever I end up itll be science. Not really sure what programs ill be running as of yet however i know id like something easy to use, and that can handle both recording and playing music files because thats about all I do other then the usuall browsing of the web and conversing over MSN.

[schaggs]

Hey Chris, since you're the mac/multimedia expert around here... and since so far, I'm thinking Mac, here's what I need to do. I currently run a similar setup on a P4 2.6GHZ with 1GB ram, 833MHz FSB, 80GB HDD, Audigy2 Audio, and onboard (!) video. But, wow is it slow, and wow does it crash often these days. I can't afford any real down time, so ....


1. I would like to run pro audio software... like logic. Also, I would like to be able to hook it up to my current studio setup using midi, but even further, I'd love it if it were PORTABLE as well (if this setup is even plausible).

2. I need a program that will convert all sorts of multimedia file formats. for example, from .rm to h264, from .avi to .mpg, from .mp3 to .aac, from .vob to .mov, etc. My machine now can do it with the software I have, but boy is it hard on the machine.

3. DVD Authoring / Burning. I like making fancy DVD's! All the software for Windows shits the bed when it comes to nice menus and graphics, and even encoding video takes FOREVER.

4. The standard computer stuff that will work on every computer.

Oh yeah, and 1-3TB of HDD space (internal+external).
My budget at retail is in the $2200 - $2500 range without peripherals, but I can get a certain discount through my work.

So, what does thou recommend? And can it be done in a notebook?

[chris]

A MacBook will do all the stuff that you mentioned with ease... but so will many PC laptops.

I've been a Mac user since 1995 and will never go back. I know that there are more than a few converts here at Hipbase - but there are lots of diehard Windows fans as well.

A fully equipped MacBook can be had for about $2000 with taxes and should be more than enough computer for your listed needs.

There are some chemical, cellular and molecular bio programs for Macs - some are even Mac only, and highly regarded in the industry. (I know this is also true of Windows, but it's good to know you're not going to be shut out with a Mac... unless there is a specific program.)

Here are some widely available science apps for Mac: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.pure-mac.com/science.html">http://www.pure-mac.com/science.html</a><!-- m -->

[chris]

Hey Chris, since you're the mac expert around here... and since you'll probably say that mac is the way to go, since I don't really play games.... Here's what I want to do with my new machine -

1. I would like to run pro audio software... like logic. Also, I would like to be able to hook it up to my current studio setup using midi, but even further, I'd love it if it were PORTABLE as well (if this setup is even plausible).

2. I need a program that will convert all sorts of multimedia file formats. for example, from .rm to h264, from .avi to .mpg, from .mp3 to .aac, from .vob to .mov, etc. My machine now can do it with the software I have, but boy is it hard on the machine.

3. DVD Authoring / Burning. I like making fancy DVD's! All the software for Windows shits the bed when it comes to nice menus and graphics, and even encoding video takes FOREVER.

4. The standard computer stuff that will work on every computer.

Oh yeah, and 1-3TB of HDD space (internal+external).

what does thou recommend?

1. Easy - get a MacBookPro. You might need a connector/box/switch from M-Audio or someone else for you specific hook-ups, but it's doable.

2. Easy - QuickTime Pro ($30), iTunes (FREE!) and MPEG Streamclip (FREE!) will do almost all of the work for you. With ease.

3. iDVD + iMovie are included and will get you rolling. A baby step up, without any expense is to get Avid Xpress DV Free (FREE!) to edit and then iDVD to author. To step it up further, get Final Cut Express ($300) and then iDVD (this is how I do all of the Hip DVDs). Final Cut Studio ($1500) is the grand daddy that'll allow you to make pro-level from start to finish.

Encoding is not a fast process on any machine - but more processor power, and more RAM certainly help it along. You sacrifice some speed for portability with a laptop. Mac or Windows.

4. Office runs great on my Macs. But if you don't want to pay for an office suite, you can run the free open source alternative called NeoOffice. It saves to/reads from all of the MS Office formats and many others.

5. Hard drives are hard drives... they just need to be properly formatted so that your Windows machines can read them if you want to share an external between Macs & Windows.

[trevor]

Look at you go with all the good advice! Nice job!
(and you are getting dangerously close that that 5K post mark!)

t.