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Macbook Student offer

Woodface

pfm Member
Apologies for the parent paranoia but I have no real knowledge of Mac Books. Are they a good option for students? Are they worth the money? I am wary of buying a cheaper lap top only to replace it half way through son's degree. Currently there is a 20% off offer if bought through their education scheme 'uni days'.
 
If our students had a Macbook they wouldn't be eligible for most of our free software, unless of course they were able to run windows10 in a VM, then some of the SW image will work.

A handful of our students use them (computer science), and even some of our staff, they show no longer life than a similarly specced Win10 PC. The vast majority of our computer science students set up their laptops to be dual boot windows and linux.
 
Check if there is any bespoke software he needs to run, i.e. there may be a chance he is stuck to a Windows machine.

Beyond that it really is a matter of opinion. Personally I hugely prefer OS X to Windows or Linux, but there are many things I really do not like about current MacBooks and MacBook Pros (dreadful and unreliable keyboard, soldered-in SSDs, soldered-in RAM, dreadful environmental protection etc). Basically if he wants to write a seriously long thesis, not back it up regularly, and then spill coffee or beer on his computer don’t buy a MacBook. Buy a business-grade Lenovo (T or P-series) instead.
 
Aah, no easy answers. Will see what back up uni provides, software is key. He is doing a law degree so it will be for typing up essays, research etc
 
After a bit of research I am sticking with Win 10 laptops for my two girls. Both unis use Office either native or 360 style. Almost any modern laptop is plenty powerful enough. The only exceptions are usage requirements if media editing or gaming are a consideration - in our case, Geography and Business Management not a issue.

Probably going for some skinny 14" Asus metal skinned types or maybe a lower powered Yoga direct from Lenovo....
The Asus types usually have some transparent protective casing available - so that might the route for us. Older daughter had an HP Yoga type 3 years ago and is likely to last to the end of year 4.
 
Mine only lasted 3 years and 1 month before it needed a new board at 150 quid. I partially blame bedtime surfing on the duvet, though.
 
a few years ago a macbook runing windows was a good choice, but the macbook of today is a dud.

I just got a lovely new Lenovo T590 and am impressed how much quicker it is than my old T540 (lasted six years)

If studying law youre only going to need MSOffice so no worries either way on that one.

For anyone studying a STEM subject a windows 10 machine is essential.

Id totally recommend a thinkpad as a reliable and durable machine.
 
If you're going for a high spec MacBook make sure it's insurable, students often lose things.

We got good cover through our home All Risks section; some of the bank freebies are of limited use.
 
About 25% of our students use Macs, but not for any course related reason. Most believe them to be more reliable / better built than Windows laptops, but they tend to compare their Mac to a £300 budget windows laptop when making that call. The best thing about Apple laptops is the battery life - the claimed battery life of Windows laptop manufacturers always seems optimistic. We use top end Lenovos as staff laptops, but we have to specify high capacity batteries to get enough run time for most people. The battery in my Lenovo Carbon is crap compared to my old MacBook Air.

As for software, all students with an ac.uk university email address can get MS Office for free. Most unis use Office365 for email, so students can download Office when they log in using their university account. They'll also get a OneDrive account for storage/backup.

The uni may provide other free software that is beneficial, such as Endnote, so it's worth checking if their licence covers all OS versions or just Windows.
 
Our lad did (astro)physics. When he started I gave him my MacBook to get him going. Within weeks he’d concluded it was almost useless for course work so I swapped him for an old Dell. It creaked but it worked so, as others have mentioned, you need some solid advice from his department before parting with cash.
 
P.s. I followed darthvader’s advice and steered my bro-in-law towards a refurb Lenovo Thinkpad for his roofing firm - robust, good to use and cheap as chips compared to its new price.
 
About 25% of our students use Macs, but not for any course related reason.

ours is closer to about 15%

As for software, all students with an ac.uk university email address can get MS Office for free. Most unis use Office365 for email, so students can download Office when they log in using their university account. They'll also get a OneDrive account for storage/backup.
Windows.

yes we are the same. We are offering additional MS stuff, like Teams, etc


The uni may provide other free software that is beneficial, such as Endnote, so it's worth checking if their licence covers all OS versions or just Windows.

Yes in my dept we offer loads, and it will need a Windows PC.
 
https://www.tier1online.com/728-20a...7-4600u-8gb-240gb-ssd-grade-b-screen-1600x900

We've had 3 of these pass through our household. I'm typing on one now. My eldest is at uni and has had two. It's perfectly decent, it's an older i7 with SSD so plenty fast enough for all but the most demanding graphics application. And the key issue - only £300.

The first one my son had got used and abused, chucked across a car park in Geneva Airport and survived it all. It only died when a leaking water bottle filled his rucksac and laptop full of water!

The fact that it was refurbished with a few battle scars already added to its appeal and made it less likely to get nicked when left in the pub/library/digs.

We were so impressed that we just bought another identical one when he killed it. At £300 it's almost a consumable.
 
https://www.tier1online.com/728-20a...7-4600u-8gb-240gb-ssd-grade-b-screen-1600x900

We've had 3 of these pass through our household. I'm typing on one now. My eldest is at uni and has had two. It's perfectly decent, it's an older i7 with SSD so plenty fast enough for all but the most demanding graphics application. And the key issue - only £300.

The first one my son had got used and abused, chucked across a car park in Geneva Airport and survived it all. It only died when a leaking water bottle filled his rucksac and laptop full of water!

The fact that it was refurbished with a few battle scars already added to its appeal and made it less likely to get nicked when left in the pub/library/digs.

We were so impressed that we just bought another identical one when he killed it. At £300 it's almost a consumable.
Amazing, thanks
 
I suppose it depends on what they’re doing, seek advice from the college/uni as to which platform is best suited.
One thing to consider is that a MacBook will run Windows 10 easily and then you have the best of both.

If you are buying a new MacBook, the latest Air models look decent and will probably cover all the bases for the majority of students... but if they were a doing film production type course, a 15” Pro would be by far the best option thanks to its dedicated GPU.
 
One thing to consider is that a MacBook will run Windows 10 easily and then you have the best of both.

I agree, and Bootcamp is the easiest way of doing that on a MacBook.

I for one use both OS X and W10 (at work for the latter), a bit of Linux too, but I have always enjoyed Macs more.
And they are truly durable, and above all silent!

As an aside, I have never seen a virus on any of my Macs, which I can’t say is true on my several Windows laptops...
 
Call me old fashioned but i'd ask him what he wants and buy him that. I've always run macs, never had any problems, never had a virus.
 


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