Whether you plan to use your Mac for school, work, entertainment or everyday use, the right software can make your life easier and more productive. From business and office software to music, photo and video editing to finance and tax software, you can create, edit, organize and discover new ways to. Apple Footer. Trade‑in value based on 2019 15-inch MacBook Pro. Trade‑in values will vary based on the condition, year, and configuration of your trade‑in device. You must be at least 18 years old to be eligible to trade in for credit or for an Apple Store Gift Card. Jul 13, 2010 There is also many free software available which might make it unnecessary for you to purchase software. Every Mac comes with Mac OS X as an operating system and the iLife software suite. You can read more on iLife on the Apple website. Basically a Mac with Mac OS X and iLife offers more functionality out of the box than Microsoft Windows.
Your computing experience is made up of interactions with hardware and software. The hardware is all the tangible computer equipment, such as the body of your laptop containing the hard drive, keyboard, and touchpad for pointing at and clicking on items onscreen.
The software is what makes the hardware work or lets you get things done, such as writing documents with Microsoft Word or playing a Solitaire game. Think of the hardware as being like your television set, and think of the software as being like the shows that you watch on it.
The hardware on your laptop consists of
A central processing unit (CPU), which is the very small, very high-tech semiconductor chip (integrated circuit) that acts as the brains of your computer. The CPU is stored in your laptop along with the other nuts and bolts of your computer.
A monitor, which displays images on its screen similar to the way your TV screen displays programs. Your computer monitor shows you, for example, the Microsoft Windows 8.1 Desktop, a video you watch at an online entertainment site, or a document in a software program. Today, some laptops sport touchscreen monitors, which allow you to use your finger on the screen to provide input to the computer.
A keyboard, which is similar to a typewriter keyboard. In addition to typing words and numbers, you can use a keyboard to give the computer commands such as selecting text or objects, copying, and pasting.
A touchpad, which you also use to give your computer commands, but this little device offers a more tactile way to provide input. You move your laptop cursor on the screen by using a built-in pointing device, which might be in the form of a touchpad, or a small button.
Slide your fingertip around the touchpad. This moves a pointer around onscreen. You position this pointer on an onscreen button or menu name, for example, and then click the left or side of your touchpad which causes an action.
You can also tap and drag your fingertip to select text or an object to perform an action on it (such as deleting a file or making a line of text bold). You also have the option of attaching a physical wireless mouse to your laptop; a small transmitter which you place in a USB port on your laptop enables the mouse input.
A webcam and speakers, and probably a microphone, are likely to be built in to your laptop. A webcam allows you to produce video images you can share during video phone calls and instant messaging sessions. Speakers play back sounds, and a built-in microphone allows you to record audio files.
Ports to attach peripherals, such as a printer or scanner. Your laptop comes with slots where you plug in various peripherals (additional hardware). The type of port you’ll use most often is called a USB port; it’s a small slot useful for plugging in small sticks called flash drives on which you can store data, or devices that typically sport a USB connector (such as digital cameras and smartphones).
Software (also known as programs or applications) is installed on your laptop hard drive, which resides in the laptop casing. Here are a few basics about software:
You use software to get your work done, run entertainment programs, and browse the Internet. For example, Quicken is a financial-management program you can use to balance your checkbook or keep track of your home inventory for insurance purposes.
Some programs come preinstalled on your laptop; you can buy and install other programs as you need them. Computers have to have an operating system installed to be of any use at all because an operating system runs all the other programs. Also, some programs are included with your operating system — such as WordPad, a simple word processing program. But you’re not limited to pre-installed software.
You can purchase other software or download free, software programs from the Internet. For example, you can find Skype (a free program that enables you to make online phone calls using your laptop) in the Windows Store or on the Internet and install it on your laptop yourself.
You can uninstall programs you no longer need. Uninstalling unwanted programs helps to free up some space on your laptop, which helps it perform better.
Software programs called utilities exist to keep your laptop in shape. An antivirus program is an example of a utility used to spot and erase computer viruses from your system. Your operating system (such as Windows 8.1) also includes some utilities, such as Disk Cleanup to free up wasted space on your hard drive or the Windows Defender program.
Windows Defender protects your laptop from unwanted intrusion by malicious programs called spyware.
The age old question appears once again. Windows and Mac are pitted against each other once more. This time we discuss whether Windows or Mac is better for college.
As always, this is a tough question to answer and it ultimately comes down to your personal preference and your needs in college. However, we’ll be going over the pros and cons of each in this post and hopefully crown a winner.
College is an amazing time of your life. You’ll see new places, make new friends, learn new things, have the occasional mental breakdown during finals. It’s an overall great time.
You’ll also need a great laptop to keep you going through all of this and hopefully make those breakdowns a bit less stressful. But is a Mac or Windows laptop right for you? Well there’s a few things to consider before you make your big decision.
Windows Vs Mac: Which Is Best For College?
1. Major
I know, I know. It’s the question every college student hates the most but it is important to know when deciding what kind of laptop is going to be best for you. Mac is known for its stellar performance and can run lots of intensive software needed for certain majors like art and media, for example.
Check out our article on whether or not Windows or Mac is best for programming if you’re looking into computer science or software engineering.
2. Budget
As a college student, you may not have a huge budget to work with. Macs are notoriously insanely expensive. With Windows you at least have more options to choose from and a lot of them can be quite inexpensive yet still rather powerful.
If you have a decent budget and can afford a Mac, you’re sure to be investing in a long-lasting, powerful machine.
If your budget is more modest, you can still find great Windows laptops that will last you your whole college career.
For example, I had an Asus ultrabook that lasted me all four years of undergrad and even through my postgraduate years so there are still plenty of great Windows laptops you can get that will work perfect for you.
3. Features
Do you want portability? Probably. You’ll have lots of classes, clubs, and meetings to be going to. Do you want something that is budget-friendly? Also, probably yes. How about a good battery life? Yeah, you’ll want that.
These are all important features for a college student but you may have more personalized features that are unique to you. Do you like playing games on your laptop? How about editing photos or videos? You’ll want to think about what features are you’re going to need to be happy at school.
4. Preference
To be completely honest, the answer to this question will always come down to your personal preference as a consumer of technology. If you’ve always used a Windows computer, this article should not be the nail in the coffin of your Windows days and vice versa.
If you’re most comfortable using one or the other, you will find a way to make it work best for your needs as a college student. The best way to use this article is more as a guide to finding what product is going to work best for you.
Pros & Cons Of Windows vs. Mac For College
Mac Pros
Ultraportable
Powerful
Long-lasting
Mac Cons
Expensive
Limited selection
Mac Laptops For Sale
Macs are known to be incredibly powerful machines. They’re well made with powerful hardware which make for long-lasting devices that are well worth the expensive price tag over time.
Free download apps for mac. They tick all the boxes for performance because of their streamlined hardware and software. However, it is possible to get a Windows laptop with the same specs as a Macbook Pro that is vastly cheaper.
Macs are going to be ultraportable which makes them a great traveling laptop. This is going to be important for the student who is constantly moving from building to building, class to class, coffee house to coffee house.
However, you can also get super portable Windows laptops so the Mac doesn’t exactly beat out Windows just yet.
Macs have great all day batteries and can easily pull 13 hours off the charger. That is another plus for the college student. You don’t want to have to worry about that battery and finding an outlet when you’re sitting in a lecture hall of 500 other freshman.
…If you’re doing art or media, you’ll find that your university will likely have a Mac lab for your use.
If you’re doing art or media, you’ll find that your university will likely have a Mac lab for your use that is going to have all the software and power you’ll need to get your work done.
This is because Macs are great for photo, video, and music editing and much, much more. They are specialized machines and work well with the software you’ll probably be using.
You may be inclined to use your university’s lab because it will definitely be more powerful than whatever laptop you’ve got in your bag, windows or mac.
However, if you feel more inclined to use your own laptop in the comfort of your dorm room or wherever you like to study, both Windows and Mac will be able to give you the performance you need.
The Macs biggest drawback (as has already been mentioned above) is the outrageous cost. There have been many polls and surveys taken of college students which show that Mac would be the most popular option for college students if cost was not a factor.
Most students are like Mac for the brand, the style of their laptops, their ease of use, and their durability. However, a majority of the students taking part in the survey use Windows because of the cost.
If you’re willing to pay more than $2000 for a machine that can be matched in performance, durability, and versatility by a Windows laptop for far less, you’re likely shopping for the brand and not necessarily its features.
That’s perfectly fine. If you’ve always used a Mac, you’re going to be most comfortable on a Mac. But for those looking to get a laptop for college, the Mac is not your only nor your best option.
Windows Pros
Budget-friendly
Large selection
Variety of features
Windows Cons
Not as durable
Susceptible to viruses
.Windows will almost always beat Mac in affordability and that is often the most important factor to the college student…
Windows will almost always beat Mac in affordability and that is often the most important factor to the college student when choosing their college laptops. Macs are simply not affordable.
Compare Mac Laptops
College students stereotypically don’t have a lot of money to throw at a laptop. You have many more expensive things to worry about when you’re just starting out in college: tuition, textbooks, accommodation, coffee, etc.
More realistically, you’ll be spending around $500 to get a laptop that has the most important features like enough storage for your files, enough memory for your browsing, and a processor that’s going to keep you going.
Windows offer a far larger selection of laptops to choose from and most of those options come with even more customizable features so you can find the laptop that works best for you.
Mac fails in this because you basically have two options with very limited customizability and you’re still going to pay nearly $2000 for it.
Some may find this range of variety intimidating and to be honest, it may be for some. To have thousands of laptops to choose from can be overwhelming.
Many Mac users will claim that Windows are far less durable over time. However, Windows computers can be just as long-lasting as Macs with proper care.
Mac Laptops At Best Buy
Where Windows laptops can fail is virus protection. Virus protection software (in the form of a trial subscription) often comes preloaded on your Windows laptop.
Used Mac Laptops
Personally, I’ve never fallen for this gimmick and it’s one of the most frustrating things about owning a Windows laptop. Getting rid of bloatware is a headache which Mac users do not have to worry about.
Windows laptops are more susceptible to getting viruses and malware than Macs but this is easily rectifiable by the user.
Logic music software mac free download free. Overall, this question really comes down to personal preference. Personally, my Windows computer got me through 6 years of university and is still alive and kicking. I only upgraded to a better Windows computer so I could run games better. That’s my preference.
The truth is, both Windows and Mac laptops will be able to get you through your college career. They both have their advantages and disadvantages and it ultimately comes down to your preference and comfort.