If I buy a Mac powerbook, will I be able to use the software for medical school?

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I am looking into a new notebook, and I am interested in a Mac. Will it be compatible with medical school software. I know each school will be different, but I am asking in a general sense.

 

[kutastha]

Not sure what "medical school software" you're referring to, but I've had a powerbook for the entire time I've been in med school and never had a problem.

 

[velo]

Not sure what "medical school software" you're referring to, but I've had a powerbook for the entire time I've been in med school and never had a problem.

I have an ibook and have had zero compatability issues thus far.

I'd recommend buying the OSX office software package though.

 

[bkmonkey]

I would never even think about buying (or using if possible) a pc. I've had a mac forever and just got a new powerbook this year. You will definitely need to have office, and virtual pc can be useful for some pc only programs. With virtual pc you can use any software a pc can use, and you're still using a mac. The look of windows loading up on a mac can be a bit disconcerting though...

 

[HollyJ]

I have a powerbook and I looooove it. I haven't had any problems, although I do use virtual PC for a couple of things.

 

[MeowMix]

Before you buy, be sure to contact your school of interest and ask the IT people about their system hardware recommendations. Some require PCs.

I love my mac and it works for everything at school - zero compatibility problems even with downloading 20 MB of PDF and Word files each day for class notes, e-mail attachments, etc.

BUT some textbooks that come with free CD-ROM (and that is most textbooks, these days, including many first-year books) will ONLY work on Windows systems. Some will provide a Mac CD if you call them up.

You won't have time to use those resources anyway, so don't worry about it.

 

[TrojanDoctor]

Hey,

I am a first year at University of Kansas School of Medicine, and I bought a Powerbook (12 inch w superdrive) in the summer for med school. PErsonally, I love it. small, great battery life, awesome screen, and I've also had NO compatibility issues. The blue tooth will really come in handy when we start doing clinical rotations if you choose to get a PDA...

Anyways, while I absolutely love my Mac, I would suggest you at least consider getting a new tablet/notebook PC hybrid. There is a good chunk of students who have them here at KUMC, and they really love them. Really useful in taking notes if you have some profs who like to use the chalkboard. I kind of wish I had gone that route.

Just something to look into

 

[Sean2tall]

Hey,

I am a first year at University of Kansas School of Medicine, and I bought a Powerbook (12 inch w superdrive) in the summer for med school. PErsonally, I love it. small, great battery life, awesome screen, and I've also had NO compatibility issues. The blue tooth will really come in handy when we start doing clinical rotations if you choose to get a PDA...

Anyways, while I absolutely love my Mac, I would suggest you at least consider getting a new tablet/notebook PC hybrid. There is a good chunk of students who have them here at KUMC, and they really love them. Really useful in taking notes if you have some profs who like to use the chalkboard. I kind of wish I had gone that route.

Just something to look into

I was kinda thinking the same way, but I wouldn't want to do without Mac OSX in exchange for Windows. It is really cool to see all my classmates writing directly on the screen of their computers, but the novelty wore off for me and I don't even think about typing instead, since I am so happy with Mac.

I disagree about the powerbook battery life though, it is pretty crappy in my opinion. Maybe yours is better, but I get 2-2.5 hours of life while shutting off the wireless card, dimming the screen etc. It seems like those people with the tablets don't even think twice about their batteries and use it all day with games and internet.

 

[TrojanDoctor]

i've got the 12 inch powerbook, and i get 5ish hours of battery life. the bigger the screen, the shorter the battery life in general for laptops. I would def be interested in how long the tablet PC batteries last. I never really realized it, but they do seem to go on forever surfing and playing games.

OS X would be hard to let go of. But, I think that I would be wiling to go to Windows for the tablet/PC if I had the chance to do it over again.