Pre-Med Operating System Of Choice

[OSXRules]

Hi all!

I was recommended to this site by my pre-med advisor, and it looks like a helpful and fun resource.

I'm curious to see what operating systems are prevalent here. I'm a Mac user (recent switcher, MacBook 1.83 GHz), before that I was a Windows XP & Ubuntu dual-booter.

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[xanthomondo]

I'm curious to see what operating systems are prevalent here. I'm a Mac user (recent switcher, MacBook 1.83 GHz), before that I was a Windows XP & Ubuntu dual-booter.

welcome to sdn, im sorry to hear that you switched to mac lol

 

[DoctaJay]

Lol, yeah, Macs are nifty little computers,and I almost switched when the MacBookPro came out, but you just don't get enough for the money. People always talk about how there are no security holes in Max OSX and no viruses, and while that may be true, any logical person will just buy a Anti-virus software and try not to download stupid files.

 

[OSXRules]

welcome to sdn, im sorry to hear that you switched to mac lol

Well I dual-boot XP Pro with OS X so I can play games. For everything else, OSX rules!

 

[engdoc]

u know i gotta tell ya... microsoft programmers are IDIOTS! but needless to say... its the format that most people use.. and there is A LOT of really nice programs for windows... so even though i dont like it... i'll have to live with it because its the dominant one... kind of like... using firefox... ye ai love firefox... but then when i got to a website that says only supports iexplorer.... then i know who's boss
cheers

 

[xanthomondo]

Well I dual-boot XP Pro with OS X so I can play games. For everything else, OSX rules!

haha yeah, i must admit thats a nifty feature..if it werent for the price id go for a dual-booting machine

on a side note, anyone install microsoft office 2007 beta? its available for a free download, and its pretty sweeet

 

[braluk]

haha yeah, i must admit thats a nifty feature..if it werent for the price id go for a dual-booting machine

on a side note, anyone install microsoft office 2007 beta? its available for a free download, and its pretty sweeet

wheres the link for that? i might want to try it out, assuming its not too buggy.

Windows might not be as aesthetic or as bug free as OsX, but the fact of the matter is, everything is designed for microsoft. Most computers are on a windows platform and thus, it would be so much more practical to just transfer documents and run programs that would work on other computers, again the majority of which are PCs. I've had so many issues of transferring Mac files onto the PC only to have that file misformatted, non-functional, etc, that it just makes sense to use a PC. Macs are pretty damn expensive when compared to the PC when you're essentially performing the same functions. Macs might be better for graphic designers and such, but the difference between a powerful PC's performance (which by the way is still cheaper then the almight Mac) and the G4's or whatever is nominal. Macs might look "prettier" but hands down, PCs are more practical running on windows, cheaper, and easier to customize.

 

[bretticus]

u know i gotta tell ya... microsoft programmers are IDIOTS! but needless to say... its the format that most people use.. and there is A LOT of really nice programs for windows... so even though i dont like it... i'll have to live with it because its the dominant one... kind of like... using firefox... ye ai love firefox... but then when i got to a website that says only supports iexplorer.... then i know who's boss
cheers

Oh come on, don't rag on Microsoft programmers. Those guys are usually pretty smart, as MS tends to recruit good ones. The problems MS has is in management. Now there's a group to bitch about.

 

[bretticus]

wheres the link for that? i might want to try it out, assuming its not too buggy.

Linky

Be advised though, that it takes some getting used to. Definitely a lot different, but pretty sweet

 

[braluk]

Oh come on, don't rag on Microsoft programmers. Those guys are usually pretty smart, as MS tends to recruit good ones. The problems MS has is in management. Now there's a group to bitch about.

the best programmers are by far, the ones who work at google. The testing to get into a programming position itself is ridiculous

 

[XildUpNawth]

OP, you sound like a marketer looking to get a little freebie off of SDN. (Cynical, I know.)

 

[OSXRules]

Oh come on, don't rag on Microsoft programmers. Those guys are usually pretty smart, as MS tends to recruit good ones. The problems MS has is in management. Now there's a group to bitch about.

That is true, to some extent. The new office beta I hear is good. Most of the MS software is junk though, including Windows. Lack of competition I think did a lot of it.

In the mid-90's Windows made great strides in terms of both technical strength and usability, but then the Mac share sunk so low competition was virtually gone. With that came a decline in quality. Hopefully we'll see Mac marketshare rise soon for the betterment of both platforms.

 

[OSXRules]

wheres the link for that? i might want to try it out, assuming its not too buggy.

Windows might not be as aesthetic or as bug free as OsX, but the fact of the matter is, everything is designed for microsoft. Most computers are on a windows platform and thus, it would be so much more practical to just transfer documents and run programs that would work on other computers, again the majority of which are PCs. I've had so many issues of transferring Mac files onto the PC only to have that file misformatted, non-functional, etc, that it just makes sense to use a PC. Macs are pretty damn expensive when compared to the PC when you're essentially performing the same functions. Macs might be better for graphic designers and such, but the difference between a powerful PC's performance (which by the way is still cheaper then the almight Mac) and the G4's or whatever is nominal. Macs might look "prettier" but hands down, PCs are more practical running on windows, cheaper, and easier to customize.

Files are platform-independent, i.e. an Office document created on a Mac will work on a PC, and vice-versa. Applications created for the other platform will not run on the other. I'm not sure why you had problems tranferring files, but it was due to an error in the tranfer process itself.

As for the performance/price argument, the MacBook is very competitively priced. For $1050 you can get a 1.83 GHz Core Duo laptop, which is a great deal. A comparable laptop from other companies usually costs more. I'll admit, that is a first for a Macintosh. The MacBook Pro (as mentioned by Doctajay) isn't as well priced.

I like this discussion we are having.

 

[Uncle_Tbag]

That is true, to some extent. The new office beta I hear is good. Most of the MS software is junk though, including Windows. Lack of competition I think did a lot of it.

In the mid-90's Windows made great strides in terms of both technical strength and usability, but then the Mac share sunk so low competition was virtually gone. With that came a decline in quality. Hopefully we'll see Mac marketshare rise soon for the betterment of both platforms.

You have it backwards:
from version 3.1 to 98 and the dreadful ME, MS was a purveyor of junk.
In the last 6 years or so their OS and office apps got increasingly better, with XP being stable and fast. I run no anti-virus software, just a hardware firewall and good pc hygiene, and I've yet to have a single virus in the last 3 years

I have a hard time with macs due to the fact that I build my own machines; once you learn how to do that, it's very hard to go back to pre-built systems. Also gaming performance is very important to me, and although dual-booting is interesting, what I've read shows you take a severe performance hit in doing so, which is unacceptable to me,

 

[xanthomondo]

I run no anti-virus software, just a hardware firewall and good pc hygiene, and I've yet to have a single virus in the last 3 years

yeah the only reasons why viruses are spread so much is because people are so stupid

"let me install this program that was sent to me in an email by someone i dont know"

 

[Matth52]

You few linux users are some hardcore computer-using premeds

 

[MirrorTodd]

Wow, I figured most people got viruses by trying to download porn.
"If all the porn was erased from the internet, there would only be one site left, and it would be called 'Bring back the porn." Something like that.

 

[OSXRules]

You have it backwards:
from version 3.1 to 98 and the dreadful ME, MS was a purveyor of junk.
In the last 6 years or so their OS and office apps got increasingly better, with XP being stable and fast. I run no anti-virus software, just a hardware firewall and good pc hygiene, and I've yet to have a single virus in the last 3 years

I have a hard time with macs due to the fact that I build my own machines; once you learn how to do that, it's very hard to go back to pre-built systems. Also gaming performance is very important to me, and although dual-booting is interesting, what I've read shows you take a severe performance hit in doing so, which is unacceptable to me,

With virtualization you take a huge performance hit, but with dual-boot you don't. I saw a MacBook Pro running Half-Life 2 at max settings getting 60 fps on the buggy level.

 

[defrunner]

I have a hard time with macs due to the fact that I build my own machines; once you learn how to do that, it's very hard to go back to pre-built systems. Also gaming performance is very important to me, and although dual-booting is interesting, what I've read shows you take a severe performance hit in doing so, which is unacceptable to me,

Just out of curiousity, how would one go about learning how to build machines? Isn't it more expensive than a pre-made machine? What are some major advantages of doing so?

Sorry to sound like such a newbie; I'm just interested. I'm tired of being so reliant on others (companies, techies, etc).

 

[defrunner]

Also, isn't Alienware supposed to be really good for gaming?

 

[durfen]

Just out of curiousity, how would one go about learning how to build machines? Isn't it more expensive than a pre-made machine? What are some major advantages of doing so?

Sorry to sound like such a newbie; I'm just interested. I'm tired of being so reliant on others (companies, techies, etc).

Major advantages:
You get to select your components, no Dell crap. Nvidia Golden Sample graphics cards etc.
You don't need to know anything about computers to build your own machine. There are many companies (at least over here) that have people who sit down with you, figure out your needs and suggest components for your system. Most do the building for free if you buy the components from them, otherwise charge ~$50. Dell says customizable, but the choice is extremely limited compared to the choices out there for your system.

Major disadvantage:
OEM harddrives ar egenerally less reliable then those in prebuilt machines, because the harddrives sold at Fry's have lower quality standards than those sold to Dell.

 

[TMP-SMX]

Definitely Mac OS X. Whenever my girlfriend's windows machines are messed up I pull my hair out fixing them.

I've grown up on Macs since I was 4 years old... As sad as it sounds I used to sneak out of bed to read my Mac IIsi computer manual...

 

[DoctaJay]

Just out of curiousity, how would one go about learning how to build machines? Isn't it more expensive than a pre-made machine? What are some major advantages of doing so?

Sorry to sound like such a newbie; I'm just interested. I'm tired of being so reliant on others (companies, techies, etc).

Its honestly just like putting together a puzzle. Once you see it done the first time, or when someone walks you through it, you will be pissed that you paid some one to do it for you. Most people that build their own computer are into gaming, so the computers they build will be vastly more expensive than anything a normal person would buy (lol, yeah I went through my period of buying $250 video cards). But if you just want a good computer that won't crash or hang up, and all you want to do on it is listen to music, watch movies, and surf the internet, and maybe edit a video here and there, then building your own is the way to go. I built a computer for my parents for like $330 that was faster than anything dell would have given me for $250 more. And since you get to choose the quality parts, you don't have to worry about it having hardware problems. The computer I built before I came to college (almost 4 years ago) is still working fine.

 

[xanthomondo]

Also, isn't Alienware supposed to be really good for gaming?

yeah, but check out their price tags

supperr expensive

 

[avenue]

I'm a Mac user (recent switcher, MacBook 1.83 GHz), before that I was a Windows XP & Ubuntu dual-booter.

Welcome to mac. I'm a premed-er with a mac, and everything works cool. I have office for mac, and everything is compatible. All of my friends love it, and many are considering switching for their next computer purchase. I have an iMac G5 w/ iSight 1.9 GHz.

All of the latest mac commercials are true.

Ave.

 

[bretticus]

Also love building my own systems - my old desktop lasted for six years before I finally stopped using it, and my parents' machine was only $300 since labor is free and all. They don't need a powerful graphics card, sound card, etc. so all you really need is a cheap all-in-one motherboard and processor.

I gotta call BS on the hard drive thing though - you gonna tell me a Raptor X off the shelf is worse quality than what Dell puts in their machines? I've had Dell and Gateway drives die on me...

Once people start using newer processors with the non-executable flag, a lot of viruses will become a thing of the past. That's because so many relied on things like buffer overruns to execute their code. With this bit enabled, code will be flagged non-executable. Of course, the main problem nowadays is spyware and malware that the user stupidly installs, so there's really no way to prevent that except education and virus-protection software (though it often does a lowsy job).

My next laptop will be a Macbook if at all possible though. I'm sick of Windows problems.

 

[Captain Fantastic]

Files are platform-independent, i.e. an Office document created on a Mac will work on a PC, and vice-versa.

Not exactly true: I'm thinking about big endian versus little endian systems and binary files. Most applications these days expect its files to be on different systems and have incorporated methods so it can figure out how to read the file. Office is one of these "smarter" applications.

 

[mustangsally65]

I made it through five years of college with a Mac on a predominantly Windows campus without having to buy Microsoft Office. I always thought that Macs made it super easy to transfer files from Mac to PC: all you had to do was save it with the right extension like .doc for Word files etc.

I was an English major so it's not like I didn't use a lot of different files in PC computer labs and then at home on my Mac. Many of my classes were web-centered and we had to submit things electronically. I just used the free word processing software that came with my Mac (AppleWorks) and never had to spend any money on Office.

This was from 2000-2005. I've been a Mac user since 1995. Once you go Mac, you never go back. I was lucky to grow up in a school that had both a Mac and a PC computer lab, and my family let me make the decision about what kind of computer to by for our first home computer. I used both at school and Macs were infinitely more user-friendly.

I still can't work a PC very well. It's embarassing sometimes.

 

[Captain Fantastic]

I still can't work a PC very well. It's embarassing sometimes.

Don't feel bad. I've programmed mainframes, PCs, AIX (IBM Unix flavor), and some embedded systems that ran proprietary chips and I probably couldn't turn on a Mac. Sad but true.

 

[HairyCow]

Man, are you all stuck in the past? I'm running MDOS on my premed_machine!

 

[dr.z]

Mac OS X!

 

[bretticus]

Don't feel bad. I've programmed mainframes, PCs, AIX (IBM Unix flavor), and some embedded systems that ran proprietary chips and I probably couldn't turn on a Mac. Sad but true.

Mmm... I'm lovin' some embedded systems programming with assembly. You don't know what programming is until you've written code limited to 2 byte registers OR a whole word! Literally, anything can be done by simpling moving stuff around and adding. Isn't that crazy? Branch when equal, dammit! Ok, I need to calm down...

Why's everybody staring at me...?

 

[DoctorPardi]

I just got a macbook and I love OS X.

 

[braluk]

Major advantages:
You get to select your components, no Dell crap. Nvidia Golden Sample graphics cards etc.
You don't need to know anything about computers to build your own machine. There are many companies (at least over here) that have people who sit down with you, figure out your needs and suggest components for your system. Most do the building for free if you buy the components from them, otherwise charge ~$50. Dell says customizable, but the choice is extremely limited compared to the choices out there for your system.

Major disadvantage:
OEM harddrives ar egenerally less reliable then those in prebuilt machines, because the harddrives sold at Fry's have lower quality standards than those sold to Dell.

thats where ebay comes in

 

[Zyzzyva100]

Major advantages:
You get to select your components, no Dell crap. Nvidia Golden Sample graphics cards etc.
You don't need to know anything about computers to build your own machine. There are many companies (at least over here) that have people who sit down with you, figure out your needs and suggest components for your system. Most do the building for free if you buy the components from them, otherwise charge ~$50. Dell says customizable, but the choice is extremely limited compared to the choices out there for your system.

Major disadvantage:
OEM harddrives ar egenerally less reliable then those in prebuilt machines, because the harddrives sold at Fry's have lower quality standards than those sold to Dell.

I hate to break it to you, but you really don't know what you are talking about. First off, Dell doesn't actually make anything, and while they do use crappy components (such as their motherboards), odds are the parts are made by foxconn - who also happen to make a lot of stuff for apple.

And as for the harddrives, did you just pull that out of thin air or what? There is NO difference whatsoever between the harddrives that you get in a Dell or what you can buy online or off the shelf. Dell and other big makers use OEM drives, and as of late its been harder to find oem harddrives, most everything is retail. If you get a seagate drive from newegg or compusa, its a 5 year warranty. If you get it from Dell, the warranty is only as long as the Dell warranty (90 days - 4 years depending on what you bought).

As for the OS question, one of the few Linux users here. Gentoo and Ubuntu. I switched a little over a year ago and haven't looked back since. I have done everything related to applying to med school without using windows one bit.

 

[63768]

All of the latest mac commercials are true.

ummm, yea....if you're comparing current macs to windows 95, 98, and ME. win XP rarely has any of the problems purported by those commercials. good job being brainwashed though.

inspired by the OP, we should create a "Linuxrules" and "WinXPrules" usernames. mac people never cease to amaze me.

 

[durfen]

Welcome to mac. I'm a premed-er with a mac, and everything works cool. I have office for mac, and everything is compatible. All of my friends love it, and many are considering switching for their next computer purchase. I have an iMac G5 w/ iSight 1.9 GHz.

All of the latest mac commercials are true.

Ave.

All of the latest mac commercials are highly slanted, which is of course what they are supposed to be. Lately though, they seem to be spreading falsities too, like Windows cannot do anything fun, just Excel (The pie chart for family time etc.). For one thing, Macintosh would not have survived the HORRIBLE Clarisworks had it not been for Microsoft Office. Second, Windows has more games and more entertainment applications than Mac, just that Mac has more of them already installed.

Anyway, I use all three OS's on a regular basis, but just saw that ad and damn....

 

[xanthomondo]

this mac commercial, is true however

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kk15iIkKofc&search=mac commercial

 

[OSXRules]

inspired by the OP, we should create a "Linuxrules" and "WinXPrules" usernames. mac people never cease to amaze me.

What can I say, I really like OSX.

Thanks for all the feedback, guys!

 

[Hypothalamus]

I can't live without OS X, but before I begin medical school, I will buy an IBM ThinkPad to complement my PowerBook.

 

[braluk]

this mac commercial, is true however

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kk15iIkKofc&search=mac commercial

that is absolutely hilarious

 

[DoctaJay]

this mac commercial, is true however

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kk15iIkKofc&search=mac commercial

that is the funniest commericial i've ever seen in my life.