Question for Mac users

[ConscBK]

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Before starting medical school in the fall I want to buy a MacPro laptop but Im worried that Mac computers wont be compatible with software I will need in medical school i.e. Board reviews, additional classroom items, etc. Am I wrong to have this concern and will the new MacPro's with the Intel chip help alleviate this potential problem?

 

[nockamura]

Contact your medical school and see what kind of software they use. Then go check to see if there are Mac compatible versions.

 

[priu]

www.versiontracker.com is a good site for checking up on software - there are also a few windows emulators out too

 

[emack]

Yeah... contact the med school's IT guys & ask if they've had many Mac compatibility issues. My guess is that 99% of the problems they deal with are with PCs-- and not because only 1% of students have Macs.
The only essential software (and essential only for a single online video textbook) I've had trouble with is Windows Media Player. It's available for Macs-- just doesn't seem to want to work with mine.
I'd bet most of what you'll be using a computer for in med school will be pretty basic things-- online resources, email, Word docs, pdfs, videos-- that will work just as easily (dare I say more easily?) on a Mac.

Also: Totally go for the MacPro. I'll be jealous. Somehow just can't give up on my iBook yet when she's served me so well thus far.

 

[ConscBK]

Thanks everyone for the replies

 

[priu]

Couple of things -

-for the poster above - try downloading the latest WMP - I had that problem until I got the the latest version.

-iFlash is a very nice flash card program unavailable on Windows - you can check it out at loopware.com. We do have really neat applications that are unavailable to Windows.

 

[emack]

Thanks for the tip re: WMP. My last unsuccessful attempt was last week, so even the latest version is giving me trouble. I had a Mac geek friend try to help me out but still no luck. And a lot of the third-party wmv players I've tried seem to have trouble playing online embedded videos. Stupid Windows product.

And iFlash is really sweet. Another one I've actually forked $$$ over for is Delicious Library (super cool for movie/book/album collectors). Take that, PC lovers!

 

[TrojanDoctor]

I use a mac and have been pretty happy with it. I haven't had any real compatability issues. That being said, I won't buy a Mac again. My next laptop will be a PC. Seems to me that the new PC notebooks offer a better value than the MacBook Pro.

http://www.tnl.net/blog/entry/MacBook_Pro_Comparison_Charts

Also, with Windows Vista coming out at the end of the year or next year, the OS X vs Win argument might no longer be a clear victory for Mac users.

just my two cents

 

[deleted87716]

Also, with Windows Vista coming out at the end of the year or next year, the OS X vs Win argument might no longer be a clear victory for Mac users.

Why would you think that? Vista is still Windows. If you think the Mac is better today, it'll still be better even if/when Vista is available.

 

[deleted87716]

Before starting medical school in the fall I want to buy a MacPro laptop but Im worried that Mac computers wont be compatible with software I will need in medical school i.e. Board reviews, additional classroom items, etc. Am I wrong to have this concern and will the new MacPro's with the Intel chip help alleviate this potential problem?

Intel-based Macs won't be able to run Windows until either a compatible version of Virtual PC is released, or Windows Vista (which supports EFI instead of BIOS) is available.

If you want a Mac, buy a Mac. If there's some piece of Windows-only software that you need to use occasionally, you can always buy a cheap secondhand WinTel box for that, and use the Mac for everything else.

 

[Iwy Em Hotep]

One important consideration with the MacBook is that it won't run Classic programs. Therefore, you might be in a bind if your school gives you Mac (classic)-compatible software.

 

[TrojanDoctor]

Why would you think that? Vista is still Windows. If you think the Mac is better today, it'll still be better even if/when Vista is available.

For most users, the appeal of OS X is the interface. Windows Vista is supposed to be aesthetically pleasing and VERY OS X like - to the point where it even has a Dashboard-clone.

 

[divertete]

I'm in dental school, but I'm sure we face similar technology issues. I've never had any trouble getting anything from school to work on my iBook. As far as the WMP issues, I was having similar troubles but recently downloaded Flip4Mac WMV which has worked great so far. I've had no problems playing embedded videos on the internets with it either.

 

[anon-y-mouse]

For most users, the appeal of OS X is the interface. Windows Vista is supposed to be aesthetically pleasing and VERY OS X like - to the point where it even has a Dashboard-clone.

uhh, for most people, the appeal of mac is that it just *works* and isn't buggy... no BS, no spyware, everything is super straightforward. this 'vista' sounds like a massive overhaul, and obviously with massive overhauls, there will always be kinks to iron out. how long will that take?

 

[priu]

Some just love to sound the Apple death knell everytime a new version of Windows is out - Apple will move on to 10.5 when Vista comes out.