A few questions. Is this going to be your daily driver? If so, you're looking at very close to $1000 laptops for named brands and $1200+ for Apple. Luckily, there are other ways to get Microsoft office :wink: :wink:
I am a little biased against Macs simply because their "upgrades" are waaaaaay overpriced. Though the base model MBP and MBA are great values.
Im a techy so I've messed around with all kinds of new techs. I will say this, Macs are great computers. But theyre just that, computers. In my experience, Macs and PCs inherently do the same things.
Macs will come in a better looking package, more user-friendly (idiot-proof), and customer support. But all of these will come at a premium, especially if you want to accessorize or upgrade (seriously, a replacement charger is like $80, I can get my windows tinted for that much). I think all the "features" are great, but frankly it doesnt really justify a $1500 machine. If you want to have Apple to do all the thinking for you (in terms of repairs) and have the money to pay for it, go with Macs. It will save you alot of time and headache in the coming years.
PCs .... kind of hard to generalize these since there are so many brands. But vaguely, most of them are very customizable. You can switch out most laptop parts when they break and are easily self-serviceable. Obviously, they will run Windows and Windows 10 when it comes out in a few months. But if you dont mind googling and fixing things yourself, you will save hundreds of dollars.
I personally recommend Surface Pro line for the unparalleled handwriting capabilities. Be warned, you will be paying a premium and unlike most PC laptops, Surface Pros are very nonself-serviceable machines. They are as hard to crack open as a MBA.
