PC or Mac? Which is best for a college freshmen?

You'll probably want a pc with Windows on it, since the majority of software you may use is compatible with it.

I would recommend a MacBook personally. I'm a college Freshman who uses a Mac and I worked in computer sales, and from what I have seen the Mac is far better. They are able to run all the programs that windows can now with it's Intel Core 2 Duo processor. It it will do exactly what a windows computer will seamlessly. You will also get the security of the Mac OS (no viruses). Also Apple customer service is vastly better than any other brand of computer, mostly because you don't get forwarded to India and they will work with you to resolve any issue. The MacBook will work wonderfully for everything you will be doing in science (lab reports, word documents, etc.). The only reason to upgrade to a Macbook Pro would be if you were going into engineering. Mac offers all kinds of incentives and rebates for college students(10% off). Right now if you buy a Mac you will get a free ipod touch. If you do decide to get a MacBook look of the software called "Parallels" it is what allows you to run windows programs without having to restart you computer. Don't let the initial price tag scare you off because, I promise if you buy a MacBook you won't regret it.

Haven't you seen the commercial?

hard decision. i woudl assume you can run most programs on either system though. look at cost, customer service, ease of use. What do you use at home? a PC, right? well i personally would stick with it. although like someone said, windows vista is a freakin nightmare. maybe you could try to get a laptop used that has XP on it

I would start saving now...but don't make any decisions just yet. So much of the choices you make will have everything to do with which college you end up choosing. When you make your decision about where to go to school, and are ready to buy, call the Biology department and/or the IT department and ask questions about what kind of computer would be ideal for the software you may need to run for your major. Don't jump into any particular computer, either. There are student discounts available to you through your future college or university, so don't make any purchases until or unless you check out what kind of student discount you can get!

i heard Macs are really good because they very rarely get viruses. also i heard that Dell is the second option, so you might want to check that out. but you should ask your college which one they recommend.

I have used both and I recommend Mac. They don't get viruses, the are fabulous to run art programs on and they also have time machine, where you can back up you work and find it at a later time. I have one and it is the best computer I think I have ever used EDIT: You can run windows on Mac!

Depends ... if u want ALL ur programs to run properly and u want a cheap laptop which can be fixed easily ... Windows is a good bet. HOwever .. if uhave a higher budget, want a lighter laptop, want to minimize the risk of viruses ... u should buy a Macintosh. (Mac's look good too, but fixing them might be a prob. )

I would recommend buying a Mac. You can get a student discount (I know cause I myself used a Mac In College) and if you buy a new one you can run Mac OS and Windows just in case you may need to use a program designed for Windows. Mac is by far the more superior Operating System, but if for some reason you want to use Windows, you still have the option.