Re: Mac or Pc??????

[lesherjt@vuse.vanderbilt.edu (Tilghman Lesher)]

rubywand@aol.com wrote:

: In article <3307565c.5208739@news.mindspring.com>, destro@mindspring.com wrote:

: > I will be going to a college that is mostly all Mac. Some people tell
: > me to get a Mac and others tell me to get an IBM and just convert my
: > work to Mac(Apple). 
: > I will be either majoring in Computer Science or Information
: > Systems(Still Undecided).

:      Your work at a school loaded with Macs will, probably, be a
: bit easier if you have a Mac. However, since you will be dealing
: with standard packages (e.g. Borland C++, etc.), the actual
: benefits of having 'the same machine' should be pretty small. A
: niece is a CSC major at a mainly-Mac school. She does just fine
: using her dad's Pentium 166 for home assignments.

:      We live in a PC world. The newest, best versions of languages
: are developed for PC first. The same is true for entertainment
: wares. The internet likes PC; it merely tolerates Mac. If you
: expect to be doing a lot of digging around on the net, a PC is a
: solid plus.

Incorrect.  The Internet is a UNIX world.  PCs and Macs are basically
on the same level when it comes to the Internet.

:      There is no guarantee that your all-Mac school will stay
: this way for the duration of your studies. A trend is for
: formerly all-Mac schools and businesses to, at last, face
: reality and move to PC.

Vanderbilt (which as all of you know is a Top-25 school) uses both
Macs and PCs.  PCs are used mostly in computer labs with a monitor.
Since there are so many viruses and computer hackers out there,
the PCs are on constant watch to prevent tampering.

In other labs, which are (comparatively) unmonitored, the school
uses Macs, since they are top-notch, easy to use, have very few
viruses, and are difficult with which to tamper.

:      When you graduate, the odds are very good that you will
: move into a world with few Macs being employed for serious work.
: If you have been using a PC for 4-5 years, you will be way ahead
: of those who have mastered a dead machine.

The current trend is for all machines to eventually have exactly
the same interface.  Likely, this interface will be more like a
Mac (or X Windows) than like Windows or MS-DOS.

The only thing different is likely to be the keyboards.

(A split, ergonomically designed keyboard is strongly recommended.)

:      Get a PC. Be sure to bring along your Apple II, as well!

Doesn't matter which you get.  But the future is more like a Mac.

(If you REALLY want to be on top of things, get a UNIX of some
variation.  Preferably with X Windows.)

: Rubywand

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