epepper9 said:
Sorry to say that Bochs is still emulating on x86. It doesn't know how to do anything but emulate.
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MBP vs MB for med school
- Thread starter AtlJohn1980
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Sorry to say that Bochs is still emulating on x86. It doesn't know how to do anything but emulate.
AtlJohn1980 said:PA's make 100K + as well
woo and i will be director of laboratory and chief pathologist making 1 mil+ a year
@ EvaAmazing what you'll see here huh Gurutech.
QCassidy, we were basing it on Assumptions since no one knows what the specs are going to be, we or I should say I have assumed Single Coress, 512mb DDR2, 40 gig, 13.3" screen @ whatever resolution. blah, blah, blah, etc. Use your imagination.
Ok, (1) you say your computer will be a "portable desktop" which means that you'll be spending most of your time in one place. (2) You're only going to be using a couple of programs that require Windows.
Do you need to use these Windows programs somewhere other than your desk? If not, then what about buying a cheap Windows desktop PC (from Dell, Gateway, etc.) and just running your Adam software on that computer?
EDIT: Just to be clear, the cheap desktop would be a secondary computer, freeing up more money for you to buy the nice shiny new MacBook/MacBook Pro.
Do you need to use these Windows programs somewhere other than your desk? If not, then what about buying a cheap Windows desktop PC (from Dell, Gateway, etc.) and just running your Adam software on that computer?
EDIT: Just to be clear, the cheap desktop would be a secondary computer, freeing up more money for you to buy the nice shiny new MacBook/MacBook Pro.
AtlJohn1980 said:
Sorry, you can't assume Core Solo 1.67 and 1.83, because Intel has only released 1.66. (The 'Core Solo T1300'.) Their Technical Product Specification also shows a 1 GHz low voltage model with no 'product number' yet, though. Those are the only two officially released Core Solos, though. (And I'm not sure how 'official' the 1 GHz model is.) Based on their naming schemes, the low voltage would be the 'Core Solo L1x00', with some number in place of x, though. If you follow the numbering scheme for the rest of the 'Core' line, it should be the L1000. (bus multiplier minus seven in the hundreds digit for 'normal power' parts, bus multiplier minus six in the hundreds digit for the 'low power' parts. Which means that a lower clocked 'low power' part is the same number as a higher clocked 'normal power' part. The 1.66 GHz parts are the Duo T2300, L2400 (low power,) and Solo T1300. Low power parts have an 'L', normal parts have a 'T' on the beginning.
JHU,
I had thought about that as well, they have these small HP desktops for reasonably cheap that would do that well and I do have a 17" LCD , the only problem is we use the ADAM software in class so I'll have to be able to bring it with me to class. The classes are somewhat different. You have class from M-Thur,sometimes on Fri but thats seldom, and the class goes from 8 to 5pm. You may study Anatomy the entire day from 8 to 5,then the next day you will do Pharmacology, Wednesday you may do Anatomy part of the day and then Evidence Based Medicine for the rest of the day. I know that connecting to the net wont' be a problem and the university does have a few Mac Labs which is nice, I know we do look up alot on the net, we will be doing alot of writing, and research, and then the other programs. Such as the "cyber patient" patients. We will do it in groups from what I understand and by ourselves. Now I heard that Vista will have EFI support on it.....does anyone have any comments on that, or if it will work if put on a secondary external hard drive, etc????
EHURTLEY,
Okey so I was off by 0.01Ghz, sorry....as for the other one thats why its called an assumption. I have only taken this off of others peoples assumptions of what will be comming. I have no freakin idea its all a game of make believe.
I had thought about that as well, they have these small HP desktops for reasonably cheap that would do that well and I do have a 17" LCD , the only problem is we use the ADAM software in class so I'll have to be able to bring it with me to class. The classes are somewhat different. You have class from M-Thur,sometimes on Fri but thats seldom, and the class goes from 8 to 5pm. You may study Anatomy the entire day from 8 to 5,then the next day you will do Pharmacology, Wednesday you may do Anatomy part of the day and then Evidence Based Medicine for the rest of the day. I know that connecting to the net wont' be a problem and the university does have a few Mac Labs which is nice, I know we do look up alot on the net, we will be doing alot of writing, and research, and then the other programs. Such as the "cyber patient" patients. We will do it in groups from what I understand and by ourselves. Now I heard that Vista will have EFI support on it.....does anyone have any comments on that, or if it will work if put on a secondary external hard drive, etc????
EHURTLEY,
Okey so I was off by 0.01Ghz, sorry....as for the other one thats why its called an assumption. I have only taken this off of others peoples assumptions of what will be comming. I have no freakin idea its all a game of make believe.
I wouldn't put my eggs in the Vista basket just yet. There's a "projected" release date, but these things have a way of changing rapidly with Microsoft. If you have software that you HAVE to run for class, I would NOT buy an Apple and try to use VPC. Save yourself the headache and wait until you graduate. Then you can mess with some poor IT professional by demanding a Mac at your next job.
Yellow,......so your vote *barf*, a windows machine. *bafs again*. And screw with the IT guy to make it a mac...I like that....windows...yuck. It will kill me to spend another dime on anything that is windows based, and you think Vista will have release date problems.
Does ANYONE have any idea about VPC 8. There was a minor thing on the microsoft website about it, but when I was reading it, made me feel as though they were trying to put us in the frame of mind to later come out and say they were scrapping any further work on it or to say that it would take 2 years to do it.
And with Vista......assuming they do actually release it on time, does anyone know if it will be able to go onto the new intel macs??? Isthe whole EFI/BIOS thing the only thing keeping XP from going onto the new Intel macs now, or is there somethign else...if sowhat is it, and will Vista fix that problem?? Or do we not know?
Does ANYONE have any idea about VPC 8. There was a minor thing on the microsoft website about it, but when I was reading it, made me feel as though they were trying to put us in the frame of mind to later come out and say they were scrapping any further work on it or to say that it would take 2 years to do it.
And with Vista......assuming they do actually release it on time, does anyone know if it will be able to go onto the new intel macs??? Isthe whole EFI/BIOS thing the only thing keeping XP from going onto the new Intel macs now, or is there somethign else...if sowhat is it, and will Vista fix that problem?? Or do we not know?
AtlJohn1980 said:
I don't know if I'd really recommend using VPC for applications that are absolutely necessary. I wouldn't want to have to use an emulator to run programs necessary for your classes. I really hate to say this, but you might be better off getting a Windows laptop for these applications. If you're essentially getting a new computer for those, you probably don't want it to buy a Mac, and rely on VPC or another emulator.
i have to agree with yellow. pa school is only 2-3 years at most. and usually the first year is didactics and small group. you're going to need something that will get the job done. if you're savvy enough, get a mac, run windows with qemu or some other emulation/virtualization software. otherwise, don't hold your breath waiting for either vista or someone to shoehorn xp onto an efi machine.
As noted by others (and to expound on what I meant earlier), there's no guarantees that VPC will even work with the software that you need for school/class. Remember, it's a hardware emulator, and it emulates hardware badly. If your software requires 3D graphics or modern networking (just to name a few), you'll be completely F***KED. So, to save yourself the headache.. go Windows and back up often and pray for the best.
Believe me, it's not something I say lightly either.
Believe me, it's not something I say lightly either.
I think the VPC would be too unstable to use. I wouldn't trust it especially since you'll be using your laptop to make presentations. Normally, I would say go for the Mac, but since most of your schoolwork is window based, I would go for a windows laptop. If you still want a mac, get an imac and then get a cheap windows laptop.
*sobs loudly in the corner*.........looks like I have to get a mini and a *sobs louder*.....a windows notebook. *Crying out of control now*
Get a Powerbook and use it for the 1st year as you wait to see how VPC will work on MBP and MB. Im lucky I don't have to worry about Mac or PC when I go to Pharm School beacuse the school I want to go to allows both Macs and PCs.
direzz said:
Like many others are telling you here. GET A PC NOTEBOOK. If you school requires a Windows run computer than DO NOT go agaist that no matter what you opinion of the matter or think it stupid or not because they make the rules and they dont support the Mac. Heck like you said there is a lot of required software that is PC only. Also quite off that software will not work under VPC. I know for Law school one of the programs required for them to use will only work on a natived run windows computer. It locks the computer down so only allowed programs can be used (it is for test taking only) and noughting else wil work. This is something that will not work in a OSX system any how. But that just one example.
Hate to tell you this but you buying a mac will only send you farther in dept because you will have to buy 2 computers for it to work and the PC laptop needs to last you 4 years as well which is going to run you at least 1500.
Also people here make the virus, spyware, crashing windows a lot worse than it really is. Providing you follow some very basic things you never have to put up with it.
A) Get an AV program.
B) get the MS antispyware beta program (it a really good program and of what i have seen it is the best antispyware program out there. Yes it better than spybot and Adaware).
C) Run firefox.
Those are the basic. If you get a virus after that I am sorry but it your own fault. It means you downloaded it by clicking on a link and then opening the file yourself. You email program will not open attachments with out you telling it 2. That simple.
Now hate to tell you this but suck it up and go buy a PC laptop. You school says it is required and that should be the end of it right there.
direzz said:
Um, I think you'll find most Mac users, use (quite successfully I might add) their Macs in the "real world"
direzz said:
Very friendly of you.
Timepass said:
Relax a little. Just because the school requires/recomends something, doesn't mean it is gospel. If you can find a viable alternative, then why not? Especially if it brings other benefits. There is likely to be VPC for Mac soon, or the option of running Windows in some way.
max_altitude said:
Chances are pretty good that the required software will not work under VPC just based on the requirements that they want which is pretty weak by todays standards which leads me to believe that is the specs they want for the software and those specs are still faster than VPC removing that as an option. General college tech deparments are not complete idoits and normally if a mac will work with there system they will tell you the required lv of Mac to get. The med school has made it pretty clear that a PC is required and that leads me to believe that a Mac just not going to work.
My question is getting the mac worth the 2grand to spend on something that will not be useful for what you bought it for.
Even at my school some of the colleges make it crystal clear a PC is required for the major. Some people get a mac after being told over and over again that a windows PC is required. Guess what they are out over 2grand because now they have to buy a PC laptop. I dont feel sorry for those people. All I can do is point to what the school stated over and over again (one of the things saying very clearly that windows is required).
Again I repeat dont take you chances on this one. If you dont believe us call the school and talk with them. Ask them if a mac can be used running VPC if they say no say thank you and go buy you self a PC laptop
A PC will work just fine. Just take some very basic comon sence things and you not going to have an issue. The basic web surfing rules apply to both mac and windows users alike.
1.) never open a file attachment you where not expecting to get.
2.) dont download and open software that you are not sure that is safe. (both have less threats on the mac than PC but a virus can be writen for OSX that requires you giving it perimision to install which would by pass all the extra protection that OSX has to offer. mind you this is in thoery in any how hence the auto installing virus are not a problem but the ones you have to install you self can be.)
Timepass said:
The fact that the requirements are pretty weak by modern standards actually suggests that VPC would work, albeit slowly. Otherwise, they'd have beefier requirements. A PIII with 512Mb RAM is enough to run Windows XP at a decent speed, and not much more than that. If the OP installed Windows 2000 and ran ADAM off of that on VPC, then I'm guessing it would be tolerabel for occasional use.
The real problem that I see here is that the OP will be using ADAM every day in class. VPC will get tiring pretty quickly.
Timepass said:
Just FYI: The law school example is actually pretty unique. Most programs run slowly under VPC, but the law school ExamSoft program is pretty unique -- the programmers actually forced it to break under VPC, because allowing it to run in a virtual machine would defeat the purpose of the program! I've not yet encountered any other program that totally refuses to work under VPC -- they just run like crap.
My suggestion: Take your current junky PC laptop, and then (1) reformat it with a fresh install of Windows XP, (2) disable most of the visual bells and whistles, and (3) install your ADAM software.
If the junky laptop runs fast enough for daily use, then keep using it until it dies. If it's not fast enough or if it dies, then buy a refurbished IBM Thinkpad (the things are built like tanks, and the factory refurbs come with a warranty) and use the Thinkpad for your classes. This should leave you enough money to get a nice iMac for home use. So you can deal with the stupidity of Windows while in class, but for working at home you can have a good Mac that will last you for a while.
well since people are saying going both way and there is not 100% way of being sure that the macbook or powerbook will even work for you at all. spending 2grand or more on something that I not sure is going to work for me with a very limited bugget is to much of a risk to spend.
I think the best advice we can give you is call your that college at you school and ask them. If they say that a mac will not work then go with what they say and just suck it up and go buy a laptop PC. Alienware, and Asus are both good companies to look at that are not dell and sell very good computers. There is also dell you can look at for it.
Call the school IT department and the answer from them. If they say a mac will not work I hate to tell you this but buy the PC. Then just download several programs.
M$ Antispare beta.
firefox
and make sure you have an AV program. If you can get Symantec Corpate edition. And then you will not have a any real issues
I think the best advice we can give you is call your that college at you school and ask them. If they say that a mac will not work then go with what they say and just suck it up and go buy a laptop PC. Alienware, and Asus are both good companies to look at that are not dell and sell very good computers. There is also dell you can look at for it.
Call the school IT department and the answer from them. If they say a mac will not work I hate to tell you this but buy the PC. Then just download several programs.
M$ Antispare beta.
firefox
and make sure you have an AV program. If you can get Symantec Corpate edition. And then you will not have a any real issues
I think Blackstone has hit on the best solution. You could buy a new iMac as well as a lower end PC laptop for less than the cost of the MBP by itself and you'd have the best of both worlds. Reasonable performance in class with 100% compatability with what they require, and the beauty of OSX when you're at home. Sounds like a win-win solution to me.
AtlJohn1980 said:Blackstone, etc, I like your idea,I never even thought about that !!! I think that is precisely what I will do, get the 17' iMac and then get a lower end Centrino Toshiba or sony, that just doesn't have all the frills and whistles. Use it for school and then at home envelop myself in the wonderfulness of OS X.
Cool, glad to have made a useful suggestion!