Public education sector - mac or windowS?

[slackerinabox]

No flame war intended, just the facts please my wife's macbook black needs an upgrade (6+ years old, slightly warped after battery explosion, trackpad wonky) and, since she just got a new job, I think it's about time for a new laptop, maybe in time for her first mother's day.

She'll be working as a public school teacher (k-6, working on details) and I wonder, generally speaking, would a windows pc be a better bet? I'm almost 100% certain that there's some weird propriety web application used in the industry that's IE's only, so a mac seems like a terrible idea - am I correct? We prefer apple for various reasons but is pc the way to go?

Also, education sector - CD/DVD drive still a must? Odd question but I'm sure she'd like an ultrabook form factor but know textbooks often come with cds, teaching literature also distributed on cds or have they gone digital distribution?

 

[RavenSEAL]

My entire school county is running on Windows, my university is 99% Windows besides the 1% douchebag professors who request Macs.

Not much else to say. I've worked for both IT departments, Mac issues are usually more annoying to take care of because we tend to work more with Linux/Windows machines. Here at my workplace we have like 2 guys that specialize on OSX though.

 

[ussfletcher]

I can't imagine a single one of my teachers ever needing to use any more than a simple web browsing/document editing machine.

 

[Crono]

Get an ultrabook and a cheap external cd/dvd drive.

Macbooks and the Air are fine, but just for the number of programs that are windows only she's better off with windows.

 

[BladeVenom]

my university is 99% Windows besides the 1% douchebag professors who request Macs.

I had a professor like that. One day, right in the middle of telling everyone how much better Macs are, his crashed.

 

[Ricochet]

I can't imagine a single one of my teachers ever needing to use any more than a simple web browsing/document editing machine.

It would nice to play Youtube videos in 1080p once in awhile.

 

[SarcasticDwarf]

Just wait until you find out what the district uses. Each district tends to have its own weird software that is needed (grading software, test software, etc.).

 

[QueBert]

I had a professor like that. One day, right in the middle of telling everyone how much better Macs are, his crashed.

That kinda sounds like when Bill Gates was demoing how great Windows 98 was and it crashed when he plugged the USB scanner in.

 

[Arik5405]

If you are dead set on getting a Mac, install Windows in bootcamp or a VM and boot it up whenever you need it.

 

[LumbergTech]

As much as I hate macs, I would try to figure out what your wife prefers instead of just making the decision.

 

[sdifox]

depends on where she works really.

also, there are external dvd drives.

 

[xanis]

My mom is a teacher and everything she does is either web-based or in MS Office. She's been using FF/Chrome to get on to her web apps and there haven't been any problems so far, but YMMV.

I would say for what your wife will be doing, Apple doesn't make sense. Set her up with a nice, slim Windows machine and call it a day.

<-- Mac owner

 

[IGBT]

mac's are a novelty. and apple dumped their proprietary chip set and now use Intel. Don't hobble your kids. PC is what the world and WORK PLACE uses.

 

[raasco]

If she really likes Mac, get a Mac. There is nothing wrong with installing Windows in Boot Camp if certain programs aren't available on OSX.

from my MacBook Pro

 

[RadiclDreamer]

If she likes the mac do mac, you can always dual boot, parallells etc.

I think the mac is a great piece of hardware regardless of the OS. Everything from touchpad to lit kb to nice display to real metal casing.

 

[JJChicken]

Macbook has much better quality, get a mac You can get MS Office for Mac as well.

 

[Imp]

Dual-boot. My alt-job work computer was a Mac-Mini with dual-boot XP. Worked fine... just hated working on the Apple OS because I didn't know how to use it.

Burning a CD was a challenge in itself... especially because I didn't know how to get to Google.

 

[Mixolydian]

Get the Mac. She can always run Windows on it if absolutely necessary.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[mmntech]

If you are dead set on getting a Mac, install Windows in bootcamp or a VM and boot it up whenever you need it.

This. Despite their reputation for being overpriced status symbols, Apple laptops are some of the best. I've seen them (and personally experienced them) taking a lot of punishment. A lot of the mainstream PC laptops seem flimsy to me. Especially the plastic ultra books.

Dual booting is straight forward. Get the cheapest pro and you should be able to throw your own HDD in there if she needs more space for both.

 

[silverpig]

My wife is a teacher and uses a mac just fine.

My mom works in a school and they do indeed have some proprietary email application that is windows-only.

 

[Chaotic42]

I'd have her contact the school and ask if they have any requirements or recommendations. If not, get whichever laptop she likes best.

 

[Puddle Jumper]

This. Despite their reputation for being overpriced status symbols, Apple laptops are some of the best. I've seen them (and personally experienced them) taking a lot of punishment. A lot of the mainstream PC laptops seem flimsy to me. Especially the plastic ultra books.

Dual booting is straight forward. Get the cheapest pro and you should be able to throw your own HDD in there if she needs more space for both.

I'd have to say the opposite, Macbooks look durable but don't hold up well at all under physical punishment. Heck my friends Macbook Pro looked like crap after spending a couple of years being carried around in a backpack.

 

[RavenSEAL]

I'd have to say the opposite, Macbooks look durable but don't hold up well at all under physical punishment. Heck my friends Macbook Pro looked like crap after spending a couple of years being carried around in a backpack.

That's probably because he didn't buy the official Apple silicone cover for only $79.99!

 

[Anubis]

mac's are a novelty. and apple dumped their proprietary chip set and now use Intel. Don't hobble your kids. PC is what the world and WORK PLACE uses.

basically this

 

[Bateluer]

I'd have to say the opposite, Macbooks look durable but don't hold up well at all under physical punishment. Heck my friends Macbook Pro looked like crap after spending a couple of years being carried around in a backpack.

Agreed, I don't see my Air holding up to much punishment.

basically this

Thirded. Despite what Apple and hipsters think, the world runs on Windows. Sure, you can dual boot or use a VM, but how tech savvy is your wife? If the district is using Windows, odds are, they're set up for Windows, managed with Windows, and have documentation for their Windows based products. If that's the case, getting Mac would simply be a pain in the neck.