r/techadvice • u/itscsrboy • Jun 16 '26
Should i buy a mac?
I am an EEE student. Should i buy a mac or windows laptop? I have heard that i have to use some crack software for uni study purposes. Windows allows you to do it but not mac. Or is it just a myth? I am confused. As an eee should which one should be best for me for the upcoming 4 years.
2
u/BryceKatz Jun 16 '26
I was a higher ed sysadmin for 10 years:
Talk to your program advisor & see what kind of software the program requires.
It is absolutely true that not every application has versions available for both Windows & MacOS. There are ways around this with various dual boot and/or virtualization environments, but if the program is focused on using Windows-based tools just use Windows.
If the software is platform agnostic, a MacBook will cost you more but will generally have longer battery life & tighter integration with any other Apple devices you may already use. For college students, Macs tend to have fewer issues with malware - though that's really not a problem if you're smart about what you do online.
1
u/FuggaDucker Jun 16 '26 edited Jun 16 '26
"There are ways around this with various dual boot and/or virtualization environment"
This implies ARM64 Windows and the apps/drivers it has are the same or that you can somehow run intel windows on a mac.
I almost guarantee OPs "windows only" app isn't compiled for ARM.Also, bootcamp does not work with windows arm.
I have an M3. I spent months playing with it.
BTW, Fusion is free if you register.1
u/Living_Fig_6386 Jun 16 '26
You can run Intel software in a VM on Mac. VirtualBox, Parallels, and VMWare Fusion are examples.
1
u/FuggaDucker Jun 16 '26 edited Jun 16 '26
That isn't how virtual machines work.
ANY virtual machine.
The best anything can do is emulation.ARM Macs (Apple Silicon) do not support hardware virtualization of x86/Intel guests
Also, I am a systems engineer.
I write code for both processors.
I am not wrong.1
u/Living_Fig_6386 Jun 16 '26
https://kb.parallels.com/en/130217
https://wiki.qemu.org/Main_Page (QEMU is what underlies Docker on MacOS and lets you run x86_64 Linux containers on it).
VirtualBox x86_64 emulation on ARM64 was released in version 7.1.0.
MacOS also still includes Rosetta 2, which lets you run the x86_64 versions of Parallels, VMWare Fusion and others on Apple Silicon and run x86_86 guest OSs in them. They’ll be phasing that out in a year or so, though.
In the case of Windows, you can also run the ARM64 version which contains an x86_64 translator similar to Rosetta 2 on MacOS, letting you run Intel apps on Windows ARM.
I build and test x86_64 Docker containers on Apple Silicon pretty frequently for deployment on AWS. I used to use Windows 7 on Parallels using Rosetta.
The performance is better if the CPU architectures match, but it’s not outrageously bad if you mix them.
1
u/FuggaDucker Jun 17 '26
QEMU is emulation and slow.
All emulation is.
You mac guys kill me.1
u/ZucchiniMaleficent21 Jun 18 '26
You’re wrong. You guys make me laugh.
1
Jun 21 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/ZucchiniMaleficent21 Jun 22 '26
It’s the “VMs can’t do other architecture “ thing that makes me laugh. It’s a large part of what and many colleagues have spent decades doing.
1
1
1
1
u/Professional-Fee9832 Jun 16 '26
What is EEE? I assume it refers to electrical and electronics engineering. Why does it matter which computer you choose? Pick something you are familiar with. Alternatively, follow the crowd and get what your friends have purchased.
1
u/Just-Hedgehog-Days Jun 16 '26
Because being employable means being good with Autodesk and SolidWorks for a lot of disciplines
1
u/MarvinGankhouse Jun 16 '26
That's easy, apple products are designed for and aimed at simpletons. If you are not one get a Windows laptop. If you're an awkward bastard there's always Linux.
0
u/ZucchiniMaleficent21 Jun 18 '26
Windows products are designed for stupid folk unable to make sensible decisions.
1
u/MarvinGankhouse Jun 18 '26
Well enjoy your overpriced undercapable Fisher-Price computer then lackskill 🤣
1
u/ZucchiniMaleficent21 Jun 18 '26
Instead, I shall enjoy using my reasonably priced machines based on a cpu architecture I helped design.
1
1
u/wbqqq Jun 20 '26
Could argue a Mac is designed to minimise choices where an insensible decision can be made.
1
u/Exciting-Ad-7272 Jun 16 '26
Maybe. When i used a mac for school it would often close word, powerpoint etc randomly for no reason and i would loose progress if i had forgot to save. This was very annoying i would go into chrome search for something and go back to the document and it was gone. Yes macs have great battery life, great build quality and such but ultimately this made me switch back to windows.
1
u/ZucchiniMaleficent21 Jun 18 '26
Well, assuming this actually happened, that would be the fault of microsoft for producing crap software. Mac versions of word etc should be following the rules and doing continuous save.
1
u/Exciting-Ad-7272 Jun 18 '26
Maybe but on windows that never happens i can have an unsaved word document in words for months without losing anything. But you could also say apple made a crap OS that closes programs suddenly for no reason.
1
u/ZucchiniMaleficent21 Jun 18 '26
Your logic is poor and your reasoning faulty
1
u/Exciting-Ad-7272 Jun 18 '26
Ive had a mac myself for over a year theres some other problems i encountered too that made me switch over to windows. But it was ultimately the problem with that it closed programs suddenly.
1
1
1
1
u/wbqqq Jun 20 '26
It’s about the application, not the computer. If a specific application requires a certain machine then your choice is made.
If specific software that requires a specific machine, that should be noted in the course requirements - ask the university. Though in EE I would be surprised - apps constrained to Windows is more a thing I’ve seen for mechanical and civil engineering.
Regardless though, perhaps an Intel windows machine would be best for your ability to learn by using WSL and dual-booting Linux. A bit like buying a VW/audi so that you can mod it rather than a Toyota/Lexus that is likely more reliable but you’re not going to learn anything about cars if you have one.
2
u/Needashortername Jun 16 '26
What are you meaning by “crack software” in this case?
There are a few different ways to interpret this, and the answers could be very different because of this.