> Thus, my question: can a Mac run PC programs well enough to make a
Mac laptop a desirable choice, or is there no reason to prefer a Mac
laptop over a PC laptop?
>
> Please note that I am not a PC or Mac partisan. I've never owned a
laptop nor a Mac, so I have no opinion at all about the differences
between the PC and the Mac until I have tried both at some length.
In your case, a quality PC might be a better choice, as long as it's not
one of the cheap ones. The $600 laptop may look like a bargain, but I
wouldn't want to run Matlab [Mathematica is better] on anything less
than a computer that has the 'pro' version of Windows. Our HP notebook
that retails at $1000 is barely adequate--same age as my MacBook, $200
less, with much lower specs. I like Toshiba, Alien [for video], but am
stuck with HP, Compaq, Dell.
If you decide on a MacBook or Pro, [MacBook doesn't have PC card slot]
you can run Windows apps natively with Boot Camp, in emulation
[Parallels, VMWare], or without Windows using Crossover Mac or Wine.
Gives you more choices. There are plenty of very good free or shareware
open source apps for Macs. Ask for a list when you need it.
The two things I notice immediately in Mac OS X are the display quality
and mouse control. Running Windows on a Mac won't let you see that. Wine
or Crossover Mac might.
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