Mac Mini or MacBook?

[Brigadier]

Afternoon all,

Youngest is flying off to uni this year.

Not doing a "creative" course, so will not need heavy video-editing type capabilities.
Likely, office-type stuff, researching etc etc.

We've always had laptops and PCs, so either Windows or Ubuntu.

He already has an iPhone though, so should be familiar(ish) with Apple stuff.


Apart from not being able to (realistically) use a Mac Mini on a train, and having to buy a separate monitor and keyboard, what are the cons and pros of going "Mac Mini", rather than "MacBook"?


Thanks in advance

 

[foxhole]

Have a Mac mini and always prefer to laptop as they are often have better performance and easier upgrade path .Depends how it is to be used ?
Also macs will also run Windows .

 

[Tigercubrider]

Most students have laptops.
A desktop isn’t really that suitable for uni these days.
Unis tend to give 5 or more Tb of online storage to every student and tend to insist on work being saved to the uni system in order to protect it against individual machine failure.
If a student’s laptop/desktop dies they don’t get an extension. If the work is stored on the online storage the uni covers the can.

 

[Jurassicspark]

Most students have laptops.
A desktop isn’t really that suitable for uni these days.
Unis tend to give 5 or more Tb of online storage to every student and tend to insist on work being saved to the uni system in order to protect it against individual machine failure.
If a student’s laptop/desktop dies they don’t get an extension

In the university I work in, students get a chance to do the assignment again but the grade is only capped at 40%.

 

[Jurassicspark]

I prefer Windows but everyone has a different fav. Sometimes Mac can't support some apps so I have to switch to my desktop PC.

Don't just look at Apple or Windows when choosing a laptop.

You should be looking at the battery life, performance, trusted reviews, screen quality, build performance, security etc.

 

[matlob]

I'd go macbook and if he needs a large screen for at home he can run that from the macbook and use a wireless mouse

 

[Brigadier]

He's decided.

It's the pricier option

 

[Tigercubrider]

Mac laptop battery life used to be way better than PCs. Don’t know if it is still true, but worth checking.
There used to be a massive rush to charge PC laptops at lunchtime and few sockets

 

[Brigadier]

Mac laptop battery life used to be way better than PCs. Don’t know if it is still true, but worth checking.
There used to be a massive rush to charge PC laptops at lunchtime and few sockets

I dare say he'll be plugged in most of the time

 

[matlob]

Also worth looking into a backup system, either an external hard drive or cloud based system.

 

[Tigercubrider]

Many uni lecture rooms and classrooms are not equipped with a mains socket for every seat.
Some large lecture theatres built or refurbished in the last decade might be but not many