In the case of needing a functional device, I fail to see what the mac offers him that a regular PC with the same specs would be incapable of offering.
Probably not much, but let's look at some of the tangible qualities based on what I think are comparable machines. The Lenovo ThinkPad series is generally considered to be a high quality rugged line of portables coming from an IBM industrial background, and I believe, has continued the tradition. The W701 model is similarly spec'ed to the MBP, the major differences other than brand is the MPB is lighter with a longer battery life. Also the MBP base model has a larger, faster disk drive. The GPU in the Lenovo is faster, which is an issue with AutoCad. And the MBP only comes with a glossy screen. This could be an issue. Glossy screens are great for viewing media, but not so much in a work environment. However the MBP base model has twice the RAM of the base model of the Lenovo (4GB vs. 2 GB) granted this is a fairly simple upgrade but it adds to the cost. Speaking of cost, and this surprised me, the MBP is $200 cheaper. One other point is while this doesn't directly effect the functionality, the Lenovo machine is fugly compared to the Apple styling. It does make a difference when choosing something you intend to be looking at for several years.
You yourself were talking about the possibility (and decent one at that) that autocad would not run as well on a mac as a pc due to it being the first autocad on mac in quite some time.
I did indeed. And truthfully it's a consideration when choosing. But without researching the issues that exist between a new native Mac version and a Mature Windows version, I couldn't say if it was a deal breaker. I do know that AutoDesk has a stellar support record and would be shocked if they released any version of their flagship product that was buggy enough to impact a production environment. Still it is a consideration.
... multiple workspaces so he can seamlessly switch between multiple screens for demonstration purposes. He says there are more refined tools for working in unix on mac which I take his word for. However, none of that is really relevant to what is better suited for this guys situation.
Multiple workspaces are available on PCs too, but MS doesn't implement it by default because they've determined that it isn't an overwhelming customer desired feature. OS X is a true UNIX variant and since AutoCad grew up on Unix workstations, they have a great deal of experience with it, leading me to believe OS X is a well suited OS for that application. Again without the technical information, I can't say for sure, but it is another consideration.
Errr.. the problem I have with this is how are we defining functionality? Autocad? If autocad is the primary focus according to your assertion which I agree with, a pc would be better suited.
AutoCad begs a workstation-class machine if you intend to do anything significantly with it. Both seem to fit the bill accordingly. What would make one better suited over the other is much more about the class environment, network support at the University, support for printers and plotters and the ability to share in a mixed environment. I can't answer those questions and won't make assumptions based on personal biases. If there are no conflicts, I don't think you can claim one is better suited than the other.
And there are just as many horror stories about apple as there are dell.
Agreed. However Apple does have a very good support record. If it's a critical machine, I'd recommend the AppleCare option, or an extended warranty with on-site service for a PC.
Again don't we run into the problem of autocad being at the moment unreleased and potentially buggy on release?
It has been released and it's available now. There is a potential for version 1 issues, but see my comment about AutoDesk quality and support above.
At least I can admit hatred openly.
Do you know how tired I am of people being in love with apple/mac products for no logical reason?
Here's my biggest problem. Aren't they essentially the same thing? An irrational love for a product or brand is just as prejudicial as hate for the same thing? At the end of the day it's hard to argue that Apple Products ... the Macbook Pro specifically ... aren't nice machines.
FWIW, I probably wouldn't buy it either.
