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I usually like macs better, but I'm wondering if I should get a PC for work. Specifically, I am concerned about programs that are not compatible with Mac OS. Any advice?

I'm almost positive your firm will give you either a laptop or desktop to work on.

They will even insist that you use their computers for work because they are more secure.

A lot of firms do use Lenovo though.

Anonymous User wrote:I'm almost positive your firm will give you either a laptop or desktop to work on.

They will even insist that you use their computers for work because they are more secure.

A lot of firms do use Lenovo though.

OP here. My firm is giving me a tech stipend to purchase a computer of my choice (Mac or PC).

As a long-time windows user (all of my life), and a 3-month Mac user... go with the Mac. From what I can tell, they are superior machines. And with their popularity these days, I doubt there is a program that is not compatible with them. Having said that, my body at Pearson Darby says that the firm gives them Dells.

Anonymous User wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:I'm almost positive your firm will give you either a laptop or desktop to work on.

They will even insist that you use their computers for work because they are more secure.

A lot of firms do use Lenovo though.

OP here. My firm is giving me a tech stipend to purchase a computer of my choice (Mac or PC).

If they're paying and said you can get either, then get whatever you want. They wouldn't give you the option of getting a Mac if it wasn't going to work.

I would say PC just because excel on mac is horrible. being able to do some cool things on excel can save you a ton of time, and can be an easy way to synthesize and understand particular types of information. But, this is prolly going to depend on practice area (it was useful in the practice area I worked in pre law school), and whether or not you are comfortable using excel. I am also fairly surprised that things like e-discovery software is mac compatable. For example relativity isnt --LinkRemoved-- . I would check with attorneys in your practice area before buying a mac.

Why in the hell is this anonymous?

bc if he chooses a PC he'll be instanty outted as the only person in america still using one

.

brotherdarkness wrote:Every biglaw attorney's office I've been in has had a PC (usually some oversized, overweight laptop connected to a couple of monitors and an external keyboard/mouse). I haven't used a PC in years and I'm not looking forward to having to go back.

One firm I had a CB bragged about their superior technology. Every attorney, partner and associate, had a circa 2003 Windows XP computer.

brotherdarkness wrote:Every biglaw attorney's office I've been in has had a PC (usually some oversized, overweight laptop connected to a couple of monitors and an external keyboard/mouse). I haven't used a PC in years and I'm not looking forward to having to go back.

Damn it. I thought I knew who you were IRL, but that dude is typing on a PC right now.

Unless, you are a misinformation ninja.

.

stillwater wrote:bc if he chooses a PC he'll be instanty outted as the only person in america still using one

I'm considering buying one, a Samsung Series 9. I prefer Windows to OSX. That said, there is no real reason other than personal preference to choose one or the other, and if the OP's firm gave a blank check, they obviously don't care. Besides, new Macs can run Windows if there is some compatibility issue.

jbiresq wrote:

brotherdarkness wrote:Every biglaw attorney's office I've been in has had a PC (usually some oversized, overweight laptop connected to a couple of monitors and an external keyboard/mouse). I haven't used a PC in years and I'm not looking forward to having to go back.

One firm I had a CB bragged about their superior technology. Every attorney, partner and associate, had a circa 2003 Windows XP computer.

Epic anti Vista trolling.

Just make sure their support of Mac is more than just virtual remote desktop software. That's fairly shitty. Though they might do the same for PCs too.

But like Kavlo said you could always just put windows on a Mac.

kalvano wrote:

stillwater wrote:bc if he chooses a PC he'll be instanty outted as the only person in america still using one

I'm considering buying one, a Samsung Series 9. I prefer Windows to OSX. That said, there is no real reason other than personal preference to choose one or the other, and if the OP's firm gave a blank check, they obviously don't care. Besides, new Macs can run Windows if there is some compatibility issue.

My two cents is that it doesn't matter if you get a PC or a Mac (almost all programs are compatible on both). However, if you do go the PC route, I would strongly advise against Windows 8.

For a personal machine it shouldn't matter. You will probably use VM software like Citrix to dial in from home, which will work on both. You can also use boot camp and windows on a Mac.

Re win 8, the interface isn't the best, but it's a perfectly stable usable OS. Windows 8.1 (coming out next month) will fix some of the interface issues.

I've heard terrible things about Citrix for Mac, so I would choose a PC on that basis.

However, a quick google search suggested that these issues may have been resolved a year or two ago, so if anyone has better information...

jbiresq wrote:

brotherdarkness wrote:Every biglaw attorney's office I've been in has had a PC (usually some oversized, overweight laptop connected to a couple of monitors and an external keyboard/mouse). I haven't used a PC in years and I'm not looking forward to having to go back.

One firm I had a CB bragged about their superior technology. Every attorney, partner and associate, had a circa 2003 Windows XP computer.

Welcome to law. Compared to any other professional setting, its a bit pathetic how little care there is for keeping up to date. For the most part its the logic that "all you are doing is typing shit, so use the Word 03 license like we always have."

To a great extent, they are correct. Most of what you will do is use MS Word, Excel, and Adobe Acrobat--that is about it.

Gorki wrote:

jbiresq wrote:

brotherdarkness wrote:Every biglaw attorney's office I've been in has had a PC (usually some oversized, overweight laptop connected to a couple of monitors and an external keyboard/mouse). I haven't used a PC in years and I'm not looking forward to having to go back.

One firm I had a CB bragged about their superior technology. Every attorney, partner and associate, had a circa 2003 Windows XP computer.

Welcome to law. Compared to any other professional setting, its a bit pathetic how little care there is for keeping up to date. For the most part its the logic that "all you are doing is typing shit, so use the Word 03 license like we always have."

To a great extent, they are correct. Most of what you will do is use MS Word, Excel, and Adobe Acrobat--that is about it.

I thought it was funny. The website made it sound like if you worked there you'd be using the computer from Minority Report but, nope, just a slow, old IBM.

I literally just had to get a loaner laptop because my Mac wont work for this doc review project on Relativity.

If you're willing to dish out the same amount of money for a windows laptop as a mac, there are plenty of great options nowadays. For general consumer use, almost everything works with mac, but there are a lot of work related productivity software that is better or only available on windows.