PC has the largest market share and more software is made for it. So if ur planing to go into software development than ull probably want a PC.

I'd go for the Macbook Pro. Although, sure, I may be biased to Mac as they've been very good to me for almost two years now. But, you'll get a very beautiful machine with great performance and great battery life. And, if you don't end up liking Mac OS X you can always use Windows via Bootcamp. And, as you'll be doing software development you'll be able to work for both Windows and Mac OS X, which many users will be grateful for.

-robodude666

PC. Macs are very limited. especially if you are in IT then its PC all the way, hands down no questions :)

edit: also, you can game on your PC while bored.

OS X is great for usability and media work but for hardcore software dev. there really is no question that PC is superior. Far more programs today are compatible w. a pc and running Win from bootcamp really slows down the machine. Also as mentioned above generally the graphics are better.
Oh and if you get a Pc-i would advise against dell. A lot of my friends have had nothing but trouble from them. I would instead recommend the crem de la crem of the PC world-lennovo/IBM. They are very pricey but I assure you they are THE BEST LABTOPS in existance today. They always get Cnets editor's choice+last forever. Only problem generally with an IBM is the graphics are mediocre. Still the decesion is urs.

I would personally go with a Windows machine, as its the industry leader. But to be honest, you are probably best off with whatever the majority of your university course uses. Check the university site for pictures or ask current students attending those courses what the professors use. You certainly do not want to be stuck with a system that doesn't support programs used by the professor (although these should definitely be cross-platform).

Go with a PC, there are more programs compatible with it. Macs are also more expensive when you can get a better laptop computer than a Macbook pro for the same price.

If money is no problem i'd go with a mac, (macbook pro eventualy?) then boot camp and install windows on it.

If money is a problem PC!
A lot cheaper, and you get the most common OS - Windows.
Im pretty sure that windows will be the os most peoble use.

You sure?

http://mac.blorge.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/071002_missouri_macs.jpg

lol I've seen some schools give all their students mac's-but not many. The main reason is because most people do use windows so if you want prof's to use macs then you gotta give everyone a mac.

Thanks a lot for all the inputs! So yeah bottom line is maybe I would go get mac as it can run windows and mac os x at the same time. However, i would make the effort to ask the people at the university to make sure i won't be stuck with a machine that wont be used very much.

Bootcamp slows down the computer like crazy. its probably just as slow and Virtual PC for windows...

Ya rly...boot camp on a dual core-slow...................

The market can change in a matter of months. Its way too early to make any judgments IMO.

Woot!, 10th post lmao.

Hey-he finds the new forum-any thoughts?-NEWBIE WITH 11 POSTS ROFL!

Don't count on Bootcamp to replace the need for a Windows machine. It's nice to have but does not replace the PC. I wouldn't want to run any hardware intensive programs with that..