I'm starting a course at work that covers the AZ-900, AZ-104, and MD-102 certifications. My company is buying me a laptop, and I have the freedom to choose what I want. I'm considering a MacBook Pro because of its excellent battery life and power. However, I'm wondering if using a Mac would be a disadvantage for these IT courses. Would it be better to go with a Windows laptop instead?
5 Answers
While you can handle administration tasks on a Mac, you'll end up learning the 'Mac way,' which isn’t as broadly useful as knowing the standard Windows processes. So if you're focusing on systems administration, Windows might be the way to go.
For something like the AZ-900, you might get by studying from your phone. But for AZ-104, I'd seriously suggest going for Windows. As for MD-102, I'm not too familiar with that one, but Windows just seems to be the safe bet.
Since you can remote into a powerful desktop, you might want to get a cheaper Windows ARM laptop. They're cost-effective, offer great battery life, and will cover everything you need without any hassle.
It really depends on your work environment. If your organization heavily uses Microsoft products, a Windows laptop might be the better choice. However, managing tasks on MacOS for sysadmin work is easier than it used to be since most tasks can now be done in the browser. If your team is more modern and into cloud services, a Mac shouldn't be a problem at all.
Honestly, a laptop isn't strictly necessary for these courses, but if you're looking to buy, I'd recommend a ThinkPad with at least 32GB of RAM. It'll handle virtualization well for testing the MD-102 course. Plus, if you can remote into your existing high-spec Windows desktop, that opens up your options.
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