Apple Mac Laptop vs. PC Laptop Page 4

Quote: Gavin @ April 19 2009, 12:05 AM BST

Google are developing an OS and maybe this debae will be completely irrelevant in 2 years time when Google OS owns all.

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It'll have to be pretty damn special to do that. Android's shown they've got a pretty good start on the OS road, but neither Windows Mobile nor the iPhone are really that representative of their bigger brothers, so they could still f**k it up.

Quote: Gavin @ April 19 2009, 12:09 AM BST

I don't like them moving my stuff. They f**king moved my buttons in office for no reason and their doing it again.

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I prefer the 'new' Office by quite a long way. Find it much easier to use, much nicer to look at, and overall a better environment to work in.

Quote: Aaron @ April 19 2009, 12:12 AM BST

It'll have to be pretty damn special to do that. Android's shown they've got a pretty good start on the OS road, but neither Windows Mobile nor the iPhone are really that representative of their bigger brothers, so they could still f**k it up.

I prefer the 'new' Office by quite a long way. Find it much easier to use, much nicer to look at, and overall a better environment to work in.

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You've got to take into consideration Google own the search engines, if anyone can do it. It's them.

I really don't, I find new word especially incredibly fustrating, I use crimson to type all my stuff now, New Outlook though except it's nasty resource chewing is a awesome piece of kit.

Ah, now Outlook, switch to Windows 7 and you'd never imagine there's a single issue with it.

I may try 7 again. on my new machine and barebones it as much as possible, see if I can bare it.

I have used Macs since 1989 and I am a designer. I do use PCs but I find them intensley annoying on almost every level so I avoid them if at all possible. That said they have improved over the years but I'm still happy with what I've got.

The old Mac V PC argument again. I have one of each. I used to own just the Mac which I did everything on for years, but I now use the PC for day-to-day work stuff, and the Mac for music-making and video and arty creative stuff.

The one thing I will say though is that my PC is two years old and now crashes almost every other day. My Mac is 5 years old and has crashed probably ten times since I bought it. And its never had a virus. And it looks nice.

And it didn't come pre-packaged with Vista. I HATE Vista.

Quote: Gavin @ April 19 2009, 12:09 AM BST

They f**king moved my buttons in office for no reason and their doing it again.

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You mean like the short-cut for 'Undo' in Microsoft Word? Used to be an effortless, automatic 'ALT' + 'E' (comfortably hit with thumb and middle finger of left hand hand) and one 'down arrow' (middle finger of right hand). Now in Office 2007 it's CTRL + Z or some such awkward-reaching bollocks.

I remember at school when very few kids had computers, but those who did would argue over the respective merits of the Apple IIe and the Amiga 500 (obviously the Apple was superior, but the Amiga was more user friendly and exciting for kids playing games).

As for the need to keep re-installing Windows due to slow-downs and crashes, I've found this to generally be caused by the inadvertant downloading of trojans/viruses through careless accessing of porn/music, inadequate memory and weak CPUs. Personally I never have this problem (slow-downs/crashes) on my own Windows OS laptop as I don't engage in P2P file-sharing or visit dodgy porn sites.

Back to the original post, if you have scads of money and need to do lots of playing around with design, music and video editing, (or if you just regard MacBook as a status symbol signifying coolness and IT intellect) then get a MacBook. Otherwise a good laptop running on Windows should be fine (don't buy a really cheap one or dubious brand-name one). If you think Windows is uncool and crap, then partition your hard drive (to Ubuntu and Windows) and keep all your important files with Ubuntu OS, and use Windows OS for day-to-day bits, so it won't matter if you need to reinstall Windows every six months.

My current CPU is a neuronet processor, a learning computer. And I know nothing about computers apart from how to waste time on them.

Which one is better for dialogue?

I'm currently using my other half's Mac Mini and it's a very little, pretty, quiet thing. I'm thinking of getting myself one and hooking it up to the TV as well. I think they act nicely as basic media centers.

The design of the OS is very slick, and being very shallow about design, I love it.

They're a bit pricey, but from what I can see, it looks worth it in the end. Enough with the headache that is a Windows system.

Nerds!

If you want to be a serious writer then buy a PC with Word on it.

If you want other people to think you are a serious writer, then buy a Mac and pose around town with it.

Quote: Leevil @ April 19 2009, 11:54 AM BST

I think they act nicely as basic media centers.

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I have a Mini in my entertainment center that works wonderfully. It's connected via HDMI and optical connectors, so the video and audio quality is top notch. I use the free Plex media server as the user interface and everything works nicely with the remote control. Plex has plugins to access all kinds of online content like Netflix, Hulu, South Park, etc. but much of it is probably only available in the States. It looks like there's an iPlayer plugin for those of you in the UK, however.

I've attached a couple of terabyte drives to the Mini and I'm quickly filling them up with music, movies and television shows. I have another Mini hooked up to the TV in my bedroom and it's a piece of cake to watch or listen to the content stored on the Mini in the entertainment center.

Awesome.

Will check Plex out, looks good. Cheers DaButt.

Quote: Kenneth @ April 19 2009, 4:07 AM BST

You mean like the short-cut for 'Undo' in Microsoft Word? Used to be an effortless, automatic 'ALT' + 'E' (comfortably hit with thumb and middle finger of left hand hand) and one 'down arrow' (middle finger of right hand). Now in Office 2007 it's CTRL + Z or some such awkward-reaching bollocks.

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Eh? Alt E? I have never, in any version of any program, known there to be anything OTHER THAN Ctrl Z. If there was an Alt E in the past, then it can only be a very long-lasting legacy which they've now stripped in order to be in-line with ... everything else.

Quote: Kenneth @ April 19 2009, 4:07 AM BST

Otherwise a good laptop running on Windows should be fine (don't buy a really cheap one or dubious brand-name one).

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This is iffy advice, however. Some of the best names out there will be "dubious" to the average user, and they'll end up paying more for a better-known branded machine with the same or worse components. And some of the ones which could be considered "really cheap" are better than their weightier-priced counterparts. So the real advice should be: Google for user reviews and tests of the model and make you're interested in, particularly if you're not familiar with the brand.

Quote: Aaron @ April 19 2009, 3:12 PM BST

Eh? Alt E? I have never, in any version of any program, known there to be anything OTHER THAN Ctrl Z. If there was an Alt E in the past, then it can only be a very long-lasting legacy which they've now stripped in order to be in-line with ... everything else.

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I used WordStar for years before moving on to MS Word and Open Office.

Quote: Aaron @ April 19 2009, 3:12 PM BST

This is iffy advice, however. Some of the best names out there will be "dubious" to the average user, and they'll end up paying more for a better-known branded machine with the same or worse components. And some of the ones which could be considered "really cheap" are better than their weightier-priced counterparts. So the real advice should be: Google for user reviews and tests of the model and make you're interested in, particularly if you're not familiar with the brand.

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Obviously check the specs and go with those that have the best components and provide the best value in the price-range you want. Yes, and read reviews. In the past I've had a cheap Acer Travelmate laptop die, one Dell laptop that survived for years but became mostly obsolete, and presently a Toshiba that's doing fine after almost 2 years.
EDIT: As for buying an el-cheapo laptop with a dubious brand-name, a colleague of mine last year bought a super-cheap Medion brand laptop from a chain of discount stores. After a few months the battery had died and he had major hassles getting it replaced, ended up getting a refund after much bother.

I recently bought a MacBook for a change, just to try out the OS and see what all the fuss was about. It's OK, very fast, quiet and stable but I don't think I'll switch my desktop over to a Mac anytime soon. It just isn't worth the extra cost. If I had bought a Windows/Ubuntu laptop I would have paid half the price for a much, much, much higher spec. I've never had a problem with Microsoft OS's either so no compelling reason to switch for me.

Plus Apple try and shaft you at every opportunity with peripherals.