Boring laptop question

[Slim Jim]

Having come into a few quid, I'm gonna treat myself to a laptop but have come up against the question - PC or Mac? Any advice gratefully received as I'm a right Luddite most of the time.....

[peretti]

Having come into a few quid, I'm gonna treat myself to a laptop but have come up against the question - PC or Mac? Any advice gratefully received as I'm a right Luddite most of the time.....

Mac people will say Mac, PC people will say PC. Although you can obviously now run Windows on a Mac so I guess Apple are more versatile in that sense. IMO overpriced but undeniably pretty.

[john stapleton]

Macbook. Stable, versatile, nice to use.

Wouldn't bother with a Macbook Pro unless you're going to do high-end video edting.

[chimptown]

got cash and want a very easy life then mac

would rather buy records then a pc.

[Beatfreak]

My friend has a macbook and it irritiates the sh*t out of me. My biggest gripe was that you can't tap the touchpad to click the mouse - you have to move away and press the button. Seriously annoying.

It might still be worth getting one to spite Brian May:

http://www.brianmay.com/brian/brians...sep06a.html#12

[Mr_Hopkinson]

Mac people will say Mac, PC people will say PC. Although you can obviously now run Windows on a Mac so I guess Apple are more versatile in that sense. IMO overpriced but undeniably pretty.

This is a potential can of worms on any forum, however I reckon everything you need to know is put eloquently and succinctly right there by Peretti ( with specifics filled in by Sermad below ).

I use both ( both are great ( or terrible if used badly ) and can do all the other platform does, it's just what you're used to imho ) . . . http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PADkpyVWAwQ

[sermad]

macs are great but they are honestly really expensive compared to a pc.

I would recommend an intel dual core processor, 2 gigs of ram and windows vista. Go for a really reliable brand like compaq or toshiba. I think £500 will get you a great machine these days.

Places like pc world do really good deals if you are nervous about buying online - dabs.com are reliable

[john stapleton]

My friend has a macbook and it irritiates the sh*t out of me. My biggest gripe was that you can't tap the touchpad to click the mouse - you have to move away and press the button. Seriously annoying.

I'm not sure why you'd want to do that, but can't you just change it in trackpad preferences ?

[JamesF]

On my ancient Macbook you can use the pad for clicking. I hated it though and got hold of a separate mouse because using the trackpad like that I'd either end up with stuttering lines that looked like shorthand notes when trying to draw something fiddly in illustrator, or I'd open random desktop files when trying to move them.

[Imperial_Mao]

I had a laptop then when that died switched to an ibook and have to admit that I don't think I'd buy a PC/laptop again.

Mac =

[Brother Logic]

We have an ibook and I use a PC/Linux thinkpad for work and if I had to choose between the two then it'd probably be the ibook but only because the battery life is much better and that makes up for the abysmal Mac interface ;-). I would much rather have a PC with a decent processor, memory and screen than either of those. though. It really comes down to what you're doing with it and how much money you can spend.

[john stapleton]

abysmal Mac interface ;-).

Wow. Now that is one thing I have never heard said about Macs in the dozen years I've been using them.

[alanmck]

Wow. Now that is one thing I have never heard said about Macs in the dozen years I've been using them.

these kids, man, for them it's all about the emoticons... and i think the logical one said ""

[theeman]

what type of computers do your friends/family have? if you're new to this then it's useful to buy what knowledgeable mates already have, so that they can give you a hand if you get stuck (and some people swap software too but that's Very Bad if you haven't Paid For It and it's not freeware).

it's no good getting a PC if all your techie mates use Macs, and vice versa.

these days there's little to choose between Mac and PC (except price and 'cool' factor - Mac rates a lot higher on both counts). the traditional PC-for-business and Mac-for-media stereotypes only hold up if you're using them professionally, day in day out, for certain applications. for casual users Mac or PC would both do the job.

be realistic about your aims too. if you're only going to use it for web browsing and email, don't get an expensive high spec machine - you could even get an Asus eee PC (200 quid for a brilliant, highly portable little paperback-sized machine, but it runs Linux not Mac or Windows unless you hack it)

[pitch]

I just got me a MacBook Air and it's lovely...... overpriced yes - but thin, very portable... and sexy

[Slim Jim]

Oooooh, me brain hurts - sounds like I should just do what I always do as regards shopping - wait until frustration is at boiling point and then just pick something and go home!!

It'll mainly be for web-browsing, email, loading up images and playing DVDs on boring journeys....which I guess means find one with a decent battery!??

Most people have advised Macs but most of that advice seems to be on aesthetic terms rather than any practical advantage. There's loads of techie nerds here at work who can overhaul it if it goes bananas....

[chimptown]

if thats all its for then just get a cheap pc laptop.

[Electro_suze]

Hang on Jim, what do you want to use it for? That's important. I've been looking at this myself recently, and its very difficult. If its music-related, macs are good, but obviously you cant get any cracked software, and macs have the nasty habit of just completely crashing from time to time with no warning...

You get can a really good purpose build PC for music, and it probably works out less in cost too.

I would go for PC for music, mac for film, but that's just me...

[john stapleton]

macs are good, but obviously you cant get any cracked software

really?

[john stapleton]

macs have the nasty habit of just completely crashing from time to time with no warning...

really?

[pitch]

.....macs have the nasty habit of just completely crashing from time to time with no warning...

nonsense!!!! PCs do that - I've used Macs for 15 years and they have always been more stable.

Having said that - in this case if cost is key and you have limited requirements, a PC will be fine.

[Sergio Paradise]

Get a second hand / refurb Macbook. With the amount of mac users on here alone i'm sure you can get any questions answered.

[Mr_Hopkinson]

From my experience computers can crash from time to time ( or glide by problemless for years ) whatever brand they are, it seems problems are usually, um, attributable to human error . . .

i.e. I reckon if you're using an unfamiliar system its more likely to "go wrong" and reaffirm what you're used to as "best" . . . but ultimately they are just machines in different boxes.

Broadly, I think one system really can now do everything the other does ( I tend to use a mac laptop for on-the-move internet browsing and a purpose built pc for high end video editing, for example ).

If you're starting from scratch, and going to be using one laptop for eveything, you've got to decide carefully what you plump for because to an extent you'll be tied to a particular way of doing things . . . If money's no problem then I think Theeman's advice is great to go with what friends and family use - obviously across the board more people use pcs ( presumably because they are cheaper ) so it can be an advantage to be at ease with them, but for creative use ( and it would seem across this board ) more people proportionally use macs ( presumably because they are cooler, whatever Brian May says ) and so it can be an advantage to know your way around them too . . .

The attractive look of macs extends to the easy to digest operating system so starting from scratch they are probably easier to "learn" but I presume you know how to use a computer already seeing as you're posting on an internet forum . . .

So yeah, go with what your mates have, so they can help you and you can help them . . .

[jakartajive]

What's a laptop?

[Sie-Fly]

What's a laptop?

it's what a lap dancer wears to keep warm

[jakartajive]

it's what a lap dancer wears to keep warm

Aw. Those Ukranians.
Bloody nippy in Lvov at this time of year.