Macbook or conventional laptop?

B

Boi

Registered User
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Hello everyone.I have 1000 euros to spend on a laptop.trying to decide what to get.I currently have toshiba bought 3 years ago and want to change(it is still working fine,just need something new).
can anyone recommend a good one?Also,i wonder if macbook/apple would be good.I have never used mac before,used windows all my life.
basically my questions are:
1) pros/cons of mac or windows laptops.
2)recommendations of a good one out there in the market.
3)going to new york next week-will it be cheaper to buy there,if so which store?should i be worried about after sales when i come back?
4)just incase i get mac,will i have problems viewing some programs stored/created with windows and vice versa? i do a lot of presentation-powerpoint.

my needs:
a)speed-hate a slow computer.
b) wireless
c) built in camera and microphone
d)HD capabilities
e)my other half may need to play computer games on it.
f)DVD re-writer
g)bluetooth would be a welcome bonus
h)my budget is flexible,want something that is really good and would last a long long time!
thanks in advance.
 
i got a MacBook last year, and would never go back to Windows again. It does take some getting used to though. I am very happy with it - the usabiliy, stability and speed are a different world from windows.

Don't get a MacBookAir if you want speed. The MacBookPro is the top of the range, the MacBook is in the middle.

If you know someone who works for Apple, they can get you a discount. Or anyone who is in education; students also get good discounts.
 
I got a standard macbook 2 months ago, after getting annoyed with pc laptops malfunctioning after 18 months, and love it. ( I am not blaming PCs, I readily admit it may be me). The macbook has never frozen on me, no error messages, starts up and shuts down nice and quickly and is quite easy to learn how to use once a used the tutorial on the apple website.
Safar was the browser that came withit, but I had to download firefox, as google toolbar does not work with safari.
My printer will need to be replaced though, as it does not work with a mac apparently :mad:
I got mine for 999 euro, but a friend who works in apple can get it for around 750 I think.
 
Boi said:
my needs:
a)speed-hate a slow computer.
b) wireless
c) built in camera and microphone
d)HD capabilities
e)my other half may need to play computer games on it.
f)DVD re-writer
g)bluetooth would be a welcome bonus
h)my budget is flexible,want something that is really good and would last a long long time!
thanks in advance.
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I've always used Macs and would be a fan of the OS but points (d) and (e) rules them out in your case. No Mac, laptop ot desktop, has HD capabilities yet and while the choice of games has improved in the past while, it is still nowhere near the selection available for PC.

Boi said:
h)my budget is flexible,want something that is really good and would last a long long time!
thanks in advance.
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I know plenty of people with Macbooks and have found them to be underpowered and cheap looking for the price. Though the new 'brick' build may improve that a bit. The MacBook Pro is a great machine but way, way over priced IMHO. If you have the money and don't mind paying over the odds then get that.

Have a look at the refurbished section on :

http://store.apple.com/ie

Worth checking there from time to time as they can have some good deals for refurbished machines. I know people who have purchased refurbished Macs and they have had no problems.

There is a huge Apple Store in New York so depending on the exchange rate you will make some savings by buying there.
 
I switched to a Macbook last year and its the best thing I have ever done on a computer.

The key area is now I am more productive as I am not fighting spyware and constantly rebooting. It does just work!
 
I switched to a MacBook last week and love it and there is no way I would go back to a windows laptop.

I also have parallels for windows installed on it so I can run a virtual window machine right there on my MacBook.

Best thing of all: everything works!
 
What's the deal with student discounts referenced above ? I have children in primary school, so if I were to buy for them then could I get the discount ? Do you need to buy through the school. or is there a discount code or something that is used to get the discount ?

z
 
we have 3 macs, a macbook, a macbook al and a mac mini......PC never allowed in our home again:D

But HD can be achived if files are downloaded ( use vlc and not quicktime )
 
zag said:
What's the deal with student discounts referenced above ? I have children in primary school, so if I were to buy for them then could I get the discount ? Do you need to buy through the school. or is there a discount code or something that is used to get the discount ?

z
Click to expand...

Try here http://store.apple.com/ie/browse/home/education_routing?mco=MTIxODk0Nw

Unfortunately it seems, although I haven't checked, the discounts only apply to 2nd and 3rd level students, teachers and staff.

Try the lo-call number on the page for more information.
 
Macs are overpriced and the devotion shown by some to Macs and other Apple products seems to me, at times, to be quasi-religious. Those looking to swerve Windows would get better value from a PC Hardware based laptop running Linux or Solaris. Linux is not great for playing games so to tick all your boxes and get the best bang for your buck you probably should look at getting an XP Pro (Vista is very slow) laptop from one of the main manufacturers like HP or Dell.
 
Ron Burgundy said:
we have 3 macs, a macbook, a macbook al and a mac mini......PC never allowed in our home again:D

But HD can be achived if files are downloaded ( use vlc and not quicktime )
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They're all, 'Intel Inside', so you're just paying over the top for packaging. As an engineer, practicality dictates that I use a PC.
 
Strathspey said:
As an engineer, practicality dictates that I use a PC.
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You need to be a engineer to run a PC smoothly ;) I was PC and microsoft through and through for years. In my work I gained MCSE in NT4 and 2000 and even with that experience working with a PC was still frustrating.

Yes Mac's are expensive but so is my time! I save money by being more productive.
 
Strathspey said:
They're all, 'Intel Inside', so you're just paying over the top for packaging. As an engineer, practicality dictates that I use a PC.
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Your thoughts, but when any of my macs crash i'll let you know. 3 years and no problems with any of them. Oh my PC in work crashed yesterday and last week and the week before and so on and so no and so on.

I am paying for a unit that works and does not crash, eh i got it and when using a computer during a live performance you can't take any chances with providing a service to a client. If this costs extra i will pay it.

Wht not "engineer" me a pc that doesn't crash and have clients staring at me and asking where is the music:rolleyes:
 
michaelm;756772[B said:
]Macs are overpriced and the devotion shown by some to Macs and other Apple products seems to me, at times, to be quasi-religious[/B]. Those looking to swerve Windows would get better value from a PC Hardware based laptop running Linux or Solaris. Linux is not great for playing games so to tick all your boxes and get the best bang for your buck you probably should look at getting an XP Pro (Vista is very slow) laptop from one of the main manufacturers like HP or Dell.
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And the Bill Gates love in isn't ??? When you've used windows based PC for a number of years that keeps giving problems AND THEN you get a computer that works and doesn't crash, freeze or just give up......then why not be happy and tell others about it ???

I agree with Linux but along with the way my Mac works i love OS and find it so easy to use comapred to Windows. Oh and i am about to install a lovely football management game on mine:D
 
michaelm said:
Macs are overpriced and the devotion shown by some to Macs and other Apple products seems to me, at times, to be quasi-religious. Those looking to swerve Windows would get better value from a PC Hardware based laptop running Linux or Solaris. Linux is not great for playing games so to tick all your boxes and get the best bang for your buck you probably should look at getting an XP Pro (Vista is very slow) laptop from one of the main manufacturers like HP or Dell.
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Macs are expensive compared to similarly-specced PCs, no doubt about it. However, having switched to a Macbook 18 mths ago, I will never buy a PC for personal use again (work on PC). As I have said here before, I'm not a techie, have no interest in being one, and just want a computer that works first time, every time, connects with external devices with no hitches, and yes, looks nice :p
 
michaelm said:
Those looking to swerve Windows would get better value from a PC Hardware based laptop running Linux or Solaris. Linux is not great for playing games .
Click to expand...

I did the Linux route for 5 months and that was as if not more frustrating as my Windoze experience. I tried probably 10 flavours and each still require extensive tweaking to get them running normally.

They boot up fine and you can surf the web fine but anything out of the ordinary like adding a usb peripheral can be heartache
 
Boi said:
i do a lot of presentation-powerpoint.
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There are alternatives on Mac, but if you use Powerpoint, Word, Excel etc. alot, you will find it a bit of a pain, particularly if sharing with PC users.

Boi said:
a)speed-hate a slow computer.
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Due to the Mac "premium" you will pay more to get the same speed on a Mac vs. PC

Boi said:
d)HD capabilities
Click to expand...
Ditto what Askalot said

Boi said:
e)my other half may need to play computer games on it.
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My gf has a Mac, and this is the single worst thing about Macs - it is driving her mad! Many of the newer titles are on Mac, but only a select few of the bestsellers; and most older games are'nt. Plus the price of games for mac is much more than for PC.

Personally I think Mac's are built to work well with certain software suites and they are fantastic for certain high end media tasks such as film editing and magazine publication. For the vast majority of more mundane tasks, a PC is better.
 
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