I am on the hunt for a new laptop for work (new to me but probably refurbished) I am a Mac user but I need a PC-just so we have one computer in the house that does MS stuff ( I know, I have Office for Mac but I need publisher and stuff and we want one MS platform in the house) so since I am totally ignorant about anything not Mac I am looking for suggestions and feedback. Dell, Toshiba, HP what should I go with??
Let the refining and improving of your own life keep you so busy that you have little time to criticize others. -H. Jackson Brown Jr.
If the only tool you have is a hammer you will approach every problem as though it were a nail
Toshiba. Hear the odd complaint, but overall it is a lot less than other brands.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834101121
More than you will ever need. Better than you expected from a non-MAC. Cheaper than you imagined. I'm using one right now. It's the fastest and easiest computer I have ever used - at any price.
If you're a Mac user, why not use either Boot Camp or Parallels to run Windows on a Mac?
http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/bootcamp.html
Maybe on a new Mac Air?
http://www.apple.com/macbookair/
would love a Mac Air but the boss keeps me on a budget, hence his request to go refurbished.
Let the refining and improving of your own life keep you so busy that you have little time to criticize others. -H. Jackson Brown Jr.
If the only tool you have is a hammer you will approach every problem as though it were a nail
Would he spring for $600?
http://configure.us.dell.com/dellsto...ull&lid=620859
You will still need boot camp, but you can get refurbished machines directly from Apple. Still expensive but they're like new and with Apple Care you get a great warrantee.
"Always laugh when you can. It is a cheap medicine"
Lord Byron
Take a photo tour of Cape Cod and the Islands!
www.capecodphotoalbum.com
$949 with free shipping. Then you have your mac and your PC all in one box, nothing is more versatile than that. Just install Windows XP and you are off to the races. :idea:
Goto: Apple store
Click on the refurbished macs button toward the bottom left and scroll down till you see it.
John
thanks everybody. I need my boss to clarify what my budget is. Will let you know what I get.
Let the refining and improving of your own life keep you so busy that you have little time to criticize others. -H. Jackson Brown Jr.
If the only tool you have is a hammer you will approach every problem as though it were a nail
Don't forget that if you want to install Windows on a Mac, you still need to have a legit copy of whatever flavor of Windows you want.Originally Posted by john-atlanta
Oh, and be sure to get the big security service pack for your "uninfectable" Macs running the latest OS or you can be infected, just like Windows. And of course don't forget to patch the Windows too.
Heck, now that Apple has finally admitted the PC hardware was better and now use it, you can actually build your own Mac now, though it's not easy to build a laptop.
DragonlensmanWV N.A.O.L.
"There is nothing patriotic about hating your government or pretending you can hate your government but love your country."
I've only been using Apple computers since Apple II (late 70's) and Mac's since they came on the market after that great super bowl commercial. etc etc. etc, right up to today on my mac book. In all that time I cannot recall either Jobs or Wozniak EVER admitting PC hardware was better than theirs. Thats a long time. Not saying it is or is not, but am saying I don't recall Apple admitting anything of the sort. If you are referring to the intel dual core chip running my computer today, I think you will find that apple used it to appeal to a broader market and allow crossover use.
IF you want to run Windows (can't think of a good reason with most new software coming in the Universal format, but each to his own) It will first be necessary to buy Boot Camp, then Windows.Then you can boot which ever floats your boat.
Me? I'd stick with the OS that is least vulnerable to corruption. I still think there are only 50 or so known virus's that affect mac's.
"Always laugh when you can. It is a cheap medicine"
Lord Byron
Take a photo tour of Cape Cod and the Islands!
www.capecodphotoalbum.com
Actually, BootCamp is free and comes with the Mac OS. However, it requires a reboot to run windows. Parallels and VMWare are options that allow you to run windows simultaneously with the Mac OS. This has the advantage of allowing you to run windows only business apps and stick with the Mac software for any internet related activity, thereby minimizing the risk of infecting your windows partition with virus, spywear etc, that is so rampant on the PC side.
John
I user Parallels to run Vista in one window and it works great. Best of both worlds really.
OptiBoard Administrator
----
OptiBoard has been proudly serving the Eyecare Community since 1995.
Boot camp didn't come with mine! ( at least I just searched my hard drive and didn't find it )but I got my mac book just after they came out. Great machine! glad you got one Steve!
"Always laugh when you can. It is a cheap medicine"
Lord Byron
Take a photo tour of Cape Cod and the Islands!
www.capecodphotoalbum.com
What I was referring to is that their own processors and hardware were starting to fall way behind in speed so now you get Macs with x86 CPUs and PC compatible hardware. That sounds like they're admitting the PC hardware is better. After all why shouldn't it be? Three's a lot more companies doing R&D involving PC hardware that Apple simply couldn't afford to keep up. And now you can even run Windows on a Mac.That in itself sounds like an admission of defeat. Couple with M$ financial help to Apple, it sounds like the Apples are getting more PC all the time. And I don't mean Politically Correct.:D
I don't think Apples in general are bad, just small, tiny and insignificant!:D:D
For every crummy PC there's a McMac, er, IMac.:bbg:
DragonlensmanWV N.A.O.L.
"There is nothing patriotic about hating your government or pretending you can hate your government but love your country."
You got alot of unrelated advice on here. But if you are still looking for great non-Mac laptop, you can't go wrong with the product linked above. $400, 1GB memory, WAN card, DVD burner
I believe Apple moved to Intel-based hardware because that was what Jobs' Next Operating system (based on Linux) required. Anyway it was a brilliant move of their part.
The Mac notebooks seem overpriced but frankly I've be tempted to use a 20" iMac in lieu of a Notebook.
OptiBoard Administrator
----
OptiBoard has been proudly serving the Eyecare Community since 1995.
You shuld buy Compaq Presario F700 notebook Dual-Core, price from $429 to $609 and install additional 1 or 2 GB RAM.
I have a high end Toshiba and the quality of the hardware is top notch. However I do have a couple of complaints about the packaging and the company.
First I have never seen a computer come bogged down with so much "extra" software as my Toshiba. Just masses of junk programs that waste system resources. Some of them are utilities that Toshiba thought might be usefull but are very bloated and slow. And also masses of demo versions of software. I had no problem spending a few hours ridding my computer of un-needed extras but I don't think it would be so easy for a casual user.
As for the company I was not impressed with their post sale support. I bought a "gaming" laptop with a high end video card for 3D gaming (a full 1/3rd of the $2K price was for the video card). It is very important to provide good drivers for this and it is up to laptop manufacturers to provide these drivers.
Toshiba provided substandard drivers that rendered the computer useless for 3D gaming. When I called support they told me that I can only play the games that come with it (even thought it was marketed as a "gaming laptop"). So basically $2K to play solitaire.
Anyway I was able to hack another driver to work on my laptop, but again, most users will not be able to do that too easily. The hardware has been great and I've had no real problems with it but the company didn't leave me with any warm feelings.
If you're eying for quality and durability may i suggest vaio. I love the idea that it won't heat as fast as my old lappy.I am a virtual assistant and I need one that would stand long hours of work. But I would love Mac as well lol;)
As you can now run bootcamp on a Mac (enabling you to dual boot XP or vista), as long as you dont get the silly thin mac, the Mac would seem the way to go
For value for money, the Sonys are so overpriced, i wouldnt consider them - Would you like 1 laptop that last 5 years, goes out of date in 2 years, or buy 1 cheap laptop that lasts say 3 years for less than 1/2 the price, and replace it with another cheap laptop, that knocks the original Sony spec out of the water? saving you money in the short and long term too!
Even better use VMWare Fusion or Parallels, which allows you to run Windows at the same time as Mac OS X without rebooting. I do this to access Officemate on my Windows network all the time. You must have an Intel based Mac for this to work.
Q. can you access files between the 2 operating systems in this setup?
With drag and drop ease, as long as the file is compatible with the other OS (for example, you could drag an officemate data file to the Mac OS, but you still could not do anything with it). All normal files work perfectly, assuming you have the application you need.
John
I will go try that on my G5
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks