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I expect this'll be moved {Correct - DD}, but I adore my HP dv2000 laptop - it looks fantastic, has a good screen, great performance, comes with Vista and is cheap as chips.
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I have a white MacBook thanks to work, I love it, it's exactly what I wanted, as I wanted a small and neat laptop for running Car Diagnostic Software.
It runs Mac OSX of course and can easily boot XP or Vista too.
We have 5 die-hard Windows IT staff at work who opted to replace Toshiba and Dell Laptops with Macbook Pros with the intention of just using them for Windows, but they liked the hardware all now nearly always boot into Mac OS as they prefer it and do their Windows admin stuff under Parallels virtualisation or via Remote Desktop to the servers.
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Can you say what you want out of your laptop and what your budget is.
We use both PCs and Macs in my company and I would never ever choose a Mac over a PC. I find them slow and unintuitive and despite what Mac users will tell you there is a real issue with Mac originated Office documents not being compatible with PCs.
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despite what Mac users will tell you there is a real issue with Mac originated Office documents not being compatible with PCs.
Your compatibility issue is to do with different versions of MS Office, not Mac vs. PC. The same sorts of things happen between PC-based versions of Office--I suspect it's Microsoft's attempt to make companies upgrade all their copies of Office at once. Other office software (Abiword, OpenOffice, etc.) has no problem at all creating files that are identical cross--platform. So it must be the office suite, not the difference in the platform that is the cause.
In this case I'd go with Mac precisely because of compatibility and the wider range of software available (all your Windows favourites plus the wealth of great Mac stuff) and built in. Most people who use it "in anger" find Mac OSX to be great and the hardware is top notch too.
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> wealth of great Mac stuff
ROFL
Why did the windows emulator for mac come out then?
MAcbooks over overpriced, style over substance.
------------------------------
TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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> wealth of great Mac stuff ROFL Why did the windows emulator for mac come out then? MAcbooks over overpriced style over substance. ------------------------------ TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
Well said. Take 10 house points.
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The price performance ratio of Apple computers is much better than it once was now they've switched to Intel processors. Reliability of the 2nd generation Macbooks seems good as well, if this survey is anything to go by: www.macintouch.com/reliability/macbooks2.html
It's a pity that the next version of OS X has been delayed until October, really. Apple could've capitalised on the problems Microsoft has had with Vista, and maybe encouraged a few more "switchers", had they released it on time (about now). To give you some idea, Dell are offering customers the option to have XP installed on certain models, due to the number of complaints they've received over Vista. I expect MS will get there in the end though - Vista probably needs the service pack due to arrive 2nd half of this year. It's always been this way with new MS operating systems. I can remember Win 98 being troublesome when it first came out with some people recommending installing Win 95 OSR2, in preference. However, lot of the problems were fixed with Win 98SE.
In answer to the OP's question, the difference between Macs and PCs is not as great as it once was, and you can't go far wrong with either. There are zealots in both camps, but there are advantages/disadvantages with both systems so it comes down to personal preference (for general use).
I personally own a Toshiba laptop which has been flawless for the last 4 years (touch wood!). Toshiba tend to come out near the top in reliability surveys and at the same time are quite competitively priced. On some of their models, they will repair or replace your laptop if it fails within the guarantee period AND refund your money. Perhaps something to look out for..
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My advice would be be to buy a 2nd hand IBM Thinkpad laptop.
A good model would be an R51, which I have.Or if you are feeling flush a T-series which are Thin & light busines machines, and have Titanium composite case.
Very solidly built, plain black finish which means its not "flash looking" and doesn't attract sticky fingers
Also loads of spares/parts to upgrade with on ebay if you so wish.
Also loads of technical support on IBM website.
A big advantage is many models ahve a "hot-swap" CD-ROM bay, which means you can upgrade the optical drive, but also can take an extra battery, so can get 9hrs use, or even put ina DVD burner, or a 2nd hard-drive instead.
Can also get alternative 9cell instead of 6cell main batteries as well, if away-from power use is your thing.
SO very versatile.
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OK, for what it's worth here's a list of some of my favourites (stuff I use almost daily), some of which even run on Windows. Since you seem so interested in switching, be reassured there is no shortage of software. Google is your friend.
Omnioutliner
Devonthink
Nisus Writer
Scrivener
NeoOffice (OpenOffice.org for the Mac, with no X-server shenanigans).
Delicious Library
Firefox
GIMP for image editing
Scribus for page layout
Nvu for web page editing.
And the built in stuff I use regularly:
iLife Suite--iPhoto, iTunes, etc.
Apache web server
FTP server
SAMBA server (Windows file sharing of course)
There's been a Windows emulator for Mac for a decade or more now I believe. And some would say that Vista is a (very, very poor) Mac emulation.
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I have had various ThinkPads, most recently a ThinkPad G40 which is a 3.2GHz Pentium desktop chipset. It's comparatively heavy but build quality on these units is top-notch, it gives you a feeling of rock solid bullet proof stability. However its performance is rather disappointing. All the other Thinkpads (about 4 I think) I had were also very well made. I also have a Dell Latitude D620 Core 2 Duo which does not feel that well made, but on the other hand the performance is much better than the ThinkPad. Additionally I have an Averatec 3150P which I am also happy with although its main function is supposed to be light word processing and email I used it for software development for a long time, the only problem being the Spectrum like keyboard. I've never had any problems with any of the above machines.
The only laptops I have seen people have endless problems with have been Dell Inspirons. I've tended to avoid Dells completely for that reason but as I say am I very happy with the D620 which has not had a problem in the 3 months I've had it.
Doh! I just noticed "macbook". Well maybe my views will be of use to somebody ;-)
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I had a G4 ibook, which I loved for all sorts of reasons. I got a white MacBook from Father Christmas - even better: lighter, intel processor and so forth. Two reasons I would go for the Mac: firstly its battery lasts at least five hours and secondly, I have yet to have a virus on any of our Macs - yes, I know they exist but they are rare and just don't get through.
In the meantime, my G4ibook developed a rare problem with the logic board (wonder if this was from being dropped by younger son?) and Apple are replacing it with a MacBook - no, I am not getting the money back as well, but am not complaining as it is about two years old!
Son's Fujitsu Siemens has had to be constantly reformatted due to virus activity slowing the whole thing down and the battery life is very short. Daughter swopped her Vaio (sp?) for a G4ibook, having borrowed mine, and has no problem using it with educational software as a teacher.
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I have just changed to a Macbook Pro and it is superb. Windows in Parallels starts in half the time the PC notebook does although I hardly use Windows anymore the Mac s so much more professional IMHO.
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