new laptop -- i need recs

[devohoneybee]

My thinkpad is starting to make "I'm old and creaky" noises, so I'm thinking it may be time for a new one. Also, my service agreement runs out in September. Several people have suggested getting a Mac, for, among other reasons, Vista avoidance. Here's my questions

-- If you were buying a new laptop now, what would you get?

For the Mac users, how hard is it to switch between Macs and pcs (which I would continue to use at work)?

Thanks in advance!

Comments

[melina123.livejournal.com]

If I were buying another laptop now I'd buy another Sony Vaio. I love my Vaio -- absolutely beautiful high-res screen, and it's light and easy to take anywhere. Every time I take it on a plane, I get asked about it. Especially by people carrying ginormous heavy laptops.

If I were using it as my main computer, I'd get one with TV-out capability and the largest hard drive they have.

[kadymae.livejournal.com]

For the Mac users, how hard is it to switch between Macs and pcs (which I would continue to use at work)?

Would you like me to bring an (older) Mac Laptop to Escapade for you to play with?

The switch isn't very hard, but if you're running office you'll need to buy Office for OS X or get Open Office for OS X. (OO is a free download.) I have never had a problem opening a .doc created on a Mac on a Windows machine and vice versa.

How much money do you want to spend? (Can you get any kind of an education/government employee discount where you work?)

Is this laptop going to be a "write papers and surf the web and play DVDs and listen to iTunes machine" or do you need something that's multi-media content creation?

---

My last laptop purchase, ironically, was a Dell e1450 -- but that's because the eventual plan is to set it up as a dual boot and throw Linux on it.

[mmmchelle.livejournal.com]

Dell has received the highest environmental rating from Greenpeace and Apple one of the lowest, if that makes a difference. Dell's rating is based on their willingness to minimize their use of toxic substances, something Apple flatly refuses to do, and their recycling program.

Other than that, I have no useful info. I have a Dell Latitude for work, and I love it.

Also, I've found buying the business model minimizes the number of unnecessary programs that the manufacturer loads onto your computer.

Pretty easy to switch

[elflet.livejournal.com]

I've been using both Windows and Mac OS for years and my last 2 laptops have been Mac laptops. Frankly, the Apple machines have been better behaved than their Windows brethren and the Macs have taken far heaver daily usage. Price-wise, it's pretty much a wash.

Pros of using the Mac: it just works. Lots of people struggle with wireless on Windows, for example, but Apple's wireless support is perfectly straightforward. Windows CDs read just fine. MS Office X works with every document I've been handed. Printing is trouble-free. I don't have to get weekly virus updates. Installing and removing most software is trivial: drag it to the Applications folder or drag it to the trash. If you ever need service, you can walk into any Apple store or call phone support (who are quite helpful and responsive.) And so on...

Cons of using the Mac: Possibly having to replace software you were using with Mac equivalents or installing it on the mac under one of the Mac-Windows bridge packages (Parallels or CrossOver). If you want to bring over old files, you'll probably want to burn a CD (or use a USB drive) and carry the files to the Mac. Windows users sometimes have a hard time adjusting to a 1-button mouse (you can use any standard USB or Bluetooth mouse, though, with as many buttons as you like.) You may struggle with muscle memory at first, especially for closing windows and the like. The old laptop power connectors were incredibly fragile; the new magnetic ones are much better but still have some delicate parts. (I just had my power adaptor replaced under warranty. The pins were bent from the dog repeatedly running into the connector itself.)

Pros of using Windows: If you have many programs you depend on, you can run them as you did before. You get to keep using shortcuts you've learned. Migrating your files from one Windows machine to another its pretty simple. You have more vendors to choose from and you *might* have an easier time if you ever have to replace a hard disk or add memory. (Adding memory is easy on the Macs, but the hard drives are buried well inside the bodies. OTOH, I don't think you're one to do your own hardware upgrades.)

When it came time for my son to get a laptop for school, we went with a Mac. It's meant I don't have at least a day's worth of IT hassles every month compared to his old Windows machine. (He managed to get a spyware infestation on the old box that was a horror to get rid of. I also have a co-worker who wound up with spyware on his Windows machine and is still struggling to get it working 6 months later.)

[guyindkny.livejournal.com]

For what it's worth, I will be getting a new MacBook in a couple of months. I've seen them--they're shiny! They've got built-in webcams and everything. My old iBook has lasted me over six years, and the baby is durable! The new MacBooks also have the Intel processors, which means that if you absolutely insist, you can run Winblows on them. But if you run Micro$oft Office for work stuff, the Macs run Office for OSX like a dream. I've worked on Office files from home, put them on a USB stick and taken them back to my office to work on them there--no problems at all.

[elimloth.livejournal.com]

Which computer and OS to use depends a lot on what you need to do with that technology. I am fairly agnostic about these things having worked at Apple and Microsoft, so your choice should consider your needs: compatibility with existing file formats if you use your laptop at work (OS X based Office is pretty good but not perfect), compatibility with the company's email if that matters. Do you mostly do email, WEB access? Both work equally well. Do you have need for video editing? Macs excel at that. Do you use specialized business software? Windows excels at that.

laptops

[sandy999.livejournal.com]

I am hooked on the Vaios but only if you don't need customer service at all. Their hardware repair is great and with 5 of them so far I have only needed that once. Another time I worked with them because I had two of the same models three months apart in age, both aging and I was trying to find out if I could move a hard drive from one to the other and whether it would work with slightly different bios----they found it an intriguing question and while they had to remind me that this was unauthorized---gave me the go ahead and it worked really well, rescued the hard drive from the one whose screen died and kept it all going for another year.

On the other hand I was about to buy the SZ---nice compromise between small and fully featured---8 ounces heavier than my current TR and an inch wider but thinner----and my attempts to talk to customer service about the TX (8 ounces smaller than my current one and the SZ---around the issue of wireless broadband carriers was so frustrating that I am going to wait to buy it and hope the SZ wich has dual processors and is a better main computer comes out with a Sprint broadband integrated card instead of Cingular.

While customer service did not answer my question they did give me info on hacking into the communications program and putting in one's own sim card.

I had been very seduced by the new powerbooks and was on the edge of succombing to the switch when Ree got one because we hoped that Ichat would work better with Peter's Mac---which after weeks dogging different Apple stores worked for the first time at the Memphis con but did not work in several other cities. My efforts to get help at the APPLE store in Manhattan if anything was MORE FRUSTRATING than dealing with Sony and I know that Ree felt the same way. We had appointments to work on this in the dedicated Apple Stores in London, LA, New York, Memphis and in an authorized store in Reno.

My take on this is that in some ways like Sony---Apples are great when they are great and not so great if a human has to work through an unexpected problem. They also each work better as long as you don't try to use third party equipment.

In Memphis I got to play with the new powerbook for several days and as a PC user since the beginning I did not find it easy or intuitive to make the switch. It was esthetically beautiful but I grew to hate it and was glad I hadn't bought one. I would definitely borrow one before buying

For my money Toshiba is underheralded as almost unbreakable, reliable, well built, and well priced machines which are not so sexy as the Sony and Vaio but make up for it in many ways-----While I keep falling for the beauty of the Sony's, I recently got a wonderful full featured Toshiba laptop for my husband which is just terrific if a little more homely.

Dell's are servicable and I know many people who have happily bought them but more recently service and reliability of the hardware seems to be a frequent complaint---i think Dell is working on this but that is why my current vote for most bang for your buck is the Toshiba and for greatest elegance the Powerbook if you don't hate using it or the Sony esp the SZ whose screen is one of the most beautiful yet--has dual processors and lots of cool features.

(written on my Sony TR who is resentful that I am looking toward Vista and thinking of making her a second line machine. Vista no doubt has hideous bugs hiding but does have at least one very cool feature----You can add "working RAM" to the actual RAM but adding a USB drive---a 2GB one works and i think you can add up to a 4GB one and when you do, performance noticeably speeds up. Most noticeable because i was playing with a computer with only 1GB internal RAM when i think Vista needs 2GB--but even with 2GB inside adding 2GB externally was very cool)

Anyone else playing with Vista yet?