Anybody owned an Apple and a Microsoft before? Which one did or do you like best? I need a new laptop big time. Really considering the Apple for multimedia purposes. Any suggestions would be appreciated.![]()



Anybody owned an Apple and a Microsoft before? Which one did or do you like best? I need a new laptop big time. Really considering the Apple for multimedia purposes. Any suggestions would be appreciated.![]()





Can you rent or borrow one? That would be a good way to get a road test.
My taste in laptops tends to run exotic, very exotic. I'd personally go for a Sony VAIO U series, straight from Japan. They are quite small, but extremely portable, and can be used without keyboard and mouse if you like. I’d love to use it as a portable movie and music player. Everything can be attached as necessary.
Now I have considered buying simply the biggest one out there, but I feel it would run too hot, and have very little battery lifespan. Right now I have Compaq Presario, 17xl not too big, not too small, runs a bit too hot, but if I take the DVD out and turn off the sound I can get heaps of hours out of it for writing. Also does well for the Internet.
You really need to consider what your goals are. You’re never going to upgrade a laptop like a PC, even with lower US prices.
Apples do seem to do better, but the only experience I’ve had with them is trying to treat incompatibilities with them and PCs.
In general I’d go for one with the highest quality screen, a good service record (check company websites and other for complaints on the model) and a pick up some good but cheap ram after the purchase. Don’t be duped by extra high ram prices from the seller. I once upgraded a Sony VAIO (hence my lust for them) for a guy at MYSAP. I think I saved him about $1000 by knowing where to go to purchase the same ram type of ram at a lower price.
If you can find a forum for with lots of laptop support guys or with a lot of corporate tech guys on it, try and find out which laptops are the worse to support. Don’t forget to ask about the good ones. Mine has always been ok, except for physical damage. Now I could tell you some stories about the e700 and m700 that would scare you away from ever buying a laptop. Well at least those two models.
One more cup of coffee for the road,
One more cup of coffee 'fore I go
To the valley below....
Slowly moseying my way to the exit.
A Blogging?


I have 2 mac laptops, 2 pc laptops and 3 desktops(1 is PC). all I can say is:
GO MAC
more reliable, 99% of software for PC is there for mac, 100% of that needed for home/most business users is there for both. And if you go new mac, you can get one of the intel machines with both windows and mac OS on one box.
macs are easier to learn, far fewer viruses, based on UNIX (the most stable platform out there for computers) and as they say "Windows 95 is Mac 86....Windows XP is Mac OS9" Meaning windows is still (but getting closer) catching up to mac in alot of ways..
If you are in fact going to use it primarily for multimedia then go Mac.
-E
hilarious signature



I would say MAC because OS X is running FBSD which is a version of unix making it more stable than Microsoft and
less likely to get all the viruses unless you're going to run Windows XP on your MAC. Now MAC is using Intel processors
so there really isn't much difference in processing power it looks like the risc really wasn't better. But just because i'm
a zealot I run Linux![]()
I own windows, linux, and mac. My advice - go mac.
Between the bullshit registration-activation-what-have-you for windows, overly complex click click click click click to get anything done, as well the usual array of viruses and crap - I would really explore buying a mac.
*Sigh*
Go to a mac store... you should have one near you...check it out...
I would honestly say OSX gets in my way the least.
People are not ruled by their memories.
OMIGOD do i ever love this thread! Ive had both. and i can tell you that the differences are HUGE. Im a MAC head. the benifits of a mac are as follows...
its very VERY hard to get a virus
its easy to instal programs needed
the computer does automatic software updated when loggged on to the internet and they are free to download, and they keep your computer running smooth.
Macs are great for graphics, animation, and music.
Macs are pretty.
the new MACBOOKPRO, which i just bought, has an intel processor, what that means is that you can use half your memory and run windows, so really its like having a PC and a Mac.
PC's....
stands for Piece of Crap!
always getting virus'
hard to locate files most of the time.
hard to instal items.
big and bulky
I would have to say that the only upside to having a PC is that it is in some cases faster, depending on what your using it for. however, faster doesnt always mean better. Macs are very fast all depending on what type of programs you are using on it. Im a graphic designer so the programs i use take up a lot of memory.
HAPPY COMPUTER SHOPPING!..... get a mac daddy!
Mac!![]()





Who has gotten a virus in the past 6 years? I haven't, heaps of spyware, but no viruses.
In another note: Don't go mac.... I need the extra income! lol
One more cup of coffee for the road,
One more cup of coffee 'fore I go
To the valley below....
Slowly moseying my way to the exit.
A Blogging?
im actually going to by a mac next week., just a simple lil' laptop deal im over a fucking pc ..even though I spent 3500 for the one im on now.
Viruses suck asshole and I get them time to time., and its just a hassle I rather be without.
When buying a Mac "book" does it come with a wireless card? or do i need to buy one.Im sorta clueless on it but I want to use my cable modem but wireless since im redoing my office into a dance studio
^ Yes, the CoreDuo Mac units have wireless built-in.
If you're a n00b in that area, the entry-level software that comes with most Macs (iLife) is good and the Final Cut Pro stuff is certainly professional enough. It's nice software.Really considering the Apple for multimedia purposes. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
On the PC side, I swear by the ThinkPads from Lenovo (formerly IBM). Solidly built (stainless hinges and titanium shells), awesome security and recovery software with slick auto-updating features, and hands-down the best laptop keyboards out there.
As for the OS religion debate, use what you like and like what you use.
Idealism is fine, but as it approaches reality, the costs become prohibitive.
William F. Buckley, Jr.





Well guess I'm going into mac repair now, in addition to laptop repair, and might as well take up mac lapotp repair as well.
Laptop hardware repair is where the money is with these extra jobs.
One more cup of coffee for the road,
One more cup of coffee 'fore I go
To the valley below....
Slowly moseying my way to the exit.
A Blogging?
Yea - except a Mac "just works" without all the BS. That's why IT doesn't like em - nothing to do!
Originally Posted by pinupgurl2k6
Well, I run [email protected] on my machines. Here are some statistics. First the apple:
CPU typePower Macintosh PowerBook5,2
Number of CPUs 1
Operating System Darwin 8.7.0
Memory 768 MB
Cache 976.56 KB
Swap space 0 MB
Total disk space 74.55 GB
Free Disk Space 52.58 GB
Measured floating point speed 618.04 million ops/sec
Measured integer speed 1853.92 million ops/sec
And now the linux:
CPU type GenuineIntel Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 3.00GHz
Number of CPUs 2
Operating System Linux 2.6.13-15.10-smp
Memory 2017.24 MB
Cache 1024 KB
Swap space 1027.55 MB
Total disk space 110.78 GB
Free Disk Space 89.47 GB
Measured floating point speed 590.14 million ops/sec
Measured integer speed 1135.64 million ops/sec
In other words, two top of the line Intel CPUs @ 3GHz aren't putting out the same amount of ops/sec as 1 PowerPC @ 1.25GHz.
IBM uses the PowerPC in their servers - them fuckers are fast. The problem for laptops are 1) it eats power like a kid eats holloween candy (low battery life) 2) it gots hot as hell which is hard to cool on a laptop.
PowerMacs and XServers still run the PowerPC chip - not the Intel chips.
Last edited by Deogol; 07-04-2006 at 07:36 PM.
I think partly it depends on which applications you will need to run and which system works best for your use. I use a software for my job that will only run on Windows and I have to have a computer that records good audio so I chose a Dell laptop but I have a friend that does music production and he uses a mac.
I have both and will take a mac anyday. The OS is much better than windows
everything is in the new macbookpro, wireless, bluetooth, and a built in invisible web cam and camera. this mac is tha shit! i love it.Originally Posted by Tart





You know I just went to the apple site, and was looking at the mac book and I thought, "I wish they had it in black".... and whoa and behold the java app started and it changed to black... maybe I have to consider one. Now if only they could do a tokidoki ( http://www.tokidoki.it ) skin for the laptop. Still that might be getting too much out of my comfort zone.
One more cup of coffee for the road,
One more cup of coffee 'fore I go
To the valley below....
Slowly moseying my way to the exit.
A Blogging?
I'm so jealous! I want a macbook bad. My 2001 ibook is about on it's last legOriginally Posted by Roxi Dlite
![]()
go mac, once you go mac youll never go back. i have a g5, its amazing...but make sure you get the the apple protection care plan! my computer was just getting fixed for a week, and if i didnt have that plan, it would have cost me 900$ to get it fixed.
and you should go to the apple store closest to you, the stores are awesome and they have it set up so you can test out all of the computers. (i had a thread on pc vs mac a little while back, you should check that out too!) Good Luck!




Wow, lots of Mac people here.
I just recently switched from Mac to PC myself, and I must say that I have no complaints about the Windows platform whatsoever. I don't really miss my Apples at all.....(And as long as I can manage to stay off those hardcore porn sites, I don't seem to have a lot of trouble with viruses.)
Meanwhile, a good friend of mine switched from PC to Mac and was unimpressed with the Mac platform. She misses her PCs and wants to go back. (But she did not get one of the brand-new Macs with the Intel processor...that may have made a difference)
In particular, messing around on the internet seems to proceed more smoothly with the PC.
And crb, I have one of the Sony VAIO ultra-lites (I guess it's not the U series, since you say that is only available in Japan...but it is very tiny and cute. At first I thought it might be too tiny, in fact, but after about a few days I grew to love it quite passionately.)
Based on my experience (I've had it since January), I would definitely recommend it.
However, I have some friends who have had bad experiences with Sony VAIOs--like, the hard drive crashes after 6 months and Sony tells them that there is extensive water damage to the interior workings of the computer and the warranty is void and they'd better just buy a new one...when in fact it turns out later that all it needs is a new hard drive...
It depends what you want to do with your computer, of course. I had to switch to PC because, as a science student, there were just too many software programs that I needed to run that were not available for Mac users (ArcGIS, Minitab, SAS, some birding software, etc...)
Everyone says Macs are better for graphics, though...(Is that still true?)
As far as Macs go, the Mac Mini is relatively cheap and kinda cool....I'll probably get one of those when I can.
"Doc still loved true things, but he knew it was not a general love and it could be a very dangerous mistress." - John Steinbeck, Cannery Row
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]





I have seen the U series on occasion but very rare. Then again that is in Melbourne. Here is a link to the one I like: http://www.mobiletechreview.com/note...y_vaio_U50.htm
The most common small VAIO is the TR series: http://reviews-zdnet.com.com/Sony_VA...-30469042.html
-That is similar to the one I upgraded.
One of the considerations I have in going to Japan to get one, is that I could buy a model that is 6months old over there for a very cheap price, but it would still be 3 months better than the one sold stateside. That and I could go to Harajuku, Tokyo Tower, Shinjuku, etc, etc. I’ll probably end up sourcing one stateside when I’m ready. If the plan goes really well, I may even source one 6 months from now. Big move, is killing everything right now.
I know more about dodgy practices with laptops then I care to. They always want to replace the motherboard when a simple soldering job will do. Then there is the amount of time it takes to get into the good bits. I did my own repairs for about $AUD160 all up, it would have cost between $500-$800 to have the repairs done. Disassembly took about 2 hours each time. I can buy a new one for $1200 if I *really* had to. I know a whole lot of places where I’d rather spend extra cash.
Don't know about the programs though. Mostly on the laptop I just want to watch movies, listen to music, write, surf the net, and not have something to lug arround.
One more cup of coffee for the road,
One more cup of coffee 'fore I go
To the valley below....
Slowly moseying my way to the exit.
A Blogging?
I've used a Mac for about a year and a half for my work (we had a Mac and a PC to accommodate our various tasks), and as far as usability and speed go, I would say that the two were virtually identical in performance. Now that Macs can accommodate Windows and now that PCs come with dual-core processors, I see even less reason to buy a Mac--unless someone really likes the look of the machine and wants to drop an extra grand. Additionally, the design of my G5 was very limiting--there was only one optical drive, with no way to upgrade, since the front of the case was sheet metal. I now use a PC laptop for my job and I notice no loss in performance at all.
Windows Media Center is also an incredibly cool OS. Mac doesn't have anything like that.
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