buying a laptop... Apple or Windows?

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supergirl

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Wannabe Geek

#5494 2-Nov-2005 19:20

I'm wanting to buy a laptop so i can do design work (photoshop), write papers, as well as use the net. At the moment i've heard alot about Apple and Windows. The one we have at home is Windows so I'm used to it although some are saying Apple is better. Which do u reckon is best for what I want to do? Also are there any good deals or shops worth checking out?

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#22481 2-Nov-2005 19:53

From what I understand, the Macintosh has a very good reputation among people who do a lot of photo editing and graphics and design work. There are plenty of people who slag off Macs, but they tend to be people with a high degree of technical competence who don't see things from the point of view of an average computer user.

A PC might be better suited to your requirements if you're on a tight budget and need to squeeze out as much performance per dollar as you can, or if you consider yourself a tinkerer and don't mind a bit of extra maintenance. Otherwise, I can thoroughly recommend getting yourself a Mac.

supergirl

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Wannabe Geek

#22484 2-Nov-2005 20:02

Thanks for you reply, ill defineatly take that on board

bradstewart

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#22492 2-Nov-2005 21:37

I would recommend getting a windows laptop. Dell have some very good deals on laptops. see www.dell.co.nz, a windows computer will suit you well having used them before, more program choices etc, including photoshop. Dell selling new ones for under $1000, doubt you will find a apple near that price

alasta

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#22502 3-Nov-2005 06:59

brad05: I would recommend getting a windows laptop. Dell have some very good deals on laptops. see www.dell.co.nz, a windows computer will suit you well having used them before, more program choices etc, including photoshop. Dell selling new ones for under $1000, doubt you will find a apple near that price

The reason why you won't find a Mac laptop in that price range is that iBooks and Powerbooks all have bluetooth, WiFi (airport), sudden motion sensor, five hour battery life, and firewire as standard features. Looking at an entry level iBook alongside an entry level PC laptop is not a fair comparison.

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#22567 3-Nov-2005 12:38

So many laptops incl. low end now come with wifi and bluetooth and battery life on the entry level dell is almost 3hours, i personally despise everything about Macs, from annoying OS to ridiculous one button mice

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#22568 3-Nov-2005 13:09

You do realize that OS X has made many improvements from the classic macos days? (Virtually no virus concerns)

And have you realized that you are free to connect a USB mouse to the computer? It works fine. In fact Apple has released a mouse with two buttons.

Most laptops I have worked with come with Wireless nowdays, but bluetooth is an extra.

(Switched two years ago)

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alasta

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#22570 3-Nov-2005 13:19

I have used Macs for over ten years. Some aspects of OS 9 and earlier were a bit counter-intuitive, but I have found OS X to be exceptionally easy to use.

In the end, it comes down to personal preference and anyone trying to decide between a Mac or a PC should test drive both platforms if possible, rather than relying on biased opinions.

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#22572 3-Nov-2005 13:41

if i can afford. i'll get Powerbook 17" and run windows and linux on it via Virtual PC! LOL hehehe Ultimate Web Developer's system..

but at the moment, my compaq laptop with 1680x1050 resolution works great for me ... :-)

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#22573 3-Nov-2005 13:46

(re: alasta post)
Indeed.

I wasn't trying to be biased too much but with the above post... it was hard not to appear biased.

Pick your poison I say

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Mahuhu

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#22577 3-Nov-2005 14:58

I agree.
Brad05 made the silliest comparison (nothing personal btw, r u working for Dell?).
You just cant compare a low end PC with any Mac laptop. De facto.

However I am using an IBM laptop, I tend to but an iBook soon for private purpose: which means internet, mails and graphics, photos, videos, etc.

Supergirl: buy a Mac. And you can forget the virus attacks, the restarts of the OS, the "blue deaths", etc and enjoy the great graphical interface and a good machine.

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#22578 3-Nov-2005 15:25

Mahuhu: And you can forget the virus attacks, the restarts of the OS, the "blue deaths", etc and enjoy the great graphical interface and a good machine.

Not quite. Instead of the Blue Screen of Deat (BSOD) there's the Beachball - and my wife had to restart her Mac here at home a few times when this thing showed up...

There's no perfect OS in terms of estability - they are all resulting of human programmers at the end of the day.

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#22579 3-Nov-2005 15:42

freitasm:
Mahuhu: And you can forget the virus attacks, the restarts of the OS, the "blue deaths", etc and enjoy the great graphical interface and a good machine.
Not quite. Instead of the Blue Screen of Deat (BSOD) there's the Beachball - and my wife had to restart her Mac here at home a few times when this thing showed up...

There's no perfect OS in terms of estability - they are all resulting of human programmers at the end of the day.

I've never owned a Windows PC, so I'm not sure how common the "blue screen of death" is but, on your Mac, you shouldn't be getting a beachball lockup more than once every 6 - 12 months if at all (the beachball will usually disappear without the need for a restart if you're patient with it). If this is a common occurence on your machine, and you're running OS X.2 or later, then I would recommend that you run software update, check the process monitor, and possibly even get your hardware checked out.

I agree 100% that no piece of software is entirely free of bugs, but OS X is based on BSD, which is architecturally pretty solid.

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#22580 3-Nov-2005 15:44

Beach ball usually means the app isn't responding.... in 10.3, if finder crashed - it may or may not come back....

In 10.4 they fixed it a bit, particularly when SMB shares suddenly disappeared from the network. For most apps its possible to recover by force quiting or killing the process.

The closest thing to a BSOD is the kernal panic which halts the OS. You know its happened when a box comes up asking you to hold down the power button (in multiple languages).

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#22581 3-Nov-2005 15:58

Oh, yes, I know this is not common. I also think the BSOD is not common. I can't remember when was the last time I had one. And most of the times BSOD can be one of three things: bad device driver programming, bad memory or bad HD.

I am happy with my Windows-based environment - just replaced my desktop with a new machine, and only did that because I wanted more speed and memory.

I think we should go back on topic instead of drift into BSOD or Beachball problems...

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#22583 3-Nov-2005 16:03

not to be biased... i haven't had any BSOD for years... and if I do, I know what is causing it... (me with wrong drivers usually! LOL)

and when I used to work on Mac... i get beachball just about every day and it is a well maintained Mac too....

anyhow, I like both Mac and PC anyway.. if i can afford, i'd run two :-D and use Synergy server/client to have virtual KVM with PC and Mac.

Check these links:
How to turn your dual-monitor PC into a dual mac-PC system
http://synergy2.sourceforge.net/

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