Laptop Computers

[Cataboo]

I got a dell 8200 in 2001 that still works fine, however it weighs 8 lbs and I don't feel like carrying it around.

I've switched to just using a netbook as a laptop running windows 7 starter. $300, 11 hours of battery life, and it does everything I need it to do on a laptop

But I always keep a desktop for photos and the rest of that.

[surgtech1956]

Thanks for the input and advice everyone. I'm keeping my eye on the Apple and Dell websites and check the Sunday Best Buy ads.

[Crankin]

I have an older (2007) MacBook and it does everything. I run Windows for Mac, which is all I need, besides the Internet. I've watched movies on it, too.Of course, I am a technology weenie, so I prefer to keep it very easy.
I guess I am not that concerned about weight; I rarely take my computer anywhere. It's my only computer. So far, all of my counseling internships have had PCs and I have to relearn certain things every September. I really don't know what the right click on a mouse does! Since we are not allowed to put any confidential files on our own computers, it's not an issue.
Almost every student I see at my university has a Mac. I just don't use it in class, as I find it difficult to type and pay attention; taking notes the old fashioned way is much easier for me.
For what it's worth, my DH, who is a director for a software company became a Mac person about a year ago. He can do everything he needs and some of it is complicated. He told his company to ditch the crappy PC lap top they gave him (which had to be "fixed" a number of times) and get him a desk top, for the days he didn't feel like bringing his lap top (like when he rides).

[Koronin]

Well this isn't going to help you much. I personally have no use for Apple or Dell in any way shape or form. We currently have a Toshiba netbook, a Segar laptop and a Toshiba laptop. Our desktop died back in May and my husband is deciding on rather to buy and easily upgradable desktop (Acer, Asus, HP, and a couple others) or to just build a new one as our old one is too old to be upgraded. Anything that requires proprietary components is not even considered. To me Dells are too expensive for what you get. You can get better computers for the same cost or less than what you are paying for a Dell. My computer came from Best Buy. My husband ordered his on line as the top end laptops you can't get at your typical electronics stores. When we replace his laptop it will most likely be another Segar.

[OakLeaf]

I've been a Mac user forever.

The thing about it is, the last time I looked (which admittedly has been a while ago), if you compared apples to apples - processor speed, number of processors, bus speed, hard drive speed, graphics card, sound card, ports, etc. - the price was about the same. As a hardware company, Apple just doesn't sell the kind of junk that you can buy to run Windows.

I wouldn't necessarily recommend a netbook as your only computer. To me, it would be a real PITA having to use an external optical drive. No Ethernet port (a USB adapter is available, but again, another piece of external hardware you have to deal with) and only one USB port.

I do have Parallels, but the only thing I use it for is SportTracks.


My DH uses both. MacBookPro for his photography, and Windows boxes (which is where he came from) for most other things. He has had a couple of issues trying to configure external drives with the Mac.

He hasn't had an issue with viruses at all. We were just discussing that - how he continues to run his virus detection even though it hasn't picked anything up in years. You just have to set your security settings. Factory defaults on a Mac are reasonably secure, whereas factory defaults on a Windows box are wide open. Don't do anything dumb with email. And if you want to avoid spyware, that's the same on both sides - use Firefox with NoScript and allow the minimum of scripts and cookies that you can get away with for any given site, including setting session cookies only if the site will let you. These days, though, a few sites are requiring LOTS of scripts to even run. Then you have to make a choice as to how badly you want to look at that content. And afterward, clear your cache, delete any cookies you don't recognize, delete your Flash cookies using an app like Flush, re-enable script blocking, and quit and re-start your browser. PITA.

[Cataboo]

My netbook has 3 USB ports & an ethernet port built in. I do have an external dvd drive, but mostly I just share my desktop dvd drive over the network for it.

However, I need a desktop and always keep one.

[Irulan]

New egg has some great buys on Windows lap tops right now. I am seriously looking for one to just mess around on ( not a desktop substitute) for very reasonable prices.

I'm not sold on macs. I am a windows user, and I have to help my mom with one every now and then. I don't see what the big deal is as windows has gotten so much nicer over the years. Also, if you don't do stupid stuff on your computer, it's pretty easy to NOT get bugs.

[ultraviolet]

I'm not sold on macs. I am a windows user, and I have to help my mom with one every now and then. I don't see what the big deal is as windows has gotten so much nicer over the years. Also, if you don't do stupid stuff on your computer, it's pretty easy to NOT get bugs.

That's pretty much always been my position as well.

I finally gave in and purchased a Mac because a lot of my clients are advertising and creative agencies who are all Mac in-house, so having one myself makes my professional life a little easier.

[smilingcat]

Go with apple, you'll be happier in the long run.

Windows 7 is okay... But its not Ubuntu or some other Linux software. And god forbid to use internet explore. Who use it anyway. Most people I know use Firefox/Mozilla or gone with Chrome from Google.

Right now, I'm dealing with my partner's desktop computer where it thinks its running out of disk space and internet is going brain dead. Internet explorer is not happy. Oh she does have Norton anti-virus stuff but its not good enough.

Then my sister's laptop also XP based is having internet problem. I'm going to try to install Firefox in both to get around the problems. If you have MAC (BSD unix based OS) or Linux then you wouldn't have this problem.

Linux and MAC have all the software you ever want to have. I also can run Adobe photoshop elements 7 on my Linux machine, open, read, modify any word (microsoft) documents, excel spreadsheet...

There is really no excuse in using windows 7, or XP.

I also have a friend with a Hackintosh (Running Tiger was it??) and I have a Dell with Mandriva linux, and my Acer net book also has Mandriva Linux with external 300G portable hard drive.

You have to pay me to use windows 7. Oh that's right I do get paid to work and at work they use Windows 7.

This is just my biased 2 cent opinion.

[moonfroggy]

i used to have a dell and when it wore out i replaced it with a 13 inch mac and it was the best thing i ever did as far as laptops go. this laptop just feels so much nicer the case is so much stronger it is so much sturdier and the os is so much slicker than windows.

[shootingstar]

Who else does not use Internet Explorer?

Frankly I haven't taken time to look into all this but I know some of the big employers have IE enterprise-wide as the base and then layer their web-based, licensed tools on top.

[OakLeaf]

My DH doesn't use IE. Too many security holes and too few security add-ons.

The Mac-side equivalent is Safari. I will use that occasionally, but for the same reasons, I pretty much keep it to Firefox and allow a minimum of scripts and cookies; limiting them to temporary script permissions and session cookies as much as possible.

[emily_in_nc]

Who else does not use Internet Explorer?

I haven't used it for years, save for at work, where they still have a few dinosaur sites that need IE 6 (yes, IE 6, riddled with security holes!) to run properly.

I've been using Firefox for several years. I initially switched b/c of all the security holes in IE. Recently tried to make the switch to Google Chrome b/c I'd heard such good things about it, and Firefox has had more and more security patches lately, but had to go back to FF. Why? I could never get pdf files to display in Chrome, and that's a deal-breaker. I sell on ebay and have to print my shipping labels using pdf files. Read all sorts of online support tips for it, but nothing worked for me. Other than that, I really liked the simplicity and speed of Chrome. My DH uses it and loves it.

All that said, I read a couple of PC geeky newsletters, and it sounds like the latest versions of IE are much, much improved from IE 6 and 7. One testing lab did a head-to-head test between the latest IE (9, I think), FF, and Chrome, and each one did better in some areas, but overall, it was pretty much a draw, as I recall.

Go with what you like and feel comfortable with.

[Irulan]

Who else does not use Internet Explorer?

Frankly I haven't taken time to look into all this but I know some of the big employers have IE enterprise-wide as the base and then layer their web-based, licensed tools on top.

We don't, and it's annoying as hell to run into sites, all government, that still will only run IE. I mean, c'mon guys, get with the new millennium.

[ultraviolet]

I'm both a Mac and PC user. My main machine for home and freelance work is a 13" MacBook Pro hooked up to a 24" Apple Cinema Display. And I run Parallels on it so that I can still use the Windows applications that are must-haves for my work.

But, I also have a Toshiba laptop running Windows 7 for when I need to do a lot of work in Visio or Expression Studio, an Acer netbook running Windows XP that I hook up to my television for shows and movies via Boxee and Netflix, and a Dell Inspiron 700m that I've had for something like six years and is still running strong. The Dell is the machine that I always took with me when I had to work on site for clients, because it's compact but powerful. I don't see myself parting with it anytime soon.

It's generally not productive to get involved in the back and forth over which platform is better. They're both good, and it all depends on what you're going to do with your system and how much you want to spend.

My advice about Windows laptops in general has always been to not buy the least expensive model on offer at the store. Step up a rung or two in the price offering within a brand, and you're likely taking home a solid machine.

And by the time you're looking at those prices, you're about equal to the entry-level MacBook prices. So, then it comes down to aesthetics and your personal preferences.