Laptop Computers

[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.

[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.

[roadie gal]

LOVE my Mac! I had Dell for years. I bought a laptop that had problems and got totally danced around by Dell trying to get my money back. The Mac folks have been great about answering any questions and helping me out. (If customer service is a concern to you.)

I also find the Mac easier to use than a Windows based system. To me it's just more intuitive.

[emily_in_nc]

Both my husband and I have HP laptops (dv6t) running Windows 7. We're very happy and see no reason to switch to Apple b/c of the greater costs, and we've been using PCs for years and are just comfortable with them. Windows 7 is secure and robust. No complaints here, but I don't get into religious wars with Apple users. My philosophy is live and let live...in computers and life.

[shootingstar]

I have a new computer that is Windows based. Still Internet Explorer.

He uses Mac laptop, has a Windows based desktop. His next desktop with be Mac.

I choose Windows based primarily because alot of jobs required I used software that is Windows based. This is the main reason why I choose this operating system. I realize that one can run Windows via a Mac.

[Koronin]

One of the companies I work I have to use Internet Explorer to report my work and to answer and email that is sent through the site. There was another company I worked for briefly that you can only access their site with IE. I didn't like the work with that company so I quit. The first company I still work for and enjoy the work, but having to switch to IE for reporting is a PITA. Thankfully I can do most everything else on their site with Firefox and the other companies I work for are fine with Firefox. Well, except for one Mystery Shopping company that for that reason I haven't done any work for for a couple of years.
I will 2nd the netbook not being a good idea as your main or only computer. We have one that is mostly as a backup and was bought in that capacity. My husband had an issue with his power cord for his laptop and we had to make sure he had something, so we bought the netbook so he could easily continue with his school work. We don't use the netbook very often, but it is there in case we need it. It is great as a back up or if we are traveling and need internet access without being near a plug for a laptop. I took it to Wilmington with me when I was doing some work in case I needed to access that companies site while working.

[blackhillsbiker]

I have a screaming fast Mac desktop at work (I'm a graphic designer). We've had Macs at home since 86. I do like Windows 7, though. We have that on one of the computers at the shop. My laptop is an elderly 12" G4 PowerBook. It does what I need a laptop to do, though. It won't run the Adobe CS4 programs. I do have an older version of Photoshop and Illustrator on it. Hubby and DD have MacBooks. The other DDs share an old iBook. I used to have an old "Lombard" Mac PowerBook but they fried the processor using it to do a slide show on a mission trip (RIP faithful friend )

Deb

[Owlie]

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.

My parents use IE. My dad still uses AOL. Short of doing what DBF did to his parents (uninstalled AOL, made AOL mail the Firefox homepage), there's no getting him off it.

[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.

[OakLeaf]

Google by definition is spyware... the whole way they make their money is from data mining and selling the demographics.

Yeah, I have an Android phone. There's really no privacy with phones anyway, but it did give me pause to put my calendar onto Google. If I were working or getting any kind of serious medical treatment, I'd either have gone with a Blackberry, or just kept my calendar on a separate, non-networked device. And yeah, I use Facebook. There too, I weigh the benefit against the risk, keep my privacy settings fairly tight, use a minimum of FB apps.

Spyware - i.e. "legitimate" software - is a much greater threat in this day and age than non-corporate-sanctioned viruses and Trojans.