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Laptop conundrum - Mac or Windows

boxergrrlie said:
I have a really old (Windows) laptop right now that I take on trips with me, but I'd love to replace it - it seems silly to have two laptops.

When I travel for work I usually take three, they look at you really funny when going through security.

Also what are you doing calling the Fisher Price laptop old? :fight ;) :hug

I will say that most PCs have no souls and Macs are just cooler. But it is the GPS thing.
 
BradfordBenn said:
When I travel for work I usually take three, they look at you really funny when going through security.

Also what are you doing calling the Fisher Price laptop old? :fight ;) :hug

I will say that most PCs have no souls and Macs are just cooler. But it is the GPS thing.

My first computer was the Scelbi 8. No cpu. 2K of RAM. I think that beats the Fisher Price.
My second one was a TRS80. The Fisher Price beats that.
Skipped the C64 and C128 and went right to the IBM PC, 8088, 32K and color monitor. Tall cotton.
I still have an IBM Portable Personal Computer (it's got a handle and a keyboard that folds out). Orange screen. Now that's a lappppptop. And I think all these machines have a soul...now.

I just went thru setting up a new Dell for Viki, getting it to talk to the linksys and the print server...
Get a Mac.
 
Thanks everyone for the input! I thought that there would be more Windows proponents - supposedly only 2% of the population uses Mac. I suppose that is growing.

It looks like a new PowerBook is in my future. Now I just need to decide which one. I love the MacMall link. The Fisher Price Windows laptop can stay as my motorcycle computer. :type
 
boxergrrlie said:
Thanks everyone for the input! I thought that there would be more Windows proponents - supposedly only 2% of the population uses Mac. I suppose that is growing.

It looks like a new PowerBook is in my future. Now I just need to decide which one. I love the MacMall link. The Fisher Price Windows laptop can stay as my motorcycle computer. :type

I think the key words were graphics and video friendly. I suppose that more of the folks in the arts use Macs percentage wise than general population.
If I were going to get a windows laptop, I would look at the IBM very hard, and then the Sony, Dell, and Toshiba.
But, I think I'll just get an iBook for the saddle bag...I know of some in use that way and they really wear well. Interesting about the GPS. I don't use the GPS that way...yet. Mine at least has all of US and Canada in it and autoroutes, but I so far have just used it for finding a hamburger.
Good luck on your Mac search. Ask some Mac users locally. They are very passionate about their choice and use of different configurations.
 
Mac IS the way to go..you wont be disappointed! I found my snow Ibook on ebay and it even had a year left on the transferrable warranty! Its nice when I use it for my portfolio to meet with prospective wedding clients. BUT, I still have Windows for my desktop.
 
boxergrrlie said:
It looks like a new PowerBook is in my future. Now I just need to decide which one. I love the MacMall link. :type

Rebecca,

Don't just go off the advertised specials at MacMall. If you order by phone, ask them to tell you what other specials are available based on the computer you're buying. Sometimes certain software is discounted if ordered at the same time when you buy a computer. You might also save on sales tax if their company does not have an office in your state.

A word of caution about "Free printers". Most are fine except your free printer will most likely come with ink cartridges that are filled to about 20% of the normal ink capacity in them. The name of the game is to get you started with a particular brand printer so you'll be married to their ink cartridges. :deal
 
username said:
(or just keep your old one.)

After 5+ years, I have directed my business to retire my Dell Latitude CSx and replace it with a D610. Since I am the boss, it complied with great enthusiasm. I never carried a computer when motorcycling, and I have to confess, I am not sure I really want to. It is something I kinda want to get away from in the first place. But now I have this "beater" with a tough case and recently replaced-under-warranty motherboard and screen. I plan to wipe the disc a few times and reinstall the Windows 2000 Pro from scratch (XP would be unstable, according to Dell's website). But then what?

This may sound crazy, and perhaps a little lazy, but my question is whether there exists is a recommended software list that fits motorcycle travel. You know, sort of like those camping gear lists. For example, I picked up that BMWNA motorcycle CD at the NYC motorcycle show, which has the dealers and who knows what else on it. I also have the ETK software parts fiche from a couple of years ago. I have a Quest2 and a Garmin GPS18 (that turns the computer into a GPS unit with a BIG screen) with software. But what else haven't I thought of?

Also, anyone have a source for waterproof padded ziplock bags for my beater 'puter?

Thanks.

Fred (not a fan of re-inventing the wheel)
 
Out of curiosity... anyone come up with a milspec case for a mac? I know there's windows laptops with salt-water immersion ratings, etc....
 
Belg said:
Out of curiosity... anyone come up with a milspec case for a mac? I know there's windows laptops with salt-water immersion ratings, etc....

Don't know...the PCs are the Panasonic Toughbooks. You can drive over them, etc. The cops use them in their cruisers too I think. Lots of them on EBAY.
 
Rebecca, If you are worried about cost check out the 12" ibook for $999.
And always buy Applecare.. All 50 of our macs are covered one way or another and coverage is for 3 years for just about anything that can go wrong.
 
snoone said:
Rebecca, If you are worried about cost check out the 12" ibook for $999.
And always buy Applecare.. All 50 of our macs are covered one way or another and coverage is for 3 years for just about anything that can go wrong.
Cost is not the biggest consideration, but where are you seeing a price of $999 for the 12"??
 
RTRandy said:
The notion that Macs are not that adept in the business world is a bunch of Hooey. Microsoft Office is far more lively and FAR more stable on a MAC.

I don't think those who say that are referring to word processing or excel programs. I've never found a very sophisticated accounting or manufacturing software for Mac's. Lots, I mean lots of very good business software for the Windows platform.

I like Mac's...wish we could use 'em at work. My family uses them at home and the software is marvelous. However, the durability of the powerbooks isn't great (my son's gone through 4 of 'em) keyboard, screen problems, etc. Service is certainly no better than Dell or IBM and might be worse.

I love Gararge Band, though :)
 
boxergrrlie said:
Cost is not the biggest consideration, but where are you seeing a price of $999 for the 12"??

If you don't mind a refurb, how about a 12" for $699? :deal They come with the same warranty as new products (1yr) and are eligible for the same applecare (3yrs). If the link below doesn't work, just go to www.apple.com/store and click on Special Deals.

Special Deals
 
Depending on just what you do in advertising or graphic design, it might be best to use a full size Mac at home and buy a small, low cost PC laptop for motorcycle use.

If you really need to be portable, really portable, the 12inch powerbook would be my pick for moto-portability, then when you need to work at home plug into a quality monitor and external keyboard.

If what you do in advertising requires color managment for layouts, photos etc.. then you really need a good graphics/high res monitor for home use anyway because there are no laptops that will do what you need. Also if great color is an issue, you will need a monitor calibrator for consistant and accurate color.

If you are editing video with your laptop, and must be portable, then the 17inch Powerbook is the best thing going.

Be sure to keep in mind what software you will need to be using and how you need to deliver files or final product.

In graphic design, advertising, photography or writing, you can't do better than a Mac. PM me for more ramblings. Good luck.
 
I-Books VS Powerbooks

I-books will work great if what you are doing is writing, if you are going to be doing a lot of design/photo work with Adobe CS2, Quark etc.. you will have fewer problems if you use a Powerbook. The folks I work with in advertising who use laptops, use powerbooks far more than I-books.

I've had both, I've had far fewer problems with Powerbooks. This is coming from a guy who makes his living in the digital photography world, not from a computer expert.

Again, good luck.
 
Final thought, if you are going to be working with several programs running at once, such as Photoshop, In-Design and Illustrator, and then work with large multi-layer files, be sure your laptop has room for lots of RAM. At least a Gig, 2 or 3 Gig would be better.
 
The reason why so many people are suggesting Macs is because they have the second highest customer loyalty of any company. Only Harley Davidson is higher. Mac users will practically bend over backwards to help other mac users. Its like owning the BMW of computers. ha!

I use a mac and I will not ever buy another type of computer. Microsoft does a pretty good job at copying the mac (who do you think came up with the idea for "windows" anyway?) , but has never had a better operating system than the Mac. Most computer people that really know software will not disagree with this. The Mac currently has the most advanced, stable and user friendly operating system of any personal computer. And there are no viruses. Wait, just this week someone wrote one virus for mac. One.

I use PCs at work and we have crashes and viruses every week. I can count on one hand the number of times I've had my mac crash on me in the 10 years I've been using them. I can count on one hand the number of times I've dealt with a PC crashing just this year.

As far as price goes, when I bought my 12" powerbook last year I also looked at a Dell (since that's what I use at work) and a Dell laptop configured the same as my powerbook was actually $30 more! Go online to Macwarehouse.com or smalldog.com and order one of the NEW intel powerbooks. You wont be sorry. I promise. :)
 
SweetT said:
I use a mac and I will not ever buy another type of computer. Microsoft does a pretty good job at copying the mac (who do you think came up with the idea for "windows" anyway?) ,

Not Apple, that's for sure. Credit rightly goes to Xerox's Palo Alto Reseach center, circa 1978. A mouse, desktop folders and other GUI aspects first appeared in Xerox's STAR Word Processing system.

Jobs saw a STAR and quickly determined that this was the type of interface they'd install on the Apple Lisa, the machine that bridged the gap between the early Apples and the Macs. I don't recall whether Xerox ever actually sold Apple the interface or whether Apple put it together in a sort of reverse engineering scheme.

Just pointing this out for accuracy's sake.
 
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