New Computer Time

[angler]

Think I gotta buy a new one. Will know Friday.

So, if I have to what PC brands are recomended - both for and against, and then there is the mac option which I am SERIOUSLY considering except for a bit of a concern about being able to run some Microsoft app.

 

So, lets hear it. What to buy???

[Taco]

"I wonder who's gonna post "Get a Mac"" he said from his 3 yr old LG laptop

[Flytyer]

What windows apps do you need to run? I personally have a PC and a Mac.......the Mac is my workhorse while my PC runs Autocad only

[Tako]

Don't get an HP.

[Brownstone]

Don't get an HP.

 

I'll second that, HP, Compaq (same *hit, junk)

[streamguy]

dell are a really good

[ÜberFly]

I'll be the 1st (we'll 2nd, actually) Get a Mac!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Guest bigbadbrent]

Toshiba is boss

[Weedy1]

Toshiba is boss

That's what I thought until I bought a Tecra. Piece of crap.

[Guest bigbadbrent]

My Toshiba Satellite is pretty dope, plays all the video games hah

[Weedy1]

My Toshiba Satellite is pretty dope, plays all the video games hah

I bet it starts too after it's been frozen solid for 3 days straight at -30C. All my satellites did, but NOOOOOOOOOOO NOT the Tecra, the tough machine, the indestructible piece of crap that doesn't start for a half an hour in the morning. Hey wait, that's a good thing, after all it is a business machine!!

 

Buy a Mac, PC's suck and they're only getting worse.

[SilverDoctor]

I bet it starts too after it's been frozen solid for 3 days straight at -30C. All my satellites did, but NOOOOOOOOOOO NOT the Tecra, the tough machine, the indestructible piece of crap that doesn't start for a half an hour in the morning. Hey wait, that's a good thing, after all it is a business machine!!

 

Mac... because it works.

[Taco]

I bet it starts too after it's been frozen solid for 3 days straight at -30C. All my satellites did, but NOOOOOOOOOOO NOT the Tecra, the tough machine, the indestructible piece of crap that doesn't start for a half an hour in the morning. Hey wait, that's a good thing, after all it is a business machine!!

 

Buy a Mac, PC's suck and they're only getting worse.

 

 

Jeez you still sound pissed off after all this time Remind me to never piss you off, you sound just like a Dutchman on the receiving end of a bounced cheque

 

To keep this somewhat on topic.... what about Panasonic Toughbooks... any good other than expensive as hell??

[Brownstone]

Notebooks - I own an old school Toshiba Satellite (p20) it idles continuously and has been banged around all over Alberta, not a hitch..also have a gateway as a work computer and it has been really good to me, my girlfriend bought a gateway after her Compaq was zapped by lightning (best thing that ever happened) .. I'm a pc man, but you can;t beat a mac, it's hard to ignore the great reviews and software issues are pretty much a thing of the past .. my next will be a Mac, cause i'll be damned if I'm running Vista.

[alhuger]

Think I gotta buy a new one. Will know Friday.

So, if I have to what PC brands are recomended - both for and against, and then there is the mac option which I am SERIOUSLY considering except for a bit of a concern about being able to run some Microsoft app.

 

So, lets hear it. What to buy???

 

 

I would go Mac, as for Microsoft apps there are some really good options for running them within your Mac (take a peek at Parallels, it's awesome). If you do not want to run your MS apps from a VM then you can dual boot the system with Bootcamp which comes with new macs. It allows you to boot into MS or OS X, very sweet and easy to work with. For what it's worth I work with a Mac and I use MS Office, MS Project and a series of other apps with no problems. Down side is, it's more expensive than it should be.

 

Also, the chances of someone cleaning out your bank account via a compromised Mac are (at least today) quite a bit lower.

 

-al

[rusty]

If you decide to stay with PC, get a Dell - I love mine and the service has been second to none.

[lethfisher]

Buy a Mac and get the software called Parallels. It allows you to install any windows programs onto your mac and run them at the same time as the Mac software. Mac's run with Intel chips now so they can do anything a windows machine can through parallels.

 

The extra money you spend at th beginning will make up for itself with no viruses and no problems down the road. Plus Future Shop has sales on various macs quite often.

 

Mac Mac Mac!!

[pigl]

I just bought a super powerful computer to do HD video editing and run the rest of my applications. I was looking into buying a Mac because they are renowned for their capabilities in this respect. The Mac that would have fit my needs was I think in the MacPro line (it had the proper HD video card and enough memory to deal with what I needed to do). The Mac retailed for about $5,000. I also looked into having Memory Express (down on Macleod trail) build a PC based computer for me and I got more that what was in the Mac package for about $1,700. I went with Memory Express owing to the cost considerations and have the machine now and am very happy with it (albeit I've only had if for about 2 months).

 

I can't say which is better, but my perception so far is that I got way way more for money by doing it this way. Who knows how long this one will last or if it will start to break down on me, but it's probably worth looking into at least given that I could buy 3 of these for the price of the Mac I needed.

[wongrs]

just get something that has enough system requirements to play guitar hero. that's all you need!

[PeteZahut]

I too bought one from Memory Express. It wasn't custom except that I upgraded the RAM and video card myself. It has been rock solid for 3 years now and I run a fair bit of apps on it. My wife actually likes doing here Photoshop work on it more then her Mac at work.

[headscan]

Really depends on what you do with your computer. If you do a lot of gaming, get a PC. Otherwise get a Mac. I have a couple of Macs and use them for everything - email, web, photos, music, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and so on. Bought my first Mac around 4 years ago after being a Windows user since 3.1 and haven't looked back since.

 

I just set my parents up with an iMac a few months ago. My dad already had a bunch of Windows software that he didn't want to have to replace with Mac versions. Installed Parallels for him with Windows XP and installed those apps in the virtual machine.

[birchy]

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/09/business...xprod=permalink

 

hmmmm

the most telling sentence in this article...

"I quickly confessed that when it came to computers, I fell into that vast gray area between being a moron and a complete idiot"

 

Then, later in the article, it suggests that the best fit for this guy would be a Mac...

[alhuger]

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/09/business...xprod=permalink

 

hmmmm

the most telling sentence in this article...

"I quickly confessed that when it came to computers, I fell into that vast gray area between being a moron and a complete idiot"

 

Then, later in the article, it suggests that the best fit for this guy would be a Mac...

 

That is telling, any software that is not usable to a complete idiot is a failure. The Apple developers get that. The promise of software is to simplify our lives, when it starts to deviate from that then someone has built bad software.

 

al

[Bobr]

I have an Acer tablet PC, it works pretty good most of the time. It freezes up sometimes but I'm fairly certain it is the virus scan/firewall that's at fault there. The tablet is nice but I don't know if I'd get it again. It’s very handy but I just don’t use it enough.

For just plain writing it very good, but the convert to text recognition sucks. But I have bad handwriting so results may vary.

 

The GF does app and hardware support for rigs and they use the Panasonic tough book. Overall it's a good machine, the issues mostly come from the custom apps loaded on it. They are expensive but the guys using these things drop them, leave them on truck seats while bouncing down a access road, punch them etc. They take a beating before they quit.

But if you are careful you won't need something that tough. Regular laptops are fairly tough and will put up with a lot too.

 

Every laptop I've ever used (it's been many many since the luggable days) has had issues of one kind or another, where as a desktop running the same OS and software doesn't.

I believe it's part of the price you pay to have a portable PC.

 

Basically as said before, it depends on what you want it for. A fast processor and lots of ram will usually get you what you want.

If it's just surfing, email and basic use you can get away with a cheap one. If you want to play graphic intense games like Crysis or Call of Duty you're looking at a bunch more cash.

 

I've never really played with a Mac to much so I can't say anything other than everyone I've met that has one absolutely raves about them. They would rather go back to pen and paper than go back to a PC. (ok, maybe not quite that bad, but close.)

 

Good luck

[Glenbow]

Get a Mac. Period. I have 2 now and will never go back. The commercials are actually true. A toaster should make toast, not turn the toast blue & make you turn it off & then still get either burnt toast or just the bread you put into it. The Mac will make beautiful toast for you, time after time. Just my analogy.