Buy a Apple Computer instead

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the info JD and Nukzter. I think that for my purposes (documents, music, films, photos, internet) either will do. I'm not much of a gamer, nor would I be creating or editing music, videos or software/programs.

I've just been speaking to a few people on my course and it appears that the online lectures I need to watch aren't really compatible with macs, so should my current laptop breakdown before June next year, which I'm guessing it will, but hoping it won't, I'm pretty much forced to go down the windows route (not that I mind that - it certainly makes the decision easier). The sony has a blu ray drive which is definitely a plus, but I prefer the design on the macbooks and the longer battery life.

Anyway, it's a decision I'll have to make at a later stage depending on the circumstances, but thank you for your explanations.

 

[John Duncan]

the_lhc:
fourforks:There is no doubt in my mind that OSX is a superior system. I do not know about Windows 7, but that does seem to have copied a lot of the Mac operating system anyway.

UNIX you mean?

And have done so since Windows 95, no point in complaining about it now...

 

[The_Lhc]

JohnDuncan:the_lhc:fourforks:There is no doubt in my mind that OSX is a superior system. I do not know about Windows 7, but that does seem to have copied a lot of the Mac operating system anyway.
UNIX you mean?

And have done so since Windows 95, no point in complaining about it now...

No, I meant Darwin being a BSD clone.

If MS were copying UNIX in Win95 they did a remarkably poor job of it! <whispers> and have done ever since... </whispers>

 

[Alec]

the_lhc:

fourforks:There is no doubt in my mind that OSX is a superior system. I do not know about Windows 7, but that does seem to have copied a lot of the Mac operating system anyway.

UNIX you mean?

LOL!

VBA, VMWare, C£, MBP, editing macros! I need a glossary! Maybe that swhy ive stuck with windows, and im still like a noob with that sometimes.

The thing about Macs working beter as the software only has to work on certain hardware is strange. I mean, isnt a cpu a cpu, a hdd a hdd, a stick of ram a stick of ram etc...? And they do use brands ive heard of - not their own hardware, at least for some components...

 

[John Duncan]

Hardware needs drivers. Windows includes the vast majority of those drivers out of the box (there used to be a thing called the Windows Compatibility List, not sure if there still is, which was huge), Macs do not - they only work with certain hardware. My scanner won't work with a Mac, for example.

 

[Alec]

Cant you just find them and install them?

(i say just, but i hate doing that!).

 

[John Duncan]

Only if you can find them - and since macs have about 5% of the market, some manufacturers might not want to bother.

 

[Alec]

Good point.

 

[Anonymous]

hmtb:
Thanks for the info JD and Nukzter. I think that for my purposes (documents, music, films, photos, internet) either will do. I'm not much of a gamer, nor would I be creating or editing music, videos or software/programs.

I've just been speaking to a few people on my course and it appears that the online lectures I need to watch aren't really compatible with macs, so should my current laptop breakdown before June next year, which I'm guessing it will, but hoping it won't, I'm pretty much forced to go down the windows route (not that I mind that - it certainly makes the decision easier). The sony has a blu ray drive which is definitely a plus, but I prefer the design on the macbooks and the longer battery life.

Anyway, it's a decision I'll have to make at a later stage depending on the circumstances, but thank you for your explanations.

you dont have to go down the windows route at all as a few of us have already pointed out

vmware lets you run windows on your mac

 

[Anonymous]

I've heard what John Duncan mentions re some of the office issues before.

I just started using my iMac as my office computer and I haven't had many issues at all.

But then the only forumla's I use are VLOOKUP and the =sum( command. they all work fine.

I have the Sony Vaio for work and it's been a nightmare for me. I have just installed XP which is miles faster than VISTA but some of the drivers aren't working despite being downloaded.

If I was you I would go for the new redesigned macbook which costs £799 which is pretty powerful and worse case if you are unhappy with any windows programs you still have the budget for a copy of windows in bootcamp as described by other memebers

2.26GHz : 250GB2.26GHz Intel Core 2 Duo2GB DDR3 memory250GB hard drive18x double-layer SuperDriveNVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphicsBuilt-in 7-hour battery2Polycarbonate unibody enclosure[/list]

 

[John Duncan]

hmtb:
Thanks for the info JD and Nukzter. I think that for my purposes (documents, music, films, photos, internet) either will do. I'm not much of a gamer, nor would I be creating or editing music, videos or software/programs.

I've just been speaking to a few people on my course and it appears that the online lectures I need to watch aren't really compatible with macs, so should my current laptop breakdown before June next year, which I'm guessing it will, but hoping it won't, I'm pretty much forced to go down the windows route (not that I mind that - it certainly makes the decision easier). The sony has a blu ray drive which is definitely a plus, but I prefer the design on the macbooks and the longer battery life.

Anyway, it's a decision I'll have to make at a later stage depending on the circumstances, but thank you for your explanations.

Hm yes, video support isn't universal on the Mac...

I'd google for real-life battery life on Macbooks, mine's lucky to manage a couple of hours (though it's better than my one-hour Vaio)

 

[Anonymous]

oh meant to say what video codec is it you need? I use the VLC player which plays most on my mac.

John - let us know if you take the Windows 7 plunge on the VAIO - this downgrade to XP isnt working well for me on the drivers front. I wouldn't mind going to 7 proving drivers are all OK.

 

[John Duncan]

Excellent, I get to take another one for the team?

 

[Alec]

You love iiiiit And we're all very grateful

 

[John Duncan]

When it involves buying Apple TVs, yeah. I'd rather poke my eyes out than upgrade windows though...

 

[Anonymous]

Shimminator:

oh meant to say what video codec is it you need? I use the VLC player which plays most on my mac.

I have no idea, but it says that in order to run it, your PC needs Macromedia Flash Player 9, Windows Media Player 9, Windows XP sp2. I've been to PC World this afternoon where I tried running it, and all I get is a black screen where the video should be playing. The materials which are displayed alongside it are there, so it's just the video which doesn't load/ play.

 

[Anonymous]

JohnDuncan:hmtb:

Thanks for the info JD and Nukzter. I think that for my purposes (documents, music, films, photos, internet) either will do. I'm not much of a gamer, nor would I be creating or editing music, videos or software/programs.

I've just been speaking to a few people on my course and it appears that the online lectures I need to watch aren't really compatible with macs, so should my current laptop breakdown before June next year, which I'm guessing it will, but hoping it won't, I'm pretty much forced to go down the windows route (not that I mind that - it certainly makes the decision easier). The sony has a blu ray drive which is definitely a plus, but I prefer the design on the macbooks and the longer battery life.

Anyway, it's a decision I'll have to make at a later stage depending on the circumstances, but thank you for your explanations.

Hm yes, video support isn't universal on the Mac... I'd google for real-life battery life on Macbooks, mine's lucky to manage a couple of hours (though it's better than my one-hour Vaio)

Do you know if running windows on the macbook would sort this out?

 

[John Duncan]

Yes.

 

[Anonymous]

JohnDuncan:Yes.

Thanks