We are not very good with computers, we only brouse the web and send emails and of course visit the wonderful world of What HiFi sound and vision. I know it would be wise to buy a mac and Apple Tv as we have just bought Avi 9.1's,Ashley recomends them. But we have only ever used a Pc,our daughter has a Tosh laptop but we don't really like using it but we need to buy A Laptop of some kind.Sorry MODs I did not know were to Post!. Nick.
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Do we buy a Pc or a Mac Laptop
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If you're thinking of using the laptop as a music storage/playback device, then an MacBook would be a good choice, although I wouldn't go along with the blanket 'only a Mac will do' idea: there are more than a few fine Windows-based laptops out there.
However, if you just want a computer for web browsing and emails, I'd buy any one of a stack of very affordable netbooks out there from the likes of Dell, Acer, Asus and others: I use a little Advent from PC World when I'm travelling and don't want to carry the 15in MacBook Pro I'm using now, and it's very good indeed for that kind of use.
However, if you just want a computer for web browsing and emails, I'd buy any one of a stack of very affordable netbooks out there from the likes of Dell, Acer, Asus and others: I use a little Advent from PC World when I'm travelling and don't want to carry the 15in MacBook Pro I'm using now, and it's very good indeed for that kind of use.
Save yourself a fortune and buy a PC, for what you want a PC is fine. Mac's are over rated and just look pretty for most peoples use.
bballtom:
Save yourself a fortune and buy a PC, for what you want a PC is fine. Mac's are over rated and just look pretty for most peoples use.
The PC might be better value long term, however, if you want to connect a PC to an external DAC, the MACBOOK is far superior is terms of quality for the SP/DIF output. When was the last time MAC users where concerned about a virus? A local HiFi shop here in Leicester would confirm this.
However, if your interest is not HiFi, go for a PC
Save yourself a fortune and buy a PC, for what you want a PC is fine. Mac's are over rated and just look pretty for most peoples use.
The PC might be better value long term, however, if you want to connect a PC to an external DAC, the MACBOOK is far superior is terms of quality for the SP/DIF output. When was the last time MAC users where concerned about a virus? A local HiFi shop here in Leicester would confirm this.
However, if your interest is not HiFi, go for a PC
Don't want to start a fan boy debate but there are ways round the optical problem with DAC's plus hardware from Creative. The virus is down to the individual with the software they use and websites they visit.
The money you save buying a PC compared to a similar Mac will buy you a DAC, pair of headphones etc.
The money you save buying a PC compared to a similar Mac will buy you a DAC, pair of headphones etc.
its down to personal preference really as both operating systems can perform the same tasks. personally i prefer mac os x because it just seems more simple and easy to use to me. and if you're going to use an apple tav and i tunes a mac makes sense.
i wouldn't say that macs are over priced though. they are priced according to the quality of materials and components used which are superior to cheaper pcs. if you compare like for like, say a macbook pro with a similarly specced sony vaio then the mac sometime comes out the cheaper option.
i wouldn't say that macs are over priced though. they are priced according to the quality of materials and components used which are superior to cheaper pcs. if you compare like for like, say a macbook pro with a similarly specced sony vaio then the mac sometime comes out the cheaper option.
mr.c.brown:
its down to personal preference really as both operating systems can perform the same tasks. personally i prefer mac os x because it just seems more simple and easy to use to me. and if you're going to use an apple tav and i tunes a mac makes sense.
i wouldn't say that macs are over priced though. they are priced according to the quality of materials and components used which are superior to cheaper pcs. if you compare like for like, say a macbook pro with a similarly specced sony vaio then the mac sometime comes out the cheaper option.
They are a touch pricey. You can get a similar spec pc laptop for a lot less, but in terms of a sony vaio, at the macbook/mbpro price, you would almost certainly get a blu ray drive, which for reasons known only to apple, you can't obtain on one of their computers.
Having said that, I'm probably going to get a macbook pro when the new ones are released. I've had enough of programs crashing, particularly internet explorer. The OS X, from what I've seen, looks great and is easy to use. Even things like Pages and Numbers seem to have a lot more features (like templates - do these come automatically with iworks, or do you have to download them?). Plus the long(er) battery life will make travelling with the thing much better. It seems that security wise, they are safer too. So there are many positives.
its down to personal preference really as both operating systems can perform the same tasks. personally i prefer mac os x because it just seems more simple and easy to use to me. and if you're going to use an apple tav and i tunes a mac makes sense.
i wouldn't say that macs are over priced though. they are priced according to the quality of materials and components used which are superior to cheaper pcs. if you compare like for like, say a macbook pro with a similarly specced sony vaio then the mac sometime comes out the cheaper option.
They are a touch pricey. You can get a similar spec pc laptop for a lot less, but in terms of a sony vaio, at the macbook/mbpro price, you would almost certainly get a blu ray drive, which for reasons known only to apple, you can't obtain on one of their computers.
Having said that, I'm probably going to get a macbook pro when the new ones are released. I've had enough of programs crashing, particularly internet explorer. The OS X, from what I've seen, looks great and is easy to use. Even things like Pages and Numbers seem to have a lot more features (like templates - do these come automatically with iworks, or do you have to download them?). Plus the long(er) battery life will make travelling with the thing much better. It seems that security wise, they are safer too. So there are many positives.
I have the benefit of owning both a Mac and a PC.
The iMac I use did cost me more than the equivalent PC, but I have found it to be very stable, never had a software crash of any sort. The GUI is very intuitive and works very well. Apple really do think about the design of the entire device.
The PC on the other hand is cheaper to purchase. In terms of adding additional hardware it is more flexible. There are probably (I can't confirm) more software and hardware suppliers out there for the PC. A PC lends itself to tinkering a lot more. But I do find the O/S to be less stable. You really should pay attention to the Microsoft security updates (and there are a lot of them and quite regular). One other thing, ensure you buy a good security suite as the PC is a big target for all sorts of Internet wickedness. Oh and be very careful where you surf.
The iMac I use did cost me more than the equivalent PC, but I have found it to be very stable, never had a software crash of any sort. The GUI is very intuitive and works very well. Apple really do think about the design of the entire device.
The PC on the other hand is cheaper to purchase. In terms of adding additional hardware it is more flexible. There are probably (I can't confirm) more software and hardware suppliers out there for the PC. A PC lends itself to tinkering a lot more. But I do find the O/S to be less stable. You really should pay attention to the Microsoft security updates (and there are a lot of them and quite regular). One other thing, ensure you buy a good security suite as the PC is a big target for all sorts of Internet wickedness. Oh and be very careful where you surf.
I'm using a Samsung NC10 with XP for streaming and it works absolutely fine. However....thats all I use it for. For other duties, internet etc I have a desktop with a 19" screen. I fancy having a go at a Mac Mini but finances just dont allow at the moment. From what I have read, a Mac is easier to set up for music use but that said, there is lots of info on how to set up a pc spread around the interweb. Choices, choices.....too many choices.
I'd buy a mac every time, it was the best thing I did, wish I'd switched over years ago !
I still use a laptop for work as we have to due to group policy but my imac is lots quicker, never crashes, simpler to use, no viruses etc etc etc & it looks cool !
Oh & you can also run windows on it if you really want to with boot camp or software such as parallels
I still use a laptop for work as we have to due to group policy but my imac is lots quicker, never crashes, simpler to use, no viruses etc etc etc & it looks cool !
Oh & you can also run windows on it if you really want to with boot camp or software such as parallels
id also factor in one or two external usb disk drives
one to store your itunes library on and the other purely to act as backup
one to store your itunes library on and the other purely to act as backup
i use a mac mini connected to my kuro via hdmi , and its awesome , macs are a little more expensive but , the build quality is excellent , and its never skipped a beat yet , i would most definitely recommend getting one
I would second the idea of buying a Mac Mini. A great computer for your purposes. I have one and it's very good. It also has a great dvd-player. And it's packed with great software!
bballtom:
Save yourself a fortune and buy a PC, for what you want a PC is fine. Mac's are over rated and just look pretty for most peoples use.
It's Macs that save you a fortune if you value your time and sanity. Windoze is just a world of hellish pain where things don't work, you're plagued by viruses, malware, spyware, poxy MS activation, upgrades that don't work, driver conflicts ... the list goes on. I'm still using a PowerBook I've had 7 years - no PC will ever last that long, well not if you want it to do anything meaningful.
I find it funny that the only people who slag off Macs are those who've ever used or owned them and just look at the price tag in PC World.
Save yourself a fortune and buy a PC, for what you want a PC is fine. Mac's are over rated and just look pretty for most peoples use.
It's Macs that save you a fortune if you value your time and sanity. Windoze is just a world of hellish pain where things don't work, you're plagued by viruses, malware, spyware, poxy MS activation, upgrades that don't work, driver conflicts ... the list goes on. I'm still using a PowerBook I've had 7 years - no PC will ever last that long, well not if you want it to do anything meaningful.
I find it funny that the only people who slag off Macs are those who've ever used or owned them and just look at the price tag in PC World.
Dalesman
Well-known member
- Oct 24, 2009
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rod1429:
I'd buy a mac every time, it was the best thing I did, wish I'd switched over years ago !
I still use a laptop for work as we have to due to group policy but my imac is lots quicker, never crashes, simpler to use, no viruses etc etc etc & it looks cool !
Oh & you can also run windows on it if you really want to with boot camp or software such as parallels
Spot on.
I'd buy a mac every time, it was the best thing I did, wish I'd switched over years ago !
I still use a laptop for work as we have to due to group policy but my imac is lots quicker, never crashes, simpler to use, no viruses etc etc etc & it looks cool !
Oh & you can also run windows on it if you really want to with boot camp or software such as parallels
Spot on.
personally I'd get a windows laptop with as big a hard drive as you can get but I suspect your budget may extend to Mac which seems popular here. Looking to the future, you may want a wi-fi streaming set-up which you can control from a laptop so see which is best suited to working in that scenario. I operate my Soundbridge from my Toshiba XP laptop which works fine but only has 80GB HDD. Just got a NAS for the music but the software aint working with the Soundbridge :-(
I run ADM9.1's with both my wife's Dell lap top (which uses my Apple TV as wireless router) and the Apple TV in it's own right using the Apple TV's optical output into the AVI's. This works really well and I have nothing but praise for Apple.
The Apple TV is a joy to own, painless wireless integration, free and efficent software upgrades from Apple and one of the very nicest interfaces I have come accross. The recent software upgrade enables you to stream internet radio as well as display photo's from the hard drive, connect to flickr, watch hi-def movie trailers, access u-tube and play music through your speakers. It looks great and is very lounge friendly!
My ipod touch works brilliantly as a touch screen remote thanks to the free apple remote app which again was very easy to set up and use.
I can see why Ashley recomends Apple kit, however with mac books starting from £800 they are expensive. If your main use will be i-tunes then the minimac could be a good choice. and work well with the ADM's. Have a look on u-tube, one regular ADM9.1 user has posted a video to demonstrate this.
The Apple TV is a joy to own, painless wireless integration, free and efficent software upgrades from Apple and one of the very nicest interfaces I have come accross. The recent software upgrade enables you to stream internet radio as well as display photo's from the hard drive, connect to flickr, watch hi-def movie trailers, access u-tube and play music through your speakers. It looks great and is very lounge friendly!
My ipod touch works brilliantly as a touch screen remote thanks to the free apple remote app which again was very easy to set up and use.
I can see why Ashley recomends Apple kit, however with mac books starting from £800 they are expensive. If your main use will be i-tunes then the minimac could be a good choice. and work well with the ADM's. Have a look on u-tube, one regular ADM9.1 user has posted a video to demonstrate this.
Hi Nick,
I am currently using both systems. Windows on the company laptop and a iMac for home use. It has been one and half year since I made the step to Apple. Before that I had a private windows laptop.
My experience since having the Apple: I use it for music, web browsing, photo's and some office tasks. And that's the only thing I ever did doing since getting rid of the windows based laptop. If i compare my time spent on all the other things you need to do on a windows based PC to get it doing what you want and prevent all the horrible things that CAN happen, than Apple is in a completely different world. So my comparison would be Windows, 20% of my time doing things I actually want do to and on a Apple it is 90%.
If you just want to do the things you mentioned than you should go for Apple. For me it was worth the extra money. If your not bothered by doing all the things you need to do and to do what you eventually want to do than go for windows.
Hope my comment is useful.
I am currently using both systems. Windows on the company laptop and a iMac for home use. It has been one and half year since I made the step to Apple. Before that I had a private windows laptop.
My experience since having the Apple: I use it for music, web browsing, photo's and some office tasks. And that's the only thing I ever did doing since getting rid of the windows based laptop. If i compare my time spent on all the other things you need to do on a windows based PC to get it doing what you want and prevent all the horrible things that CAN happen, than Apple is in a completely different world. So my comparison would be Windows, 20% of my time doing things I actually want do to and on a Apple it is 90%.
If you just want to do the things you mentioned than you should go for Apple. For me it was worth the extra money. If your not bothered by doing all the things you need to do and to do what you eventually want to do than go for windows.
Hope my comment is useful.
Thanks Mark! it sounds as if the Apple is the best buy even if it is overkill for our kind of use,it is now just a case of purswading the wife to spend the extra. We will have to go demo the apple and maybe a netbook as the "cheaper" choice as Andrew suggested.Once we have bought I may be back on to find out how to connect it wirelessly to our router.
idc
Well-known member
- Jan 2, 2008
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If I had had the money, I would have probably gone for apple. But the Vaio is up and running and doing all I want without any hassels. It has full virus setc protection and I am using programmes I am familiar with. It also looks nice.
My ipod classic 80gb, which was full at 72gb as these things always are, is now on the laptop. I have tried running itunes, Spotify downloading with various tabs open and sending e-mails and no issues. Just what I needed.
If you dont feel you can justify the outlay and you protect your PC and defragment etc then why go with Apple?
My ipod classic 80gb, which was full at 72gb as these things always are, is now on the laptop. I have tried running itunes, Spotify downloading with various tabs open and sending e-mails and no issues. Just what I needed.
If you dont feel you can justify the outlay and you protect your PC and defragment etc then why go with Apple?
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