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Laptop advice


dodeer
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I am in need of a new laptop for my work.

 

All I do is make PDFs, store many 1000's of pictures, do many emails, and use everywhere in the world so needs be a sensible size for sitting on the plane etc.

 

I was thinking maybe a MacBook or similer.

 

Any suggestions?

Sorry I put in wrong forum! Mods ~ can you move please

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Moved completely to Mac at work, wouldn't go back, if you want to use it at a desk as well worth looking at a Thunderbolt Display. I needed to be able to operate Windows Software as well so went for Parallels on it, works well and allows you to operate both systems at once

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Working in IT i can't advise more strongly against buying apple products. They are difficult to work with and overpriced. Just get a sensible brand of laptop, i5 processor and atleast 4GB Ram. Get windows 7 instead of 8 and you'll do just fine. It may not look as pretty as the latest apple device but it will cause far fewer headaches.

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mmmmm, I can't agree with you D0DGY.

 

Apple certainly have a higher entry point that most Windows based devices, but the product quality is superb, they maintain a really strong residual value and I have by a considerable margin far less problems with Apple kit than Windows based.

 

Apple product quite simply works and it works very well indeed.

 

This was your last thread on the same subject dodeer Laptop advice

Edited by grrclark
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It really depends on what applications you are using at work. If it's just MS Office then you can get Office for Mac and away you go. Mostly you can get mac versions of other programmes if they are fairly new, but if you work involves older apps then you may have issues - you'll only know when you try and load them - or you can run a virtual desktop for the legacy stuff. I see more and more people using Mac's in the work place and loving them.

 

But if you plump for windows based ones then Lenovo or HP is my suggestion. And Win 7 if you can still get it.

Edited by MrM
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I bought a MacBook Pro last year after having numerous windows PCs & laptops. Could have got a Windows laptop with the same spec for about half the price but have never regretted getting the Apple. Would not get another windows machine now, hate it when i do have to use one.

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I think if you're only going to write pdfs, check emails and store images the AppleMac is the wrong choice unless you really want to be away from Windows (even then you can install Linux for the same look and feel) , you'll save a fair chunk of money with a decent brand standard i5 laptop as suggested by D0DGY, pick one with an international presence if you travel that often.

 

Have a good look at the applications that you use if you're set on moving to Apple to make sure that they're available, I know you can run emulators (or dual boot) but if you need to do that too often then you've made the wrong choice. I did try the move to an AppleMac a few years back but found that most of the software I used wasn't available (and no alternative), but then then I also find that with Linux so I've stuck with Windows and to be honest it's never caused me a problem (but then I work on the Microsoft product stack for a living).

Edited by Deker
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Depending on what you do, you might even get away with just using an iPad, made a bit easier with a decent bluetooth keyboard. If you need a little more, maybe a Surface tablet might suit you where you kind of get the best of both worlds, and windows compatibility.

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Buy cheap, buy twice.

 

You know what machine I'll say to buy.

 

That's not exactly true with high end laptops, I'm typing this on a 7 or 8 year old Dell XPS which at the time cost about £1700 but I have another laptop which still works fine and cost a fraction of that, don't buy in to the Apple, Sony & Dell more expensive is always better BS, it's all about how that hardware (and OS) suits your needs, there are people out there using Apple stuff because they got suckered by the hype when a much cheaper alternative (or different OS) would have suited better, I'm not just against Apple (they're just the easiest as they have the hype at the minute), Sony and Alienware have also done this over the years, conned people into buying overprice hardware for what they needed, don't get me wrong, it's good kit but if you're never going to use it to it's potential then it's money down the drain.

 

Just like when buying anything and you need advise if the first response isn't "what are you going to use it for" then the answer that follows is worthless

Edited by Deker
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I think my only input would be that you don't hear of many people who go to Apple and end up switching back to another brand.

 

(Cue everyone saying they did exactly this)

 

I think you're right but it's possibly not for the reason of being the best fit, once you've invested £1k+ into a laptop (no matter who makes it) you'll persevere to make it do what you want even if it means installing a different OS, I was able to test first with no financial outlay and just found I couldn't get various bits of software that I used (I ran Mac OS on my Dell to test using guides from www.hackintosh.com if anyone wants to see what the Apple OS feels like). As said I've got nothing against Apple, Dell or Sony, it's just a matter of finding the best equipment for what you need.

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I think you're right but it's possibly not for the reason of being the best fit, once you've invested £1k+ into a laptop (no matter who makes it) you'll persevere to make it do what you want even if it means installing a different OS, I was able to test first with no financial outlay and just found I couldn't get various bits of software that I used (I ran Mac OS on my Dell to test using guides from www.hackintosh.com if anyone wants to see what the Apple OS feels like). As said I've got nothing against Apple, Dell or Sony, it's just a matter of finding the best equipment for what you need.

 

More than likely true. What I would say is that of my friends who have Apple laptops etc (I have desktop/iphone/ipad but not laptop) they do seem to last well. Whereas back in the day Windows machines just seem last about two years.

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I think my only input would be that you don't hear of many people who go to Apple and end up switching back to another brand.

 

(Cue everyone saying they did exactly this)

Ahhh, thats because once you go to apple, you end up buying everything they make. then your stuck with it all! lol.

once everything you have is apple, then buying something different seems less appealing as it doesnt merge with the rest of your products.... :lol:

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That's not exactly true with high end laptops, I'm typing this on a 7 or 8 year old Dell XPS which at the time cost about £1700 but I have another laptop which still works fine and cost a fraction of that, don't buy in to the Apple, Sony & Dell more expensive is always better BS, it's all about how that hardware (and OS) suits your needs, there are people out there using Apple stuff because they got suckered by the hype when a much cheaper alternative (or different OS) would have suited better, I'm not just against Apple (they're just the easiest as they have the hype at the minute), Sony and Alienware have also done this over the years, conned people into buying overprice hardware for what they needed, don't get me wrong, it's good kit but if you're never going to use it to it's potential then it's money down the drain.

 

Just like when buying anything and you need advise if the first response isn't "what are you going to use it for" then the answer that follows is worthless

 

Just as a contrast to all this, I am typing this on a 12 year old HP running Linux !!

 

Ubuntu, actually... ( www.ubuntu.com )

 

I have said this before, but have a look at Linux!! - and its FREE!!!! and even available pre-loaded on various laptops..

 

Or, buy an old laptop off the bay, and load it yourself! you will have plenty of change out of even the price of a mid range windross machine...

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I think you're right but it's possibly not for the reason of being the best fit, once you've invested £1k+ into a laptop (no matter who makes it) you'll persevere to make it do what you want even if it means installing a different OS, I was able to test first with no financial outlay and just found I couldn't get various bits of software that I used (I ran Mac OS on my Dell to test using guides from www.hackintosh.com if anyone wants to see what the Apple OS feels like). As said I've got nothing against Apple, Dell or Sony, it's just a matter of finding the best equipment for what you need.

Just a note, Sony no longer produce laptops.

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