Talk Morgan Forums Community The Malvern Arms Computers - can't live with em....can't live w....

If all you do is browse the net, check emails, watch a few videos etc. then an iPad may be more suitable. My old Pentium 4 could run HD video and multitask and that was more years ago than I care to remember - i5/7s are overkill unless you are doing serious stuff.

Worst thing in 'IT' is people being told to buy more than they need. Buy what suits, not what others want you to buy...

+1.

My home PC is a used PIII 600 - came from one of our managers.
When I'm away I take a little HP Netbook (not notebook) with me for email etc.

Remember though that a laptop / notebook etc. is easy to steal (lost a Panasonic Toughbook when we had a break-in 18 months or so ago).

Profession - IT hardware. If you are not a 'power user' there's no sense wasting money on a high power system - PC or Mac.

Cheers,

If you mare accustomed to a PC for goodness sake DO NOT listen to the Mac fanatics. bought a Mac Book Pro because she was influenced by the design more than the functionality. As a computer professional that started in computers before PCs were even thought of I have always mistrusted Apple products and their trendy marketing.

To my mind they have found a place in the world of graphics and, yes, reliability is a strong point with Apple becouse they control everything. Problem is that that control limits choices.

Personally I find integration within Apple software is not as intuitive as with MS Windows. Every time I try to use the Apple I can't wait to get back on the PC.

I have just bought a new Asus with an i5 CPU and Windows 7. So far it has been 100% reliable and fast. I am very happy with it and I don't have to bust what little brain I have left to learn a new system.

PS. Do buy a more powerfull system than you think you need. As time goes by the upgrades to software invariably require more resources. A low powered system will eventually become slow and drive you crazy.

I would be telling porkies to say it was in my humble opinion. I don't have a humble opinion but I do have an experienced opinion

Only PC/Laptop advice worth anything are:

1. Computers do not become out of date, they just cannot do what you now want them too (eg. if it still does your email/internet and you're happy - then it's not out of date).

2. When buying get the best you can and then (1) above is put off as long as you can....

Each to his own, but the advantages of Mac in my experience are

1) It seems far less vulnerable to Viruses - I used to spend a lot of time fighting same and cleaning up my computer when I was a PC user. With the mac; hardly ever.

2) The excellent compatability between apple products ((mac/iphone/ipad/time capsule) means the whole plug and play thing seems to work from the off with no fiddling about. I'm no IT geek but unlike with my PC I always seem to manage to get everything to work without asking someone for help. The cynical might just say that this is proof of Apple Inc's evil plan to get me to buy more of their kit, and that may be so. I don't care, I'm hooked.

3) It didn't take us long to adapt, and I find the Mac more agreeable to use.

In my case the aphorism "Once you go mac you never go back" is certainly true. I wouldn't choose to return to PC

i have no experience of apple, but i am 50 and my Son is 23, now can you teach an old Dog new tricks, well i agree with pandy, my Son showed me a few things on ipad and iphone, also taught me how to use itunes and i do have to agree it is so easy compared to old PC format, i find with PC nothing ever marries together, you always have to fiddle.
Younger generation will probably not agree with this as they know there way around, but lots of the younger generation can't strip and rebiuld a car, so horses for coarses.

Here is my theory :- if you get up in the morning, put any old checky shirt on and wear Black shoes with Jeans, just buy anything.

If you get up and think about your day, and put those nice brown tan shoes on with your smart cut jeans and a clean cut shirt, come your hair(if you have any) then go with Apple.....i recently posted in Home & Gadgets requesting info on the best phone, we are now ready to renew our contracts, in fact Ryan was dealing with this on Friday gone, i will be taking on the iphone5 and wearing my Pink jumper at the same time.

I'm sure that will complement the blue of the max very nicely.

When it comes to buying and playing music there are no problems with any of the systems available, PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Android, if that is what you are buying a device to do. They can all be sychronized with whatever smart device and home computer combination you use.

As far as "cloud" storage just about every telephone service provider out there is offering it today and there are several other alternatives. It is worthwhile reading this article on the Guardian web site

The thing to remember is that using cloud storage can chew up your data allowance quite quickly on a mobile device. Personally I would rather have it all under my control than trust it to a remote corporation.

Wow, that was interesting, I have been away for a week and come back to this. Someone could have suggested building an AeroMax out of cardboard and got less comments.

I have a foot in both camps. I use a MacBookPro but dual boot it under Mac and Windows. Actually I find I use Windows 7 more than OS-X. I recently moved my good lady from a nice but old Dell Windows laptop to a shiny Apple MacBookAir 13 with OS-X. I also love the iPad and if you are only using email and browsing then it can do all of it with a Bluetooth keyboard/case. With all the helper apps it is a wonderful daily device.

You mention laptops that are large screen, Sony, higher spec. Current fashion is for small and light in many cases. Is there a reason you want a larger display, easier on the eyesight for a longer period ? I went for a MacBookPro15 rather than an Air13 to get the larger screen for heavy use. If you are looking at larger screens the new MacBookPro15 is excellent. The Retina Display is a very high cost upgrade which I would make certain you find useful enough before buying, interestingly the Retina version is actually physically smaller as well. For me it is not worth it and I would wait for the next generation when they take off the premium, it will be along with the next refresh.

Software
The first decision is are you ready to make the transition to Apple OS-X - my wife is not a geek and is finding it annoying. She made the transition to iPhone without a problem over two weeks and won't go back. She has not got to grip with all the swipes and is talking about going back to Win7. If all you do is browse and email Win7 is perfectly good. Interestingly if you use the Mac under Apple OS-X operating system the battery lasts usefully longer suggesting it is better optimised as you would expect for something designed by a single vendor.

If you can borrow a Mac and try it for a day or two then I would strongly advise that. Have someone walk you through the additional swipes and commands so that you get the value from them. Once learnt they allow you to get around the various programs you have open far faster but you need to learn them or it becomes confusing. It is a far more thoughtfully defined user experience and most software upgrades are included.

Hardware
The hardware is largely all Intel, the Mac is just Intel in a more thoughtfully designed form. i3, i5, i7 is about computing power, you do not need anything above i5 for most people. Clock speed difference between 2.0 and 2.5 Ghz in a laptop is almost impossible to see in daily use. The hard drive is well worth spending on. Instead of a 500Gb or 640Gb hard disc you do need an SSD as this can be felt for performance on every use. Do not pay for the upgrade to i7 if you buy the Mac.

Best case.
Order a MacBookAir13 or MacBookPro15 with 8Gb RAM and 256Gb SSD (now check the price!) to give you some future-proofing as it is not cheap and you cannot easily upgrade a MacBookAir. Use it with Apple OS-X and try and get used to the change over as far as possible. If it does not work you can literally just get a copy of Windows 7 and load it over the top of OS-X and have the most attractive Windows 7 laptop around. Do beware of Apple Fanboys seeing this and combusting ! Just say "I use bootcamp" and dismiss them 8^) it will work.

Sensible budget case.
Spec needs to be i5 or above, clock speed is not critical.
4Gb or more of RAM (PCs are usually easy to upgrade later)
Buy a model with an SSD not a hard disc. 120Gb or above.
If you know a friendly geek you can add one very cheaply and easily.
Now buy on keyboard, size, design, screen, warranty and price.

Apple has back end capability beyond a "Cloud" solution. iMatch for music across many devices. Backup, transfer, access across problems does give a FAR better recovery from theft or damage. Whilst many anti-virus vendors and MS etc offers cloud based storage it is not as well developed and integrated into the users experience.

I would also add that the difference between the instore Apple Genius desk and any other services I have had experience of from the Intel side of the game is massive. If you are not IT inclined this can be enough to change your opinion. Do buy it from a local AppleStore so you will benefit from their assistance in the long term. If you have a faulty iPad/iPhone and go to the Genius bar they provide the swap and transfer your data in two minutes. Service still counts.

If you have concerns about your data being in the cloud then just hand all your technology from the last 5 years back and pick up a pen. Too late. I would be inclined to trust Apple before many other vendors.

For me the Mac is a better machine for both hardware and OS-X software. If you make the effort to flip over then I believe you will enjoy it. It will aggravate you for a few weeks and try and keep someone around you to assist if you can. Then you will find it totally natural. If you are not so worried then don't stress Win7 is pretty damn good these days and the total outlay will be 50%.

What upgrades? I am currently using my PC for much the same sort of thing I did 10 years ago - spreadsheets, word processing, internet, emails, digi camera. The original software I have for all this has all the facilities I need. So why should I upgrade when that would involve me in expense, in learning new software, in having new problems? So I dont. I still use XP. I use Lotus 123 for spreadsheets and Lotus Ami Pro for wordprocessing and various versions of Mozilla for email and net.

You are quite right. If you do upgrade and get bloatware , you do need a bigger PC to run it. A bit like the way that modern cars have been getting ever bigger and needing ever bigger engines just to get you from A to B on the same journey. Thats one attraction of the Morgan. So the answer isnt to buy a bigger PC but not to update until if ever there really is a step forward.

One specific example. My lappy has a very early version of Firefox running on an old pentium processor and XP. Its way faster than the later version I have on the PC and thats a few years old.