I Need Your Input!!! Apple vs PC/Broadband Questions

[David In Indy]

Katherine, thanks for telling me about your experiences with the Apple. I suppose I got sucked into all those cute "I'm a PC, I'm a Mac" commercials with Justin Long. And although I have talked to many people who are very pleased with their Apples, I never considered the learning curve involved. I hadn't realized Apples and PCs are THAT different from each other.

A friend of mine was telling me about a program you can buy - I forget the name of it - which allows the Apple computer to run Windows programs. I think it is called "Apple to Windows" or something like that. I'm not sure how much it costs though. And then I suppose I would have to also purchase a copy of Windows to load on the computer. That could get expensive and I'm not sure how well the program works. Are you familiar with it?

As Laura correctly pointed out, I have many programs I would like to run on the Apple. And if this program isn't dependable, well, that would be a huge negative as far as I'm concerned.

I used to be pretty knowledgable with these computers, but I haven't kept up with them these past few years. Now they have all these new fangled bells and whistles and goodies on them and I'm not sure what most of them are supposed to do. It's very confusing. My HP laptop is getting old though and so is my desktop PC (both are about 4 years old) and I'm ready to get something new and up to date. And the prices have really dropped over these past four years. I am amazed at the prices. A friend of mine who works up at Fry's told me to wait a few more weeks because the prices will be dropping again. So I figure I'll probably make my purchase during the first couple weeks of March. So I still have some time to look and decide.

Thanks again for all your help! I really appreciate it. You have no idea how big of a help you all are!

[Penthesilea]

Obviously, I can't say anything about providers in the US .

And I don't know much about Apple either. I used one only once. I wrote a few emails and surfed BM for a while with the Mac, did some posting, and that was it. I manged to get this done without asking anybody, but the little differences were annoying, it was trial and error. I didn't find out how to open a second window for example, had to do everything with the back and forth buttons.

I know Elle has got a Mac, maybe you should PM her and point her to this thread.
It might also be good to add something like "PC/Mac decision" into the title of the thread. Or simply "computer questions".

In general, with all Apple products you pay not only for the functional part, you also pay for the name and for the fun. We have two Apple products, an iPod and iPod Shuffle (Leslie!  ) - and they are indeed much fun! They're cute and have wonderful colors and handling them is simply more fun that handling a similar non-Apple product. I'd buy these lil gadgets from Apple in a minute, but I'm not sure if the fun factor is worth the higher prize when it comes to the PC/Mac question.

[louisev]

One word about Sony.

DO NOT GET. A VAIO.  i REPEAT. DO NOT. GET. A VAIO.

I tried to fix and restore a friend's Vaio and it was impossible.  Even after purchasing - from Sony- a restore disk.  He lost everything.

Don't do it.

[David In Indy]

Thanks Chrissi! That is a good suggestion. I changed the title of the thread.

[David In Indy]

One word about Sony.

DO NOT GET. A VAIO.  i REPEAT. DO NOT. GET. A VAIO.

I tried to fix and restore a friend's Vaio and it was impossible.  Even after purchasing - from Sony- a restore disk.  He lost everything.

Don't do it.

That was the other computer I was considering, Louise!

From the ad -

Sony with Intel Core i5 processor with Turbo Boost Technology. 13.3 inch screen, 4GB DDR3 memory, 500 GB hard drive, 5 hour battery life, 4-way processing, Intel Wireless Display Technology, Windows 7 Home Edition Premium, wireless N technology and webcam. Includes Software Installer.

Best Buy is selling it for $1049.99.

So this is a bad idea then? It sounds like your friend wound up in a huge mess. I'm glad he had you to try and help straighten everything out.

[serious crayons]

Don't get an HP, either. My son and I both have had our HPs for a year, and have had numerous problems. The computer shop guys said they are prone to have their motherboards suddenly go out for no reason.

What the computer shop guys recommended -- and what I eventually wound up getting for my second computer -- was a Dell. Dells have good reputations, are reasonably priced, and come with a service plan that will send someone to your home the next day if necessary.

And mine is lime green!

[Front-Ranger]

But the Apple computer gave such a memorable performance in It's Complicated!!

[underdown]

Just throwing in my two bits worth from down under.  

I've had several PCs, and 6 months ago bought an iMac for website design.
I've also used wireless broadband for a few years, now, and use it on the Mac.

Once you have owned a Mac, it is very hard to go back to a PC.
The browser that comes with a Mac, Safari, is streets ahead of Microsoft, even tho they tried to catch up with IE8, which hasn't met expectations.
And the operating system, Snow Leopard', is great, too. Far ahead of MS. But there are other operating systems, like Linux, which are excellent.
Viruses are virtually non-existent on a Mac.

Prices are 'fixed', with Macs, but somtimes they allow retailers to discount a little.
The Mac laptop you mentioned is fairly low in specs, compared with a PC you could now get for much less money.
New PC laptops are far cheaper, and do the job. The best deal on a PC is usually the cheapest.
I bought a new Dell 17" PC laptop recently, and it is really good for the price.
Remember, they become obsolete so fast that people nowadays replace them before they have major problems. I know I do, it's much less hassle and repairs are hardly worth while.

It does take a while to get to know how to use a Mac, despite all the assurances of the retailers. But it's worth it.
They're not complicated. Just different.


Firefox for Mac or PC is great. Personally, I prefer Apple's Safari for internet work. It's also noticeably faster than PC based browsers.
Comes down to: do you want to spend more and get a Mac for peace of mind? I think it's worth it, but it's a personal thing.
I'm having hassles right now with IE8, so hope I can post this.
Any other questions .. PM me if you like.

Hey, we really need a PC thread on BM.

Cheers, Rob,  
 

[louisev]

Don't get an HP, either. My son and I both have had our HPs for a year, and have had numerous problems. The computer shop guys said they are prone to have their motherboards suddenly go out for no reason.

What the computer shop guys recommended -- and what I eventually wound up getting for my second computer -- was a Dell. Dells have good reputations, are reasonably priced, and come with a service plan that will send someone to your home the next day if necessary.

And mine is lime green!

I'll second the Dell vote.  Dell, Toshiba, and Acer are solid buys on laptops.

[Kerry]

I'll second the Dell vote.  Dell, Toshiba, and Acer are solid buys on laptops.

I third the Dell vote.

Dell is sooooo easy, David. I ordered mine online. The Dell site is so user-friendly. You simply go through and tick the box of everything you want loaded onto your PC or laptop. I did this with a computer literate friend, just to make sure I didn't miss anything.

And then you just sit back and wait for it to be delivered to your door. Mine took just a couple of days.

All you have to do is unpack it and plug it in. No need to load anything. That's all done by Dell. Just plug it in and GO!

I have lightning fast wireless broadband via my ISP "3". I'm not sure if they're worldwide. I think they might be. I think I heard somewhere that they were in the UK, but not sure about the USA. "3" has an excellent 24/7 help desk.

My browser is Google Chrome which I love. It's very fast and minimalist, so you have more screen space, and I have positioned my most frequently visited sites across the top of the screen for instant, one-click access.

I love my computer, but I'm not a computer nerd. I liken my computer use to my car use. I know how to drive a car, but I have no idea how an internal combustion engine works. If something goes wrong with my car, I take it to a mechanic. If you're like me in this regard, David, I would advise you steer clear of the exotic.