Author Topic: I Need Your Input!!! Apple vs PC/Broadband Questions  (Read 9266 times)

Offline David In Indy

  • BetterMost Supporter!
  • BetterMost Moderator
  • The BetterMost 10,000 Post Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 18,447
  • You've Got Male
I Need Your Input!!! Apple vs PC/Broadband Questions
« on: February 13, 2010, 05:16:37 pm »
Hey Bettermostians!

I will be switching over to a wireless internet connection sometime within the next month. I know some of you are using wireless connections and so I was wondering which companies are the best. I am already using Sprint for my cell phone, but I'm not sure if they are the best ones for the Internet.

What company are you using for your wireless internet? Are you happy with the service? I would appreciate any input/advice you can offer. :D

Thanks!

« Last Edit: February 16, 2010, 04:57:02 pm by David In Indy »
Dogs have owners. Cats have staff.

Offline David In Indy

  • BetterMost Supporter!
  • BetterMost Moderator
  • The BetterMost 10,000 Post Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 18,447
  • You've Got Male
Re: I Need Your Input!!!
« Reply #1 on: February 13, 2010, 05:19:46 pm »
Also, I have my eye on a brand new shiny Apple! Are any of you using an Apple computer? The Apple I am interested in is a Mac laptop and it is selling for about $1600.00 up at Fry's. Is that a good price? Is there anything I should be aware of by switching over from a PC format computer to an Apple?

Sorry for all the questions. I would appreciate any suggestions and information.
Dogs have owners. Cats have staff.

Online Front-Ranger

  • BetterMost Moderator
  • The BetterMost 10,000 Post Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 30,290
  • Brokeback got us good.
Re: I Need Your Input!!!
« Reply #2 on: February 13, 2010, 07:41:39 pm »
I own three Apple laptops, David. My advice would be to get a laptop fully loaded with all the software you want. That sort of goes without saying, I guess. You'll love the iTunes, imovie, i photo, and other great Apple apps. One caution, when you use iphoto, it can be difficult to find out where the photos are in your computer and can be somewhat tricky to move or delete any of them. You might have to actually read the manual. Online, of course.

The Firefox browser is the one I recommend. You'll also love the email, I recommend Gmail, Google's email. Your computer will be nearly impervious to viruses.

The windows function surprisingly doesn't work quite as well on Apples as it does on PCs. For one thing, I used to like creating a document and naming it in the Finder, before I actually opened or worked on it. But you can't do that on an Apple computer.

For wireless connections I have used Qwest and Comcast and they both work fairly well.
"chewing gum and duct tape"

Offline serious crayons

  • BetterMost Moderator
  • The BetterMost 10,000 Post Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 22,712
Re: I Need Your Input!!!
« Reply #3 on: February 13, 2010, 08:34:13 pm »
David, I'm so glad you're finally escaping the dial-up! I use Comcast and have been reasonably happy with it. I have a bundled package that also covers my landline phone and TV. If you have cable TV, you might want to ask your cable company about their internet access deals.

As for the price of your laptop, it varies depending on the model. $1,600 is on the high side, though all Macs are expensive compared to PCs. I would do a little comparative shopping just to be sure.


Offline louisev

  • BetterMost Supporter!
  • BetterMost Moderator
  • The BetterMost 10,000 Post Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 16,107
  • "My guns and amo!! Over my cold dead hands!!"
    • Fiction by Louise Van Hine
Re: I Need Your Input!!!
« Reply #4 on: February 13, 2010, 09:24:43 pm »
If you are familiar with PC's I would not suggest switching to an Apple.  You can get a really quite well loaded PC laptop for about $800.
“Mr. Coyote always gets me good, boy,”  Ellery said, winking.  “Almost forgot what life was like before I got me my own personal coyote.”


Offline David In Indy

  • BetterMost Supporter!
  • BetterMost Moderator
  • The BetterMost 10,000 Post Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 18,447
  • You've Got Male
Re: I Need Your Input!!!
« Reply #5 on: February 15, 2010, 05:25:48 pm »
Thanks for the information Lee, Katherine and Louise! I appreciate it!

I feel a bit overwhelmed at the moment, because I know very little about Apple computers and wireless broadband. So your help and input is invaluable to me. The Apple computer I am considering is a MacBook Pro MB991LL/A. It has a 13.3 inch screen, a 2.53 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 4 GB DDR3 memory, 250 MG hard drive and built-in Bluetooth. It also uses the Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard with iLife '09 (whatever that means). Anyway, everyone seems to be selling it for the same price, so I suppose that means it is fair.

I am also considering a Sony laptop (VPCS111FM/S) which is a little bit cheaper than the Apple and is in the PC format. It also has a larger hard drive (500 GB) and an Intel CORE i5 processor. I know very little about processors and I'm not sure which is better - the i5 or the Core 2 Duo.

As far as the wireless broadband, I am already using Comcast as my cable provider, so it might be a good idea to use them for the Internet as well. Although a friend of mine is using Sprint, and like I said I have an account with them for my cell phone. So I suppose more investigation would be warranted to see which offers the best connection at the best price. Although I am not against signing up with a different ISP altogether.

Again, I appreciate all your help and advice! Thanks for taking the time to post some info in this thread!

:-* :-* :-*

 
Dogs have owners. Cats have staff.

Offline LauraGigs

  • BetterMost Moderator
  • BetterMost 1000+ Posts Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 2,447
    • My Design Portfolio
Re: I Need Your Input!!!
« Reply #6 on: February 15, 2010, 06:09:14 pm »
David, are you familiar with the Apple interface?  Have you used it?  If you get a Mac and wind up being fluent in both operating systems — that's great.  But don't underestimate the learning curve you'll be in for as you adapt to it.

Just about any given piece of software (even some fonts) have different versions for Mac than for Windows, so you won't necessarily be able to copy your favorite app or game from your old Windows machine to a Mac and have it work.  (Just an fyi...)


(I've used both, have Windows at home, and also recommend Firefox & Gmail FWIW.  Google Apps will also come in very handy if you had MS Office on Windows and decide it's too expensive to buy the Mac version.)

Offline serious crayons

  • BetterMost Moderator
  • The BetterMost 10,000 Post Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 22,712
Re: I Need Your Input!!!
« Reply #7 on: February 15, 2010, 06:13:06 pm »
Another thing to keep in mind, David, is that there will be a learning curve associated with switching from PC to Mac. I tried switching a couple of years ago and got discouraged because even simple little functions were done differently. They aren't harder -- they might even be easier -- but I found myself having to call tech support constantly for routine activities. I was in the middle of moving to another state and fixing up my house, also getting wireless set up along with all other utilities, and I decided I just didn't have time for it. I wound up returning the Mac.

In a more normal time, I might have had the patience to learn the new skills. It's not rocket science, just takes a little time.

Another consideration: My PC stopped working a few months ago. When I took it into my trusted repair shop, I asked the guys there if I should have bought a Mac. They said that although Macs are much more impervious to software problems (because the software and hardware all come from the same place) they have about as many hardware malfunctions as PCs do, and they can be more of a hassle to get fixed -- more expensive, fewer people able to fix them. I mentioned Apple's extended warranty (expensive, though highly recommended -- no surprise -- by the Apple people). They said, fine, but then you often have to give up your computer, possibly for weeks, while it's being fixed.

Still another factor: One big advantage Mac fans often mention is their longevity; Macs last years longer than PCs. True, perhaps, but then the question is whether you WANT your computer to last a long time. With the speed technology improves, whenever I get a new computer I am always amazed at all the cool things the new one does.

On the other hand, my PC laptop from summer 08 already seems kind of decrepit.


Laura, your post came in just now. Great minds!  ;D


Offline LauraGigs

  • BetterMost Moderator
  • BetterMost 1000+ Posts Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 2,447
    • My Design Portfolio
Re: I Need Your Input!!!
« Reply #8 on: February 15, 2010, 09:17:48 pm »
Quote
The Apple computer I am considering is a MacBook Pro MB991LL/A. It has a 13.3 inch screen, a 2.53 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 4 GB DDR3 memory, 250 MG hard drive and built-in Bluetooth. It also uses the Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard with iLife '09 (whatever that means). Anyway, everyone seems to be selling it for the same price, so I suppose that means it is fair.

I am also considering a Sony laptop (VPCS111FM/S) which is a little bit cheaper than the Apple and is in the PC format. It also has a larger hard drive (500 GB) and an Intel CORE i5 processor. I know very little about processors and I'm not sure which is better - the i5 or the Core 2 Duo.

Wait a minute... do you really mean a 250 Mb hard drive on the Mac, vs. 500 Gb on the Sony one?  I assume it may really be 250 Gb on the Mac?  

Because if it's really only 250 Mb, that's a pathetic amount of storage space and you will inevitably be needing more.  (Unless you only use the laptop for email and web, and never ever work with or store photos or music.  And forget video files altogether...)  If the Mac HD is indeed 250 Gb, then that's okay.

Offline David In Indy

  • BetterMost Supporter!
  • BetterMost Moderator
  • The BetterMost 10,000 Post Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 18,447
  • You've Got Male
Re: I Need Your Input!!!
« Reply #9 on: February 16, 2010, 12:41:27 am »
Wait a minute... do you really mean a 250 Mb hard drive on the Mac, vs. 500 Gb on the Sony one?  I assume it may really be 250 Gb on the Mac? 

Because if it's really only 250 Mb, that's a pathetic amount of storage space and you will inevitably be needing more.  (Unless you only use the laptop for email and web, and never ever work with or store photos or music.  And forget video files altogether...)  If the Mac HD is indeed 250 Gb, then that's okay.


That was a typo on my part, Laura. Sorry about that. The Apple computer has a 250 GB hard drive. :)

Dogs have owners. Cats have staff.