^ this it really would be worth it. I can't point you to any hard data, but my firsthand experience is that Macs are longer-lasting and more reliable. You will be using an Apple for *far* longer before it ends up being recycled/landfilled.
Don't get a no-name brand, there is no price premium for HP, Toshiba et al. and the quality does tend to be better overall, plus getting hold of drivers in 2 years time when you've had to reformat and reinstall will be easier. And the brands are more serious about recycling.
Macbook prices seem to be roughly double what I was planning on spending. Ouch. Is it possible to get one for around the £500 mark? Also, all my backed-up data is from a PC. Will it get corrupted if I try to shift it to a mac? If it means losing all my music, photos and writing - I'd rather not make the switch.
Does anyone have any info on just how annoying Vista is these days? Has it been made any better/more useable?
Also, is there any way to stop all the icons bouncing about on Mac stuff? - it's the teletubbies-type moving icons that really drive me nuts when I have to use macs.
You can switch most of the vista "Aero" themes off, and make it look very much like a rather bloated Windows 2000, if you want.
I bought a laptop with vista on personally a while ago, and switched all the vista crap off. Then got annoyed with it and switched to XP, which made the laptop dramatically faster.
As for moving data across, fundamentally a jpeg picture (as from a camera) is the same, ditto a MP3 file. They'll work whatever machine they're on, running any operating system. The things which are a problem are generally application-specific. For example, your windows address book won't be easy (but can be done), your stored local emails, etc. If you use an online mail system like gmail/hotmail/yahoo, then you're most likely talking about moving pictures and music files which will work.
Unless your music files are windows media audio format rather than MP3. That'd depend on how you got them, and what you used to rip the CDs... You'd have to check by looking at the properties for some of it.
I have a massive amount of external storage - that ain't a problem, but I like having the majority of my music on my computer to just put the player on random. Really don't want a babby laptop - this is my home cinema system, one of my main music players, my office and my way of communicating with the world. I want it to be good, not just alright.
The last one is looking like the best option so far. Though techie mates of mine down the pub last night were swearing by Dell. As brand names go, how do Dell & HP compare?
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it really would be worth it. I can't point you to any hard data, but my firsthand experience is that Macs are longer-lasting and more reliable. You will be using an Apple for *far* longer before it ends up being recycled/landfilled.
If you do go the WinTel route, treat it like buying a junker of a car, get the cheapest thing you can find and expect it to die quickly, e.g. things like http://www.morgancomputers.co.uk/shop/detail.asp?ProductID=4914&CategoryID=11&SubCategoryID= or http://www.ebuyer.com/product/161531
Don't get a no-name brand, there is no price premium for HP, Toshiba et al. and the quality does tend to be better overall, plus getting hold of drivers in 2 years time when you've had to reformat and reinstall will be easier. And the brands are more serious about recycling.
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Does anyone have any info on just how annoying Vista is these days? Has it been made any better/more useable?
Also, is there any way to stop all the icons bouncing about on Mac stuff? - it's the teletubbies-type moving icons that really drive me nuts when I have to use macs.
Reply
I bought a laptop with vista on personally a while ago, and switched all the vista crap off. Then got annoyed with it and switched to XP, which made the laptop dramatically faster.
As for moving data across, fundamentally a jpeg picture (as from a camera) is the same, ditto a MP3 file. They'll work whatever machine they're on, running any operating system.
The things which are a problem are generally application-specific. For example, your windows address book won't be easy (but can be done), your stored local emails, etc. If you use an online mail system like gmail/hotmail/yahoo, then you're most likely talking about moving pictures and music files which will work.
Unless your music files are windows media audio format rather than MP3. That'd depend on how you got them, and what you used to rip the CDs... You'd have to check by looking at the properties for some of it.
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The last one is looking like the best option so far. Though techie mates of mine down the pub last night were swearing by Dell. As brand names go, how do Dell & HP compare?
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