LAPTOP----- PC or MAC Opinions and thoughts appreciated

[xr-nut]

Im getting ready to buy a new laptop. Had a cheapo Acer that worked ok, but the a/c plug wont stay in and the computer fixit guy says it will cost more to fix than its worth. So hey, im never one to look at an opportunity to get some shiny new piece of gear and ignore it!

My question to you all knowing board cruisers....... what do i get, pc or mac? All of the other computers in the house are pc's. Never had a mac. But i hear they are quite the machines.

The primary uses of this machine will be, in no certain order:
-surfing the web wirelessly at home and other wireless locations
-dvd movie watching in the family rig on road trips(like to ark in a few weeks!)
-some photo and video usage on said moto trips, see above

let me hear what you think, im sitting on go ready to stimulate the economy! btw-im trying to keep it under a grand. thanks xr-less-nut

[ajayhawkfan]

I don't know if it is still true but at one time the Garmin's software for the Mac was not at good as it was for the PC.

[tcarlgren]

Macs come preinstalled with some really easy user friendly photo and video software. iPhoto and iMovie. http://www.apple.com/ilife/iphoto/
http://www.apple.com/ilife/imovie/

You can take all of those wonderful images and video and burn them to DVD using iDVD which is also preinstalled.

As mentioned before they don't work well with Garmin however you can set up new MAC's to run on either the MAC OS or Windows XP (you would have to have an XP install disk). You would need to purchase parallels to make this happen which costs $80
http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/s ... ormac.html

[safiri]

The problem with the question is most people are going ot answer with what they have. I have Win machines at home and work but use a Mac at the in-laws' houses. So not a lot of Mac use, but some. The learning curve from Win to Mac isn't bad. Just that the mouse is missing buttons. PITA.

Here are the reasons I would buy a Windows machine:
- inexpensive
- all of your friends run similar software so help is easy to come by
- inexpensive (did I say inexpensive???)
Why not:
- Windows is much less table than Mac OS

Why a Mac:
- stable
- great for video and movies, software preinstalled
Why not:
- expense

How much Mac can you get for <$1000???????

BTW, check out MicroCenter for deals. OP KS store or mail order.
http://www.microcenter.com/

[firepiper]

Get a big rock hammer and chisle!

[Stu]

I have both Mac and PC. Both have problems. Both crash. Both work with pictures and video.

I originally got the Mac because the screen was better than on the PCs. That has changed with the new generation PCs with backlit LCDs and some great supporting video cards (Nvidia and ATI).

The new ACER seems to be a good box and excellent buy.

HOWEVER...I will NOT replace my current stuff until the laptop comes with USB3. That is a must. I have it on my new tower and it is blazingly fast. For photos and video I think that is a must.

Stu

[troy]

Get a big rock hammer and chisle!

Agree. "Progress" sucks. Anyone else notice that the more advanced our computers get the more gravel roads become paved?! Coincidence? I THINK NOT!

[tp_cracker]

If you have ever had issues with viruses or spyware, go with the Mac. If you are the type that doesn't feel comfortable with change, go with the PC. Have both in my house, and am now comfortable with both.

[Hank Moody]

I say go with the Mac because the Woz is a friend of mine

[reddof]

I use a Mac at home and Windows/Linux machines at work. My wife and kids use Windows at home. Two years ago I would have recommended Mac for sure, but now I'm not so sure.

For under $1000 you don't have much choice in the Mac category. The cheapest one they sell is $999. For that price, you would be getting the bottom of the line Mac and Apple intentionally cripples them of features to push people into the higher dollar products.

Windows laptops start in the $300 range and you can pick up a pretty nice one for $600-$700. You'll get a fully loaded Windows laptop for the price of the Mac. Expect peripherals to be more expensive on the Mac also.

Windows used to be pretty unstable, but Windows 7 is considerably better. My wife's and kids laptops are all running it and they probably have fewer issues than my Mac.

Any current laptop will be able to view pictures, watch DVDs, and surf the web. Apple bundles some decent software with their computers, but there is better software available for both platforms. It will almost certainly come with DVD playback software already. For keeping track of pictures, I'm a huge fan of Picasa which is free and runs on both.

As bad as the MapSource is on Windows, the Garmin software on the Mac is even worse. I completely abandoned it. Yes you can run Windows software on the Mac, but now you'll end up paying another couple hundred dollars to make that happen.

I would recommend buying a Windows laptop and using the money you saved to pick up some more farkles for the bike. I've bought several Macs in the past, but very doubtful I will be buying another.

[Stu]

Laptops smattops. How do you like your '10 450? Is it an EXC?

Stu