Mac Book or Windows laptop?

securityguy

bsms1147 wrote: »

Since when did Windows laptops not integrate with iPads and iPhones?

Since, for example, you have been able to not only use the Mac for iMessage, but for straight SMS as well, thanks to the Bluetooth integration between iPhones and iMessage. Yes, I'm sure you can roll your own using application-X (most phones expose their SMS via Bluetooth if you poke hard enough) and often brand-X software running on a Windows machine will access brand-X phone and allow you to text. But the fact that when I sit down at my desk all my non-iMessage texts pop up on my screen is rather nice.


Note, by the way, that the best discounts are the university (higher education) ones, not the school/FE ones. University students and staff get about 80% off on AppleCare, which makes it a steal.

shortchanged_2

jjlandlord wrote: »

For the cost of one bottle of Champagne you can buy many, many bottles of mineral water, but is it a fair comparison? Of course not.

Well they both end up in the sewerage plant, so more fool the champagne drinkers.

shortchanged_2

Save yourself £700 and get yourself a £300 laptop it will do everything she needs to do.
Why the hell do people want to pay £1000 for a machine that is only being used for basic tasks like emailing and surfing. Bonkers if you ask me.

Anne_Marie_2

securityguy wrote: »

Note, by the way, that the best discounts are the university (higher education) ones, not the school/FE ones. University students and staff get about 80% off on AppleCare, which makes it a steal.

Do you know if you can buy from the refurbished store within the education programme, or does it have to be brand new?

Anne_Marie_2

shortchanged wrote: »

Save yourself £700 and get yourself a £300 laptop it will do everything she needs to do.
Why the hell do people want to pay £1000 for a machine that is only being used for basic tasks like emailing and surfing. Bonkers if you ask me.

I'm not getting into the Apple v Windows debate, as I use both, and cannot see why some folk get in such a state about it all. I know Macbooks are expensive, but so are some Windows laptops. Why don't we start a new thread on this subject and not clog up this thread?

The advantage of using a Macbook over a Windows laptop for using with Apple TV, is the ability to mirror what's on the Mac. Of course you can use a Windows laptop to stream iTunes to the Apple TV, but you can't stream other content easily. (I know that you can buy software programmes, but I haven't tried any, and don't know how reliable they are).

I have quite a large amount of video stored on usb portable hard drives, rather than taking up space on my Macbook Air or my Windows laptop. I don't want it all on iTunes, and would take me forever to convert. It's easy just to plug hard drive into Mac, play and mirror through Apple TV to watch on a big screen.

However, I also have an android tv media box, and the usb hard drive plugs in there quite nicely too, so can watch through that on my tv too. This would be a much cheaper option than buying a Macbook, but it all depends on what the OP actually wants to achieve.

Perhaps the OP can give more info on what he wants to stream, or if mirroring even comes into the equation, from laptop to tv?

Johnmcl7

saveallmymoney wrote: »

Why not go Apple, but second hand. You don't sound like demanding users but the free OS updates and lack of malware would be right for you.

I bought a Macbook Air from eBay quite a few years back and its still going strong (I feel a similar age Windows laptop would be useless by now).

Apple use the same parts internally as Windows laptops except apple machines are usually far more difficult to repair so if anything is expect an equivalent windows laptop to last longer. Admittedly many of the recent consumer laptops have poor repairability as well but apple money will usually buy a business class machine with better warranty and more accessible internals.

John

shortchanged_2

Anne_Marie wrote: »

I'm not getting into the Apple v Windows debate, as I use both, and cannot see why some folk get in such a state about it all. I know Macbooks are expensive, but so are some Windows laptops. Why don't we start a new thread on this subject and not clog up this thread?

The advantage of using a Macbook over a Windows laptop for using with Apple TV, is the ability to mirror what's on the Mac. Of course you can use a Windows laptop to stream iTunes to the Apple TV, but you can't stream other content easily. (I know that you can buy software programmes, but I haven't tried any, and don't know how reliable they are).

I have quite a large amount of video stored on usb portable hard drives, rather than taking up space on my Macbook Air or my Windows laptop. I don't want it all on iTunes, and would take me forever to convert. It's easy just to plug hard drive into Mac, play and mirror through Apple TV to watch on a big screen.

However, I also have an android tv media box, and the usb hard drive plugs in there quite nicely too, so can watch through that on my tv too. This would be a much cheaper option than buying a Macbook, but it all depends on what the OP actually wants to achieve.

Perhaps the OP can give more info on what he wants to stream, or if mirroring even comes into the equation, from laptop to tv?

The OP states that it is mainly to be used for office type stuff. Fine if you want to spend a £1000 on a machine that a £300 machine is more than capable of handling. Some people do have money to burn. But this is a money saving site and I would say that is not very MSE.

sinizterguy

A MacBook would be my choice.

I used to be a PC enthusiast, building my own Windows PCs and generally buying the best Windows laptops and then keeping then tuned up to maintain their speed.

Then I bought a Macbook 2nd hand - never looked back.

They just work like they are meant to and don't have the 6 month slowdown and rot that Windows computers seem to be afflicted with.


Also, even my very first Macbook, now going to buy my fourth in a week, many years later is still in service with the in-laws. The same cannot be said about Windows based laptops in our family.

Longer term, I have saved more money buying Macbooks than Windows laptops.

saveallmymoney

shortchanged wrote: »

The OP states that it is mainly to be used for office type stuff. Fine if you want to spend a £1000 on a machine that a £300 machine is more than capable of handling. Some people do have money to burn. But this is a money saving site and I would say that is not very MSE.

Thats not a great comparison, particularly if you make it a "cost per year" one.

As the dutiful son / son in law who has to maintain all these £300 laptops for people once they fill up, slow down, get full of malware, the battery stops lasting, random keys on the keyboard stop working I often make the same recommendation I did here.

My 2010 Macbook Air was £650 on eBay a couple of years ago, with its SSD hard disk, aluminium shell and free software updates it still has many years left in it, if i'd bought a new £300 windows one then it would at the very least be much slower with its spinning HDD filling up, probably it would be broken entirely.

shortchanged_2

saveallmymoney wrote: »

Thats not a great comparison, particularly if you make it a "cost per year" one.

As the dutiful son / son in law who has to maintain all these £300 laptops for people once they fill up, slow down, get full of malware, the battery stops lasting, random keys on the keyboard stop working I often make the same recommendation I did here.

My 2010 Macbook Air was £650 on eBay a couple of years ago, with its SSD hard disk, aluminium shell and free software updates it still has many years left in it, if i'd bought a new £300 windows one then it would at the very least be much slower with its spinning HDD filling up, probably it would be broken entirely.

This is just apple guff. I've had windows laptops and desktops that have lasted years and still run fine. I love the way apple fans make out that windows based systems are useless after 6 months.