macbooks

geekgirl

alexjohnson wrote: »

Hmm - you said it! A laptop right? Unless you are technically proficient you should assume you cannot upgrade any part of it apart from memory, which is usually pretty straightforward.

You don't have to be technically proficient to upgrade a computer pc or mac, I have done quite a lot. It is just a matter of getting your sleeves rolled up and getting on with it. But I think this is getter deeper than the OP originally intended isn't it.

kev7n84

back to the op, you'll get a trial version of iwork, which includes pages and numbers (apples versions of word and excel). You can normally get a trial download of microsoft office from the net. Im using iwork and find it fine. There's also of course openoffice which is free, i've never used it but have only read good reviews for it.

I was slightly worried about the screen size before receiving the laptop. i hadn't checked it out for real in a shop and was going on pics on the apple website. I have to say though i find the screen fine and find it big enough to watch lost on everyweek! Its widescreen too, and is smaller than most laptop screens because the macbook itself is smaller than most laptops.

without joining the mac vs pc arguement, as i have both, i'd recommend you just work out how much you can afford to pay for a laptop. if you can pay £700 go for the mac, if you cant, go for a windows based laptop. Both will do what you want. The operating system, safari, is very easy to use and will be a joy to use after windows.

In my opinion, the mac will last you longer than a windows based laptop. that is why you pay more, the only thing you may need to upgrade is the ram, don't do this through apple though, check out this weeks email for 4gb of ram at £40ish. Its very easy to install too. Infact don't buy from the apple website, have found out since i got mine that with john lewis you get an extra years warranty for the same price, although i hope i'll never need to use it!

kev7n84

the ram is very easy to upgrade on a macbook. I wouldn't trust myself to do anything else though! there are pictorial guides on the net that show you step by step on how to upgrade drives and motherboards, but to me its not worth the risk.

i did once read on here to hoover out the fan on a pc tower to help performance. however in my rush did it with the computer still on, put the nozzle too close, snapped all the little blades on the fan, then had problems with computer overheating and shutting down randomly! so i definitely wont be opening my macbook up anytime soon!

BillScarab

geekgirl wrote: »

*cough* some mac fans, please.

To the OP. I am a PC user at work and a mac user at home. A PC will do all the things you want to do with it (and much more of course). It comes down to a question of preference. Some prefer a mac, some prefer a pc. I am a mac girl but each to their own.

Fair point geekgirl.

There seem to be a lot of Mac fans for whom it's a religion though. As I said earlier the OP needs to look at it dispassionately, weigh up the features that ar eimportant and then comapre that to their budget.

Of course they could buy a laptop from Dell with Linux installed........:D

HelzBelz

I use a mac, but it's 95% for graphics/design applications and I wouldn't consider using a PC for them (tried using some of them on hubby's similar spec PC and it was like watching paint dry), but if you are mainly using the machine for Word processing, spreadsheets etc I'd stay with a PC if that's what you're used to.

Just a case of better the devil you know!

timbim_2

Replacing the motherboard of any laptop is non-trivial. Replacing the HDD may be non trivial in macs, but is it somthing you are likley to do very often? In the long run, macs are cheaper, as they never get viruses, and leopard is a much better OS than any windows based system. Windows based systems lose performance over time. The automatic updates kill the speed. This does not happen to macs. They also never freeze. The truth is, Macs are more expensive than PC's. They are less volitile and tempremental, and in the main look nicer. If you are willing to pay a premium for those features, if you consider them worth paying the extra for, then a Mac is what you should go for, but if it is out of your reach, no-one will hold it against you. In the end, the decision is down to you, all we want to do is help.

taff007

Despite being a big macbook fan myself, I do think that you need to weigh up what you will be using your laptop for. If it is just word processing, spreadsheets etc as you suggest then a lower-end PC probably will do the trick. Why spend more than you need to? Also, if you generally have regular access to a PC then you may find yourself having to think about keystrokes etc when switching from one machine to another. I use a PC all day in work and sometimes find myself staring blankly at the screen when at home, despite both using microsoft office.

Go to a shop and have a look for yourself. If you do decide on a macbook I can recommend the refurb section on the apple store. There are some really good bargains on 'used' machines, but when I bought mine it was totally spotless, and still had that new smell.

mr_flibble

Been an Apple convert for almost a year now. First with an i mac last April and more recently with the mac book.

Got to say I love osx.

Once you go Mac you don't go back.



Kel.

Riq

I'd just buy a mac purely based on it being damn sexy.

geekgirl

alexjohnson wrote: »

A desktop, I agree. But a laptop? Most geek guides seem to suggest replacing the HD or DVD drive are non-trivial. The motherboard...?!

One of the things I enjoyed most was changing the hard drive on a 12" powerbook. Changing a hard drive should be so easy but I had to practically strip it to its undies to get at it. It was great fun!