buying a laptop (1 Viewer)

[carbide]

yeah, a stupid clueless question.

i'm looking to buy a laptop (definitely new, and no, a desktop won't do) and am not sure what to go for. i'm tempted by a macbook but (i) i have, um, easier access to the windows versions of stuff, (ii) i'm worried that not everything (namely autocad) will run on it.

aside from basic stuff, here's what i'll be using frequently:

- autocad
- photoshop
- illustrator
- indesign

very unlikely to ever be going near music or video editing.

and i'm more interested in value than finding the cheapest option - it'll have to last through a few years of college and it'll need to be stable and reliable to stop me from cracking up.

any advice would be much appreciated...

 

[classic seanc]

I bought PC advisor magazine the other week. Loads of laptop reviews. They're layed out in tables so you can compare features, and then separated into cheap, mid-range, and expensive.
I found it helpful anyway.

 

[Squiggle]

I recommend going with the macbook. Apple laptops are very stable and the current Intel chipped ones will run windows as well as Mac OS so you can run either windows or Mac versions of your applications.

 

[Goff]

Dell do the odd cheap laptop. As do Aldi/Lidl.

I wouldn’t go for the macbuke as it’s too expensive compared to the durt cheap laptops from the above-mentioned.

Plus the software you want is very stable/available.

If you were vijo-editing or musicking, maybe go for the mac, but I personally wouldn’t. My productivity on a PC was always much higher than on mac. But that’s just what I’m used to.

 

[THRILLHO]

Squiggle is right - the dual-booting macbook thing is pretty awesome, and really useful if you need to use windows-only versions of things. But if you're finding that a bit much, you can alway either
- Run AutoCAD within VirtualPC. I think VirtualPC comes free with Office for Mac.
- Run a native Mac application that's compatible with AutoCAD. Vectorworks and High Design

However, since there's a huge Mac event happening on the 7th of August, you might be better holding off until after then - there's bound to be new/improved/cheaper (hah!) hardware announcements.

 

[Theseus Mock]

eco-friendly

 

[potlatch]

Aye, I'm thinking of getting a MacBook Pro, too, but have been put off for a few things, and I need one for the same reasons Carbide does, cept also for music and possibly video (and some gaming). So far looking at a Toshiba P100 and Dell Latitude D820. I'd like a 17" version, but maybe too expensive and I'm not sure about its portability. I'm fairly happy to make the switch to OSX but like the idea that I can use both platforms.

So I'm thinking the 15" MacBook Pro would be best, but am put off by:

• Only 2 USB ports
• Only Firewire 400
• MacBook Pro horror stories
• Battery life

I'd even get the 2GHz version, but that comes with 128MB video memory.

Am I better waiting a few months? Either Apple is going to drop the price and/or the new generation of Intel Core Duo will be released.

 

[carbide]

However, since there's a huge Mac event happening on the 7th of August, you might be better holding off until after then - there's bound to be new/improved/cheaper (hah!) hardware announcements.

that's really good to know, wouldn't have even thought about it.


cheers, everyone. i'm torn between a macbook and the dell inspiron 9400 - might go with seanc's magazine suggestion.

 

[Jimmy Magee]

• MacBook Pro horror stories

Tell us more!

 

[Jerry Twig]

Whatever you do, don't do this

Laptop proves case of spilt milk

A man has found himself quite literally crying over spilt milk when he parted with €700 for four litres of the stuff.
The middle-aged man was approached on Kilkenny City Parade area on Saturday evening last and was asked if he was interested in buying a new laptop computer. He was told it was a once-in-a-lifetime offer and that €700 would secure the computer and accessories.
After a few minutes of negotiating, the man reached for his pocket and parted with the money in €50 notes. He received no invoice, sales slip or guarantee. The case, which contained the equipment, was handed over and the vendor disappeared. When the man opened the case he found four litres of milk wrapped in cardboard inside.

Sgt Pat Murphy of Kilkenny Garda Station said the incident proved that people should only buy goods from legitimate vendors or from sources they could identify.
The unsuspecting man hoodwinked into the sale was very embarrassed over what had happened.
He asked anyone who was in the vicinity of the Parade between 2.20 and 2.40pm on Saturday to contact the station on 056-7722222.

(Kilkenny People, April 2005)

 

[Wilbert]

Whatever you do, don't do this

Laptop proves case of spilt milk

A man has found himself quite literally crying over spilt milk when he parted with €700 for four litres of the stuff.
The middle-aged man was approached on Kilkenny City Parade area on Saturday evening last and was asked if he was interested in buying a new laptop computer. He was told it was a once-in-a-lifetime offer and that €700 would secure the computer and accessories.
After a few minutes of negotiating, the man reached for his pocket and parted with the money in €50 notes. He received no invoice, sales slip or guarantee. The case, which contained the equipment, was handed over and the vendor disappeared. When the man opened the case he found four litres of milk wrapped in cardboard inside.

Sgt Pat Murphy of Kilkenny Garda Station said the incident proved that people should only buy goods from legitimate vendors or from sources they could identify.
The unsuspecting man hoodwinked into the sale was very embarrassed over what had happened.
He asked anyone who was in the vicinity of the Parade between 2.20 and 2.40pm on Saturday to contact the station on 056-7722222.

(Kilkenny People, April 2005)

By bullshit-senses are tingling!

 

[Jerry Twig]

It's a true story, and what's more it happened TWICE. I'm going to get the links for ya now.

Kilkenny People website is down. However, you can start with this.

http://archives.tcm.ie/irishexaminer/2005/04/14/story149774224.asp

 

[pete]

a few of the shops on tottenham court road have notices in their windows from the old bill warning people about this scam

seems pretty common

 

[Rogue]

Obviously, the man must have done many successful deals
like this and this was the one time he bought a dud. Of course people only hand €700 to complete strangers on the street when they're used to doing it.

 

[paula]

this has happened a good few times in sligo too recently, except instead of milk they got the golden pages or argos catalogues.

 

[Wilbert]

Who are these fools that are handing over €700 for a laptop they haven't seen?

Also, "The case, which contained the equipment, was handed over and the vendor disappeared"

What do they mean "disappeared"? Into thin air? Do they mean "ran away"?

I don't know about this one. Sounds like one of those hard to disprove stories that make for a good laugh.

 

[Rogue]

Almost happened to a guy I lived with a few years back, who was a computer engineer. Two lads came door to door on our street offering a (then) top-spec laptop for 500yo. Mike tried it out and figured it was worth it, the lads said they'd wait outside while he got the cash. When we went outside the lads handed over a laptop case but mike held back on the cash for a minute, opened the case to find a laptop sized pile of slate inside (back in the days of course). The lads just got into their car and drove off, said nothing.

 

[nlgbbbblth]

presume it works on trickery / sleight of hand?

Four Argos catalogues usually.

 

[pete]

Who are these fools that are handing over €700 for a laptop they haven't seen?

Also, "The case, which contained the equipment, was handed over and the vendor disappeared"

What do they mean "disappeared"? Into thin air? Do they mean "ran away"?

I don't know about this one. Sounds like one of those hard to disprove stories that make for a good laugh.

get this though - people are stupid

http://www.snopes.com/crime/fraud/emptybox.asp


and Sawyer did something similar with some jewellery in an episode of Lost, so it must be true.

 

[Squiggle]

People have been this stupid for a very long time

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pig-in-a-poke

Although now it's technology...