Need advice for a new laptop

[OhioBeachBum]

They both have learning curves, they're just different. I find Macs as frustrating as some find PCs, so it's all in your frame of reference.)

Kinda what I was talking about before (a lot of subjective). Comfortable with a thing, keep at it - sorta "if it feels good keep doing it..." (not you Otter, you'll go blind )

For the record, I generally run several high memory programs simultaneously (Dreamweaver, Photoshop, Word, Firefox, Flash, etc) and almost never crash.

Ahhhhh - You're the one! "Resist the dark side (flash) of the force, Luke!" ;-)

 

[Miss Kitty]

I earlier sang the praises of Dell from my kiddos experience. My daughter called yesterday to inform me her Dell crashed again. It was in the shop just last month and has landed there again. She said she was on the phone with Dell for 4 hours (she's a little bit of a drama queen) and they couldn't fix it. She told me they were going to charge her $100.00 to help her, but she got that refunded! Is that common...to be charged?

 

[Paula]

Paula-
I love my Dell Inspiron notebook with Windows XP and 15" screen. I always buy the "refurbished" models at a discount. These are systems that have been returned for whatever reason. Anything wrong gets replaced before shipping out, (so effectively, they've been tested twice, not just once), and the warrantee is still 3 years, just like the "new" ones. Never had a problem. Oh, actually, one time the modem wasn't working. Literally the next day a new one was on my doorstep via FedEx. Same with a hard drive that I lost to the trojan virus. Had a new one arrive in one day and they helped me install it on the phone.

Unless you process video daily, I can't see why you would switch to Mac at this point...you probably have all Windows software already. (I believe the whole "Apples are easier" line is just a marketing thing. I've had jobs where I had equal access to both machines, and found myself always choosing the PC over the Mac. They both have learning curves, they're just different. I find Macs as frustrating as some find PCs, so it's all in your frame of reference.)

For the record, I generally run several high memory programs simultaneously (Dreamweaver, Photoshop, Word, Firefox, Flash, etc) and almost never crash.

Thanks -- So far, other than Mac loyalists, there seem to be people who love and hate all the different manufacturers. My main criteria for selecting a computer is whether the IT people at work will help me pick out the right configuration (they seem to know what we need) and help if the computer has problems (or if I have problems using it). Neither my husband or I are savvy at all when it comes to computers. We still don't know how to burn cds on our home computer or copy our tapes from our camcorder onto dvds! But the IT people at work will show me how for sure... and then I can make some beach music.

 

[OhioBeachBum]

Thanks -- So far, other than Mac loyalists, there seem to be people who love and hate all the different manufacturers. My main criteria for selecting a computer is whether the IT people at work will help me pick out the right configuration (they seem to know what we need) and help if the computer has problems (or if I have problems using it). Neither my husband or I are savvy at all when it comes to computers. We still don't know how to burn cds on our home computer or copy our tapes from our camcorder onto dvds! But the IT people at work will show me how for sure... and then I can make some beach music.

You hit the nail on the head. You already have what many folks do not - ready access to hands on tech support. That's worth more than your new computer.

 

[OhioBeachBum]

I earlier sang the praises of Dell from my kiddos experience. My daughter called yesterday to inform me her Dell crashed again. It was in the shop just last month and has landed there again. She said she was on the phone with Dell for 4 hours (she's a little bit of a drama queen) and they couldn't fix it. She told me they were going to charge her $100.00 to help her, but she got that refunded! Is that common...to be charged?

Depends on what warranty, how long after purchase, and other find print minutia contained therein.
Also depends on what actually caused it to "crash". My neice kept crapping out hers - two different ones, different manufacturers (in a networked college environment - bad news to begin with). Turned out she was pretty much doing it to herself - installing a a bunch of cutsie but dysfunctional software, in addition to not using quality AV and keeping it up to date. I finally "cured" her of her evil ways, but it took her trashing some important stuff before she started listening...

 

[Paula]

You hit the nail on the head. You already have what many folks do not - ready access to hands on tech support. That's worth more than your new computer.

Yes, and our tech support, overall, is very good. We're lucky to have them. (I tell them that, too)

 

[OhioBeachBum]

Yes, and our tech support, overall, is very good. We're lucky to have them. (I tell them that, too)

Good for you (and them). Ours bites rocks. They try to template everything instead of understanding the devices, the software that runs on them, and how it all interacts. When they "refresh" my box (with a new one every 3 years), takes me near a week or so to hack all of the (software) trash out and get it set up reasonably (so it's not burning up 20% of horsepower doing nothing of value).