Yes, I'm in the market for purchasing a new laptop soon and need to decide if should go for a PC laptop or a MacBook. I've always dealt with PC's my entire life (last laptop was an HP that I've had since '07 but went out on me about a year ago), however, I would love to try a new MacBook but not sure.

So help me decide, should I go for another PC laptop or experience something different by getting a MacBook?

i am casually shopping too ... I have always had PCs although it is tempting to get a Macbook - I would have to learn it all new with the Mac and .... well ... I figure I need to buy a new laptop every 2-3 years pretty much no doubt ...

I had a Sony for a few yrs .... it actually was still running albeit slow .... last year and my kids were using it ....

I have a HP now .... i think alot of them are (internally ) made by similar companies so .... not sure what to get next ... I dont fret too much between HP or Toshiba ... some of the others not too sure about but i did buy a ASUS one time too and my wife liked that (she still uses it ) .

I'm a "stick to what you know" type of person. I've been team PC my whole life, and I'm pretty good with computers. But put a MAC in front of me and it's like I'm reading an entirely different language I just got a new one last Christmas. Touchscreen, Beats Audio, I love it. Definitely do some research and see what you think fits you best.

leslievette said:

I'm a "stick to what you know" type of person. I've been team PC my whole life, and I'm pretty good with computers. But put a MAC in front of me and it's like I'm reading an entirely different language I just got a new one last Christmas. Touchscreen, Beats Audio, I love it. Definitely do some research and see what you think fits you best.

Definitely.

IMO - You get a lot more for your money with a PC. The new Asus Zenbook models are very, very cool.

My girlfriend is Team Macbook though. I think they are way overpriced, but luckily, we got a 17% discount on the new 12" Macbook through a friend that works at Apple. Even so, it was still just shy of £900 with a Core M3 processor and 8GB of RAM.

That same amount of money can net you a Core M7 (two lines above the M3) and 16GB of RAM with some PC models, and a touchscreen too! Which Macs don't have. But some people say it doesn't just boil down to specs, and there's no denying the Mac's have good design.

I'm a Windows guy through and through, and at this point I just have way too much Windows specific software that I know inside out. Some of it has Mac versions, but you'd still have to learn the differences between the interfaces and that can take a while.

I will say this - whatever you do, don't get a Macbook Air. Even their 2016 update still has a horribly low resolution screen. And when you are paying that much for a computer, in this day and age, that low-res screen is simply unacceptable. So if you do get a Mac, you'd be better off with either the 12" Macbook or the Macbook Pro. The 12" has already had it's 2016 refresh and the Pro is having a refresh in a couple months.

But if I were you, I'd be looking at something like this. Depends on your budget of course.

Mac.......if u like being bug free.

Macbook is the ONLY way.

Militant said:

IMO - You get a lot more for your money with a PC. The new Asus Zenbook models are very, very cool.

My girlfriend is Team Macbook though. I think they are way overpriced, but luckily, we got a 17% discount on the new 12" Macbook through a friend that works at Apple. Even so, it was still just shy of £900 with a Core M3 processor and 8GB of RAM.

That same amount of money can net you a Core M7 (two lines above the M3) and 16GB of RAM with some PC models, and a touchscreen too! Which Macs don't have. But some people say it doesn't just boil down to specs, and there's no denying the Mac's have good design.

I'm a Windows guy through and through, and at this point I just have way too much Windows specific software that I know inside out. Some of it has Mac versions, but you'd still have to learn the differences between the interfaces and that can take a while.

I will say this - whatever you do, don't get a Macbook Air. Even their 2016 update still has a horribly low resolution screen. And when you are paying that much for a computer, in this day and age, that low-res screen is simply unacceptable. So if you do get a Mac, you'd be better off with either the 12" Macbook or the Macbook Pro. The 12" has already had it's 2016 refresh and the Pro is having a refresh in a couple months.

But if I were you, I'd be looking at something like this. Depends on your budget of course.

Thanks for the info. I'm leaning towards the MacBook Pro, however, I'm still in research mode so I'll definitely check out your PC suggestions too.

i got one that was a refirb for like $200 it works great... it is not a high end one it is an HP Red Flyer or smomething...

Go to Consumer Reports.

missfee said:

Militant said:

IMO - You get a lot more for your money with a PC. The new Asus Zenbook models are very, very cool.

My girlfriend is Team Macbook though. I think they are way overpriced, but luckily, we got a 17% discount on the new 12" Macbook through a friend that works at Apple. Even so, it was still just shy of £900 with a Core M3 processor and 8GB of RAM.

That same amount of money can net you a Core M7 (two lines above the M3) and 16GB of RAM with some PC models, and a touchscreen too! Which Macs don't have. But some people say it doesn't just boil down to specs, and there's no denying the Mac's have good design.

I'm a Windows guy through and through, and at this point I just have way too much Windows specific software that I know inside out. Some of it has Mac versions, but you'd still have to learn the differences between the interfaces and that can take a while.

I will say this - whatever you do, don't get a Macbook Air. Even their 2016 update still has a horribly low resolution screen. And when you are paying that much for a computer, in this day and age, that low-res screen is simply unacceptable. So if you do get a Mac, you'd be better off with either the 12" Macbook or the Macbook Pro. The 12" has already had it's 2016 refresh and the Pro is having a refresh in a couple months.

But if I were you, I'd be looking at something like this. Depends on your budget of course.

Thanks for the info. I'm leaning towards the MacBook Pro, however, I'm still in research mode so I'll definitely check out your PC suggestions too.

If you do decide on the Pro then you're going to want to wait a couple months as it's long overdue for a hardware refresh. Rumors peg the new Pro being substantially thinner and with USB Type C ports, which you're going to want as every accessory maker will be prioritizing Type C over the next few years - due to it's increased performance, reversible cables, two way charging support, the fact that it does data transfer, display, charging and audio all in the same port. So far, only the 12" Macbook has the Type C ports but Apple is very invested in it. It's one of the few occasions all the major tech companies worked together to create a new standard - Apple, Google, Microsoft and Intel all jointly designed the Type C standard.

Graycap23 said:

Mac.......if u like being bug free.

That was somewhat (though not completely) true about 10 years ago, and for a bug free OS there sure are a lot of "Mac help" forums out there.

I'm not for a second saying that other OS aren't flawed they are... but they don't claim to be flawless. When Apple ran those adverts claiming the Mac OS was immune to viruses. It took about 6 months before hackers started deploying their creations.

You get way more for your money with a PC. You also get much more choice in terms of size, design, colour and ports.

Noodled24 said:

ARE YALL DEAF OR SOMETHING?? DIDN'T YOU HEAR ME TELL YALL TO USE LINUX???!!!! I'M STARTING TO FEEL LIKE YALL NEED A GOOD SCOLDING NOW!!

Missfee - PC all the way!! And put something like Mint on it - www.linuxmint.com . Amongst other things, Linux has about 5 different Desktop Environments (i.e. User Interface) (actually it has more, but those may be for tech-types/coders), so you can pick the one you want - pretty cool eh? (and you can make it look Mac-like too, if you want that - eg. with this one: www.deepin.org

What do you DO on your computer??

Btw, make sure you get yourself a PC without an OS, if you're gonna put Linux on it - will save you a bundle by exempting you from Microsoft tax!!

I'm a mac girl, but only because it is relevant to the industry I want to work in. Like Militant said, they are WAAAY overpriced for what you're getting. The specs of what are actually on the machine itself you would find in a mid-range priced PC. You pay for the name I'm afraid, 70% is the name and the rest is design and OS imo.

The OS is lovely and easy to work with, but the apps can be buggy in areas for example:

Some of the apps can end up filling up your memory with copies (I ended up with a gig free out of 8GB memory due to Iphoto and Imovie making multiple backups of the SAME files and it took me around 2 weeks to find out where all of the data was coming from due to the 'About this Mac' section showing it as 'Other').

The one thing I will say about Macs though- they last. I have the Macbook Pro Retina from 2014, and before that I had a white Macbook from late 2009 til late 2014. That's 6 years. 6 years of me battering the RAM with Adobe Photoshop, Flash upon other crap I probably downloaded as a teen. My brother had the earlier incarnation of that computer from 2007 too, and it still works to this day.

Angelsoncrack said:

The OS is lovely and easy to work with,

Could you specifically tell me How? If Linux is missing features somewhere, maybe I could drop this on the Linux developers......? It's UNBELIEVABLY frustrating to have a *better product*, and then have no people using it.......

domainator2010 said:

Angelsoncrack said:

The OS is lovely and easy to work with,

Could you specifically tell me How? If Linux is missing features somewhere, maybe I could drop this on the Linux developers......? It's UNBELIEVABLY frustrating to have a *better product*, and then have no people using it.......

Most people who use Linux are techy people. Linux is confusing for your average person because there are so many different OS out there under the Linux brand name, and there are many programs that wont run on Linux systems because they are so niche. Or wait- I should amend that statement. There are programs that wont run on Linux unless they are run through something like Wine, which makes the OS kinda moot. I've run Touhou through my Mac using Wine many times now. I actually considered moving to Linux a few years ago, but after researching into it decided against. It's too complicated.

Sorry, but unless people are willing to dedicate 5+ years of their lives learning the insides and outs of computers, you will not get a mass influx of Linux users.

My brother had it around 10 years ago, and he's really into computers. I've never known anyone who is just your average user using Linux.

I'm not pretending that Mac is some superior OS, it has its bugs. But it's a damn sight easier to navigate and use on a daily basis than something like Linux.

Ummm.....I wouldn't say that......those problems used to be there some time ago, but a whole bunch of people (that is to say, capitalists) realised that there was $$ to be made giving people a better interface on top what is superior code. I don't know how long it's been since you were last on it, but as above, try Mint, it's not difficult at all to use, and if you're used to Win, you'll probably be at home with most things. Makulu's another one - www.makululinux.com It also has to be said that me, TD3 and Tony here on this site will help you (though TD seems to have disappeared lately!) with any problems you have with Linux......

Also, you can try it LIVE - ie. it runs off a disc that you boot from, WITHOUT TOUCHING YOUR CURRENT SYSTEM, and if you DO choose to try it, you can dual boot, ie. have both Win and Lin on your computer! After that,..... I don't see the problem!

Do some say my name? I've been away from home for over 3 months, I've just returned.

You should decide what computer to purchase depending on your needs. How do you use your computer? Do you use a lot of 3rd party PC software? Is your computer for personal use and/or for your job? Example: 3rd party software, Apple. You can't download iTunes, or back up your iPhone, iPad or iPod to a Linux computer. Something to consider. Are there a work arounds, yes? What turns some people off about Linux, non-techie folks really don't want to be bothered with work-around.

The other thing to consider is the shape of the latptop itself. Unibody design (following Apple's lead) is pretty standard these days. Which means you can't replace your RAM or HDD/SSD yourself. Which means you'd have to pay a computer tech to upgrade the RAM and/or replace the HDD/SSD... cost of doing so won't be cheap. If you decided to purchase an unibody laptop, buy more RAM than you'll need, and get the largest HDD/SSD you can afford. 8 RAM for basic streaming, casual gaming, and playing videos will suffice... 8gb of RAM, is the standard these days.

My 13 month old HP Envy died a couple of weeks ago. I had to take the computer apart to retrieve the HDD and RAM. I had to remove the motherboard to get remove RAM.

Apple

Dell

Asus

Lenovo

In this order are the laptops I'd consider.

I'd consider purchasing a refurbished laptop from the list of manufactures I listed, also. I'd avoid purchasing seller refurbished laptops. I'd select manufacture refurbished notebooks or big refurbished computer eBay re-sellers. Ask a lot of questions about warranty and the cosmetic / shape of the computers. I purchased a refurbished Apple (Air) computer late 2014 (40% of sale price) it look like new. I've purchased refurbished laptops form Newegg via eBay.

Its been my experience Apple isn't a pain in the ass as PC are. I bought new MacBook Pro and a PC at the same time in, 2011. The 1st HP Beats had blue screen issues up the ass so much so HP replaced it. The 2nd PC died because HP makes junk...one of their top of line laptops. Apple laptops are low maintenance, 3rd party apps and Apple apps are exceptional. Apple has excellent customer support. In sore support (software issues) are free at Apple Genius Bar. G o with what you know... Apple laptops are very intuitive, you'd had to be brain dead not to figure how to use it in 48 hrs.

I don't like Windows 10 I'm on record for staying why I don't like - spyware X- but to each his or her own that don't care. I'm a Linux and Mac user. If you want to learn more about Linux, org me.

BobGeorge909 said:

MAC if price isn't an issue. If price is an issue AT ALL or in ANY sense...PC.

TD3 said:

f you want to learn more about Linux, org me.

WHY?? Just post HERE, isn't it? (on this thread, I mean). Then everyone can learn....?

domainator2010 said:

TD3 said:

f you want to learn more about Linux, org me.

WHY?? Just post HERE, isn't it? (on this thread, I mean). Then everyone can learn....?

cuz, i'm exhuasted... it took energy for my to type what I did above.

https://system76.com/

http://zareason.com/shop/home.php

https://www.milol.com/

http://laclinux.com/en/Start

http://www.dell.com/learn...nux-laptop

Dell XPS 13 Series: http://www.dell.com/us/bu...d&fl=p

I'm sorry to say Los Alamos computers don't appear to offer budget laptops as they once did (as of two months ago), I'm no sure why. However, System 76 still sales 2 budget notebooks. All these vendors (with the exception of Dell) offer bang for your buck desktop computers. In the near future I'll be buying a Dell XPS 13 or System 76. If the System 76 allows me access to the computer hardware more readily, I'll buy it. Again, unless you plan on learning how to tear down a notebook and put it back to together... I'd think about the added cost of repairing a unibody notebook.

My kid purchased a Milo and a 45 inch computer monitor as her TV and Streaming entertainment center. She didn't want a "smart-TV".

=======================

[Edited 7/27/16 9:07am]

...OK, I saw 4 of those sites,.....they all seem to offer Ubuntu alone, the entire emphasis seems to be on that - no idea why, I thought Mint was the most famous distribution of today.....? Ubuntu puts LibreOffice icons all down the left side of the screen - where they got the idea that everyone who uses a computer uses fucking LibreOffice, I don't know, but they did..... and it also has that nasty Amazon icon with the "tracking" thing where they send your data to Amazon - almost as nasty a trick as Microsoft!! , and hardly the thing that'll turn people onto Linux - might drive them *away* instead, if you ask me...

Also, since I don't know US prices, I can't compare....but are those Linux machines cheaper than Win? The OS is FREE, you know...? Otherwise much of the benefit (and the reason people will dump Windoze) is gone.....

hey for apple, i also found this page:

https://help.ubuntu.com/c...ces/iPhone

never used apple myself tho...

Stick with desktop PC... the option is opened for Windows, Linux and other OSes in the near future. Get your a tablet and a smartphone that can be linked with the desktop PC when it comes to remote. Avoid Apple because it's resticts a lot of things and freedom to roam is important. So having freedom is power... even better build your own desktop PC... u will get money's worth with the decade... my desktop PC is 8 years old and one more thing avoid Windows 10 for now.

[img:$uid]http://i81.phot.../img:$uid]

=====================

[Edited 8/7/16 5:53am]

This is a screen shot of my Linux Mint desktop. from left to right...

Web-Browser: Firefox, Media Streaming: Kodi, Recording Software: Audacity, LMMS, Rosegarden Gaming: Steam, Streaming Music: Pandora (known as Pithos on Linux), Music Players: Sayonara & Tomahawk, Video Player: VLC, CD Burner: K3b, Video Editor- red shark icon: Light-works, Blue tooth, LibreOffice Writer 5.0, & several folders (in blue) short cuts to all of my data in Documents, Music, Pictures, Video, & Download folders.

What not on my desktop but on my computer:

Cloud storage: MEGA (free 50gb), One (2gb free, payment plan for more storage) &, Tonido ( 2gb free, payment for more storage) All three Cloud services can also be used on Apple, Microsoft mobile and computers. Mega and One are encrypted from end to end... they don't store your password.

Video cards: Nvidia or AMD plugged and play

Wi-Fi cards: Embedded boards will be recognized.

Add External Storage: Plug and play

Add Intel Wi-Fi Internet card: Plug and Play

Printer Drivers: The top brands have drives for Linux- HP, Brother, Canon etc. etc...


The Tomahawk music player is one of the best. My brother and several of my friends share (via streaming) our record collections, If you have a paid streaming account or a YouTube Red you can access your accounts from Tomahawk. Linux as software that allows you to ripe your CD collection and DVD collection to your hard drive.

You could then move those music and movies files over to Kodi access them from your TV's and computers in you. VCL (Apple & Microsoft ) you can stream your media collection without Internet access. If you are a Android user, you can tether your phone or your tablet to your Linux computer. The only issue you may have it setting up your printer but there are up-teem tutorials on YouTube to show how to do it's not hard its just different. Major pain the ass with Linux.... you are limited in what sound cards you can purchaset I can give you a list of those. I'm using a decade plus no longer in produce M-Audio 2496 card, excellent card, and can still be found for sale on eBay. Or you could go with a USB external sound card on my laptop I use Audioengine.

Linux isn't hard to use there are 5 command you need to keep the system up to date. At that Linux Mint has an automatic software updater... all you have to do is click install and type in your password, Mint does everything else.

==========================================

[Edited 8/7/16 6:00am]

My God! - that looks SEXY! I'm on Mint too, but my screen looks *nothing* like that - which desktop is that you're using?

Is that Mint *18*, btw?