Yuku free message boards

Barzilla wrote:

---

So, here is the question: is moving from PC to laptop fairly easy (I asked them the same question but figured I got a bogus answer) and are those computers worth the extra jack?

Barzilla, I'm guessing you meant to say Apple or Mac instead of laptop. If so, here is my answer and it's probably more information than you'll ever need. I have a teenage daughter that bought herself a Mac Book about a year ago after using a desktop PC for years. She was comfortable with the PC, but had never laid a hand on a Mac until she started looking at them in the stores a couple of weeks before she purchased hers. Since I'm the computer nerd of our house, I went along with her and asked all the technical, pre-purchase questions. The answers I got were very consistent. I was told at several locations that when I see how easy the Mac is to use, I will want one also. While that hasn't yet been the case, I can tell you that it integrated very easily with our Windows network. IIRC, I believe there is a file to download and install from Apple that makes the Mac, Windows network compatible. I remember it being very simple. My daughter found her PC through the network almost immediately and began transferring files. She absolutely loves the Mac and hardly uses her PC anymore.

Other things that I've learned and/or heard from others about the Mac is that it is much more user friendly from a multimedia standpoint. My daughter tells me that with I-Tunes, it is much easier to burn a CD than with her PC. I'm told by others that it is much easier to burn DVDs than with a PC. The Mac has a built in video camera with software that is really fun to play around with. My daughter has shown me some really funny pictures that she has taken. The software can do some neat and funny things to the photos. On the monetary side, with a Mac, there is virtually no threat from viruses, so you will save money on not having to purchase anti-virus software annually.

We purchased the extended warranty with technical support package, and so far we've called Apple on 3 occasions. The 1st time, they helped me choose the type of wireless security to use on the Mac for compatibility with our wireless router. The 2nd time was to help us remove a CD that for some reason would not eject from the computer. The 3rd and last time was for the issue described in #2 below. They were very helpful all 3 times and they spoke perfect english.

Now for the potential negatives:

1. For a time, when my daughter was using her Mac and wirelessly connecting to the internet through our router, it would take the entire network down, and no other computer was able to access the internet until I rebooted the router. I have since replaced that router (because of issues that I had read about on the internet), and so far so good, but I'm still messing around with the wireless security, so I'm not sure we're completely in the clear on that issue. The problem could very well have been the router, but I don't know for sure.

2. My daughter carries her laptop with her just about everywhere but school, and for a time, she just carried it loose (without a case). She brought it home from a friend's house one night and it just wouldn't boot up. Although she said she didn't, she could very well have dropped it, but it was pretty clear to me that the hard drive had crashed. Sure enough, we brought it to the Apple Store, waited for about 15 minutes, and then saw a tech who tested it, found the hard drive bad, tried to recover the data (unsuccessfully, but at least he tried), and then replaced the hard drive with a new one right then and there. We were out of there in about an hour with a brand new hard drive. As for the hard drive, any hard drive can fail at any time. So the lesson learned is to backup your data. Although the hard drive failed and my daughter lost her data, I cannot complain one bit about Apple service.

3. I was told by someone I work with, who, after much research, recently bought a top of the line HP laptop, that the Mac has heat issues and over time it will degrade the CPUs performance to a point where it will become obsolete. I have not heard or read this any where else, nor has my daughter complained about hers. You may want do a google search on that issue.

4. If you are a Microsoft Office user, you will have to buy the Mac version. You will not be able to load the PC version on the Mac, unless you install the Windows operating system on the Mac, which I'm told is a possibility. Either way, you will be spending extra dough.

5. I would not buy the ultra thin MacBook Air. It's really neat, very thin, and ultra light, but I would be very afraid that it would break with the slightest bit of pressure.

I told you that I would come back to my laptop and here we go. My laptop is a Toshiba. I bought it at Best Buy on Black Sunday 2004, and it is still running fine. I used to travel around with it quite a bit through the end of 2005, but the project on which I used it ended, so now I use it only occasionally. I had an issue with it about 9 months ago, where the power plug on the laptop went bad. I discovered it post warranty. Best Buy told me that I had to purchase a new motherboard at a cost of about $900, which was more than I paid for the entire computer. I told them to forget it, and I went home and called Toshiba and discovered that they had a recall on it and the warranty had been extended through November 2007. So much for Best Buy. Toshiba referred me to a local authorized servicer and they put a new motherboard in it and I was good to go. That took a few days, but again, a good experience.

In summary, I think moving to a Mac from a PC can be done relatively easily, especially if you have some computer skills. I think the decision (Mac or PC) should be based upon what the main use of the computer will be. For example, if you are heavy into multimedia stuff, then I definitely think the Mac is the way to go. If you like gaming and to have the latest and greatest software that comes out, then the PC is the choice. The extra cost of the Mac is offset somewhat by the savings of not having to purchase anti-virus software on an annual basis.

That's it in a nutshell. Maybe others will have something to add. When you decide, let us know which way you went and why.