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General => General Discussion => Topic started by: 95cruza on February 09, 2011, 01:27:37 PM
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Hi all - I am looking to buy a laptop shortly - I currently have (2) Imacs but I think I will go with windows based this time due to cost and and as I am not that computer savvy am finding it difficult to do some things on the Macs - so I am after some advice on any that I should look at but might be easier if someone is aware of any to definitely stay away from.
I want this to take away on trips plus will also eventually take over from the Macs. (I have 2 because I am currently running 2 houses - one at Coober and one at Nuri in the Barossa)
Main requirements are: blue ray/dvd - net (wifi-I guess) - ability to become TV receiver - bluetooth - all else is just normal usage - so screen/visual quality would be important - I don't want to go the big screen stuff just normal 15 - 16" is fine.
Oh and if anyone knows or has the ability to suggest a good/reliable retailer to consider I would appreciate that also?
thanks in advance. :D
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ability to become TV receiver
just get a dvb-t usb dongle, they are round $35 from melbourne computer retailers.
or this mob will mail one out to you for about $12 https://www.pcdiy.com.au/product_info.php?cPath=152_316&products_id=8074 (https://www.pcdiy.com.au/product_info.php?cPath=152_316&products_id=8074)
Oh and if anyone knows or has the ability to suggest a good/reliable retailer to consider I would appreciate that also?
Office works are as cheap as anyone and will price match, you may have one in adelaides northern subs, you would have to check.
oh and optical drives are soooo last century.
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I have an ACER $398 one that I bought from Coles and I've taken it on all my trips and has never let me down.
Mine's only a 10' but they do come in bigger sizes. I'd shop around on the net as much as you can and look for reviews on the net too.
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There are some cheap HPs at Grays Online. I recently paid less than $700 for a machine that I'd previous bought at over $2K. Don't recall seeing Bluray on them but HDMI for sure.
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Hey cruza, can you give us a dollar value to work with??
BTW you can also run any windows based apps using Bootcamp on the Mac.
I am currently looking to go the other way. I am in IT atm and Mac's are very nice! Awaiting the release of the new Macbook Pro.
IT retailers are the go. I use Umart, Altech, Computer Alliance etc as stores usually won't price match internet based business.
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Here's a thing --- http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1013&products_id=16252 (http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1013&products_id=16252) - Love the flip over and round monitor ....
and
http://www.techbuy.com.au/p/160445/DVDROM_BLU_RAY_WRITERS_-_EXTERNAL/LaCie/301978.asp (http://www.techbuy.com.au/p/160445/DVDROM_BLU_RAY_WRITERS_-_EXTERNAL/LaCie/301978.asp)
powered from a USB port ...
Not bad - a tad pricey but looks the goods ...
Cheers
Steve
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Hey 95cruza,
I have to wave the Mac flag! Brother, I used to be a PC evangelist and then I saw the light! I turned about 7 years ago and am now almost (1 PC left in the studio for very specialised use) totally Mac. There is nothing I cannot do in an office environment that needs a PC and for specialised software that needs Windows I run both Bootcamp and Parallels on different machines.
Yes, Macs can be a bit more expensive but as an iMac user you know how easy they are to use, what comes with them and networking is a breeze. There is also a much better range of software for the Mac.
That's my 2 bob worth.
Tony.
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Hey 95cruza,
I have to wave the Mac flag! Brother, I used to be a PC evangelist and then I saw the light! I turned about 7 years ago and am now almost (1 PC left in the studio for very specialised use) totally Mac. There is nothing I cannot do in an office environment that needs a PC and for specialised software that needs Windows I run both Bootcamp and Parallels on different machines.
Yes, Macs can be a bit more expensive but as an iMac user you know how easy they are to use, what comes with them and networking is a breeze. There is also a much better range of software for the Mac.
That's my 2 bob worth.
Tony.
And you don't get bloody virus's with MAC.
If you are dead set on a PC Cruza, maybe subscribe to Catch of the Day. They had an Asus (good brand) i7 processor, 4GB RAM, 1GB Graphics.......well look here (http://www.catchoftheday.com.au/Asus_N53_Premium_Performance_Notebook-p-2009.html)
sure they are sold out of them but they come up fairly regularly!!
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I buy all the laptops for work from the lenovo site and have found them to be really great laptops and I've only had one faulty unit which the warranty turn around was very speedy just remember what you pay for is what you get with any hardware ;D
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Check out DELL computers ;D
service is fantastic with them, it's all done on-line or phone
I've had mine for about 4 yrs and I will get another because I have faith in their products
They can be custom built to any specifications you want from a slow coach to a real flying machine
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A word of caution. About 4 years ago, I bought a (then) high grade Toshiba laptop. What I didn't know at the time was it used over 5 amps and ran very hot on a 12v inverter. OK I thought, I'd look for a a 12V DC car converter.
I was then told I could no longer get a suitable 12V converter to run off the car cigarette socket.
So it stays at home unused.
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Check out DELL computers ;D
service is fantastic with them, it's all done on-line or phone
I've had mine for about 4 yrs and I will get another because I have faith in their products
Please tell me you are kidding. I work in IT and a friend of mine had problems with his video card. Told them what the issue was and what was wrong, but it took over 3 months and threats of taking them to court for them to finally say it must be the video card. Then the pc died about 3 months later just outside the warranty. Another had hers replaced under warranty and they did not supply the replacement to the same specs... Left out the tv card and put in half the size hard drive.
Mind you you can't expect much from an Indian call centre!
But Maîneÿ if your has been ok and you are happy with it then that's great.
BJ
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I think they are cheap and nasty but the service is, dare i say it, good with Dell. Bet you it will be crap from now on :)
I also work in IT and a lady here dropped hers and cracked the screen. Dell replaced the screen.
Guy here lost his 'L' key off the keyboard, they replaced the keyboard.
Guy here had his laptop go off every now and again, Dell replaced motherboard and so on.....usually within a week and onsite also.
I suppose it depends on the warranty scheme you take out with them and the size of the account. We buy $60,000 blade servers sooo.........:)
Sony and IBM to name a few on the other hand, well. You ring them and they ask you to back up your data and post the laptop back at your expense. ^ weeks later you may get a phone call...........if ya lucky.
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I would stay away from Lenovo, we use them at work and have nothing but problems. I personally would persevere with the apple mac, they are a must more reliable machine, far less issues with hardware or software. If you really want to move away from Mac, my first choice would be HP, and this is only based on personal experience.
Hope this helps.
Ati :cheers:
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Every issue I had, yes I thought I did have some, was fixed almost instantly by DELL (with-in days)
some were outside the warranty period, they were things like (*&^%$#@) where the DELL technician does the controlling your computer trick over the Internet to fix whatever the hassle is/was ;D
I would recommend them, and I will buy another - unless I can be convinced to get an 'apple muck' :-*
Have a friend with a new Toshiba, it's been back to the supplier more than she has had it in the first few months >:D
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I've gone where you're headed.
My husband purchased a new smaller and more portable laptop for himself so I got handed down his old Toshiba tectra. My main computer for the last 3 years had been an iMac which I ended up selling.
I figured this was a good time to sell the iMac because the 3yr applecare (which I never even had to use) was about to expire, and also as there is a rumor that Apple is bringing new ones out. So I thought it was a case of sell now to recoup the most $$ I could expect to.
Anyway, yeah within the first week of the Mac having been sold I found a trojan on the laptop! Ha. But a change in the antivirus that was being used took care of that (I'm onto Avira as AVG free is apparently useless these days).
And Mac might not get viruses but unless you have some sort of virus software on it how would you even know? Same goes for windows, I wouldn't have know about the trojan if I hadn't installed bit defender on my firefox browser and scanned the computer.
I had no apprehension about switching back, after 3yrs of solely using the Mac I felt very out of touch with windows, and from what I've seen windows has been doing mostly good things. Namely windows 7, which I look forward to using in the future and was one good reason to go back to it (somewhat Mac like) even though I am using XP at the moment. I also thought about the fact that the kids will be using windows at school, and I wasn't willing to dish out the money for a full version of windows just to run on the Mac when for just a bit more you could probably buy a whole new windows based laptop! And the last factor is that my Husband isn't really a fan of the Mac. Well ok I was a little apprehensive of having to deal with viruses and my kids potentially using the internet and picking them up (not so much a worry with the Mac).
But I tell you what, the fonts and display quality on this laptop compared to my iMac took a bit of getting used to, it just left me feeling like I was going back to some sort of crappy old technology (in regards to how nice the fonts, colours etc look and the colour schemes of xp compared to getting used to a Mac with the nice 20" screen). Mind you Vista and Win 7 have a bit more "eye candy" so it's a negligent issue and I'm already used to it now.
Anyway as for laptops when I eventually hand this one on to the kids I'll be looking at Toshiba or Asus and maybe even Dell, they're meant to be three of the better brands. We've had a few toshibas, the first one had overheating problems due to constantly sucking up dust (intake fans were just in the wrong spot I think it was a real problem), luckily that one was a rental so was sent in for a new fan etc probably every 3 months or so (no matter how hard we tried to keep the environment dust free), no such trouble with the current one though (3 yrs old like the Mac). My Husband didn't do that much research into his new purchase but ended up with another Toshiba, L640 somethign from Dick Smiths, pretty much had the best spec considering it was a 14" screen, well except the one he got doesn't have dedicated graphics which my non gamer husband doesn't pay any attention to, much to my displeasure.
Only thing I'm hearing is some sort of issues to do with the new sandy bridge processors, so I'd consider snapping up a bargain of the current models when they're being cleared out or holding off until some bugs are ironed out with the new ones that are out or are coming out first.
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Hi 95Cruza
Leading Edge computers in Gawler are pretty good, they have a large range of laptops, friendly/helpfull staff and are the local agent for Acer. We have an Acer which is about 4 yrs old now and still going strong the only thing we have had to do it was get a new battery.
A friend has a Toshiba and loves it but said the battery doesn't last long compared to our older Acer and other brands.
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Another Dell fan here -
Bought our laptop in 2009 just before our Top End trip and it was delivered a few days later as ordered.
No problems since and I'm a happy customer - we bought Dell because of recommendations from friends and family.
When time to upgrade I'll either stick with Dell or go to MAC (yes, I'm being lured - must look away from the light, look away from the light!)
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Strewth, so many replies in such a short time - all good and thanks to those who have taken the time and anymore that might - 1st re our Macs - I do like them - big screen all in one quite easy to do most things and my main reason for having them is for use on the net and relatively safe from bugs - but I seem to struggle with things like putting pictures on here - it won't recognise certain hardware eg I have a window based (ce) cheapo GPS - it's not bad but it won't connect to the mac - bluetooth or usb - just got new phone motorola defy - wont connect via bluetooth - it just seems eveything needs to be apple based to work easily with it yet other things are good. I would be happy to get another mac if I can sort some of these things or find where to go to get them sorted.
2nd pricing would anywhere from 1000-1500(1600) or thereabouts - if going mac I know this will be higher.
3rd Isn't the optical drive just the DVD drive - if thats not current what is?
4th HDMI I think that would be useful I guess it could hook straight up to a big tele for slideshows/photos/video ?
5th Are viruses still as bad as we are made to believe - i don't think i have the patience to constantly worry about them and do the protection thing especially after the mac.
Bottom line is I'm not against my mac I and I have had absolutely no issues with either of them - just not sure about staying with them for the laptop - (although the laptops are pretty slick looking and get good reviews)
73 bubba - thanks for tip on Leading edge at Gawler I'm back in the valley during March so may go and have a look - I know that JB Hifi at Eliz are quite good and price match etc as my lad just bought a laptop from them (Samsung I think - he likes it)
cheers
Phil
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Isn't the optical drive just the DVD drive - if thats not current what is?
optivcal drives cover ALL optical drives (ones you stick reflective round things in called cd dvd and BR.
i hardly use any of them anymore and would be happy for a real machine (not an atom based solution which iam not mocking because i have one and its very handy for on the road) to come out without one as the optical disk bay takes up way to much room in a lappie.
usb sticks, usb hard drives and SD cards have made optical media well and truely obsolete from a practical prospective.
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... so I am after some advice on any that I should look at but might be easier if someone is aware of any to definitely stay away from.
I'll write up something in the Rant thread at some point, but for now make sure you avoid Electronic Bazaar - https://www.electronicbazaar.com.au
They might appeal to some Swaggers as they also sell camera gear. Trust me, you don't want to deal with them. Essentially its a one man operation out of his flat in Melbourne who will tell you he has stock in one of his many warehouses so you will place an order. When you start to wonder why you haven't seen your item yet (or even received an order confirmation) you might get some story about "sorry, it was a mistake... we'll have to source that item". What really happens is that he'll ask his mates in Hong Kong to find the item - be it new (if you are lucky), floor stock, factory seconds, or refurbished. If his mates send the items quickly then the buyer might be none the wiser (perhaps only wondering why "Aussie stock" is arriving from Hong Kong or Singapore). If they take their time then this guy just doesn't care and you might get some response indicating that the item is currently being sourced.
If you cancel your order and request a refund then you'll get lip service that it will be so. What then happens is that a few days later your item will arrive - he'll ensure that the item is posted regardless. This makes it a bit tricky to get refunded as an item was shipped and signed for.
Anyway, there is a thread on Whirlpool regarding Electronic Bazaar - http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/1094235
Happy reading.
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Hey 95cruza,
I have to wave the Mac flag! Brother, I used to be a PC evangelist and then I saw the light! I turned about 7 years ago and am now almost (1 PC left in the studio for very specialised use) totally Mac. There is nothing I cannot do in an office environment that needs a PC and for specialised software that needs Windows I run both Bootcamp and Parallels on different machines.
Yes, Macs can be a bit more expensive but as an iMac user you know how easy they are to use, what comes with them and networking is a breeze. There is also a much better range of software for the Mac.
That's my 2 bob worth.
Tony.
I have to agree, had the PC trip, it was hell, buy a white mac book, with discount about $1000.00, get the 3 year apple care...why, when it goes belly up..you can go to any apple shop in Australia and get it fixed. Any apple shop, they don't send it away unless it is serious.
Don't buy a mac from JB, Dick Smith, Harvey Norman...they send them away...buy from an Apple dealer.
Really, people are downloading DVD's and such, so you will need a itunes type store...why...DVD's about 30% cheaper to buy a download...why would you go to Wooloies and pay more?
As for networking...mate a PC will give you migraines unless you are competent in Windows 7..
I am not an Apple fan boy, really, I work in the PC world every day for an occupation...and it drives me mad....you can turn a Mac on and it works.
A mates wife had a top of the line Asus, $1800.00 worth,optioned to the hilt it, broke, 3 months they waited to get it fixed. She had to use the local library to do her work. My Imac when down, 1 week and I got it back.
Today with the marketing, cheap is only a perception, expensive is the reality...
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Did someone once say; "Cheap, solid, reliable; choose two." or something similar?
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My desktop was built up by MSY about 3 years ago and has never missed a beat They are the cheapest out there and good. (So cheap they don't need to advertise.)
I puchased my ASUS netbook through them.
Here is a link to their laptop price list.
EDIT: oops wrong link, try this: http://www.msy.com.au/Parts/notebook.pdf
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I turn over my laptops every year or so, have had 5 or 6 ASUS laptops with no issues. The one warranty job I had in that time was a replacement battery (I broke one of the tabs that held it in place ;D). Simply got a return number, posted it off and had a replacement back in under a week. So after 5 machines zero issues. They have a two year warranty standard.
Now I have a Sony! But only because the price was right and ASUS had no models with the specs I wanted.
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I owned an ASUS for 2 years before I got upset one evening and set it down on the table a bit harder than I should have >:(
Until then it had never missed a beat.
I have also owned a Compaq but it was crap from about 1 week after purchasing it until it finally died after a year.
We used a Toshiba laptop at the shop as the only computer for 5 years before the motherboard quit. It never missed a beat up until then.
Morag had an LG for about 4 years before the motherboard finally gave up the ghost.
She has now had her Toshiba for about 2 years and I have had my current Toshiba about 1 1/2 years and neither have missed a beat. I use it at the shop and as a personal computer.
So far I find the Toshibas to be my favourite laptops...
Bill and Morag
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As far as Win v Mac & viruses go, there is a conception amongst many (including myself) that Win is more prone to virus target simply because of it's proportional usage. You also need to keep in mind the Holden v Ford mentality when it comes to Win v Mac/Win v Linux ;)
If you're interested, have a read here (http://news.techworld.com/security/3245158/mac-users-warned-of-growing-virus-threat/)
So back to topic...
I never worked in the industry, only my *hands on* experience
I've worked on a few ACERs, both desktop & laptops, slow as a wet w/end & total PIS
Never had any experince with Toshiba except for having a play in places like hardly normal, dick smith etc. I don't like 'em, nothing solid, just gut feeling, so take with a grain of salt :)
Have worked on a few Dells & even purchased a couple for friends, both desktop & laptop. Only trouble I've ever had were PEBKaC (problem exits between k/board & chair).
Can't say anything about their service because I've never used them, though a mate did have his monitor die a couple of mths after his purchase, & a replacement arrived 3 days after he'd rang them - before they'd seen or recieved the dead one.
Currently looking at a DELL lappy for the minister, & had to speak to a saleman regarding a query I had. He told me he could do it cheaper than the price listed.
He went through exactly the same upgrades I'd chosen, & came up with $11 dearer ;D But he did inform me of something that I never seen on their site. Because the minister is with the NRMA, there would be a $200 discount on the lappy ;D
We'd bought a Lenevo for our son (made by IBM & once regarded as the bee's knee's for laptops).
It's been flawless for 2yrs, except for a busted hinge. Searching the Net showed this was a common fault with with his model (Y510) & is currently off being fixed under warrenty. Was sent off last Monday, will see how long it takes for it to get back.
GL with your decision, it's always a quagmire of info *LOL*
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We recently got a MacBook Pro, and couldn't be happier. We haven't seen comparable screen quality in any other laptops, the speed of startup and shutdown is pure bliss, and it's all pretty intuitive to use. The PC sits in the corner now gathering cobwebs...
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I've had Apple laptops for 7 years now, and will never have anything else. Trouble-free, included software can't be matched, and it just works.
The first one (Powerbook G4) went for 4 years, unstoppable. I paid $3600 for it (they were much pricier back then but still good value), and after 4 years sold it for $750. Show me a Windows-based machine that could have that much value retention, and still be running like it was new?
We now have a nearly 3yr old MacBook Pro, and it's the same. It works, no issues, and I don't need to worry about crap like virus protection, incompatible components, and having to use Windows.
These days, given their pricing, I think people are absolutely bonkers if they don't buy a Mac.
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I've had Apple laptops for 7 years now, and will never have anything else. Trouble-free, included software can't be matched, and it just works.
I'm no Apple fan boy however I do enjoy using their desktops/laptops. Not so keen on their mobile devices however that may be more the programmer in me having to deal with the antics that involve publishing to their App Store.
The first one (Powerbook G4) went for 4 years, unstoppable. I paid $3600 for it (they were much pricier back then but still good value), and after 4 years sold it for $750.
I have a six year old 17" PowerBook G4. It is the hardware revision just prior to the Intel switch and has been perfect. I think I paid about $5000'ish at the time. It is still going strong and SWMBO uses it every day. I also have a couple of Mac Mini's. One of them is about five years old and is headless, has the old PPC processor, and runs Debian (http://www.debian.org/) as my squid/adblocker proxy. My netbook is a two and a half year old ASUS eeepc 1000H that ran Windows for all of about 10 minutes before having Ubuntu installed. For a cheap machine, it runs very well considering all the abuse that it goes through.
I have a new 13" MacBook Air on the way (its in transit! ;D) as I wanted something light and portable with a good battery life. It also gave me an excuse to go and buy a new Projecta pure sine wave inverter so I can charge it up while camping :D. As for CD's/DVD's, I have to agree with Apple on this one regarding the MacBook Air - for me I don't use them that often. I'll rip my DVD's to divx/xvid/mp4 or whatever and watch them with VLC (http://www.videolan.org/vlc). So I would generally have no need to use an optical drive and having one built in is a waste of space and dead weight. I did however purchase the external MacBook Air "Superdrive" for the times I would need an optical drive.
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realistically the differences between acer, leveno, HP, dell ect are nothing, they are all made by either, wistron, compal foxconn or quanta.
all they do is silkscreen the logo on it, and load em up with adware.
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What! I don't believe it, where are the Apple fan boys now ::) ::) ::)
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/world/iphones-and-ipads-hacked-in-six-minutes/story-e6frf7lf-1226004446097
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What! I don't believe it, where are the Apple fan boys now ::) ::) ::)
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/world/iphones-and-ipads-hacked-in-six-minutes/story-e6frf7lf-1226004446097
Meh, this is true of any "attack" where the attacker has gained physical access. After all, these devices are just (miniature) computers. Once you connect these devices to a debugger you can access any data you like. This is true of any of smartphone (android, symbian etc). I'm not sure why that article was news. Recovering personal data off these types of devices has been common practice for years as part of forensic investigation.
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My point is, the majority of Windows vulns require phyiscal access or user interaction too. If this was a Windows Phone vuln it would be front page news. People love to bash Windows however all software suffers from vulns as proved here.
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I thought we were talking about laptops here?? ;D
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Asus and Lenovo have always been good to me. Got my Lenovo from http://www.notebooksrus.com.au/
I also like MSY, had one of my first computers built there and it was great!
On a down side, I would never suggest a Hp laptop! I have one (I have a lot of laptops for my business) and its an expensive piece of crap. Hp customer service is terrible too
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Hi all - I am looking to buy a laptop shortly - I currently have (2) Imacs but I think I will go with windows based this time due to cost and and as I am not that computer savvy am finding it difficult to do some things on the Macs - so I am after some advice on any that I should look at but might be easier if someone is aware of any to definitely stay away from.
I want this to take away on trips plus will also eventually take over from the Macs. (I have 2 because I am currently running 2 houses - one at Coober and one at Nuri in the Barossa)
Main requirements are: blue ray/dvd - net (wifi-I guess) - ability to become TV receiver - bluetooth - all else is just normal usage - so screen/visual quality would be important - I don't want to go the big screen stuff just normal 15 - 16" is fine.
Oh and if anyone knows or has the ability to suggest a good/reliable retailer to consider I would appreciate that also?
thanks in advance. :D
You'll be sorry.
I have to run windoze for a few programs and do so by running parallels. Virtual Box is also an option. Never in a pink fit can I see myself going back to windoze full time, so I'd recommend staying away from anything not Mac, 'cause they work. :cup:
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I also work in IT
So does everyone looks like
I have multiple laptops around the house new and old from win2k to windows 7 and guess which one I pick up to use everyday
The 8 year old Mac cause it works
So I finally replaced it a couple of weeks back with a shiny new Mac book air and it rocks
Stay with Mac you will regretmoving away