My best buddy (Dell Inspiron Mini) just broke this week and I'm planning to get a new one and I'm considering Dell and Apple. I want to hear suggestions. I usually use it for 6-8 hours in a day for video conferencing and take to business trips.
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Full disclosure: I've used Wintel setups since 1993 and my experience with computers goes back to 1984 with a Commodore 64. in 2006, I switched over to Apple due to numerous issues with Gateways and Dells that I was managing at the time.

Personally, I've owned a Mac BookPro for five years and have had no problems with it other than early on with the screen having to be replaced due to pixel death (a pixel burned out). I absolutely love the Mac for several reasons,

1) Setting up network connections. For the most part, this is done for you if you set up the computer to search for WiFi Hotspots and wireless connections.

2) The built-in camera. While some Wintel boxes have followed the lead, the cameras on Macs seem to have a crisper video and the audio stays tight with the stream.

3) Line-out for audio and video are easy to connect and transition to. I've had issues galore in trying to get a number of Wintel boxes to work with several different projector and sound systems. With the Mac, it doesn't matter where I go, the connection is made and I can start presenting.

4) Another upside to Apple products is most of the software you need (browser, mail client, calendar, address book, and text editor) are all included. If you do decide to come over to the Mac side, I would suggest looking at what software you currently use and search for "[name of software] for Mac" to see if a mac version is available. Depending on the publishing house, there may or may not be a discount for the conversion.

Hope this helps.
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Mac. I used to use windows based computers until about 6 years ago. I have had a macbook, and a macbook pro. The mac book I bought in 2002 still works, and works very well to this day. However I needed more space, and a faster computer, therefore I bought the Pro. Macs are just over all amazing computers.. They are much more intuitive to learn than most people expect. The switch will not be traumatic. They are well worth the price, and the thing lasts for damn near forever.

If you pay the money now for a macbook pro, or any mac, you won't be paying the extra $500 in three years when your PC gets bogged down, or craps on you.

So I vote Mac.
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Dell is fine, their customer service isn't the greatest (an understatement). But I've worked on I dunno 75 or so Dells and they do just fine. The laptops are effortlessly reloadable. Back up your Hard drive with Acronis True Image, if you ever have a problem it's a 6 minute reload with Acronis :-)

I hate Mac so much I will fix any laptop for free if it isn't a Mac :-) Open offer to anyone that doesn't use Mac's. Just pay shipping both ways and the cost of parts if needed.

I've worked on Mac's from time to time and I will say they are nothing but a pain in my ass. Everything will be going great "hey can you fix my computer it's got some problems". Sure I reply, "oh by the way it's a Mac" :-) :-)

Damnit. :-)

They are also way too pricey, and I can do so much more on a PC.


My advice go with the Dell.


Edit P.S define "broke". What is wrong with it? Let me know I might be able to fix it for you.
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I currently use a mac but I've also had good experiances with Lenovo and dell. My wife has a HP and while it works it is a pos and a giant pain in my ass.
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Toshibas are a under rated laptop imo.

A trip down to BestBuy to put your hands on the Mac, Toshiba, Sony and Dell would probably be worth your time to make a one to one comparison.
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I agree with the negative comments on HP. My HP has had an ongoing over heating problem since day 1 and I hate the built in baby sitter that does health checks on the machine on a weekly basis. I wish that I had bought the Acer that my wife bought at the same time that I got the HP. Toshiba and Asus have also had good reports on them. I have never used Apple hardware so I can't comment on their products.
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Without a doubt and the sales & brand history supports it; Lenovo. The ThinkPad is the best laptop for the serious user.

It's not No. 1 business laptop and has been for a long time for nothing. Get the X or T series and you'll have the industry benchmark.
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Practically light a cigar from an HP they get so hot. They specialize in the cheapo bells and whistles laptops. Never had the penetration of Lenovo.

Asus & Acer are good for the money or entry level and Toshiba has some compelling models on the high end.

Dell is just a joke in the laptop market.
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Not to highjack the thread, but wih all the Hp bashing (frankly I hate hp too) I am just curious why Consumer Reports rate them as #1 next to the Mac??
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Yeah, go with Lenovo or an Asus model. Macs are fine computers, i've owned two, but you are paying a steep premium for design and the OS. You can get a windows based laptop with far pretty harder specs for a lot less money than a mac. I'm not big on Dell since their customer service has gone down the toilet.
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'4 Reasons I'll Never Own a Mac' by Rob Cheng
September 08, 2011 by chengrob in The Pit Blog

http://techtalk.pcpitstop.com/wp-con...0110908mac.jpg

When I reflect upon myself honestly, I believe that I will always be a Windows user or to put it more bluntly, I don't think that I will ever purchase an Apple computer. Here is my rationale. I am curious whether others might feel the same way.

1) Frugal. First off, I should tell you that I am very frugal. Like over the top frugal. I don't like purchasing designer clothes, fancy jewelry and other ostentatious things. I am a business guy, and I know that the gross margins on these products are inflated because it plays to a person's sense of self, and I avoid products like these as a rule because I always feel like I am overpaying. Just a quick scan of prices between PC's and Apple show that Apples are consistently more expensive than its Windows counter parts.

2) Productivity. I have had a lot of computers in my life, and I imagine I will purchase many more in the future. The #1 reason by far why I own a computer is to make myself more productive. I can absorb large amounts of information quickly on a computer, and it is a fantastic tool for my creativity. When I am in front of a computer, I feel like there are no bounds to what I can dream of. So here's a criticism of some Apple users. Not all Apple users, but at least some of them.

One day, I was in the airport in Rio de Janeiro waiting for my flight. It was April 2010, and the iPad had just been launched. There was a guy on the same flight as me, and suddenly he got on his feet in a dramatic sort of way. It was obvious he was trying to draw attention to himself. Slowly, and emphatically, he opened up his bag and pulled out his brand new iPad. He pulled it out and raised it well above his head while analyzing his new prized possession. I felt like at some point, he was be like a model on the runway showing off his latest designer glasses. BTW, he also had designer glasses.

I am picking on an iPad user but this behaviour is also common with Mac users. So back to my point. For me, my computer is about my productivity. For this guy, it was more an accessory to go with his pink scarf and goofy white shoes.

3) Standards. I am a main stream guy and I absolutely adore the adherence to standards in the computer space. Having been an executive at Gateway, we helped many of the standards on which the computer is built today. However in Apple's world, they pick and choose the standards in an almost arbitrary fashion. There are two that irk me most.

Why in the h*ll can't Apple use a standard mini USB connector for an iPod? After all, USB is internationally recognized and adopted standard. Would it be so much to ask that I can use the same mini USB cable that I use for my camera and Kindle also worked with my iPod?

Next, the iPad still to this day does not support Flash. I have started to use Flash on my personal web site, and PC Pitstop uses Flash for many of our broadband tests. Are all the Flash developers in the world supposed to look for jobs now that Apple decided that Flash was somehow sub par?

This is not so much a criticism about Macs themselves but the company that makes them. Best I can tell, Macs support the USB standard despite Apple's prior support of the Firewire standard. I would venture to guess that if all Macs only supported Firewire that they would be far less popular.

4) Batteries. Some Mac laptops have non removable batteries. This is really bad news. For better or worse, battery technology has moved to Lithium Ion and has stuck there for the last decade. Lithium Ion is now found in all of our devices such as cell phones, wireless phones, e-readers, and off course laptops. Although Lithium Ion has certain advantages it has one huge disadvantage. Lithium Ion batteries have a set battery life. From the moment that the battery is manufactured, the clock begins ticking and it will ultimately die in a defined period of time. Historically and from personal experience, it seems that the life is about 2 years.

There is a myth out there that battery life is a function of use. That is not true, you can use the battery all you want or not at all and the battery life is about 2 years.

So here's my beef with Apple. When I buy a new laptop, I know that it will last a little less than 2 years. After all, if the laptop has been sitting on the shelf for 6 months, then the battery only has about 18 months left. My problem is that after the battery dies, I want the option to put a new battery in the thing. Quite often, I hand down my old computers to other members of my family. I want that option, and now Apple has removed the option. Once the battery dies on certain Apple models, the machine just becomes useless.

Conclusion At the heart of the issue, is the old time tested question of form versus function. Or style versus substance. I know me, and I always have choosed substance over style and that goes for my computer too.
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+1 for Apple, my MacBook is easy to use and it just works. No random errors for no reason, I have the full Microsoft office package so it's plenty productive. If you have programs that need windows OS, Apple made it very easy to partition the hard drive so you can have the best of both worlds.
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How does this help the op or answer his question?
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I am an Asus & Lenovo fan, I am considering trying a Toshiba as my next laptop.
I will never ever ever get an HP.
FOR ME and what I use a computer for, a Mac is waaaaay overpriced
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The way I read slim's post is that he's providing some reasons to not buy Apple notebooks.

No different than pasting an article or report about any other brand really.
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Asus, hands down. Best warranty, great systems, most even have a one year accidental breakage warranty. Great value too, you can get great deals off Amazon. I've had mine almost a year and I love it.
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The blog touched on four points, irrespective of whether it's valid or not:

1. cost.
2. productivity.
3. standards.
4. product longevity.

All are very valid criteria for making a decision on what to buy. You can certainly argue that the blog's points are wrong (although, cost and longevity is kind of hard to argue against since those are fairly objective factors).

Leaving that aside, I also recommend Lenovos. My wife has a T410, I plan on replacing my ancient Toshiba with a Lenovo T series in the coming months (although, I'm really curious as to how Intel handle their Ivy Bridge systems so may hold off just a bit longer) and just about everyone in the office is running around with the ThinkPad of one type or another.

However, for Lenovos, I would recommend against getting the IdeaPads. Those are their lower end consumer lines and generally not as well built as the ThinkPad counterparts. You end up paying about 10 to 15% more (but still WAY less than a comparable MacBook), but in my opinion, it's worth it.

BTW, you might take a look at http://outlet.lenovo.com. If your timing is good, you can end up with some very good deals from the outlet store. They have listings for new, redist, refurb and scratch/dent. The first two conditions are essentially new (redist is just systems which were ordered but were never opened or powered up). And from my own experience, the refurbs are excellent (most seem to have just been opened and powered up).

The T420's listed there are very tempting (I perfer the 14" laptops over the 15" since I need mobility--but they also have T520's listed there too).
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I have an asus netbook and enjoy it. Brother and sister both have toshibas and they really like them. 4 of the 5 people with HP's that I know have nothing but problems. My brothers previous laptop was an HP and it literally fell apart in less than 2 years. Not to mention getting sent back for serious overheating problems.

So I guess what I'm trying to say is, go to a store, try them all and pick what you like. Only one I suggest not getting is an HP.
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Lenovo Asus or Dell IMO. The lenovo is the best choice but usually a little more expensive. I've used Macs in the course of my work and don't care for them and the last time I looked they were unjustifiably expensive. On the other hand I'm not a professional graphic designer and I don't do any digital music or video editing but I'm told by those who do that the Mac is still far superior for those tasks.
I use Linux on most of my machines but I realize that requires a learning curve that most non IT people won't find rewarding.
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