 | Home > Off Topic > IT - which way to go? |
 
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| Caterham Member Since: 06 Nov 2008 Location: Birmingham Posts: 6298   
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anyone thats familiar with some of my previous IT related posts will know I aint got a clue.
my daughter is at the stage where she's looking for a new laptop. She likes apple products and while I appreciate them as being very good I don't like their marketing where by it seems 'closed' protocol. my question is really this; - what are the advantages of a macbook over an ipod considering you can get an ipod cover with built in keyboard - I've always thought the apple products to be quite expensive however you can easily buy a macbook for £1k yet to buy a replacement laptop similar to what I have you're talking over £2k - a Thinkbook x1 carbon which while nice I don't see it as anything spectacular? (I didn't pay anywhere near that much - it was an end of line / obsolete model). what you reckon - I'm also dubious as to how compatible the apple products are with MS office etc? |
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5th Oct 2022 8:26am |
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from my father in laws one last year and its still not on par with my 8 year old Mac.| bear100 Member Since: 22 Mar 2010 Location: South Wales Posts: 1916  
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There are some good deals out at the moment for students on MacBooks, I bought my daughter the pro which works perfectly for her in uni, she has quite a few apple products which they all seamlessly engage with each other. She would never go back to a windows set up.
We have iMacs in the house and they are faultless. I believe they are worth the premium. 2016 Range Rover Autobiography 4.4 TDV8 2010 110 XS Utility 2.4TDCI 2010 Range Rover Sport TDV8 (gone) 2007 Discovery HSE TDV6 (gone) 1993 110 csw 200 tdi (gone) 1994 90 HT 300 tdi (gone) 1994 discovery 300tdi (gone) 90 hybrid 3.5 v8 (gone) Range rover bobtail 3.5 v8 (gone) |
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5th Oct 2022 8:49am |
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| geobloke Member Since: 06 Nov 2012 Location: Nottinghamshire Posts: 4410 
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The last point I can answer. There used to be compatibility issues between Apple and Microsoft Office. It used to be incredibly frustrating especially when cooperating with others using Windows based Office software.
These days however there is no problem at all. I work remotely on a Mac using Office everyday and I have not had a problem with any of the applications. The same goes for other software such as Adobe, QGIS, Mathworks, ARCGIS, etc. What it comes down to is personal preference (Mac or Windows), the look of the device (yes it matters), what her peers are using, what she is going to use the device for (basic school stuff or something more demanding), whether the cost is an issue and how precious you as the father are going to be if an accident happens. If the computer is not going to leave the house/bedroom then perhaps an A1 used Mac mini M1 as these are incredibly powerful machines for very little money, paired with a decent screen and peripherals. Or, as you say an iPad (or equiv. Windows device) with peripherals if the idea of portability is a key consideration. Hope that helps a little  |
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5th Oct 2022 8:53am |
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| Caterham Member Since: 06 Nov 2008 Location: Birmingham Posts: 6298
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not really the responses I was looking for - I was hoping you were going to tell me to stick with pc. no seriously thank you for your input and its kind of what I expected. I do have to wonder though based on your comments why anyone in their right mind would buy a £2k pc laptop when you can buy a macbook pro for £1k ? and why most of the commercial sector use laptops. surely there's some reasoning behind it?
off to buy a macbook pro I guess? |
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5th Oct 2022 8:56am |
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| kmac Member Since: 07 Oct 2009 Location: Middlesex Posts: 1309
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My company has standardised on Macbooks (Air and Pro). I have used both and when buying for the family have bought Macbook Airs.
The reason a lot of companies use Windows based laptops is due to compatibility issues. Although generally MS Office works on a Mac, the features of the programs are not as extensive as the Windows versions. Also some Microsoft products are not compatible with Macs e.g. MS Visio and MS Project. The MS products on a Mac can be buggy e.g. I extensively us MS Teams for work and on my Macbook Pro it often has issues. Whereas MS Teams on my desktop PC very rarely has issues. This is confirmed anecdotally by my colleagues who all use Macbooks and MS Teams to collaborate. |
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5th Oct 2022 9:07am |
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| Nick-St Member Since: 23 Apr 2013 Location: Surrey Posts: 267 
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Most people don't buy the £2k windows laptops - they buy the £500 ones and then complain that they're nasty and plasticy!
Mac vs Windows is just personal preference, most software is available for both now. I have both and would never switch full time to Mac from Windows... There are quite a few YouTube videos on M1 vs M2 and Air vs Pro - it may well be that the Air M1 will be fine (& a fair bit cheaper!) Apple have a refurb & clearance section on their website at the very bottom of the page in the text links - may also save a bit there. |
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5th Oct 2022 9:15am |
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| Caterham Member Since: 06 Nov 2008 Location: Birmingham Posts: 6298
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I think this is a really valid point;
they buy the £500 ones and then complain that they're nasty and plasticy. I recall mates used to say Ford cars were carp. They were compairing their first early / cheap cars with more expensive nearer ones they had in later life - hardly a fair comparison. I suspect there might well be something similar going on here? thanks for your comments.
(ps. not sure if I was looking at refurb'd units before but seems costs are in excess of £1k) |
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5th Oct 2022 9:35am |
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| Nick-St Member Since: 23 Apr 2013 Location: Surrey Posts: 267
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Quite often the Mac refurbs are higher spec machines, rather than discounting the lower spec ones to cheaper prices...
Also have a look at the 'Dell Outlet for Work' for Windows machines (just google and you'll find the proper link). If you look at the Latitude or XPS range of business laptops, they'll be the better made ones and you can extent the (normally standard) 3 year onsite warranty to up to 5 years. |
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5th Oct 2022 9:44am |
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| Ads90 Member Since: 16 Jun 2008 Location: Cots-on-the-Wolds Posts: 809 
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I use Windows Surface Book for work every day now for 3 years and been v impressed - it's the closest thing to a windows mac in terms of build quality. (I use it for AutoCAD and Office, running 2 external monitors).
So bought my son a Surface Pro when he started secondary last Sept - he's v happy and it's a very nice bit of kit. We're an apple family for phones & tv, but couldn't find a justification for paying apple prices for laptops. |
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5th Oct 2022 9:57am |
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| Silver Back Member Since: 11 Jun 2015 Location: Lincolnshire Posts: 405 
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+1 for a MacBook.
I bought my MacBook Pro in 2013 and it's still going strong. Whilst Apple does have an annoying policy of limiting backward compatibility I still manage to run any application I want. One of the main reasons for me moving over to Apple was I became fed up of spending a few hours every month sorting out my Windows laptop with software patches and new drivers. Not to mention the "blue screen of death". 
In the 8-9 years of ownership, other than upgrades to iOS, I've had to switch off and reboot my MacBook three times, with upgrades taking place in the background. As others have said, MS Office runs fine on a MacBook (to be honest Pages, Numbers, etc. are not as intuitive as Office). Just beware that some of the products batched with MS Office for Windows are not present in MS Office for Mac. Might be worth checking your daughter doesn't need them. Would I buy another? Probably. Their stability and performance is outstanding, but I am comparing them to Windows laptops 9 years ago. One drawback is you are (sometimes) limited to the software you can run, so check before you buy. Hope this helps. Andy |
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5th Oct 2022 10:52am |
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| Bluest Member Since: 23 Apr 2016 Location: Lancashire Posts: 4209 
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Another positive for Macs is their longevity, which to some extent offsets the cost premium. I still use a 2012 Mac Mini with no problems, I increased the RAM and upgraded to an a solid state drive last year for a small cost to celebrate its 9th Birthday, and now it is like a new machine. It wont play the latest games or anything, but it is still really good at browsing, office apps etc. 2007 110 TDCi Station Wagon XS
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5th Oct 2022 11:00am |
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| Nick-St Member Since: 23 Apr 2013 Location: Surrey Posts: 267
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Going forward you won't be able to upgrade RAM or internal storage on any Mac - so buy what you need now!
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5th Oct 2022 11:13am |
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| Landymatt Member Since: 31 Dec 2018 Location: York Posts: 191
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+1 for Microsoft Surface Pro.
I have the Surface Pro 7 for work, in daily use for 3 years, still fantastic and quick, can be used as a tablet but I have the keyboard cover (excellent) and stylus pen (barely use it). Plenty of RAM (8GB) and it overcomes most of the extra stuff that seems to end up on the machine. That said I still have the Macbook I bought in 2008 and it still runs fine!! |
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5th Oct 2022 11:35am |
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| Balvaig Member Since: 19 Feb 2016 Location: Fife Posts: 730  
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If you are not up on computers then the Apple product is for you.
It just does the job. Plug in a printer and unless the printer is old and obsolete, it will just work. No messing about loading drivers like Windows. Have other Wi-Fi or Bluetooth accessories, especially Apple products, and again they will easily link together with little imput from you. Take a photo on an Apple phone, and it will be saved on my IMac by the time I get home. I converted to Apple several years ago and would not go back. Take your daughter to an Apple store and they will give you good advice on what would be best for her. |
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5th Oct 2022 12:23pm |
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