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September 26, 2005
I'm not getting a Dell
I need a new laptop, and I'd love some advice.
I want a laptop to replace both my highly unreliable Sony VAIO laptop and my Dell Dimension desktop. I want one computer for business and personal use that travels well. I've vowed to stay away from Dell hell, but I'm not sure what brand/model to buy.
My requirements:
* Fairly light but rugged enough for travel
* Ports for a USB keyboard and flat-screen monitor
* Connects to Palm Treo 650
* Built-in wireless
I've never owned an Apple. Steve Rubel just switched to a PowerBook. I'm tempted, but I'm afraid of the learning curve.
Any feedback on HP, Thinkpad, Toshiba or other models?
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I'd throw my vote to the Thinkpad T series. Big enough screen to use at your desk while still light enough not to be a pain to carry on your travels.
A 15" or 12" Powerbook is the best choice. Works perfectly with the Treo - via Bluetooth. Get a two button mouse (wired or wireless) and use the Apple Bluetooth keyboard. I have my 15" on a Lapvantage stand - http://www.lapvantage.com/. I'm a long time user of both Macs and PCs and use both in my home office.
I've found that I have become an evangelist amongst my friends for the ease of use of the Mac platform. A friend of mine, who consults around the world, at my recommendation, switched from a problematic Vaio to a 12" PB and has just converted his wife to the Mac platform. He's happier than a clam. (I'm actually not sure how happy clams really are, but I digress.)
Drop me an email if I can be of assistance.
Regards,
Bill
I must have missed something but what is wrong with Dell? I quite like mine. I must be uncool or something.
Hey Jackie,
Gotta tell ya... after more than 20 years on PC and giving my husband years of grief (cuz he was an Apple evangelist), I switched over to the Apple Powerbook (17 inch) last February and am now kicking myself for waiting this long. [I've also done a lot of apologizing to my husband.]
You might be surprised at how easy the learning curve is - the Apple is much more intuitive. AND, if you purchase the MS Office package for MAC, you can still have Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, etc. I just love it and have become a major fan.
Good luck!
Go Mac. You have a customer evangelist backed my millions of others to help you.
Learning curve is PC language. Apple invented intuitive. You will never regret going with a PowerBook.
Powerbook is cool. But I don't know your budget - go for the Tosiba iLifebook or whatever its called.
Don't worry about the learning curve for apple its okay - one month and you will be kicking but i think its more on how much you depend on the windows world
Try a tablet and have something new to evangelise.
I've got a Toshiba M200 used three ways:
(1) docked in the office with an external keyboard, mouse and 19" (yes Dell) monitor;
(2) in normal laptop mode when the wireless capabilities are at their best;
(3) and of course flipped into tablet position when I can lounge back and scribble on top of any of several free or shareware apps in addition to all the big daddy programmes such as MS OneNote.
Think of the presentation advantages of being able to write notes right on top of your slides or even mind map live.
You wouldn't regret it.
I went with the tablet its great to use it seems to have problems locking onto wifi networks sometimes. In tablet mode its really great
I switched to a Mac about 2 years ago and there just isn't a learning curve. It's very easy to use. In fact, it does what I thought every computer should do. You're going to pay a little more for a Powerbook, but you're going to not have to replace it in a year like most PC's...
Get the Powerbook - 12" or 15". The 17" is just too big for travel.
I am at 18+ months and now switched over the home with a new Mac Mini.
Here are my two reasons for why Mac is the way:
1. Everything works together. Spotlight search looks at your whole computer. iLife lets you see music, pictures, and movies in all the complimentary programs. My Nokia 3650 syncs flawlessly with address book. My Sony plugs in via FireWire and worked on the first try. None of this required drivers or other programs to make it work.
2. There is a passionate set of people writing stuff to make your life easier. Textwrangler auto inserts text. NetNewsWire is an awesome RSS reader. Notational Velocity is a brillant note taker.
It is simple. Get the Mac.
P.S. I know someone who could probably help with the transition.
If, after all of those persuasive arguments to switch to MacWorld, you decide to stay PC, my recommendation is the IBM Thinkpad T series (along with your first commenter). I was less than fond of Dell after managing 10-15 of their laptops for Tom. I've had my Thinkpad for a year and so far it's been problem-free. I'm with you on the temptation to switch - it's been a decade since I've worked on a Mac and I still miss it. Oh - and if you do switch, check out Circus Pony - it's like having your notebook on your computer. Good luck!
When I read your post I was going to comment saying I had the same dilemma about switiching to a Mac, but when I did, about 2 years ago, I found a minimal learning curve.
But everyone else seems to have said that for me - so all I can do is chime in and say I'm delighted I switched, and have wasted far less time on viruses and crashes than I had on my old VAIO.
I'd have to agree with Laura's comment. There's nothing wrong with the quality of Dell computers. Granted, customer service is another factor, but I still find Dells very reliable. I purchased a refurbished Dell laptop about six months ago - not one problem. (http://darthservo.blogspot.com/2005/03/bought-laptop.html)
Granted, Dell's customer service is something left to be desired, but what are you really looking for? When quality is concerned, I would continue to buy Dell.
Of course with any machine, I would immediately format and reinstall the OS to clear off all of the junk that the mfgs throw on (Dell being the least I am aware of). After that is done, reinstall the necessary drivers and software, and you have a really brand new system at top speed.
Remember, the more you install on any computer, the slower it will be.
I have to chime in. After 11 years using Dell and IBM Thinkpads I switched to an Apple 15" Powerbook 18 months ago. The learning curve consisted of two things...1)The Minimize, Resize and Close buttons are on the left top corner instead of the right. 2) I overthought it. Everything just worked on the PowerBook. I was used to having to install drivers and tweak things so I could get programs to run on my Thinkpad but with the 15"PB I found myself just doing instead of tweaking. Unless there is a radical shift I won't be going back to windows. We now own 3 Powerbooks and 4 iPods.
You need to get a Powerbook. I made the switch last \October and never looked back. THe learning curve is not as bad as I thought. It's worth it for the experience of dealing with Apple. Will give you many examples, blog posts, etc. Of course, it depends on what you are doing. I have to keep a separate Windows machine because Dragon Dictate 8 has no equivalent good enough on the Mac. I do lengthy writing on the Windows machine and Foldershare (an amazing program that you should get anyway) automatically synchronizes automatically at every save, as long as I'm connected on the Internet.
Also works well with the Treo. Synchs fast via a wire for the initial sync, then go to BlueTooth.
I've been a PC user my whole life, owned laptops from Dell, Compaq, Toshiba, etc. I just switched to Apple Powerbook and so far so good. Nice to have a product actually built to use, and also not to live in constant fear of new viruses.
Make the switch to the Powerbook. You won't regret it.
Too funny, Jackie. I am at the exact same point right now - considering a switch to a Mac from Dell. Even though I would be able to get a family discount on a ThinkPad, it still doesn't serve my purposes.
And - the Apple-expert I spoke with wasn't even sure I needed to get a Powerbook. He said the iBook can easily serve a lot of business purposes, and the durable, plastic outer-layer (as opposed to the very pretty and scratchable metal of the Powerbook) would work better for my life/travel style.
I'm 99% ready to buying a 12" iBook and get a new display to plug into it for when I'm home.
I've owned Dell forever, but I'm done with their customer service - so if I didn't buy a Mac - it'd probably be a ThinkPad.
Maybe we can be a transition support group of two?
Let's jump off th cliff together!
yup. writing this on my 2 yr old 15" PB. my 3rd apple. i have no idea why anybody uses a PC if they have the choice.
Yes but you're not writing it are you?
You're typing it.
Jackie should try a tablet to find out how much more productive the technology can be, say, in meetings.
Maybe Steve Jobs will pull an Apple tablet out of his jeans pocket next time he gets in front of the press (I doubt it) but until then his company has a big hole in its inventory.
Jackie - I was a militant PC user for ever. My first PC ran on natural gas it was so long ago. Last April (2004) I took the plunge and switched to a 12" PowerBook (wanted the small size because of my travel) and have since purchased a 14" iBook for my daughter and am seriously looking at replacing two Dell desktop units with one iMac G5 within the year.
Coolness aside - the Mac is SO much more stable, I don't worry about virus attacts, save tons of time not waiting for the damn thin to boot up or down when I'm in a hurry - and the beat goes on and on and on.
We just went laptop shopping for our son, who's away to college this year. We TRIED to get him a Dell, because that's what his school recommended.
But after 10 minutes of standing around at a "Dell Store" (i.e., kiosk at a mall), being ignored by sales people chatting about computer games, and blocking access to their own demo machines so we couldn't even look at them, we left.
A nice Toshiba now graces my son's dorm desk. (He didn't want to go Mac). The Qosmio was overkill for basic student needs, being a multimedia machine, but as a budding architect we felt the dedicated graphics card was worth it, and the Circuit City price was reasonable.
I have a Dell Latitude C640 laptop. It gets lots of use and abuse. When I purchased almost three years ago, I also purchased the top level service package. I have no complaints about my experience with Dell.
My laptop is my business computer. It is on virtually round the clock. It is put into my computer bag 4 or 5 times a day. It goes where I go. During the past year and a half, Dell has replaced the following without hesitation.
Power block
Screen
Modem
Touchpad mouse
The entire case
Motherboard - twice
You get what you pay for. My bet is that those people who have had problems with their Dell chose not to upgrade the service. Rather short-sighted.
Here's what I learned from my latest repair experience, last week. On these machines, they take the faulty or failed parts back to the shop, determine what is wrong, fix it, and it goes out to the next repair job. As the repair guy told me, the refurbished parts are better than the original equipment because they have been thoroughly tested. And I will say the case that now holds all these parts is of a heaver grade of plastic than what came with it.
Unless given a substantial reason not to, my next computer will be a Dell.
Jackie make the switch. You will be up and running in a matter of hours. I made it a year and a half ago and it was the best decision I could have made. I think the 15" PB is the way to go.
I've switched to Mac (12" iBook) about 6 months ago. It works. I'm really really happy.
I still don't understand why so many people like apple laptops, I had the worst experience ever! Decided to switch to apple to give it a try after having worked with PCs for 10 years. Got my brand new 17 inches Powebook in april, after 3 weeks I discover that the DVD burner has problems recgnizing DVD written with other drives, and when it does recognize them (rarely) it takes 2 minutes to load. It doesn't burn at full speed unless you buy apple discs (10 times more expensive than others). And there is a petition on apple web site signed by some 3000 people begging apple to do something about it. This is not all: the powerbook is only certified to work properly up to 35 degrees celsius (95 F), which means forget about using it in summer time unless you are in a AC environment, I could have used it to fry eggs for my breakfast (think why apple just switched to Intel...) I had major problems with the hardware not to mention how little is the variety of software available compared with PCs. I think this is unacceptable for a latpop that retails for $2.700
I have now a DELL 9300. It's much faster than the every apple laptop, a million times more reliable, amazing screen. I have to admit one thing though: apple products looks soooooo cool!
As for the MAC/PC thing I use whichever you give me. I realy can't see that much difference when it comes to executing my job. I personally have tried almost everything: a powerbook (awesome and awkward at the same time, specially as I'm from Brazil. It's like, you can never ask anyone to do something in your machine from a distance), a Dell (didn't like the one I had, sturdy, didn't like the keyboard), IBM, Toshiba (I'm a freak user, when Satellite saw the thousands windows and programs running at the same time, it just collapsed and lost touch with planet earth), and I'm definitely at peace and happy with my HP Pavillion. Light (although it's quite a piece (17"flat), have improved with one more HD and another 512 RAM. So it has great performance, relatively low noise level, and quite stable. So the bottom line is: you'd be cooler with Mac, but I think you'd get more peace of mind with HP. At least my average attempts to throw the machine by the window went down considerably.
Oh, and regarding viruses, man, there's a zillion ways to avoid it. And probably the most expensive would be buying a Powerbook.
Mac is the only way to go!
I haven't used a PC in years, and I don't regret it
for one single moment. Personally, I wouldn't use
anything but Mac. It's like comparing a Pinto, to a
Cadillac.
Saying Windows is equal to Macintosh is like
finding a potato that looks like Jesus, and
believing you've witnessed the second coming.
Raven~
Okay. Bob says that he had to replace the following parts on his Dell:
Power block
Screen
Modem
Touchpad mouse
The entire case
Motherboard - twice
And he's excited about it? He even states he'll get another? That's crazy! No wonder people love their Macs...
HI Jackie:
First of all after reading all the comments on the laptops-I am sticking with my MAC. I have an iBook and will probably upgrade to the Powerbook soon. I LOVE it and find it much easier than the PC-everyone in my office at Artist for Humaniity in Boston are on MAC's-including the ;high school students who are apprentices and the collegiates at Mass Art, etc. Plus the MAC laptops are so light.
By the way-these comment are definitely keeping me with a MAC powerbook the next time around.
Happy Thanksgiving-
Sylvia
I was a Dell-till-death laptop guy and mine just passed away so I needed a new one.
I like Dell cause of the screens and their high resolutions capabilities, good Graphic cards, solid built, etc... but I switched !
I bought a new Powerbook Pro and it definitely rocks !
With the ability to have both windows and OSX at the same time, there is no reason not to switch.
It's lighter, thiner, more beautiful and learning OSX is really not difficult.
Don't think about buying a mac, do it.
I wish I could be an acolyte. I adored my early '90s Apple and so, traded from HP laptop to iBook a few years ago.
Physically I love it, great for travel. But running programs, for me, is a nightmare, counter-intuitive. My first Apple was intuitive, amazing. I, my husband and my (techie) middle schooler have had a lot of late nights trying to work OSX. And now, I will slither back under my rock of shame....
