Attention all you Computer Experts!!

[mcnamg]

I have an apple powerbook and i actually rent it so that its a nice tax write off and I get a nice shiny new one evry 18 months. Not that I will need a new one every 18 months as appl computers dont go out of date every three minutes like many pcs. I work in retail and have sold PC's and Apples So I know a bit about the good points and the bad points of both. Also I am currently studying at uni doing a computer related degree and have no issues with compatibilty.

As far as the cost of software goes I dont know where you get your information from but equivalent software is not more expensive at all in fact If you look at things like Operating systems for example a copy of Win XP pro when it came out was somewhere around $700 for a full version not an oem copy either. I recently bought a copy of apples Panther OS and the full version was only $249. Another example is Microsoft Office software even though it is a POS the prices are exactly the same and you even get more for your money with Office Pro for mac as you get a full version of Virtual PC 7 with win XP Pro included.

My wife uses an apple IBook and she swears she will never use another PC again. Apple are very well priced and when you consider that they dont need to be updated as often as PC's they work out very nicely.

If you have to get a PC go for a Toshiba. Dont buy a vaio they are made by LG under licence and are overpriced POS!

[BBQ]

Apple are good, And Dell are good for PC, they are all we use in our organization. Have over 4000 machines.. Dell are good with price and performance.

Depends on what you want Pc or apple

[Driver]

i have a compaq laptop and so do a few of my friends,

They all run like a dream and very affordable - I havnt had 1 problem with mine, and either have my mates.

i even had an old armada e500 compaq before this one and that workd perfectly too.

[95GTST]

I'd have to say IBM. Have worked on HP, Dell, Compaq and Toshiba for the past 7 years, but IBM are the shizzne! Haven't had any problems with the T41's or X31's, whereas we'd always have service calls in for Toshiba and Dell lappies.

Model you're after would be a T41 Thinkpad.

You can't beat IBM for service either!

[VL-TRBO-RB20]

i work with apples at work, if i bought another computer it'd definatly be an apple not a pc...

ive got a dell pc and they're not that good... ive had heaps of problems with it... its gaylord!!

go the apple

[someonestolecc]

And Dell are good for PC, they are all we use in our organization. Have over 4000 machines.. Dell are good with price and performance.

NO NO NO NO NO.. these are cheap n nasty business machines for organisations who can turn em over and their performance is GHASTLY.

I won't comment on apple - i dislike them but hey if you like it its called a PERSONAL computer for a reason (ie its a personal choice so whatever you like is always better!!).

I'm looking at buying this or similar.

http://h50025.www5.hp.com/hpcom/au_en/11_2...38_PK359PA.html

Becareful though it's possible not all 7010's have 1mb cache.

http://www.laptopshop.com.au/ quote a similar one to this at $2.6k which bang for buck is hard to pass up (especially if you can make it a business expense).

Search for this title -

"PE748PA HP Compaq nx7010 Centrino 1.7 1 Mb 512Mb 80Gb CDRW/DVD 15.4'' WSXGA+ 1680x1050 Win XP Pro 3 Kg Free 2 Year"

I think it's not a bad deal. 400mhz FSB, 1mb cache, 333mhz DDR, 64mb 9200 radeon with it's own RAM and WSXGA capable screen that can do well over 1024x768 in resolution. It also has 1 stick of 512mb ram not 2x256 meaning a memory upgrade becomes significantly cheaper.

What more do you want?

Only downside I can see is no onboard bluetooth, no onboard wireless and it's probably just a little bit too close to 3kg than some of it's competitors (but only by about 50-100grams).

That's the model I'm currently looking at.

Oh as a side note for those who are hung up on Mac OS it is possible to run it natively on an intel or compatible processor - bet they didn't tell ya that one at the shop did they?