Boring thread: Should I get a macbook or a laptop?

[Wrybread]

My poor old laptop is getting slower and slower and needs replacing.

I've always used PCs/laptops but since I've got an iPhone and an ipad I'm thinking about getting a macbook.....I have no clue about them though.

Is it worth the extra cost? Can I set it up so that I can see whatever I've done on any of the devices on all the other devices?....Like if I lost my speaking notes, could I just look them up on my phone?

And how do I compare a macbook with laptops? How do I know which is a good one? Is it ok to get a reconditioned one from Apple?

Anything else I need to know?

Mac is different from windows for a start. Have you used a Mac and do you get on with it?

What do you use your laptop for?

Personally I think you're paying a lot for it just to be a Mac, whereas you can get a better spec windows based pc for a similar price.

But Macs are easy I suppose, you're know what you're getting, whereas laptops there so much for every price range.

Let me know what you want from it, and I can certainly ask my (much more IT savvy) partner to provide some recommendations.

Hi, thanks for replying.

I just need it for essays, PowerPoint type things, bit of excel.

I just keep finding that after a couple of years, a normal laptop slows right down, especially because of windows updates. I've heard that mackintosh don't have the same problem and can keep going for many more years?

I also like the idea that no matter what device I'm on, I could set it up so I have access to the same files easily....Is that right?

My MacBook from 2009 is always needing updates and seems to be incompatible with everything. It's a pain to use and I hate it. I've had to use it for work and it eats documents and spits them out again with the formatting all mucked up. Excel and PowerPoint fair better then Word.
Although it could just be me as DB and DF swear by theirs.

You could use Dropbox to keep files in the cloud and available on other devices.

My friend and I bought a Macbook / HP laptop at the same time about 5 years ago. Both cost around a grand. My HP is still going strong, quick as lightning (it has an SSD drive and takes less than 10 seconds from switch on to logged in). He is on his second (£1k) Macbook.

Stuff that I need to be portable gets chucked either on a 2TB external hard drive (cost about £60) or in Dropbox.

What's an ssd drive, and what difference does it make?

I have a MacBook Air from five years ago. Still like new.

That's interesting. I was thinking of getting a macbook air.

If not, which brands are better?

I've had several laptops over the years. I invested in a MacBook 2 years ago , and honestly I absolutely love it , best thing I've ever brought.
It syncs with all my apple devices, iPhone , iPad and watch . So easy to use and fast .
I wouldn't go back to a different one now.
No question for me - MacBook every time

My MacBook is four years old and fast as new. I would NEVER go back to Windows.

I get livid when certain companies insist on Windows and have to get the IT guys at work to add a magic Windows thingie to it. Yes, it's more expensive but it's absolutely worth it.

And it weighs approximately nothing.

What's an ssd drive, and what difference does it make

A Solid State Drive. Has no moving parts unlike an inbuilt hard drive. Basically a large USB inside your computer.

Pros: Lightning quick to load. Silent in use.
Cons: Still quite expensive for the amount of storage offered. Lower number of read/write cycles compared to hard drives, but in normal everyday use this won’t be an issue.

I seem to burn through PC laptops pretty fast, although I did have a Dell XPS Ultrabook (at work) for a while which even I couldn't destroy.

I bought a new Macbook Air a couple of years ago and love it and have not managed to damage it at all. DD bought a reconditioned Macbook Air four years ago, and we still use it, although it is a bit temperamental now.

My main complaint is that the hard disk is too small. I use Dropbox for almost all my files, but it still uses up hard disk space for the folders it syncs, and even with me only syncing a few folders I often run out of space. TBF I work on huge files though.

79p a month on iCloud storage is the way forward!

Another Macbook Air user here. Mine is around 5 years old and still as fast as when I bought it. I'd also never go back to Windows.

Thank you. You've convinced me.

I'm thinking of going for the new macbook air with the retina screen etc but can't decide which version to go for. Is it worth paying the extra £££ for more memory?

Macs last forever so I would buy the best one you can afford.

My view is with Windows go cheapish at £800 and replace every three years or by the best mac you can afford and replace after 7 to 9 years.

For low power use like yours I'd say mac book is the best option and more memory is always the thing that keeps them usable longer