New Laptop - need reasons to buy Powerbook

[Opinionatedfreak]

Ok

I need a new laptop (well I don't actually need one as the one I've got works OK but I'd like a new one).

I really,really want a 15" powerbook but that is based primarily on how pretty they look. I'm not very good at spending that kind of money on myself so please help me justify it (I have the money - I'm just tight).

I currently have 5 yr old PC laptop as my only computer. I use it for internet (a lot), itunes at home and in a work related guise - word, excel & powerpoint. I've just started to put more work stuff into access.

I own a VERY old copy of Office which I would be happy to replace so advice re office or iworks would be appreciated too.

Thanks.

" I've just started to put more work stuff into access. "

Well, I suppose with Bootcamp (something to allow the Mac to run Windows) you may get away with it, but AFAIK, MS Access is possibly going to be a sticking point. Admittedly I am rusty - was using MS Access 10+ years ago when it was expensive to get 500 MB drives (and my PC at the office had 2) because I was working with up to a million records, but I guess you could keep the existing machine "just for Access"

You obviously need a 15" MacBook Pro (I am writing this on one). It will last longer than the equivalent PC and since you will be looking at it with it sitting on your lap for hundreds of hours, you would never forgive yourself for getting an ugly, virus-prone PC that will spend the next 3 years (likely life span) telling you that something needs updating and getting slower and slower as its added self-protection software gets more and more neurotic.

You can in fact run Access on a Mac without Windows at all, using a thing called Crossover, which runs the Access code directly without any need to reference the Windows bit (it is after all just a kind of wrapper for other programs). But you need to be quite nerdy to set it up. Best solution for normal people is VMWare Fusion or Parallels, which enable you to install Windows and run it alongside the normal Mac operating system. Put that on your MB Pro and you'll have an all-purpose uber-machine that will be the envy of everyone.

I'm thinking of putting a solid state hard drive in mine- if I do, it will be so fast that only my children will understand what it's doing...

Thanks for the info about Crossover, but as you say, it's unlikely to appeal to average Mac users.

As for virus-prone, it's certainly true that as a massively popular operating system, there are more attacks on Windows, but one does not necessarily have a virus infected Windows machine any more than someone claiming a Mac is 'invulnerable'.

Whether updates are needed is yet another area of misconception, as machines can quite happily be left with Windows Update turned off - oh, and why do you claim they will get slower and slower ?

Mine have not, and have been happily running Windows XP for years (with updates disabled, and a free firewall from a third party, allowing me to have complete control over what does or does not "call home").

Don't get me wrong - I'm not a Mac/Apple hater. Indeed I have an old iMac here for testing web sites developed on my other systems, however, I will defend Windows against some of the negative comments and claims, and certainly question the motivation of those who are so clearly anti-Windows / anti-Android as to be (in my view) "Apple fanatics".

"You obviously need a 15" MacBook Pro (I am writing this on one). It will last longer than the equivalent PC and since you will be looking at it with it sitting on your lap for hundreds of hours, you would never forgive yourself for getting an ugly, virus-prone PC that will spend the next 3 years (likely life span) telling you that something needs updating and getting slower and slower as its added self-protection software gets more and more neurotic."

It will not last longer, the components are no different to those in a good quality laptop, PC's are not virus prone that is Windows and no one is forcing you to use it, Linux will not be telling you something needs updating and there is nothing forcing you to click to update just because Windoze tells you to, the only reason I can think why (your PC?) gets slower and slower is because you filled it full of worthless software that was running in the background using up all your CPU's time and RAM.