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Looking at computer options - nick crisp - 21-06-14
Well, my old desk top (on Windows XP) is probably going to expire soon, as M/soft have now withdrawn support for that ancient ( :rolleyes) system. Was in a shop in Oxford the other day, forget the name of the place, but they actually seem to know their stuff, have everything plugged in and running to demonstrate, and a guy there spent a good 20 mins showing me a couple of things, after asking what I need a computer to do - which I thought was great, cos most places just seem to want to sell you whatever their latest promotion is, and then can't tell you bugger all about it.
So, I was looking at an iMac laptop - tres expensif! (£850) - but, it has very good photo software already installed, at least, as good as I'm ever gonna need, and is very easy to use; basically, does everything I want from a computer. Unfortunately, I didn't note the exact model, so will have to pop back and check, so I can see if it's cheaper elsewhere.
However, as little as I know about computers, I know there's likely to be a cheaper option that's every bit as good for what I need it for, so I wondered if anyone had any recommendations before I go and splash the cash. £850 still seems an awful lot of dosh for what I'll actually use a computer for, but it is tempting to go for something a little more up-to-date than I'm used to this time as a bit of a treat.
TL;DR Recommend me a laptop.
Re: Looking at computer options - mickvp - 21-06-14
So....what DO you use it for? For £850 you could get an awfully high spec Windows system.
Re: Looking at computer options - Fazerider - 21-06-14
You were probably shown the 13" Macbook Air
It's a smart bit of kit, but you can save a fair bit by going for a Mac mini if you don't need portability and already have a decent screen. That's what I use... lack of a built in optical drive is the only downside I've found.
Re: Looking at computer options - Dead Eye - 21-06-14
Apple make some interesting products... unfortunately you pay an awful lot for the sake of them putting a half eaten apple logo on it...
The other downside is that if -anything- goes wrong with it you are pretty much at the mercy of their tech guys. There's a lot more support for less cost with a Windows machine which is just as powerful and is likely to be something you are more familiar with.
If you are really in to your Photo's and Videos then there are options for that, but usually anything in this field is expensive. Adobe, who produce Photoshop etc, are now owned by Apple so you are still able to get to get top spec software for Windows machines.
The laptop market is quite fluid and where it is possible to get a decent purchase, it can be a minefield. For me personally, I've liked the look of a lot of the newer Dell machines - I have one myself. Previously I've had Acer machines, but these were bought for mobility rather than for performance.
As much as I find it easy to know what I want out of a PC, how to build them and choose the right components, I find it very hard to make recommendations as most people have a much lower budget than I do as I'm an enthusiast and with that comes some eccentricity.
Re: Looking at computer options - nick crisp - 21-06-14
(21-06-14, 06:11 PM)Fazerider link Wrote: You were probably shown the 13" Macbook Air
It's a smart bit of kit, but you can save a fair bit by going for a Mac mini if you don't need portability and already have a decent screen. That's what I use... lack of a built in optical drive is the only downside I've found.
Fazerider, yeah, I think that's the one I was looking at. I think I want to go for a laptop this time, not only for the portability, but also because I'm pushed for space at home. The battery life of up to 12 hours seems pretty good, although it will be mostly for home use I think.
But I did like the photo software - allows me to do a number of things, such as enhance detail in shadow areas, change contrasts etc, and comes pre-installed (seems to me you get less and less ready-to-go software with computers these days).
So photography and an easy-to-use method of organising my pics (upwards of 3000 now!), making albums etc - my current desk top uses HP Photosmart - it's so frustrating, any task takes forever. This iMac was so easy to work with in comparison.
There is also a possibility I might want to do a project using my photos and adding text in the future - it's something I have half an idea of at the moment, but couldn't expand more on that right now. Kind of like writing an illustrated reference book.
I will want to use it to play music on too, so will need a decent option on (compact) speaker systems. Again, something like 500 albums in my collection now.
I do have a stand-alone hard drive which everything is currently backed up onto, 1tb, so basically endless storage space that I'll probably never fill.
And of course, general internet use.
But if it has a good selection of software and capability, who knows what I might end up wanting to do in the future.
Liam, quite possibly a Windows system will also do everything I want, but where can I go to try it out, and be shown directly what it's capability will be? That's the thing with this shop in Oxford - it's the only place I know of where you can do that. You tell them what you want to be able to do, and they physically demonstrate it right there in front of you. I know I'd probably pay over the odds there, and of course there will always be an element of them trying to sell me what they want to sell (they are an Apple specialist after all, so that's what they do exclusively). But they can offer friendly back up, relatively locally, which to a numpty like me, has to be worth something!
Re: Looking at computer options - evesdad - 21-06-14
Once you go mac you'll never go back!
Re: Looking at computer options - nick crisp - 21-06-14
(21-06-14, 07:09 PM)evesdad link Wrote: Once you go mac you'll never go back!
But what in particular makes you say that? Ease of use? How? Easy to find your way around? Bearing in mind an abacus can still confuse me sometimes :lol
Re: Looking at computer options - slimwilly - 21-06-14
You can get a hell of alot of Laptop for £400.00 with the lastest Windows,,why spend more?
Re: Looking at computer options - evesdad - 21-06-14
Nick I am a computer numpty, had my mac since 2009 used daily Mostly just browsing internet I will admit. In that time I could probably count the number of times it has crashed or I have had to force quit anything on the fingers of both hands ( always after visiting "dodgy" sites). Apple sends regular updates for security/bugs.Latest change from mountain lion to mavericks was a free download. I still use i photo for photographs it allows basic editing/sorting. Daughter is bit of an apple fan, on her second macbook and we have just bought her a new iMac . She also uses an iPad to type up letters in uni. Works iPhone and my mac automatically synch calendars with each other. Can use google chrome browser and synch youtube etc to chrome cast plugged in to my tv. iTunes music plays through my airplay enabled av amp and all set themselves up as I wouldn't have a clue! Mac also comes with all the "home" software you need!
Re: Looking at computer options - nick crisp - 21-06-14
(21-06-14, 07:31 PM)slimwilly link Wrote: You can get a hell of alot of Laptop for £400.00 with the lastest Windows,,why spend more?
But what software do you get with it? How do I know that what comes with it is suitable for what I want to do? You go into PC World, and they're useless, can't tell you anything.
Re: Looking at computer options - evesdad - 21-06-14
http://www.apple.com/uk/creativity-apps/mac/
If you are "friends" with a student go to an apple store and ask about educational discounts.
Re: Looking at computer options - nick crisp - 21-06-14
(21-06-14, 09:02 PM)evesdad link Wrote: http://www.apple.com/uk/creativity-apps/mac/
If you are "friends" with a student go to an apple store and ask about educational discounts.
CHRISTOOOOOOOOO!!! :lol
evesdad, I don't think I need convincing that it's a good system, but have to be sure at that price.
Re: Looking at computer options - Dead Eye - 22-06-14
I believe you may be better of with a Mac for your personal needs and the ability to get some help from your local store - I won't dispute that. I just felt it fair to mention that you will pay a premium for this service so that you are aware upfront rather than discover this later on. I don't have a great deal of experience with Mac's, but I have used them in the past.
It is possible to get a very good spec Windows (or even Linux, but I wouldn't recommend it for you personally) laptop. Software is a whole other massive discussion, but having said that Photoshop is a well known quantity. It is made by Adobe, who are owned by Apple so I would expect your local store to be able to give tutorials or advice on it. The catch is that it costs a fortune and I believe these days they run a pay-per-month system rather than an out-right purchase method.
Re: Looking at computer options - ChristoT - 22-06-14
(21-06-14, 09:18 PM)nick crisp link Wrote: [quote author=evesdad link=topic=13727.msg155079#msg155079 date=1403380944]
http://www.apple.com/uk/creativity-apps/mac/
If you are "friends" with a student go to an apple store and ask about educational discounts.
CHRISTOOOOOOOOO!!! :lol
evesdad, I don't think I need convincing that it's a good system, but have to be sure at that price.
[/quote]
Ha, you'll have to start being nice to me now! :lol
Apple's main problem (which I also faced when I tried Linux) is the lack of compatability. Unfortunately for Apple users, Windows is pretty much a global standard, most software is written for it. Sure, you can get emulators, but if you have to do that, why not get the original from the word go?
I personally don't like Apples. I don't like the layout, I don't like their prices, I don't like the fact that 90% of Apple devotees have hipster beards, berets, and drink wheatgrass and carrot juice (sorry evesdad! :lol ).
Re: Looking at computer options - Dead Eye - 22-06-14
While I see your point, it is a bit outdated in my opinion. Compatibility is becoming much less of an issue and if it wasn't for my extreme love of gaming then I would probably use a Linux machine. I already have two that I use separately to my main Desktop, but I'll admit there is a bit of a learning curve.
In any case, this is a tangent to the topic at hand. I wouldn't recommend Linux to nick and while I have no love for Mac's, however I think it might be a good match for him providing he can get a good level of support from professionals at a low cost
Re: Looking at computer options - Slaninar - 22-06-14
I can not recommend you to avoid laptops enough. Unless absolutely necessary to work on the road.
Re: Looking at computer options - ChristoT - 22-06-14
(22-06-14, 08:20 AM)Slaninar link Wrote: I can not recommend you to avoid laptops enough. Unless absolutely necessary to work on the road.
Slaninar has a good point, desktops are dirt cheap these days! And when you're on the road, your phone does most of the work, right?
Re: Looking at computer options - Fazerider - 22-06-14
Totally agree with Slaninar: laptops are horrible no matter which operating system they use.
Charlie Brooker's take on the Mac vs. Windows argument still cracks me up. :lol
Re: Looking at computer options - fazersharp - 22-06-14
Desktop man here to, easy to upgrade bits inside and keep it running far longer than a laptop, - my pc is a bit like triggers broom.
The thing that I see some with laptops do is they buy a mouse for it - and a pad and some extra speakers, -- oh and then cause of crap battery life its pluged in so you may as well have a desktop and for the price of apple you could have a good windows system and a laptop for the garden and get hold of a photoshop 8 for no money.
Re: Looking at computer options - rustyrider - 22-06-14
Personally I don't see what the worry is with Microsoft ceasing support for XP, all their updates ever used to do was cause things that did work properly to stop working. I've a desktop machine that I use for video editing and a laptop that I use for everything else. Both running XP and I doubt that will change. I can use the laptop in the living room (as I am now), in the garden and I can put it in my rucksack when I go away and use it wherever I am. I've never been a great fan of anything with an i in front of it's name as they will only work with something else with an i in front of it's name. I was once given an iPod but found that to load any music onto it I had to install iTunes on my computer which then took a huge amount of disk space and tried to take over everything to do with music files. With any other bog standard mp3 player, I can just copy files over from the laptop and they play.
Windows 8 now integrates calendars, email settings and address book online so does nothing that a Mac can. However, to give the other side of the coin, a friend who is a complete computer numpty went over to a Mac After his son persuaded him that he might find it easier. Most of the time he does but still has problems with things he used to be able to do on a pc that he can't do or aren't as straightforward. He's also changed his phone for an iPhone as he had all sorts of problems getting his previous Samsung Galaxy to work with the Mac and hates it.
As said, you'll pay a lot more for a Mac than an equivalent spec Windows machine but as Apple have their own shops you are likely to get better support than from the ignorant box shifters that work in PC World. It just depends if you need it. You've obviously got on fine with a Windows machine up until now, so what makes you think you'll need it in the future?