Looking at computer options

[Slaninar]

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. 

Try googling "conficker". It might change your mind on the updates.

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. 

Most new laptops don't have XP compatible drivers. Soon to be the case with motherboards as well. I am an XP fan myself, but the change is forced. Planned obsolescence (what a word in English    ).

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?

I-phone is a nice, practical thing. I don't have it, but a friend who is always on the road uses it a lot - for business as well as fun.


Like most other things - they have good and bad sides, you need to have your own criteria on which you base your decision - for yourself. 


Oh, and most of it is made to take your money, 90% of things I see ordinary people do on a PC can be done with both software and hardware from 10 years ago. But you can't even buy that (except 2nd hand with no guarantee) now.

[rustyrider]

I-phone is a nice, practical thing. I don't have it, but a friend who is always on the road uses it a lot - for business as well as fun.

The biggest problem I know of with a number of people with the iPhone is using it as it's name suggests, as a phone.  It appears that each generation seems to get worse, it is a small iPad that will work as a phone if you ask it nicely and the audio quality is pretty poor too.  I've always used Nokia as they make phones and most of the network infrastructure too, so with my latest have gone down the Windows phone route.  Not because I wanted a Windows phone but because I wanted a Nokia.  Since getting it, it does everything an iPhone, or for that matter, an Android device, can do, sometimes better, sometimes not as well, but it will do it.  Not only that but my wife tried it and found it so much more intuitive to use than her Samsung Android phone, she changed to one too.  Within 2 days she'd sent me a picture message, something she'd never been able to work out how to do in the past!

Microsoft released an update against Conficker in 2008 so while it may have been a problem 5 years ago isn't any more.  Third party security software will deal with it anyway.

True, if you buy a new machine it is unlikely you will be able to run XP on it but if you are keeping an old one then you can stick with what you have and what you know.  My point is that just because MS are no longer supporting XP doesn't mean you have to go out and buy a new machine with a supported operating system immediately.  What can the new operating systems do that XP can't?  Probably quite a lot of things but are they things you need or want to do?

[evesdad]

[quote author=nick crisp link=topic=13727.msg155084#msg155084 date=1403381919]
[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 ).
[/quote]


ChrisoT  I'm bald as a coot wear a Dai cap and only eat red meat     Hip I ain't!

[Dead Eye]

I agree with most of the points made above; if you don't need mobility then a Desktop is always a better choice. They also tend to have much longer life-spans... unless you are an enthusiast...

I'm not sure if it's done these days but Apple did used to allow a dual-boot system to allow Mac OS and Windows to be installed. It's definitely still possible, BUT I don't know if they ship their products like it any more


As for phones;
The iPhone is not for me - as mentioned it is a smaller version of the iPad that can sometimes make calls and I don't like the iPad either.

Android handsets are my preference, but I will fully admit that they can be a bit daunting to novice users as they can be very complex devices.

I did like Windows Phone - Nokia were kind enough to give me a Lumia 810 as I was their "Ambassador" when working for The Carphone Warehouse. They only downside at the time was a significant lack of the applications that I use on my Android phone (currently a Galaxy Note 3). But again, I have quite particular needs and this skews my perspective.


I can seem them being a force to reckon with in the future since Nokia is now owned by Microsoft. Having said that, Motorola were bought by Google and they don't appear to have done much yet... pretty sure the latest Nexus handset was made by LG?

[Slaninar]

[quote author=Slaninar link=topic=13727.msg155169#msg155169 date=1403434202]I-phone is a nice, practical thing. I don't have it, but a friend who is always on the road uses it a lot - for business as well as fun.

The biggest problem I know of with a number of people with the iPhone is using it as it's name suggests, as a phone.  It appears that each generation seems to get worse, it is a small iPad that will work as a phone if you ask it nicely and the audio quality is pretty poor too.  I've always used Nokia as they make phones and most of the network infrastructure too, so with my latest have gone down the Windows phone route.  Not because I wanted a Windows phone but because I wanted a Nokia.  Since getting it, it does everything an iPhone, or for that matter, an Android device, can do, sometimes better, sometimes not as well, but it will do it.  Not only that but my wife tried it and found it so much more intuitive to use than her Samsung Android phone, she changed to one too.  Within 2 days she'd sent me a picture message, something she'd never been able to work out how to do in the past!

Microsoft released an update against Conficker in 2008 so while it may have been a problem 5 years ago isn't any more.  Third party security software will deal with it anyway.

True, if you buy a new machine it is unlikely you will be able to run XP on it but if you are keeping an old one then you can stick with what you have and what you know.  My point is that just because MS are no longer supporting XP doesn't mean you have to go out and buy a new machine with a supported operating system immediately.  What can the new operating systems do that XP can't?  Probably quite a lot of things but are they things you need or want to do?
[/quote]


I totally agree. As a happy XP user. However, stopped support has it's limitations. Patches continued would be good, as well as new drivers.


As far as mobiles go - I curse the day they were made, but what can you do....

[Panthor]

My father switched to a mac last year, his main use is for photos and music.  He loves it, finds it much faster and easier to use tha his previous windows machines.  I have to say i do like it but there are some drawbacks, like having to learn how to use a mouse with no right click.  Also one thing i found out the other day that annoyed me with it is that if you plug in an NTFS formatted hard drive then it will only give you read access and you have to download an app to be able to gain write access.

[redthunder]

I know it's not quite what you asked but..


I have to recommend a desktop. You can get a very good Intel i5 processor, 8gb+ of ram, a large solid state hard drive + a huge regular hard drive for storage, official copy of windows and all the bells & whistles for between £5-600. Sure it's not portable but the performance won't be beaten, particularly with a SSD for your operating system and most used software. You then have the added bonus of being able to upgrade individual parts in 12-24 months to make it more modern and last longer.


http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduc...ubcat=2563


You can spec this up like so





This is a monster of a computer, will do all you ask of it and more. Down the line you could add a graphics card or more ram to make it even better.

[Slaninar]

I would also recommend avoiding the SSD and just getting a good old regular Hard Drive.

[Dead Eye]

That's actually not a terrible price for that sort of spec system...

Definitely steps you could take to reduce the price as well, of which removing the SSD as Slaninar suggests would be a start



I actually, to a degree, enjoy spec-ing systems out using suppliers like Scan... the bit I don't like is not being able to click "Buy Now"

My current plans are for a new home NAS system, but that's not until next month anyway

[nick crisp]

[quote author=Slaninar link=topic=13727.msg155134#msg155134 date=1403421602]
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?
[/quote]

Why?

SSD, NAS, NTFS.............WTF?  :lol

[VNA]

I'm still using a desktop.
Bought it at the end of 2008.
Only thing is it's VISTA64, so not only is it running windows least used version but it's running the even rarer 64bit version.  So I'd guess windows are itching to cut my support.  Already noticing software upgrades that are coming out with no VISTA support.
Anyway hoping to make a bit more space for it, get a bigger desk and get a 23 inch monitor as well as keeping my current 19 inch job.
I did recently have a wee look at getting a new PC, and compared PC prices with a MAC, well lets just say make sure you are sitting down when you check the mac price.
Anyway I'm trying to put it off as long as poss.  Getting any new machine running the way you want it is a pain in the butt.

[nick crisp]

I did recently have a wee look at getting a new PC, and compared PC prices with a MAC, well lets just say make sure you are sitting down when you check the mac price.
Anyway I'm trying to put it off as long as poss.  Getting any new machine running the way you want it is a pain in the butt.

Yeah, the iMac is expensive, but it seems to do the things I want to do rather well - or, in a way I like.

I am aware that every system will have it's advantages and disadvantages, but due to the above, the Mac seems good to me. I'm not the kind of person to want to do regular upgrades, just want something to last me a few years, or a lifetime if that were possible (but I'm not that naïve  :rolleyes ).

I really am keen on getting something that takes up a lot less space than my current desktop, and like the idea of having just the one thing that I can use anywhere in the house. Plugging it in is not going to be a problem, and with a 12 hour battery life, that's even more so.

[Dead Eye]

Vista isn't a terrible OS as long as you have a PC powerful enough to run it Compared to other versions of Windows it certainly is resource hog in every way... Windows versions have always had a sort of tick-tock cycle of being awesome or crap...

95 - Not that great
98 - Awesome
ME - Crap
XP - Awesome
Vista - Crap
7 - Awesome
8 - Not that great

So hopefully 9 will be somewhat better I've gotten used to the little annoyances that 8 brought along, though for some reason 8.1 seems to be even more annoying in some ways :\ In any case, it's irrelevant if you want a Mac


For reference;
SSD = Solid State Drive (no moving parts)
HDD = Hard Disk Drive
NAS = Network Attached Storage
NTFS = New Technology File System - a type of drive format which is default on all Windows machines since XP I believe

Nick, I'm happy to try and translate any techno-babble if you ever want... though I'm off for 2 weeks now... so, yeah... bad timing... oops...

[ChristoT]

You missed out 2000, Liam. That was another super stable operating system that came in before XP, just after ME.

An awesome system, XP was built on top of most of it. 

[Dead Eye]

Windows 2000 was the business / professional release of Windows ME including variations marketed to datacentres

[ChristoT]

Windows 2000 was the business / professional release of Windows ME including variations marketed to datacentres

Er - really? My Mum's computer had ME, and ran like shite. Kept crashing, and took ages to open anything

My brother and I had a tower running 2000, never had any trouble at all. In fact, it still runs!

Wikipedia holds the answer: 2000 was built on top of the NT4 - one of Window's most stable OSs ever. And 2000 Professional (which was the version we had) was apparently marketed as a desktop OS for businesses. Still ran Age of Empires and Combat FS pretty well!  :lol :lol

[Dead Eye]

Although irrelevant to this thread; 2000 was built on top of NT5 It still doesn't matter though as it was a business platform; it's not like I included Windows Server 2003, 2008 or 2012 in my list

[evesdad]

Nick if you are anything like me, most of what you have read in this thread might as well be  blah,blah, blah, blah,windows,blah, blah,memory,blah,blah,blah.  Last pc I had by the time it got to 2.5 years old I used to have to switch it on an hour before I wanted to use it because it would take so long to do updates and whatever other mysterious things they have to do to keep working. My mac is now five years old and hasn't slowed down a bit.I just want a computer to switch on and work, not have to "maintain" it ffs. As far as I am concerned it should be like any other domestic appliance you buy, use it till it doesn't work anymore then change it.

[locksmith]

Cant help on the technical front but.....

You say how great the shop was, spending time with you, making sure you get what you want, but you'll probably buy it elsewhere, more than likely one of those places that "know bugger all about it" to quote your own words    :rolleyes

Just think who's going to be the most helpful if you have a little teething trouble

[redthunder]

I would also recommend avoiding the SSD and just getting a good old regular Hard Drive.

Both is better 


Really though. I bought a 64gb SSD about a year or so ago and just installed Windows on it. I then had a regular 1TB hard drive for storage. Which i've managed to fill so put in another 1TB last week. The great part about it is having Windows on the SSD means everything is super quick from booting up to browsing forums.


If I had to recommend just one computer upgrade to anyone, a SSD would be it. The prices are becoming more reasonable by the day, there is no reason not to buy one. In terms of value the performance boost per £ is unrivalled.