I need a good Notebook, Help pls.?

Question

I am a student and I'm looking for a notebook that is going to last me and provide all the lil neat personal stuff too( photos, account managing), I get a discount from Dell from my school but I want to know why is mac better, and if not which one is best. I need less chance of getting infected, wireless access, and a long list of of college programs I am going to put on my desktop.I'm not trying to spend over 1800 if I can help it. I just want user/software friendly comp. that I can keep till I finish my Doc.

Answer 1

$ 1800 - that's a lot 4 a student notebook

Checkout the dell xps m1210
> damn good 4 portability
http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/xpsnb_m1210?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs
...anyways i took the liberty 2 customise one 4 u ...
Intel Core Duo proc T2400(1.83GHz/667MHz/2 X 1MB L2 Cache)
Genuine Windows® XP Media Center Edition 2005
2GB Dual Shared Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz
60GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
8x CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer DVD+R write
Integrated Sound Blaster® Audigy™ HD Software Edition
256MB NVIDIA® GeForce™ Go 7400 TurboCache
Intel PRO/Wireless 3945 Internal Wireless and Bluetooth

>> totals $ 1704 .... i took it upwards seeing u'r 1800 budget
sure school discounts gonna reduce it downward

> doubt if u can get a better notebook at this price

as regards the infections and all the nuisance from the internet, i am using a fantastic tool - system mechanic - pro
http://www.iolo.com/sm/6pro/index.cfm

Answer 2

I bought 3 dell computers in the past five years. Two of them have been notebooks. I love them. I recently sold my Dell desktop to a Mac user. They couldn't stand their computer any longer. Besides the "plus" of having less viruses, there was nothing else worth keeping the mac. $1800 is a lot of money to get a FABULOUS computer. Just make sure to include anti-virus software with your purchase. You can always go on Dell's website and tell them what you want and they can help you build your own personal computer that will fill your needs.

Answer 3

I have worked on Windows computers for several years as a help desk analyst. I currently have four home computers of which two are laptops. The last one I purchased was an APPLE. I have never been more pleased with the hardware and software as I am with the Apple. There are many similar applications between MAC and Windows so that you can open, write edit and save office documents as any Windows files such as doc, xls, and several other formats. NeoOffice is a free open source code "office" program that does all of this. I have not found any compatibility issues with any Windows files. The MAC also comes with a lot of features in the operating system that you would otherwise have to purchase on a Windows system. The new dual processor Apple computers allow you to also run Windows apps on your Apple. I currently have this set up on mine and I am able to run any Windows app that I want. Apple computers also do not have the virus problems that Windows computers do. Here is the text from Apple explaining this.

"By the end of 2005, there were 114,000 known viruses for PCs. In March 2006 alone, there were 850 new threats detected against Windows. Zero for Mac. While no computer connected to the Internet will ever be 100% immune from attack, Mac OS X has helped the Mac keep its clean bill of health with a superior UNIX foundation and security features that go above and beyond the norm for PCs. When you get a Mac, only your enthusiasm is contagious.

Connecting a PC to the Internet using factory settings is like leaving your front door wide open with your valuables out on the coffee table. A Mac, on the other hand, shuts and locks the door, hides the key, and stores your valuables in a safe with a combination known only to you. You have to buy, configure, and maintain such basic protection on a PC.

On a Windows PC, software (both good and evil) can change the system without your even knowing about it. In order for software to significantly modify Mac OS X, you have to type in your password. You’re the decider. You approve changes to your system.

People attempting to break into computers may disguise a malicious program as a picture, movie, or other seemingly harmless file. You might download such files from the Web, or get them via mail or chat. A PC just blindly downloads them without a peep. A Mac, however, will let you know that you may be getting a wolf in sheep’s clothing. The Mac web browser, Safari, can tell the difference between a file and a program, and alerts you whenever you’re downloading the latter.

A Mac gets much of this out-of-the-box protection from its open source UNIX heritage. The most critical components of Mac OS X are open for review by a worldwide community of security experts. Their input helps Apple continually make Mac OS X ever more secure. And it’s simple to update a Mac with the latest advances. By default, a Mac checks for updates weekly. For pure peace of mind, you can set a Mac to download security updates automatically. Apple digitally signs the updates, so you can be sure they come from a trusted source.

To get a sense of just how big the virus problem is, search for “virus” at both Apple and Microsoft. Compare the number of results. What’s more, the 100 most virulent attacks cause 99.9% of damage from malicious software. None of these attacks work on a Mac. Don’t you deserve such protection?

Numbers from Sophos, a world leader in integrated threat management solutions, developing protection against viruses, spyware, spam and policy abuse for business, education and government. The Sophos Security Threat Management Report 2005 [links to white paper after form] outlines the number and kind of attacks, while the March 2006 Top Ten reports the latest number of threats. More info on viruses may be found at http://www.sophos.com/virusinfo/. A Mac running with factory settings will protect you from viruses much better than a PC, but it’s never a bad idea to run extra virus and security software."

My next laptop will be an Apple also! Hopes this helps. PS, Apple also has student discounts!

Answer 4

First of all, it sounds like you want a Mac (more on that later). But before I get into that, I want you to think long and hard about this laptop, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16834115258 it has more power than you will ever need (for now).

The reason I said it sounds like you want a Mac is because it includes the iLife package (photo managing, iTunes, et al but no word processor). That being said the best Mac you will get for your budget is a White MacBook with the 2.0GHz processor, 1GB of memory and an 80GB hard drive for $1449 US.

Now, the PC laptop I suggested doesn't cost much more than that and has far better specs than the MacBook I suggested. There is also tons of freeware to accomplish many of the tasks that is included with iLife. For example, there is Windows Movie Maker, iTunes for Windows, Picasa for basic photo editing and organization, Paint.NET for even more photo editing, http://www.getpaint.net/ and OpenOffice, http://www.openoffice.org/ as a MS Office substitute (also available for Mac OSX). All these programs are provided free of charge to Windows users. Windows has a greater choice of applications and the only reason a Mac is considered "safer" is because they have a minority of the market and is not targeted as much as Windows. I would go with the PC, the choice is yours and keep in mind all those applications you will need to keep your PC safe.

To stay virus, adware and trojan free on your PC, get the following apps for it:

Windows Defender, http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx
Adaware SE, http://www.lavasoft.com/
Spybot S&D, http://www.safer-networking.org/
A Firewall (either ZoneAlarm or Sygate Personal Firewall)
AVG Free, http://free.grisoft.com/
ZeroSpyware, http://www.download.com/ZeroSpyware-Limited-Edition/3000-8022_4-10383320.html?tag=lst-0-1
XoftSpy (scanner only), http://www.download.com/XoftSpy-SE-Anti-Spyware/3000-8022_4-10493744.html?tag=lst-0-1

Answer 5

Your fortunate to have mothers and fathers who it least care approximately what you're doing.it might look tough top now with the aid of fact of your age yet im having a guess that in the time of there very own way they are basically attempting to look out for you and basically be optimistic you're risk-free.Its something which you wont understand until you have a new child of your man or woman.For now provide your mothers and fathers a break,they have raised you into the guy who you're and there are various adolescents obtainable who choose that they had somebody to tension approximately them.

Answer 6

i have an acer and have found it soooo reliable, easy to use, its not heavy at all and the quality is amazing. seeing as your a student get a laptop with at least 40gb hard drive, 256mb ram and 128mb graphics if you just want to do work on it.

mac is better if you are doing photography, it is best for editing pictures or making films

Answer 7

I suggest you to get a HP/Compaq as it has life time free chat support and 1 year vioce support which covers hardware replacement if it is defective for 1 year. you also have many rebates. The service is very good.

www.hpshopping.com

Answer 8

I'm satisfied with my ASUS notebook. It has some components from Dell, but still it's independent brand.

Answer 9

Go for the Dell..Just make sure its windows Vista compatable.