Notebook Selection. Very Important?

Question

Purpose :
Programming (Java, C++, HTML etc)
Music and Video (Not Editing but maybe a bit of photoshop)
General Tasks (Word Excel Internet Etc)

Items i looked at :
IBM T61 (C2D Santa Rosa Platform)
Dell XPS M1330
Apple Macbook

Please let me know what you think cos im really stuck.
Oh yes ona side note i would prefer stuff below 1500 if possibble.. Basically i need a powerful laptop...

Answer 1

Dont get a Dell, their customer service sucks! The macbook is nice but not compatible with many products/programs. Try a compaq computer or HP.

Answer 2

Personally for programming i wouldn't use a mac since most programs are pc based anyway. But on the plus side it is good for music and video but so is everything else, the mac is just over hyped its not the mac that makes music and video easy its the programs. For general task like word and stuff your better off with a pc so I would go with the dell xps.

Answer 3

I honestly don't like Dell. I bought a computer from them once and whenever I needed help about the computer, they would take forever to respond and their service is horrible!! Don't get a Dell. I don't know about the IBM computer so, I can't tell you much except that my closest friend who bought one, had the computer crash in less than 1 month. So, I'm thinking that the IBM computers are not that reliable. I recommend getting a MacBook. The higher-end MacBook (black) costs around $1500. It has 2.16GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 1GB of RAM, and 160GB of hard drive. It also has that built-in iSight. If you need a powerful laptop, this MacBook is it. It's small but, very powerful.

Answer 4

Most code monkeys have their own definite ideas about the hardware and don't flip flop about on the OS either.

Java & HTML don't require that much processing power and if you're just writing little code snippets for web development C++ isn't going to overtax most notebooks. What you are going to need is plenty of memory, something that most computers and notebooks fall far short of.

For my money, I'd go with the Dell with at least 2GB of memory but without Vista on it unless you intend to use the virtual OS capability of Vista Business version. It isn't available in other versions of Vista.

Answer 5

I highly recommend the Mac. If you're into programming, Mac OS X comes with the Xcode developers tools. Macs are obviously (iMovie HD, Final Cut, Garageband, iTunes, Final Cut, Logic) the best choice for music and video. For general tasks, Macs come with pretty much everything you need. If you need to work with Office documents, you can purchase Office for Mac (Macs come with a 30-day trial) or you can download OpenOffice.org or NeoOffice (both can work with Office 2007 documents). You get a lot more bang for your buck in a Mac. If you have any specific questions, send me a message.

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Yes, it is the Mac that makes music and video much easier. Mac OS X's Core technologies (Core Video, Core Audio, QuartzExtreme, OpenGL, QuickTime) provide applications with powerful ways to handle audio and video.

Answer 6

get the thinkpad if u are not going 2 use os x. if u want to try osx get a macbook. thinkpads are the best widows based notebook u can get. no matter what notebook u get, make sure it has at least 1 gb of memory, 2 gb is best. i would get the mabook and run windows inside a window in osx usng paralells.

Answer 7

According to your need the best suited would be The Dell XPS M1330.

Answer 8

You should get an IBM T61.

Answer 9

ask here'

saved me a mint.
its a forum all about laptops and notebooks.
and it has loads of tech guys on hand.

Answer 10

note pad it important b/c if u don`t use note pad u might for get a alt code or something homework when u highlight and stuff