What is your current Mac or PC? Would you recommend it to others?

Since we all have a Mac or PC I thought it would be interesting to find out what you all are using currently and would you recommend it to others.

I have a Toshiba Satellite. It is now 3 years old and working flawlessly. Never had an issue. The computer before this one was another Toshiba Satellite. It was 5 years old and it too run flawlessly. After 5 years of solid service we retired it. Since the first Toshiba served us well we decided to get another. I would highly recommend the Toshiba Satellite to anyone looking for a PC notebook.

I have a Dell Inspiron notebook that is about 7 years old. The motherboard failed in the first week and the complete machine was replaced after a tirade. Since then I have replaced the LCD screen due to failure and the motherboard & HDD due to overheating issues that Dell didn't disclose. In the mean time I have two fans helping to keep it cool and I do several back-ups a day just in case.

A class action suit was filed against them because of a lack of an extended warranty to deal with this issue. I'm guess I am in-line to receive something once it is settled although I won't be spending my $2.38 on another Dell.

I'll take all recomendations to heart for that inevitable upgrade I am dreading.

My PC was custom built by me so it really cannot be compared to any off the shelf product. It cost me less than a high end off the shelf system, is much faster and much more reliable. I can provide a list of components if anybody wants to know.

Panasonic CF-30 Toughbook

Wayne

I have both and use both, but gravitate to the Macs more than the PCs. About all I use the PCs for anymore is a few bits of software that are written for Windows and just don't want to play nice with Wine or other Mac software for running PC programs. Easy upgrades, no constant nags for updates, just generally friendlier to use IMNSHO.

mine's a pc and built by me almost 3 years ago. incredibly reliable and stable with win7. the only time i get updates is when i ask.

I have an HP Compaq PC (can't remember the model - several years old) and I wouldn't recommend it. On the flip side, I have an old HP Compac nx 9030 laptop that just seems to be as smooth and trouble-free as anything I've ever owned. Overall, I wouldn't recommend HP, though, even with the good experience on the laptop.

I run an Imac, it is 5 years old and "touch wood" has never given me any trouble. Easy updates, no virus, so far and it runs quicker than me! I am however thinking of upgrading to a newer one, if I do it will be another Mac. Mind you I do not do "Gaming" I think if you like to play games then a P.C. may be the way to go.
All the best.
Mike

I have a Dell Inspiron less than a year old, running Windows 7 without a problem so far.

I have a Toshiba laptop, running windows 7 and never had a problem.....knock on wood :)

Also using a Satellite laptop. It is 2 or 3 years old, and runs like a champion. I really like it and will consider another if it ever decides to quit working. Which likely happen this evening since I just bragged on it a little bit.

MacBook

here and I would recommend it to anyone. No spam,

viruses

' and on and on

I use 4 computers on a regular basis, 3 are PCs (an eMachines desktop and a custom build as well as an HP Laptop) and one is a new Mac. All four to pretty well most of the time, though the custom job has occasional brain farts, especially while communicating (or not) with its wired optical mouse, and occasionally eats up its entire RAM pool. The eMachines is a family computer, and while it isn't the fastest, prettiest, or most user-friendly, like a family car, it's been efficient and dependable...for over 6 years. The Mac is used for high-end graphics work and for the most part does really well, but it has a lot of rough edges and is not very customizable at all. Also occasionally locks up. Aside from those minor hangups, though, the user experience is nice within the range of what you like about its setup. If you don't like part of it though, the OS isn't terribly accommodating. Last but not least, I've got a 7 year old HP laptop that had a one time RAM upgrade from 512MB to 2GB. Eventually I switched from XP Pro to Ubuntu, mostly just to see how I'd like it. I do, and aside from a few games that are no longer compatible, I've been highly pleased. Overall, I've been 100% satisfied with the performance of this HP and have nothing bad to say about it at all, except that while the first RAM card is easy to access (under its own removable panel), the second was a real bear to get to, requiring removal of the hinge cover, the base cover, keyboard, and another separate panel.

Really, I've seen a lot of the Mac vs. PC debate and really I'm not sure I'd consider them competing products in anything other than a marketing point of view. If people would learn about what they want from a product before they buy, each one is clearly more suited for a specific type of user. There's also this notion that Macs are somehow "better at graphics" than a PC, but again, anyone who knows computers understands that RAM is RAM, and 2GB is 2GB, and 2.3 GHz is 2.3GHz regardless of what logo is on the front of the case. Really, its much more a matter of interface and handling that creates a user experience, and different people will 'click' with different systems. For me, I like to tweak my own experience as I learn the system, and I feel that Windows, moreso than Mac OS and even Linux, allows me to do this. Linus would reign supreme if I knew more about coding, but while it offers more options up front, once you choose a distro, your biggest choice is made. Macs, to me, offered me the least opportunity to suit the system to me, instead seeming to compromise by offering a system that was mostly agreeable to most people.

This can also be seen in the smartphone arena, with the iPhone an extremely popular device, despite its flaws, because of the 'cool' effect, the winning form factor, and an OS that is agreeable and easily understandable to just about everyone. It has limitations, but most aren't felt by most users, and even among the ones that notice, most arent severe enough limitations to warrant leaving behind the iPhone. For those that want the most flexibility, though, Android is the answer. Not always the most intuitive, but far more flexible (and arguably powerful) for the user that wants more control over their experience.

Just my two cents. I'm sure everyone has their own opinion. :)

I'm a sucker for Sony Vaio having never had issues with the three I've had ( and still awaken the older two just for fun). I hesitate a recommendation kinda like also for pizza. MY tastes may vary with YOUR tastes . I also have a 10.5" Acer bedside and use it as a backup for all my business files. Traded some AX points for a MacBook for my wife and she LOVES it. I ,however, have no clue as to how to use it.

Mark

My last three desktop purchases have been Dells and they have all worked just fine and, IMHO, representing excellent value for the money. I use an Aspire One netbook when traveling. It is a pretty good product for the price. I end up having to do hunt and peck typing on the compact keyboard, but way prefer that over using the tiny keyboard on a smart phone.

The one I use is a Gateway laptop. Got it on ebay for a song with a 3 year Square trade warranty. 2 1/2 years later it quit charging. Called square trade. They sent a box by ups, I put it in the box with their shipping label and 4 weeks later I got it back with a new mother board installed. They paid for shipping both ways and all the parts and labor was covered. Since Gateway is out of business now I can't recommend their computers but I will always give a two thumbs up for the Square Trade Warranty Company.

I have an H-P Desktop. I'll never buy another H-P product. I like the idea of a notebook and would like it if you could plug it into a full size LCD and a full size keyboard.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Lotech

I have an H-P Desktop. I'll never buy another H-P product. I like the idea of a notebook and would like it if you could plug it into a full size LCD and a full size keyboard.

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Hi Lotech, you can do exactly that with a mac book, even wirelesley if you have it set up that way. It is one of the reasons I am thinking of upgrading to one.
All the best.
Mike

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mike Thomas

Hi Lotech, you can do exactly that with a mac book, even wirelesley if you have it set up that way. It is one of the reasons I am thinking of upgrading to one.
All the best.
Mike

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You can do the same with PCs as well. I love the flexibility of a notebook. In recent years they have really ramped up notebooks capabilities.

At the house a one year old Compaq Presario PC, runs like a top.
On the road, whatever the hotels business center has in it.
On the Bike and on the Water, don't even carry a cell phone anymore.

Dave

I'm a professional computer geek and following is my professional opinion. If you decide to go PC then consider Toshiba for a laptop and Dell XPS for desktop. Second choice would be Lenovo (IBM) laptop and Dell XPS desktop. NOTE: if you decide to buy new laptop make sure you are buying one with "Solid State Drive" or as you might see them called SSD hard drive. A couple extra bucks goes very very far.

Interesting topic. I am a computer guy my profession but I'll speak from my personal computer use at home. I have been a Windows machine user/owner since 1987 . . . What? Yea Windows was not in existence then, so it was DOS. I think Windows Version 1 was out as a character based product and was pretty much useless. I have always had a like/hate relationship with Windows and have used them all from 3.1 up to Win 7.

The people above with laptops . . . you can plug in an external monitor and keyboard/mouse and turn them into "desktop" type machines. I have a docking station for my work laptop, that I put it in, and then I use a regular desktop monitor/keyboard/mouse.

I looked real hard at Linux. But I can't bring myself to adopt it as my primary home operating system. I don't want another hobby. I don't get enough flies tied the way it is now. I do run a Linux virtual machine for remote access to the home systems but that's another topic.

6 weeks ago I bought my first Mac, a Macbook Pro. I love it and it is going to be my primary personal machine. I'll use Macs at home from now on. I am finding it better than Windows. How? There are lots of little things that Apple has done right, that Windows and the other hardware makers can't seem to figure out. One example is the multi-touch trackpad concept. Why did someone not come up with this long ago? . . . It's insanely nice and makes my Windows laptop trackpad seem like it's 100 years old.

Anyways, I am a recently converted Mac user and would recommend Mac to anyone at this point.

I've been a programmer for over... well a long time. The first machine I programmed took up a whole room. I have several Intel based PCs, a Mac Mini, an iPad, and an iPhone. I develop applications using Visual Studio and C# (among other tools). If you want an easy to use machine that will connect to other devices, self-configure and maintain itself then I recommend an Intel PC running Windows. Download the security essentials and turn on automatic updates. Don't get angry if you eight year old printer fails to work. The life expectancy of this stuff is about three years. Now, if you are in to graphics and you want a powerful graphics or video editing system go with Apple. Or, as in my case, you want to program MAC OSX or iPad or iPhone you will have to use a MAC.

Each system has its strengths and weaknesses. It depends on what you want to do. Productivity, Windows. Graphics and music, Apple.