I'm looking for a new laptop and since I am not a tech person I am coming to you guys for help!! I need it for school but only for writing papers and reasearch. I will also be using it to check trailcams, serfing the internet, watching videos and all that good stuff. I do not want a real small one and weight don't really matter to me. I do want a full keyboard with the number pad. I am prepared to spend $1000 because I want to buy a good one to last me through school at least. What do you tech guys recommend? Anything I should avoid? Anything I should lean towards over the others? Thanks in advance!!
Don't get a Sony VAIO. Had them for the past 7 years and problems with all 4 I had. Took me a while but I learned from it
Yep a Mac is the way to go. I highly recommend against buying a Windows computer. I worked for Intel for about 7 years & always used Microsoft laptops and PC's and always had problems with something. I've had my 13 inch Mac Book Pro since 2010 and literally have never had a problem with it. And I truly mean literally never had a problem. It will cost you about $1300 but it's worth every penny! If you have questions, call them. I've never waited on hold for more than 5 minutes and they help with everything. No going back and forth between Microsoft and the company that makes the hardware saying it's the other company's fault. Apple usually puts out a new OS every year and it costs $29.99 to upgrade, that's it! And if you need Microsoft Office for it, you can buy it or find it on the internet somewhere. (don't ask me where). I don't work for Apple but I have had nothing but solid performance and the best customer service from them you could ask for. If you need a quick example my daughter water damaged a 3 month old iPhone 5C. It was gonna cost $269 to repair due to not having a warranty. I thought why not call and see if they can do something. The technician ended up transferring me to her supervisor and he said he used to live near the town I live in and decided to give her a bran new phone, no charge. I'll purchase Apple products for life. After the learning curve of how to navigate the operating system, you won't be sorry, I promise you.
Everything Hillbilly Jedi said is accurate. I run a 2009 macbook at my home office and recently a Mac air on the road. Can't say enough positives about the ingenuity of Apple. Also, my only service issue was about 8 months ago when my daughter knocked over a full glass of water on my air. I called service immediately. I had flipped it over and turned it off, which saved it from actual damage, but the impressive part was the follow up. The same rep that I spoke with originally, called me back 3 times to check in. Not the same department....the SAME person.
Definitely a MacBook. I had an HP laptop for a while, and it was a pile of s***. Never would connect to wifi, froze up every 10 minutes on a good day, and crashed after 2 years. Now I have a MacBook Pro, and haven't had a single problem since.
I do like the MacBook. I will have to look into one a little bit more. It is just a lot of money!! Lol Thanks
Years ago I was looking for a laptop for the same thing, except I had to have the ability to run a few 3D modeling software programs. I ended up getting a $350 clearance samsung from best buy. To this day it has been flawless. I think that was about 4 years ago. I would definitely buy one again.
If you want to spend more money than you need to so people think you're cool with a Macbook then go for it. Personally I've been using HP Probook laptops for the past 5 years without any issues at all. I currently run a ProBook 4540s with Windows 8.1 as my primary computer for doing all of the same stuff you're doing and it runs great. I use it every single day to check email, work on spreadsheets, surf the internet, listen to music, edit photos, etc. It cost me around $600 where a piece of similar Mac hardware would've been 3x the cost.
If you are an IT type of guy (cough... Justin... cough) then a PC will be fine for you because you can fix the hiccups as they come along. If you don't know anything about keeping a computer virus free and running smoothly get a MacBook and never look back. Going on 4 years now and battery still lasts nearly an entire day, just as fast as the day I bought it, all my products sync together without me asking them to do so... It's just simpler. You pay more upfront for that for comparable hardware... But it lasts longer IMO and is just easier to use.
Im a computer guy period... for something such as research and that just get one from Wal-Mart... I use a Dell from Wal-Mart and I can make the thing do back flips for work... plenty powerful and that... do not get a mac book there mainly made for high graphic design and are crap... there over priced for what... the same thing... now I have a few buddies that baught them just for there features and looks but got rid of he apple software and put windows on them... they run great then... but for what you need it for just a nice cheapo one from your local Wal-Mart will do just fine... if you need help such as software. Let me know I have what you need so just msg me... also dont get windows 8 as it is garbage as well and a pain in the a** to learn look for windows 7 on them...
I run everything I own now days on different linux distros. Ubuntu OS on my family computer (wife and 3 year old daughter can use it with zero issues), crunchbang on my netbook, and kali linux on my main notebook. Its completly free, easy to use once you get the hang of it (use one with a good GUI like ubuntu) and everything is open source. NOW, you can have minor driver issues that need worked out. But after going to linux years ago ill never go back to windows. I HATE APPLE. Hate with a passion. No way is a macbook worth 1500 dollars over a windows machine
I've know too many friends that settled for the "cheapo at walmart", which ended up lasting a year. I've had zero problems with my Macbook. While my brother has had to reload his dell 4-5 times in a 5 year span, and running any program will slow it down to a crawl.
I'll also add that while I see tons of people buy Macs for the brand recognition, that's not always the case. First thing I did when I bought my MacBook was go and buy a black snap over case to hide the brand, didn't want to be associated with the apple cult... Cult or not it doesn't change the fact that they work better for non IT level knowledge folks. I don't even know what a Linux is haha
I bought a Toshiba laptop 7 yrs ago for $400. I've never had an issue. I'll stick with the cheapos rather than spend big $ on an Apple.
