<p>Share your experiences:</p>
<p>I bought a Toshiba last year, paid approximately $900. The hardware lasted only 14 months. The cost to repair it was $500: $350 for labor and hardware plus $150 to expedite the service.</p>
<p>just get a mac. /thread</p>
<p>PCs are cheaper and if you just use it to surf Facebook and write papers, it should meet your needs. That said, I bought a Mac since I am a virus magnet. Had it about a year and a half and it’s as fast as it was when I bought it.</p>
<p>Dang. That sucks Greenery. =(</p>
<p>Bought Macbook Pro June 2009.
Is the same as it was.
I dropped it once on tile. My baby was dent but they gave him a check up and fixed him for free.</p>
<p>Any bad experiences with the MAC?</p>
<p>Oh yeah, once I spilled water on my keyboard and a lot of the buttons stopped working so the Mac Geniuses just moved over allll my files to a new computer and gave my the new one. They’re very helpful, but now since I’m out of warrantee I doubt they’d be as good about it.</p>
<p>i just got a dell studio. a couple years ago i got the sony vaio but i spilled apple juice on it and it doesn’t work anymore 
imo macs aren’t worth the extra hundreds of dollars. the studio was $599–like half the price of a mac with specs that aren’t even as good. it seriously doesn’t even make sense to me. people just like macs because they’re “cool” and everyone says how great they are, but they’re just not that practical. how long can you really keep yourself entertained with photobooth? and you can avoid most viruses on a pc if you have AV software, use common sense, and don’t go downloading crap files.</p>
<p>/end spiel</p>
<p>I love how people who don’t have macs like to say that people who have macs only get them because they are cool.</p>
<p>Obviously you don’t really know what you are talking about because that ‘macs don’t get viruses’ thing is not true. Secondly, I know plenty of people who get mac for heavy graphic editing/music usage (including myself), not because it’s ‘cool’. Lastly, I don’t even use photobooth. :D</p>
<p>The really annoying thing about mac is that that it’s difficult customizing things like colors of the windows and whatnot. Also, it seems almost TOO simple in how everything is organized. I feel like Apple is hiding things from me.</p>
<p>I do have antivirus software but in my past PCs that hasn’t halted the inevitable slowdown of applications. I like my Macbook because it is easy to use, lightweight, has great built-in software, and fun. The Dashboard basically runs my life, I love having my iCal at my fingertips, the built-in Dictionary/Thesaurus/Wikipedia is crazy useful when you’re writing papers, you can get all your e-mail accounts pushed to your desktop, searching for documents is easier, etc. etc. </p>
<p>All-in-all I really like my Macbook and, although it was an investment, it was worth it for me. I can honestly say I rarely get frustrated trying to get my computer to do something it just won’t. My mom just bought a brand new PC desktop, with monitor, printer, and accoutrements for $700. It was a great deal and the computer is very attractive, but she’s just constantly angry because of it.</p>
<p>I’m not tech-savvy, and I don’t want stress in my life because of my computer. That’s why I like my Mac. Coolness was not a factor. :D</p>
<p>I second the Dell Studio.</p>
<p>Toshiba is easily one of the worst manufacturers out there. Utter crap from that company for years.</p>
<p>IMO, the best built laptops (since that’s where this seems to be going) are, in order:
- Lenovo Thinkpad T series and X series
- Macbook unibody
- Dell Studio</p>
<p>I wouldn’t consider buying anything else at this moment.</p>
<p>
[QUOTE=modestmelody]
IMO, the best built laptops (since that’s where this seems to be going) are, in order:
- Lenovo Thinkpad T series and X series
[/quote]
I have to agree with this. I have a ThinkPad T400, and it is extremely sturdy and of very high build quality.</p>
<p>Get custom built stuff if you are a smart user. Don’t waste your money on “support” and “warranties”. (Other than hardware failure.)</p>
<p>Get it without an OS installed and install it yourself.</p>
<p>Don’t buy for the brand name. With computers (unlike cars, clothes, etc) it really doesn’t make a difference.</p>
<p>I had an ibook g4 which imo was a waste of money because a lot of the programs I needed weren’t compatible with a mac so I would have to go online and have to search for the software that was mac compatible. I just upgraded to a brand new pink dell studio 15 to replace my gateway and I have no intentions of ever getting a mac again so I will be sticking to pcs from here on out.</p>
<p>If you like viruses, get a PC. If you don’t, get a Mac.</p>
<p>OP, not a surprise, my dad has had two Toshibas and they both broke down after 2 months - terrible build. </p>
<p>Here’s my review of a MacBook Pro silver version (the one before the current black/silver version):</p>
<p>PROS</p>
<ul>
<li>Amazing screen</li>
<li>Absolutely fantastic keyboard</li>
<li>Mac OS X is so easy and simple to use</li>
<li>Decently fast operating speeds compared to weak PCs</li>
<li>Stays very clean, looks like new</li>
</ul>
<p>CONS</p>
<ul>
<li>Terrible battery life. Mine goes out after about 1 1/2 hours.</li>
<li>I have a 17-inch screen which can get annoying at times (heavy) but is great for writing papers.</li>
<li>Gets HOT fast</li>
</ul>
<p>Bottom line, if you want a slightly cheaper MacBook Pro laptop that you won’t move around with so much, get this back model from Apple. It’ll be about 400-500 dollars cheaper. And btw, I absolutely HATE the track pad on the newer ones and have met many people who agree.</p>
<p>Macs are probably the most reliable computers and no matter which one you get it will probably be high quality and dependable. But they are SUPER EXPENSIVE. I have friends who worked this entire summer at regular times just to buy a Macbook Pro. </p>
<p>If you do research and invest some time, you can probably find a cheaper high quality PC for less of the costs.</p>
<p>I think folks have overlooked something important in the original post. the computer hardware lasted 14 months and he had to pay a lot of money to get it fixed. this sounds like a case of someone who didn’t get a warranty on his computer. i got news for you, if you get a mac or any other pc, it doesn’t matter how much they cost, they can also break down and if you don’t get a warranty on it, you’re likely to spend even more on repairing it (if you think it was expensive to repair that toshiba, try and see what apple will charge you for a computer not under applecare). lesson learned, get warranty on your computer next time, at least 3 yrs.</p>
<p>with that said, i like to recommend macs to folks who like to do basic things. the reason being is that they will most likely have less problems in the future with their computer (mostly less viruses).</p>
<p>The great part about Apple is the Geniuses get paid the same no matter if they charge you or not, so if you’re pathetic enough and you get a nice Genius you can get your computer fixed for free.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Or you can just get a free OS like Linux and save $800+. </p>
<p>I personally hate both Windows and the Mac. Windows because it’s apt to fail at key moments, and the Mac because you can never get passed the user interface and get to the good stuff.</p>
<p>If I had to buy a laptop, I’d get a Lenovo, because ThinkPads have been used on missions involving the International Space Station. Absolutely no Dells. I’d buy a Mac for the small stuff, but then it wouldn’t be worth paying the exorbitant price tag.</p>
<p>I’d rather build my own computer and run it on my own specifications.</p>