Mac or windows?

[pistone]

AFAIK all major office programs run both windows and linux
if you don't like the included one simply use the one you are used to
(for msoffice search crossover or wine)

wine has some bugs that........omg....... this version works and the next one no
and .........isn`t crossover trial?

 

[DjoeN]

Get a very cheap laptop (486 orso)
put MSDOS on it
Put MS Windows 3.11 on it

Ow, wait...


Nevermind, that was for myself to play old retro MS Dos / Windows games on it

 

[Nimbus]

My mom hardly knows anything about computers.
She's able to use ubuntu really easily.

She told me its easier than windows for her too...

Also if the computer have has an outdated version of windows I suggest this strongly.

Oh yeah, 700mb of porn from a virus filled website referred to as rule 34. Not 1 virus.

yeah ubuntu is easy but the office sucks compared to win

Pah, surely you jest.

Libreoffice aside from missing the sky drive like features (Useless to begin with), completely owns Microsoft Office in terms of capability, and you don't have to keep paying $200+ for a new version either.

 

[imshortandrad]

Mac.

 

[chris888222]

My dad needs a laptop. He brings it around quite frequently.

A PC might fit him but sadly it isn't portable.

One question- are there any alternatives for office on mac? $188 is drastic!

So a laptop with 4GB ram and around 320 GB HDD should be quite okay. Plus office... Around $1,600 for a asus, around $1,850 for a MacBook pro new, and around $1,380 for a MacBook pro refurbish. Anyone used refurbished sets before? Is it reliable?

 

[DjFIL]

I use both Windows and Mac, and used Ubuntu exclusively for a 6-month period. To me, a computer is a computer... only time there's real limitations is when it comes to needing a PC for video games (instead of a console).

Viruses are going to always be an issue on Windows, and Mac is starting to catch up. I troubleshoot viruses for a living with a large ISP. The big problem is not the viruses, but how they are now being distributed now. Security on the OS is always getting better (for those who install their updates), but the users are not getting any smarter. The virus designers are now exploiting the user, and that's how Mac users are starting to get caught.

Since viruses sound like the main problem for your Dad, so I would suggest it's time to try something other than Windows. While viruses are coming to other platforms, it's still only on Windows that they're coming in a simple "drive-by" install format (just clicking the wrong link in google will infect you). This means right now on a Mac and Linux based system, you will most likely only get a virus if you've been tricked in to downloading and running a file (email attachment, etc).

Mac price point is high, but you should find a good deal in the refurbished store. Apple's Refurbished department still includes the standard 1 year warranty. I've had multiple family members make the switch to Mac, including 70+ year old grandparents, without much issue at all. Another advantage of Mac (over Linux) is with availability of commercial grade software (eg: microsoft office, accounting software, etc).

Linux has become easier and more user friendly all the time. Ubuntu is just one great example of this. The basic features and layout will be really familiar to all Windows users. Viruses are extremely rare to come by on Linux. The only problem is finding software for your needs may take a bit more searching.

My pick would be a Mac, I have become a huge fan of them over the past 6+ years. Just don't think they're invincible to viruses, it's just not true. But thankfully at this time getting a virus on Mac takes user interaction, that is including downloading and running the rouge\trojan installer.

EDIT: iWork for Mac is a great MS Office equivalent. Word = Pages, Excel = Numbers, Powerpoint = Keynote. You can open/export as MS Office files to share with your Windows friends... or direct to a PDF format if just read only.

 

[shadowmanwkp]

One question- are there any alternatives for office on mac? $188 is drastic!

It has already been mentioned before, but openoffice is a great and free alternative to office. It can handle nearly all windows formats (with exception of the *....x files like docx which are read-only) and you can let your dad test it himself on his windows laptop because it is on nearly every OS. I personally like office better, but if you can get a program that works nearly identical as office, and money is an issue, I'd go for openoffice.

 

[zhuzhuchina]

i use a macbook pro with windows 7 on it and quite one year still stable, remember to install a decent antivirus only.
i need windows due office and some only-win applications, however i still use osx sometimes, you can setup a double system on macbook pro using bootcamp
i prefer win7 than xp or vista. at least win7 don't crash to me

one should use osx if can work without office and win-only applications.
it's depends of your needs

 

[Rydian]

http://www.microsoft.com/mac/

Since Macs run on the Intel platform now lots more software can be easily ported.

 

[chris888222]

You can use windows 7 on a Mac right? Boot camp thingy?

 

[Rydian]

Yes, Boot Camp lets you run Windows on your Mac, and it runs at native speed.

 

[chris888222]

Okay that's good.

Now I just need to know whether their refurbished sets are reliable or not. Many on the web say it is... But I hope for a true personal experience.

April 2010, 4GB ram, 250GB HDD, 13" model refurbished at SGD 1,268.
An exact same new one would cost SGD 1,688

 

[dilav]

I had some trouble with the bootcamp driver pack on Core2Duo late(?) 2010, and there was a few things that did not work right (standby/audio port..) Support wasn't really there, everything else seem to ran smoothly tho.

In the end I'm running virtual machine "Parallels" - $80 retail, and running Windows in coherence mode when I need to. I do not normally run anything high end on this laptop.

Edit:

Now I just need to know whether their refurbished sets are reliable or not. Many on the web say it is... But I hope for a true personal experience.

If its Apple refurbished there should be no problem. Everything still on their warranty plan, and the whole thing is refurbished.. looks completely new besides the box it comes in

 

[chris888222]

I had some trouble with the bootcamp driver pack on Core2Duo late(?) 2010, and there was a few things that did not work right (standby/audio port..) Support wasn't really there, everything else seem to ran smoothly tho.

In the end I'm running virtual machine "Parallels" - $80 retail, and running Windows in coherence mode when I need to. I do not normally run anything high end on this laptop.

Edit:

Now I just need to know whether their refurbished sets are reliable or not. Many on the web say it is... But I hope for a true personal experience.

If its Apple refurbished there should be no problem. Everything still on their warranty plan, and the whole thing is refurbished.. looks completely new besides the box it comes in

I'm just worried that refurbished sets won't last as long.

My previous laptop lasted me three years.

 

[DjFIL]

I've had two refurbished units, direct from Apple. One was stolen, so I can't comment on that... but my current MacBook (black core2duo) is now reaching 4+ year old with only a few cosmetic case issues (since it's some type of plastic and not aluminum). And the one year warranty is identical to that you'd get on a brand new model, and they're still eligible for Apple Care (extended warranty) if you want to buy that.

And BootCamp is nice if you 100% need Windows (video games, or work specific software)... but I'd also just use a virtual machine (like vmware fusion) if it's not process intensive (eg, most work stuff). But as said, try and keep in OS X if you can... especially if again your Dad's #1 PC issue is ease of picking up viruses. Microsoft makes many applications for Mac (Office, Messenger, a WMP Plugin, Remote Desktop Software, etc) now, they know it's a growing market (15% or more in some countries).

 

[The Catboy]

Go with Linux. All your problems have just been solved.

 

[Nimbus]

One question- are there any alternatives for office on mac? $188 is drastic!

It has already been mentioned before, but openoffice is a great and free alternative to office. It can handle nearly all windows formats (with exception of the *....x files like docx which are read-only) and you can let your dad test it himself on his windows laptop because it is on nearly every OS. I personally like office better, but if you can get a program that works nearly identical as office, and money is an issue, I'd go for openoffice.

LIBREOFFICE! LIBREOFFICE! The openoffice project is dead, Oracle sold it to Apache!

Other than that little rant, everything else about this is true and pertains to Libreoffice as well. I see no reason for anyone to pay 200+ for Micro$oft office when there is a perfectly viable and more useful free alternative.

 

[nando]

iWork is pretty nice and i think each item is 15 bucks or 40 bucks for the whole thing. not sure, but it's cheap.

 

[Apex]

Macs are reliable and very low maintenance, I've put mine through hell and back with all the piracy and porn I've done on this machine for the last four years, still runs like the day I got it. (And yes, I've upgraded both the HDD and Ram, easily might I add for those who use the argument that you can't upgrade them.)

Personally, I've spent a majority of my life working with both types of computers, there really is no comparison on which is is a better user-end operating system, Mac all the way. It's a good investment, that unless you go around dropping all your computers in acid, you really don't have to worry about, no matter what questionable activities you're up to.

 

[meornot0]