i have an old compaq. it did it's duty. now it sits and gathers dust. it was my first pc. i have a sony vaio that i love. has all the media stuff.

hubby goes through computers like water. that is another story.

stay clear of e-machines. 100% junk. he got talked into those before from a know it all at circuit city.

cindy, do you think, if you have time, you could start a thread about the apple programs? that is the scary part for people like myself that have only used windows.

i have to get something for work. i'm back in the dark ages. i have to take notes when i am in the businesses or use their computers and email myself the info.

networking...they wouldn't be compatable would they?

handing it back to nappy and doubling it with a bottle of B-12 and a bottle of Milk of Amnesia...take 10 of these and don't call me for a month.

My apple fell from Eve where she took a bite...LOL

I am not an Apple expert but I did own a couple of them. When compared to PC, the PC is more upgradable (easier).

Hardrives, Rams,and other stuff. But you know more than I do so I am going to divert the apples back to you. I'll stick to the peaches. LOL

I haven't owned a Mac in four years so I am missing it and I have heard lots of great thing about it.

And I am with Curious, E-machines sucks since Gateway bought them out, that's when Gateway begain to stink cause Emachines started to make them.

Sony Vaio was good when it first came out but its later models declined. I would not get a new Sony Vaio until they clean up their mess. Just my personal opinion, though.

As for networking, Apple actually is superior in networking and if I am NOT wrong, you can soup it up to be Windows compatible...meaning you can switch between Windows applications and the Apple OS X(jaguar, leopard, what not)

Alrighty, that's my 30 dollars for the day, I am still waiting for someone to pay moi.

i have had mine for a few years. the only issue i had was with yahoo. they were not compatable. both yahoo and sony knew this. my first one..very expensive fried when i loaded the at&t yahoo software. best buy replaced the whole thing free.

i think i should probably stick with a windows based laptop, since the companies both have that, plus me at home.

There are a ton of resources far better qualified than I, my primary primate friend. The Apple site has a wonderful, searchable datbase along with discussion boards covering everything from soup to nuts like me.

The best guidance I can offer those in the decision process of coming into the light is to determine exactly what your priorities are for using the computer.

From there, determine which of the horrid PC programs absolutely must come along, and contact those software providers directly about compatibility.

A Mac can be partitioned to act like both (only far more intelligently even for the PC apps), so you can literally have the two operating systems on one hard drive.

All Macs come installed with the fully integrated software to do anything a PC can do (better and easier) and you only build on that. I literally mean that you can turn it on, give it a name, and be using it in five minutes. In the following 5 minutes you can be checking your email, surfing a website, making a photo slideshow and checking the international weather all at the same time with no troubles. Might as well listen to some tunes while you're at it, no problem.

As far as networking goes, it is much too subjective a question for any responsible adult to try and answer without physical knowledge of the whole network scheme.

The short answer is, it can be done. The bad news is, not everyone is willing or able to make the needed accommodations if there are any. If it's just Wi-Fi, you're golden.

i hope this isn't a stupid question but...

im hopefully getting this laptop tonight:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1210379087572

does vista premium have a dvd player feature? it probably does but my mind is saying for the price it might not even have some 'less then basic' things.

and I really am in the dark about wifi.

my computer is in my living room, the modem (i think) has an antenna on it. my brother said his friends have used wireless in my house before but im wondering how far it goes. my modem/computer is about 40 feet, if this modem thing actually has wireless will i be ale to get it in my room? (that would be WONDERFUL news )

Laptops and Desktops both have their perks. It depends on what you want. It's definitely more affordable for someone to buy a desktop for performance. But that's if you don't plan on moving it around anywhere.

Laptops can be amazing, if you're willing to spend the money on a very good one.

I think you're right on the money! Glad you posted.

Meg,

VISTA is the operating system or platform. A DVD player is a device (removable storage).

Whether the computer comes with a DVD player depends on which computer you buy and whether it has a "bay" to add-on a device.


ETA: Just visited the site you shared the link to, Meg; the computer (Dell Inspiron) depicted does have a DVD, plus some.

Cindy,

I don't know if it's still as it was when MAC was my primary-use 'puter, yet it was the continual O/S driver upgrades that "ate" so much of mine, which is cross-platform (and the main reason I've kept it).

I got the laptop and its everything i could have asked for I love it