Tut! That’s like saying an iPod is just “gimmicky” next to a Zune.

Web, music/vids and a bit a of word processing/CV editing, if that is all you want it for you could get a bog standard rig and dump Ubuntu on it. They all do the basic stuff pretty well. Is there anything else you would want a laptop for? If yes, then that should be one of the main factors in you decision. Another being spec and budget. Or rather spec versus budget. The other factor is of course support. Given that you seem to have little luck with these contraptions you should be covered up the wazoo.

I am not a huge Mac fan but I am not a winpc loyalist either. Whatever does the job gets the vote. If the Mac gives you something that you won’t get from a winpc then go for it. But if you want something sparkly and gimmicky (be honest) then I would recommend saving money by buying a winpc and take up the juggling of disco balls.

d

The first bit of advise I’d give is to not take advise from anyone who says they *hate* one platform or the other. They are necessarily biased and can’t be relied upon to give completely balanced advise.

My own experience: Up until recently, we were a Mac only household – my Mini, L’s iMac, her Macbook, and an old G4 I haven’t yet pressed into service. The only reason we’re exclusively Mac any more is that I got that netbook, which is running linux.

I use a Mac because I find my productivity goes up when I use one. Granted, this has mostly been for Design work, but I do also do *a lot* of browsing and writing. Not a lot of gaming, it has to be conceded, but that’s why I have a Playstation.

For writing, Office 2007 is pretty much the same as it is on Windows. Final Draft, and latterly CeltX work just the same. Looking after my photos – I used to use iPhoto and now I use Lightroom, which is the same as on Windows too.

For everything else, I’m sure you know someone who runs lots of stuff on her MacBook.

The other thing I can say is that back when Vista first came out, the fastest PC to run it on was a MacBook Pro. So you could have the hardware and never run Mac OS X. Your choice.

The price has never been favourable. Most Mac advocates say that it’s worth it, but if there hadn’t been a cheap Mini, I’d probably still be using a PC, and turning in work after deadline.

The education discount works for students or staff of any educational establishment, so that opens up options, I would say.

But, as I said earlier, your mileage may vary. You need to try it out as much as possible. You’re welcome to work on our Macs any time you want to come up to Galway. We have English keyboards.

I had to use Macs in a few jobs and can’t stand them. PCs are better workhorses for me, and I can’t be arsed relearning when I’m good at using what I have.

The only real tip I have for you is find someone with a student card and buy the laptop and Apple Care in their name. The apple student discounts are well worth the effort.

If you need any Mac advice you know how to get hold of me.

I tend to leave my Dell Latitude at home most of the time, and just carry my work on a USB drive. For going places, I carry a netbook which fits in my jacket pocket. In these days of tight limits on carry-on baggage, a decent netbook is a good idea, even if you keep a proper laptop for your ‘real’ PC.

My Dell is showing its age, and I’m looking at a nice HP 12.1″ Tablet, actually. I’ve always had a hankering for a tablet for taking notes in meetings and sketching stuff. I’m also thinking I might get a decently big monitor to plug it into at home.

That old Tosh of yours might live on a while more if you plug in a USB keyboard and just use it at home; and get a netbook for mobile work. I think the keyboard is always the weak point on laptops, probably because many people use the front end of the laptop as a wrist rest, and it warps the machine after a few years, which messes up the keyboard, touchpad and whatever electronics are towards that end of the board.