Need laptop recommendations

AmyO.

Hi everyone.

 I am in the market for a new notebook but am not sure what would be good for me.  I will use it mostly for photographs and photography software, music downloads and video, video editing software.  And then the usual letter writing, Word document type of thing.

 We were told the Mac is the way to go, but I've never used one.  Does anyone with a Mac think the transition from a PC to their Mac was pretty easy?  What was the learning curve to really get the hang of it?  Is the compatibility with Microsoft Word, Excel etc. documents a problem?

 And if you have any other recommendations I am open to them.  Any help is appreciated!  Thanks!

mariedaigle

Mac is the way to go if a) you're going to be doing a lot of graphics editing and b) you've got money to spare. Mac laptops are generally more expensive for the same amount of processing power. HOWEVER, I have done lots of graphics editing, and I really did prefer a Mac for it. If you do get a Mac, all your Microsoft stuff will still work, but you'll have to buy the software. Learning how to use a Mac isn't that tough--I bet it's easier to learn than Windows for a first time user.

As for what laptop you should pick, I highly reccomend going through this website: http://www.myproductadvisor.com/mpa/base/home.do. It will help you figure out what laptop is best for you based on what you want to do with it.

Good luck!

Duffinger

I switched from PC to Mac about a month and I am in love with it.  I honestly don't think I'll ever go back (except at work b/c I have no say there).  My dad bought MS Office for Mac when he bought his Macbook a few months ago and since you can install it on 3 computers, we just put it on mine too - some things are different, but I'm sure it's easy to get the hang of it, I just haven't used Office much.  My Mac has been super easy to use though and I had no problems switching over.  Yeah, they're a little more expensive, but so far the cost has been worth it.

Fall_Bride2004

I always hear people say this about Macs.  May I ask what specifically you like.  People always rave about them, and I would like to know what exactly is better.

Violet_McPurpleson

It's better because they are so much more user friendly. You don't have to worry nearly as much about viruses like you do on a PC. The battery on them lasts forever, seriously I haven't charged mine since yesterday and here it is 9 pm the following day still going strong. They don't ask you a million questions they way a PC does and they don't run a million programs at once slowing down your computer. That was my very non-technical assessment. I switched a few years back and will never go back to a PC.

BryelleSullivan

mac 100%

AmyO.

Well it seems  like that is the way to go!!  Thank you so much for the feedback.  I think we're off to buy a Mac today.

Burgandy05

I love my mac - i switched in 2005.  I'll never go back!  The transition was pretty easy - took a few weeks.  I browsed the Apple switch 101 site a lot and loved this pc vs. mac table. 

 http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2514?viewlocale=en_US

I also promote the following open source/free software:

Open Office = Microsoft Office - Open office opens all Microsoft Office extension documents.

Gimp = Adobe Photoshop.

Happy shopping!

Fall_Bride2004

There are also Google docs that open in Microsoft Office.

skybluejen

I'm a PC user, but for graphic editing I would definitely recommend a Mac! The editing capabilities on a Mac are way better than anything on a PC.