OK if your work offered you a brand new Apple Macbook Pro and a brand new Dell Latitude E6410 laptop but said you could only have one which would you choose?

Hellz yeah.

Is that a serious question? (8+/

Mark

Not a fair question. If they were both the same price then perhaps it would be fair but in these days of economies, certainly in my workplace, the cheaper machine will always win. That and the fact that we have no Mac support closer than Edinburgh

I use both and whilst the Mac is slightly quicker to process my pics, the limitations come from the software - in my case Photoshop, Lightroom etc.

Al

I'd prefer the E6510, the 14" display is too small and too lower a resolution to be useful. The E6410 15.6" display with 1920x1080 resolution would be fine. Costs 500€ less than the 15" MBP, has a better display and better processor - essentially my Sony in a Dell case, in terms of spec.

Selective quoting you lot. That question was aimed at someone but if you all want to answer then please do.

It is completely serious and completely fair. I know that most people would choose a mac hands down (even the PC fanboys). Disco was 100% PC when I joined nearly 4 years ago. Now there 100-150 macs because once people see them, if they can come up with a 'business justification' for having one, they will apply for one.

I'm surprised at your response Mr D but I know you have an iMac

Tell me about it, I was asked to order a "good" PC for a new accountant, who needs to do a lot of number crunching, I said we could get an entry level "good" PC for around 550€, a decent on for under 700€. The head accountant came back with a Pentium D machine for 350€!

I have been a Mac user for 10 years now. It really is the investment in software that keeps me here. I think I could spec and build a capable pc from parts that would be superior in performance, though lack the polish of an iMac.
I am no evangelist, rather like the Brooker quote, Macs work for me, but I wouldn't recommend one.

Oh, in that case Mac > PC every time for me.

Mark

I wrote the reply on my iMac!

I bought Jessica a 13" MBP last year, it was a bit pricey, but for what she needed, it was great. She wanted to get a new laptop and was going to get something for around 400€! I told her, if she paid the difference between a Mac mini and a MBP, when she was 18 (her grandfather had set up a trust fund for her, which matured when she was 18). She loves it, I like it a lot, but it is too small for me.

In the professional 15" - 17" class, the MacBook Pros just can't compete, they are underspecified and over priced, for what they are, and OS X doesn't bring any advantage over Windows 7, for the average user, unless you already have an investment in OS X software.

In my case, all the software I need is either free or I could get it cheap / free (I am a Microsoft partner, so the MS software is free and many of the other programs / services I use these days are cloud based, so the front-end software is free, I just pay for the cloud service (E.g. MobileMe, Evernote, GotoMeeting, GotoSupport).

If I'd forked out a couple of grand on Creative Suite with no cross-platform licensing available, then the extra cost and reduced performance of the Mac would be a concession I'd probably have to make, as it would still be more cost effective than buying a cheaper laptop and a new copy of CS.

Pfffttttt

Mark

+1

Try saying that to all the PC people I have converted to mac

I use both Mac and PC at work and there's no doubt I would have a Mac at home - if I could afford it. As it is I have a homebuilt PC which is upgradeable without breaking the bank. One thing though, whether it's Mac vs PC or Canon vs Nikon (or whatever), the thing that upsets me is the fanboy stance. I dare say we would all be driving different cars than we have at the moment if we could afford it - I like my (new) car but I'm not inclined to say it's any better than anybody elses just because I like it.

Al

How long have you used Windows 7 for?