Getting a NEW Laptop!

[PhotoDonkey]

You offer some pretty sound advice when it comes to the downsides of Laptops, but I would add this:

Anyone not following some type of backup schedule for their data absolutely deserves to lose it all. With all the different solutions on the market today (writable DVDs, External Hard Drives, etc.) there is no excuse whatsoever to NOT have your data backed up on some format. At an absolute minimum you should have a second physical hard drive in your PC to back your files up to. If the primary hard drive fails, the other would have the data already on it. All you'd have to do is replace the primary hard drive, install your OS and software, and copy the files from the back-up drive to the new primary drive. Hard drives are dirt cheap these days, compared to what it's going to cost you to have that data recovered.

Myself, I have multiple PCs at home with multiple hard drives in each. I back up ALL of my files to both of the PCs and periodically back that data up to writable DVDs. Sometime in the next year, I plan to purchase an external hard drive to make this easier.

If it's at all possible, you should also keep back-ups of your data at a separate physical location than your PCs as well, in the event of a fire or other disaster.

 

[jakedoza]

You offer some pretty sound advice when it comes to the downsides of Laptops, but I would add this:

Anyone not following some type of backup schedule for their data absolutely deserves to lose it all. With all the different solutions on the market today (writable DVDs, External Hard Drives, etc.) there is no excuse whatsoever to NOT have your data backed up on some format.

Myself, I have multiple PCs at home with multiple hard drives in each. I back up ALL of my files to both of the PCs and periodically back that data up to writable DVDs. Sometime in the next year, I plan to purchase an external hard drive to make this easier.

If it's at all possible, you should also keep back-ups of your data at a separate physical location than your PCs as well, in the event of a fire or other disaster.

Excellent idea, except for the external hard drive idea. Hard drives are not meant to be moved about... That is the highest cause of failure.
I keep all my photos on my file server as well as on my primary system. If they are Really important, I put them on removable media (CD, DVD).

 

[PhotoDonkey]

Excellent idea, except for the external hard drive idea. Hard drives are not meant to be moved about... That is the highest cause of failure.
I keep all my photos on my file server as well as on my primary system. If they are Really important, I put them on removable media (CD, DVD).

I would never advocate dragging an external hard drive used for data backup around, or allowing it to be placed in a location that would allow it to be jostled. It doesn't take much to crash a drive. If you're using an external drive for porting data, it should not be used as part of your backup routine. If you can't keep it in a location where it isn't any more susceptible to bumps than your PC would be, then by all means, skip the external drive.

The ONLY reason I mentioned it is that they're easier to connect to a PC than an internal drive (which, quite honestly, aren't that difficult to install). Some average computer users might not be comfortable installing an internal drive, however, and if they don't want to pay someone to install the drive for them, they're a pretty good alternative.

One other point I would add: ALL hardware will, eventually, fail. This is a given.

 

[jakedoza]

I would never advocate dragging an external hard drive used for data backup around, or allowing it to be placed in a location that would allow it to be jostled. It doesn't take much to crash a drive. If you're using an external drive for porting data, it should not be used as part of your backup routine. If you can't keep it in a location where it isn't any more susceptible to bumps than your PC would be, then by all means, skip the external drive.

The ONLY reason I mentioned it is that they're easier to connect to a PC than an internal drive (which, quite honestly, aren't that difficult to install). Some average computer users might not be comfortable installing an internal drive, however, and if they don't want to pay someone to install the drive for them, they're a pretty good alternative.

The only reason I said that is because the avg user will, in fact, do that. It sounds like you are not the avg user.
Yes an external drive is good to use if not moved around, but I have seen that some external drives write to the drive with branded encryption. When these types of drives crash, it is near impossible to retrieve the information from them. So that would be something to look at when buying a backup solution.

 

[PhotoDonkey]

The only reason I said that is because the avg user will, in fact, do that. It sounds like you are not the avg user.
Yes an external drive is good to use if not moved around, but I have seen that some external drives write to the drive with branded encryption. When these types of drives crash, it is near impossible to retrieve the information from them. So that would be something to look at when buying a backup solution.

Good points.

 

[manaheim]

+1 to pretty much everything Jake said.

I am an IT guy by primary trade. Macs are sexy as hell and I love them, but I run all PCs and I generally recommend them to folks.

Yeah, you can make Macs do pretty much anything you want to, and at this point that includes even running Windows XP if you feel like jumping through a few hoops, but PCs are the dominant standard so you're always going to have more options available to you if you go the PC route.

I wouldn't generally suggest photo editing on a laptop, either. Having an inexpensive kick-around laptop to bring with you when you have a job is very handy for proofing and just offloading images, and with some screen correction can certainly be used, but for the majority of any "real" photo correction work, get a good desktop PC, a good display*, and you should be good.

If you're going to buy a laptop, I would stick with one of the bigger brands. Dell, HP, Lenovo (thinkpad). I personally like thinkpads the best because they are built well for business purposes, but I wouldn't expect anyone to consider you artsy if you whip one out... wanna go for the artsy thing? Sure, buy a Mac.

My personal recommendation would be to avoid alienware like the plague, or at least check to see how their policies have changed since Dell picked them up. I used to have one... once the warranty expired there was NO support. You couldn't even PAY them to fix your computer. You were just stuck with a $3000 brick, and goodluck to you. Frack. Too bad, too... those machines are DEAD sexy. Looking for the higher end? Maybe look at a Dell XPS.

Like Jake said... if you get a laptop get the extended warranty. You might even consider the extra few bucks for the "I drop kicked the laptop across a parking lot for fun... gimme a new one!" warranty. If you're going to be really carting it around, you may find you use that more than you think.

EDIT: (I forgot my * on the display thing)... Be aware of the quality of a lot of LCDs nowadays. The quintessential $300 really fast 22" LCD tends to be a poor performer in color and consistency. If you want good color performance you're likely going to spend a fair bit more money and sacrafice a bit on speed (matters primarily if you are a gamer). I'm not saying DON'T get one of these, I'm just saying be careful. I have one myself... it's ridiculously blue. Nothing I can't correct with Adobe Gamma or a variety of other tools, but you have to really watch it carefully.

 

[Sandspur]

Oh, Good Grief!

Danielle, you already know you want a Mac. You didn't ask for all this drivel, and you don't deserve it.

Buy the Mac of your choice and enjoy the hell out of it!

 

[Rhys]

I see a PC fan launched a blistering attack on my arguments and accused me of knowing nothing about PCs. Let me enlighten the unenlightened:

1. Until I started my photography business I worked as a computer technician.
2. I currently maintain the computer systems in 4 different locations. I maintain 6 Windows XP systems, 1 Vista system, 1 Linux system and 1 Mac system.
3. In my long experience of computers since I used my first way back in 1982, I have experienced many different systems and their flaws etc.

It is with this background that I recommend Macs. Yes - I do agree that laptop hard drives fail due to movement issues however I will point you toward this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820609302
and this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820609245

 

[elemental]

Oh, Good Grief!

Danielle, you already know you want a Mac. You didn't ask for all this drivel, and you don't deserve it.

Buy the Mac of your choice and enjoy the hell out of it!

I recall being told by virtually everyone I asked (and some people I didn't) that buying a Mac to take to college was the worst mistake I could possibly make. I listened to all of the arguments listed above, and bought a Macbook Pro anyway. I would consider myself moderately computer-literate, and in a year I knew OS X in more depth than I did Windows which I used for a decade. My computer is gorgeous, powerful, and runs today like it did the day I bought it (I know this is theoretically possible with Windows hardware, but for some reason it never happened. Updates exacerbated the problem). I have never had a compatibility issue, especially since I generally keep an XP partition around just in case. At one point, I was triple-booting OS X, Vista, and Linux.

I paid a premium and I am having a better computing experience by leaps and bounds. OS X is both intuitive and beautiful, and let's face it, your alternative is Vista. It's your choice, but just remember: Vista.

 

[reg]

What software do you already have?

I don't think she has any software.... she said she has "access to most of the programs I would use". Uh-huh...
Care to clarify Danielle?

 

[jakedoza]

I see a PC fan launched a blistering attack on my arguments and accused me of knowing nothing about PCs. Let me enlighten the unenlightened:

1. Until I started my photography business I worked as a computer technician.
2. I currently maintain the computer systems in 4 different locations. I maintain 6 Windows XP systems, 1 Vista system, 1 Linux system and 1 Mac system.
3. In my long experience of computers since I used my first way back in 1982, I have experienced many different systems and their flaws etc.

Then I apologize, but the reasons in which you gave to go with a MAC were not that of an experienced computer user, and I am pretty sure that I validated all of my points.

 

[PhotoDonkey]

Then I apologize, but the reasons in which you gave to go with a MAC were not that of an experienced computer user, and I am pretty sure that I validated all of my points.

I would tend to agree with the above. You indicated that Macs were basically invulnerable to viruses. This is simply not true for ANY computer platform. Macs and Linux PCs don't get the infections that Windows PCs get, simply because they are not dominant in the market. Macs simply aren't targeted as much as Windows based PCs. If Mac use reaches the levels that Windows enjoys today, that will, inevitably, change.

Sure, they may be less vulnerable than a windows machine, but that doesn't make them invulnerable. If you're running any kind of PC without some kind of Virus protection, you deserve the hell you're going to go through.

 

[cdanddvdpublisher]

i have 3 computers that i use. a pc that's for work only, a macbook that goes with me everywhere (even when i take my pc) and an imac that is my primary creative system. if i could only have one, it'd be the macbook.

 

[elemental]

I would tend to agree with the above. You indicated that Macs were basically invulnerable to viruses. This is simply not true for ANY computer platform. Macs and Linux PCs don't get the infections that Windows PCs get, simply because they are not dominant in the market. Macs simply aren't targeted as much as Windows based PCs. If Mac use reaches the levels that Windows enjoys today, that will, inevitably, change.

Sure, they may be less vulnerable than a windows machine, but that doesn't make them invulnerable. If you're running any kind of PC without some kind of Virus protection, you deserve the hell you're going to go through.

Wait, I forgot, DON'T buy a Mac! I don't want to run virus protection!

 

[Sandspur]

I wasn't going to do this. I swear I wasn't. My mama always taught me to be kind to those less fortunate than myself.

But ... I just can't resist.

Note to PC sufferers ... especially those who keep saying that the only reason Macs don't get viruses is because so few people use them:

Has anyone noticed the latest sales numbers? PC sales -- especially the likes of Dell and Gateway -- are in the tank.

While Mac sales -- both laptops and desktops -- are soaring. In fact, in the first quarter of '08 Apple commanded 66% of all computer sales in the above $1000 category.

Yes folks, That's right ... SIXTY-SIX PERCENT!!

And yet ... still no viruses. Kinda blows that silly old argument out of the water now doesn't it?

By the way ... it never was true.