Technology catch-all thread

[RockRaines]

Can you write on it? Like e-notes? Or does it all have to be typed?

As of right now I understand that it doesnt have the writing feature, only the keyboard or a bluetooth keyboard. Supposedly the writing feature is on its way. The thing is that if you do a landscape keyboard its not too difficult to take notes.

[HuskyCaucasian]

There has been a debate as to if Mac's were over priced, so I set out to do a side by side comparison to the best of my ability.

 

I chose to compare a baseline 13" Mac Pro to two Dell Inspiron laptops.

The spreadsheet can be seen here.

 

Basically:

13" Macbook Pro - $1199

15" Dell Inspiron - $1073

13" Dell Inspiron - $949

[ChiliIrishHammock24]

There has been a debate as to if Mac's were over priced, so I set out to do a side by side comparison to the best of my ability.

 

I chose to compare a baseline 13" Mac Pro to two Dell Inspiron laptops.

The spreadsheet can be seen here.

 

Basically:

13" Macbook Pro - $1199

15" Dell Inspiron - $1073

13" Dell Inspiron - $949

 

Yep, I would take the Dell Inspiron 15.

[RockRaines]

Yep, I would take the Dell Inspiron 15.

And have to replace the hard drive within 2 years, re-image the OS because of performance issues and spyware a few times finally having to upgrade after 3 years.

[HuskyCaucasian]

And have to replace the hard drive within 2 years, re-image the OS because of performance issues and spyware a few times finally having to upgrade after 3 years.

My iMac i bought in 2005 still runs as well as it did the day I bought it and I've never done a single OS reinstall.

[ChiliIrishHammock24]

And have to replace the hard drive within 2 years, re-image the OS because of performance issues and spyware a few times finally having to upgrade after 3 years.

 

Probably not. I have Norton Anti-Virus, I don't get viruses.

[BigSqwert]

Do you people buy $300 computers on sale on random websites? I can't believe how many problems people have with their computers.

[Balta1701]

Do you people buy $300 computers on sale on random websites? I can't believe how many problems people have with their computers.

My last computer was a Lenovo that was given to my advisor on an academic grant. The video card was near death within 2 years. Which was really frustrating, because it died about 2 months before my defense date. Right in the middle of a trip to TX for a Job interview.

[ChiliIrishHammock24]

Do you people buy $300 computers on sale on random websites? I can't believe how many problems people have with their computers.

 

I have had 2 Dells (Desktop and Laptop), and both of them I went to dell.com and customized them myself. I would never buy a computer out of a magazine or flyer w/o customizing it for my own needs. I have only had 1 problem w/ my Desktop in the 5-6 years I have had it, and no problems w/ my laptop which I have owned for about 9 months now.

[RockRaines]

Probably not. I have Norton Anti-Virus, I don't get viruses.

That will stop some, but not all. Windows is swiss cheese when it comes to spyware, viruses and little issues that can kill your OS. I've been through enough Dell's, IBM's, Lenovo's etc through the years to know that. And I work for a company that makes anti virus software and I get the enterprise version for free. Still doesnt matter.

 

Now if you arent downloading anything at any time, maybe you'll be ok.

[RockRaines]

My iMac i bought in 2005 still runs as well as it did the day I bought it and I've never done a single OS reinstall.

Its a beautiful thing. I have a powerbook G3 that still runs well.

 

My imac that I got not too long ago is an absolute beast of a machine, I wish I had switched to this years ago.

[ChiliIrishHammock24]

That will stop some, but not all. Windows is swiss cheese when it comes to spyware, viruses and little issues that can kill your OS. I've been through enough Dell's, IBM's, Lenovo's etc through the years to know that. And I work for a company that makes anti virus software and I get the enterprise version for free. Still doesnt matter.

 

Now if you arent downloading anything at any time, maybe you'll be ok.

 

I guess if you aren't stupid, and have a good virus software, you will be fine. I have downloaded over 1,500 songs and 30+ movies just on my laptop alone, and I am sure over 5,000 songs on my desktop over the the 5-6 years. Like I said, only 1 problem w/ my desktop, and that may have been because I was messing w/ internal things that I really should not have because I am not that advanced w/ computers enough to be running ghost drives and iso software, ect.

[lostfan]

And have to replace the hard drive within 2 years, re-image the OS because of performance issues and spyware a few times finally having to upgrade after 3 years.

Like BigSqwert said, where does this happen? I've been using PCs for about 12 years, and I had exactly 1 hard drive die on me. The only OS I had problems with was Windows ME because it was a piece of s*** OS that MSFT is ashamed of admitting responsibility for. Vista wasn't anywhere near as bad for me as everyone says it is, especially in this thread, but I have 7 now and it's great. The only time I had a bad spyware problem was when I was messing around with software/websites I really shouldn't have been.

[StrangeSox]

What lostfan and JCM said. Why are you guys having so many issues with your Wintel machines? I don't run any anti-virus and I'm not afraid of torrenting and I never have problems.

[flippedoutpunk]

Silly me was using piratebay.org on my gfs laptop and got a real nasty son of a gun virus that kept changing the windows desktop into a red background with the flashing letters "YOUR COMPUTER IS INFECTED". Ive grown so accustomed to my macbook that i forgot about the importance of anti-virus software on a windows machine needless to say the virus really did a number on the laptop and i had to do a factory reset which made her very highly upset

[ChiliIrishHammock24]

Silly me was using piratebay.org on my gfs laptop and got a real nasty son of a gun virus that kept changing the windows desktop into a red background with the flashing letters "YOUR COMPUTER IS INFECTED". Ive grown so accustomed to my macbook that i forgot about the importance of anti-virus software on a windows machine needless to say the virus really did a number on the laptop and i had to do a factory reset which made her very highly upset

 

I love PirateBay. Have yet to get a virus, but thats what I use for all my movies/CDs.

[kev211]

I've had a Dell Inspiron Laptop for 2ish years running Vista, and besides cracking the screen once(my fault not the computers haha) I've never had any problems.

 

Though the new screen still ran me 100 dollars.

[MHizzle85]

Silly me was using piratebay.org on my gfs laptop and got a real nasty son of a gun virus that kept changing the windows desktop into a red background with the flashing letters "YOUR COMPUTER IS INFECTED". Ive grown so accustomed to my macbook that i forgot about the importance of anti-virus software on a windows machine needless to say the virus really did a number on the laptop and i had to do a factory reset which made her very highly upset

They make programs to get rid of this exact virus exactly. Same thing happened to me.

[3E8]

http://gizmodo.com/5520164/this-is-apples-next-iphone

 

possible iPhone 4

[iamshack]

So I took the iPad on a trip to Reno this past week. Previous to leaving, I loaded it up with movies and books to read. At the airport, I was able to use the free Wifi and connect to the internet and navigate webpages very easily. The processor was fast and the signal was strong.

 

On the plane, I watched the animated film "9" and was incredibly impressed by the picture quality. When I busted out the iPad and started the movie, the lady sitting next to me let out an "oooh, that picture is beautiful" and actually seemed to be watching most of the movie with me. As it was a short flight, I didn't finish the movie on the plane, but finished it that night in the hotel (although I had also rented Zombieland and found that iTunes' 24 hour rental period to sort of stink - I started the movie on the plane ride home but didn't get a chance to finish it before the rental period expired - so that was a waste of $3.99).

 

At the hotel, I was able to read some of the books I had downloaded in bed with no real complaints about the supposed "eye strain" or whatever. The books are easy, actually even sort of fun to navigate through as you can scroll through one page at a time, or by the table of contents, however you would like. I hope Apple works out contracts with some other publishers so the selection on iBooks becomes larger.

 

Not having the 3G connection was a bit of a disadvantage as I couldn't connect to the internet without paying for the hotel's Wifi signal, but that was ok, because I was able to check email and that sort of thing via my iPhone and it's 3G signal (one of the primary reasons I didn't spring for the 3G version of the iPad).

 

I was gone for 4 days and did not charge the iPad once. When I got home, I still had 83% battery remaining, so the battery is definitely top notch.

 

All in all, it's a very solid device. As many have said, including myself, it's not going to replace your laptop if you are a serious business traveler, and it's definitely a bit of a toy - certainly not a necessity for anyone - but it works extremely well for what it is designed to do and I had absolutely no issues with it whatsoever.

 

Just wanted to give you guys sort of a review of my first trip with it.

[RockRaines]

I guess if you aren't stupid, and have a good virus software, you will be fine. I have downloaded over 1,500 songs and 30+ movies just on my laptop alone, and I am sure over 5,000 songs on my desktop over the the 5-6 years. Like I said, only 1 problem w/ my desktop, and that may have been because I was messing w/ internal things that I really should not have because I am not that advanced w/ computers enough to be running ghost drives and iso software, ect.

So I'm stupid as well as thousands of other people? I am advanced with computers and work for a company that makes a top flight anti virus solution and still I've had issues with my PC's. I would actually say people who dive into the actual abilities of computers run into issues because of these things. My mom has a PC and has never had an issue because she does email and AOL. I use a PC at work and its one of the most locked down networks you'll ever see as well as a very managed piece of hardware. I've still had to fix OS issues as well as application problems. I'm pretty sure that the IT staff of a multi-billion dollar company isn't stupid.

[Controlled Chaos]

Like BigSqwert said, where does this happen? I've been using PCs for about 12 years, and I had exactly 1 hard drive die on me. The only OS I had problems with was Windows ME because it was a piece of s*** OS that MSFT is ashamed of admitting responsibility for. Vista wasn't anywhere near as bad for me as everyone says it is, especially in this thread, but I have 7 now and it's great. The only time I had a bad spyware problem was when I was messing around with software/websites I really shouldn't have been.

i.e., porn

[ChiliIrishHammock24]

So I'm stupid as well as thousands of other people? I am advanced with computers and work for a company that makes a top flight anti virus solution and still I've had issues with my PC's. I would actually say people who dive into the actual abilities of computers run into issues because of these things. My mom has a PC and has never had an issue because she does email and AOL. I use a PC at work and its one of the most locked down networks you'll ever see as well as a very managed piece of hardware. I've still had to fix OS issues as well as application problems. I'm pretty sure that the IT staff of a multi-billion dollar company isn't stupid.

 

Ok, people who are great drivers get into car accidents too. But if you are a careless driver, you are more likely to get into crashes more often. Just because you have had a PC problem does not mean you are stupid, but not being stupid greatly reduces your chances.

 

As long as you are not stupid w/ your computer and have a good virus protection, you SHOULD be fine.

[3E8]

So I took the iPad on a trip to Reno this past week. Previous to leaving, I loaded it up with movies and books to read. At the airport, I was able to use the free Wifi and connect to the internet and navigate webpages very easily. The processor was fast and the signal was strong.

 

On the plane, I watched the animated film "9" and was incredibly impressed by the picture quality. When I busted out the iPad and started the movie, the lady sitting next to me let out an "oooh, that picture is beautiful" and actually seemed to be watching most of the movie with me. As it was a short flight, I didn't finish the movie on the plane, but finished it that night in the hotel (although I had also rented Zombieland and found that iTunes' 24 hour rental period to sort of stink - I started the movie on the plane ride home but didn't get a chance to finish it before the rental period expired - so that was a waste of $3.99).

 

At the hotel, I was able to read some of the books I had downloaded in bed with no real complaints about the supposed "eye strain" or whatever. The books are easy, actually even sort of fun to navigate through as you can scroll through one page at a time, or by the table of contents, however you would like. I hope Apple works out contracts with some other publishers so the selection on iBooks becomes larger.

 

Not having the 3G connection was a bit of a disadvantage as I couldn't connect to the internet without paying for the hotel's Wifi signal, but that was ok, because I was able to check email and that sort of thing via my iPhone and it's 3G signal (one of the primary reasons I didn't spring for the 3G version of the iPad).

 

I was gone for 4 days and did not charge the iPad once. When I got home, I still had 83% battery remaining, so the battery is definitely top notch.

 

All in all, it's a very solid device. As many have said, including myself, it's not going to replace your laptop if you are a serious business traveler, and it's definitely a bit of a toy - certainly not a necessity for anyone - but it works extremely well for what it is designed to do and I had absolutely no issues with it whatsoever.

 

Just wanted to give you guys sort of a review of my first trip with it.

 

I'm amazed by the battery life. That's awesome. I think the movie rental price of $4 is too much

[iamshack]

I'm amazed by the battery life. That's awesome. I think the movie rental price of $4 is too much

I agree. I think they are trying to work something out, possibly a subscription-based program, but as long as all these idiots keep renting the crap out of them, they have no incentive to change. The joke is the iPad users that are renting the HD quality movies for $5...what a waste.