Core2 DUO 2GB Ram Laptop

[tino]

Not had to use my warranty once on the apple in the last six years - nough said...

£1700 is a lot I guess, few days work but who is counting, it's what I paid for the vaio... 1.24kg take it anywhere allows me to reply to clients, create the off letter, perfect...

Surely it is a business expense though

[Langkawi]

I'll second what interested said about Dell. Never, ever again.

I rate Acer. Cracking machines, reliable and very cost effective compared with a lot of the machines out there.

[timh]

Well.. YMMV, obviously. I've had nothing but good luck with numerous Dell machines (as a small business customer; might be different as a 'home' user) but I wouldn't touch Sony with a bargepole and it seems (from what friends tell me) that owning a Mac is fine as long as you live within easy travelling distance of an Apple Store so they can prod it a bit when it gets disgruntled.

(IBM laptops were always the most robust and long-lasting, so I'm tentatively assuming Lenovo have continued with that, but I don't have first-hand experience..)

The Acer machine I sorted out for a mate a couple of years ago was brilliant for the money - built like a brick (in a good way) and seems to be lasting nicely.

[scooterscot]

Surely it is a business expense though

too right... !!!!!

[angusglover]

So if I want to sell my MacBook Pro to the company...do I get 2nd hand value? Do I just write myself a chq once I have compared prices etc?

[realityhack]

So, erm, I'm picking up that IBM/Levono machines are reliable - my mate won't want a mac, and he's not spending any more than £600.

Also that Viaos are for girls, and acer's aren't bad.

Any other suggestions? Not liking the 2.8kg 'feature' of the Levono I mentioned at all, mind, he did say it'd mostly be plugged in, so it may rarely leave the house. Don't think looks are the thing here. He's a soon-to-be-ex permie on site here who's been used to thinkpads the whole time.

[Cowboy Bob]

So, erm, I'm picking up that IBM/Levono machines are reliable - my mate won't want a mac, and he's not spending any more than £600.

Two things:-

1) You can install Windows on a Mac for those too stubborn to give OSX a chance.
2) If he won't spend more than £600 on a laptop, he isn't going to get a quality piece of equipment.

[angusglover]

I agree. I have XP installed in a dual boot on my MacBook Pro...just so I can play CNC3 and it works great.

I do all real work on the MAC OS X tho...I know it is not gonna crash...;-)

[realityhack]

I agree, and am a mac advocate, but this fella doesn't have time for the learning curve that goes with migrating to a mac for the first time, and I don't want to be getting phone calls for the next 3 months along the lines of 'what's this apple key? how do I find the task manager etc'.

He just wants it for officey things like MS office and email.

[Clippy]

I agree, and am a mac advocate, but this fella doesn't have time for the learning curve that goes with migrating to a mac for the first time, and I don't want to be getting phone calls for the next 3 months along the lines of 'what's this apple key? how do I find the task manager etc'.

He just wants it for officey things like MS office and email.

I know what you mean which is why I hate 'recommending' stuff.

Stock answers (not necessarily my views, but works for Mr & Mrs Joe Bloggs)

Which Broadband supplier = BT
Which PC/laptop manufacturer = Dell (as they normally have good deals)
Which antivirus software = Nortons (as it is normally on special offer)

etc, etc