Macbook v laptop?

< < just can’t do it anymore.

Best advice I can give is to visit your local Apple Store (on a weekday, weekends are insane). Check out the three different laptops Apple makes, try them out, ask questions of the staff.

I wouldn’t ask just one side :D

Macs are, at their programming base, much more stable.

BUT,
Macs are, simply put, PCs (despite the ads that make them look like a completely different breed) since PC means ‘personal computer’, and that’s what they are.
Ever since Apple decided to use Intel processors, over PowerPC architectures*(stay with me!)* they are simply PC’s, with a different Operating System-namely, Mac OS Leopard instead of Windows.

That is the primary difference, besides Apple’s excellent tech support and warranties(eg: Apple Care). PCs can all run other Operating Systems, like Windows XP, Windows Vista, Mac OSX, Ubuntu… – but Apple made Mac OS hard to run on anything but it’s own hardware.

Macs, however, don’t get viruses, rarely crash, etc. But they are just PCs, with a better operating system. I installed www.ubuntu.com on my machines instead of Vista/XP, and it works great, but needs a bit of work before it competes with Mac. I suggest Mac’s for the average user.

Go to www.easygeek.org for some info on that.

Whoops, I forgot. Mac’s have their own applications, and DO NOT run (easily) your Windows programs. They have their own alternatives though.

Definitly a mactop

or a lapmac, seriously, just get a mac, i’ve already explained this time and time again

@Truefire: Mac can run windows programs through Boot Camp or Parallels type software. Also.

Simply put, if you have the money and you want a laptop that wont lose its value, plus a great OS and hardware which can marry the best of Mac and Windows, go for the Mac.

If you just need a laptop for a shorter period of time (I’m still using an Apple laptop that was manufactured in 2001) and you don’t need anything special, just go for a run-of-the-mill Windows-running laptop.

However, I would strongly recommend waiting until at least November before buying a new Apple Laptop, there are rumors that news ones will come out on October 14 or around that date so you might as well wait.

Mac’s can run anything a pc can run. As @bluemukaki said, you can run it all through boot camp or parallels. You can also run Ubuntu on it natively and XP on it through boot camp or parallels.

If you like stability and a plethora of options I would go Mac. I own an hp dv9000z, which broke after less than a year. I’ve had my Macbook Pro for about 4 months now. And I’ve got a desktop running XP and a server running Ubuntu. The only thing I’ve had a problem with thus far is connecting my printer that’s shared from XP to my mbp. I’ve got it halfway working now, but I had to go through the CUPS server, which only someone familiar with OSX or Linux would know about. Macs are able to run most of the software natively that Windows does so program selection shouldn’t be an issue.

I enjoy Windows. It’s a decent os for what it is. But once you go Mac, you’ll never go back. =)

With a mac, you can actually concentrate on what you are supposed to do and you wouldn’t be bothered with all the minor stuff that bugs you on Windows. Stuff like viruses and the blue-screen of death will unlikely happen to a Mac. You won’t have to defrag your Mac. Mine has not been reformatted for the last 2 years and it still runs as fast as the day I bought it.
1) Turn it on
2) Work
3) Turn it off
4) Go back to step one

If you have the budget, just get a Mac. Seriously. You won’t regret it. And please, get Applecare ;)

FYI, I am not a fanboy :P i just love the whole OS X and hardware in one bundle.

[see everything already said]

that done, i love my macbook.

oh dear god….another one of these questions…

I really think you should tell us what you are planning to use it for every day. That would really help us get a basis for which type of notebooks you plan to purchase are…and also maybe give us an idea of the budget you’re working with.

As I have mentioned on questions similar to this…I own both mac and pc…I sell both mac and pc, and I understand both fairly well. So I’ll be able to help you out, but it would help out quite a bit after you answer the questions I listed here.