So what do I have to lose? -laptop

Well, I found that my 4 year old Dell was running a bit slow the other day.

So I went through spamware and virusware and things of the sort, cleaned it out, backed it up and realized I have only 17% space left on my hard disc(120Gb)

And being that our son is going be banging away soon at the keyboard, I do have to get myself a laptop.

Now I have been considering a Mac recently, only based on others' word of mouth but I really don't know the pros or cons.
I do have a fear of going to Mac, thinking I'll "lose" something, perhaps files or the like. Like I wont have Photoshop anymore, or FS2004. But I can alwas do those on the old desktop if I feel the need ;)

I big consideration is cost and I can get a comparable Dell for significantly less than a Mac. Plus, if I have issues with a Dell, I have support that comes to my office (he takes care of our servers) whereas if I were to have an issue with Mac, he's not familiar with them. However, I am more than willing to spend a bit extra for the comparable Mac if the pros are justified.

So I would like to ask you guys, especially those with experience with both, what are the pros and cons of each. I am hoping to hear more about hard evidence, not just preference. In other words, please explain why you prefer one over the other.

Thanks in advance for sharing the knowledge.



My needs: Documents, Net surfing, photoediting and quick access and ease of use.

I have a Mac Book Pro.

Very easy to use and setup.

If need be you can load and use Windows on the Mac.

I do all of my photo editing on the Mac.(Photoshop + Aperture). I backup to multiple external HD

I have had no problems what so ever with my Mac. I had a Power book previously.

I have a PC Desktop which is hardly used.

I was reluctant to switch for a long time, but I finally got an iMac about a month ago and I'm not sure I want to go back. Using my Windows machine at work has even become sort of a drag.

Pros
* Mac OS X Leopard is far more user friendly and intuitive than Windows Vista, which is what you'll get if you get a new Dell.
* Limited threat of spyware and viruses
* If you get the MacBook Pro, you'll get a gorgeous solid aluminum case. There are some nice Dells, but they're still all plastic.
* With a built-in Mac feature called Boot Camp, you can install Windows on your Mac and switch between the Mac OS and Windows with a few clicks to run your old software on it. Some reviewers have gone as far as to say Mac machines run Windows better than machines actually built for Windows.
* If you have a problem you can bring your machine to an Apple store where a live tech will look at it, whereas a Dell problem will result in a call to India.

Cons
* More expensive
* One button mouse takes some getting used to

mario, i've had to get two laptops recently and needed to get them cheap. i started looking around and found nothing worthwhile in my price range until i went to J&R. i managed to get two refurbished IBM thinkpads for less than $1000. they still run great for being refurbed machines and i haven't had any issues with them aside from having a hard time getting used to the wireless networking software.

i'm not trying to keep you from going to mac, but they are expensive. personally, i don't want to take that plunge becuse i just have no idea how to work with one. i've been on windows for about 18 years now. J&R doesn't have a steady stream of these thinkpads, they apparently go very quickly, you'll need to check the website.