Spoiled Surprise
You see, I don’t have a computer. Jeremy has a work laptop. I have a work laptop. And I have a big ole fattie computer at work. But I am quitting work in mid-February. And I am not allowed to use Jeremy’s work laptop for personal use. So I will be a blogger with no way to blog.
Stop cheering.
Anyhoo…so Jeremy spoiled the surprise of an upcoming birthday present. He wants to buy me a laptop. And he asked me what I wanted.
Here was my laptop wish list -
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I want it to be white.
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I want it to make me look hot.
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I want a webcam built in (no – not for that!)
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I want a mouse.
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I want the ability to download photoshop.
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I want to play blue-ray movies.
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I want to burn cds.
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I want to be able to hook up a bigger screen.
That’s all I could think of. This is his suggestion:
Let’s be honest. I don’t know anything about computers (if that wasn’t apparent enough with my wishlist). So I thought I would put it out there….do you guys have a computer or are you at the library right now? What should I look for? What do you have? What is the one feature you can’t live without? HELP!
*list contains affiliate links
Go Mac, you’ll never go back. It’s so worth it. It’s so easy to use, so you’ll be able to pick it up right away. Macs are a million times better at running programs like Photoshop and you’ll never regret spending the extra cash. They last (my PowerBook is 6 years old..they don’t even make them any more and it’s working great) and the Mac store/supports are unmatched. They’re happy to help with even the dumb questions (like what just happened to all my music?) and the hard ones (like my CD drive no longer works). Plus, they are pretty much 100% virus-free. It’s absolutely the way to go.
And they’re white. And they definitely make you look hot.
get a mac for the love of god! ive had this macbook for about 4 years and it has not slowed down or bogged up at all!!!! i dont think macs have blueray playback (maybe soon) and macbooks/pros have small screens (13in; unless u get upper pros 15in/17in), but its definitely worth the compromise!
Mac!!!!!! There is nothing better. And they have a white one. It’s the best computer out there for anything fun and for working photoshop. I’m a designer, I wouldn’t have anything else. And you don’t have to worry about crazy virus!
My vote is for a Macbook. They have all the accessories you want and are way easier to use than a PC! It does take some adjustment, but once you Mac you never go back!
Get a MAC for sure. I have a MacBook and love it. I have had no problems with viruses or anything and I’ve had it almost a year and a half. Before that I had a second hand PowerBook and had no problems with that either. Like others have said, it’s more money up front but they last long and are great computers.
Yes, get the Sony Vaio… its what I have now and I love it. Plus it DOES make you look hot!
I cant imagine a girl as cool as you, not using a MAC.You should really go play with one before selling out to sony. Also if you have an apple store in your town they have free classes to teach you the transition
I love my dell studio laptop, I think you can get it in white. I love the backlit keyboard!
IMO, Macs are the way to go. This is from a girl whose father and grandfather BOTH worked for IBM in its PC heyday and whose husband had to drag her, screaming, down the path of Apple enlightenment. But they say converts are the loudest advocates! In addition to its easy interface, speed, lack of bugs, and pure classy hotness in the looks category, the biggest reason is Apple Care, which will answer all your questions, fix all your problems, and teach you everything you need to know. It is worth the few hundred extra to get it. The biggest reason is selfish – Macs don’t go down like PCs, and I need my fix of Bower Power!
oooh fun, a new laptop! my recommendation is to get a mac. i’ve had mine for about 7 months and it’s true, once you go mac you never go back
Macs are better. It won’t take you that long to get used to it. All the graphics programs like Photoshop are better on a Mac too. They don’t crash nearly as often and they are the best! I do lots of graphics and photos and a Mac is really the way to go for artistic types!
TOTALLY get a Mac! We just bought our second Macbook Pro last night. You will LOVE it. And even though they’re more expensive up front, you will save money in the long run. They’re built really well and will last. I am practically evangelistic about Macs; I love them so much.
I’m just going to join the bandwagon and say…GET A MAC. You won’t be sorry.
I have a toshiba(its nothing too exciting) but has a larger screen and the one thing I find important is the scrolling feature, some laptops dont scroll down very well. But if your getting a mouse you wont need to worry about that!
I currently have a Toshiba, which I totally loved when I first bought it. I have only had it for a couple of years, and I am already saving for a new laptop. I will most definately be going for a MAC. My boyfriend has one, and I use his computer more than my own now. Apple’s interface is so easy, and beats Windows anyday!!
my husband and I have that laptop and we haven’t had any problems with it! I love it! and it looks really nice!
VAIOs have a tendency to overheat and burn out. I know three people who’ve had to get their computers repaired because of a faulty cooling fan.
Good question. We have a pc desktop at home. Where I worked for the last four years I had a supped up Mac, my last was a G4 w/ the Adobe Creative Suite. Sigh. I still wouldn’t trade it for being at home and w/ our soon to be born baby. We also purchased a refurbished laptop for less.
I would recommend querying your closest Staples or Best Buy worker, if they are at all as helpful as ours. Or if you know someone who eats up computer anything like my brothers. If you let them know your needs, they can advise you on a good processor speed, space amount, given the price you want to spend.
I also recommend getting an external hard drive to store your photos on. Maybe even another for backup. It will free up space on your computer, or if you do store your large size pics on your computer, you can use the external for backup in case something happens to your computer. Which brings up the point of using a good anti-virus software to mostly prevent the likelihood.
I was reading your list and I thought in my head, he’s going to suggest a mac… and then I scrolled down.
After having my dell laptop die at less than 1 year old and a dell desktop die at a year and a half.. I bought a mac and I’ll never go back.
Get a Mac and you’ll never go back!
While we have PCs at work, we are a Mac only household at home. We each have our iBooks and then we have a “house” iMac. The iMac is great because it’s got a HUGE screen. I usually prefer to do my larger photoshopping projects there {ones where I’m compiling pieces of several different images into 1 piece} just because of the screen size. I do everything else on my macbook pro. It’s the perfect size to go with me places – whether it’s the couch or away for the weekend. I love iPhoto for organizing my photos and the facial recognition software it has built in is pretty freakin awesome!
If you go with a Mac, you might want to wait until after Apple’s big event on Jan. 27th in case any new versions are released.
Go mac!
KB…sweetie…listen. I am computer illiterate. Mac’s take hardly ANY getting used to (if you ask me)….there is no learning curve. You’ll be FINE. It’s simple. Honestly…! I promise! I wouldn’t sway you in the wrong direction I totally promise. You’ll learn a few tricks and badabing-badaboom-you know how to work a mac. PS: I can come over there with my pretty little baby of mine (who will be in competition with ms. petersik), and she can entertain Will while I teach you the way of the Mac world? k? cool..
haha
seriously. go play with them in the store or something. there is NOT a better computer out there. promise.
Go with a MAC!!! Once you go MAC you never go back! Its the best switch I’ve E-V-E-R made!! DO IT!
I don’t think you could convince me (ever!) to spend actual hard (or easy!
) earned cash on anything but a Mac. They are incredibly intuitive, so you would learn SUPER quick, I assure you. Best of all, if you have any questions – they have the best customer service support in. the. world. I love my macBook. Love, love, love it.
I love the fact that you are blogging about this subject right now. I am right in the middle of my PC vs Mac decision right now. So Im reading through all of these great comments getting info for myself. Thanks a million and good luck deciding!
if you are going to do serious work at home, i suggest you invest in a desktop with a large hard drive. and then supplement that with a laptop.
MAC or PC either OS – but you will enjoy a better ROI with a desktop that can handle and store large files and also can act as a main server for a mini home network. (you can both link to it and share photos, music, etc. )
be sure and add a wireless component to the desktop when you purchase it.
Desktop packages are very reasonable now and actually cheaper than laptops – so you could get that first and then later add the laptop for you for more portability (blogging in the nursery?)
Let me say that 3 years ago I was a life-long mac-hater because of psychic damage from learning “computer skills” on 1980s macs in the 1990s… my school wasn’t down with the new tech. That said, I am now a SERIOUS Mac aficionado. They have everything on your wishlist (that I can tell), and the customer service ROCKS THE SOCKS! After 3 years of owning mine the battery died (which seemed like a minor issue for a 3-year-old computer that has sustained many drops and one fall from the top of my car going 35mph). It was out of warranty, and I was bummed that I was going to be buying a new battery. I took it to the store, spoke with a guy behind the counter (and showed him the laptop), he looked at it, disappeared behind a door, reappeared with a working battery, checked that it worked properly, and said “there you go.” “Did you need my credit card?,” I asked. “Nope, have an awesome day!”
Then the charger got damaged on a road trip due to inefficient packing. “Damnit! $80 charger!!” I took it in, and the same magic act happened… FREE. No warranty, no hassle, no calls to India or Taiwan for tech support! I really love talking to someone in person when I have computer woes, so that I know I am not getting the run-around… and really, is there anything more charming that computer geeks who gift you with awesome, smiling, free service?! UH-MAZING.
And the thing still runs like a champ because of the no virus thing! Most accessories are “plug-and-play” meaning you don’t have to install anything for your printer to work, or for your camera to work, or for your cell phone to connect, or for your internet to be set up! WOW… talk about easy for the non-techies! I feel like a used car saleswoman, but seriously… I am almost bummed that it is so great because the new ones are 100x sweeter than my 3-year-old macbook. The money saving rocks, and the learning curve (for someone who is NOT tech savvy and HATED macs) was minimal, within 1 or 2 weeks I had nearly forgotten how to navigate a pc! It might be worth a test-drive at the local Apple store and a chat with one of the charming Apple geeks for a guided tour!
I have to throw out another vote for the MAC! I had a Dell all throughout law school – worst computer EVER. I had the “blue screen of death” on a regular basis, spent hours on the phone w/tech support, even had the tech support people at my house multiple times. I have loved my MacBook!! It’s easy to use, meets your white laptop criteria & the best part – no blue screen of death!
I just bought my first MacBook Pro and LOVE LOVE LOVE it
I’m a Mac user, I have a MacBook and love it… we are saving up to get an iMac, but I will never go back to anything else.
I have one word for you: MAC!!!!!
I switched from PCs to Mac ‘a few years ago and it was the best decision of my life!!
My husband and I will never buy another PC…
Just saying is all…you surely won’t regret it!
GET A MACbook!!
Once you go Mac, you will never go back!! Seriously, you would love it. It is an easy switch, and so fun to learn the programs like Pages (word processing that’s amazing) and iMovie. It is a gazillion times easier to do the creative stuff on Mac programs (but you can still use Word on a Mac if you really want to… although you won’t, I promise). I had PCs for a long time, but I truly will never buy one again.
I’m kind of a Mac snob now (own an iMac and a MacBook Pro), but I thought you might be interested to know that the reason I switched to Mac is that I’m a professional photographer, and once I started taking serious photography and graphic design courses I realized that almost everyone is using Macs (for good reason). They’re just so intuitive (and I’m not a computer or tech savvy person).
With CS4 you’ll want to have plenty of RAM, because that beast uses a ton of space. Off-topic, but I was wondering if you’ve ever looked into using Lightroom? I’ve been using Photoshop every day for about 4 years now, but I purchased Lightroom about a year ago and now do 98% of my personal and business photo editing (not design…it’ll only edit your photos) in Lightroom…really easy to use and a lot more intuitive than CS4.
Oh, I forgot to add that Macs make backups (which are so important for photographers) super easy. Just hook up an external hard drive (you can even buy wireless ones), set up Time Machine (it’s easy, I swear) to backup your Mac every hour, and then forget about it – you never have to worry about losing anything again. It’s really that simple.
I was worried about the PC to Mac conversion (like I said, I’m not tech savvy) so I bought a really simple Mac book by Scott Kelby (love his photography stuff…check him out if you haven’t already) and it helped me learn the basics quickly and easily (seriously, you could even do it with 1-week postpartum crazy brain). I recommend buying a Mac so much I’ll even mail you my copy if you want – seriously.
Hey Katie, I think you’d be happy with a mac, but the real advantage is for people who do a lot of graphics work. With the blog you’re doing some photoshoping, so it might be to your advantage, but they are also significantly more expensive and that’s a lot to pay to be cool.
I have owned a VAIO and it was good. I saw someone complained about the battery and I had a similar issue, but I believe it was because I didn’t know you should let the battery fully drain before recharging it. Since I’ve done that, I have had great battery success with laptops and cell phones… Good luck with the baby! I’m due in a week. Time flies!
I have an HP laptop with blu-ray and I love it! The only problem so far has been with the blu-ray player playing all of my movies, but I learned (after about 6 hours on the phone to HP), that it was only their software causing the issue.
One suggestion- if you plan on transporting it a lot, don’t get the 17 inch screen. It makes it heavier, bulkier and they don’t make hardly any cute bags to fit a 17 inch laptop!
ps: (wow, 3rd comment…holy crap)…whatever you do, DO NOT get a DELL. Seriously…I spent many-a-college-day on the phone in tears with some indian dude who couldnt understand my problem, telling me the issue was gonna cost another $250 just to ANALYZE and me be without a computer for weeeeeeeeks. Seriously. Don’t do it. Their customer service S–UUUU-CKS, and ya know…once you have a baby here, you will NOT have time to deal with that.
Macs are great. It’s all I’ve ever owned, even back in the day before everyone started to get them. I have a laptop for work & one for at home. Love them both like a fat kid loves cake.
I’ve had a Vaio desktop for almost 8 years and never had a single problem with it. It’s ancient, but I just can’t replace it becuase it works perfectly!
I used to hate Macs (we had to use them in grade school for computer class). Then I went to college.
The majority of kids at my university used Macs so I was really intimidated to start on one being that the last memory I had of using one was with a manila folder over my fingers covering the keyboard so I didn’t cheat while learning to type properly.
I was SO impressed at how easy it was to learn on one and how much better (ie faster) programs seem to run on Macs. I retired my old laptop PC (an IBM Think Pad from 2003 – which, I have to say, I am impressed at how long that guy lasted) and bought my MacBook Pro last February. Now, I went to school for TV & Film production so the Pro lets me make movies so easily (I have Final Cut Studio on my Mac).
For someone who wants to use their laptop for photography, movies (I assume you’ll be making some of Will when he comes along!) and the web, I’d definitely recommend a Mac. Not necessarily a Pro, though, for just personal use you can get away with a regular MacBook.
Also, Jerry is a PC (he has a beast of a Dell in his home office) but he is always sneaking on my Mac for quick downloads and faster connections.
Other than that, I don’t know anything about computers. Hope that helps!
-Emily
Don’t worry too much about the switch to macs; as my good friend says, “Macs are ‘too’ user-friendly”, which can only be a good thing, right? That said, I’m completely biased, as I have (literally) grown up on macs. I do use windows vista at work, and HP on my hub’s laptop, but I still prefer my macbook. To get a better feel for it, I would definitely go to the apple store and play around!
Oh, P.S. I have never had any battery problems with my mac. After about a year of use, mostly all of my friends at college had to keep their laptops (hp/windows/dell,etc.) plugged in constantly, because the batteries did not hold any power. My mac could last for hours on battery power. Sure, it makes less of a difference if you are mainly using your computer at home, working at a desk (rather than traveling or working at librarys/coffeeshops/airports/cartrips), but I figure that part of the point of a laptop is so that it is mobile. If a laptop can’t last more than a few minutes without being plugged into the wall, it doesn’t seem very mobile to me! I’m not sure about sonys.
Isn’t it funny how people come out of the woodwork for these kinds of questions?
I’m a tech person, so I’ve gone through many laptops in the last 10 years or so. Unfortunately, I’ve found that my PCs, regardless of brand, last 3-4 years. So, if you go for a PC, resist the urge to go for every bell and whistle. Invest in an external hard drive so you aren’t beholden to the laptop if it dies.
That being said, I’ve had the Vaio, an HP, and a bunch of Dells. The Vaio was a great toy when it was new, but by year 2-3, it aged incredibly. It slowed down, the battery life was diminished, and there were new pieces of software it just couldn’t handle. It’s a very expensive computer, which makes the early decline all the more distressing.
The HP was the laptop I had for the shortest amount of time. It was a fine computer, but I don’t remember ever being impressed by it.
The Dells have been the best of the PCs. The ability to customize is great, they aren’t gimmicky, they are workhorses. They have great support and they don’t really decline…they just die. This may sound silly, but if you’re the type of person who backs everything up on an external hard drive, the decline of a computer is more frustrating than the actual death. You don’t want months and months of bugginess and hicccuping that require you to coax and tweak constantly. When the thing is ready to go, you just want it to die. Period. Then, you can go out and get your next one.
If you are getting a PC, do not spend a crazy amount of money. Remember, it is a short term investment. It is going to die. If you aren’t giving it the workout that I do, it’ll probably last 5 years, but by then, there will be better technology out there and you’ll want to upgrade.
Trust me. Remind yourself when you’re shopping. These are short term computers.
That all being said, Macs last. They last forever. I have a G4 that sits in a public kiosk in my office that has been humming away for 6-7 years and it’s just fine. If I switched out the mouse for a newer one, no one would know the machine was old if they didn’t look at how thick it is.
I do most of my work on a Dell Inspiron and have an iMac at home. Right now, they’re side by side on my desk.
Though there is some transition time to get used to the Mac, it’s not as hard as some people would have you think. I think some Mac people want you to think their world is reserved for special people, but Macs are actually very intuitive.
By iMac is on its third year and it still feels new. It was expensive, but it’s in far better shape than the Inspiron, which is about the same age. The Inspiron is already protesting when I want to do complex tasks.
Design wise, Apple has a great thing going, too.
Okay, that was the longest blog comment I’ve ever written. Sorry. Bottom line, PCs are short term buys and Macs are longer term buys. Invest in an external hard drive.
Oh, and Acer (“cheap” brand) is the company that makes laptops for some of the big, big names. Don’t get stuck on the brand. Look at the processor (I personally like AMD, but the processor inside is more important than the brand on the outside).
Psst…I have the best 17 inch laptop bag. It’s called the Tarrytown Ashley by Kate Spade. If you have a Kate Spade outlet near you, hit it up on Saturday, when they usually have 50% off sales.
I get so many compliments on my kelly green bag. I also like that it’s not obviously a laptop bag and I can use it as a regular tote.
katie… macs are so easy to use! there’s basically no learning curve and i promise you’ll be so grateful for the recommendations you might even change your first born’s name from will to mac… ya never know!
I have a white Mac and I LOVE IT!! I can take all of the laugh lines off of my face and every freckle off of my arms!
I never get pop ups and no virus’s. And yes it makes me look good!
I couldn’t live without my macbook. And they come in white. =)
my only advice is to get an external hard drive! you can save some moolah on memory and not worry about losing all your pics of Baby Bower (and other important stuff, too).
Hi Katie. I just wanted to share that I was also trying to figure out what laptop to buy, so this post was sooo helpful! Well, I just bought myself a white macbook today and am super excited! With all mac owners raving like they did on this post, how could I get anything else?! Best of luck on your laptop hunt! xoxo
I didn’t read the others’ advice, but I 100% recommend a Sony Vaio (we have a desktop one that is 6 yrs old & is FLAWLESS; my brother has the laptop & it has never failed him in the 3 yrs he’s had it).
Do not get a Dell! Customer service is awful and we had to send our laptop in to get serviced 4 times in the year we had it.