Notebooks....

[Expiry]

Does anyone here have a notebook? Are they worth looking at?

I'm thinking of getting an apple mac to replace my PC. I'm getting into photography, so I figure a mac will be better.

I thought I would get a cheap laptop for general internet browsing and email etc, but I was looking at notebooks as well. Which would be the better option?

I do still want to use Excel/ MS Office etc.

 

[Richard Schollar]

Do you mean a netbook? If not, how does a notebook differ from a laptop?

 

[Expiry]

Yes, I did. Just shows how much I know about them, eh?

Sorry.

 

[Richard Schollar]

Well, I recently (6 weeks ago) bought a Samsung NC10 and I find it superb for using as a video player on the train and for general websurfing at home. I have installed a full edition of SQL Server 2008 on it and Office 2007 Professional and it works fine (a little slower than my main dual core laptop and the lack of screen real estate causes a problem with the Ofiice 2007 ribbon but otherwise it's great!). I love the fact it doesn't weigh me done much when I carry it in my back pack.

 

[Expiry]

I'll take a look at that. I've noticed that some (Acer) have a Linux software, not MS Office. I'm assuming that's not compatable with Excel, for example and therfore I shouldn't bother.

 

[Angie1313]

My brother just picked up an HP mini. It's really cute and perfect for those who only go online to check their facebook and such. It really wouldn't be functional without picking up an external harddrive.

 

[RoryA]

I'll take a look at that. I've noticed that some (Acer) have a Linux software, not MS Office. I'm assuming that's not compatable with Excel, for example and therfore I shouldn't bother.

You can install WINE, which is a Windows emulator, on Linux distros, and run Office that way, or you can use Open Office which has pretty good compatibility with MS Office, other than VBA. I think a lot of the Netbooks now are available with either Linux (I think it's usually Ubuntu) or Windows XP as long as they have enough RAM. Most have enough space that you could even dual boot them if you fancied it (install Windows first!).

 

[Greg Truby]

I'm thinking of getting an apple mac to replace my PC. I'm getting into photography, so I figure a mac will be better.

I thought I would get a cheap laptop for general internet browsing and email etc, but I was looking at notebooks as well. Which would be the better option?

I do still want to use Excel/ MS Office etc.

I don't have experience running a Windows version of Office on a Mac. But I think it can be done. Do be aware that starting with the 2008 version of the mac version of office, it no longer supports whatever it was that they called the mac equivalent of VBA.

 

[SydneyGeek]

I wroked with a guy a few months back who had a Mac and used Parallels to run Windows. In the Windows PC he had Office 2007 and MYOB, and from what I saw they both ran fine. He was running Access, which hooks deeply into Windows, and everything was predictable and stable.
So, if you want to use both environments, it defenitely looks viable. As Greg said, Office 2008 uses AppleScript instead of VBA. I read somewhere that VBA will make a comeback in the next version but it would be interesting to see whether they base it on VB6 (like Office 2000 and higher on Windows) or VB5 (like previous Mac Office versions, and Office 97)

Denis

 

[Expiry]

Thanks for your advice, all of you. That gives me some better understanding.

Basically, all I want is a reasonably cheap notebook/ netbook that the girlfriend can use without me having to worry that she's pressed the wrong button on my new mac, or spilt a glass of chardonnay over it.

Honestly, if I hear "Oops. Does that matter?" again!!!!