I'm thinking of getting a new laptop and its main use at home will be for Word/excel applications, general internet browsing, watching films/TV and storing pictures. I currently use an iPad at home because I got fed up the various laptops getting too hot and with the time it takes for them to start up. Sometimes I like a physical keypad and sometimes I like a touchscreen. I have a computer at work with windows vista and an old version of word and excel that I have got used to over the past 10 years and my 'newer' machine at home is about 5 years old and quite frankly I find the word programme on that a bit hard to use. I suppose it's time for an old dog to learn new tricks with a new version of windows and word but I've just seen a 'new' (to me) type of laptop/tablet combo which seems to fit my requirements. It uses windows 8.1 which I have seen but never used and I have heard plenty of people moan about it (or was that windows 8?) but according to the blurb, this can be upgraded for free when windows 10 comes out. Not being too up with technical stuff, can anyone thinks any pros and cons of this machine? All suggestions regarding this type of machine? Is it just a new angled 'fad' and destined to go the way of the Betamax video recorder?

I can't comment on the latest versions of Windows but if you don't mind spending more money (it should and usually does last longer than Windows laptops), buy a MacBook Pro or MacBook Air.

You have an iPad already and your photo's would sync seamlessly via iCloud on your iTunes account. I purchased mine in 2011 for £1000 and its still going strong now. The new software doesn't outdo the hardware as quickly as Windows systems and the only upgrades I've made are an extra 4GB of RAM when I bought it to give me 8GB and I now have a solid state drive instead of a hard drive which makes it far faster on all fronts than a hard drive (12 seconds start up). OSX Yosemite does seem more efficient to me than previous OSX too.

The guy in the Apple store told me that when something in Windows crashes, it has a sort of domino effect on everything else. When something in OSX crashes, it falls sideways and doesn't knock everything else down.

I spent £600 on a Fujitsu Siemens laptop in 2004 then £700 on a Dell laptop in 2007 which had many problems before upgrading to Mac. Suddenly, £1000 doesn't seem like bad value.

Get yourself down to your local Apple Store for a demo, you'll be surprised by how intuitive OSX is.
Once you go Mac you won't go back.  LL.B (Hons) - University of Derby
LOT (Lord of Time) - University of Gallifrey

I presume you are talking about a laptop with a touch screen. These are OK and help with one of the problems with 8.1 in that it works best with a touch screen anyway (you can move the tiles around) so it's a bit more intuitive. I know a lot of people don't like 8.1 but it's better than 8.0 and Windows 10 is even better (you can download a preview copy now if you have a spare PC to try it on). As for programs like Word/ Excel/Powerpoint etc in Microsoft Office they have more features than anybody ever uses and although I have a number of PCs in the house (and some with the latest software) I can get by with ten year old versions.
I have been in IT for 30 years and my philosophy with IT kit is that unless you have needs ruggedised kit then to buy the cheapest you can with the highest spec. You will find that within a month there is an even better spec out for the same price so just go and get one now. They all have the same commodity bits in them anyway. Get the biggest screen you can, and unless you are into gaming don't worry about processor speed or fancy graphics cards, add as much RAM memory as you can and if you are up to it replace the hard drive with a solid state device (SSD) which will make it load faster.

I buy all my kit from www.ebuyer.com and have had excellent service from them.

Oh and don't get conned into buying anti virus software, Windows has it's own built in now anyway with free updates (Windows Defender) 3 x FL1 2 manual + 1 auto
5 x FL2 4 manual + 1 auto
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The Doctor wrote:

I can't comment on the latest versions of Windows but if you don't mind spending more money (it should and usually does last longer than Windows laptops), buy a MacBook Pro or MacBook Air.

You have an iPad already and your photo's would sync seamlessly via iCloud on your iTunes account. I purchased mine in 2011 for £1000 and its still going strong now. The new software doesn't outdo the hardware as quickly as Windows systems and the only upgrades I've made are an extra 4GB of RAM when I bought it to give me 8GB and I now have a solid state drive instead of a hard drive which makes it far faster on all fronts than a hard drive (12 seconds start up). OSX Yosemite does seem more efficient to me than previous OSX too.

The guy in the Apple store told me that when something in Windows crashes, it has a sort of domino effect on everything else. When something in OSX crashes, it falls sideways and doesn't knock everything else down.

I spent £600 on a Fujitsu Siemens laptop in 2004 then £700 on a Dell laptop in 2007 which had many problems before upgrading to Mac. Suddenly, £1000 doesn't seem like bad value.

Get yourself down to your local Apple Store for a demo, you'll be surprised by how intuitive OSX is.
Once you go Mac you won't go back.

I don't want to get embroiled in a PC vs MAC debate and I know that MAC users are usually very happy with them and with the design philosophy but they are expensive and they do work nicely. Someone once said that Apple is about getting on with the job, Microsoft is about engineering and fixing it. Personally I wouldn't now spend more than about £250 on a non touch screen laptop PC.

Incidentally I used to work for Fujitsu and I don't know if it's still true but about 15 years ago they used to make a lot of PCs for other suppliers, I once went round one of their factories and there was a guy sticking different badges on desktop PCs coming off a line destined for other suppliers. After that I decided that they are all the same inside anyway. 3 x FL1 2 manual + 1 auto
5 x FL2 4 manual + 1 auto
Now Discovery Sport P250 MHEV SE

Mine has USB sockets on it and the newer models have probably increased the number. I think there's 3 on mine. I bought Office 2011 for Mac from eBay which was a good deal cheaper than the Apple Store. It's all the same programs and features as the windows version.

I've heard that Apple Stores are offering an upgrade to SSD at the time of purchase now if you don't fancy doing it yourself. Worth every penny as my Mac can outperform brand new laptops that have a HDD.

Well worth a demo. I opted for the 13" screen. Oh and yes it does get a bit hot after a while but the newer models and the Air models have probably improved on this. Memory clean is a great app for it. LL.B (Hons) - University of Derby
LOT (Lord of Time) - University of Gallifrey

Worth a read re SSD: http://www.freel2.com/forum/topic20466.html?highlight=ssd LL.B (Hons) - University of Derby
LOT (Lord of Time) - University of Gallifrey

Windows is an OS for PC's/laptop
Mac is a cult religion that sucks you in

I have a Dell XPS13 with SSD, 8GB ram, Microsoft Action Pack subscription and 100GB business Dropbox, laptop doesn't get hot (don't cover vents) it's light, very well built, as good as a Mac and silent.
Boot time is 1-2 seconds

People moan because it changes through progress, they can't cope so moan and whine, much like those who don't like the DS

PC World, get a big superstore and kill a couple of hours trying them all, you will soon find things you like/ dislike

Note also the new generation of hybrid drives basically an SSD plus HDD in one package where the SSD is basically used a a large cache file. 3 x FL1 2 manual + 1 auto
5 x FL2 4 manual + 1 auto
Now Discovery Sport P250 MHEV SE

taztastic wrote:

Mac is a cult religion that sucks you in..

Brother-in Law and his son call me a 'Apple fan boy' whatever that is. Just because we have two iPhones and two iPads in out house!

I'm going to have to go to PC world and have a good play.

Thanks for all your help.

I 'converted' from windows to mac about 10 years ago and have never looked back. I prefer both the OS and build of Macs, and have found them to be more stable and reliable. But obviously there is a £ premium and several other manufactures have appeared to close the gap on build quality.

One thing I would say, be wary of manufacturers that fill laptops with loads of software junk. They're normally the ones that put about 20 stickers on the laptops...

Although I haven't been a regular windows users since XP, so consider my comments in that light

Incidentally, I'm based in a university department that focuses on Human Computer Interaction - and nearly everyone has a Mac. Read in to that what you may  FL2 2011 SD4 XS in Galway Green

Try something different that really works and is cost effective.

Linux laptop , no microsoft or windows . It is the base of Apple Mac.

Use Ubuntu as the desktop etc. Libre office or open office ( all free )same as Excel, word etc.

Firefox for your browser and Thunderbird for mail

No need for virus protection as t is rarely if ever attacked.

Used mine for 2 years plus now and is or has been faultless.

Now over to the experts to tell you why not ........

Mac. Especially if you already have other Apple gear.

I used to build my own Windows PCs and still have a high-spec HP Win 8.1 laptop, only used these days for the odd Windows-only app like the TomTom software. Windows 8.1 is a mess. Yes, you can reconfigure it to make it more like the Windows you know but can you be bothered with that?

I made the switch to Mac about three years ago when I simply got fed up with the constant updating rigmarole with Windows. I wasted so much time downloading and installing drivers, updates, patches, etc rather than getting on with the job in hand.

I now use an iMac for my everyday needs; it syncs perfectly between my iPhone and iPad. My son has a MacBook Pro laptop which is an impressive bit of kit. We use a Time-Capsule as our router and automated backup system, which works brilliantly. Microsoft have NEVER produced a properly working backup system.

I do actually use Word on my iMac - purely because I use it at work and I'm used to it. Pages, the free Apple version of Word, is every bit as good as Word but I can't be bothered to learn it properly.

Having used Windows for donkeys years and now switched, I can honestly say that the only sensible reason for buying a Windows PC would be if you can't afford a Mac. Forget all the anti-Apple , get a Mac and get on with your life.

Edit: forgot to say, post sales service at an Apple Store is superb. Good luck getting decent advice and support at PC World!!

Reeventu wrote:

Try something different that really works and is cost effective.

Linux laptop , no microsoft or windows . It is the base of Apple Mac.

Use Ubuntu as the desktop etc. Libre office or open office ( all free )same as Excel, word etc.

Firefox for your browser and Thunderbird for mail

No need for virus protection as t is rarely if ever attacked.

Used mine for 2 years plus now and is or has been faultless.

Now over to the experts to tell you why not ........

PC World. In a word...NO. ...

Be true to yourself. That way happiness lies...