I’m going to buy a laptop, i’ve not owned one before so i’m looking for any tips, advice or recommendations anyone might have.
What i want:
Something with a good screen that can be seen well from different angles and has good colour reproduction. (ie I want to be able to take it to clients and show them example websites)
Internet connectivity, an ethernet socket (do most come with wifi built in now?)
Reliable
I want to install Apache,PHP & MySQL so i can do some work on it, occasionall but not as my main development environment.
Being ultra light isn’t massively important as it’s not something i’ll be carting around all the time, just occasionally.
I’m thinking about a MacBook Pro as Mac’s used to have a really good reputation i don’t know if they still do? And am i right in thinking the Mac OS is based on Linux so you could install stuff like Gimp?
Cheers
thingstodo
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☆ A M B ☆
- 2,213 Posts
Hello,
You will find most modern notebooks have a decent screen, wifi, ethernet, and some other connectivity. They all tend to be reliable on the hardware aspect to a degree (keep in mind notebooks are just smaller (ie more complex) desktop computers). If you treat them with care they can last for years without any trouble.
The hardware isn’t going to limit you in regards to the installed software so using XAMPP, MAPP, or similar solutions will work fine on your choice operating system. The only hardware "issue" is in my mind the dang glossy screens! The matte (traditional) screens work/look better to me, but then again if you like glossy which is more typical now help your self. I dislike glossy as they are dang mirrors! They don’t work well for showing stuff to clients in my book as I want the client seeing the screen not the reflection.
The OS is a personal choice, but my rule of thumb is typically get what is best supported in your area. The nearest apple store is ~2.5 hours from home so naturally I don’t use apple (that and their products are overpriced imho). If you have an apple shop next door and don’t mind the price go for it, but it’s personal preference.
AMDbuilder
If you go for Vista get minimum 3 gb ram! Less go for XP or/and Ubuntu!
Ubuntu is very cool stuff. But it has limitations. On a windows you can install
what you want, on a linux you will have to visit a forum and see if there is a hack for ya!
