I think AVG is pretty weak, but its easy to use, which is what most people go for.

NOD32, Kaspersky, and aVast! are some better ones to take a look at.

I only ever used my laptop to take notes in my elective courses (both econs) so I say don't base your purchase on whether or not its a good laptop for taking notes on.

As some others said, Mac or PC it really doesn't matter. If I got to pick again, I would seriously consider getting a Mac though, just because of AppleCare. When my HP died halfway through the year I had to wait for 3 weeks to get it back from repair, I've heard from Mac users that Apple is pretty quick returning your product.

Either way, go for a good, dependable warranty/repair plan, because engineering puts your laptop through a lot, and things always seem to explode at the worst possible time.

Also, ALWAYS back up your files.

Originally Posted by nila*

When my HP died halfway through the year...

I remember when my HP laptop died last year. Although, that was from me punching it in a fit of rage :/.

Originally Posted by Ownaginatios

I remember when my HP laptop died last year. Although, that was from me punching it in a fit of rage :/.

Lol, after one of Protas' magical tests?

Originally Posted by blackdragon

Lol, after one of Protas' magical tests?

Haha no. I punched my math book for that.

I punched my laptop because of this stupid hardware problem it had where it would completely lockup whenever a USB device was plugged in (regardless of the OS I was using). I had pulled an all nighter for some assignment and raged when it locked up when I was trying to put it on a USB drive. Had to use my housemates computer to recover it :p.

Needless to say, it resulted me in having to spend $150 on eBay for a new motherboard and keyboard. At least it no longer freezes when I plug in a USB anything :p.

I had to get my motherboard replaced as well. I'm staying away from HP laptops when I make my next purchase.

Originally Posted by Kathy2

I have a Sony Vaio with Windows and it sucks :( It freezes like twice a week, to the point where I have to cut all power to restart (ie. take out battery). It's less than a year old!!

Whenever I ask people about their Macbooks, they say their laptops NEVER freeze.

Windows laptops will freeze depending on how you treat it. If you've had it for over a few years and have installed/uninstalled things repeatedly and downloaded 'sketchy' stuff and have tons of programs running, then its going to crash. I personally have a windows system and it has not crashed in a year.

Go for a mac if you want to buy the name. But, be aware that a mac is greatly overpriced. You can get a pc with similar specs for much cheaper.

Get PC. You will not have to worry about software compatibility or anything. As for quality and battery life...why are people comparing a Mac Book pro to an HP. HPs are mediocre quality at the best. If you get a solid business class laptop with windows 7 you are unlikely to experience any hardware or software problems.

I have a lenovo t500 i bought july last summer and it has not had a single problem. Its performance is comparable to that of a macbook pro, and the newer t510 (15 inch) and t410 (14 inch) with core i7 processors are much faster. One thing to be warry of though. If you get a lenovo, look for at LEAST 30% off discount. They go up on the main website every once and a while and should make your purchase under $1300. This gives you a laptop with Desktop performance. And for battery life, I get on average 5 hours (maximum performance setting) although i can get up to 8.5 hours (maximum battery setting).

While i took notes on the laptop with an external wacom tablet ($50) for the first few months, i soon got lazy and just brought paper. Where the laptop really comes in handy is taking it to study rooms or libraries for group study sessions.

Ya, HPs are getting really crappy. On another note though, Acer's quality appears to be going way up. I bought an Acer Aspire One netbook a while back, and it's a solid computer.

Get a OSX86 compatible PC if you want to use OSX so badly. You'll save money AND you'll have both Windows and OSX.

oh but the tonymacx86 iboot runs on pretty much ANY Intel PC.

/thread

I agree, HP's are kinda crappy. But, the thing is, they are cheap, and have good specs. I had to get my HDD & fan replaced last year. They both still worked, but the guys at FS "suggested" i replace them, and I was covered under warranty so I figured why not.

I will definitely not purchase an HP again because Ill be looking for a more gaming-type of laptop, but, for everyday use, HP's are a good bang for your buck.

Maybe you guys are just having bad luck with HP. My brother has an HP laptop and its still running perfectly and hasn't had a single problem with it. Also have two HP desktops in the house and have had zero problems with them too!

Also about security software I'm using Microsoft Security Essentials. It gets the job done and doesn't bog down my laptop in terms of performance.

Originally Posted by Colin

Maybe you guys are just having bad luck with HP. My brother has an HP laptop and its still running perfectly and hasn't had a single problem with it. Also have two HP desktops in the house and have had zero problems with them too!

Also about security software I'm using Microsoft Security Essentials. It gets the job done and doesn't bog down my laptop in terms of performance.

Well, even my HP desktop is good, but the RAM gave way few months ago, not a big deal, got it replaced.

MSE is good too. I use ESET Smart Security, and it uses about 5-8mB of ram (AV/AS/FireWall/more)

I have no problem with my HP laser printer, I'm just saying that maybe their laptops aren't that great.



from this study: http://www.squaretrade.com/htm/pdf/S...ility_1109.pdf

Good to see ASUS is at the low end, that will be my next purchase.. or maybe a Sony.