I've always been wanting a laptop, and I should of got one for college. However, that didn't happen. I want one just to have and now I want one to start using Final Cut Pro or the New Final Cut Studio 2 and more of Adobe products. I have a connection, if I can call it that, at this local Radio Shack. This guy, who works there, is a retired Doctor and his earnings go to Charity, since his wife is sick. He also teaches classes at night at the local college and also teachers Tutorials on Adobe Photoshop. One of the other employess, a female, is in her like third class of Final Cut Pro learning, which I may hit her up for help as well as the Doctor.

Well the Doctor sells Laptops there, with all kinds of extra software that you won't normally get. And his Laptops seem like phenomenal deals. He is definitely the greatest guy I've met going to a store. He is highly helpful and very wanting to better peoples lives.
Wel he sells more Microsoft based laptops, which are lower in price. And does sell some Macs though, which I think I want. Basically I am going to find out what it comes with and get back to you all. But I would like some info on things to look for when deciding, as in RAM, HD space, all that jazz. I know one of his Microsoft Laptops, plays like 3 movies at once and can surf the web at same time. And the Mac he was talking about has like a 160gb HD. I am going to go investigate again before I purchase. I just want some advice on what I should look for in this Laptop.

Thanks

boosten and my mom just got a new dell

I just want specific features, and looks like Mac is the way to go for what I want. I just want to know what specs I should be looking for when deciding which one to get.

I would STRONGLY recommend a mac.
I used PC's for years. Got a mac last year...im never going back.
Its a little more expensive, but youll never get a virus, the comp. will never slow down, and you dont have to run virus scans and defrags.
Just my ten cents =)

Macs suck. You're limited in software you can use, don't ever think of running games or tuning software (you know you'll want to), and controls differ just enough to aggravate you. My university has a limited number of dedicated Mac labs and they're always having some form of issue with them.

Anyway, Dells seem to always be a good bet. I have an Acer I bought over a year ago and it's been perfect up until recently. It still works fine, but the battery has apparently went bad since it won't hold a charge for very long. My sister had a HP she used for a few years that really sucked and she recently replaced it with a Compaq that she got when CompUSA here was going out of business. Verdict is still out, but I think she likes it.

If you can afford to buy outright don't go with Dell or Gateway. They use the cheapest parts available and if you don't opt to pay for their "extended" service you'll be up a creek.

I'd recommend buying from here
http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/

You can build what you want with good parts for a fair price. My last two desktops I bought from them and haven't had an issue.

My sister owns a graphics design business and I work in the IT dept of a large company. We use nothing but Dell laptops. The warrenty and service is top notch with Dell. They have even sent out technicians to replace parts that we could not easily do. My sister also swears by a MAC for graphics applications. Her husband is co-founder of a small IT consulting business. He runs PCs but uses Linux. So there you have it, three so called experts with 3 different opinions. Clear as mud.

If it was me, and you are doing 50% or more graphics applications, get a MAC. If you will be doing less than 50% Graphics, get a Dell with XP Pro and as much RAM as your machine can hold. Minimum of 4GB.

Graphics being MAC territory are days long gone. There is no reason to buy one just for that unless you like MAC. If Steve is using it for his new camera, then Adobe's software works equally well on both and will serve all his needs.

Ram restraints are debatable. My desktop is using 2gb/XP and I have yet to top it out playing games and doing all kinds of stuff. That might be a different issue with Vista though. Vista on my Acer laptop hogs the 1gb of ram in it.

Acer is starting to get popular but when i looked nobody recomended them they dont come with anything...with dell they are hard to fix the school donated 20 or so because of issues and capatibility with software i love my toshiba and my boyfriend does to.. thats also what our school has now

I recommend Dell also. I owe a 4 year old dell laptop and my mom has a new one and they are pretty bulletproof. I build my own computers, but Dell is the best for laptops.

Define anything.

If you get an HP, I might be able to get you a slight discount. I can also help you if it ever needs repairs...I can't get the repairs for free or anything, but I can at least let you know your options, and track the repairs for you.

GET A MAC!!!!!! i love my mac and i will never buy another PC again....u will not regret it steve if u buy a MAC...i can eve get u a discount because im a student so let me know...

OMG, I did not expect answers all over the Place. Wow.
I am now confused on what to get. I want it for my editing for film but I also may use it for anything else. I also heard most going to MAC doing go back to PC. I would like to run tuning software, but I have Digital who tunes my ride. I don't have a tuner, so it isn't necessary right now. But I would like to store my stuff on my laptop so I don't have to store files and take up room on his laptop.
I am running now on my home machine XP Home Edition 2002, with Pentium 4 CPU with 2.8 GHz and 2 gb ram. I upgraded the ram form like 1 to the 2 but I still want something more powerful in a system. I know Adobe can be on MAC or PC, but Final Cut hasn't hit the PC market yet, just talks about it. I just want something better in editing besides what I have now, and that'll be Adobe Premeire or Final Cut. I don't care what PC I just need to decide between PC and MAC. And if I can build the PC, then I can upgrade it to be as good or better in specs as the MAC. Because the PCs are usually cheaper. I'd like some decent all around capabilites, but mostly editing capabilities. I know about annoyance, using my sis MAC can make me throw it through a window with the controls, but that'll just have to get use to using it. So why Rook, is it bad for gaming and Tuning, and I'll tell you right now I am not going to be doing gaming, but I will leave that open for future options in mind if I plan to game.

I just got a Dell for my graduation gift, i love it, its superfast, and very light i think, i just thinkits an all around nice laptop. it ended up cosing $769 bucks for it, and shipping was free. took about a week or so to get it, i love it, i strongly recomend Dell.