Computer Shopping - Help Required (1 Viewer)

[cubd8]

In the market for a new computer, have always had non-Apple laptops, but am open to making a purchase if it's a better quality/value, etc. Prefer smaller screens with great resolution, good speaker quality, great processing speeds, easy for travel, etc.

I don't use my laptop for a ton of stuff, mainly internet surfing, etc., occasional work stuff (office products), but my current laptop has a horrible battery and has an outdated Windows operating system so hoping to find a good deal out there.

Questions:

• If I were to buy an Apple, am I no longer able to use Microsoft office products?
  
• What is the easiest way to transfer some pictures/documents from my current Windows operating system to the new computer? Is there an issue if I go from Windows to Apple?
  
• How do I safely dispose of my current laptop?
  

****

Here is what I am seeing from a trip to Best Buy, any other brands that I am missing?

• For the below, what is the difference (and higher quality) between LED Display and Retina Display?
  
• Do MacBooks have good reputations and are they easy to transition from Windows?
  
• What the pro's / con's between the Chromebook and MacBook?
  

MacBook Air

• 13.3 LED Display, intel Core i5 8GB of memory, 128 GB Hard Drive for $899.00
  
• 13.3 LED Display, intel Core i5 8GB of memory, 256 GB Hard Drive for $1099.00
  

MacBook - 12" Retina Display, Intel core m3, 8GB of memory, 256 GB Hard Drive for $1299.00

Google Pixelbook Touch-Screen Chromebook - $899.00, 12.3 Screen size, Intel Core i5 Processor, 8 GB of Memory, 128 GB Hard Drive, 8.7"w * 0.4"h x 11.4" d

 

[Kanil]

I can't really comment on price or hardware anymore (been so long since I bought a computer) but I'll answer what I can:

• If I were to buy an Apple, am I no longer able to use Microsoft office products? You can use the full office suite on iOs.
  
• What is the easiest way to transfer some pictures/documents from my current Windows operating system to the new computer?  You should be able to transfer with just a standard thumb drive.  Do copy/paste, not cut/paste.
  
• Is there an issue if I go from Windows to Apple? The operating systems are going to be different.  You'll have a bit of a learning curve going from Windows to iOs.
  
• How do I safely dispose of my current laptop? If you want to ensure your data never gets to anyone else, remove the hard drive and either store it, or drill a hole through it and recycle it at best buy.  You should be able to recycle the battery and the rest of the chasis at best buy as well.
  

My biggest piece of advice is to get a solid state hard drive (SSD) in whatever you buy.  That's where the average person is going to notice the most difference.

 

[E Street Brat]

Definitely go with an SSD.

 

[BoltBacker]

Prefer smaller screens with great resolution, good speaker quality, great processing speeds, easy for travel, etc.

I don't use my laptop for a ton of stuff, mainly internet surfing, etc., occasional work stuff (office products), but my current laptop has a horrible battery and has an outdated Windows operating system so hoping to find a good deal out there.

Based on the bolded parts I don't think that you are considering your best option. If you are apple-curious then you should really be looking at the iPad Pro. It's really the BEST travel option by a wide margin, with the best screen, and the best battery life. 

- Get a third party keyboard/cover(iAccessories are just absurdly over-priced)

- Get a good pair of bluetooth headphones(even a moderately priced will blow away the speakers built into even the most expensive laptop) and maybe a bluetooth connected speaker for home if you don't already have one. Once you start using these you'll never be able to go back to "built-in" speakers again unless it's for an emergency. If you invest wisely here you can use them for much longer than whatever computer you end up purchasing now.

- The absolutely easiest way to move your photos is to already have them backed up in the cloud someplace, so if you don't have them there now this is a good time to back them up and access them from any device(this way you also don't have to pony up for the most expensive iPad Pro's with the over-priced storage). I would lean Flickr, 500px, or Amazon but it's a personal choice. I would lean away from iCloud based on their track record with online services.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/flickr/id328407587?mt=8

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/500px/id471965292?mt=8

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/prime-photos-from-amazon/id621574163?mt=8

- Office 365 subscription(again, everything backs up off-site so you don't have to worry about local storage and it sounds like this can be used as a work related expense)

- If you really do need more local storage then get a thumb drive(they actually have some now that aren't much bigger than your fingernail). It is nice to have a local backup of your important photos/files to feel extra protected. 

The only caveat to all this is it is NOT a great value as you rarely see much in the way of discounts. If your Windows machine has an out of date OS I'm guessing you don't buy a new computer all that often so you may want to consider spending a little more on something you really want to last many years. To me, that $500ish-$1,000ish laptop category offers no value at all. I would either go for the premium apple tablet option for over $1,000 if I travel often and plan on using it for several years OR I would go for a chromebook or cheap chinese windows tablet for under $400 knowing that I will want to replace it in less than two years. Both those options have trade-offs but it sounds like you aren't especially price sensitive and frustrated with your current battery life so I would spend the extra money on the high-end battery and high-end screen. BTW, I am the furthest thing from being a member of the iCult.... it just seems they produce the best device given the features you are looking for in a device.

Just my two cents.

 

[Mr. Ected]

For Apple there is a piece of software called Parallels that allows you to run Windows on your Mac. It works fairly well. I had to get it in order to get at a database written in MS Access, which doesn't come in the Apple version of Office.