Ron,

Dean's response is right on.

I would also ask how computer literate are you. I am a PC guy, but we also
have Apple products in our home. I am very impressed with the free seminars
offered at our nearby Apple Store. Also, if you spring for the extended
warranty (Applecare) you can take advantage of the Apple Genius Bar and
telephone support.

Jerry

On Sat, Dec 20, 2014 at 10:53 PM, Dean Kukral <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> On 12/20/2014 6:24 PM, Ron Kaplan wrote:
>
>> I am a subscriber to PCBuild and PCSoft, and would like to post the
>> following to PCBuild. Considering that you may only post items that relate
>> to actually building a PC, this may be out of scope. Nevertheless, this is
>> what I'd like to post:
>>
>> I¹m looking at 2 laptops for prospective purchase: A supposedly  higher
>> end
>> Toshiba Tecra Z50 and a MacBook Pro 15². Either OS is O.K. with me; my
>> main
>> concerns are performance with minimal hardware or software hiccups as well
>> as durability and reliability. Price: Mac is about $1700+tax, and the
>> Toshiba approx.. $1300+tax. Any comments or opinions--  especially those
>> coming from experience, are very much appreciated.
>>
>>
>> Thank you.
>> Ron Kaplan‹ [log in to unmask]
>>
>>
>>
> Ron, the hardware is probably not all that different, and in, any case,
> there's very little way to predict the longevity of any hardware.  If it
> lasts a month, then it might last for years. Whether one is easier than
> the other to repair when it   does break down depends on too many
> factors to count on in a purchase decision.
>
> The Mac may have a fancier screen, but you're probably over-paying for
> the "Mac" name and the "coolness" of the Mac, at least coolness in the
> eyes of fruit-lovers.  ( I have two Mac notebooks, three iPads, two
> iPhones, and a host of iPods, and I like them, but they are all
> over-priced in my opinion.)  The main advantage of the Mac is that/it is
> likely to work seamlessly with *other Apple products*/, such as the ones
> I listed.  The main disadvantage of the Mac, other than the price, is
> that it only works with a limited amount of software which must be
> specially  written for the Mac.  (You can buy an emulator for a Mac that
> mimics the Windows environment for running Windows software, but it may
> or may not be satisfactory.)
>
> The main advantage of the PC is that it will work with a large variety
> of programs and hardware accessories.
>
> When purchasing (or building) /any/ computer, the main, over-riding
> question that you have to ask  yourself is, "*/What am I going to do
> with this once I have it?/*"   In other words, what software ( and/or
> hardware accessories ) do you want to run on it.  For example, many
> games will run only on a Windows computer.  Some software has been
> ported to the Mac with varying degrees of success.
>
> So, the real question is ultimately yours to answer.  You need to decide
> what you want to do with it, what hardware requirements are needed to do
> that, and how much you are willing to pay for the increased performance
> of a higher-end machine.  (I mean within a product line: more memory,
> faster cpu, better graphics, and so forth.)
>
> Dean Kukral
>
> PS:  If you are only going to use it for email, web browsing, Facebook,
> LinkedIn, and that type of thing, then you don't need to spend even half
> that much money for adequate performance.  A tablet might even do.
>
>
>                          PCSOFT's List Owners:
>                      Bob Wright<[log in to unmask]>
>                        Mark Rode<[log in to unmask]>
>

                          PCSOFT's List Owners:
                      Bob Wright<[log in to unmask]>
                        Mark Rode<[log in to unmask]>