Mac Vs. PC
I am in the market for a new Laptop and am an avid PC user. What are some pro's and con's of making the switch to a Mac?
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posted by retro88
on Jul 7, 2005 -
28 answers
I'm trying to burn the Knoppix 4.0 DVD ISO on my wife's second-hand Averatec Windows XP laptop. I have tried almost a dozen DVD burning programs without success. Most of them can't see there's a blank DVD in the drive. What's up?
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posted by rwhe
on Jul 1, 2005 -
10 answers
I have DVDs that play on my laptop but not on the standard DVD Player. Short of buying a cheap DVD player from an Asian grocery store, is there a way I can use a cable to play it on my laptop but watch the result on my big fat TV?
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posted by kensanway
on Jun 27, 2005 -
7 answers
I bought a "dead" laptop at a yardsale for $3 (I bargained them down from $5). Well, long story short, I've got it working after resetting the BIOS and plugging in an external monitor and keyboard.
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posted by phrontist
on Jun 22, 2005 -
7 answers
A couple of months ago, I noticed a small black spot on the bezel around my laptop's screen, and on the spot that was directly under it when the laptop is closed. Today it oozed. What is going on?
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posted by michaelkuznet
on Jun 18, 2005 -
6 answers
I use my laptop in conjunction with midi controllers as a live instrument. When running off the battery it sounds great through the PA system, but when I plug in the AC adapter I get a very loud humming sound. Is there any way to get rid of this?
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posted by monsta coty scott
on Jun 16, 2005 -
20 answers
I recently acquired a G3/Pismo via ebay and decided to upgrade the hard drive. Upon doing so, my dvd/cd drive no longer functions; Help me sort through my options!
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posted by AllesKlar
on Jun 8, 2005 -
4 answers
Someone just gave me a g4/400 PowerBook (the first titanium model). It doesn't power on. Please help me figure out what the problem is.
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posted by box
on Jun 6, 2005 -
14 answers
I've just reformatted and reinstalled Windows XP (SP2) on a laptop. When I go to turn it off, the "standby" button is greyed out and not an option I can click on. What's going on, and how do I get my laptop to standby mode?
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posted by ruwan
on Jun 5, 2005 -
4 answers
I'm posting for a friend who was using an old laptop running win95. One day it wouldn't boot, so they took it to "Geek Squad" at compusa or wherever, and they said they couldn't help.
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posted by craniac
on Jun 3, 2005 -
9 answers
I just got a new used laptop, and it has a lot of error messages showing up, so I want to completely clean it up before I start using it. Is it better to use the manufacturer's Quick Restore discs (Compaq), or to reformat the HD completely and install an operating system clean?
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posted by ruwan
on May 19, 2005 -
9 answers
I just got a new laptop which I like very much, but there is one dead pixel on the right side of the screen. I'm debating if I should exchange it. It really isn't that big a deal, but it seems like one of those little things that might slowly drive me insane if I keep it.
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posted by furiousxgeorge
on May 18, 2005 -
17 answers
Looking to pick up a new laptop.
Where is the best place online to find reviews of laptops to compare specs, pricing etc.? Looking for a PC OS, not an Apple one.
posted by derekislost
on May 16, 2005 -
6 answers
My Powerbook (15" G4 1.25 Ghz) is criminally hot.
Temperature Monitor reports that my Processor/Controller Bottomside temp. is 140°F, Power Supply Bottomside is 142.2°F, Battery is 95°F, and my Hard Disk is 104°F. The metal bottom of the "laptop" is too hot to touch for more than a moment. Is this reasonable? Is my computer broken? [MI]
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posted by maniactown
on May 12, 2005 -
29 answers
The school where I teach recently purchased a LCD projector and I'm having some trouble getting it to play video... [mi]
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posted by RockyChrysler
on May 11, 2005 -
5 answers
BatteryFilter: I've got a Dell Latitude C800 that I've been nothing but happy with, until recently. Of late, the power seems to be iffy at best, switching at random between AC power and battery power...
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posted by yellowcandy
on Apr 29, 2005 -
4 answers
My battery acts funny. It always says I have over three hours when it first gets charged. Then after just a few minutes it says much less, like an hour or so. Then within minutes it is off. I have charged it completely and let it drain to completely of which I have been told resets the power manager. Do I need a new battery? If I do, are any of the after market batteries better than the Apple battery? The computer is two and a half years old.
posted by snowjoe
on Apr 27, 2005 -
8 answers
Why does my laptop freeze up a few minutes after the power cable is disconnected?
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posted by nobody
on Apr 26, 2005 -
5 answers
My girlfriend has a fairly new Dell laptop that has suddenly developed a few problems.
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posted by tomorama
on Apr 24, 2005 -
12 answers
My laptop is basically toast. I guess I need a new laptop. I was heading toward an iBook/Powerbook, but it suddenly occured to me that a Thinkpad with Linux or BSD might be good. Whatchall think?
posted by five fresh fish
on Apr 21, 2005 -
24 answers
Severe hand pain (arthritis) is hampering a friend's note-taking abilities. What are her alternatives?
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posted by sixpack
on Apr 18, 2005 -
6 answers
My IBM T42 has an infrared port on the front, and I've tried finding software that will allow me to control my tv with it. Does anything exist that will let me do this?
posted by borkencode
on Apr 17, 2005 -
5 answers
I need a older, smaller laptop that's reliable and that I can use for typing and internet - but older laptops are still really expensive as they get even very old, and i'm worried about reliaibility, esp. without warranties. Any suggestions? Any ideas for buying something that's maybe not a full function laptop that I could use for typing/internet that i could also get a warranty with? Looking for something under 450. I bought a refubished P2-400 laptop about three years ago for $420, so i know it's doable...
posted by jare2003
on Apr 11, 2005 -
9 answers
I'm thinking about upgrading my laptop and use it for amateur DJ'ing in parties. What software and hardware do you guys recommend? Is the Indigo DJ PCMCIA soundcard a good choice or should I go with something external like the Hercules DJ Console?
posted by guictx
on Mar 31, 2005 -
6 answers
Why do certain Windows applications eat up 100% of my CPU processing capacity, and what can I do about it? This just happened when I started up
Zelda Classic, and happens with my SNES emulator. Additional clues and oddities under the fold, Cartalk-style.
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posted by Saucy Intruder
on Mar 22, 2005 -
14 answers
how do i stop numlock being on from being the default when i logon to my IBM laptop. MI
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posted by alkupe
on Mar 17, 2005 -
5 answers
I've decided to buy my first ever laptop of my own (ie not a cast-off from a parent.) I know what I want it to do/have in functional terms, but I don't know enough about hardware to really make a truly educated choice.
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posted by Kololo
on Mar 15, 2005 -
23 answers
Please help! My laptop's screen hinges just recently became really loose--is this fixable, or am I screwed?
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posted by gramcracker
on Mar 15, 2005 -
4 answers
I just bought a spiffy new HP laptop. I declined the third-party extended warranty at the time of purchase...
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posted by enrevanche
on Mar 14, 2005 -
2 answers
I am exasperated. I ordered an iBook from Apple on February 23 and it still has not shipped. Each time I call, I am assured that it is shipping today. Regardless, as it has not happened since Tuesday, I have decided to look into PC alternatives. Apple's primary allure was its "instant-on" ability. Any PC suggestions?
posted by ajr
on Mar 11, 2005 -
24 answers
I've had a Toshiba 5205-S119 laptop for a little over a year now. About a month ago the system fan started to periodically make a grinding noise (or as one person on usenet described it "like running a matchstick up and down a comb"). Is there an easy way to make this stop without opening up the laptop case?
posted by cmonkey
on Mar 8, 2005 -
6 answers
I recently bought a laptop, and would like to know the easiest way to allow everything on my laptop to be acccessible on my PC, and vice versa. Windows file sharing won't cut it.
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posted by borkencode
on Mar 5, 2005 -
6 answers
I've been racking my brain (and the internet) trying to figure out how to turn the touchpad on my new laptop into a defacto pen input device. Any ideas?
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posted by stratastar
on Mar 5, 2005 -
10 answers
Laptop lockup whodunnit: the power to the hard drive, the hard drive itself, or something else entirely? Help! [+]
posted by gramcracker
on Feb 16, 2005 -
3 answers
The keyboard settings on my laptop changed (seemingly without cause or explanation) in the middle of a computing session. Did I do something to cause this? How do I fix it? [MI]
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posted by jeffmshaw
on Feb 16, 2005 -
7 answers
I have a Toshiba e310, that mysteriously stopped starting up when I turned it on. It's not completely dead, it comes up with the default bootscreen and then just sits there. Windows XP detects an unknown device, and that's it. I've tried doing a hard reset, soft reset, and letting the battery drain. Is there any use for it? Does anyone know of a way to recover it?
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posted by jackofsaxons
on Feb 13, 2005 -
5 answers
My PowerBook is shocking my delicate forearms. The light silver paint on front edge of the laptop is majorly wearing off. What's a quick and inexpensive way to fix it? [+]
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posted by ArsncHeart
on Feb 4, 2005 -
9 answers
The family and I will emabark on a 8-9 month world trip in August. This trip will occur mostly in the developing world. Despite reading all kinds of advice about leaving behind the gadgets, we intend on taking a basic 12" laptop, a cell phone and a PDA. Should We take a
leap into the unknown or should we stick to the
safe and familiar"? [MI]
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posted by Hash
on Feb 1, 2005 -
21 answers
Driver problem. I recently got a used laptop that included a 11Wave (by WaveBuddy) PCMCIA wireless card. Installation problems inside.
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posted by drezdn
on Jan 22, 2005 -
1 answer
