Computer Counsel

An inevitable side effect of working in the technology industry is the stream of requests for advice or assistance from non-techie friends and family. I don’t mind this at all; few of my family members or friends ask for anything terribly complex, and I am happy to help should a big problem arise. One topic that frequently comes up is my preferred brands for desktops and laptops. My long-standing recommendation is to buy an Apple Mac (either iMac or Powerbook). I know this doesn’t work for some people, and so I have previously recommended IBM Thinkpads as the most reliable laptops for those who must run Windows. For desktop users who need Windows, I have recommended the PC with the best warranty and support options, typically Dell and (more recently) HP.

The past few months have caused me to revise some of these recommendations, due to recent developments at Microsoft, Apple and Lenovo.

Microsoft’s release of Windows Vista has been a debacle. Not only does the product run more slowly, less secure, and less reliably than XP, but it is also not backward-compatible in many cases. The new camcorder we purchased three weeks ago is not compatible with Vista, nor are many other products people expect to use with their computers. If you must buy a Windows PC, make sure you get XP. (Dell, Lenovo and others now offer XP as alternative to Vista on many of their new computers.)

Meanwhile, Apple continues to churn out beautiful desktop and laptop computers. Ironically, folks at PC World that have tested Vista on Apple’s latest Powerbook laptop found that it runs Vista better than any competing laptop designed specifically for Vista. The fact that Apple pulled this off on a machine designed to run a completely different operating system is a testament to their engineering acumen. The same holds true for their software folks, as the Apple operating system, OS X, is rock solid and easy to use; it also works with my camcorder and just about every other peripheral out there.

But the fun doesn’t stop there for Apple. You can purchase a software product that enables you to run Windows applications on your Apple desktop, seamlessly and without disrupting the Apple operating system in any way. Sure, you have to pay for the Windows software, but there is no reason to purchase a separate Windows PC (or reboot your Mac to run in full Windows mode, which is still supported) if you have a Windows PC primarily for one or two applications that are not available in Windows.

The final development that affects my advice is IBM’s sale of their laptop business to Lenovo. I use a new Lenovo laptop at work, and I assumed it would function like the previous T-series Thinkpads used by me and several members of my family for years. This is not the case. In just six months I have had a complete hard drive failure as well as numerous blue-screens related to the wireless and other issues. This regrettably puts Lenovo Thinkpads in the same bin with Dell and HP, whereas previously they had been exceptional. Too bad.

So how does this affect the advice I give to friends and family? If you can possibly afford it, buy an Apple Mac (either desktop or laptop) – prices are still high (over $1000) but much better than the price you’d pay to run a new PC capable of running Vista. If your budget is still south of $1000, make sure you get an HP or Dell machine with Windows XP.