Digital BW, The Print

djon43 wrote:

> IMO 1G is manditory with CS2, and 2G is the sweet spot.
>
> IMO Mac will commit to a Win OS by 2007, to go with the Intel
> processor...fully Wintel... going Mac won't necessarily mean anything
> more than going for a cute Chinese package. Win XP is super-stable.


XP's reasonably stable, but not as stable as OS X. And while Intel Macs 
should be able to boot Windows when Vista launches (As Vista is the 
first version of Windows to support EFI firmware natively, and that's 
what Intel Macs use instead of a BIOS) Apple will remain wedded to OS X, 
simply because Apple's entire selling point is how well integrated their 
OS and hardware is, they lose that with Windows, becoming yet another PC 
vendor, which is simply not economically viable for Apple. Expect a 
Windows app compatibility layer in OS X around 2007 though.

>
> IMO Sony's a superb choice for manufacturer because of incredibly good
> service. They go beyond the call of duty.

However their systems are unimpressive and tend to use lower-spec 
hardware than the equivalent Dell or HP. The one advantage they have is 
pretty cases. They're trying to be the Windows version of Apple. Oh, and 
Sony has a nasty habit of including major security threats pre-installed 
on their systems among the rest of the poorly behaving software suite 
they typically include.

>
> I've had TERRIBLE experience with local PC builders with several
> machines (I've had as many as 7 PCs in my small biz, and the best was
> Sony): *if local builder "technicians" were fully competent* ,
> actually employable at real companies, they wouldn't be working for
> neighborhood retailers that don't provide benefits.

Agreed. Most of these techs are either high-school students or 
incompetents. The good ones are the owners (If you're lucky enough that 
the owner is the tech).

>
>
> Dell's OK, judging by reports from friends.

Good systems, Great pricing. Expensive to fix out of warranty. HP/Compaq 
is better as they use standard form-factor hardware in all their 
systems, Dells better systems use custom form-factor hardware much of 
the time.

>
> My next will be a laptop from Lenovo (formerly IBM).
>
>
Good systems, own 1, have another via work. Pricey for the spec, but 
reliable as all heck.

-Adam