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Ubax Ahmed wondered: <<I am shopping around for a laptop. Other than
the normal personal usage, I would like to do some freelance web
development work. Can I get suggestions as to what I should look for
when shopping for a laptop. i.e brand comparisons how they stack up
against one another. RAM etc>>
The first thing to do is list the software you want to run, then list
all its hardware and software requirements. Most modern laptops
should be more than capable of meeting your needs, but some software
has special needs; for example, Photoshop will benefit from a
dedicated graphics chip (not one of those shared-memory Intel chips),
tons of RAM, and a fast hard drive. Add a bit of expansion room,
because software usually grows more demanding in subsequent versions.
Having figured out your minimum requirements, have a look at PC
Magazine's annual survey of reliability and customer satisfaction
(http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,2006499,00.asp). This will give
you an idea of the reliability of the major brands, though it's
important to note that you can get a lemon from any manufacturer.
Once you've narrowed down your choices, check the reviews section of
this site (also of PC World) for the specific models you're
considering. Don't take their "star" or "Editor's choice" ratings as
definitive; read the full review instead. I often find details in the
full review that disqualify a computer or that would earn it a higher
rating from my perspective.
Last but not least, consider one of the new Apple laptops. Apple has
beaten all the PC manufacturers by a significant margin for
reliability and satisfaction for something like the past 5 years
running (confirmed by both PC Mag and Consumer Reports), and the new
systems let you run both OS X and Windows and Linux; though I don't
know enough about Linux to know how well it runs, a programmer friend
uses Linux quite happily on his Mac. Best of all, you can run Windows
directly (not through emulation) now that the laptops use Intel
chips. Apple's "Boot Camp" lets you boot to either Windows or Mac;
the Parallels software (http://www.parallels.com/) lets you run both
operating systems simultaneously; and the Crossover product (http://
www.codeweavers.com/products/cxmac/) claims to let you run Windows
programs at near-native speed, directly in OS X without even needing
to own a copy of Windows. Way cool!
You'll pay a slight cost premium compared with a comparably equipped
PC, but you may find the flexibility of being able to run Apple
software worth the price. I've been using Mac laptops for more than
10 years, and love them.
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