Best Laptop Computer for D50?

I would have to disagree with you here. I run Windows Media Centre Edition (MCE) and XP Pro - I used to use Home, but that will not connect ot a SQL derver even if you host the server locally.

There is no real difference between Pro and MCE - I got MCE to stream video to my 360 and from experience I can tell you that they are the same OS with extra functionality bolted on. I've not investigated upgrade options from MCE to Vista yet, but if you cannot upgrade that might have somethign to do with fact that MCE is OEM software only - no one can buy it as a retail product.

In fact if you buy a machine from Dell at the moment with MCE pre-installed you can order the upgrade to Vista premium at the same time - please stop scaremongering and MS bashing just for the hell of it.

By the way if it's any help to the original poster I am buying a MacBook Pro very early in the new year and will run MacOS X and Windows XP (probably pro as I have an unused licence kicking around) as a dual boot system, they seem expensive but they cost no more than an equivalent spec traditional PC manufacturer version.

I won't buy any Apple equipment until they stop the proprietary BS. Which will be, I guess, when hell freezes over.

They could have been where M$ is if it hadn't been for that. And, in fact, they would hardly exist if it wasn't for Sony shooting themselves in both feet with the MD Walkman - Sony was really the main creative force behind the iPod (due to their stupidity !).

But until I can choose between an HP, Dell, Sony, Toshiba, etc, etc, running an Apple OS you won't find me there.

WinXP may have it's shortcomings, but I haven't had any problems, and I look after about 30 computers. And Vista is said by early adopters to be much better.

Apple opened up like that (I think it was in the early nineties) it was such a disaster that no-one seems to remember it, it took the launch of the absolutely legendary iMacs to start to turn things around for apple. I'm trying to remember who else made the machines but can't.

This is not me being an apple fanatic, I'm not, like I stated above I will be buying my second ever Mac soon, a MacBook Pro - but for the same spec Dell, HP, Sony and Toshiba all cost more so even as an XP laptop it looks like a more cost effective choice, and in my opinion apple laptops are the best looking of all 5 manufacturers.

JamieTux said:

... and in my
opinion apple laptops are the best looking of all 5 manufacturers.

Click to expand...

That may be, but I bought a Sony SZ-360P, and, even thpugh it is quite expensive, it is a fairly good-looking machine what with the carbon-fibre lid and all. It also only weighs 3.7 lbs, not bad for a 2GHz Core 2 Duo, 120Mb hard drive and 2Gb DDR2 (and also a good screen & NVidia Go 7400).

Jola013 said:

JamieTux said:

... and in my
opinion apple laptops are the best looking of all 5 manufacturers.

Click to expand...

That may be, but I bought a Sony SZ-360P, and, even thpugh it is
quite expensive, it is a fairly good-looking machine what with the
carbon-fibre lid and all. It also only weighs 3.7 lbs, not bad for
a 2GHz Core 2 Duo, 120Mb hard drive and 2Gb DDR2 (and also a good
screen & NVidia Go 7400).

Click to expand...

I'm not trying to belittle your purchase! I've used Sony's a lot and 3.7lbs is light - don't get me wrong I would be ecstatic if someone gave me one! But - in the UK that has a list price of about £1800 whereas an apple with 2.16GHz Core 2 Duo, 120Mb HDD and 1GB RAM with ATI X1600 and a 15.4 screen is £1350 - evan after £100 for the extra RAM it's still a £350 difference and the weight is not really an issue for me as I am quite a big guy.

I think what we are both trying to say is make sure that the original guy gets a laptop that he is happy with! Have fun with your Sony - I haven't spent the money yet and I might still be swayed

JamieTux said:

I think what we are both trying to say is make sure that the
original guy gets a laptop that he is happy with! Have fun with
your Sony - I haven't spent the money yet and I might still be
swayed

Click to expand...

Yes, the Sony was expensive. I sometimes wonder if I shouldn't have picked up a Siemens Si 1520 with lesser specifications for 1/2 the price.

Maybe when I retire one day I will wonder where all the money went.

Depends on what else you want to do with it. If the main objective is a mobile photo studio choose something with a decent screen, big disk and an shitload of RAM. 1024mb minimum, more if you can afford it.

Also budget for an external USB harddisk for backup purposes.
--
Don't wait for the Nikon D-whatever, have fun now!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/j_wijnands/

I'm sitting here with a brand new windows laptop that I'm "forced" to use by a major corporation that I'm currently contracting with, but I'm typing this message on an Apple iMAC 20" (which I use EXCLUSIVELY for the things that really matter - photography, music, podcasting, blogging, video, web design, etc.) And, oh by the way, for my business consulting practice, I use the iMAC 20" exclusively to produce Microsoft files (like word, powerpoint, excel, etc.). I have the previous generation iMAC with the Power PC chip. The NEW apple line of iMACs, MACBOOKS, MACBOOK PROS, have the core duo2 chips which means you can run both APPLE and PC applications SIMULTANEOUSLY (as long as you have a licensed copy of Windows and Parallels Desktop loaded on your MAC).

I just went MAC last year. After 32 years in the computer industry, I can honestly say it's the BEST computer (and best operating system and software applications) I've encountered. A pleasure to use. It just works, and it's QUIET ... unlike the PCs I've used that you can hear the hard drive being accessed [you know, that click, click, click, click, irritating sound]

I'm using iPHOTO for simple/quick edits/enhancements. I'm using Nikon Picture Project & Capture when I need more editing control/capability. I used trial version of Capture NX to test RAW editing, but haven't taken the leap yet. Currently testing out Adobe Lightroom (which I really like). Tried out the trial version of Aperture, but this version didn't support D80 RAW so can't really comment on how well it works ... apparently, you have to use the NEWEST version of Aperture to get D80 RAW support.

One final comment - my daughter bought the MACBOOK recently, and now I'm totally jealous. For my purposes, however, I would go with the 17" MACBOOK PRO with 2gigs of RAM. It would provide me with that PORTABLE production machine that I "need".
--
@Home Project Studio
Nikon D80, D70s

Get an HP/Compaq laptop - any model according to the price you would prefer. Check only if the laptop has a DVD writer for back-up of your photos on DVD.

--
Greetings,
Roumen

quackmayster said:

well macs can run windows now so you won't have any problems with
software compatibility issues. However I strongly suggest to get an
external display for editing because laptop LCD's aren't the best
LCD and you can't calibrate them.

Click to expand...

Speak for your self! Your laptop may not have the best display, but ill bet a pretty peny that my inspiron e1705 has a better screen than your desktop. If you want a High resolution display, I reccomend Inspiron, My UXGA+ screen would cost $2400 on a desktop PC. it cost $250 on mine, and you CAN calibrate it. At 17 inches, its plenty big enough to see down to the smallest details.

P.S. in case you didnt know, UXGA+ is 1900x1200 (more than on most Widescreen HDTVs)

So next time you say laptops are incompetant, think again, Dual core 2.2GHZ processor, 2GB ram, 256mb NVidia Graphics card, you cant do much better.

Not just vista ready, but vista premium ready. Vista capable will only be enough to run the minimalvista operating expierience, which will basicly be a minimaly redone version of XP, with none of the vista claim to fame.

In a laptop this is important, but in a desktop you can always add ram and a better graphics later.

Mswnow said:

quackmayster said:

well macs can run windows now so you won't have any problems with
software compatibility issues. However I strongly suggest to get an
external display for editing because laptop LCD's aren't the best
LCD and you can't calibrate them.

Click to expand...

Speak for your self! Your laptop may not have the best display, but
ill bet a pretty peny that my inspiron e1705 has a better screen
than your desktop. If you want a High resolution display, I
reccomend Inspiron, My UXGA+ screen would cost $2400 on a desktop
PC. it cost $250 on mine, and you CAN calibrate it. At 17 inches,
its plenty big enough to see down to the smallest details.

P.S. in case you didnt know, UXGA+ is 1900x1200 (more than on most
Widescreen HDTVs)

So next time you say laptops are incompetant, think again, Dual
core 2.2GHZ processor, 2GB ram, 256mb NVidia Graphics card, you
cant do much better.

Click to expand...

1920 x 1200 displays start at around £500 and the cost is mainly due to the size. I've been using that res on an inspiron laptop for 3 years and would say that the colour rendering is pretty awful but the res is great for non colour critical applications like word processing, coding, spreadsheets database work, etc.

Yes I can physically calibrate it and make a colour profile - but so what, it doesn't display enough colours at enough levels accurately for the calibration to be meaningful and the colour changes across the screen - you can't calibrate different corners differently.

If they were that great why wouldn't graphic designers be using them instead of 20 something inch monitors that waste all that disk space? You don't get something for nothing with PCs!