My laptops hardrive made a grinding noise and is now dead. Anyway I can get that info off?
Also, because of my loss, I will be looking into a new computer. I had that laptop for 5 years, and am out of the ‘loop’.
Anyone fill me in on whats good these days and what the hell AMD is? I dont really want to spend over 1000$. I really want to spend like 500$ But I doubt it will happen.
Thanks Guys
PS thats the cause of my absence of late
LOL - I can forward you about 20 PMs from jcl49er if you’d like. 
Gill,
Your machines Hard Drive is most likely dead.
The only hope of recovering the data is putting the drive in a freezer for a while, and then seeing if it will spin up for you - or pay a firm hundreds of dollars to recover it for you.
Apple has really taken off in the past years - a [URL=http://www.apple.com/macmini/]Mac mini[/URL] with student discount is $580 - or a [URL=http://www.apple.com/macbook/macbook.html]MacBook[/URL] with a Student Discount and free iPod is $1050.
iPhoto & iDVD will really put your 'Niner pictures to use, and the webcam on the MacBook will let mom and pops back home see ya whenever you want.
UNC-Charlotte has a custom Apple store [URL=http://store.apple.com/1-800-780-5009/WebObjects/EducationIndividual.woa/6144004/wo/La1EOSZMZem621Q5M6m1DQIIYOw/0.3.1.0.8.7.1]here[/URL]. Enjoy.
look at you Marcus trying to make a sale.
You could just spend $50 on a new laptop hard drive & keep on trucking. I dunno why people automatically assume that a dead hard drive = a dead computer.
The freezing trick does work, but only long enough to back up your data. Buy (& return later if you have to) a USB external hard drive to back up your data.
Otherwise, AMD is now an equal ground competitor to Intel. They both have affordable, reliable products. My last 3 builds have been AMD based, but I’ve owned both. For a long while, AMD was clearly the price to performance leader, but Intel is finally getting their act together.
And there is no reason to spend more than $500 for a basic desktop PC. Laptops are a different story because features change the price so quickly.
I dropped my laptop in the airport a couple of weeks ago. It fell about 4 feet to the ground, and now memory dumps and write errors are a regular occurrence. It’s quite sad. I’m eagerly awaiting my new hard drive.
AMD has definately been the Price/Performance leader for the last 2 or so years. It really depends on which type of computer are you thinking of buying? If you are going for a laptop that is very mobile and light go with Intel. If you want a desktop replacement laptop then go with AMD. The new upcoming laptop chips based on the AMD64 is amazing and when apps begin to switch from 64bit to 32bit over the next few years you won’t get left out in the cold.
If you are buying a PC it gets a little more sticky, just decide how much performance you want, (basically do I want to play games or not) if you want a gaming PC price is the limit, if you want a PC that runs well and can get the job done online and with MS office look at sale papers and wait for a deal, Circuit City, Bestbuy and Dell are always giving away free upgrades if you buy at the right time.
Also watch this site, http://dealnews.com/search.html?search=dell&x=0&y=0
thanks guys.
Marcus do you work at the apple place?
I do not work at the Apple store, but I am the Apple Rep for here at Charlotte.
You can buy a PC for cheaper than a Mac no question, but it will be running a 5 year old operating system, and won’t come with the Mac’s amazing OS X with iLife, built in wireless & bluetooth, dvd burner, webcam, free iPod, and of course the beautiful design of the machine.
I know I am a sales guy, but that’s really how it is.
I do not work at the Apple store, but I am the Apple Rep for here at Charlotte.You can buy a PC for cheaper than a Mac no question, but it will be running a 5 year old operating system, and won’t come with the Mac’s amazing OS X with iLife, built in wireless & bluetooth, dvd burner, webcam, free iPod, and of course the beautiful design of the machine.
I know I am a sales guy, but that’s really how it is.
How so JCL? is mac not up to par with pc’s?
Also Marcus, If I get a mac, the windows stuff I have on my external hd, is that going to work?
how far away are PC’s till they have non-moving Hard Drives, whatever the term for them are? like memory cards, usb drives…I know that will solve the heat problem and make the speeds get even faster, maybe even less instances of them crashing. seems like it would be out by now.
Anyone have or used one of the new Intel Mac’s?
Whew! Thought this thread was a singles/personal ad…
How so JCL? is mac not up to par with pc's?Also Marcus, If I get a mac, the windows stuff I have on my external hd, is that going to work?
My post was simply to imply that his claims were completely false. To suggest that PC’s use a 5 year old OS, don’t come with internal wireless/bluetooth, DVD burners or webcams is absurd. I just recently helped pick out a new laptop for someone and theirs had all of those features sans the webcam.
And sure you can get an iPod with a new mac purchase. It’s called a marketing gimmick by Apple. Personally, if I’m in the market for a laptop, I’m not gonna buy one simply because I can get an iPod with it. Nice perk I suppose but certainly shouldn’t be a deal maker/deal breaker.
I have nothing against Apple. I just think his comments were off-base but it’s to be expected from someone who sells that product. Half of what Timewarner says about DirecTV is completely bogus as well but they’re betting that plenty of people don’t do do their homework and actually believe all their claims.
We used to have a Mac at the house one time. My dads, I never understood how it worked.
I just bought a laptop from Dell for $499. For what it’s worth, so far it’s a great computer w/no problems.
[QUOTE=jcl49er;180833]I’m not slamming Macs, Gill. Macs are VERY nice computers but they are geared towards a particular user. That user tends to be someone who will be using the PC for graphical programs, film/photo editing, graphical art, etc. For those applications, macs can’t be beat. [/QUOTE]
I beg to differ with this, although it is the common misconception. Yes Macs are great for doing graphics stuff like Final Cut Pro for editing film. But that’s not the sole audience Macs are geared towards. And that’s not all Macs do well.
Macs are great computers to operate. The OS is really smooth and easy to navigate. There are a ton of time-saving little nifty things like hot corners (move your mouse to one corner of the screen and the desktop appears, move it to another corner of the screen and all your open windows are displayed side by side in the middle of the monitor, move it to another corner and widgets like calculator, dictionary, even Family Guy Random Quote Generator show up- there are more hot corner actions that you can apply)
They are great for more than just graphics. Doing simple stuff like word processing, listening to music, and importing digital photos is easier. Surfing the web is easier (however, ninerMac, can you PLEASE make NNN more compatible with Safari?).
Plus you can run Windows on a Mac now. And I don’t just mean an emulator: you can actually turn on your Mac and choose whether you want it to boot up in Windows or Mac OS. I’ve read reviews that say that some Windows programs run better on a Mac than on a PC.
The biggest drawback of Macs is the price. They are more expensive than a similarly equipped Windows PC.
Plus, as I’ve said before, Macs really let you kick ass in the NNN arcade at funky pong.
I just bought a laptop from Dell for $499. For what it's worth, so far it's a great computer w/no problems.I'm assuming you went with the B130? If so, it's a nice budget lappy. Just a little lacking with memory (based on no add-ons/upgrades) and graphics but if you're not doing anything major, then you're fine.
I used to hate Dell but they’ve come around with me. I think I hated them initially, because they made it next to impossible for someone like me to build custom computers for people and not lose money in doing so. That only applies to entry/mid PC’s though. They still can’t put together an adequate gaming rig for what I can but mine isn’t gonna come with a licensed OS either. 
For basic setups, Dell just can’t be beat.
Sideshow, I don’t disagree with your points. It’s just one of those debates (similar to AMD vs Intel) where there will always be two sides claiming their product is the best. It’s an argument neither side will win simply because of the loyalties to the product. I’d have no problem owning an Apple but for the price of one that would suit my needs, I could put together one helluva Windows-based PC. And the latter would be my personal preference.
And I wasn’t suggesting that macs are limited to only graphic-related applications. But they’re certainly at the top of the food chain in that area. If I were in that line of business, I would definitely be shopping for a mac but I do realize it is more than capable with other areas of interest.
Both systems are great, for various reasons and you can’t really knock either. Just different strokes for different folks…
[QUOTE=jcl49er;180858]
Sideshow, I don’t disagree with your points. It’s just one of those debates (similar to AMD vs Intel) where there will always be two sides claiming their product is the best. It’s an argument neither side will win simply because of the loyalties to the product. I’d have no problem owning an Apple but for the price of one that would suit my needs, I could put together one helluva Windows-based PC. And the latter would be my personal preference.
Both systems are great, for various reasons and you can’t really knock either. Just different strokes for different folks…[/QUOTE]
Understood. And I agree. I use both platforms pretty regularly, and while I do prefer Macs, I’m not one of those Mac faaggs that brow beat you with the Apple gospel and look down on all the pariahs that touch windows machines. I might try to urge someone in a Mac direction, but I’m not going to disrespect you if you choose a PC.