Sony Vaio - or another alternative

You can always run Win on an !

The MacBook Pro case are by far the nicest laptop out there IMO.

 

It´s an apple!

 

For my personal work laptop, I always buy the high end thinkpads, like this one:

http://reviews.cnet.com/laptops/lenovo-thinkpad-x201-3626/4505-3121_7-33998451.html

I always get the SSD drives, and shut off the touch pad, using the "nub" instead.

This is the one I currently use: http://reviews.cnet.com/laptops/lenovo-thinkpad-x301/4505-3121_7-33255266.html?tag=contentMain;contentBody;1r

Good luck on your search.

 

Yes, you only need to install Parallels or any similar software, then you can run both the OSX & Windows.
But I think you´ll enjoy the ones with a little more power such as the 15" or the 17" models.
You´ll have no problems running windows on one of those for work, and while you do that you can run OS X for your more "leisure" use. Such as browsing F-Chat etc...

 

This is very definitely true - However, a few notes & caveats that may influence your decision:

You've got 3 or 4 ways that you can run Windows (pretty much any version) or indeed Linux etc on the Mac:
- The 100% guaranteed way to get stuff working is to install Apples "Bootcamp" - You need a full (not upgrade) license for the OS (XP or Windows 7 from choice) - Install that as you would onto a new PC and you can boot between the two - When booted into Windows you are running a "true" Windows based PC - If it runs under windows, it'll run here. The downside is rebooting between the two gets old, fast.......
- *Most* Windows S/W will also run inside a "virtual machine" under OSX (You still need a Windows license) - Parallels & VMWare are the big two (~$100 ea) and seem to keep other honest. The final alternative is "Virtual Box", which is open source but not as "polished" as the commercial offerings.
- Without knowing exactly what windows S/W you need to run it's impossible to recommend a "best" approach - Some windows s/w runs as fast (or faster) inside a VM than natively. Other s/w refuses to load [Both Parallels & VMWare (not sure about VBox) have long lists of s/w that's known to run - If your stuff is there my suggestion would be Parallels, just because I use it......]

Good luck, cheers,
Ian

 

i do like the viao's ... except in my experience i have found them to die in abt 3 years ... they are probably redundant anyway, but still ...

 

i did ... ONCE ...

once day the partition died & i lost all my data for the previous month that hadn't been backed up ...

i was unable to recover any of the files as they were in a proprietary format.

i now keep two - one viao & a macbook pro ...

 

Macbooks aren't durable business machines. For that, you need a Thinkpad.

 

We use both Mac and PC's for our consulting business and we're stuck with PC's due to some business software (Quickbooks for accounting and the latest PC version of Excel for a massive database). After a multi-month analysis (over analysis in my mind) we picked a Sony Vaio vpcF126FM/B.

 

i use some marine navigation software that doesn't run on a mac ... in addition to some other custom stuff ...

ipad ... ok as a toy ... but cannot really replace a notebook yet while on the road due to it's lack of a usb port (thus can't connect an external hdd)

 

Bull****!

While you're certainly entitled to your opinion, I respectfully disagree.

Macbooks are rock solid both in terms of actually working consistently and in terms of construction - The Pro's are milled from a solid aluminum block for Gods sake - you won't find a more "durtable" feeling laptop in the market.

The magnetic power connector has saved more than one from hurtling to the floor- A very nice touch.

They're at least as "strong" and "durable" as anything else out there, and *much* better than most.

Having said all that, I just noticed that you already have an iPad - Are you planning to travel with both?

Cheers,
Ian