MM

Daughter want the airbook because "it looks cool". Would I be wasting money for aesthetics? Is the MaC Book better? And where do you buy these things from and what happens when things go wrong?

Great bit of kit and you can buy at a dedicated apple Shop.
There are quite a few outlets in this country, and you can see your proposed laptop in action.
Would never use anything other than an Apple Mac, totally reliable.

If you buy anthing because it looks cool you will ve paying a surcharge for the looks. For a highend laptop, that equates to around one third of it's purchase price which you can spread over two years max because the machine will then no longer be state of the art.

No need to persuade me opto - it's the daughter who is the prob ;-))

I know lots of apples that have gone wrong and nobody can then get inside to do anything.

Thanks anyway. Normally, daughter would be reasoned with but it is her 18th so i know I'm going to be a softie.

Re post 7722.

Just thought I'd update............

Comp.now working after great expense.New MB,new 9800GT gfx card which then got damaged trying it in original MB (tested card in comp.shop today) and new 8400GS gfx card.

The PS,CPU and memory all undamaged but possibly weakened,we will see.

New MB doesn't have 'beeping' on-board but found a speaker from my bag or bags of bits and bobs,tested it last night with beeps pointed towards gfx card.

Thanks to all who posted.

Norton has picked up this virus MH690.A, but cant get rid of it anyone suggest away to do it?

More info on MH690.A HERE

I'm having problems using refilled cartridges on a lexmak printer (4350) as in it won't recognise them!

I have been away and lost track of what microsoft are doing with Windows 7.

Has Vista been abandoned?

I need a new computer - do I have to wait until 2010 now to allow microsoft to get the bugs out of Windows 7?.

At a loss as to what to do now - can somebody advise?.

cue the "you should buy a mac" brigade

Windows 7 is replacing Vista, which most people accept has been a failure - there are some suggestions it might be launched in time for Christmas this year. As far as I can see it's a rebranded version of Vista with some changes to aid usability, so it should have fewer bugs and incompatibilities out of the starting gate, although Microsoft aren't very good at these things so it could still be rocky to begin with. Allegedly it's better on memory management and speed so the reactions to the beta releases has been more positive than the reaction to Vista.

There have been some rumours that Microsoft would run an upgrade programme whereby if you bought Vista during this summer you would get a free upgrade to Windows 7, but I don't believe that's been confirmed.

I've been using Win 7 beta for a few weeks and can confirm that it appears to use less memory and CPU resources than Vista. It is also better at balancing the load between two processsor cores.

The user interface is different and IMO a lot better than Vista but the beta version does not let you go back to the classic UI so you may be stuck with the new one.

The stability of the beta version seems very good so the final should be even better. Microsoft have said that the beta version will expire in July and that there will be an RC1 version before the final release. Whilst they have been carefull not to comit to or even mention a release date, they are are giving people the hope that it will be released Oct or Nov 2009.

Regardless of OS, if your buying a new computer get one with an Intel I7 processor. These are expensive and thin on the ground at the moment but should be mainstream in the summer.

many thanks guys , can I keep this machine running until xmas? don,t know

whats good about the intel 17 processor Optimist?

Doc

MD

The i7 is Intels latest processor. It represents a bigger leap than normal in processor power. Knocks spots off anything Intel or anyone else has made before.

Has anybody here got experience of writing DLL files in C++ please, as I'd like to ask a few questions?

Hiltops: why, you little hacker, you. I'll check with my engineers.

Any suggestions for getting remote access to my home PC. I understant that you need XP Professional to use remote access but I dont think I have that version. On my laptop I have Vista home. Are the choices gotomypc or logmein, or are there better programs out there. If I have XP pro on my home PC should I use that.

maddoctor (and other Windows victims):

Consider buying a new Vista-loaded machine that offers an XP downgrade (like Lenovo). That's my current plan to replace my three year-old ThinkPad. They send you the XP Prof CDs as well.

You get a Vista box, but it comes with an XP Professional "downgrade" so you can "upgrade" to Vista later when, er, your IT department is ready. You can see where they're coming from. "Dear Microsoft, you're driving all your hardware partners into bankruptcy because their customers won't buy a new machine if they can only have Vista. Please change your "No XP No More" policy now or we're all f*cked", Or something like that.

Jeffmack

XP Pro, Vista Business and Ultimate all have Remote Desktop that will alow you to work on the remote computer almost as if it were the local machine. If you only have the Home edition you could try installing a free VNC server such as TightVNC which is not as good to use but is easier to secure.

In both cases, you would have to allow the connection through your firewall which can be a security risk and with Remote Desktop you need to seure the connection.

I understand that GotomyPC and Logmein both use an https connection so is easier to let through the firewall but you need to satisfy yourself that they are secure enough fo you.

I do not have any incoming holes in my firewall and would not install GotomyPC or Logmein on my machines. Instead I use Remote nDesktop over a VPN connection, but that requires even more work on your router and possibly a new one.

Thanks DelBoy, although I was actually looking to put a stronger padlock on the Crown Jewels rather than nick them.

:o)