Dubai Forums Dubai Tech Discussions Dubai high tech talk

Hey you,

I am thinking about buying a new notebook. At the moment I am still in Germany but I will move to the Emirates the coming winter.
So now I am not sure what to buy.
I never used Mac but I see that here in Germany more and more people are using a Mac. Is it really better, or is it just more trendy?

What do most people in Dubai use? I don`t want to buy a Mac and then not know where to go if I have a problem or need some software.

I am thinking of buying not a Mac but eihther a Siemens or SOny Notebook.

What do you recommend?

hey go for a IBM , its the most widely used here

a typical brand new personal use hp 510 would cost you 2400-2700 Dhs, with warranty. I recommend, dell, toshiba, hp & IBM.

but make sure you go through the comparison chart & opt for the best config, stability & price

Hi Freeman, thanks for your answer.

IBM?

I know Hp, Toshiba, Sony, Siemens, Acer, Samsung, LG.....
but never heard of IBM ??? Maybe they are not that widespread in Germany...
I will check that out. Thanks for the advice.
So why you think they are good?

Hi Ahamed,
thanks for your reply, too.
A brandnew HP just costs 2700 Dirham? That's around 500 Euro?!
THAT cheap? So I should wait until I'll be in Dubai and buy a notebook there!
How much are Siemens or Sony notebooks?

i was speaking about hp 510 notebook pc. a collegue got hp 510 for 2400AED/ . Check out the config at hp website

It does not really matter as long as the plug fits into the wall.

Go for the one you like most

cu

Wie Du hast noch nie was von IBM gehoert, wo bist Du denn her??
AAAh OK Berlin, naja OSSI wah??

Spass beiseite wenn Du ein vernuenftiges Business Notebook suchst fuehrt kein Weg an IBM vobei, X60s wenn du viel unterwegs bist.
Hab hier ein X60s und ein älteres X32 zum schrotten, bringt man aber ums verrecken nicht kaputt.
IBM SERVICE IST WELTKLASSE, Business tauglich und absolut profesionell, wenn ich mir die Kollegen mit ihren Sony oder HPs anschaue, die sind im regelmaessigen Wechsel und im Wochenrythmus am kotzen.

Bedenke aber wenn Du hier eins kaufst hast Du keine deutsche Tastatur, mein olles X32 hat deutsche Tastatur, Kunststueck aus Deutschland mitgenommen, das X60 engl/arabische Tastatur und das nervt brutal wenn du beide benutzt oder die deutsche Tastatur gewoehnt bist und umlabeln ist Bullshit!
Naja und vernuenftige Notebooks kosten hier auch Geld, soooo billig ist es hier auch wieder nicht.... wie alle traeumen

Servus aus Dubai
Martin

martino, we donoto understando germano frencho spanisho, we understado english onlyo , thank you o

If i were you i would buy a Mac.

I have both a Macbook and a PC laptop, and the macbook is far more stable and user friendly. The only thing it's not good for is games, but i have an XBOX 360 and Wii for that so i am not bothered.

If you get a mac however, buy it before you get here, as apple products seem a little expensive in UAE compared to europe

if you plan to use the computer for personal use [like email, chatting, a bit of writing document, archiving digital photos] and for fun, go with Mac. It is so much easier and come with things you need for your digital life in the box.

go to a apple store in Berlin and play around with the unit there.

Using windows at home is only good if you are doing office work from home and you use software which runs on windows only. But then again, why bring work home? Have fun instead.

cu

i must confess, i have very poor english, i am illiterate & never been to high school

In my opinion people are using Mac just because it's trendy and looks cool. Except for the people working in Graphics design where Mac is the best.

I hesitate to buy Mac because not many Mac-based software comparable as in Windows. Very rare to buy in Middle East. Also not many to download freely. I'm not encouraging people to download pirated software, but who doesn't?

For home use, maybe. But for office use (I'm in IT), I don't think so.

I wonder why there's no Windows based laptop that looks cool like Mac?

xty wrote:In my opinion people are using Mac just because it's trendy and looks cool. Except for the people working in Graphics design where Mac is the best.

I'd argue that a Mac is the best in far more fields than graphic design. The open source friendly, BSD underpinnings of Mac OS X makes it for a very good alternative for programmers, web developers, network administrators, scientists/researchers, and more. The user friendly GUI, stability, and security, makes it a good alternative for home users, teachers, students, and many other types of users. Sure they have "trendy" looks, but they also have serious software in the background.

xty wrote:I hesitate to buy Mac because not many Mac-based software comparable as in Windows.

Sure there are a lot of software apps for Windows, and much fewer for Mac. But who needs all of the apps for Windows? For most major apps there is a Mac version, and for most of the rest there are just as good or better Mac alternatives. For the things there are no Mac options, run Bootcamp, Parallels, or VMware Fusion.

emiratesmac wrote:I'd argue that a Mac is the best in far more fields than graphic design. The open source friendly, BSD underpinnings of Mac OS X makes it for a very good alternative for programmers, web developers, network administrators, scientists/researchers, and more. The user friendly GUI, stability, and security, makes it a good alternative for home users, teachers, students, and many other types of users. Sure they have "trendy" looks, but they also have serious software in the background.

As I said, for regular use (home or basic office or development specific for Mac), Mac is comparable with Windows. But for me there are still some techie applications I use everyday which are not there in Mac. Second another important reason is that I'm working and communicating with my colleagues and clients who I'm sure 100% use Windows. I know there are lots of utilities, but it's not funny to send them Mac specific format file and they can't open it

I'm not saying Mac is not good. Even my wife is begging me to buy one (off course for her just because it's white and look cool only ). In the end we need to see the requirements and the purposes first before choosing the system. Same thing like we're buying a car.

emiratesmac wrote:Sure there are a lot of software apps for Windows, and much fewer for Mac. But who needs all of the apps for Windows? For most major apps there is a Mac version, and for most of the rest there are just as good or better Mac alternatives. For the things there are no Mac options, run Bootcamp, Parallels, or VMware Fusion.

We all know running virtual machine or emulator will greatly reduce the performance and compatibility is not guaranteed. If more than 50% we use over the emulator, then why to sacrifice?
For myself as more than 50% I'm using Windows apps (not because I'm a Bill Gates or Microsoft lover), if I had to run Mac apps (or Linux or whatever OS), I would do the other way around (VMWare of Mac on top of Windows)

M! wrote:Bedenke aber wenn Du hier eins kaufst hast Du keine deutsche Tastatur

You can probably adjust the software settings to take inputs as though it's a German keyboard. Or bring a cheap one with you.

IBM compatible is much more common like anywhere. MACs are usually regarded as more user-friendly. You shouldn't have to worry about lack of software or servicing.

xty wrote:Second another important reason is that I'm working and communicating with my colleagues and clients who I'm sure 100% use Windows. I know there are lots of utilities, but it's not funny to send them Mac specific format file and they can't open it

I am the only Mac user (running Mac OS X and occasionally Windows in Parallels) in an all PC business with a few hundred users, and I connect to shared resources and share documents with colleagues withot problems. I don't see why you would have to send your friends "Mac specific format file". Could you tell us what some of those Mac specific file formats are?

xty wrote:We all know running virtual machine or emulator will greatly reduce the performance and compatibility is not guaranteed. If more than 50% we use over the emulator, then why to sacrifice?

Have you tried Windows in Bootcamp or Parallels? I'd argue that it's a better Windows PC than most Windows PCs. I doubt you could find much slow down compared to a "real" PC. Virtualization in and of itself doesn't slow things down much, if any at all. The emulation that Macs used prior to virtualization did slow it down a heck of a lot. Some people confuse the two but they are very different.

emiratesmac wrote: I'd argue that it's a better Windows PC than most Windows PCs.

And you'd be wrong... and look like another Mac groupie that thinks Steve Jobs is the messiah.

Macs are OK, but I find PCs are in general the more accepted computer by far in the UAE.

^ian^ wrote:And you'd be wrong... and look like another Mac groupie that thinks Steve Jobs is the messiah.

Well, the only truth here is of course that there is no right or wrong, only opinion. And if you knew anything about me, you'd know better than to write what you wrote.

^ian^ wrote:Macs are OK, but I find PCs are in general the more accepted computer by far in the UAE.

I agree that PC are more "accepted" here, but that doesn't make them better

emiratesmac wrote:

^ian^ wrote:And you'd be wrong... and look like another Mac groupie that thinks Steve Jobs is the messiah.

Well, the only truth here is of course that there is no right or wrong, only opinion. And if you knew anything about me, you'd know better than to write what you wrote.

Well, the truth is if you knew me, you wouldn't have written what you wrote in the first place. There is always a right and wrong, and in most cases I am the one who is right.

emiratesmac wrote:

^ian^ wrote:Macs are OK, but I find PCs are in general the more accepted computer by far in the UAE.

I agree that PC are more "accepted" here, but that doesn't make them better

Well, you know, when it comes to hiring staff with computer skills, obtaining software support, training etc. for business it actually is better... a lot better. But that's another topic.

^ian^ wrote:Well, the truth is if you knew me, you wouldn't have written what you wrote in the first place. There is always a right and wrong, and in most cases I am the one who is right.

I guess at least that's your version of the truth

^ian^ wrote:Well, you know, when it comes to hiring staff with computer skills, obtaining software support, training etc. for business it actually is better... a lot better. But that's another topic.

There are issues with Macs in those areas here, sure, I agree with that.

Thank you all for your replies and advices!
I didn't think really such a lively discussion would start here!

Unfortunately I am still not sure whether to get a pc or mac.

I am more and more thinking about buying a mac......

One of the reasons: I frequently visit the library theses days - and what do I see there? 80 % are using macs! So they must be better - or is it that all those people just use macs because they are more trendy?

I don't think so really. I guess that especially for people working in sciene, research and journalism macs are more and more widespread....

So in case I will get a mac:

Who can tell me about the software and programmes?

What about LaTex for example?

ghaima wrote:Thank you all for your replies and advices!
I didn't think really such a lively discussion would start here!

Unfortunately I am still not sure whether to get a pc or mac.

I am more and more thinking about buying a mac......

One of the reasons: I frequently visit the library theses days - and what do I see there? 80 % are using macs! So they must be better - or is it that all those people just use macs because they are more trendy?

I don't think so really. I guess that especially for people working in sciene, research and journalism macs are more and more widespread....

So in case I will get a mac:

Who can tell me about the software and programmes?

What about LaTex for example?

if you will use it more in Germany, that's a different story. Location matters apparently. In Europe, you'd have no problems as there are plenty of softwares, accessories, etc you'll find, not like in UAE.

If you want to write simple equations on your research documents, MS Word's Equation Editor might do well. I've used it since 10+ years back (MS Word version 2.0).

I am the biggest technophob..... so well out of my depth here!

However I do use a Mac and a PC for different purposes!

Mac has better access to design packages! And my God they are just beautiful! Pretty computer!

PC though probably alittle more practical for general use!

I'm waffling about total S***!
Just trying to get my 100 posts to get into 'Fight Club'!.... to play!

However all of the above is true.

If I had to choose one it would be Mac!
Just a nicer accessory to have!
But then I am a bit of a brand girlie!

99 done - only one more to go!