Mac. Mac. Mac.

11" macbook air.

I'm pretty happy with the $500 Lenovo laptop. If you're not doing video editing all the time, a mac may be more money than you want to spend. The thing I like about Lenovo is that they come in an aluminum case which is important in protecting your hard drive if you're moving it around a lot. I've also had really good luck with Toshiba, but in the end it seems like it all boils down to luck. Two people can have the same computer, one is buggy as hell and the other works perfectly for years.

I have a macbook pro I bought in 2009, September. So, its four years old at this point, and I have used the sh*t out of it. No issues whatsoever. I replaced the hard drive about a year ago because I needed more space, and I got a solid state drive from OWC (other world computing) which I would HIGHLY recommend. If you are going to spend the money on a new computer, you should upgrade to a solid state hard drive (no moving parts, way, way faster). At this point, my macbook runs better than it did when it was new. I use a digital audio workstation called Ableton to produce music, use photo editing software, etc. and it is incredibly fast.

I used to use windows laptops. I had two HP laptops in three years at one point. They just continually sh*t the bed. So, about 750 for each of those laptops, 1500 total for three years of a computer. I bought my macbook (student discount and applecare protection) for around 1200, making a mac way cheaper than a pc. Particularly considering it is still performing incredibly.

If anyone tries to tell you windows systems are better, it may be for what they use it for. However, for the casual user, I think mac is the way to go. Keep in mind you could also buy a mac and then run windows on it using bootcamp (included on a mac) if you dont want to deal with learning a new operating system. Mac hardware itself is amazing, and the main reason their computers last so long.

You certainly wont be disappointed with a mac. I would go to the apple store and talk to an employee about your options.

Oh and GET THE APPLE CARE!!!!! IT IS WORTH IT!!!!! I have never had any issues but, if you do, you will have nothing to worry about for two years, and then you can renew after that.

computers, at their core, have  4  basic componets:
-motherboard
-CPU
-Memory(RAM)
-hard drive
 everything else is  peripheral.

is the motherboard on a mac manufactured by mac?  no, they have an outside manufacturer doing that.  is the motherboard on a mac somehow better than the mother board on a pc?  no.  there are equivalent motherboards from any manufacturer.

does mac make the CPUs the put in their computers? no, they generally use CPUs made by Intel, who makes CPUs for everyone.  do they make superior CPUs for apple that are somehow faster or better than the CPUs they make for the rest of the world?  no,  equivalent CPUs can be found elsewhere.

does apple make the RAM installed on their computers?  no, again outside manufacturer.  does 8GB of RAM on a mac store more than 8GB of RAM on a pc? no, it works just like every other RAM on the planet.

does apple make their own hard drives? no, again made by some one else, who makes them for everyone.



Now, what apple does do is develop software.  if you find yourself really likng apple software, then myabe you should go with that route.  although you could potentially run an apple os on a pc., or just run certain apple software packages on your pc.

bottom line- for what you want to do, i would not get a mac.  i would  get a simple pc, save myself alot of money, and use that money to GO KAYAKING. 

Solid troll thread.

i don't pay attention to technology anymore, and i don't really care to. some of you have done a lot of research, figure i'll use that to my advantage :)

i want to pay as much as i need to in order to get something that isn't a piece of crap and will last. also, something lighter in weight would be nice. it definitely doesn't need to be top of the line.

what should i look for in terms of processor and ram?

Lovin it ... Texas Instruments for the win

Here's some useful information to cap off this thread. The Wirecutter is the best thing to come along for gadget picking in the last several years. They look at all the options and make 1 or 2 recommendations. Here is their page on "the best laptop":

http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/the-best-laptop/

Here is their page on "the best cheap laptop":

http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-cheap-laptop-hp-g6t/

Mac refurbs are usually fine. A lot of us use them without problems. Here's this year's 11" MBA for 850 bucks:

http://store.apple.com/us/product/FD711LL/A/refurbished-116-inch-macbook-air-13ghz-dual-core-intel-core-i5

If you're gonna spend less than 500, you might be better off with an iPad mini or a Google Nexus 7 tablet.