Hey everyone, I have recently purchased a ASUS W7S laptop that came with Vista Business. However, with the amount of ram that I have on the laptop, it can barely handle Vista smoothly so I am planning to uninstall Vista for XP. But I am having problem formatting Vista, because it kept saying it could not detect the hard drive. Has anyone try reformatting Vista for XP? If so can anyone guide me thru. *Note: When I google about this problem some said, users must disable an option in order to install XP. Thanks and good day all.
I haven't tried it, but I've heard that only the Ultimate edition of Vista can be downgraded. Something about the BIOs settings of the machine or somewhat...sorry can't be of more help. Asus for the fail Maybe an easier option is to get more RAM?
In need of laptop for business purpose Hi guys/gals, Which brand of laptop do you recommend for business and classroom purpose? Please state reasons like specs . . . etc.?
MacBook for classrooms. MacBook Pro for business. They don't crash, they run on the extremely robust Mac OS X, they come pre-loaded with all the software you need for both routine and creative tasks, they have a cooler and more useful version of MS Office, they look hip and impart a polished look to the user, they don't need a security update every third day, they are lightweights but reassuringly tough, they have awesome displays - and also come big and small, they don't groan when given a heavy task, they don't require 'configuring' for anything - be it internet or Wi-Fi or Bluetooth or FireWire or USB, they treat almost every external device with familiarity (means it's all plug-and-play - no waiting, searching and installing drivers), they don't have nags popping up every other second, they have a camera, mic and speakers built-in, and they are almost immune to virus attacks. Oh, they run Windows too in case you simply must make your life harder
Noobie Question Will Open Office from Sun work with Mac Office and Windows Office "perfectly"? Why get Office in the first place if Open Office can do the job?
Although Oldhand suggested some very nice Macbooks for the classroom/business environment, I'm more of a Windows guy myself so I think I can give some of my opinions. I don't suggest HP, Lenovo or Compaq laptops that you purchase at a large retailer because personally, they died for me within a couple of years (Bitter experience maybe?). Toshiba and Dell are quality builds for personal use and a Dell XPS1330 (just a suggestion) is a powerful machine in a compact package. Some specs I recommend are: For 3 times a week to daily: 13.3" Monitor -This is standard on the XPS1330 3-5lbs maximum weight, anymore than this then you'll have to forego textbooks and notebooks or just buy a more powerful desktop. 6/9/12 cell battery, never go for a 4 cell unless you know you'll always have a power outlet nearby. 6 cell can give you up to 2.5-3 hours with the right processor. Yes, the 4 cell will reduce weight, but will only give you 1-1.5 hours of battery life. No good. 4GB DDR2 RAM - 2GB AT THE VERY LEAST. 4GB would be sufficient to last you for the next 2-3 years, get 4GB if possible. Runs Vista no problem, even better on XP. 2GHZ-2.5GHZ - Is very reasonable for modern laptops/notebooks and reasonably priced. Most models now are 2.1-2.2GHZ standard anyways. Intel Core 2 Duo or Centrino Processor - Come standard on many of these machines, but they manage processing efficiently, saving your hard disk from overheating and saving you tons of battery life. A normal processor can cut a 6 cell battery life to just 1.5 hours max, whereas Duo can double that lifespan. I had an AMD processor before but it was just awful. 2x Headphone ports (Don't know why, seems abit of a waste) 1x Microphone port 2x USB ports HDMI Output Firewire SD/MMC/MS Pro Memory Card Reader Loading CD/DVD Slot Sleek sexy design Intelligent control sensors (for the media playback, its awesome) Biometric fingerprint reader. Built in Webcam and microphone Can have bluetooth as an option Wait for Windows 7!!! Hope this helped. I am very anti-Apple because everyone has an Ipod or a Macbook or whatnot.
Thank you GB008, I have a HP P DV9000. It's as good as a desktop - so heavy to carry around. Is 15" the max size before the weight factor comes in? Do you recommend Asus notebooks? I have good experience with Toshiba before . Yes, I am a daily user who doesn't like VISTA. Is it possible to have XP SP3 installed instead?
I suggest you read reviews on notebooks, www.notebookreview.com, to get a better comparison. Everyone is biased towards certain brands for one reason or another. I currently use an Asus laptop and in the past used a Lenovo laptop. My friends use Sager, Toshiba, and HP. We're all programmers so we're always on our laptops.
For these queries.. Dear Lai sifu, I personally haven't used Mac Office or Open office, but i do remember a friend who uses or used to use Mac/Apple, and kinda familiar with those 3 programs. So, i called her and asked her abt your queries. After a few minutes of chatting, she asked me, "Who's asking these?". I told her, "Oh, they're from a forum friend who resides in Vancouver, BC, Canada". So, here are her answers: ..to echo the same slogan of President Obama : YES, WE CAN!! Mac Office files work with Windows Office, and vice versa. Open Office works with Mac Office and Windows perfectly for Word and Excel documents, and pretty close to perfect for Powerpoint. The main problem with Open Office is that for some time after MS releases a new version of Office, it takes weeks or months for Open Office to be able to open those files. Usually, this isn't a problem-- it takes more than a few weeks or months for most users to get the newest version of Office. It's also not as "refined" as MS Office. The buttons/icons don't always seem to line up right, it "feels" slower, and it's sometimes missing some high-end features. (macros, stuff that general users never touch) So, there you have it. I, personally, am not a Mac/Apple user. But our kwun can probably tell/find out what type (brand/model) of laptop i'm using to post this. *Btw, she's still single.
To begin with, there's no such thing as Mac Office. Microsoft makes MS Office, which is for PCs (running Windows). Microsoft also makes Office for Mac, which is the same suite for Macs. This has Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Entourage (which is Outlook for Mac). What's great is that Word, Excel and Entourage have been tweaked by Mac engineers to give them the 'Mac feel'. This means these ubiquitous business software programmes work and look better on a Mac. Now, to answer your question: Of course, the Office files are operable across the two platforms. It's because both the PC and Mac versions are made by Microsoft. This convenience extends to other applications. For instance, instead of buggy, insecure and load-heavy Internet Explorer, Mac offers Safari. It's unlikely you will go back to IE once you have used Safari (or Firefox or Chrome). I hold no brief for either of these hardware platforms but I must say I'm biased in favour of Apple. My bias stems from experience - some of it bitter and some of it heady. So far, I have run through these PC notebook makes - Compaq, IBM, HP, Dell and Toshiba. The HP still works - the others are all dead and unsung. I also have 3 PCs - one is vintage 1994 (1GD HDD, 16MB RAM and it still works), one was bought in 2007 (it never crashes if you're working on something unimportant) and the last is, um, dead. (It died last Friday and has resisted all attempts at electronic and physical revival.) By the way, I'm posting this from an iMac - by the way, our entire office is fully on Mac. At home, in addition to the still-dead PC, I use a Mac 15" PowerBook (bought in 2005) and a Mac desktop (a G5 Dual 1.8GHz bought in 2004). Neither of these machines has ever crashed. I guess this explains why I'm biased
A bit off topic-More on Lai Sifu's queries.. She also added: "Mac Office can open docx files:http://www.mydigitallife.info/2006/...2004-for-mac-compatibility-issue-alternative/ Microsoft is pretty good about doing forwards compatibility for the previous version of Office. Mac Office files should work with Windows Office seamlessly. However make sure that the files have the .doc tag at the end and not .docx. Windows Office 07 will automatically save files as .docx & I'm not sure if Mac Office will read that format. Saving files as an Office 97 compatible file will ensure you have the .doc tag. Open Office files are & should be compatible with other versions of Office if you save them as Windows Office files and not Open Office files. As mentioned earlier, why get Windows Office? In the past Open Office has been somewhat of a clunky program to use, but I think the latest version is almost up to par with Windows Office. I don't use Open Office but I think for daily word processing and powerpoint needs it does a fine job. Another option is google documents. Though its word processor functionality is not nearly as feature-rich as Windows Office it does have the advantage of storing all your files online so that your work is always with you wherever you have an internet connection. That and a detailed auto save history so you can recover that paragraph that you deleted three saves ago. Some people use google documents exclusively. Hope that helps," Off topic: Thou must cometh hither!!... Hmm, maybe i should ask her to sign up for BC...But then she's not too crazy abt baddy. More into other sports..oh well
I like the Asus notebook, especially the ones that comes with Express Gate feature (http://expressgate.asus.com/). I have 2 PC's at home. One is 5 years old running XP. No crash and still running fine. Haven't re-formatted at all, not even once. The other newer one has been running Vista for 2 years so far. It does what I want it to do. But I still prefer XP, unfortunately I need Vista for DX10. I hate operating system that is named after animal. Are they meant for human?
Forget OS X... the Chinese have their years named after animals! And are they meant for humans? You bet my last Ox they are
They do PS: Office for Mac comes with a free PDF feature. While PC users have to get Adobe Acrobat and the like, Mac users simply use the built-in free PDF converter.
Let's see.. ..what our madbad has to say about Apple/Mac laptops...As far as i know, he & Oldhand are Apple/Mac users in BC...
Of course, madbad has an eye for anything that looks good. As for me, I use both PCs and Macs... but, yes, I'm biased
Disclaimer: This is all my opinion only Although our tech has evolved quite a bit, I personally think that 15" is pushing the weight and dimensions factor. I would go for a 14.1" at the very most, especially if I'm going to bring it to work/school more than 2-3 times a week. Asus is a good investment if you buy their higher end (more expensive) notebooks...the ones that are really tiny and light, ex. the 7" ones, can't handle heavier program functions, especially when all it has is a a tiny HDD and limited RAM lol. I'm not sure if XP downgrade is still being offered with machines when you buy from retailers, if that's the case I think you might be stuck with Vista. I've been using Vista for the last 5 months and have not had major issues with it, but I still prefer XP as well.
