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lwr
March 24th, 2007, 11:13 AM
Hi guys,

I'm currently looking at the possibility of buying a new laptop. I need to run a lot of Adobe applications, so unfortunately I'm going to have to use a proprietary OS. My initial thought was to get a MacBook, and maybe just single boot OS X. As much as I love Linux, I think I should be able to cope with not running a free OS as there's a lot of open-source software for OS X and it's got a lot of the same advantages as Linux. The other option is to go for a slightly cheaper laptop, from say Dell outlet, and dual boot Vista and Ubuntu. I know a lot of people do that, but I think it would annoy me that I'd have to switch operating systems all the time, as I really wouldn't want to use Vista as my main OS.

What do you think? I really value your opinion; perhaps you can come up with some ideas I hadn't even thought about. Thanks for your help.

Rumo
March 24th, 2007, 11:37 AM
You can use windows inside a vmware-machine to run adobe applications. Should work flawlessly (as long as no 3d acceleration is required).

xopher
March 24th, 2007, 12:03 PM
Im facing the same problem - for me the choice is becoming quite obvious though - Im getting a MacBook. If I search for something with the same specifications, the price bumps quite hi on "pc's" too so.. And I like the looks and feel of the MacBook.

maniacmusician
March 24th, 2007, 05:03 PM
Hi guys,

I'm currently looking at the possibility of buying a new laptop. I need to run a lot of Adobe applications, so unfortunately I'm going to have to use a proprietary OS. My initial thought was to get a MacBook, and maybe just single boot OS X. As much as I love Linux, I think I should be able to cope with not running a free OS as there's a lot of open-source software for OS X and it's got a lot of the same advantages as Linux. The other option is to go for a slightly cheaper laptop, from say Dell outlet, and dual boot Vista and Ubuntu. I know a lot of people do that, but I think it would annoy me that I'd have to switch operating systems all the time, as I really wouldn't want to use Vista as my main OS.

What do you think? I really value your opinion; perhaps you can come up with some ideas I hadn't even thought about. Thanks for your help.
What I personally would do in your shoes; buy a fast, modern machine from System76, Install Windows in a virtual environment using VirtualBox, and be happy.

It's quite adequate for Adobe work, which would range from image editing to PDFs. Make sure you opt for a dual-core processor (my personal preference is something with 4MB of cache for optimal performance, but that can be a little pricey).