I have a dilemma ...

[LauraKatJ]

Last summer, my parents bought me an HP tc4200 tablet pc before I went off to college. Well, when it arrived, it worked for about 10 minutes before it died. We spent hours on the phone with HP and a service guy finally came to our house and accidentally broke the power button while trying to replace the motherboard. So they gave me a new one. But after a few months, it started having problems. Not any serious ones, just annoying little things. But I couldn't give up my computer and send it in until summer. So for months I’ve had to push the mute button every time I open the computer so the screen turns back on. Anyway, I finally sent my computer in for repairs and they've had it for 10 days now ... they called and said something about ordering another function board.

And now for the mac part. and the dilemma.

So ever since I heard there would be a macbook, I’ve been coming to macrumors and obsessing about getting a mac. I wanted a mac last summer, but my mom convinced me that it wouldn't be compatible and I got distracted by the super cool features of tablet PCs (my mom only uses PCs and my dad only uses macs). Well, now that I’ve been at college for a year, I know for sure that macs are compatible and that I rarely use the tablet function of my pc (and the “coolness” has worn off). And I hate windows. So I had a plan: I can get a job and sell my computer ... and docking station, extra battery, extra pen, extra power adapter, monitor stand, optical drive ...except that the job hunting didn't go so well. And my mom thinks that I shouldn't sell the HP because it would be a waste of money. And I may be a little bit spoiled. (in my defense, I am a good kid and I do get good grades)

So what should I do?

I could just stick with the HP and hope it comes back working perfectly. My parents would be happy, it would hopefully work properly, I wouldn’t have to sell stuff … but I would still hate windows.

Or, I could try to sell the HP (Intel® Pentium® M Processor 750 1.86 GHz 533 MHz 2 MB, 512 MB RAM + 1 GB crucial RAM, 60GB hard drive, 12.1” screen; purchased for about $1700) plus all the accessories (separately of course). Then, I could buy the macbook I’ve been obsessing over for months and possibly get a new ipod after selling my ipod mini.

My mom doesn't want option number two because she thinks I would loose a lot of money on the laptop (well, ok she would lose the money because she bought it). Unfortunately, the HP does look a little worn after a year of use - especially the mouse buttons. Anyone have any ideas on how much I could sell it for? Oh, and she says that my aunt (who is a mac-lover and recently bought a macbook pro) says it's a bad idea to buy now because ms office isn't universal binary and some things are slow. But there's always iwork, right?

Oh, and fyi, I was considering getting the middle macbook, but now I’m thinking I could get the low-end macbook and just keep my external optical drive (it burns dual layer DVDs). I'm a science major, and I use my computer mostly for typing notes (I always bring my laptop to class), writing lab reports/papers, surfing the internet, instant messaging, and watching movies. I don't play games and I might need windows to run Origin occasionally.

Thanks for reading my long post. I would appreciate any advice on selling my tablet.

 

[pianoman]

i, too, wanted a mac for college but i was given an IBM ThinkPad as a gift and it has served me well. I upgraded the RAM and did some customization to change some of the windows features, but, alas, it is still a windows machine.

i'm keeping it until i'm done with college even though i have the necessary resources (money) to get a mac. reasoning for you: you have a perfectly good computer that gets the job done. there's nothing more to it. you can hate windows all you want, but it still gets the job done in a way that is satisfactory to you and others (or people wouldn't still use windows).

so, my advice is to keep it. and in 3 years when you're done with your undergraduate studies, you can buy yourself a mac. i'm sure they'll have some really cool things by then.

 

[miles01110]

...Oh, and she says that my aunt (who is a mac-lover and recently bought a macbook pro) says it's a bad idea to buy now because ms office isn't universal binary and some things are slow. But there's always iwork, right?

Oh, and fyi, I was considering getting the middle macbook, but now I’m thinking I could get the low-end macbook and just keep my external optical drive (it burns dual layer DVDs). I'm a science major, and I use my computer mostly for typing notes (I always bring my laptop to class), writing lab reports/papers, surfing the internet, instant messaging, and watching movies. I don't play games and I might need windows to run Origin occasionally.

The universal binary argument for something as low-end as MS Office is quite poor. First of all, iWork's Keynote and Pages are better than Powerpoint/whatever page layout program windows has. Second, if you write science reports and papers then a [free] LaTeX typesetting program should be used instead of Word. It has more functionality and outputs directly to pdf or ps format. UB programs will be coming out soon enough, but at this point unless you are a high-end photoshop user it won't make any difference whether a program is UB or not.

For any of the other functions (web, IM, movies) a Mac will do just fine. Adium for IM, Firefox or Shiira 2.0 (when it comes out) for the net, and VLC for movies.

It really depends on how much trouble you feel like going to in order to sell your pc, and how much you end up getting for it. All things being equal in the end, I'd definitely go for the mac though.

 

[LauraKatJ]

yes, I realize I have a perfectly good computer (assuming it comes back fixed) and I don't need a new computer, but I would really really really like one.

I guess my main question is how stupid is it to try to sell my tablet?

 

[darwen]

I am about to sell my tc1100 1.1GHz for a macbook. I just graduated HS and bought this computer because I thought it would be great for notes. It was tough to use for everything else.

Tablets are a pain. I recomend waiting till you graduate butt I understand that ou want to get rid of the tablet.

 

[Flowbee]

Since your parent bought the computer for you and they don't want you to sell it, you probably shouldn't. I say keep using it until you're able to get a job and buy a MacBook for yourself. Then give the tablet back to them. If the tablet breaks before then and can't be fixed, ask your parents to get you a Mac and promise to pay them back for half when you do get a job. That might be an offer they can't refuse.