You’ll find a far wider selection of software for a PC than you will for a Mac.

Apple stuff is very ergonomic I find, I like my wife’s iPod so much I made her stick all my music on it! But there are reasons why most office environments will go down the PC route.

People who say you don’t need to worry about viruses, spyware and the like on macs are basically talking bollocks. You should be aware of nasty things lurking out there whatever you get.

Are you actually considering a vaio or more generally just a windows-based laptop? I agree they look smart but Vaios seem pretty expensive for what you actually get. I’m not sure I’d trust Dell after the spontaneous combustion stories (my own Latitude has scorch marks to prove it), but didn’t I read somewhere about the same problem with other brands?

Food for thought.

I only find a few comments (likely from Americans) who have expressed, as did I, the opinion that your upcoming book should keep nappies, pushchairs, and spelling, (oh my!) in the original Queen’s English. I wonder if this is really a minority opinion, or if most of us were too bashful to insert that notion into the Mac vs PC thread, as being off-topic. (Or maybe we are just oddballs.)

Your book is to be a British woman’s perspective of living in France, not some anonymous observer’s. YOUR take on living in France is absolutely British, including your voice, Tadpole’s, Mr. Frog’s delightful plurals, etc.

I know nothing of publishing, and it is likely your publisher is doing what is best for you and them financially. Still, I hope you will have a link so some of us overseas can buy the British version online, or perhaps even from your site.

Live Long and Prosper, Petite!

As for PC v Mac, I’ve owned both. I don’t really see the point in owning a Mac only to load it with Microsoft software.

For writing, I use Neo Office, Open Office or Appleworks. For photos I use iPhoto or GIMP. For browsing I use Camino or Firefox. All this stuff is for free.

Popular misconceptions:

No right click in Mac. Non. Right click has been there since late 1990s and can work if you buy a 2 button mouse or use Ctrl and click.

Only a Sony Ericsson will work with Mac. Non. I’ve got a Nokia and lots of other phones are supported.

Why oh why use Outlook? Use Mail or Thunderbird with iCal.

Mac support and backup is top notch. The people in the stores know the product.

But to add to the list of PCs to look at, check out the ultra light and slim Samsung PCs.

http://www.samsung.com/fr/products/notebookcomputer/power/seriex/index.asp

My brother has had a Samsung for the last 3 years and I’m very impressed with it.

You will be very happy with a MAC and free of Windows bugs!
Here, in Brazil, buy a Mac is very expensive and, becouse that, so impossible to have one. But MAC is a MAC.. believe

Regards

Paulo Renato

I used Windows for years, I even wrote my PhD on it. Never again….& that’s just the Windows bit…

I wouldn’t recommend Windows computers for anyone writing, especially a long piece of work. In fact, most academic colleagues I know wouldn’t touch Windows with a Cabernet Sauvignon attached to the pole… which is saying something.

I thought moving over to Mac might be tricky. It wasn’t (not for anyone with a half a brain.)

The only slight probs came with some websites that don’t cater for Macs, ane Microsoft stopped updating it’s browser ‘IE For Mac’ earlier this year – and buying a new mobile phone – apparently only Sony Ericsson phones are compatible software-wise with Macs (but it’s a damn fine, easy system). Oh, the hardships of not having a Chav Motorola V3… But maybe phone envy hasn’t reached Parisian shores. If it does, it won’t be the look of your laptop you’ll be bothered about.