ziggy7 Loc: Jax, Florida

I use several laptops in my wholesale business. I discovered a few sellers on Ebay who refurbish and sell gently used higher end off lease laptops at very good prices with a warranty. They are built better than consumer grade machines and have lots of extra features but can be expensive when new. The lenovos are very good, but my favorites are the Dell business laptops: Latitude E6540 has the 15" wide screen and numeric keypad and E6440 has the 14" screen without the numeric keypad. I buy them with big solid state drives. Once you experience the speed you'll never go back to spinning hard drives.
I run the E6540 on my desk with a 24" monitor and full size keyboard and mouse plugged in. I also keep a 1TB solid state drive plugged in to store my photos since they take up so much space.

That1NJGuy

Thanks everyone!

Every observation, opinion and experience is appreciated. My inclination is to stay with Windows. I've heard "creatives" like Apple better and isn't as susceptible to virus & malware. But the big con is cost. I'm a curious person, so I might embrace the learning curve (as long as it isn't too steep that patience runs out).

mjmoly

I was surprised how quickly I adapted to IOS. Of course, it was a long time ago and I may not be remembering all the hassles. But from today’s perspective I’m glad I made the switch. And if you are interested in abbApple be sure to look on their site for their refurbished equipment. I’ve purchased multiple refurbished laptops without any problem. They come with Apples warranty. And I usually purchase the extended warranty.

Good luck.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

I believe IOS is used on mobile devices such as IPads and IPhones and MacOS is used on laptops and IMacs.

dornie

I can understand because I am in the same situation. There are many alternatives. Many decades ago, I switched to Apple and have been pleased. Of course, there are some apps. I would like that only run on Windows. Apple, does under certain circumstances allow Windows apps. to operate on Apple, but I have not found that too great and It may be a matter of adjusting and getting use to. Even though Apple is more expensive. it has its up and downs. I have had bad units, but even after 2.5 years of use, they did replace them with new ones since they could repair them. Their Care Package is good, not great, and sometimes takes a little hassling. I basically us the 27 Desk Top and have for a decade while my wife uses a laptop pro.
My desk top has been replaced and my wifes laptopl pro has been working fine for over seven years. Of course, we use them for different purposes. Basically, the Apple appears to be more expensive, but you also appear to get more items as being standards than add ons and the quality may or may not be better, but appears not to be less. Presently, in comparison, the new 16 Inch Apple laptop pro appears to be thee top of the line with no one appearing to match it thus far, for example you can choose up to 8TB Storage with 64GB of Ram, it light, etc. I am leaning towards it at present. There are also other solutions such as using a "Mini Mac" instead of an EXTHD and you have a small well built unit easy to transport and just needs a keyboard and monitor (can use other computers), so no matter where you go you have a computer in a big coat pocket with all the pics, editing, etc. Of course, there are still various forms of storage such as the EXTHD, FLASH UNITS, MEMORY CARDS, DISC, and the list goes on. So there are a lot of choices and combinations depending on what you can afford and of course, prefer.....its just the frustration in choosing, but it is usually something that can be changed or adjusted with todays return policies, so I would also consider choosing vendors with suitable return or exchange policies. The bigger ones are usually more liberal because they can afford todo so and their reputation is important. I have returned cameras/lens in the five figures to vendors via Amazon, Ebay, with no problem and of course your big camera firms. So its not only what you do, its HOW you do it to lower any risk. Fun, fun,...no..just patience and good luck. I am 90 and doing it quite a while...

aellman Loc: Boston MA

It's more than a couple hundred dollars difference. The prices of Windows laptops has plummeted. Shop carefully, and you'll find amazing deals.