New computer purchase-Mac w/ Parallels or PC?

Parent Cafe
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<p>My husband has decided instead of using a remote program between home and work that we would just get a new computer for the house and I would do the bill paying on that computer. We both have laptops, me a Macbook and he has a Dell. I have been trying to convert him to a Mac, but that isn’t happening; he hates change!</p>

<p>I do not know yet if we will buy a desktop of another laptop, but I really want a Mac; a desktop would most likely be better as it will make us stay in the office and do work instead of parking our butts on the sofa in front of the TV. I am the one that will have to deal with repairs, and I have loved being able to make an appointment at the Apple store, walking in and having my problem taken care of. We do have a person that has always done our PC repairs and he comes to the house, but over time his prices are higher than getting and extended Apple warranty. He does also service Apple, but complains about it!</p>

<p>For those that have a Mac running Parallels, is it pretty flawless? For the office bills we will be using Quickbooks Pro and right now for home bills we are still using Quicken. If my husband starts using the home computer more instead of his laptop, he will want Microsoft Office in the PC side and maybe a few other programs, that I can’t think of right now. I know I should just go with a PC, but after using a Mac for 3 years, I really forget how to do some things on a PC. I might be able to convince my husband to get a Mac if Parallels really works well.</p>

<p>Tell me why I would be better with a PC and make my husband happy, but know that a Mac desktop would look so cool in our home office ;-)</p>

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<p>Can you put Parallels on your current laptop and let him try it out?</p>

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<p>There are two versions of QB Pro 2010 (Mac and PC). According to Amazon’s user comments for the Mac version, a majority of Mac users who need to convert to Windows found serious flaws. So using the Mac version is not worth the effort. Yes you can use Parallels to run the Windows version of QB Pro, but that also means that you will need to purchase a copy of Windows 7 or a compatible Windows version that your husband uses at his office. And the standard IMac keyboard has no numeric keypad. Like everything Apple, that’s more money.</p>

<p>You’ve paid a premium for the IMac. You need a copy of Windows and the PC version of QB Pro and, likely, the enhanced IMac keyboard. And your husband will have to boot up twice to get into Windows in order to get any work done. For him, I’m not seeing any “upside”. You also mentioned other software that he uses. Are these Windows only programs? Are there Mac versions? Are they compatible? How much time do you see your husband spending on the Apple side of the fence? </p>

<p>If your husband is a serious QB Pro user because of his job or because he’s a small business owner, the word “cool” may not come quickly to mind when his quarterly reports are due…</p>

<p>See: [Amazon.com:</a> QuickBooks 2010 for Mac: Software](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Intuit-409578-QuickBooks-2010-for/dp/B002KINBBU]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/Intuit-409578-QuickBooks-2010-for/dp/B002KINBBU)</p>

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You can probably buy a PC desktop/laptop with a premium service level that provides in-home repairs, maybe for less than the higher price Apple charges for their laptops/desktops. If you opt for a desktop especially, it’d probably be more convenient to have it fixed remotely or by an in-home technician than disconnecting it and carting it to an Apple store.</p>

<p>You’ll remember quickly enough how to do what you want on a PC.</p>

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<p>Y’all are not helping my case :frowning: </p>

<p>My husband will not use the Mac as much as I will; he would just use the PC side for Quickbooks and Quicken. We would not use Quicken or Quickbooks for the Mac, only the PC. While my husband does use my Mac on occasion, he prefers his laptop just like I prefer mine, because we each like and know our own better. </p>

<p>We did have in home service on our Dells while under warranty, so we could do that again. I guess if we get a PC again I will have to research as I am not sure I would buy Dell again; although I have been happy enough with our Dells. It has been 4 years or so since we have purchased a new PC; I guess this will be my project for this month! </p>

<p>I will have to think about this more, even though I know a PC would be the way to go; our wallet would be much heavier if we still with a PC.</p>

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<p>I think the factor of getting what you ‘want’ rather than whatever’s the most practical or least expensive has some validity so if you really want a MAC and your H doesn’t mind (too much) then I think you should get it - you have a right to splurge a bit if you want - it’ll boost your endorphins as the practical benefit.</p>

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<p>My dad went through this with his computer a couple of years ago. He has a Mac and bought Parallels, with the specific intention of using it for QuickBooks for his business. He also bought another virtual drive built for Mac…can’t recall the name off the top of my head.</p>

<p>He would tell you that it was kind of problematic running the dual machines, and would say that the data was fine but it wasn’t effortless. There was confusion, more than once. </p>

<p>He finally decided to do all of his business banking on his cheap laptop PC only, take Parallels off the Mac and be done with the virtual drive. Since then, he has been much happier with no data issues. </p>

<p>I have Quicken for my Mac, no problems. I am not running QuickBooks on it, though.</p>

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<p>I’m using a Mac Mini and VMWare Fusion to run Window7. No need to boot twice, Windows runs in a window on the Mac desktop. </p>

<p>The only reason I run Windiws 7 is to run Quicken 2010. Runs flawlessly. I put my Mac to sleep and when it wakes up in about 2 seconds I have OSX and Windows 7. No issue at all. </p>

<p>Parallels is a competitor of Fusion. I prefer Fusion but Parallels would do the same thing.</p>

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<p>Already splurged on my current Macbook, so would feel guilty doing it again! Plus, if the windows part does not work as my husband expects, it will be my fault. He is very grumpy when it comes to computers and is not very patient with them.</p>

<p>I had not idea there was another program other than Parallels; I will have to look into that, if my husband will give in!</p>

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<p>I would purchase a Dell! They’re solid computers. You could do so under the agreement that the next computer upgrade/purchase will be an Apple product. This way you make your husband happy AND further down the road the most advanced PC in your home will be a Mac ;).</p>

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<p>I don’t think you need to reboot with Parallels. That should no longer be a problem and Parallels has many happy customers. </p>

<p>This said, I do no think it makes much sense to purchase a Mac for the purpose of running Windows products, as this seems to intimate that the Mac deliver a more pleasant experience. I think the Mac are nice looking, but way overrated by their users. For someone who is comfortable with Windows, learning a new environment is nothing but a pain. While the Mac software applications can be equal to the Window, a number of them are problematic or hopelessly behind.</p>

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<p>Dell has had a lot of problems with their products lately.</p>

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<p>In our house, the person USING the computer gets to choose the platform. Some have Mac…some have PCs. I will say…we all have laptops so we don’t need to worry about having Windows software on the Macs. The PC folks use their laptops and the Mac folks use theirs.</p>

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<p><a href=“In Suit Over Faulty Computers, Window to Dell’s Fall - The New York Times”>In Suit Over Faulty Computers, Window to Dell’s Fall - The New York Times;

<p>Suit Over Faulty Computers Highlights Dell’s Decline</p>

<p>After the math department at the University of Texas noticed some of its Dell computers failing, Dell examined the machines. The company came up with an unusual reason for the computers’ demise: the school had overtaxed the machines by making them perform difficult math calculations.</p>

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<p>Dell could have claimed to be surprised that the students actually … used their computers. They probably underestimated the taxing use of Facebook and online games. :)</p>

<p>Dell is hardly the only company with problems. A great number of very popular HP notebooks (yes the glossy ones that were ubiquitous a few years back) suffered from problems (internet failures, video failures, and total motherboard meltdown) that were WELL KNOWN by HP. HP response was to delay the replacement or deny the problem even existed. When models reached the end of the warranty, the well-trained technicians in Bangalore or other similar locales simply switched the scripts to announce that there was a fix … give us 400 dollars and we fix the motherboard. Not only did those morons lie ad nauseam, but they insulted your intelligence with an annoying accent! </p>

<p>This is the definition of a global business: get the Chinese in Shangai to slap utter crap together, sell it to hordes of unsuspecting customers at the Best Buy and Walmart of the world, and then use thousands of Indians to pretend they work in 'customer service." The only solution is to consider the notebooks for what they are: cheap and shoddy pieces of equipment that WILL fail. If the darn thing lasts more than 24 months, consider yourself lucky. If not, just buy another one and unload your source of aggravation on Craig list. </p>

<p>As far as I am concerned, there are no differences between the companies. It is only a matter of luck to get a computer that won’t fail. Planned obsolescence has been elevated to a science by every one of the companies, be it Dell, HP, Gateway, Lenovo, AND … Apple. The only difference is in the smugness and the hype. And yes that IPad and Iphone 4 are so cool! But Apple still does not think that you should be able to choose your carrier when traveling abroad. ;)</p>

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<p>All of our PC’s have been Dells, and we have had quite a few! My personal issues with Dell are more with customer service; but when you purchase through the business side, you actually get tech support in the USA, unless that has changed recently. I would most likely stick with Dell and I think we would get a desktop so that we will have one computer with a larger monitor.</p>

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<p>I have a lot of Dell systems too and they all work, even the ones that are 10 years old. We had a ton of failures on Dell systems at the office though.</p>

<p>I have two Dell Core i7 systems that I bought refurbished for under $600 each. These are quad-core hyperthreaded systems and they absolutely smoke on performance. I think that component prices are higher now than when I bought that system.</p>

<p>I also have a 27 inch iMac that I got for the kids at school. Wonderful system and I love using it for work but never get the chance. If I were to replace my current aging desktop at home (from 2004) I’d go with an iMac.</p>

<p>The article that I linked indicated problems with their business systems.</p>

<p>I’m on another notebook forum for Dell laptops and the numbers of problems that people have had with faulty Dell laptops and issues over customer service are unreal. There are very long threads with hints and tips on what to say to CS reps to try and get problems resolved.</p>

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<p>I got a Macbook (the cheapest one, $900 with the college discount) and I’ve been running Windows Vista (and hopefully Windows 7 soon) with Bootcamp on it. Seems to be working out very well right now.</p>

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<p>My last PC was a Dell. </p>

<p>I will never own another one. Or PC, for that matter.</p>

<p>I bought the computer with a 90 days, same as cash credit card. Paid for one month with a check, the next with a bill payment online. Couldn’t understand why they didn’t take my payment off the next month’s invoice…turns out that even though I had a cancelled check endorsed by Dell, the customer service department couldn’t figure out where the payment was applied. Instead of them nicely taking the charge off my bill which was paid in full, I dealt with customer service representatives for hours on end for the next 8 months. I got threatening emails from Dell each month, too. It didn’t ruin my credit, because I was on top of it - but it wasn’t until a strongly worded letter written to Michael Dell did this problem get resolved. </p>

<p>I bought the extended warranty, which was helpful. At about day 91, my backlight went out in my flat screen monitor. Supposedly, a Dell flat screen monitor…that’s what they charged me for. Found out they substituted another manufacturer’s monitor as their product, but wouldn’t honor the warranty. I had to put up my credit card for collateral to get a new monitor. </p>

<p>Hard drive failure within 1 year - no Carbonite backup system available, then, either - so all that data was lost. </p>

<p>2nd Hard drive failure about 15 months later. Yup, lost all the data. Again. I had a backup drive, so I was able to get the data back with a bit of effort. </p>

<p>Every time I had to call a Customer service agent for tech support, it was an exercise in frustration. Yes, I have tried that. Yes, I have plugged in my machine. Yes, I know how to turn the machine on. We would walk through these endless repetitive steps to get nowhere.</p>

<p>At least if I have a problem with APPLE I go to their store, they have a look-see and I am either on my way, or leave it with a genius for a couple of days. Way better. I don’t usually want to strangle someone after these in-person encounters. ;)</p>

<p>All computers have planned obsolescence built in. I prefer to deal with Apple. At least</p>