Hey PC guys....

[Rockefella]

does anybody know about how to record tv from a satelite box onto your windows pc?

this interests me. is it just an antenna that plugs into the coaxial out on the box and then sends a wireless signal to your pc?

You need a video card with TV capture or a TV tuner. Basically it's a video card with a coaxial jack fixed to it that you can run a cable to (from SAT to PC).

Looks like this:

[Matra et Alpine]

^^^ you also get external USB ones

re HP "reliability" ... one of the big issues is they sell bucket loads and so QUANTITY of failures reports can get skewed significantly. Was an issue a few years back when they fell into the trap of remote call centres the way to deliver service.

Drivers they are historically VERY bad for as Windows upgraded but Win7 seems to have resolved that

Early laptops they carried over too much "Business" mindset and home users would overheat the machines by sealing all the cooling vents with their laps - pesky users. ( many others hit similar problems ). Latest HPs have "intelligent cooling" whcih sounds good but to me educating the user/owner woudl be better US market I guess !!!!!

Hard time to chose ... oh and how important is batter life ?
Are you anti AMD ? Heard their new mobile chips are MUCH lower consumption and should lead to longer run times.

[roosterjuicer]

So with the TV tuner, do you have to run a cable to your computer? is there no way to do it wirelessly? I would love to be able to watch football on my computer sitting next to my wife while she is watching tv upstairs from my box downstairs.

[Matra et Alpine]

depends on your tv ( new ones do support network broadcast amongst media devices ).
As that's unlikely then media player device at tv and wireless or wired networking to each. GREAT justification for buying a new XBox Or stick an old PC beside the telly - BETTER justification for buying a new PC

[roosterjuicer]

Does anybody know anything about running windows on bootcamp vs simply running windows on a windows computer? is there any loss of functionality whatsoever by running it on bootcamp?

I was thinking about possibly just getting another mac and running it solely as a windows machine.

[Matra et Alpine]

no loss, bootcamp lets you decide at boot time whetehr Mac or Windows.
Only proviso watch out for drivers for the age of your macbook.
BUT, why oh why would you pay the premium on an APple pice of hardware ( +£300 MINIMUM ) and then only run windoze ?
APple do NOT MAKE THEIR OWN ... Asustek , Quanta , FOxconn .... who pretty much make everyone elses laptops too
Pick a laptop with the matching chipset, processor, memory speeds, connectivity and you're pretty much the same product !!!

PS: if cabling a major issue then you can also transmit the tv signal once decoded over the air with cheap tv signal extenders ... BUT watch out some of them interfere badly with the internet wireless signals.

[roosterjuicer]

no loss, bootcamp lets you decide at boot time whetehr Mac or Windows.
Only proviso watch out for drivers for the age of your macbook.
BUT, why oh why would you pay the premium on an APple pice of hardware ( +£300 MINIMUM ) and then only run windoze ?
APple do NOT MAKE THEIR OWN ... Asustek , Quanta , FOxconn .... who pretty much make everyone elses laptops too
Pick a laptop with the matching chipset, processor, memory speeds, connectivity and you're pretty much the same product !!!

PS: if cabling a major issue then you can also transmit the tv signal once decoded over the air with cheap tv signal extenders ... BUT watch out some of them interfere badly with the internet wireless signals.

Here's my problem. I am a chicken-shit and I am afraid of change. I am worried i wont like windows and i want apple to fall back on.

Secondly, battery life. A macbook pro gets about 3 hours more battery life than an equivalently equipped windows laptop.

3rd. The two windows computers i have narrowed it down to aren't designed as well as the mac. I dont like the "feel" of them, the buttons, the mouses, etc...

[NSXType-R]

Does anybody know anything about running windows on bootcamp vs simply running windows on a windows computer? is there any loss of functionality whatsoever by running it on bootcamp?

I was thinking about possibly just getting another mac and running it solely as a windows machine.

No, I run Bootcamp and it runs fine. XP though, not Windows 7.

Just curious, what happened to your Mac anyway?

I have a previous gen white MacBook from 3 years ago, it's running fine. Got it in the summer of 2008.

Personally, I'd get a new 13 inch MacBook Pro, I'm used to the size of the 13 inch one.

[Brix]

Here's my problem. I am a chicken-shit and I am afraid of change. I am worried i wont like windows and i want apple to fall back on.

Secondly, battery life. A macbook pro gets about 3 hours more battery life than an equivalently equipped windows laptop.

3rd. The two windows computers i have narrowed it down to aren't designed as well as the mac. I dont like the "feel" of them, the buttons, the mouses, etc...

Go for a Mac once again .
My experience with mac computers is that the newer model you have, the more reliable it will become. (I've made a lot of friends change from Windows to Mac, and all of theirs run 100% without problems)

[roosterjuicer]

I have been a mac guy since 2002. And it seems that the newer they are, the less reliable they are. My g4 800mhz imac still runs like a charm and never, ever had a single problem of any kind, whatsoever.

I cant say the same for my core duo macbook pro and my core duo imac.

But since you are the resident mac pimp :^) what do you know about bootcamp? Is there any loss of functionality? Could i theoretically never run mac os X after initially installing bootcamp and windows?

[Brix]

I have been a mac guy since 2002. And it seems that the newer they are, the less reliable they are. My g4 800mhz imac still runs like a charm and never, ever had a single problem of any kind, whatsoever.

I cant say the same for my core duo macbook pro and my core duo imac.

But since you are the resident mac pimp :^) what do you know about bootcamp? Is there any loss of functionality? Could i theoretically never run mac os X after initially installing bootcamp and windows?

The old PPC Mac's are reliable as a Toyota (now we have some car in the thread)
But all Intel Mac's has only gotten more reliable, believe me .

I will experimenting with Bootcamp for the first time soon, but what happens when you boot camp is that you take a partion of your Harddrive which will be the "Windows part". When you then boot up in Windows, it will be exactly like having a normal windows computer, as you active the Windows HDD part, which uses the computer (think of it like having 2 real computers in 1).
And yes, you can choose to run Windows only when running Boot Camp, but why would you do that

[Matra et Alpine]

Mac reliability comes from the manufacturer .... who are the same ones used by HP, Dell, etc etc etc The rest is MYTH

@rooster: erm battery life proably not comparing like with like so hitting Apple bias
ESPECIALLY ask about battery life in expected use. NOBODY can drive a Blu-Ray video onto a large 1080p screen in full HD for much longer than one disk plus extras and that's with a laptop with 10 hours quoted life. oh, I presume you want a replaceable battery. Granted Mac non-replacable battery is "better" by a small bit, but then you cant upgrade the battery in a couple of years and lets not even go to warranty claims on purely battery LIFE ( iirc Apple cite 300 full charging cycles, which if you used it all day battery till empty and then charge night means <1 year )

The lies of battery life are up there with the ones on ink coverage and costs. Nobody compares the same and do not believe a single published number. Get real examples from friends/colleagues/reviews

BUT look and feel is definately where it should be. Just decide whether the extra cost is worth it .... or just add an Apple Magic Trackpad for $75

EDIT: PS: You wanting to do gaming on such a great beast ?

AND are you desperate for it now or wait tilll the latest sandy bridge offerings start shipping in quantity as there you can get better power saving AND usb 3 etc etc

[culver]

I will add only a bit here. I like Apple but I don't want to get a computer that is so clamped down and "do it our way" like the mac. I also don't like that I got a much more powerful Dell CAD laptop for the same price as a 15" MacBook Pro.... but mine has a 1920x1200 screen.

Anyway, I did have good luck with my last HP cheapie laptop. I also had great luck with my 2003 HP/Compaq. My older Dell M20 was fine and Dell's tech support was perhaps even better than Apple's. Apple was great when I was having trouble with my iPod Touch. In the end the problem was magnets in my case affecting the iPod. Apple replaced the case for free even though the original case wasn't purchased from Apple. This was after they had already replaced the iPod 3 times without complaint.

Dell's home line doesn't have a good reputation for service. However, the Latitude and Precision business lines are VERY good with respect to customer care. They will bend over backwards to keep you happy for the 3 years of the warranty. HP business lines may be the same way as well. The consumer lines typically have lower quality care but the one time I needed it with an HP laptop they did come through.

If customer service is something you are worried about, look at the business vs home line laptops. Also Dell's refurb business machines have great warranties and are in great condition. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another refurb from them.

[Matra et Alpine]

^^^ yeah good point on the business lines. Tho' I've used refurbs for small companies on tight budgets ONLY get a refurb with extended support/warranty. There is always the smallest risk of a machine coming in and being NFF - No Fault Found - which might be intermittent/marginal and could happen again.

[culver]

^^^ yeah good point on the business lines. Tho' I've used refurbs for small companies on tight budgets ONLY get a refurb with extended support/warranty. There is always the smallest risk of a machine coming in and being NFF - No Fault Found - which might be intermittent/marginal and could happen again.

With my most recent computer Dell ended up replacing it twice. I can't recommend the M4400 I have for a number of reasons (it's a discontinued model anyway) but Dell certainly tried very hard to make sure the service and support was there when I had trouble. I started off with a refurb and ended up with a new computer... the second new computer even worked