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I want to upgrade the aging Dell (WinXP) my wife uses at home. Here I am with a new 27" iMac, and she's clunking away on this junky Optiplex and 17" CRT monitor.
Ninety percent of the time she's on our office network via VPN, using the clinical-software client (eClinicalWorks EMR); the rest of the time she's in email or on the Web (I set her up with Thunderbird and Firefox). Occasionally she uses M$ Word to compose a letter. But the computer is slow, especially loading Web pages.
So I could just get her a more up-to-date Dell or HP or something. Or I could get a Mac Mini or iMac. If the latter, I'm faced with having her either use Bootcamp and turn the Mac into a PC (in which case, what's the point?), or launch Parallels or Fusion and run Windows as a virtual machine. She is not tech-savvy, and gets frustrated when something doesn't 'just work' (but then, don't we all?). So I probably should avoid having her take extra steps to get on the VPN.
I guess the question is: Is there any real advantage to getting a Mac, when 90% of the time she's going to be working in Windows? I was thinking of the iMac, because because of the old 17" CRT monitor, but I could also get a Dell or other package with an LCD monitor, e.g.
http://www.dell.com/us/p/inspiron-560/pd?oc=dddoaa6&model_id=inspiron-56
picked at random.
If not a Mac, PC suggestions/deals welcome. :drool:
/Mr Lynn
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Been married long?
Ask your wife.
She has seen what you do with your Mac. She knows what she wants. Your mission is to maintain whatever she wants. Let her choose the platform and give her some input on the hardware. Keep her as involved in the decision as possible.
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I'd have to agree with Bernie. And then I'd get her a PC b/c they are dirt cheap and will run circles around that old dell. I've got a MBP, but a PC is our main family system. With Windows 7, it's really not that bad.
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Given her usage, I'd say a PC. Besides, it is what she is used to. If you get her a new PC with a spiffy LCD, she will love it.
Although, you might show her how your iMac works as both a Mac and PC with Parallels/Fusion and see if that might work for her.
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I should add that I did get my wife a G4 iMac some years ago, which she used until we went to electronic medical records on a Windows-based system. In those days, running the VPN and eCW clients under Virtual PC (remember that?) was not a viable option.
We still have the G4 iMac, used only for guests and an occasional iChat.
PC suggestions? I can get off-lease IBMs and Dells down the street for short money (c. $200), but might spring for something newer.
/Mr Lynn
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I've tried setting up a few PC people, who really needed Windows as their main OS on a Mac and they never really liked it. There are some flaws in the bootcamp drivers for the hardware that make some things not work correctly and there is no fix(multiple monitors and hot swapping). Apple doesn't support bootcamp so you can't call up and get any support. I ended up replacing them with decent Dell laptops.
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Test the bejeezus out of that PC app on your mac using whatever tools you have (Fusion, Paralells, winebottler, or whatever...)
ONLY after getting a really good idea for yourself how well it works should you pitch the idea of a Mac to your wife.. and even then, if she says "PC"... that's what it'll be.
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Get the PC if she's using a Windows-specific app 90% of the time.
As for recommendations, well you haven't given us much to go on. Does she need full-featured? Thin and light? 13"? 17"?
I will say that of all the PC laptops I've used over the years, the only one that has had any sort of difference is the thinkpad line, originally from IBM and now from Lenovo. While there are some cheaper laptops with the Thinkpad name slapped on them, the nicer ones are built practically, they are solid, and tough. (Not generally the lightest things in the world but it sounds like she's not a road warrior.
Some HP notebooks rival the thinkpad in build quality as well. Not the consumer disposable crap they have in best buy, the nicer ones marketed towards business users.
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mrlynn wrote:
Ninety percent of the time she's on our office network via VPN, using the clinical-software client (eClinicalWorks EMR); the rest of the time she's in email or on the Web
I thought eClinicalWorks EMR was web-based. Must it run under Windows?
...turn the Mac into a PC (in which case, what's the point?)
The point is that you will have given her the nicest "PC" available.
Is there any real advantage to getting a Mac, when 90% of the time she's going to be working in Windows?
Reliability, longevity, support, and given that it's in a home environment, compact clutter-free aesthetics.
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Should have been clearer: She doesn't need a laptop. She works in her little home office at her desk. So I'm looking for a desktop.
Actually, she has a Fujitsu 2010 tablet, which she uses out at the medical office (in addition to a desktop), but she does't bring that home.
P:aul, the eCW client works fine on my Macs running an XP VM under Parallels 4.
/Mr Lynn
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