Releaux
11:47 PM - 14 February, 2007
I'm a huge Mac fan and given the choice will nearly always take a Mac over a PC. I'm not a fan-boi, but Mac is my preference.
That said, if you're buying a laptop that will run Serato and nothing else then it becomes less of a platform issue and more of an issue of build quality and OS optimization. If you're already comfortable with Windows, stick with Windows. If you like Mac, go Mac. If you've never tried either, figure out what OS the friend who's going to be providing all your tech support uses and choose that.
Here are the more important things (IMO) to consider:
Build Quality
Assuming you're gigging with this thing, you're going to be exposing it to some pretty harsh environments... cigarette smoke, fog juice, small sticky fingers (if you play weddings), etc. Additionally, you're going to be using this machine when you're (hopefully) hyped up and having fun. You are less likely to be gentle with your machine in this state.
Given that, find a laptop with a keyboard that feels sturdy. One pound on it with your fists and it would simply look at you and say, "is that all you got?" I have a Gateway laptop and the keyboard is shit. It's spongy and unresponsive. My MacBook Pro, on the other hand, has possibly the best keyboard I've ever used. I've had similar positive experiences with IBM ThinkPads.
OS Optimization
If you're running Windows, the first thing I'd do is format the drive and reinstall from an XP Service Pack 2 OEM disc. Turn off everything you can get away with and never install anything you don't absolutely need. Windows is perfectly stable if you get it set up and never change it. Run some occasional maintenance software and enjoy your lovely rock-solid platform.
If you're running Mac, you probably don't need to format and install, but you do need to shut down a couple of services just to be on the paranoid side of things.
How to Choose Your Box
Now that Macs can run Windows as well as Mac OS X, it might make more sense to think of a Mac as a high-end hardware PC along the lines of an IBM, HP, or Sony machine as opposed to a less expensive (and more cheaply made) unit like Dell or Gateway. (I'm speaking in general terms... there are exceptions for every brand).
With that in mind, the MacBook Pros are actually pretty competitive price-wise with other, similarly equipped, high-end laptops. While you probably don't need all the high-end hardware, the QA and build quality on these is normally much better than an $899 unit.
Find a computer that you think will stand up to the rigors of what you intend to put it through. Then think of the rigors you don't intend to put it through. Because they will happen and they will happen to you.
I dropped PowerBook in a hotel room one time. It fell about 4.5 feet and landed on the front right corner, on a very thin carpet over a concrete floor... about as bad a scenario as you can imagine short of there being no carpet at all. The only damage was a very slight buckle on the cosmetic bezel just below the latch. Had it been awake at the time, the accelerometer would have parked the hard drive heads prior to impact to prevent a disk crash.
If the same thing had happened with my Gateway, I have no doubt that I would have been collecting pieces of plastic from all over the room.
In short - don't cheap out unless this thing is going to be kept under glass in your bedroom. Choose whatever machine feels the best to you and run the OS you want.
Note: when I talk about Mac laptops, I'm talking about the MacBook Pro series, not the iBook series. I haven't had any direct experience with those. While the build quality is probably ok, it's certainly not at the same level.
