Robbo
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Registered: 6th Aug 02
Location: London
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hmm, just thinkign actually... she wouldnt need Windows necy (I think, have ti confirm), just Office... is Office on a Mac exactly the same (subject to OSX UE) ?
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evilrob
Premium Member
Registered: 16th Mar 12
Location: Your mum's house
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quote:
Originally posted by Robbo
is Office on a Mac exactly the same (subject to OSX UE) ?
No. I can't stand it, personally.
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John
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Registered: 30th Jun 03
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Pretty much the same but depends what she'll be using it for.
I've had issues with powerpoint, excel and word documents, normally with how they display something.
Outlook, if required, will only work with Exchange 2007 onwards, doesn't work with 2003.
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Robbo
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Registered: 6th Aug 02
Location: London
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okies, cheers
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evilrob
Premium Member
Registered: 16th Mar 12
Location: Your mum's house
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Bit of an "out there" idea - considered a Surface 2 tablet? Maybe with a type cover if she needs to do a lot of typing.
If she doesn't need any other desktop Windows applications (like iTunes for example), a Surface 2 comes with Office 2013 preinstalled so no additional cost there (but note that you can't do VBA macros; other than that it's the real deal). You also get 200Gb cloud storage included for two years (£5 a month/£60 a year thereafter, or less if you don't need 200Gb) for all her photos of handbags and kittens and whatever, and a year's worth of free Skype (which works really well with the high-quailty built-in cameras).
10 hour battery life, 1080P HD screen, and weighs fuck all (0.67kg). Available from £359. Type cover is an additional £110 (or it works well with bluetooth / USB peripherals if she already has those). Storage can be boosted with MicroSD card via the internal SD card slot, or you can add an external hard drive thanks to a full-sized USB3 port, or you could look into getting some sort of NAS setup; you could afford any/all of these options and still be well under budget.
What services does she use for streaming stuff? Netflix works nicely, and there are several music services - it ships with Xbox Music (and seems to include Xbox Music Pass - I've not found anything I can't play on it yet) - but also Deezer, Nokia MixRadio, Tunein Radio amongst others.
There's no official Spotify app yet, but the website player works fine due to the 'desktop quality' web browser, or there is the third party Spotlite app available which seems to work OK.
If she does have particular absolute must-have Windows apps other than Office she needs to use, then maybe a Surface Pro might fit the bill (but this doesn't come with Office - you'd have to buy that separately). I've been using a first-gen one for a day or so now and like the Windows Phone I've had for about six months now, it's surprisingly not shit. Only downsides are sucky battery life ~5hrs and the angle of the kickstand (which can be solved with any number of third party cases). These weigh in at £519 for first gen (no free cloud storage or Skype) or £799 for second gen (200gb cloud storage for two years, one year of Skype, faster, lighter, has a better battery life, and better kickstand with multiple angles).
[Edited on 09-03-2014 by evilrob]
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Doug
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Registered: 8th Oct 03
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That's actually not a terrible idea
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pow
Premium Member
Registered: 11th Sep 06
Location: Hazlemere, Buckinghamshire
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Im hankering after a surface pro 2 256gb with 8gb ram and a desk stand now
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AndyKent
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Registered: 3rd Sep 05
User status: Offline
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What Rob said.
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evilrob
Premium Member
Registered: 16th Mar 12
Location: Your mum's house
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quote:
Originally posted by pow
Im hankering after a surface pro 2 256gb with 8gb ram and a desk stand now
Join the club - big dollars though! I've spent some good time buggering about with this first-gen Surface Pro I got for £450ish the other day - for the money, it's fucking brilliant; good enough that I'm not wishing I'd shelled out a bit more for the newer one.
I'll definitely take a good look at the next revision whenever it comes out.
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pow
Premium Member
Registered: 11th Sep 06
Location: Hazlemere, Buckinghamshire
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I'm gunna try and sneak one through my budget this yr
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Robbo
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Registered: 6th Aug 02
Location: London
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Will ask her about her thoughts, cheers!
Shes tempted by the dell, refurved MBA and Yoga though  thinks she cna get a 20% discount on dell's through a friend so think she'll likely plump for that but will suggest this also!
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