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RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!!

How in the name of the emperors right testicle can anyone use the things?

I've had one for over 2 1/2 years and it's driving me crazy. I only got one as it was either that or vista... the lesser of two evils. But the result was still evil.

My MS word decided to spontaneously not work. There's cracks on the wrist rest, it over heats ('lap'top?) Sure it looks nice. But its like a hottie with some sort of veneral disease - nice to look at from a distance but you dont want to get up close.

Earlier today I couldn't update a program as I hadn't 'permission' to write into my own hard disk. I MEAN WHAT THE !!!??!??!?

Maybe I'm just hyper frustrated. I'm supposed to be doing a PhD, it's not very easy with absolutely no proper computer and feeling like I want to smash the thing to bits.

I've not been having much luck with technology lately. Last week my printer has decided to eat paper and generally be annoying and just plain not work (it likes to spill ink all over the page too). So I kicked it repeatedly until it died and I felt better.

Anyone any suggestions (don't suggest 'buy a pc' I have one, but it's not ergonomic to use)

Don't use MS word, get Open Office.
Not as clunky as MS office which In my opinion wasn't that great but has been downhill since the 2003 version.

Gwar! will probably be here eventually to point out all the problems.

Open office wont work with EndNote though

Get a type writer.

I've owned six different Macs over the years. Only ever had one that has had defects with it when cared for properly, but such is the peril of buying a first run product from any company. Try using the disk repair tool to "Repair Disk Permissions" this can help clean up some silly little errors and permission related issues caused by programs that aren't written very well (MS WORD, etc.). The problem with Macs I find tend to be caused by programs not made by Apple. Its like bringing a flea infested hobo into your home. Yes it will function fine within the premisis, but eventually it's bugs will spread and cause you pain later. I also agree that office 2003 was the best version so far and the one I actually went back to on all of my Macs.

If you decide to go ballistic on your laptop like you did your printer, let me know. Perhaps you could throw it out the window in frustration as I drive by with a net and take it to safety where it will then be loved and cared for.

(On a side note, laptops get hot when not ventilated properly. Which is why I don't use them on my lap, it's a mis-nomer now a days. They actually mean portable heating pad with computer-like abilities. Desktops are better and iPads serve my mobility needs better. My laptops have now been shelved. )

Apple's own Office package called iWork is pretty good and cheaper than MS Office.

Techtool Pro is the utility for fixing hard disk problems on mac. It will also test your hardware and give early warning of problems.

Don't forget to back up your documents religiously. My brother (works in a university computer support department) has a number of sad stories about students who lost their entire thesis the week before it was due for submission, and hadn't kept a backup.

A USB stick is a good, tough back-up device, providing you don't lose it because it is too small.

It's just that its not reliable. It has been cared for and yet is still a hunk of junk. I'm just getting a bit hacked off at it.

Also end note doesn't work with the pages or whatever. Hence lack of support.

They are supposed to be less hassle/less stress but no. It's like the exist and then people look for problems for the mac to solve, not that they were created to solve anything. It's frustrating.

For no reason my MS word just dies.

Maybe you should buy a cheapo Windows 7 laptop to finish your thesis. You can get one for about £300.

You can solve most problems on a mac by right clicking then pressing fix. That's what I heard.

I love macs.. but as a user of both it seems macs tend to be more stable, yet when a mac does crash it's 10x worse than when a PC does.

I've gone through 3 hard drives on my last mac tower (6 year old G5), and learned recently that it's because the hard drive bay area tends to overheat very easily.

I'm on a PC now, windows 7 seems like the best version so far even though they just copied off the mac os as usual.

Are you sure it is the chassis rather than the placement of the unit?

I work with macs on a daily basis as the enterprise I am employed by has our workforce on bootcamped macminis. That being said, mac's especially MacBooks tend to run quite a bit hotter than PC's as previously stated. Macs imo are made for people who haven't had much experience with a computer in general and have in depth things omitted or fairly well hidden within the OS. I would definately recommend a W7 PC if you are having all of these problems currently, or you could just do some extra work and educate yourself about the problems you are having in hopes of fixing them yourself.

I've never before heard Unix described as an operating system for people who haven't much experience with a computer in general.

In the Windows environment, that generally means the OS has had so much stuff installed it's now in need of a complete reboot - i.e. a format. Why not reinstall the OS, or upgrade to a newer version?

Or perhaps even using bootcamp to install Windows 7 (or even XP, but I don't know how tech-savvy you are in case there's any problem with the drivers).

Also, I'd recommend opening up the laptop (not for the faint hearted and inexperienced - do a lot of research, and it'll take you a couple of hours) or ask someone who's done it to do it for you. The amount of dust that gathers and clutters at the vents is simply amazing, I once opened my one-and-a-half year old LG and removed THREE finger-sized blocks of concentrated dust. It went from 90º celsius to 65-70 if I remember correctly.

Also, changing the thermal paste on the CPU will probably do wonders, as these things degrade very fast.

Perhaps a new disk? A cheap and small SSD (from what I understand you only use text processors, so together with a reinstalled OS you can have a very snappy, responsive machine).

By the way, out of curiosity, what is your PhD thesis? And good luck with it :p

I fear macs and not being able to transfer my data or use my external hard drives.

And:

Use Ubuntu.

Thanks. I basically installed 'newer' word (2008) while uninstalling the old one. Then my referenceing software would work but not with word as it needed a patch, however the automatic update didn't work and then I had to manually do it.

**NOW** it is all working again. I still think that it will be back to the pc for me when the crackbook comes to the end of it's life.

When they work they work, when they don't you cant bodge it and fix it as easily as windows...

also my PhD is on Type 1 Diabetes and how to prevent the triggering autoimmune response that causes destruction of the pancreatic cells.

Use your Pc I would format it install windows xp and go from there that would be your best bet I bought a mac and a pc with vista sold them both