Mac vs. PC: How to Decide

· If the laptop will be carried around a lot, get one lighter than six pounds.

· More is better when it comes to USB ports, the universal way to attach peripherals such as printers and flash drives.

· A DVD-burner drive can be useful-- not necessarily for home movie-making, but to back up data.

· If movie-making is likely, the computer should have a FireWire (a.k.a. "1394" or "i.Link") port.

· If the PC will be used to play fast-paced computer games, get a machine with a separate graphics card that has 256 megabytes of its own memory.

Notice how this story hasn't included the term "processor speed" until now? That's because you can usually ignore that number. Aside from video editing, it's difficult to tax the capabilities of any new processor; the chip will be waiting on you, not the other way around.