Well I do have the money, I'm just trying to decide what I really need to spend for what I want to do, and I'm leaning towards the Eee PC. I figure that for $500, it's cheap enough that I can use it for a year or two and then replace it with a fully featured laptop, probably the next generation of macbook, and at that time my Desktop will be past its peak as well.
The Netbook is 2.3 pounds with a 10" screen, and apparently lasts 5 hours with a heavy load and more like 6+ with a normal to light load.
The Macbook is 4.5 pounds with a 13.3" screen, and I hear the battery lasts 3-4 hours.
The reason I personally knock mac is you're required to pay a premium for the brand. I have the same problem with Sony laptops, they're not any better and build quality is no better than Dell or HP yet it costs a good 200$ more for the same spec laptops. With Mac it's like $500 more.
I understand that Apple is able to mark up their products simply because of their well-known closed brand, but there's also a quality and sleekness that is inferred by their products. It slightly justifies the price (kind of).
NeonBlackJack on
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minor incidentexpert in a dying fieldnjRegistered Userregular
The reason I personally knock mac is you're required to pay a premium for the brand. I have the same problem with Sony laptops, they're not any better and build quality is no better than Dell or HP yet it costs a good 200$ more for the same spec laptops. With Mac it's like $500 more.
Really? Are we actually gonna go there?
Because I just spec'd out an Alienware and a Dell to be comparable to my MacBook Pro (MSRP $1999). The Alienware came out to about $1975 and the Dell came out to almost $1700 but I couldn't get it CLOSE to the specs on mine. Even the Alienware is heavier, thicker, and has slower RAM.
This is a stupid myth that used to be true, but now just lives on because Apple doesn't compete on the low end of the PC spectrum.
minor incident on
Ah, it stinks, it sucks, it's anthropologically unjust
They are pretty slick but, quality wise, if they're so good why does everyone recommend Apple Care?
I have a Dell now and had a Dell before it that lasted 3 years with no problems, I only switched to upgrade.
They are pretty slick but, quality wise, if they're so good why does everyone recommend Apple Care?
I have a Dell now and had a Dell before it that lasted 3 years with no problems, I only switched to upgrade.
...your argument is "if they are good you wouldn't need a warrenty for any".
That just screams "I have no argument" :P
Dell's break too, you know. they are not magical.
My argument is always even Mercedes-Benz has repair shops. Shit happens. God made Man, but Man made your computer - it aint perfect.
THIS. I've bought Apple Care 3 times on 3 machines. Needed it once. It saved me over $600 in repair costs. I probably spent around $550 on the 3 AppleCares. It all worked out as a wash, but at least I wasn't out $600 at once, plus I got better resale values on those 3 computers, and I had peace of mind.
Our bodies don't break down on us too often either, but when they do, we're sure as hell glad we have insurance.
minor incident on
Ah, it stinks, it sucks, it's anthropologically unjust
Whatever you end up buying please don't base your decision on the musing of Mac haters. They like to create Mac-fanboy strawmen that tend to be amalgams of several people they know and don't know, espousing stupid theories like Macs never break and the like. There's very few real fanboys as such and you'll be hard pressed to find anyone that would say "Macs don't break". It's just partisan angst some people harbor for non-obvious reasons. As to the Macs crashing all the time:
It's been 26 days since I had a power outage that lasted longer than my UPS' battery. I wouldn't be too worried about Mac instability bugbears.
I've been looking at netbooks recently and I would recommend against them for another few years. For starters Windows 7 will not be shipping any time soon, Microsoft's promises of 2010 are specious at best. They also have anemic storage capabilities and while SD card expansion is an option it's just one more thing to pack; to forget it means you're out your music library or photos or something. You might be able to make due by having a constantly internet connection through campus WiFi or something but that's not the same as having a lot of onboard storage.
The Atom processes have a respectable amount of capability for their power usage but the MacBook with a Core 2 Duo has a battery life approaching that of some netbooks (as do several other notebooks).
Lol did you just compare health insurance to warranties on items that generally don't break?
You can lose your god damn house if you have a health problem.
Your laptop breaks, you can get it repaired or buy a new one.
Wow $550 of warranty expenses that saved you $600, lets forget time value of money and you're still getting fucked because with $600 I can go buy a good non-mac laptop.
Macs are over priced and even their repairs cost a crap load.
Im going to leave it at that since i'm just making a "strawman" out of facts.
hardware breaks no matter what you buy, your anecdotal crap does not stand up to statistics. on the other hand, apple's service has been absolutely excellent the number of times i've had to come in with problems.
hardware breaks no matter what you buy, your anecdotal crap does not stand up to statistics. on the other hand, apple's service has been absolutely excellent the number of times i've had to come in with problems.
Trust me, I will not base my purchase on the comments of "fanboys" from either side. I am aware of the partisan nature of their comments, and it does undermine them for me. From personal experience, I know that both PCs and Macs break, but I have also seen that PCs do it more. Warranties are just not a factor in the argument. Every PC manufacturer has them, everybody buys them, and everybody wonders if they really needed them. It's gambling.
Also @Bash
I've kindof given up on the idea of holding out for Windows 7 on a netbook. I realize that there is no guarantee that Microsoft will keep its release date. The Eee PC 1000 that I'm looking at (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220369) has 40GB of SSD, which is reasonable, and far above the competition. Also, I have a 320GB external harddrive that is about the size of an Ipod, thus very portable. So I'm not that worried about space. The 1000H actually has a 160GB HDD, which is great for a netbook, but I kindof want the reliability, silence and speed of the SSD, since I have the External HDD. The Eee 1000 also runs a version of Linux designed specifically for the EeePC line. And most people recommend swapping it out for Ubuntu-Eee, which is also designed for it. Seems pretty slick (http://www.ubuntu-eee.com/).
Also, my campus has very fast and very widespread wifi, so I would be connected all the time. I like to think of it as my foray into both cloud computing
and open-source OSes, all at once! Ha.
I really don't want this thread to become a Mac vs. PC flamefest. It may have been irresponsible of me to put "Mac vs. PC" in the thread title, but I meant that question in the context of my purchase decision, not as a partisan "discussion."
I am uploading a video to youtube right now for you, neonblackjack. I think you'll like it
Edit:
its still processing right now, but here you go.
its a video showing parallels 4.0 running on mac, and running my bootcamp partition alongside my OSX partition. (it runs the windows side in a window(hah!) and can also do linux) link
Edit2:
I wanted to make this video to show you how easy it is to run windows things alongside mac, if that was a concern for you.
If I wanted to go onto my windows partition and use that (instead of running it in a window) you jus thave to turn your computer off, hold down a button, and turn it on to your windows partition and everything that you have done in parallels is still there.
I'm not sure if that sweetens the deal of getting a mac more for you. you can choose to run windows or linux in parallels, and there are different ways to run it.
You can run it in a resizeable window, fullscreen (like I showed), or "coherence" mode, where you are able to have Windows windows open just like mac applications, so it really is seamless to go between the programs.
Personally, I don't bring a laptop to class. I take all my notes on my Nokia E71 using an Apple Bluetooth keyboard. My E71 has a longer battery life than any laptop, better connectivity options, a full Office suite, 8GB of storage in a microSD card and looks positively badass when I'm sitting there typing on a keyboard that seems to be connected to nothing. Oh, and if the keyboard's batteries run out (as has happened to me once since I can't really gauge how much power left without hooking up to a Mac)? Open the phone's voice recorder, record the whole lesson and transcribe it later. Screw netbooks.
I totally get flagged as "that guy" every first day of class.
It also doesn't look obnoxious to the teacher since I don't have this huge screen between them and me, just my phone lying flat on the desk.
That said, get a Mac (with Parallels or VMware if you think you'll miss Windows). As demonstrated above, Boot Camped Windows in a VM is awesome.
This is a stupid myth that used to be true, but now just lives on because Apple doesn't compete on the low end of the PC spectrum.
Not to bash Apple, but they don't even really compete on the MID-END laptop segment. Their prices aren't horribly off from competing models (although the MacBook's generally come with less RAM and smaller HD's than competitors), but they just don't offer ANY 15in laptops for less than $2000, which seems crazy.
Go to BestBuy.com. Tell them you want a laptop with 3GB of RAM, and suddenly your only Mac option is the $2500 MacBookPro or the $2700 one. I realize you can upgrade things like that on your own, but its just shocking when their competitors are shipping prebuilt systems with 3-4GB of RAM ranging from $650 to around $2200 (notably often with shortened specs, but in most cases nothing a home user would find offensive).
This is a stupid myth that used to be true, but now just lives on because Apple doesn't compete on the low end of the PC spectrum.
Not to bash Apple, but they don't even really compete on the MID-END laptop segment. Their prices aren't horribly off from competing models (although the MacBook's generally come with less RAM and smaller HD's than competitors), but they just don't offer ANY 15in laptops for less than $2000, which seems crazy.
Go to BestBuy.com. Tell them you want a laptop with 3GB of RAM, and suddenly your only Mac option is the $2500 MacBookPro or the $2700 one. I realize you can upgrade things like that on your own, but its just shocking when their competitors are shipping prebuilt systems with 3-4GB of RAM ranging from $650 to around $2200 (notably often with shortened specs, but in most cases nothing a home user would find offensive).
...and now you know why some of us would kill for a 12" Macbook Pro. It will never happen (and even if it did it would be 13", fuck that). I love my unibody 15" MBP dearly but goddamned is it big. It doesn't fit into my favorite laptop backpack.
Umm... Mac window management is light years ahead of windows. At first I thought it was weird, and I missed the old minimize / maximize but now I never need it. I set my windows up the way I need them and that's that. I have expose bound to one of my mouse buttons. You can instantly see every open window. This is the fastest way to switch between windows that I have ever seen. And when I must minimize something it just adds a picture of it to the dock so its easy to see. My computer is on for weeks straight without any problems or crashes. I have the glass screen and in my well lit room I have to keep the brightness turned all the way down because its way too bright....
I totally agree that Mac isn't for everyone, but it's an excellent platform to work with by almost any standard and they make some of the best hardware in the industry.
Maybe you shouldn't knock something you don't know how to use eh?
... The new macbooks have a new touchpad with multitouch. Multitouch doesn't work well and the tracking on the pad is not as smooth as windows systems. Alt+tab doesn't work well, it crashes your computer sometimes. Window management is weird and makes it hard to find windows you have open that you minimize. The new systems have a glass screen, very hard to look at in very well lit rooms. Also, the new screens use more power in well lit rooms because they amplify the backlight so you can read it. So don't think Macs are perfect like everyone says, they have issues just like windows and some of them can be really annoying.
Oh, and its Command - Tab, not Alt - Tab on the Mac...
... The new macbooks have a new touchpad with multitouch. Multitouch doesn't work well and the tracking on the pad is not as smooth as windows systems. Alt+tab doesn't work well, it crashes your computer sometimes. Window management is weird and makes it hard to find windows you have open that you minimize. The new systems have a glass screen, very hard to look at in very well lit rooms. Also, the new screens use more power in well lit rooms because they amplify the backlight so you can read it. So don't think Macs are perfect like everyone says, they have issues just like windows and some of them can be really annoying.
Yeah, I'm not quite sure what you're going on about regarding the new touchpad, it's by far the best on any laptop I've ever used. After getting used to the "click anywhere" button and the multitouch, I have a real hard time using any other touchpads. They're either too small or don't do enough or both. Apple has acknowledged that some people are experiencing jerkiness with their glass trackpads, but a software fix should be coming soon.
Can't say I've ever had Command+Tab crash my machine.
As for the glass screen, yes it's reflective, but it's something you just get used to. I'm a matte screen guy all the way, but I don't even notice the shininess on my MBP anymore. The "they use more power in well lit rooms" thing, yeah, it's a dynamic backlighting system using an ambient light sensor that tons of laptops have and you can turn it off if you want to.
To echo what lilB said, Expose blows away anything in terms of Windows' window management. I'd kill for a proper Expose clone in Vista (Flip3D is a useless piece of shit and a waste of time).
aaaaaaaanyway, different strokes. My vote goes to the Mac, obviously.
I wasn't trying to make this a mac vs pc thing. Every time I see a post where someone is looking to buy a laptop there are a dozen people who say get a mac for every person who recommends a windows based system. I was touting the netbooks because they are very portable and capable machines for their size. No one cares about windows 7, XP runs just fine on netbooks. I recommended the Wind because it seems to have a better build quality. I just don't like when people paint this primary color dreamscape world where everything mac is perfect. I'm not in it for any OS, they all have some bad flaws. It's just that mac users are the only ones who recommend a system without telling you the negative points. Oh and sorry I don't know a ton about Mac specific buttons and functions. I use a PC for various reasons. One being I really don't like Apple's hardware choices.
Yeah, I cant say much about the trackpad becasue I don't have one but the multitouch on my iphone is awesome im sure they will tweak the software and get it right.
I love expose, and spaces too I have a good 5 button mouse and I have dashboard, expose, and spaces all at the click of a button. It's an awesome setup.
To echo what lilB said, Expose blows away anything in terms of Windows' window management. I'd kill for a proper Expose clone in Vista (Flip3D is a useless piece of shit and a waste of time).
aaaaaaaanyway, different strokes. My vote goes to the Mac, obviously.
That video certainly does sweeten the deal. The Macbook can do absolutely everything I'd want it to...It's indisputably the laptop that I'd get if I get a laptop. Really the competition now is between Netbook and Macbook. It's a battle between an expensive computer that can do everything I'd want it to and a much cheaper computer that can do everything I'd need it to. The Macbook would be tons of fun and last a long time. The Netbook would still be some fun and probably have a short life. I still have a cutting edge (ish) desktop. Maybe I should just sell it and get a Macbook Pro. Ha...no, really. Anybody want to buy my desktop?
Just for the sake of argument. Here are its specs:
-Antec P180 Case
-Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz 4MB L2 Cache
-4GB Corsair XMS RAM
-EVGA Nvidia Geforce 8800GTX 768MB GPU
-Creative X-Fi Platinum Soundcard
-EVGA NF68 Intel 680i-SLI Motherboard
-Western Digital 500GB 7200RPM HDD
-DVD/CD Burner
-Creative Gigaworks S700 7.1 Surround Sound Speakers (These things are amazing, really)
-Saitek Eclipse II Keyboard
-Logitech G7 Mouse
I wasn't trying to make this a mac vs pc thing. Every time I see a post where someone is looking to buy a laptop there are a dozen people who say get a mac for every person who recommends a windows based system. I was touting the netbooks because they are very portable and capable machines for their size. No one cares about windows 7, XP runs just fine on netbooks. I recommended the Wind because it seems to have a better build quality. I just don't like when people paint this primary color dreamscape world where everything mac is perfect. I'm not in it for any OS, they all have some bad flaws. It's just that mac users are the only ones who recommend a system without telling you the negative points. Oh and sorry I don't know a ton about Mac specific buttons and functions. I use a PC for various reasons. One being I really don't like Apple's hardware choices.
Not liking Apple's hardware choices is fine, but (in my opinion) it's a lot less important in a case like this where the user already has a kickin' desktop PC and the role of the laptop is extremely defined. That's why I suggest the Macbook, personally. I used to build my own PCs but now I'm all Apple at home. As soon as I realized that I could have a machine where I didn't have to consider every little part and learned to just accept it for what it is, the more seamless end to end experience of an Apple machine made that sacrifice worth it. Even more so today since you don't have at sacrifice anything functionality-wise (thanks to Boot Camp/VMs).
Now I have three Macs at home and I'm not exactly suffering because they're not top of the line. You pay for the experience. A lot of us on this board obviously think it's worth it.
Don't think I'm saying Windows sucks or that PCs suck. I'm a Windows Systems Administrator for cripes sake. But if someone is asking for advice, I'll always suggest a Mac first.
NeonBlackJack: If cost is a big factor and you still want MBP you can get the a refurb previous gen 2.5 Ghz MBP for $1850 (including applecare, $1500 w/out). It's the old trackpad and it'll have an 8600GT instead of a 9600GT, but I'd think that ought to beat the new macbook's 9400M for gaming. Don't have any complaints about buying refub apples, my wife's about 2 years into her refurb macbook w/out incident. I don't think refurb qualifies for academic discount, but it'd be worth looking into.
Well, I just stopped by my school's store where they have the Macs on display, and I think it's made up my mind. I'm going to go with the Macbook. It's great, it's small, it makes me want to make sweet love to it. The only performance difference between the 2.4Ghz Macbook and the 2.4Ghz MBP (which is the one I was considering) is the graphics card, and this is not my gaming computer. My desktop is. The Macbook should be fine for the more casual games I'd play on it. I'm seduced.
That video certainly does sweeten the deal. The Macbook can do absolutely everything I'd want it to...It's indisputably the laptop that I'd get if I get a laptop. Really the competition now is between Netbook and Macbook. It's a battle between an expensive computer that can do everything I'd want it to and a much cheaper computer that can do everything I'd need it to. The Macbook would be tons of fun and last a long time. The Netbook would still be some fun and probably have a short life. I still have a cutting edge (ish) desktop. Maybe I should just sell it and get a Macbook Pro. Ha...no, really. Anybody want to buy my desktop?
Just for the sake of argument. Here are its specs:
-Antec P180 Case
-Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz 4MB L2 Cache
-4GB Corsair XMS RAM
-EVGA Nvidia Geforce 8800GTX 768MB GPU
-Creative X-Fi Platinum Soundcard
-EVGA NF68 Intel 680i-SLI Motherboard
-Western Digital 500GB 7200RPM HDD
-DVD/CD Burner
-Creative Gigaworks S700 7.1 Surround Sound Speakers (These things are amazing, really)
-Saitek Eclipse II Keyboard
-Logitech G7 Mouse
It's really a great rig.
If you sell this rig just so you can buy a Macbook Pro you will be sorely disappointed. You would be cutting your game performance in half.
Also, Macs are not protected by some kind of field that makes them less likely to suffer hardware failure. My Macbook Pro developed a problem with its screen that had to be repaired just a couple months after I bought it. In fact, it's been serviced 4 times in the last year. Don't expect some kind of blissful, trouble-free computing experience. They are great machines but there is no magic to them.
Having said that, AppleCare is a goddamn rip-off, do not buy it. Your laptop could be stolen, or you could break it by accident, and in either case you'd be screwed, even if you shelled out $400 for AppleCare. A better way is to extend your property insurance to cover the machine. The deductible and premiums combined would be less than the price of Apple's hideously overpriced warranty, and you would be protected from more than just defects.
To echo what lilB said, Expose blows away anything in terms of Windows' window management. I'd kill for a proper Expose clone in Vista (Flip3D is a useless piece of shit and a waste of time).
This is probably the twentieth time I've posted this but you don't have to kill anyone for an Expose clone, you just have to google Switcher.
Well, I just stopped by my school's store where they have the Macs on display, and I think it's made up my mind. I'm going to go with the Macbook. It's great, it's small, it makes me want to make sweet love to it. The only performance difference between the 2.4Ghz Macbook and the 2.4Ghz MBP (which is the one I was considering) is the graphics card, and this is not my gaming computer. My desktop is. The Macbook should be fine for the more casual games I'd play on it. I'm seduced.
I'm going to say that they would investigate the curious fluid damage. When I said that I wanted to make sweet love to it, I didn't take into account the horror that would involve.
1200 dollars right now, for what it's worth. You can get a student discount on top of that, I believe. It's like an inch thick, 5 pounds, and very well put together. Or you can spend another 800 dollars on an experience. Your call.
But if you got the money for it, and you need that extra little ego boost, by all means, the MBP is a very nice machine.
1200 dollars right now, for what it's worth. You can get a student discount on top of that, I believe. It's like an inch thick, 5 pounds, and very well put together. Or you can spend another 800 dollars on an experience. Your call.
But if you got the money for it, and you need that extra little ego boost, by all means, the MBP is a very nice machine.
Of course you could always go out and violate apples EULA, and install osx on one of those lesser, non-white machines.
What is the official word on this? What was the result of the Apple Psystar case? Or did Psystar just get a huge payout and be told to bugger off? Or hasn't it happened yet?
Of course you could always go out and violate apples EULA, and install osx on one of those lesser, non-white machines.
What is the official word on this? What was the result of the Apple Psystar case? Or did Psystar just get a huge payout and be told to bugger off? Or hasn't it happened yet?
1200 dollars right now, for what it's worth. You can get a student discount on top of that, I believe. It's like an inch thick, 5 pounds, and very well put together. Or you can spend another 800 dollars on an experience. Your call.
But if you got the money for it, and you need that extra little ego boost, by all means, the MBP is a very nice machine.
How often do you get ex mac users jumping into these threads saying how glad they are they've jumped ship to Microsoft? A computer isn't a set of numbers, it is an experience, spend another 800 dollars.
1200 dollars right now, for what it's worth. You can get a student discount on top of that, I believe. It's like an inch thick, 5 pounds, and very well put together. Or you can spend another 800 dollars on an experience. Your call.
But if you got the money for it, and you need that extra little ego boost, by all means, the MBP is a very nice machine.
How often do you get ex mac users jumping into these threads saying how glad they are they've jumped ship to Microsoft? A computer isn't a set of numbers, it is an experience, spend another 800 dollars.
I have experienced many problems with my MBP, am not particularly impressed by OSX, and will probably never buy another mac. But I've found that pointing this out gets me labelled as a troll.
Posts
The Netbook is 2.3 pounds with a 10" screen, and apparently lasts 5 hours with a heavy load and more like 6+ with a normal to light load.
The Macbook is 4.5 pounds with a 13.3" screen, and I hear the battery lasts 3-4 hours.
Really? Are we actually gonna go there?
Because I just spec'd out an Alienware and a Dell to be comparable to my MacBook Pro (MSRP $1999). The Alienware came out to about $1975 and the Dell came out to almost $1700 but I couldn't get it CLOSE to the specs on mine. Even the Alienware is heavier, thicker, and has slower RAM.
This is a stupid myth that used to be true, but now just lives on because Apple doesn't compete on the low end of the PC spectrum.
I have a Dell now and had a Dell before it that lasted 3 years with no problems, I only switched to upgrade.
...your argument is "if they are good you wouldn't need a warrenty for any".
That just screams "I have no argument" :P
Dell's break too, you know. they are not magical.
THIS. I've bought Apple Care 3 times on 3 machines. Needed it once. It saved me over $600 in repair costs. I probably spent around $550 on the 3 AppleCares. It all worked out as a wash, but at least I wasn't out $600 at once, plus I got better resale values on those 3 computers, and I had peace of mind.
Our bodies don't break down on us too often either, but when they do, we're sure as hell glad we have insurance.
It's been 26 days since I had a power outage that lasted longer than my UPS' battery. I wouldn't be too worried about Mac instability bugbears.
I've been looking at netbooks recently and I would recommend against them for another few years. For starters Windows 7 will not be shipping any time soon, Microsoft's promises of 2010 are specious at best. They also have anemic storage capabilities and while SD card expansion is an option it's just one more thing to pack; to forget it means you're out your music library or photos or something. You might be able to make due by having a constantly internet connection through campus WiFi or something but that's not the same as having a lot of onboard storage.
The Atom processes have a respectable amount of capability for their power usage but the MacBook with a Core 2 Duo has a battery life approaching that of some netbooks (as do several other notebooks).
You can lose your god damn house if you have a health problem.
Your laptop breaks, you can get it repaired or buy a new one.
Wow $550 of warranty expenses that saved you $600, lets forget time value of money and you're still getting fucked because with $600 I can go buy a good non-mac laptop.
Macs are over priced and even their repairs cost a crap load.
Im going to leave it at that since i'm just making a "strawman" out of facts.
hardware breaks no matter what you buy, your anecdotal crap does not stand up to statistics. on the other hand, apple's service has been absolutely excellent the number of times i've had to come in with problems.
Trust me, I will not base my purchase on the comments of "fanboys" from either side. I am aware of the partisan nature of their comments, and it does undermine them for me. From personal experience, I know that both PCs and Macs break, but I have also seen that PCs do it more. Warranties are just not a factor in the argument. Every PC manufacturer has them, everybody buys them, and everybody wonders if they really needed them. It's gambling.
Also @Bash
I've kindof given up on the idea of holding out for Windows 7 on a netbook. I realize that there is no guarantee that Microsoft will keep its release date. The Eee PC 1000 that I'm looking at (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220369) has 40GB of SSD, which is reasonable, and far above the competition. Also, I have a 320GB external harddrive that is about the size of an Ipod, thus very portable. So I'm not that worried about space. The 1000H actually has a 160GB HDD, which is great for a netbook, but I kindof want the reliability, silence and speed of the SSD, since I have the External HDD. The Eee 1000 also runs a version of Linux designed specifically for the EeePC line. And most people recommend swapping it out for Ubuntu-Eee, which is also designed for it. Seems pretty slick (http://www.ubuntu-eee.com/).
Also, my campus has very fast and very widespread wifi, so I would be connected all the time. I like to think of it as my foray into both cloud computing
and open-source OSes, all at once! Ha.
I really don't want this thread to become a Mac vs. PC flamefest. It may have been irresponsible of me to put "Mac vs. PC" in the thread title, but I meant that question in the context of my purchase decision, not as a partisan "discussion."
Edit:
its still processing right now, but here you go.
its a video showing parallels 4.0 running on mac, and running my bootcamp partition alongside my OSX partition. (it runs the windows side in a window(hah!) and can also do linux)
link
Edit2:
I wanted to make this video to show you how easy it is to run windows things alongside mac, if that was a concern for you.
If I wanted to go onto my windows partition and use that (instead of running it in a window) you jus thave to turn your computer off, hold down a button, and turn it on to your windows partition and everything that you have done in parallels is still there.
I'm not sure if that sweetens the deal of getting a mac more for you. you can choose to run windows or linux in parallels, and there are different ways to run it.
You can run it in a resizeable window, fullscreen (like I showed), or "coherence" mode, where you are able to have Windows windows open just like mac applications, so it really is seamless to go between the programs.
I totally get flagged as "that guy" every first day of class.
It also doesn't look obnoxious to the teacher since I don't have this huge screen between them and me, just my phone lying flat on the desk.
That said, get a Mac (with Parallels or VMware if you think you'll miss Windows). As demonstrated above, Boot Camped Windows in a VM is awesome.
or Brawl. 4854.6102.3895 Name: NU..
Go to BestBuy.com. Tell them you want a laptop with 3GB of RAM, and suddenly your only Mac option is the $2500 MacBookPro or the $2700 one. I realize you can upgrade things like that on your own, but its just shocking when their competitors are shipping prebuilt systems with 3-4GB of RAM ranging from $650 to around $2200 (notably often with shortened specs, but in most cases nothing a home user would find offensive).
...and now you know why some of us would kill for a 12" Macbook Pro. It will never happen (and even if it did it would be 13", fuck that). I love my unibody 15" MBP dearly but goddamned is it big. It doesn't fit into my favorite laptop backpack.
or Brawl. 4854.6102.3895 Name: NU..
I totally agree that Mac isn't for everyone, but it's an excellent platform to work with by almost any standard and they make some of the best hardware in the industry.
Maybe you shouldn't knock something you don't know how to use eh?
Oh, and its Command - Tab, not Alt - Tab on the Mac...
Yeah, I'm not quite sure what you're going on about regarding the new touchpad, it's by far the best on any laptop I've ever used. After getting used to the "click anywhere" button and the multitouch, I have a real hard time using any other touchpads. They're either too small or don't do enough or both. Apple has acknowledged that some people are experiencing jerkiness with their glass trackpads, but a software fix should be coming soon.
Can't say I've ever had Command+Tab crash my machine.
As for the glass screen, yes it's reflective, but it's something you just get used to. I'm a matte screen guy all the way, but I don't even notice the shininess on my MBP anymore. The "they use more power in well lit rooms" thing, yeah, it's a dynamic backlighting system using an ambient light sensor that tons of laptops have and you can turn it off if you want to.
To echo what lilB said, Expose blows away anything in terms of Windows' window management. I'd kill for a proper Expose clone in Vista (Flip3D is a useless piece of shit and a waste of time).
aaaaaaaanyway, different strokes. My vote goes to the Mac, obviously.
or Brawl. 4854.6102.3895 Name: NU..
I love expose, and spaces too I have a good 5 button mouse and I have dashboard, expose, and spaces all at the click of a button. It's an awesome setup.
That video certainly does sweeten the deal. The Macbook can do absolutely everything I'd want it to...It's indisputably the laptop that I'd get if I get a laptop. Really the competition now is between Netbook and Macbook. It's a battle between an expensive computer that can do everything I'd want it to and a much cheaper computer that can do everything I'd need it to. The Macbook would be tons of fun and last a long time. The Netbook would still be some fun and probably have a short life. I still have a cutting edge (ish) desktop. Maybe I should just sell it and get a Macbook Pro. Ha...no, really. Anybody want to buy my desktop?
Just for the sake of argument. Here are its specs:
-Antec P180 Case
-Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz 4MB L2 Cache
-4GB Corsair XMS RAM
-EVGA Nvidia Geforce 8800GTX 768MB GPU
-Creative X-Fi Platinum Soundcard
-EVGA NF68 Intel 680i-SLI Motherboard
-Western Digital 500GB 7200RPM HDD
-DVD/CD Burner
-Creative Gigaworks S700 7.1 Surround Sound Speakers (These things are amazing, really)
-Saitek Eclipse II Keyboard
-Logitech G7 Mouse
It's really a great rig.
Not liking Apple's hardware choices is fine, but (in my opinion) it's a lot less important in a case like this where the user already has a kickin' desktop PC and the role of the laptop is extremely defined. That's why I suggest the Macbook, personally. I used to build my own PCs but now I'm all Apple at home. As soon as I realized that I could have a machine where I didn't have to consider every little part and learned to just accept it for what it is, the more seamless end to end experience of an Apple machine made that sacrifice worth it. Even more so today since you don't have at sacrifice anything functionality-wise (thanks to Boot Camp/VMs).
Now I have three Macs at home and I'm not exactly suffering because they're not top of the line. You pay for the experience. A lot of us on this board obviously think it's worth it.
Don't think I'm saying Windows sucks or that PCs suck. I'm a Windows Systems Administrator for cripes sake. But if someone is asking for advice, I'll always suggest a Mac first.
or Brawl. 4854.6102.3895 Name: NU..
Also, Macs are not protected by some kind of field that makes them less likely to suffer hardware failure. My Macbook Pro developed a problem with its screen that had to be repaired just a couple months after I bought it. In fact, it's been serviced 4 times in the last year. Don't expect some kind of blissful, trouble-free computing experience. They are great machines but there is no magic to them.
Having said that, AppleCare is a goddamn rip-off, do not buy it. Your laptop could be stolen, or you could break it by accident, and in either case you'd be screwed, even if you shelled out $400 for AppleCare. A better way is to extend your property insurance to cover the machine. The deductible and premiums combined would be less than the price of Apple's hideously overpriced warranty, and you would be protected from more than just defects.
This is probably the twentieth time I've posted this but you don't have to kill anyone for an Expose clone, you just have to google Switcher.
:winky:
Also, not a new Macbook.
1200 dollars right now, for what it's worth. You can get a student discount on top of that, I believe. It's like an inch thick, 5 pounds, and very well put together. Or you can spend another 800 dollars on an experience. Your call.
But if you got the money for it, and you need that extra little ego boost, by all means, the MBP is a very nice machine.
You know what that doesn't come with though?
OS X.
(snap)
Of course you could always go out and violate apples EULA, and install osx on one of those lesser, non-white machines.
What is the official word on this? What was the result of the Apple Psystar case? Or did Psystar just get a huge payout and be told to bugger off? Or hasn't it happened yet?
it's a little buggy, but easily doable.
But you just have to make sure there are drivers for all of your hardware.
How often do you get ex mac users jumping into these threads saying how glad they are they've jumped ship to Microsoft? A computer isn't a set of numbers, it is an experience, spend another 800 dollars.