notebook computers

[SurferGirlCA]

What's with all the Mac-bashing? Didn't Apple do everything Windows did first and better? I'm not a computer geek (I wish!) but I love my Mac, although, yes, I do work in a business that is Mac-centric. I just don't get people ripping on Apple. If you don't want a Mac, don't use one; no reason to try and lord that over the non-PC users, though. :smile:

 

[DarkPhantom]

Ya, as someone said before. Keep in mind that Vista is gonna be out soon. Im running Vista 64-bit RC1 atm, dunno about the final release but it seems pretty demanding when it comes to hardware.

Mine is currently using about 800MB of RAM while I idle at desktop.

 

[DutchBiged]

A notebook is bad for the sperm-count.
But there is a work-around: CLICK

 

[LeeEJ]

I've nothing against MACs other than cost. Besides the fact they look funky they no longer do anything any better than Wintel machine can and at lower cost so I don't see what the fuss is about. Moving to the Intel platform was a smart move for Apple (I hope)

Besides the fact that Apple computers are still the only ones that can (legally) run the Mac OS...

Go to Apple's site and find the hardware specs for their laptops. Now go to HP's or Dell's site and piece together a laptop or two with the same specs and hardware features.

You'll find the Apple laptops to be very price competitive. They were even competitive when they were still on PowerPC processors (indeed, the first Mac I ever bought for myself, a first-generation blueberry iBook, had more features than anything else in its price range).

One thing I'll say about usability: I regularly have between a dozen and 25-ish windows open across various applications. I might have eight or ten different Safari web browser windows, sometimes containing over ten tabs each. And, believe it or not, I don't get lost. All on a 1024x768 12" iBook G4 screen.

Oh yeah... and I can surf any site safely... especially when looking for porn! :biggrin1:

 

[dannymawg]

I'll preface this with putting the helpful comment before the rant :biggrin1:

My friends with HP/Compaq machines adore them. The only IBM users I know are in hardcore travel situations, but they don't seem to compalin either. I always hear grumblings about Dell, but I attribute this to their market saturation - akin to when GM tried putting diesels into Oldsmobiles. Some of the buying public are just not familiar enough, and only cause problems for themselves.

Even in the low end, just about all consumer electronics are made by robots anyway, so what one should look for is support after the sale. Larger, better known name brands have a reputation to uphold. Apple is one of those brands now.

While not a techhead by any means, I just spent 5 years in management for a very large, global telecom. In the business world outside creative endeavors, it's grossly obvious to state that Windows is the norm. The support for my and my co-workers' machines was less than ideal, but this could be attributed to the corporate-contract-for-hundreds-of-thousands-of-computers nature of the service.

So, in shopping for my first home computer ever, I decided to put aside the Windows/Mac argument and compare the stature of the major players in the consumer computer market. Cost was a concern, but I was willing to pay to play. And to admit a bias, a major hobby of mine is music and I'd heard better things about Mac OS file management.

As a guy, I hate the shopping experience in general, but after my experience with Apple and other companies this year, I'm hard pressed to think I wanted to mess with a PC notebook of any kind. I bought a black MacBook that had a blackout problem due to heat sink issues - the issue was resolved the same day I took it in.

Compatibility-wise, I took this as a opportunity to act as a guinea pig for the "should I buy a Mac" argument. I did drop Safari and pick up Firefox as a browser (thank you BronxBombshell!), but otherwise, I can count on one hand (maybe two) how many times I've restarted this thing since I bought it.

The worlds are converging with Intel at the nodal point. I see no real reason why folks are that down on Macs anymore.

 

[ClaireTalon]

HP stuff is good, if sometimes a tad overpriced for the spec. Toshiba make some good stuff (am using one now) as do Sony though Sony can be rather too proprietory. Claire, I guess you know IBM is now owned by Lenovo - and made in China, still good though. I know IBM was over priced across the board but I've not checked since Lenovo bought the brand, again too proprietory, especially on their desktops (ironic really).

I can't complain. Really, the chinese have already manufactured so much electronic gadgets for western firms through the last years, the step to them taking over the brand names and rights of the complete computer construction was more for the records than for real effects. The only thing now is that it was a little difficult to buy computers through their web site, if you look up IBM, and then "Products", you only find Servers, Blade Servers, Intel Servers, Server Software. The Personal Computing department is a little link in the lower corner: "IBM Products by Lenovo". Other than that, I hardly have problems with my TPad, not even the seemingly usual bluescreens.

 

[dcwrestlefan]

avoid compaq like moldy cheese. god what an awful company. recently ditched my desktop from them. it's been a problem since day one.

my dell laptop is reasonable, but not breathtaking.

 

[dong20]

What's with all the Mac-bashing? Didn't Apple do everything Windows did first and better? I'm not a computer geek (I wish!) but I love my Mac, although, yes, I do work in a business that is Mac-centric. I just don't get people ripping on Apple. If you don't want a Mac, don't use one; no reason to try and lord that over the non-PC users, though. :smile:

I don't think anyone is 'MAC Bashing', I certainly didn't mean to. All I said, or at least meant to say was I don't see the fuss. I have used, managed and repaired PCs and MACs for ten years or more and I prefer PCs in almost all aspects other than visual appeal.

Granted there was a time when DTP etc was firmly entrenched on the MAC for good reason but, and I'm trying to be objective I don't believe that is the case anymore. If it were then MACs would be more mainstream and DTP software releases for MAC would precede those for Wintel not the other way around.

To my mind Apple screwed up in not allowing freer development of software and making the technical architecture more open to OEMs. Had they done so, who knows where we may be now. But hindsight is 20:20.

 

[dong20]

I can't complain. Really, the chinese have already manufactured so much electronic gadgets for western firms through the last years, the step to them taking over the brand names and rights of the complete computer construction was more for the records than for real effects. The only thing now is that it was a little difficult to buy computers through their web site, if you look up IBM, and then "Products", you only find Servers, Blade Servers, Intel Servers, Server Software. The Personal Computing department is a little link in the lower corner: "IBM Products by Lenovo". Other than that, I hardly have problems with my TPad, not even the seemingly usual bluescreens.

Lenovo is a large company and I'm glad they appear to have kept up the quality. I hope they use a more open architecture in their notebooks than IBM. Good news on the lack of BSDs, though have not seen one of those for a long time. The Thinkpad had/has a good reputation for performance and reliability it was just (to me) overpriced.:smile:

 

[Gillette]

After shelling out the cash for my first laptop I nearly soiled myself when I was told that laptops have about a one year lifespan.

Keeping in mind that I am strictly an end user who knows SFA about computers, I am happy to report that my Compaq (presario R3000) is well into it's third year with no complications. I'm only now starting to notice a slight drop in speed. I couldn't tell you what the service is like because it hasn't needed any.

I should say however that I rarely take it anywhere so it hasn't had to "survive" any wear and tear issues.

 

[dong20]

Besides the fact that Apple computers are still the only ones that can (legally) run the Mac OS...

As I said earlier, I believe that is part of the key reasons that Windows not the MAC OS is not on most desktops. To me the licensing was a strategic error by Apple back in the 1980s.

Go to Apple's site and find the hardware specs for their laptops. Now go to HP's or Dell's site and piece together a laptop or two with the same specs and hardware features.

You'll find the Apple laptops to be very price competitive. They were even competitive when they were still on PowerPC processors (indeed, the first Mac I ever bought for myself, a first-generation blueberry iBook, had more features than anything else in its price range).

I disagree, I just spent five mins and looked on:

The Apple shop:

Price for Notebook Pro below : £1700

• 2GB 667 DDR2 - 2x1GB SO-DIMMs
• 120GB Serial ATA drive (5400rpm)
• MacBook Pro 15-inch Widescreen Display
• Backlit Keyboard (English) & Mac OS (English)
• Country kit
• SuperDrive 6x (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)

On Dell UK website:

Price for DELL InspironTM 9400 Multimedia Powerhouse : £879

• Intel® Centrino® Mobile Technology with Intel® CoreTM 2 Duo Processor T5600 (1.83GHz, 2MB L2 Cache 667MHz FSB)
• Genuine Windows® XP Media Center Edition 2005
• Internal 8x DVD+/-RW Drive
• 17" Wide Screen XGA (1440x900)
• 80GB SATA Hard Drive (5,400rpm)
• Memory - To 2048MB (From 1024MB) Due to End 22/11/2006.
• FREE Shipping Due to End 29/11/2006.
• FREE 3 Years McAfee Security Centre Due to End 22/11/2006.

The Dell has a broadly higher spec (bar HDD) never mind similar and is almost £800 cheaper. I couldn't tell if the MAC had WIFI, the site is vague on specs so I assume not, the Dell does. However you can by a USB Modem for the MAC for £35! It looks great but £35 for a MODEM! are they serious?? I'm pretty sure the Dell will have a modem as standard. Now, overall this doesn't fit in with my understanding of competitive

HP prices are about 15-20% higher than Dell but still much cheaper. Want a 17" screen? MAC is £1900, Dell? Oh it already has one for that £879. I'm not advocating Dell as you know but the suggestion for comparison was yours.

One thing I'll say about usability: I regularly have between a dozen and 25-ish windows open across various applications. I might have eight or ten different Safari web browser windows, sometimes containing over ten tabs each. And, believe it or not, I don't get lost. All on a 1024x768 12" iBook G4 screen.

As do I and I don't get lost either but of course usability is very subjective, I just find PCs more intuitive and logical, but that's me.

Oh yeah... and I can surf any site safely... especially when looking for porn! :biggrin1:

As can I. I find some sites don't work as well on the MAC, however that's more an indictment of poor site design than a weakness in the platform.

Look, I didn't mean for this to turn into PC vs MAC thing. I have already said I have used both for years and prefer the PC. Either platform will had it's advocates but most people couldn't care less. Each platform has it's strengths and weaknesses.

All I'm trying to say is that, in my experience and opinion (and that's all it is, an opinion) the traditional arguments for MACs over PCs such as better software, usability etc don't really hold true any more and I stand by that belief.

 

[Lex]

The man said he is not buying a Mac.

 

[BlackCock85]

As I said earlier, I believe that is part of the key reasons that Windows not the MAC OS is not on most desktops. To me the licensing was a strategic error by Apple back in the 1980s.



I disagree, I just spent five mins and looked on:

The Apple shop:

Price for Notebook Pro below : £1700

• 2GB 667 DDR2 - 2x1GB SO-DIMMs
• 120GB Serial ATA drive (5400rpm)
• MacBook Pro 15-inch Widescreen Display
• Backlit Keyboard (English) & Mac OS (English)
• Country kit
• SuperDrive 6x (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)

On Dell UK website:

Price for DELL InspironTM 9400 Multimedia Powerhouse : £879

• Intel® Centrino® Mobile Technology with Intel® CoreTM 2 Duo Processor T5600 (1.83GHz, 2MB L2 Cache 667MHz FSB)
• Genuine Windows® XP Media Center Edition 2005
• Internal 8x DVD+/-RW Drive
• 17" Wide Screen XGA (1440x900)
• 80GB SATA Hard Drive (5,400rpm)
• Memory - To 2048MB (From 1024MB) Due to End 22/11/2006.
• FREE Shipping Due to End 29/11/2006.
• FREE 3 Years McAfee Security Centre Due to End 22/11/2006.

The Dell has a broadly higher spec (bar HDD) never mind similar and is almost £800 cheaper. I couldn't tell if the MAC had WIFI, the site is vague on specs so I assume not, the Dell does. However you can by a USB Modem for the MAC for £35! It looks great but £35 for a MODEM! are they serious?? I'm pretty sure the Dell will have a modem as standard. Now, overall this doesn't fit in with my understanding of competitive

HP prices are about 15-20% higher than Dell but still much cheaper. Want a 17" screen? MAC is £1900, Dell? Oh it already has one for that £879. I'm not advocating Dell as you know but the suggestion for comparison was yours.



As do I and I don't get lost either but of course usability is very subjective, I just find PCs more intuitive and logical, but that's me.



As can I. I find some sites don't work as well on the MAC, however that's more an indictment of poor site design than a weakness in the platform.

Look, I didn't mean for this to turn into PC vs MAC thing. I have already said I have used both for years and prefer the PC. Either platform will had it's advocates but most people couldn't care less. Each platform has it's strengths and weaknesses.

All I'm trying to say is that, in my experience and opinion (and that's all it is, an opinion) the traditional arguments for MACs over PCs such as better software, usability etc don't really hold true any more and I stand by that belief.

The macbook and macbook pro come with wi-fi and bluetooth. In my opinion the backlit keyboard was the best thing ever invented, I LOVE IIT! The new magnetic adapter is also the best thing invented, oh I could just go on and on about how amazing macs are.

oh and p.s. who the hell uses a modem anymore? that's why it's not included. Wi-Fi and ethernet is the way to go.

 

[BlackCock85]

The man said he is not buying a Mac.

Who knows perhaps he'll change his mind after reading up.......oh the MAC side....


ONCE YOU GO MAC YOU NEVER GO BACK

And yea he probably won't but it's essentail to get all the misunderstandings understood haha lol.

 

[Lex]

ONCE YOU GO MAC YOU NEVER GO BACK

You probably also own an IPod and think that an MP3 player with a flash drive should cost more than $150 dollars, don't you?

Silly rabbit.

Apple drains its user-base dry with overpriced items marketed very slickly.

 

[D_Morvah Carpetburne]

newsweek and time magazine declared the hp pavillion the best notebook of the year and they have built in webcam an mics ( oh yeah )

 

[glenroebuck]

Macs are awesome but...they are overpriced. Since the parts are now identical to the ones in a PC laptop they would sell so much more if they were even in price. I got my 17" HP DV8327US with 160GB sata HDD, Nvidia 7600 Geforce2go 256MB video, Intel Core Duo 1.66, 2GB ram for 1100 with a rebate. that incuded firewire, wireless a/b/g, bluetooth, dvd burner with lightscribe you, IR remote even to watch movies! (with built in altec lansing speaker) it is truley awesome - and it came with XP professional...

If I could have gotten a similiarly equipped mac for that I would have.

a word on viruses, the big reason there are so many for windows and so few for mac's are...windows is THE os. Becuase it is soooo prevelant it is the darling of the hax0r community. They love to write viruses for it to prove how unsecure it is. If mac had won the os wars in the 90's it would be MAC OS covered in viruses.

 

[dong20]

The macbook and macbook pro come with wi-fi and bluetooth. In my opinion the backlit keyboard was the best thing ever invented, I LOVE IIT! The new magnetic adapter is also the best thing invented, oh I could just go on and on about how amazing macs are.

oh and p.s. who the hell uses a modem anymore? that's why it's not included. Wi-Fi and ethernet is the way to go.

I should think so! Bluetooth was an option on the Dell, can't recall but about £6 I think. I agree I DO like the backlit keyboards, but it's not worth £800 - £1000 IMO. I get it that you like MACs, so do I, I just prefer PCs. It's not an either or which you seem to be painting it as.

Oh and P.S.

1. Modems are still used in some financial software,
2. not every country one may use the laptop in will have WIFI and Ethernet available,
3. many hotels don't have that facility either,
4. some systems use a call back facility for remote access,
5. you may want to send or receive a fax.

That's just five examples off the top of my head.

 

[dong20]

Who knows perhaps he'll change his mind after reading up.......oh the MAC side....


ONCE YOU GO MAC YOU NEVER GO BACK

And yea he probably won't but it's essentail to get all the misunderstandings understood haha lol.

We get it...but, you're not clearing up any misunderstandings you're merely evangalising.:tongue:

 

[The Chosen One]

i am thinking about buying a new notebook computer as the one i have now is a million years old. i was thinking about getting a HP Pavilion. just wanted to hear what all you people use and if like your notebook or not

thanks

As I wrote earlier, I would wait, if at all possible (9 months maybe).

I would buy an upper end unit, but not top of the line. Don't overpay for the latest and greatest.

Stick with big name manufacturers such as Dell, HP, Samsung, Sony, ect. Simply because of the warranties.

The truth is they all have the components made by Intel, AMD, MSI, ECS, Asus, Samsung, NEC, Toshiba, Panasonic, Maxtor, Mitsumi, Motorola, NVidia, Seagate, Sony, Teac, Western Digital, VIA, ect. Even Apple doesn't manufacture the components.

Look at it more as features per dollar than any brand loyalty. :wink: