Re: Buying a new laptop- Apple?
 

Who buys a laptop to upgrade components other than the RAM and hard drive?

If people want a GPU, buy a desktop PC. I just don't understand the fascination with playing games on laptops.

Laptops are disposable items. Desktops are not.

Re: Buying a new laptop- Apple?
 

Ohh the ole BMW/Yugo coparision...I forgot that one..:D
A Cadillac will get me down the same street at half the $$$ of the BMW and still beat the heck out of a Yugo.
With any of these examples, you simply get what you pay for. But does that mean if you spend more you always get better???
Will the guy with the more expensive (gun, golf clubs, rods-reels-lures, etc) always out perform the guy with the good but less expensive "hardware".?
I've been on jobs with my Craftsman tools, while the Snap-On guy is sitting at home wondering when he will work again.
Will that $1000.00 Dunhill pipe smoke better than a $100.00 Savinelli, maybe, but 10 times better..??
Does the Green and Yellow John Deere really cut grass better than the cheaper Cub Cadet..?
Just saying that there are often products in all areas, where you are paying more just for the name.
Cigars, coffee, whiskey, pipe tobacco are the exception, taste is subjective, I have smoked/tasted expensive cigars, coffee, whiskey that I liked and some that I did not like. Same with the less expensive items some I liked and some not so much.

Re: Buying a new laptop- Apple?
 

I do! There's a market for laptop gamers. I've torn my laptop apart a couple of times to upgrade the gpu and wireless card. I travel a lot and like to be able to game a bit while i'm on the road stuck in some airport or hotel. It's not as good as my desktop but it gets the job done and helps me kill my down time on the road.

Re: Buying a new laptop- Apple?
 

Hate to tell ya Jordan, many who can't afford both are going with laptops capable of gaming. While not in this discussion, I juast saw my first Alienware laptop, it a gotta have for me. Absolutly sick fast on Windows 7 and a real keyboard built in, not the silly little wafer keys. Woof!

Re: Buying a new laptop- Apple?
 

Then get a desktop and a netbook ;)

Laptops are dependent on batteries. GPU's, screens, 7200RPM drives, even RAM suck the life out of them.

Blows me away when people show up to a 3 hour class with a 17" laptop that breaths fire and find themselves 5 feet shy of a plugin, then drain a full cycle before the class is half over. That is a useless tool.

Portability shouldn't be governed by plug-ins ;) That defeats the purpose of a laptop entirely.

Re: Buying a new laptop- Apple?
 

Simply adjusting the screen brightness will cut your power usage by 30-40%. The setting is usually a simple FN-Hotkey. Works fine for my work laptop when I need to be on battery for any length of time.

Re: Buying a new laptop- Apple?
 

As it does for mine as well.

Re: Buying a new laptop- Apple?
 

get a little netbook for class, problem solved, and your back will thank you :tu

Re: Buying a new laptop- Apple?
 

To some, you are paying for just a name.
To others, they are getting what they are paying for.

I prefer the BMW, so I own one. I do, cause I can. Sure, I could have done just as well with a Solara convertible. I chose the BMW. We can talk all day about how both get you down the street, but trust me, I look better in mine and that is what I paid for. Not to mention, there is a small thing called performance.

Bad example on the Snap On. What you pay for there, aside from the quality, is the "come to you" anywhere you are for service and sales. With the Craftsman, which I own plenty of, you have to jump in the car and go to Sears. In that case, since I don't need them delivered to my door, yeah, Craftsman is the way to go.

To some, they wear a $10 t-shirt. I like Ed Hardy. Sure, I can get ten of the $10 ones for one of my Ed Hardy. However, I bet I will look better.

When we remodeled our master bath, sure, tiles would have sufficed and been cheaper. Wife wanted marble. Cost a whole lot more. To her, that made all the difference in the world. I made her happy, she makes me happy in turn.

With the Mac, my reasons were a whole lot different.
I was tired of crashes. I was tired of viruses. I was tired of a system/companies that wiped their butts with you once you bought it and you had to be resourceful to figure it all out. Apple makes it easy and Apple doesn't leave you out in the street. They proved that to me with the way they resolved my initial issues and the way I can get any support video of any kind that I may need to learn any aspect of their device of operating system. To some, not needed. To me, was worth a whole lot more than I paid.

The analogy of why pay more can be made with anything. Value is what the person whose wallet is paying for it perceives it. All a matter of what side of the fence you are on.

Re: Buying a new laptop- Apple?
 

Mac, 'nuf said.

Re: Buying a new laptop- Apple?
 

This is exactly how I feel. Owning other apple products (ipods) their customer service is fantastic and not from India (damn dell :mad). My limited use on friends Apple laptops and the Apple desktops at school has been great. I just want to make the best and most educated decision.

Possibly the answer. Anybody here run OS X on a windows laptop/desktop? This could be a very interesting option.

Re: Buying a new laptop- Apple?
 

I've seen it on netbooks.

There was a thread recently (within the past 3 months) in the GD about it.

Re: Buying a new laptop- Apple?
 

FWIW, Gateway support is still in the US - it has never left the country AFAIK.


Yeah, toyed with it a few years ago. Royal PITA. Simpler to just buy a Mac and run bootcamp if thats what you want (not as cheap, but much less headaches). Maybe things have gotten better since then but still not worth it to me.

Re: Buying a new laptop- Apple?
 

Posting from a Dell Mini 9 running a fully patched, retail, vanilla version of OS 10.5.8 Leopard. :D

Re: Buying a new laptop- Apple?
 

any complaints? I kinda want more details then that, please :)

Re: Buying a new laptop- Apple?
 

None. It does what it does. It's a netbook, so small screen, no optical drive, not a super-powerful computer but it's great for surfing the web, email and it is incredibility portable. I will say that OS X runs much better on this than XP or Linux (Ubuntu) did.

There are other machines that will run OS X but none as seamlessly as the Dell Mini series.

Re: Buying a new laptop- Apple?
 

Something no one has mentioned---didn't I read here on CA that Apple won't work on computer's owned by smokers as they consider the smoke residue a "bio hazard"?

Re: Buying a new laptop- Apple?
 

Get yourself a MacBook Pro and you'll never look back. Computing heaven! :tu

Re: Buying a new laptop- Apple?
 

Your opinion entirely, not fact. You may feel having a high powered laptop is waste, but I don't. And I don't consider my laptop a disposable asset, my netbook maybe, but not a laptop that cost over 1k. Maybe when the day comes that i'm making JE3146 money i'll look at it differently, and a grand won't mean so much to me lol. And netbooks are great, but too small and underpowered to do serious work.

My best advice is to go to a Best Buy or some other place that has demo machines and play with a win7 machine. It sounds like you already know macs to some extend, but if not go hit up the kiosk in Best Buy or your nearest apple store. Try them both out, weigh the costs, and pick what you like. I use a mac and a win7 pc everyday, and my netbook runs linux. Each has a different use, but I can't say that I like one over the other. Each has things I like and dislike about it, it just boils down to personal preference.

Re: Buying a new laptop- Apple?
 

I would say go with a Dell, or a Toshiba, bc if you decide to later on down the road you need a better grafics card or processer you can change it out with the Toshiba, no other lap top company is doing that yet. and it will cost you about the same as a Apple

Re: Buying a new laptop- Apple?
 

I do lots of stuff, video and photo editing, play games, overclock, build my own systems, all that sort of stuff.
I run Windows XP on all my stuff.
I've been a windows developer partner since '99. Vista sucked ass from day one.
I just got done with Windows 7, and the DRM issues were never-ending.
If I ever changed operating systems from Windows XP, which I probably never will until the hardware runs past it, then I'll look at Leopard or Linux.
I'm pretty much Bill Gates'd out.
I have never for a second considered a Mac, because it meets none of my needs.
In the future, it may. The tricycle/motorcycle representation pretty much says it all.
Add to that Mac is overwhelmingly overpriced, and it's a tough call.
It really depends who you are and what you're willing to learn.
My only issue now is Digital Rights Management. I don't want an OS that doesn't let me do what I want to do the way I want to do it. Apple is free of that crap.
I think Apple is headed in the direction I want to see happen for me.
Windows isn't.
Google is coming.
I'm glad I don't have to make your decision, Christos.
Honestly, you can't go wrong either way for what you want to do, regardless of what fanboi's like myself might say. Buy what makes you happy. You'll be happy with it. :tu
I'd stay away from the airbooks with no optical drive though. You'll have to drag around a sidearm dvd/cd burner, and that'll suck. Big time.

Re: Buying a new laptop- Apple?
 

Decisions, Decisions ugh!! :mad:

I might just wait until my current laptop really runs into the ground. Perhaps by then Apple will come out with something new and Windows 7 will have some more reviews/be more stable. I appreciate the help. Keep it coming :tu

I'll probably take whatever money I get for the laptop and buy cigars :ss

Re: Buying a new laptop- Apple?
 

As long as you are not doing anything taking significant advantage of the onboard video processing primarily new graphically intensive games you can run Windows in an emulator like Vmware Fusion or Parallels and have the best of both worlds simultaneously without having to boot into bootcamp. Many of the games you can run on boot camp. Essentially anything but the most high end games. You can also run a linux virtual machine on either of the emulators as well.

If money is not an option Macs tend to be more future proof than PC's. Meaning they last longer before they are obsolete. My wife is still using a five year old MacbookPro and for photo editing, internet, email, documents etc... 95% of what she does on a computer it is holding up fine with just a memory upgrade. We did end up upgrading her machine only because I had one come to me through work.

If money is a concern pc's definitely are better bang for buck. Also for people used to windows there is no reason to retrain them to a new OS.

There is not a "right" answer just whatever works for you.

Re: Buying a new laptop- Apple?
 

:r if only you knew how much money I make right now ;) (I'll give you a hint.. I'm a student)

In my career, a laptop is a tool, so I treat it as such. I apologize if my view like that offends, but it's no different than a toolbox to a mechanic.

In regards to serious work that depends on the work. I can do more with a command line than most can do with a GUI.

Command lines don't need much horsepower :D ... typically.. but if that's the case, I'll utilize my server for processing power.

But it will all boil down to your needs of a laptop, which I understand.. but from my point of view and my opinion. That's what a laptop is and should be capable of. Heck I find gaming on a PC overrated now as well. I'll take a console, a comfy couch and a large flatscreen over a desk chair that I sit in far too much as it is already.

Re: Buying a new laptop- Apple?
 

This is probably the best decision. I don't think there will be much debate about that.

Re: Buying a new laptop- Apple?
 

Agreed. Emulators have the convenience of access without rebooting - in my case I need to run AutoCad and Solidworks so I prefer the performance of Windows 7 in Bootcamp.

Re: Buying a new laptop- Apple?
 

Personally I don't get this. If I needed CPU/RAM intensive Windows only apps I wouldn't buy a Mac. Please give me an example of someone needing a Mac only app for their Windows box so bad that they dual boot.


I expect nothing but crickets because so few apps actually exist.


I will continue beating the Windows drum

BTW...resistance is futile you will all be assimilated.

Re: Buying a new laptop- Apple?
 

I utilize a lot of UNIX programs with the comfort of a stable OS that I don't have to tinker with (Don't get me wrong, I love Linux, but it can be a pain sometimes).

In addition to all my programs, a native coding environment for me to run just about any script or compiler I need, and also I have access to the microsoft office suite, which is far and away better than Open Office.

It's everything I need to get the job done.... which the exception of a graphical SPICE tool... but I can remote desktop into a Vista PC and utilize LTSpice if I need to run graphical simulations.

Re: Buying a new laptop- Apple?
 

Well, I currently have Macs so the best option was to get Windows 7 so I could run those programs on my current machines. For a new purchase, I would still get a Mac because for 90% of what I do (graphic design, audio and video editing, etc.) Macs are just more pleasant to use. So far Windows 7 seems stable but my previous experience with Windows (always had PC laptops for work) was that it's glitchy and simply required to much attention. As Jordan put it, it's the "comfort of a stable OS".

:r In the overall scheme of things Mac users barely show up on the radar. Why do Windows users care so much about us?

Re: Buying a new laptop- Apple?
 

No no no. :D

Comfort of a stable OS in comparison to a Linux distro that you have to tweak to your needs. I find no issue with Windows as a stable OS, but I keep my Windows OS Stable.

I love Windows and I use it often. But for the sake of the tools I need to accomplish my scholastic tasks on campus or at home. The Mac OS X provides a more stable experience to what I would have to do to Linux to make it run similar tasks.

For everything else, I use a PC, though lately I find it annoying to sit at my desk, so I often just sit on my couch with the Mac. I wouldn't call that biased, because if the laptop ran Windows, I'd use it too. I just like the couch :D

Re: Buying a new laptop- Apple?
 

I know. I didn't mean to imply that you were endorsing my opinion (or that I was explaining yours) - I just like the phrase. :D

Re: Buying a new laptop- Apple?
 

Re: Buying a new laptop- Apple?
 

Well, I had to include that line to make sure you guys know that my Windows/Mac rants have to be taken as 50% technical and 50% sarcasm. In reality Microsoft dumped money into Apple years ago to keep them afloat. I assume he did so to prevent the SEC from filing anti-trust litigation.

http://news.cnet.com/2100-1001-202143.html

For this reason if no other, Apple will be around as long as Microsoft is. While I don't worry myself with Apple users, I occasionally have the misfortune of informing them that the $4,000 iBook they just bought isn't supported for many of our business needs. Big wig doctors in large regional medical groups don't tend to take that kind of news well. Especially when the app they need most (financial) is one of the ones they can't use.

Mike

Re: Buying a new laptop- Apple?
 

4000$ iBook?

Is this 2005? And since when did an iBook cost 4000$?
:rolleyes:

Re: Buying a new laptop- Apple?
 

Last time I looked( which was 30 min ago) Macbooks Started at 1000 dollars and only run up to 2500 dollars.

Re: Buying a new laptop- Apple?
 

Macs are suppose to be more user friendly compared to PCs. I have always used owned PCs, but I have supported users with Macs and they seem to be easier to configure and use.

Re: Buying a new laptop- Apple?
 

That's correct if you don't add any options, or pick something that isn't on the higher end. You can easily make the macbook pro 17in over $4,000 with options.

Regardless Windows or Apple I wouldn't spend that much on any laptop. Price isn't really a big issue to me. I will pay to be happy with my laptop and not have headaches because of it.

Re: Buying a new laptop- Apple?
 

ever check out the Asus?

It'll knock out whatever you need for 1100

Re: Buying a new laptop- Apple?
 

I have.. You have a good point. I'll look into it more. Thanks :tu

Re: Buying a new laptop- Apple?
 

don't do any upgrades you can avoid with Apple. If you want more RAM or bigger HDD, do it yourself.... will save a lot of money. Not too many other options you should need.

If you want portable, the 13'' is a nice size, 15" starts to get a little big to be taking around and fitting on a desk in classes (at least for me it was)

Just thought I'd throw that out there as I too had concerns about 13" being too small, but its really a nice size actually.

I always chuckle a little when people have their big ass 17" older-gen MBPs that barely fit on a desk

Re: Buying a new laptop- Apple?
 

That sums me up perfectly. I just recently bought a new laptop, thanks Andrew :tu, and I said all along that I was going to get an Apple as my next purchase. Why? Because I heard nothing but good things from people that own them and it just seemed like the right thing to do. But I couldn't force myself to pay twice as much for a comparable machine especially when I've never had any of these problems that I hear so much about. Plus, I'm no geek so as long as I can do what I want with no problems, I ain't out to impress anyone.

So I bought another Toshiba. My last one was great, this one is incredible, and I took the rest of the money that I would have spent on the Mac and bought some crack.

Re: Buying a new laptop- Apple?
 

13" works fine for me.
If it was up to my wife, she would rather go smaller.:r:r:r

Re: Buying a new laptop- Apple?
 

The macbook pro can easily go over 4k on apples site since they overcharge for parts. King James nailed it, do it yourself and save a ton of money.

Re: Buying a new laptop- Apple?
 

http://store.apple.com/us/configure/...co=MTM3NDcyOTc

Pick your options...17" MacBook Pro start at $2500 and without adding any major software you can easily put them in the $3500-$4000 range.

My point was said doctor was a big shot and wanted the best. He bought the top of the line Apple laptop for about $4000. He brought it to work and expected corporate IT to "make it work" with all of our business applications. He was lucky to get the basics to work. No Citrix (most of the hospital's apps are delivered this way), no VPN, no financial apps = one pissed off doctor. It was his own fault but we had to have a $150K/year security guy waste a ton of his time just to see if he could find a work around for VPN access. The rest they threw at us.

In the business world they are a giant waste of time and money. Personal use we can debate to the end of time. That said, the old Amiga and Atari PCs still have a niche following too. :tu

The bottom line is they overcharge for their hardware. Back in the days where you could only run their OS on their proprietary hardware if you wanted their OS, you didn't have any other option. Now you can run their OS (if you like it so much) and buy (non-Apple) name brand hardware for 1/2 the price and pop in the OS X disk.

Mike

Re: Buying a new laptop- Apple?
 

We have quite a few Mac users that are able to VPN and use VNC.
I couldn't justify the extra cost of a Mac, although I did consider it.
If I were upgrading on my own terms, rather than replacing a laptop whose motherboard had gane bad, I may have bought a Mac.
$600 versus $2000 made a huge difference. The 13" is just too small for me.

Re: Buying a new laptop- Apple?
 

http://www.quieto.net/notas/wp-conte...axheadroom.jpg

"Th-th-the Amiga was v-v-very good to m-my walpaper! Haaa!"

Re: Buying a new laptop- Apple?
 

i've used for a long time. I own a 15" macbook pro (work and portability) and a pc (home desktop). If my pc ever died, I would probably just use the mac, but if i had to buy another computer it would be a mac. There's no reason to choose a pc over a mac unless it's a money issue, which you said it wasn't. I've done every single thing on my mac that i could do on my pc, whether it was within the os x environment, or booting windows within it.

Re: Buying a new laptop- Apple?
 

http://store.apple.com/us/configure/...co=MTM3NDcyODk
$1699 MacBook Pro:
15" screen
2.53GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
4.0 GB RAM
250 GB SATA Hard Drive 5400RPM
SuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
Video Card = Specs not listed

OR

http://www.salescircular.com/mi/computer/laptpp.shtml (@ Office Max)
$449 Toshiba Satellite L505-S5998
15.6-in. Widescreen
Intel Pentium T4300 processor (2 Cores @ 2.1 GHz)
4.0 GB RAM
320GB SATA Hard Drive 5400RPM
LabelFlash DVD +-RW drive
Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 4500M
802.11B/G/N WLAN.
Webcam, Microphone.
Windows 7 Home Premium

+

$102.50 Mac OS X 10.5
http://cgi.ebay.com/Mac-Leopard-OS-X...item2ea9eaf2be

Total = $551.50 vs $1699

Re: Buying a new laptop- Apple?
 

you get what you pay for.

Re: Buying a new laptop- Apple?
 

Hey Mike - what do you think of Apple computers?


































:D ;s ;)