OT: laptop experts please help.

[kyleN20]

agreed, the new books are called MacBook's. my next computer will be an apple, had mine for a year with NO problems. thinking about a mac mini.

[kyleN20]

my total for my computer was 1100, included a ipod mini (i think they were trying to get rid of them and make way for the nano) and a 3 in 1 printer and apple care warrenty. so it wasent to expensive for a 14in laptop.

[Beez540]

wow... I got more responses than I get with E34 related questions. Hell, I think I'd have ilicited less opinion had I posted a political thread.

I appreciate all the ideas though, it gives me a lot to think about... and since I'm not one to make to quick a decision...


How bout some preferences on chipsets/processors, and what BRAND of notebook you would choose regardless of configuration or price?

[genphreak]

Don't buy an old apple.

Have to disagree here....

Apples are the BMWs of computers now, anything that runs OSX has all you need to kill an Intel machine: OSX.

Until Intel machines run this instead of Windows, buy Apple. When Intel machines to run OSX, many will still buy Apple for superior build quality. One look at it tells you. Everything is designed whereas on an Windows laptop its simpy 'fitted'.

I'm not talking about old shitty ones, I'm on about G4 and G5s. I use A Sony Vaio (still) and hate it, Dell and all the other Windows laptops I've ever had... the new Apples do so mcuh better than the new Windows machines do, there is no other choice, esp the new Dual core jobbies... ANd if you are thinking a decent Linux can save you from Windows, think again. Linux does not match with OSX on the desktop, let alone a mobile desktop (yet). Nick

[genphreak]

wow... I got more responses than I get with E34 related questions. Hell, I think I'd have ilicited less opinion had I posted a political thread. I appreciate all the ideas though, it gives me a lot to think about... and since I'm not one to make to quick a decision... How bout some preferences on chipsets/processors, and what BRAND of notebook you would choose regardless of configuration or price?

Yea everyone has an opinion as we all get so much out of computers... and I said Apple APple Apple... so we'll see how the debate rages now.

The first will be price I suspect. I don't care. Comparing Wintel laptops against Apples is exactly like comparing anything from a Daiwoo or a GM to a Bimmer.

I don't care if Apple costs 2x as much, one can get that much out of it as it does everything reliably nad sensibly, which saves you time- which saves you know what.

Works for me but not everybody. I know some people actually like fixing Windows all the time. Not me, I'm getting a MacBook Pro as soon as the dollars are thru...

[Bruce Kennett]

Apples are the BMWs of computers now, anything that runs OSX has all you need to kill an Intel machine: OSX. Nick

i was going to make exactly the same analogy. i'm a book designer and photographer, so of course i have worked on apple for years (the apps necessary for my particular work were always developed on mac first and later migrated to windows). i would even go beyond the OSX thing -- i think there's a kind of tactile satisfaction and "beauty feedback from the tool" that you get from using a mac, that simply doesn't exist elsewhere, and it;s this as much as anything that reminds me of bmw. the industrial design of the apple stuff is so refined, and things *work* together so well, it's reminiscent of the road feedback you get from a fine car. sure, you can go the same speed down the road in a z28 camaro, and it can have just as many horsepower (probably far more!), but will you feel as happy and refreshed when you get out at the end of the drive? and did you have as good a time during? i spend most of the day at my computers (1 laptop, 1 desktop) and am constantly supported by the ease of use of the software, and the just plain ol' human interface of both software and hardware. every gesture, every plug-and-play aspect has been carefully considered by appel's engineers.

so i would encourage you at least go try one. i know compatibility issues could get in the way of what you need to do, but it really is a superb design. my powerbook is light, gorgeous, has a wonderful screen (i have 15-inch), and i couldn't be happier. the ibooks are also very nice and use all the samesoftware, just don't have quite the same gorgeous bodywork and lack some of the features of the more expensive powerbooks.

hth,

bruce

[genphreak]

...but it really is a superb design. my powerbook is light, gorgeous, has a wonderful screen (i have 15-inch), and i couldn't be happier. the ibooks are also very nice and use all the same software, just don't have quite the same gorgeous bodywork and lack some of the features of the more expensive powerbooks. hth, bruce

Couldn't have said it better Bruce. Everyone I know with one says the same thing as your last paragraph... whether they are the type to appreciate nice things or not!

For me it's cool cos Apple used to use a dinky OS so they were worth avoiding. Now they run on UNIX, it is not in any way like it was and (other than some of the interface bits where they were really good) and in many ways, as Windows still is. 2k3 and Vista are better, but still crumby in the areas and beset by all the usual Windows troubles and some strange bastard design idiology.

Once Apple gains serious market share, it will have trouble too- its just a matter of what is better at the time for one's needs. nick

[DaCan23]

If I had to buy a new laptop tomorrow I would consider things like this. I've had T, R, X laptops. T's are great, but expensive. My current R is great, bigger than the T, but not too big like the G & A line. X's are too small.

This was just from a quick search, sure theres more out there too. If you want Thinkpad value & quality, the R line is the way to go, check for R50s, R51s, R52s... dont know what model # they are up to. Stay away from the R5Xe's, because some of them are not upgradable for some dirves & stuff.

IBM R50

http://cgi.ebay.com/IBM-THINKPAD-R50...QQcmdZViewItem

IBM T40

http://cgi.ebay.com/IBM-Thinkpad-T40...QQcmdZViewItem

[genphreak]

I like IBMs more than most. Problem will be that they are now made (and supported) by Lenovo not IBM. I can't imagine anything worse for the product (given time) as the quality will take a nose-dive once their engineering starts to filter into the new models. They could always break the mould and make a good go of it, but I'd expect them to go for mass-market acceptance (like other Chinese corporations) as opposed to enhancing the market-leading product engineering IBM is known for. Vaios have the worst service despite a great product; again a major culture issue (hangover from Sony being a consumer product manufacturer as opposed to business systems maker). HP is good, but having big internal pains that can be bad for unlucky customers. Asus is coming up, but I wouldn't trust it. If one had to go PC, the Medion laptops from Aldi stores is so cheap it might make the decision worthwhile (as it is ugly and cheap as it gets, yet actually works)

However at the present time, any laptop that won't run OS-X is a productivity drain. My 2c yet again. OK I'll stf up now.

[ThoreauHD]

I'm not sure why you folks are harping on apple. The difference is a 64-bit proessor versus a 32-bit processor. Apple use powerpc processors, and now they use Itanium processors. They are now 64-bit commodity. For the Operating System. You can use any Linux 64-bit OS- Linux was the first to support 64 bit outside of AIX/HPUX/Solaris. Windows does not support it yet. Only Linux, the BSD's(MaxOSX), and Unices support 64 bit.

I would recommend you get and AMD 64 bit processor on the laptop. You can do twice the work in the same amount of time. Whoever you choose to put it together for you, get that and the warranty. Laptops aren't cars. They don't last more than 6 months in a product cycle. You will be looking for support and wondering wtf? It'll be gone. Get 64-bit proc's and my recommendation is Suse/Novell/Oracle 10.0 or 10.1(whichever is newest). It'll do stuff that windows has never even thought of. The beta rendition of Windows called Vista is a security nightmare and is not production. It supports 64-bit, but it's windows. Darwin is the i386 aka intel based free distribution of OSX. You can install that too if you are comfortable. http://www.opendarwin.org/downloads/7.2.1/ Although I'd recommend linux(64-bit) or WindowsXP(if you are a newb and don't want to use 64-bit processing).

Linux was the first to fork a kernel over to 64-bit commodity processors- like Intel or AMD. The powerpc motorola and alpha/sparc procs are server only processors which have been supported by all unix OS's for some time, but that doesn't affect you. It isn't available for laptops.

When you buy a laptop you are fighting entropy. You want to get the fastest thing available with the best warranty because you cannot upgrade it. You can only upgrade that ram and ram ain't **** insofar as speed is concerned. Get 512 or better of ram for any architecture and you will be fine. And again, back to apple. No point. Everyone is moving towards commodity hardware. Jut get the best of commodity hardware and you will be fine. Apple != BMW for computers. Apple= Dumbass Hippy for computers. Have some foresight and go with the flow. Open is good. Closed is bad.

If it was any other way this forum would not exist. We couldn't fix **** if Apple = BMW. Our hoods would be welded shut and we would be sued by BMW for modifying it. Consider the future when buying a laptop. The turnover of laptops are shorter than anything else sold in the world.

In the end, it's about what you want to do and for how long. Don't box yourself in.